$20,000 hike likely for RCMP constables
Deal by new union could cost up to $238M
OTTAWA • RCMP constables will receive a $20,000 hike to their top salary by next April if the first tentative agreement signed between the national police service and its new union is approved.
According to documents obtained by the National Post, constables — which represent over half of the RCMP'S 20,000 police officers — will see their maximum salary jump from $86,110 to $106,576 in April 2022 if the agreement is ratified by National Police Federation members.
According to the latest numbers on the RCMP'S website, there are 11,913 constables within its ranks, meaning that the raise could add up to $238 million to the force's annual payroll if all constables reach the top salary echelon (generally after three years of service) beginning next year. The documents do not contain numbers regarding raises for other uniformed RCMP members, such as corporals, sergeants and inspectors.
RCMP 1st class constables last received a pay increase in 2016, and no further pay raises were to be given until union negotiations were concluded. The tentative agreement thus contains a 1.5 per cent annual salary increase effective April 1, 2017, as well as a “market adjustment” worth between 1.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent each year until 2022, according to the documents.
If approved, the agreement also stipulates that the annual increases since 2016 will be paid retroactively to members, who are expected to vote on the tentative deal over the summer.
A spokesperson for the NPF declined to comment on details of the tentative deal except to say that it is being submitted to union members for review and discussion ahead of the ratification vote for which there is no fixed date yet.
But in a letter to members obtained by this newspaper, union leadership says the potential deal comes after a “long year of intense” negotiations between the NPF, the first union to represent federal police members, and the RCMP via the Treasury Board.
“This Collective agreement ends 4.5 years without a raise and an unprecedented 148 years without a negotiated contract,” reads the letter. “We at the NPF recognize that this has been a roller coaster 5 years, from inception of the NPF, our membership drive, the drawn-out certification and ultimate bargaining process.”
According to union leadership, members' sick leave and benefits remain “unchanged” in the new agreement, which they say bolsters pay so that it's “competitive with other police agencies across Canada.”
The letter also explains that process took time because NPF negotiators wanted the “best” deal, not the “fastest,” and that Treasury Board officials originally offered a new salary that was many thousands less.
According to each municipal police service's website, a constable in Ottawa will max out their salary at $100,420.02, a constable in Toronto can earn up to $104,491.87, and a constable in Edmonton can be paid upwards of $112,000.
The salary boost comes at a time when critics are calling for a review or even a decrease of police funding in Canada and the United States, following intense scrutiny and protests over police use of force in the deaths of people of colour in custody.
If ratified, the new agreement will also put new pressures on municipal and provincial governments who have struck deals with the RCMP to cover their local policing needs.
For example, the Alberta government is studying the feasibility of establishing a provincial police service to replace the RCMP. In a statement, Jason van Rassel, a spokesperson for Alberta Justice and Solicitor General, said that a “significant increase” to the government's payments for the police force's services caused by a new collective bargaining agreement “will be extremely relevant to the ongoing study and discussion of this issue.”
“It's too early to say what the precise financial impact will be until the Ministry of Justice and Solicitor General analyzes the distribution in rank among officers funded by the Provincial Police Service Agreement (PPSA). Suffice to say, the financial impact will be significant,” van Rassel wrote.
Craig Hodge, a city councillor for Coquitlam, B.C., and a member of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) executive, says cities and towns are likely to feel an even stronger pinch in the time of COVID-19.
In many cases, municipalities will likely have no choice but to pass the increased cost on via property tax increases, Hodge said. That hike may be particularly sharp for municipalities that have not heeded warnings to prepare for a “substantial” salary increase.