Durham Police bargaining agreement reached

DAN CEARNS, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, for The Standard

DURHAM: The Durham Regional Police Association (DRPA) has reached a new five-year collective bargaining agreement with the Durham Regional Police Services Board.

The agreement was announced on Tuesday, March 23rd, and replaces a previous agreement, which had expired on December 31st, 2019.

“The salaries of members will increase by 10.9 [percent] over five years. The pay structure will be adjusted for constables below the rank of 1st class constable, who join the DRPS after January 1st, 2022, and for members newly assigned to the Specialty Units, such as Robbery and Homicide, beginning in 2023. A new premium will also be paid to police officers performing frontline duties, in recognition of the critical work these officers perform,” a press release from the police services board explained.

In a statement, police services board chair Bobbie Drew expressed her happiness with this new agreement.

“We are very pleased we have been able to negotiate a settlement with the Association, which will provide compensation increases to our members, similar to their comparators in the Province, and provide cost certainty to the Board for the next four budget years,” her statement read. “We were also able to identify areas where we can find savings in the future. This agreement is reasonable and fair to both employees and taxpayers.”

DRPA President Colin Goodwin also provided a comment on the collective bargaining agreement.

“The DRPA was able to obtain meaningful increases to pay and benefits for all members, sworn and civilian, and we negotiated positive changes to the terms and conditions of work of our members,” he stated.

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