Members of the Estevan Police Association (EPA) have a new collective bargaining agreement, bringing an end to a negotiation that spanned nearly two years and required mediation and the ruling of a three-person arbitration board.
The arbitration panel ruled in December that the EPA – the union that represents members of the Estevan Police Service – would receive a 5.4 per cent wage increase over three years through the deal, which is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2019.
EPA members will receive a 1.5 per cent increase for 2019, 1.2 per cent increase for the first six months of 2020, another 1.2 per cent increase for the second half of 2020, and a 1.5 per cent increase for 2021.
The previous agreement expired at the end of 2018 and this new pact ends on Dec. 31, 2021.
The police association was seeking 6.4 per cent over three years, with two per cent in 2019, 2.2 per cent in 2020 and 2.2 per cent in 2021, while the Estevan board of police commissioners countered with 3.5 per cent over three years: .5 per cent in 2019, and 1.5 per cent in each of 2020 and 2021.
The association and the police board went to arbitration after they couldn’t come to terms on a new deal through negotiations and mediation.
The arbitration board is made up of the arbitrator and a nominee from each party involved. They were unanimous for the three-year deal.
“It was unfortunate that it went to arbitration, but both sides weren’t happy after negotiating several times,” said Mayor Roy Ludwig, who is the chair of the police board. “It was decided by the parties that we would go to arbitration, and of course, arbitration is never ideal.”
Sgt. Kevin Reed, who is the president of the EPA, said they were seeking increases similar to other municipal police associations in the province.
“The Estevan Police Association went into the arbitration with a fair position when we take into consideration all the numbers previously settled by the other five police associations,” Reed said.
One of the big issues for the police board, according to Ludwig, was that with the economic climate facing Estevan and ongoing issues, the board thought those should be factors in the new deal.
Even though arbitration was needed, Ludwig and Reed did not characterize the negotiations as acrimonious.
“The last few times we met, there was little movement,” said Ludwig.
Reed said the Estevan Police Association was more than willing to come to an agreement that was fair and took into consideration all the circumstances of the current state of affairs in the southeast.
“Unfortunately early on in negotiations we were met with an unwillingness to bargain,” said Reed. “We were met with comments that suggested that it was better politically to have an arbitrator deliver an award than to bargain a settlement and have to explain why it was fair.”
The last few years have been challenging for membership, Reed said. They have been working their way through this pandemic and current economic state, and the membership has had to defend their position a number of times before the courts and now an arbitrator.
He pointed to the amount of time spent in court, arguing for Workers Compensation Board benefits for Const. Jay Pierson, who has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and has been on leave since 2017. He won his appeal to receive benefits last year.
Ludwig, who has been part of negotiations for the city for decades, said this round wasn’t as tough as what was experienced around 2000, when city staff and police had protracted labour discussions with the city.
In the latest negotiation, Ludwig said there was respect from both sides.
Ludwig hopes the next CBA can be resolved in a quicker fashion.
“We’re confident on our side moving forward that when we do sit down to negotiate that we can work things through,” he said.
Reed says he is concerned with a potential negative response from the public to this contract. The EPA understands the economics of the community and the worries that people have about the future of Estevan.
“We serve this community on a daily basis because of that commitment to our community,” he said. “It is important to know that when an arbitrator is making a decision on what is fair for both parties involved they take into consideration a number of factors.
“They factor in comparators with other employers in the same industry. They take into consideration ability to pay, which, of course, includes the current economics.”
The sergeant noted the police board did a “very excellent” job in educating the arbitration board on the state of the economy now and projected in the future.
Police Chief Paul Ladouceur said there is a 3.6 per cent increase to the Estevan Police Service’s budget, after several years without a budget increase, and it is due to the increase in wages for this new deal. The EPS had to find other saves in their operations to offset the difference caused by paying out the two years of retroactive increases.
