Wildland firefighters aren’t compensated nearly as well as municipal crews, despite rising wildfire concerns
With no meaningful salary changes in 20 years and a work model that keeps 85 per cent of employees in a seasonal, part-time role, retention and turnover among crews have become major issues for British Columbia’s wildland firefighters.
Some places, like Pemberton, often see a lower turnover rate due to the lifestyle the town and area can offer, while other, more remote places can sometimes see as high as a 100-per-cent turnover in a year. In addition to having higher base salaries and more job security, municipal firefighter jobs also have better pension programs, which allow employees to retire at 50 with full pensions. Meanwhile, wildland firefighters’ salaries fluctuate drastically each year, depending on the amount of overtime worked.
With everything seemingly stacked in favour of the municipal firefighter roles, it begs the question: Why do people stay in wildfire services when they can have more stable hours and a better post-retirement life in a municipal firefighter role? While it may seem like the current model for wildland firefighters is unsustainable given the large disparity in benefits and pay between wildland and municipal jobs, the BCGEU is working to try and bridge that gap and make wildland firefighting a more secure long-term option.
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