City takes small steps in proposed police contract

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/07/2023 (824 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg city hall is between a rock and a hard place when it comes to contract talks with police.

Unlike most bargaining units, police don’t go on strike when they’re unhappy with a contract offer, they go to binding arbitration. It puts city negotiators in a tough spot: how far do they go to satisfy the union’s demands before they’re willing to roll the dice in arbitration, which isn’t always favourable to taxpayers?

It’s a tough balancing act. That’s why last week’s announcement the City of Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Police Association union had reached a tentative agreement on contract talks, which includes pension savings for the city, was such a pleasant surprise.

If all approval requirements are met, the proposed deal should help Winnipeg cut costs.

Council has been under pressure in recent years to rein in the Winnipeg Police Service budget, which has spiraled out of control over the past two decades. WPS spending now gobbles up about a quarter of the city budget.

It made up less than one-fifth of spending in the early 2000s. That changed after the police budget soared 64 per cent between 2005 and 2015, adjusted for inflation. Wage increases grew as much as four per cent a year and nothing was done to curb rising pension costs. Taxpayers got fleeced.

When then-mayor Brian Bowman tried, somewhat recklessly, to make unilateral changes to the police pension plan in 2019, it was rightly struck down by an arbitrator. It was a dumb move.

The only way to bring down policing costs in a meaningful way, other than reducing complement size or finding ways to curb overtime (which have obvious limits), is through collective bargaining. To be fair, some progress was made under Bowman: annual salary increases were reduced from highs of four per cent to 2.5 per cent in the last contract (which was above inflation) and the complement has been cut.

The latest round of negotiations improves on that.

At first blush, it may appear the WPA gave up more than one might expect, given the hammer it holds with binding arbitration and the higher-than-normal salary increases some unions are getting to offset inflation. However, it’s a pretty fair deal for both sides.

The WPA agreed to a four-year contract (2022-25) with annual average wage increases of 3.13 per cent. That’s below inflation and not much better than the 2.55 per cent average CUPE Local 500 (the city’s largest union) got last year.

The WPA also agreed to increase members’ pension contributions to 9.6 per cent, from eight per cent, by 2025; the city’s share will drop to 20.18 per cent from 21.78 per cent. As well, the early pension reduction will rise to four per cent from 3.6 per cent.

That may not seem like a lot, but the city is expecting substantial savings from it, especially because it cuts costs in perpetuity. The pension adjustment is expected to save taxpayers $1.37 million in 2024 and $3.12 million in 2025, according to sources at city hall.

There’s also a recognition on both sides the contribution ratio needs to be more balanced in the future, which will be an important part of those talks.

The WPA made some concessions, but got a few things in return. The pension changes must be approved not only by its members but also by the Winnipeg Police Senior Officers’ Association. If they get approval, the city has agreed to a special wage adjustment of 0.5 per cent in both 2024 and 2025 for police officers (but not for civilian positions).

Should that go through, the average annual wage increase over four years would be 3.38 per cent. If the pension changes are not approved, the special wage adjustment is cancelled.

There are other changes in the proposed contract that benefit both sides.

Cadets will be allowed to perform a wider range of duties, such as enforcing certain alcohol, vaping and cannabis offences. The more duties assigned to cadets (who are paid far less than police officers), the more time cops have for other work. The city also agreed to contribute $200,000 a year to fund additional mental health supports for WPS members.

The city still has a long way to go to get policing costs under control. But this proposed deal builds on gains from the last collective agreement and makes key improvements on pension costs.

Taxpayers could have done a lot worse in arbitration.

tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca