The National Police Federation announced this week that its 18,000 members and reservists would begin collective bargaining with the federal government following a 97 per cent vote in favour of unionizing.

The march toward organizing a union has been on since 2015 when the Supreme Court of Canada found a rule prohibiting RCMP members from collective bargaining was unconstitutional.

It will take some time for the fledgling union to get up and running, but one of the main bargaining points will be pay disparity with municipal police, said Brian Sauvé, co-chair of the federation.

A constable from North Vancouver is paid about $14,000 per year less than a Vancouver colleague of similar rank, Sauvé said.

“How much overtime do you have to work to make up that shortfall in order to provide quality of life for your family and how does that impact your work-life balance?”