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Are our cops overpaid?

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For all their grousing, their job actions and demonstrating, Toronto’s finest don’t actually have it so bad. We break down their claims and compare how they fare financially with other cities’ forces. Guess what? These cops are definitely tops.

Click to view the reproduction of police union ad that ran in Toronto newspapers recently. (.pdf file)
Longer hours
What the police services board proposes on scheduling
  • Cops are not working the hours they’re being paid for under the current compressed workweek schedule.The board wants shifts altered so officers work an additional 3.5 hours a month for which the board says they’re already being paid.
  • What the police union says
  • The scheduling change adds up to five more days of work a year for free. And cops don’t owe the board ö or the public, for thatmatter ö anything.
  • The reality
  • The cops have it pretty cushy.The 1,827 hours they work a year add up to little more than 35 hours a week.You have to factor in six weeks of vacation before they even begin to approach a 40-hour workweek.
  • Lower Pay
    What the police services board is offering
  • A four-year deal with pay increases of 3.75 per cent in the first year and 3 per cent each of the next three years.
  • What the cop union says
  • Police won’t be the best paid and deserve more because policing is more challenging in Toronto and the cost of living is higher.
  • The reality
  • This wage offer would bring a first-class constable’s annual salary to $75, 791 a year, the highest in the country.
  • Most of T.O.’s finest live outside the city.
  • Reduced Benefits
    What the police services board is offering cops for staying on the force
  • Salary top-ups of 3 per cent after eight years, 6 per cent after 17 years and 9 per cent after 23 years.
  • Effective January 1, the amounts will be reduced to 2, 3 and 4 per cent respectively.
  • What the cop union says
  • The offer is “a significant” takeaway.
  • Reduction in percentage increases means an officer would earn $50,000 less over the duration of his or her career.
  • The reality
  • Cops are still sitting pretty. Salaries have risen by more than 20 per cent between 1997 and 2004, while the consumer price index has risen by about 14 per cent.
  • Here’s what cops in North America earn after three years’ service

    Click for larger image

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