Indexing gone, DB plan capped in new contract
The bitter conclusion to a 49-week lock-out of United Steelworkers at Hamilton’s U.S. Steel plant left the company with most of what it wanted.
With EI benefits running out and the company musing about shutting the mill, the 900-odd hourly employees of the former Stelco Hilton Works voted unenthusiastically for a new collective agreement on Oct. 15.
Two of the company’s principle demands — the end of the defined-benefit pension plan for new employees and the end to indexation for retirees — figured in the tentative agreement.
In a situation more common in the U.S. than in Canada, the 900 active employees at U.S. Steel represent 9,000 retirees at the table.
The loss of indexation for pensioners will be buffered by a $1,000 lump sum for those whose benefits are $1,500 per month or less.
In the negotiations between the 24 Ontario community colleges and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, representing support workers, hours of work was a central issue. The colleges wanted to be able to create compressed workweeks and to institute flexible work schedules with no recourse for the employee.
The union was able to moderate these demands: employees must agree to the changes and there is an eight-week transition period.
Wages will increase by 1.5 per cent in the first year, 1.75 per cent in the second and two per cent in the third.
In Saskatchewan, the employees of the provincial insurance provider, SGI, have seen their retirement gratuity, the Retirement Allowance Program, transformed into an on-going benefit.
Rather than being banked for retirement, the 24 hours’ pay per year can be diverted to an RRSP contribution, the Heath Care Spending Account, a pension contribution or taken as cash.
