05-05-2023, 11:44 AM
(05-04-2023, 04:58 PM)KevinL Wrote: The issue with firefighters is that every single one works for a public entity; there is no private equivalent of a firefighting service, so there's no way to see what a competitive salary would be. This applies to other specialized positions like police.
I just remembered there is another issue with firefighter salaries: I suggested that part of the issue was that the employer’s representatives don’t have a robust incentive to negotiate forcefully. But actually firefighter wages are settled by an arbitrator who has no incentive or even a mandate to consider the appropriateness of the wages and the willingness of the employer to pay. I think they compare to other jurisdictions in a way that tends to result in the salaries ratcheting up and up and up.
Actually I shouldn’t pick on firefighters only. I think the same problem exists with the police as well. I’m not sure about paramedics; for some reason I feel like I haven’t heard the same thing about them.
Maybe we can make a deal: governments can decide on their own how much to pay their police and firefighters, but they’re not allowed to complain if they have few applicants.