The City of Kamloops says it is moving ahead with its Community Services Officers program as it has “resolved all outstanding issues” it had with CUPE Local 900, ending a four-year long labour relations dispute.

The union filed for arbitration in 2020 following the restructuring of the former bylaws department, which affected 32 employees – the majority of whom either found new jobs elsewhere with the City, left with severance pay, or chose to retire.

Last August, arbitrator Andrew Sims ruled that while the City had the right to restructure its bylaws department, it violated its collective agreement with the union, by including probation in new job descriptions, by altering shift work, and by bringing in a new physical fitness test.

Sims also dismissed CUPE Local 900’s claim that it had a contractual right to resist the creation of a new position and to arbitrate the issue if there was an impasse.

In his ruling – which was upheld by the BC Labour Relations Board following an appeal by the City – Sims also said the two sides need to negotiate a way forward.

“The whole thing is essentially worked out,” CUPE Local 900 President Ken Davis told Radio NL.

“What I will say is I think, we went into it knowing kind of what the expectation of our members were, and I think the end goal that we achieved is something that I think they’re going to be happy with and that the employer is going to be happy with as well.”

Both Davis and the City said they’re not able to share details about the settlement publicly, citing confidentiality rules, though they both said they’re ready to move forward.

What I can tell you is that through mediation, the parties – so us and the employer – have come to a resolve on all outstanding matters, so everything that was covered under the arbitration,” Davis said. “As far as we’re concerned here, we’re looking to put this behind us.”

“Next steps is that we meet with all the members one on one along with the employer, and go through each individual resolve. We’re all looking to move forward together and to continue to provide the service to the community that we do.”

“We are grateful that we are able to leverage the significant benefits of the restructuring and continue to serve the community,” the City added, in a statement Wednesday.

In May of last year, Kamloops City Council moved to being a process to expand the role of the CSO’s to provide them with potential enforcement powers, as part of the plan to have them recognized as peace officers.

“We should be able to have a tiered program that allows folks who are CSO’s to respond to dog calls, parking tickets…those kinds of things, all the way up to somebody who begins those police files and operates as a junior police [officer],” Councillor Katie Neustaeter said at the time. “That would create a tremendous alleviation of stress on our RCMP.”

In Wednesday’s statement, the City said staff and Council will “continue to advocate for even more supports through the designation of Peace Officer status for the CSOs.”

“The City of Kamloops is committed to building a safe, vibrant, and resilient community and ensuring our workforce is equipped with the training and resources needed to serve Kamloops residents,” the statement said.

“The restructuring of the Community Services Division and the enhanced training provided to our CSOs is responsive to the significant changes seen in our community and the increased requirements put on municipalities to respond to those changes, particularly as they relate to crime and social disorder.”