Prevent Forest Fires

The year was 1968. In wide spread campaigns, Smokey the Bear cautioned everyone that: "Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires." Sage advice indeed but lost on the Department of National Defence. During ratification of the Firefighters contract, it let slip a confidential plan to cut their numbers at radar sites. The UNDE Research Director and the PSAC Negotiations team leader Jim Wyllie met with Defence officials on 22 April. They received apologies but little else. Follow-on sessions with Personnel added PSAC President Claude Edwards and the Assistant Research Director.

The Department stood its ground declaring itself willing to take a calculated risk at radar sites by reducing the firefighting force to one per station and relying on trained volunteers. However, it did agree to answer the Union's questions before making the announcement. The Union took advantage of the delay to ask Local members to lobby their Members of Parliament.

The lull before the storm ended in late May with the announcement that layoff notices would be issued in two weeks. Fortunately, the manpower audit insisted upon by the Union meant that about one half of the redundant Firefighters would be offered alternative employment. Firefighter positions in Defence were frozen, and the Public Service Commission coordinated vacancies in other departments. Unfortunately, two-thirds of the affected employees were not very flexible in terms of being able to move to other work locations.

When the dust finally settled by the end of September, only 14 people had actually been laid off; the rest had been offered other work. Thirty-eight went to the same level of firefighting in Defence or elsewhere in the public service. Four resigned from the government before the layoffs began, and 19 went to other public service jobs. For his part, Smokey was not amused.