ENRON COLLAPSE PROMPTS U.S. PENSION LAW REVIEW
Washington, D.C. — U.S. President George Bush’s administration is launching a review of retirement plan regulations in the wake of the collapse of Enron Corp. In December, the energy firm filed the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. This month, the government launched a criminal investigation of Enron that will determine if the firm broke laws by deceiving investors — including employees whose retirement plans were hurt when company stock included in their plans plummeted but they were barred from selling it — by hiding severe financial problems.
THREE-YEAR UNEMPLOYMENT HIGH
Ottawa — Canada’s unemployment rate hit eight per cent, last month, a jump from 7.5 per cent the month before. The three-year high represents 1.3-million people looking for work, Statistics Canada reports. Woes in British Columbia’s forestry industry contributed to the province’s unemployment rate hitting 9.7 per cent. In Ontario, the effects of this month’s announced closing of Ford’s Oakville plant are still to come.
I.T. SALARIES FLAT
Toronto — Base compensation for starting salaries in information technology should be virtually unchanged in 2002, a new survey states. Starting salaries across the profession should rise just 0.1 per cent this year, with e-commerce analysts and help desk specialists seeing a 3.7-per-cent increase, IT-staffing firm RHI Consulting’s 2002 Salary Guide reports. Demand will be high for IT security specialists due to increasing interest in protecting data. For a free copy of the salary guide visit www.rhic.com.
NON-PROFIT EXEC COMP UP
Toronto — Senior management at associations, charities and other non-profit organizations saw their 2001 salaries return to 1999 levels after a drop in 2000, a survey shows. More than 650 organizations were polled by the Canadian Society of Association Executives to produce the Association Executive Benefits and Compensation Report. For more info visit www.csae.com/
compensation.
ALTA. government JOB CUTS
Edmonton — Positions will likely be eliminated from Alberta’s 22,000-person strong public service by cutting vacant positions, Premier Ralph Klein says. To avoid a projected $300 million budget deficit, deputy ministers have been told to maintain productivity in the bureaucracy with fewer people, avoiding layoffs through attrition.
THE NEVER-ENDING PAY EQUITY CASE
Ottawa — In a pay equity dispute that began in the early ’90s, the Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear Bell Canada’s argument that the Canadian Human Rights Commission should not have the power to send a case before a tribunal because the process is not sufficiently independent or impartial. The ruling affects 22,000 current and former, mostly female operators and clerical staff. Bell could be ordered to pay about $150 million, but the Court’s decision to hear the appeal of an earlier ruling may add another two years to the case’s history. A decision in Bell’s favour would have far-reaching implications for Canada’s human-rights process.
CONCESSIONS SAVE ALGOMA
Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. — Employees at Algoma Steel in Northern Ontario have agreed to 15-per-cent pay cuts to save the company from bankruptcy. The cuts were a precondition for a restructuring plan that will save 3,800 jobs. About 350 jobs will be cut through attrition and a retirement incentive plan; salaries will return to current levels by the end of 2003.å
Washington, D.C. — U.S. President George Bush’s administration is launching a review of retirement plan regulations in the wake of the collapse of Enron Corp. In December, the energy firm filed the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. This month, the government launched a criminal investigation of Enron that will determine if the firm broke laws by deceiving investors — including employees whose retirement plans were hurt when company stock included in their plans plummeted but they were barred from selling it — by hiding severe financial problems.
THREE-YEAR UNEMPLOYMENT HIGH
Ottawa — Canada’s unemployment rate hit eight per cent, last month, a jump from 7.5 per cent the month before. The three-year high represents 1.3-million people looking for work, Statistics Canada reports. Woes in British Columbia’s forestry industry contributed to the province’s unemployment rate hitting 9.7 per cent. In Ontario, the effects of this month’s announced closing of Ford’s Oakville plant are still to come.
I.T. SALARIES FLAT
Toronto — Base compensation for starting salaries in information technology should be virtually unchanged in 2002, a new survey states. Starting salaries across the profession should rise just 0.1 per cent this year, with e-commerce analysts and help desk specialists seeing a 3.7-per-cent increase, IT-staffing firm RHI Consulting’s 2002 Salary Guide reports. Demand will be high for IT security specialists due to increasing interest in protecting data. For a free copy of the salary guide visit www.rhic.com.
NON-PROFIT EXEC COMP UP
Toronto — Senior management at associations, charities and other non-profit organizations saw their 2001 salaries return to 1999 levels after a drop in 2000, a survey shows. More than 650 organizations were polled by the Canadian Society of Association Executives to produce the Association Executive Benefits and Compensation Report. For more info visit www.csae.com/
compensation.
ALTA. government JOB CUTS
Edmonton — Positions will likely be eliminated from Alberta’s 22,000-person strong public service by cutting vacant positions, Premier Ralph Klein says. To avoid a projected $300 million budget deficit, deputy ministers have been told to maintain productivity in the bureaucracy with fewer people, avoiding layoffs through attrition.
THE NEVER-ENDING PAY EQUITY CASE
Ottawa — In a pay equity dispute that began in the early ’90s, the Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear Bell Canada’s argument that the Canadian Human Rights Commission should not have the power to send a case before a tribunal because the process is not sufficiently independent or impartial. The ruling affects 22,000 current and former, mostly female operators and clerical staff. Bell could be ordered to pay about $150 million, but the Court’s decision to hear the appeal of an earlier ruling may add another two years to the case’s history. A decision in Bell’s favour would have far-reaching implications for Canada’s human-rights process.
CONCESSIONS SAVE ALGOMA
Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. — Employees at Algoma Steel in Northern Ontario have agreed to 15-per-cent pay cuts to save the company from bankruptcy. The cuts were a precondition for a restructuring plan that will save 3,800 jobs. About 350 jobs will be cut through attrition and a retirement incentive plan; salaries will return to current levels by the end of 2003.å
