Negotiations between City of Winnipeg and police union at an impasse – CP

Source: The Canadian Press
Mar 21, 2017 

WINNIPEG _ It appears that negotiations are not going well between the City of Winnipeg and the local police union on a new collective bargaining deal.

Mayor Brian Bowman had told radio station CJOB that the police union has walked away from contract talks, saying it is needed back at the table.

Moe Sabourin, president of the Winnipeg Police Association, is calling the mayor’s words misleading.

Sabourin says the union has not walked away from the table.

He does say, however, that the city has not provided a fair and reasonable offer, blaming that on micromanagement from Bowman’s office.

The union has been without an agreement since December and has now filed for arbitration to try and get a deal done.

The city is looking to increase the police budget but not at the rate that the union wants.

“We’ve made it very clear that we’re still willing to sit down but I think at this point the city isn’t interested in those meaningful conversations,” Sabourin says.

“We’ve shared with them what the replication principles have been in the past and we need to maintain those. They’re not outrageous, but the numbers we’ve shared with the city, they believe they are not fair or reasonable.”

Much of the issue revolves around wages. Sabourin says they want to keep within one to two per cent wage increases given to officers in Calgary and Edmonton.

He says under the current deal they lag behind by five per cent.

Michael Jack, chief corporate services officer for the city, says they recognize the important role police play “but we are also aware of the financial burden that labour costs are placing on Winnipeg taxpayers.”

He says the city is ready and willing to get back to negotiations, “however, the city also needs to control the costs of labour, and the historic increases are no longer sustainable.”

(CJOB)

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