Police get new deal; first-class constable to make $54.39/hr
By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on February 23, 2023.
https://www.medicinehatnews.com@MedicineHatNews A new police contract ratified Tuesday that provides yearly wage increases of 2.5 per cent over four years, but still leaves local cops earning just less than their counterparts in Lethbridge. Council ratified the agreement with 114 officers and administrative staff under contract, concluding the longest outstanding collective bargaining session at Medicine Hat city hall. Discussions to renew its contract with the Medicine Hat Police Association had been ongoing since late 2020, when the previous four-year agreement expired Dec. 31 of that year. The new deal concludes at the end of 2024, and due to the timing, three yearly increases of 2.5 per cent are retroactive. No details other than wages were released. Coun. Robert Dumanowski is council’s representative in collective bargaining, and said all new contracts can cause a split opinion in the general public, but the increases are not out of line considering inflation and similar contract settlements. “We expect to see general wage adjustments and these are very reasonable,” said Dumanowski. “The interest of both the police service and city hall, taxpayers, are served well here.” The increases put a local constable first-class rate of hourly pay at $54.39, just below the $54.60 earned by officers in Lethbridge who ratified a new four-year deal last month. Associations in the two largest centres of Calgary and Edmonton, representing a total of 4,000 officers, have each been without a current contract since 2020. Const. Darryl Hubrich is the president of the Medicine Hat Police Association, whose members approved the settlement last week. “We’re viewing it very positively,” said Hubrich on Wednesday, adding he felt the terms “fair and reasonable,” and the length “gets us into the future a little bit. “We have a good relationship with the city and that continues.” Coun. Darren Hirsch also commented that the monetary terms are at or below increases in cost-of-living over the two-years since the previous contract expired. “It’s a realistic settlement that speaks to normalcy when we’re not in normal times,” he said. City manager Ann Mitchell confirmed that funding required for the increase is already included in the new city budget approved in December. The police contract was one of three major collective bargaining agreements in need of updating this year. The city’s agreement with 800 inside, outside and transit workers, represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local No. 46, expired at the end of 2022. Last August, the International Association of Firefighters, Local No. 263, agreed to four-year deal that only brought them up to date, but expired at the year end. Union officials told the News on Wednesday that new talks had not yet begun. Members of the International Brotherhood of the Electrical Workers, Local No. 254, at the line shop and power and water plants, will next negotiate a contract renewal in early 2024. 21-20
