The Government of Canada and National Police Federation, the bargaining unit representing RCMP members, have tentatively reached a six-year collective agreement. Details of the agreement will not be made public until RCMP members have an opportunity to examine and potentially ratify the agreement later this summer.
In January 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the RCMP had the right to collective bargaining, similar to other members of the public service. Bill C-7 created a new labour relations regime for RCMP members below the rank of Inspector and reservists. This tentative agreement comes almost two years since the National Police Federation served the Treasury Board of Canada with a notice to bargain, and more than four years since the RCMP’s most recent pay package expired.
Earlier this year, in anticipation of a collective agreement that could significantly increase RCMP policing costs, UBCM undertook a broad review of recently concluded collective agreements. UBCM found that salaries at most of the police agencies included in the review ranged from 15-30% more than what is currently offered by the RCMP.