MONTREAL – Mayor Denis Coderre has announced the city of Montreal will bill Montreal’s police union after 100 officers called in sick on Saturday to protest pension reforms.
The union is expected to pay for the overtime officers worked to replace their apparently sick colleagues.
Coderre called the tactic “irresponsible” and says the officers will lose a sick day as a result of their actions.
“They can yell at me, they can boo me, they can talk against issues, that’s democracy,” said Coderre.
“We can have those kinds of discussions. But if they’re using some tactics that will have a direct impact on the citizens, there will be consequences.”
Opinion: Quebec cannot afford its public sector pension plans
At 2 a.m. Saturday, an emergency meeting was called between Quebec’s labour board and the Montreal police union.
The meeting lasted till 6.a.m with the labour board ruling the protest illegal and ordering all officers back to work.
“You don’t play with the security of Montrealers,” said Coderre, who says taxpayers will not foot the bill.
“For the supplementary work, it’s not the citizens who will pay for it. It will be the union.
Since July 4, officers and other municipal workers have been wearing jeans or camouflage pants and red baseball hats as a sign of protest against Bill 3.
The Quebec government introduced the legislation that would fund public pensions equally, 50 per cent by tax payers and 50 per cent by workers.
It is not yet known how much overtime costs the pressure tactic entailed.
The police department insists services were not compromised.
Comments