Media Releases

Amherst Police Association Signs New Contract 20240611

DATE: June 11, 2024

AMHERST, Nova Scotia – A new five-year collective agreement has been reached between the Town of Amherst and the Atlantic Police Association Local 104, which will take effect retroactively to April 1, 2024.

At a special Council meeting today, Amherst Town Council unanimously voted to accept the proposed 5 year agreement. “This is the second consecutive contract that the Town and the police union have successfully completed negotiations without the use of legal counsel or an arbitrator in more than 40 years”, said Mayor David Kogon. “Our everyday relationship with the Amherst Police Department is strong, and so is our mutual interest in providing sustainable, community-based municipal policing for the Town of Amherst.”

The new agreement will expire on March 31, 2029, and includes a schedule of annual wage increases for constables: Year 1: 5%; Year 2: 4.75%; Year 3: 4.5%; Year 4: 4.5%; and, Year 5: 4.25%.
Corporals are set to receive 2% per year above the standard increases, and sergeants an additional 1% above the annual increases. Year one of the contract will cost approximately $180,000.

During negotiations, a goal was established to improve overall working conditions and quality of life for unionized members of the Amherst Police Department. One new initiative will support this goal by focusing on employees’ mental health, and it involves the Town’s commitment to contribute $20,000 to a fund supporting and subsidizing counselling services for officers.
Changes were implemented to help improve overall quality of life with increased flexibility in scheduling.

As a carry-over from the 2019 negotiations, it was determined to remove the position of Staff Sergeant from the bargaining unit and have that be replaced by the non-union position of Inspector. This new contract sees that change take effect.

“The negotiating team appreciated the approach that was taken by management during the course of these negotiations and, moving forward, it’s nice to come out of these negotiations with no animosity towards the Town or APD management,” said APA Local 104 President Sergeant Jason Galloway. “It was easy to have a calm and respectful approach to negotiations when everyone is working towards a common goal; that being the betterment of the department.”

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Kim Jones
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