Federal pensions getting in shape • T’is not the season for bonuses • Smile, you’re on Candid Camera • Pay equity more important than Olympics: Union • Ottawa reviewing labour standards • Best Buy hit by ageism complaint
Federal pensions getting in shape
Toronto — Canada’s federally regulated pension plans showed improvements on funding deficits in 2004, but aren’t out of the woods yet, according to Ottawa’s financial services watchdog, Nicholas Le Pan, superintendent of financial institutions. About half of the 10 per cent of Canadian defined benefit plans under federal jurisdiction are in deficit but many took steps to deal with the crisis caused by low interest rates and a decline in stock prices, Le Pan told the Economic Club of Toronto last month. “I regard the situation as manageable but tenuous.”
T’is not the season for bonuses
Toronto — No holiday bonus this year? You’re not alone. Just 33 per cent of Canadian organizations offered staff a bonus for the holiday season, according to a survey of 117 employers by Hewitt Associates. Most (58 per cent) have never offered a bonus, and nine per cent said they had once given a bonus but discontinued the practice. Employers prefer to use discretionary compensation for performance-based reward programs, said Todd Mathers, a consultant at Hewitt’s Toronto office. The corporate party continues to be the preferred method for employers to show their appreciation, with 88 per cent of employers (up from 80 per cent in 2003) hosting a holiday party this year.
Smile, you’re on Candid Camera
Winnipeg — A worker at CN Rail’s Transcona Wheel Shop was shocked recently when he found a surveillance camera behind a screen in an overhead air duct. CN said it put cameras in the ceiling because it suspected equipment was being vandalized. Jim Feeny, a spokesman for CN, said two hidden cameras were installed over the common work area a week before they were discovered but weren’t recording and would only be used for a limited time. The CAW said it is considering filing a grievance against CN and filing a complaint with the federal privacy commissioner. The union may have a case under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, the privacy law that governs federally regulated employers such as CN.
Pay equity more important than Olympics: Union
Vancouver — Bell Canada should not be spending $200 million to sponsor the 2010 Winter Olympics until it pays 5,000 current and former operators who are owed up to $500 million in back pay, according to the British Columbia Federation of Labour. The federation says Bell committed to a pay equity settlement more than a decade ago, but “has since reneged and is stalling on settling the claim.”
Ottawa reviewing labour standards
Ottawa — The federal government has struck a new commission to review the federal labour standards, Part III of the Canada Labour Code. Joe Fontana, Minister of Labour and Housing, announced world renowned legal scholar and labour law expert Harry Arthurs would lead the commission. Changes to the workplace arising from demographic shifts, the introduction of new technologies and greater work-life balance issues, prompted the review, said Fontana. Arthurs will be supported by an advisory panel including representatives from business and labour. The final report of the review and recommendations are to be submitted to the Minister of Labour and Housing by January 2006.
Best Buy hit by ageism complaint
Richfield, Minn. — Electronics retailer Best Buy is facing a class-action lawsuit from 44 former workers in the United States who claim they were fired because of their age. The suit alleges the company terminated the plaintiffs and other older information systems employees based on their ages, in violation of anti-discrimination laws. The plaintiffs range in age from 40 to 71. Stephen Snyder, attorney for the plaintiffs, said many of the workers received stellar performance reviews and bonuses at their most recent reviews. “Workers in information technology can be particularly vulnerable to age bias,” said Snyder. “There seems to be a misperception that only younger workers are able to keep up with new technologies.
Toronto — Canada’s federally regulated pension plans showed improvements on funding deficits in 2004, but aren’t out of the woods yet, according to Ottawa’s financial services watchdog, Nicholas Le Pan, superintendent of financial institutions. About half of the 10 per cent of Canadian defined benefit plans under federal jurisdiction are in deficit but many took steps to deal with the crisis caused by low interest rates and a decline in stock prices, Le Pan told the Economic Club of Toronto last month. “I regard the situation as manageable but tenuous.”
T’is not the season for bonuses
Toronto — No holiday bonus this year? You’re not alone. Just 33 per cent of Canadian organizations offered staff a bonus for the holiday season, according to a survey of 117 employers by Hewitt Associates. Most (58 per cent) have never offered a bonus, and nine per cent said they had once given a bonus but discontinued the practice. Employers prefer to use discretionary compensation for performance-based reward programs, said Todd Mathers, a consultant at Hewitt’s Toronto office. The corporate party continues to be the preferred method for employers to show their appreciation, with 88 per cent of employers (up from 80 per cent in 2003) hosting a holiday party this year.
Smile, you’re on Candid Camera
Winnipeg — A worker at CN Rail’s Transcona Wheel Shop was shocked recently when he found a surveillance camera behind a screen in an overhead air duct. CN said it put cameras in the ceiling because it suspected equipment was being vandalized. Jim Feeny, a spokesman for CN, said two hidden cameras were installed over the common work area a week before they were discovered but weren’t recording and would only be used for a limited time. The CAW said it is considering filing a grievance against CN and filing a complaint with the federal privacy commissioner. The union may have a case under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, the privacy law that governs federally regulated employers such as CN.
Pay equity more important than Olympics: Union
Vancouver — Bell Canada should not be spending $200 million to sponsor the 2010 Winter Olympics until it pays 5,000 current and former operators who are owed up to $500 million in back pay, according to the British Columbia Federation of Labour. The federation says Bell committed to a pay equity settlement more than a decade ago, but “has since reneged and is stalling on settling the claim.”
Ottawa reviewing labour standards
Ottawa — The federal government has struck a new commission to review the federal labour standards, Part III of the Canada Labour Code. Joe Fontana, Minister of Labour and Housing, announced world renowned legal scholar and labour law expert Harry Arthurs would lead the commission. Changes to the workplace arising from demographic shifts, the introduction of new technologies and greater work-life balance issues, prompted the review, said Fontana. Arthurs will be supported by an advisory panel including representatives from business and labour. The final report of the review and recommendations are to be submitted to the Minister of Labour and Housing by January 2006.
Best Buy hit by ageism complaint
Richfield, Minn. — Electronics retailer Best Buy is facing a class-action lawsuit from 44 former workers in the United States who claim they were fired because of their age. The suit alleges the company terminated the plaintiffs and other older information systems employees based on their ages, in violation of anti-discrimination laws. The plaintiffs range in age from 40 to 71. Stephen Snyder, attorney for the plaintiffs, said many of the workers received stellar performance reviews and bonuses at their most recent reviews. “Workers in information technology can be particularly vulnerable to age bias,” said Snyder. “There seems to be a misperception that only younger workers are able to keep up with new technologies.
