WINNIPEG – In front of two council galleries packed with dozens of police officers, Winnipeg city council has voted 9-7 to make changes to the police pension plan.
Thursday’s council meeting also saw people standing outside the council chamber, with no room left inside.
The final vote on scaling back the police pension also carried a motion about using some of the savings to pay for officer salaries.
The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce was the first delegation to speak in support of the plan, calling the pension a “cost driver.”
The officers’ union was up next, arguing the city can’t legally make the changes to what it says is part of a signed collective agreement.
The changes passed by council include the removal of overtime as a pensionable earning, an increase in officer contributions and alterations to early retirement provisions.
The union says it has filed a grievance over the issue.
Mayor Brian Bowman has said the pension is not sustainable.
