Saskatoon police officers agree to 5.1% raise in three-year deal

The union that represents Saskatoon police officers has agreed to smaller cumulative increases to salaries over the lifetime of its contract than the previous agreement.

The board of police commissioners, which oversees the city police budget and financials, and the Saskatoon Police Association have reached a settlement on a new three-year agreement. The agreement is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2020 and will end on Dec. 31, 2022.

The previous three-year agreement ran from Jan. 1, 2017 to Dec. 31, 2019.

Under the new agreement, salaries will increase by one per cent retroactive to Jan. 1, 2020, one per cent on July 1, 2020, 1.6 per cent on July 1, 2021 and 1.5 per cent July, 1, 2022 for a cumulative increase of 5.1 per cent.

The previous contract offered cumulative increases of 6.5 per cent, with salary increases of 1.3 per cent on Jan. 1, 2017, 1.45 per cent on Dec. 1, 2017, two per cent in 2018 and 1.75 per cent in late 2019.

The terms of the new agreement were approved by 76.8 per cent of union members out of the 81.2 per cent of members who participated in the process. The association represents 529 active members. June 3 was the last day of ratification voting.

The police board approved the new contract during the in-camera portion of its June 18 meeting.

In a prepared statement, union president Dean Pringle said the members are pleased to have reached a negotiated settlement with the board. “We feel the agreement reached is fair for our members and is consistent with other police services across the prairies,” Pringle said. “The Board is also pleased with the agreement that has been negotiated and we are confident the measures set forth will continue to contribute to strengthening the culture of community safety in Saskatoon,” said board chair Darlene Brander.