City says it has reached last-minute deal with bylaw officers

The City of Yellowknife says a tentative deal has been reached to avoid municipal enforcement officers beginning job action on Monday next week.

On Friday morning, the Public Service Alliance of Canada said bylaw officers would stop enforcing city parking rules or patrolling “downtown areas or encampments” as of Monday in an ongoing dispute over pay.

But at 1:30pm, City Hall said “last minute negotiations throughout the morning” had resulted in a “tentative agreement to end the targeted job action.”

The city declined to share the terms of the agreement but said it would provide more detail “as soon as possible.” The union had yet to comment.

Earlier, PSAC said the job action planned for Monday would involve traffic enforcement occurring only in school zones, with no traffic control for festivals and events run or sponsored by the city, Officers would not attend court unless compelled to do so by a court order.

PSAC said those actions were chosen “to maintain public safety while these workers fight for a fair deal.” The union said the city had not offered “meaningful movement” in bargaining since bylaw officers voted in favour of a strike mandate last month.

Previously, the union described a “significant pay gap” between municipal enforcement and other city employees. The city has said it is offering “a fair deal” amounting to an 18-percent wage increase over four years.