Winnipeg’s police union says it’s filing a grievance with the city’s Community Safety Team, saying the new group is doing work that should be done by police officers.
The team is expected to initially focus on Winnipeg Transit, with 21 safety officers and two supervisors bringing support to people in need aboard buses and in shelters.
The safety officers will also be providing mediation and de-escalating violent situations with the ability to detain people.
But that’s where the problem lies, according to President of the Winnipeg Police Association, Cory Wiles. He says the only officers detaining people should be police officers, and it doesn’t sit well with them.
“We have an agreement with the city, a past agreement, that they have in writing that speaks to the fact that they won’t involve any work that involves arrest and detention as that’s seen as our work,” Wiles told 680 CJOB’s The News Thursday.
“By them going outside of this and literally having job descriptions that say they will do exactly that, it has gone against our collective agreement and our bargaining rights.”
Wiles also feels the city is putting the new safety officers in a dangerous position and is worried for their safety when dealing with unpredictable people.
But CAO of the City of Winnipeg, Michael Jack, says this grievance won’t stop them from going ahead with the program. He views it as an opportunity for conversation with the union to better clarify and communicate what is expected from the new team.
“It has never been the intention of our council or me to have any overlap,” Jack said. “They had articulated some of these concerns before, but it was my understanding based on a number of discussions, that this wasn’t going to be an issues.”
Safety officers are currently training and are expected to begin work in mid to late February.
“We’re creating a team essentially from scratch,” said Jack. “This is brand new and it’s not that unexpected that various unions will take a look and try and figure out that those employees should be within their bargaining unit.”
“I do see this as an opportunity for us to work it out.”
Wiles points to Calgary and Edmonton as cities that have introduced similar programs, but had to get police officers on board, after the initial plan fell through.
He expects to hear more on the grievance in the coming weeks.