Windsor fire Chief Bruce Montone says he will be working with the city to transition into a new service model.
Right now, all ideas are preliminary.
“We're going to be looking at service levels, and attempting to maintain them,” says Montone. “We're going to be looking at how we're going to be doing our various functions and seeing if there are any efficiencies we need."
A provincially appointed arbitrator awarded Windsor firefighters with a 15 per cent wage increase, the city announced Friday. The increase is retroactive to 2010.
The award will see firefighters work from a 48-hour shift to 42, costing the city $12.8 million.
About 75 per cent of municipalities in the province have implemented a 42-hour work week schedule.
“We're going to be looking at how they transition, what went well, and what didn't go so well," says Montone.
Windsor Professional Firefighters Association president Angelo Gertsakis is calling the new deal a victory.
“To get to the 42 hour week work, and be more healthier for the department, the city, our families, was a big, big issue for our department,” says Gertsakis.
