The Town of Brownsburg-Chatham has reached new labour agreements with two groups of its employees.
At the June 4 council meeting, Director-General Hervé Rivet announced a new collective agreement had been reached with Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) local 4487, which represents town employees.
The new agreement will last for eight years and provides a 2.09 per cent wage increase for the employees.
Rivet said the town wanted an eight-year agreement so it would fit in with the five-year strategic plan that the town is developing. He said it will allow for better planning and budgeting.
The new agreement still has to be signed, but the 70 members of local 4487 already approved it at their recent general assembly.
Fire department
Brownsburg-Chatham also has a new agreement with the members of its firefighter’s association.
According to Rivet, the amount firefighters are paid will now be based on their level of training. Before, it was based on other factors that included years of service and experience.
The agreement is retroactive to January 2018 and is in effect until 2022.
All firefighters in Brownsburg-Chatham are part-time and are only paid when they respond to a call. Whenever a firefighter does respond to a call, they are paid for a minimum of three hours. The hourly amount ranges from $26 to $30 per hour.
Brownsburg-Chatham is also part of a study that is being done on regrouping–or possibly even merging fire department services among some municipalities in Argenteuil.
