Bargain hard with police
One of the most generous labour agreements in all of Canada is once again up for negotiation. And the often-truculent Toronto Police Association is on the hunt for further gains.
In doing so, the union’s leaders are only carrying out what they were elected to do: win the sweetest possible deal for their members. But the average Torontonian pays the price and that cost has become unacceptably high.
Officers received an 11.4-per-cent pay hike in the four-year contract that expired on Dec. 31. That followed a three-year deal that gave them a 10-per-cent raise. Precious few Toronto residents have seen their income jump by 20 per cent in just the past seven years. Yet these same residents have funded a windfall for the Toronto Police Service’s 8,000 uniformed officers and civilian employees.
The base salary for a first-class constable is now more than $90,000. But there’s more. Officers enjoy perks exceedingly rare in the private sector, including permission to bank up to 18 sick days a year and cash them out for tens of thousands of dollars; lavish “retention pay” bonuses; city-funded massages and even having taxpayers cover the cost of doing their laundry.
Salaries and benefits gobble up 90 per cent of Toronto’s $1.15billion police budget. And they’ve frankly become unaffordable, especially in light of falling crime rates across North America.
When police department numbers were presented to Toronto’s budget committee late last month, Councillor John Campbell noted a statistic that should be top-of-mind for every Toronto ratepayer: Major crime in Toronto dropped by 27 per cent since 2005, but the police budget rose by 37 per cent.
Police officials responded by citing a 3-per-cent uptick in some limited crime categories last year; by claiming it isn’t particularly meaningful to link the budget and crime rates; and by noting that officers work on crime prevention as well as investigations. In short, their case was utterly unconvincing. The main thing it established was bureaucracy’s unwavering tendency to justify the status quo.
In deference to calls for fiscal discipline, Toronto Police Services Board chair Alok Mukherjee has presented a stand-pat budget, proposing a zero increase over last year. But there’s a catch — that doesn’t include the cost of a new collective agreement currently under negotiation with the union.
A firm line is essential at the bargaining table if Toronto is to have any hope of reining in galloping police costs. Realistically speaking, some sort of wage hike is probably unavoidable, however undeserved. But, in exchange, management should target some egregious perks.
A system that allows officers to bank up to 18 sick days a year borders on the absurd. That’s almost four full work-weeks. And retention pay should be targeted for a major correction. Right now, as reported by the Star’s Betsy Powell, officers receive a 3-per-cent raise above a constable’s base pay on reaching eight years of service. Fair enough. Fully trained and experienced young officers are in demand and could be tempted away to other police forces.
But officers with 17 years of service receive a 6-per-cent retention pay sweetener and veterans with 23 years on the force qualify for a 9-per-cent hike over the base rate. They should get nothing. Workers of such vintage face losing accumulated seniority rights if they leave. And they tend to be more settled, so they’re less likely to go elsewhere. Why pay a hefty premium in such cases? Even if they walk, there’s something to be said for bringing fresh blood into the department.
Unfortunately, the bargaining deck remains stacked in the police union’s favour. Officers perform an essential service so they aren’t allowed to strike. If labour and management fail to reach an agreement the dispute goes to mediation and then binding arbitration. And Ontario’s flawed arbitration system makes it difficult to roll back existing contract provisions. On the contrary, arbitrated police awards tend to drive up costs.
Given the big gains won by the Toronto Police Association in its last two contracts, some moderation is in order now.
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne should keep a wary eye on how collective bargaining unfolds at Canada’s largest municipal police force. If the police union fails to rein in its demands and an arbitrated settlement leaves taxpayers stuck covering another overly generous contract, Queen’s Park should consider changes to the arbitration system designed to limit further such damage. A better balance is essential to protect the public interest.
Toronto can’t afford another sweetheart deal with its police