Arbitration leads to retroactive city police pay raise

Officers, civilian employees to receive 2020 increase of 1.75% in decision reflecting ‘the norm’

City police officers and civilian employees are getting a retroactive pay raise for 2020, following an arbitration settlement reached earlier this month.

A total of 205 officers and civilian employees have been awarded an increase of 1.75 per cent from Jan. 1, 2020, plus an additional top-up of 0.5 per cent from Oct. 1 onward to the end of the year, according to the decision from sole arbitrator William Kaplan.

Kaplan is a Toronto-based lawyer, arbitrator and mediator.

The arbitration took place on Zoom on Dec. 9 between the Peterborough Police Services Board and the Peterborough Police Association.

No comment on the arbitration was available from the police board.

Peterborough Police Association president Jeff Chartier stated in an email to The Examiner that the association represents sworn officers from the rank of staff sergeant and below, as well as most civilian employees.

“Arbitration is a rarity for us,” he said, adding that settlements are usually reached before the current contract ends.

But not this time: the arbitrator’s decision states that the parties met for collective bargaining in November and December 2019, and then again in March 2020.

While they were able to agree on certain aspects of the contract, the decision states, there were matters still in dispute that went to mediation/arbitration on Zoom on Dec. 9.

The arbitrator’s award is for 2020 only, Chartier stated. There was no increase for police for this year as they worked through negotiations and later arbitration.

They will start negotiating terms for 2021 early in the new year, he stated.

The arbitrated award “reflects the norm” for other police comparable police associations (he did not name any of these comparable associations), Chartier also stated.

Meanwhile, city staff, both those represented by Canadian Union of Public Employees and non-unionized workers, received no more than 1.75 per cent in pay raises in 2020, city communications manager Brendan Wedley stated in an email Wednesday.

“Negotiated settlements with city employees represented by CUPE Local 126 (inside workers), CUPE Local 504 (outside workers), Peterborough Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 169 and CUPE Local 1833 (Library) achieved city council’s mandate of negotiated all-inclusive annual increases (including wage and benefits) of no more than 1.75 per cent in 2020,” he wrote.

“The non-union compensation is consistent with the negotiated settlements for unionized employees.”

Peter borough Police got $26,392,213 from the city in 2020.

For 2021 the city is giving police $27,033,150 — an increase of $641,508, or 2.43 per cent, compared to 2020, both for police operations and capital.

A staff report to the police board from earlier this year states that about 90 per cent of that money will go to salaries.