The Sûreté du Québec police officers have just rejected the agreement in principle concluded this summer between their union and the government.
A little more than 59% of the police officers who spoke voted against the agreement, the Association of Quebec Provincial Police Officers (APPQ) confirmed on Friday. The vote was held all this week.
The agreement in principle included an increase in the overall remuneration of police officers of around 21% over five years.
According to the table included in a union message sent at the beginning of September, the police officers would have obtained total increases of 5% in 2022, 3% in 2023, 7% in 2024, then 3% in 2025 and 2026.
“In addition to the government parameters of 10% and a catch-up of 4%, a salary adjustment linked to the recognition of the level of service, commonly called “national bonus” is also included in this 21%,” indicated the APPQ in his email. The entry salary would have been increased by 3% “in order to be more competitive on the market for new recruits”.
It was the Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, who led this negotiation rather than the president of the Treasury Board: the Ethics Commissioner had suggested to Sonia LeBel not to participate in these discussions because of her family ties and personal with police officers.
“We are surprised and we are disappointed. We will not make any further comments for the moment,” declared Claudia Loupret, Mr. Girard’s press secretary.
With Tommy Chouinard, The Press