Ontario's hydro pensions unsustainable: Report / University of Windsor imposes employment conditions on faculty
University of Windsor imposes terms and conditions on faculty
WINDSOR, ONT. — After months of failed talks, the University of Windsor has imposed new terms and conditions for members of the school’s faculty association.
"Imposing terms and conditions of employment of the administration’s own design is an extraordinary measure for an employer to take," said Anne Forrest, president of the Windsor University Faculty Association (WUFA).
The terms — implemented on July 28 — will reportedly freeze wages for the next two years. According to the faculty association, the terms are based on the university’s July 15 offer, which was rejected by the association because of its wage freeze and "costly concessions."
Along with the partial wage freeze, faculty will also reportedly see changes to their pension plan with those working over the normal retirement date continuing to pay into the pension plan until the age of 71. Faculty will also see their contribution to the plan rise from eight per cent to nine per cent in the contract’s third year.
WUFA, which represents 1,100 full-time and part-time employees, held a membership meeting on July 30.
While a strike vote was not held, the association said it is considering such a vote in the coming weeks.
Ontario's hydro pensions unsustainable: Report
TORONTO — Pensions for Ontario’s hydro agencies are not sustainable, a report revealed on Aug. 1.
Commissioned by the Ministry of Finance and penned by Jim Leech, former chief executive officer of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), the report warned pension plans for the province’s electricity suppliers are insolvent — which could leave consumers paying higher prices to subsidize the shortfalls.
That includes retirement packages at Hydro One, Ontario Power Generation, the Independent Electricity System Operator and Electrical Safety Authority, where employees have defined benefit (DB) pension plans.
In 2012, total contributions for all four plans was about $585 million, with slightly more than $100 million of that funded by employees. Not surprisingly, the plans have experienced significant market volatility and have been subjected to growing funding deficit concerns. In 2013, the cumulative unfunded liability for the four groups was approximately $490 million.
As such, Leech suggested the government modify its current pension scheme, lest the burden fall on ratepayers, citing a cost-sharing system as one viable solution.
If employees were forced to contribute 50 per cent of the cost of their pensions, for instance, it would address public concern regarding inflated electricity rates as well as introduce more incentives for both employees and employers to negotiate lower future benefits, if necessary. While both unions and companies see the need for some form of pension reform and have used the bargaining table as a forum to tackle such revisions, Leech said, on its own, bargaining is not enough to address the concerns.
"The collective bargaining process is not designed for working through complex, technical pension issues that tend to require both long-term time frames for their resolution and short-term flexibility to deal with economic downturns," the report reads.
Leech said the move towards a shared plan could be fraught under current conditions, due to the demographics of the bargaining unit, mandates and regulatory frameworks governing the agencies, union membership and contribution rates and plan benefits.
That said, the report indicated the government could reach that 50-50 cost-sharing target in five years. As well, establishing a ceiling for the contribution rates paid by employers and employees could allow funding of any existing deficits by the agencies. Ceilings require reductions in future benefits as opposed to increased contributions in the event of future deficits, the report also noted.
The Ontario government said it will be reviewing the report and consulting with union representatives to assess the recommendations ahead of the next round of collective bargaining.
