HALIFAX, Nova Scotia -- About 200 members of a motorcycle gang known as the '13th tribe' began roaring into the capital of Nova Scotia with a small force of non-striking policemen and Canadian Mounties on alert.
Only about a dozen of the 13th tribe had arrived by late Friday during the police strike and slipped into a local bar without incident. Arriving from Montreal and Toronto, they were said to be planning the opening of a new clubhouse.
'We think the rest may show up in the morning,' said one officer who refused to take part in the strike.
About 80 non-striking officers, assisted by a small force of Mounties, were put on alert in case of trouble.
While the first arrivals among the bikers drank and partied, striking policemen and the city both rejected a proposal for binding arbitration by Nova Scotia Labor Minister Ken Streatch.
The proposal could have enabled the policemen to go back to work while arbitrators tried to resolve a contract dispute between the patrolman's association and the city, but neither the police nor the city liked the proposal.
'The present strike is a dispute between the police and the city of Halifax, and as such it should be settled by the parties directly involved,' said Halifax mayor Ron Wallace.
Local youths and vandals took advantage of the police strike last weekend to to go on a spree of looting and drag-racing up and down a half-mile section of Gottingen Street, a main shopping throughfare where the Halifax police headquarters is also located.
Police superintendent Edward Wilson said his small force of officers was ready in case of more violence this weekend, when on top of everything else, the motorcyclists were due to roar into town.
'We will have more patrols than last weekend,' Wilson said. 'We will be prepared for anything that may develop because we were caught napping last time.'
The strike by 196 patrolmen began last Friday and mediation efforts have since broken down.
Union president Roy Landry said the strikers would 'definitely not' assist the non-striking policemen in the event of more violence this weekend.
Government-appointed mediators brought police and city negotiators back to bargaining Thursday night for the first time since mid-April, but the talks collapsed again after three hours.
'We made some concessions on our benefits package, but not on salary,' said union negotiator Joe Ross. 'The city never made us a counter offer ... so we withdrew our modified offer, and we're back to step one.'
The union sought to increase a constable's salary of $20,000 to $27,000 by 1982. The city's last offer would have raised salaries to $24,700 at the end of next year.
Wilson said patrols were being increased while the '13th Tribe' motorcycle gang was in town to open their clubhouse.
'This was a pre-planned event,' Wilson said. 'We have people ready and available. The motorcycle gang will be watching us as much as we'll be watching them.'
Government-appointed mediators Stan Farris and Bill McCallum brought police and city negotiators back to bargaining Thursday night for the first time since mid-April, but the talks collapsed again after three hours.
'We made some concessions on our benefits package, but not on salary,' said union negotiator Joe Ross. 'The city never made us a counter offer ... so we withdrew our modified offer, and we're back to step one.'
The union sought to increase a constable's salary of $20,000 to $27,000 by 1982. The city's last offer would have raised salaries to $24,700 at the end of next year.
Landry said the patrolmen would not reject any further mediation attempts by the labor ministry.
'We're concerned the strike is going to go on for a long time. We're also concerned about a split in our department (between constables and officers). That's why we made the new offer,' Landry said.
Nova Scotia Labor Minister Ken Streatch said 'no further meetings are planned at this time.' He said he 'preferred' a negotiated settlement and had 'not given any serious consideration' to back-to-work legislation.
