Some RCMP officers in the Moncton area and others in Nova Scotia are joining their national colleagues by removing the yellow stripe on the side of their iconic uniform pants, in protest for higher pay and better working conditions.
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“It is only a visible protest to garner the attention of the government and the commissioner about the frustration over the last decade or longer with respect to how we’ve been treated,” said National Police Federation (NPF) co-chair Brian Sauve.
The police force, which has about 17,000 members nationwide, is protesting the federal governments announcement of a new salary package for all RCMP officers, which the organization says is below that of other forces.
“We are anywhere between $10,000 and $15,000 less than other comparable police forces, so that was a bit of a tipping point for a lot of members,” Sauve said. “We’re not getting the critical mass to be able to fill the jobs that are on the ground, that’s leading to members having to work with fewer resources.’
Sauve said he’s working with the NPF to unionize the police force.
Councillor-at-large for the City of Dieppe, and former member of the Codiac Regional Policing Authority, Jordan Nowlan, acknowledges the importance of a unionized police force.
“It is gonna be one voice speaking for the members that can’t do so right now, and they’ll be able to fight for better wages, better training and better resources, that’s what the main focus is on right now,” Nowlan said.
Sauve went on to add that no services would be disrupted through this protest and all officers will continue to perform their duties in a professional matter.