The Weyburn Police Association, the men and women who comprise Weyburn's police force, are in a labour dispute with the city, and seem to be making little headway with the city's Board of Police Commissioners who have the oversight of the police department.
The issue of the unresolved contract negotiation came up earlier, and a conciliator was requested to help the two parties iron out a solution. As nothing was gained and no solution came out of the process, the association was understandably upset because they remain at an impasse with the city.
Thus, a majority of the membership gathered and voted for strike action, although they indicated they would not in fact take strike action. There was a dispute about whether or not the police would be allowed to strike; the mayor claims they can under the Essential Services legislation, while the Sask. Federation of Police Officers responded by saying, in effect, "it doesn't matter if they can, they're not going on strike." The bottom line for them is public safety, and they said they will not put public safety at risk, which is commendable in light of the claim that they could in fact go on strike if they wanted.
One of the issues that rankles the association is that they are getting about nine-per-cent less than their counterparts in Estevan, which is a comparable-sized city to Weyburn. Moreover, both Estevan and Moose Jaw set their salaries at 93 per cent of what police officers in Regina earn.
With the size of the city virtually the same as Estevan's, and the level of training required the same also, there doesn't seem to be any real reason why Weyburn police are so far behind Estevan officers. The city's last offer was an 11-per-cent raise, spread over three years. By that time, Estevan may well be far ahead of Weyburn, again.
The danger this poses to Weyburn is quite simply that this force may lose valuable experienced members to forces in Estevan, Moose Jaw and Regina if their pay grades remain behind by such a margin.
Mayor Button said that the city has to look at what they can afford in their budget; well, police service is in fact an essential for a city like Weyburn, and if it takes a little more to pay them at a fair level, it should be done. She was also upset that these issues were brought up in the media; if there was no impasse, they wouldn't need to do that. - Greg Nikkel
