Could a made-in-London solution curb police salaries across the province?
A new fou- year contract for London police could trigger change across the province according to Police Services Board member Paul Paolatto.
"We have now established a new bar, ideally a lower bar from which other police services can use as a leverage point and potentially a source for arbitration in our favour," says Paolatto.
Salary increases of 1.95 per cent and .95 per cent the next three years are well below the two to 2.5 per cent range typical in other contracts.
The new deal will increase first class constable base salaries from $91,975 to $94,621 in 2018.
But the London Police Association (LPA) isn't worried other police unions will accuse them of breaking ranks.
"All bargaining is local and that's what we see here, a good solution for london irrespective of what's going on across the province," says LPA president Rick Robson.
Only 54 per cent of uniformed officers who voted were in favour of the new contract - but Robson believes improvements to scheduling were important achievements.
"We've made it clear from the onset that we were willing to entertain other particulars outside of the typical salary compensation," says Robson.
The lower annual salary increases are temporary however. The contract includes a 'market value adjustment' on Dec. 1, 2018.
First class constable salaries will rise to match the average of the eleven largest police services in Ontario.
The risk for taxpayers is that the amount of the 'market value adjustment' paid at the end of the contract is out of the hands of city hall and the police board.
Instead, the amount will depend on the decisions of 11 other municipalities -- three of whom already have signed deals richer than London's.
Based on those deals, the adjustment would currently stand at 3.7 per cent, a number Paolatto hopes to lower when he and the mayor visit other cities explaining the brief window of opportunity for new pattern bargaining.
"We hope that we can positively influence their negotiations going forward so that we all collectively benefit and lower the overall cost of policing," says Paolatto.
The Police Services Board will likely be coming back to city hall for more money to cover this year's budget after it chose not to including any wage increase for 2015.
