Unions say city budget won’t change how they’ll bargain this year

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/11/2016 (3024 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Leaders of two of the three civic unions whose contracts expire this year says they won’t be intimidated by the city’s 2017 budget during bargaining.

Gord Delbridge, president of CUPE 500 – the city’s largest union – and Moe Sabourin, president of the Winnipeg Police Association, said the city’s budget for 2017 will have no impact on how they bargain on behalf of their members.

Delbridge said CUPE 500 – whose 4,500 civic employees work in almost every civic department – took annual wage increases of two per cent in the past contract and his members will want an improvement on that.

“This time around our objective is we’re going to fight for our members and get them a fair deal,” Delbridge told reporters after the budget document was released.

The contracts for CUPE 500, the WPA and the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg expire at the end of the year. While Bowman and other city politicians said they want to realize savings through collective bargaining, Delbridge and Sabourin said they’re not prepared to go in that direction.

Delbridge said CUPE 500 will not entertain the elimination of the job security (a.k.a no-lay-off) clause in its contract.

“We bought our job security year after year,” in exchange for taking lower wage settlements, Delbridge said. “There’s not a chance we’ll even discuss job security in the contract, none.”

Sabourin said he’s troubled to see the police budget is increasing only 1.3 per cent, adding it’s not a realistic target given the situation on Winnipeg streets.

“Calls for service are continuing to skyrocket (35 per cent increase since 2007),” Sabourin said. “Criminals don’t take into account inflation rates when they’re planning to do their crimes. We’re definitely concerned this is going to cause a decrease in service to the citizens of Winnipeg.”

Sabourin said the fentanyl epidemic, which is blamed for several drug overdose deaths in Winnipeg recently, is already straining police operations.

“The time we have to take, the precautions we have to take….The job becomes that much more dangerous, that much more complex,” Sabourin said. “The time constraints required by the members to respond to these calls has increased, which will cause an increase in costs. A one per cent increase (in the police budget) definitely has me concerned.

Bowman said there’s no chance he’ll support more funds for police. Bowman said the funds set aside in the 2017 budget for police had been proposed by the police board.

“This (police budget increase) is in line with inflation,” Bowman said. “It will require financial discipline on the part of the police board…We expect them to work within this increase.”

Sabourin said the police association will also oppose any major changes to the police pension plan. Sabourin said the city’s concern with the plan is that they have to make contributions after using the plan’s surplus for 25 years to cover their share.

“We have ideas that can help the city with its cash flow problems, which is what they are seeking relief on but most recently, the city’s position is they want to dictate how the changes will be made,” Sabourin said. “The changes the city wants is going to put the pension plan in jeopardy and by no means is it in any jeopardy right now.”

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca