Transit Police seek raise amid TransLink funding issues
Posted January 23, 2014 7:40 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – As if TransLink didn’t have enough trouble balancing the books, Transit Police are seeking a double digit pay hike.
The force is arguing it’s been working without a contract for a number of years, with wages falling behind those of their counterparts.
The union, COPE 378, is seeking an 11.5 per cent pay increase, roughly six per cent of which would be retroactive.
President David Black says audits have proven that the service they provide is very cost-effective.
“Anyone who’s used the transit system for any length of time would know that there have been, in the past, very significant problems with crime, and those problems have been reduced enormously since we’ve had transit police.”
And why are they looking for wage hikes when the transit authority is struggling financially? He says members shouldn’t take a hit because of TransLink’s dysfunctions, and he insists they represent good value.
“The force has been audited by many outside police experts who have found that the cost of policing the transit system is in fact comparable or better than other policing agencies,” says Black.
As to whether members would give up their 25 per cent bonus pay for working on Sunday, he says everything is on the table, but he believes they deserve fair compensation for protecting the public on those days.
Jordan Bateman of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on TransLink to stand its ground.
“The Transit Police clearly have not gotten the memo from TransLink that TransLink is broke. They’re out for, what looks like, an eleven and a half uncompounded raise over four years, which is far more than the rate of inflation.”
Bateman says TransLink should push for a net zero contract. “Take away the Sunday premium, take away the reduced work week and see if you can grind down the overall pay scale, or at least hold the line with these Transit Police.”
The federation estimates the Reduced Work Week Leave Bank costs TransLink $800,000 a year.
