Just hours after Yellowknife’s Municipal Enforcement Officers (MED) threatened targeted job action to start on Monday, the city announced a tentative contract agreement had been reached.

While the potential of un-enforced metered parking downtown might have sounded good to some residents, the lack of traffic control for most festivals and events would be a major concern to others.

On Friday afternoon, Kerry Thistle, director of Economic Opportunities and Investment, announced “last-minute negotiations throughout” that morning with PSAC Local X0345 reached a tentative agreement to end that targeted job action.

“The terms of the agreement cannot yet be shared, and a media blackout will continue, until union members ratify the agreement,” she stated in a release.

In its 6 am Friday release, the union stated job action was necessary due to “the employer’s refusal to address longstanding workforce classification issues.”

Josée-Anne Spirito, PSAC North regional executive vice-president, stated: “Without this reclassification, wage gaps will persist for the duration of the next agreement, and officers will be under compensated compared to their peers within the city and in other western Canadian jurisdictions.”

Here’s how Monday’s workday would have looked for the by-law officers:

• Traffic enforcement only in for school zones.
• No parking enforcement.
• No patrols downtown areas or homeless encampments.
• No traffic control for city-run or sponsored festivals and events.
• No court appearances for challenged citations, unless compelled by court order.

UNW President Gayla Thunstrom stated: “Just last month we saw a presentation to City Council about the value of the increased MED presence downtown and how it’s making residents feel safer — and yet they aren’t showing any of that appreciation at the bargaining table.”

Conciliation talks broke down on September 12th