DB pension plan benefits continually reduced since 2011: IAM
After almost two years of negotiations following the expiry of the collective agreement on June 30, 2017, workers at the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), who are members of the Canadian Union of Labour Representatives (CURC) rejected the most recent offer from the employer and went on strike on Oct. 15.
The main issues are the employer’s wanting to impose a non-monetary concession on language of the anti-harassment policy within the existing agreement, as well as terms of the employee’s defined benefit pension plan. The CLC also proposed only modest wage improvements to keep pace with inflation, says the union.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), Local 3111, represents the majority of staff in offices from British Columbia to Newfoundland and Labrador, says the union.
The employer tabled language to eradicate a provision within the anti-harassment policy which ensures that a complainant/survivor in a harassment issue has meaningful and effective determination on whether a harassment complaint is referred to an outside third party for investigation, says IAMAW.
“Since 2011, workers at the CLC have suffered significant reductions in the accrual rate of the pension plan, have been forced to contribute nine weeks of deferred salary or severance into the plan since that time, have increased employees payroll contribution rate by nearly 30 per cent and have a cap on their pensionable earnings that falls far below the actual earnings of the majority of the staff,” says Neil Giroux IAMAW special representative.
