BREAK UP HRDC?
Ottawa — A House of Commons committee has recommended splitting Human Resources Development Canada into smaller departments to improve efficiency and performance. The jobs training scandal focused attention on the department, and the thinking is that its size — it accounts for 45 per cent of federal spending to the tune of $60-billion annually — is unwieldy. Responsibilities for social programs may not be a good fit with HRDC’s other human resources responsibilities, the committee stated.
AIR CANADA PLAYS HARD BALL
Montreal — Air Canada is adopting a tough bargaining position in negotiations to renew corporate discount travel rates with Canadian companies. One of the Big Five banks got a slightly less than advantageous discount deal after recent talks with the airline carrier, according to a unnamed source in the Globe & Mail. On the whole, observers warn that companies should brace themselves for less-generous travel packages now that the airline holds a monopoly.
ROTHMANS TOLD TO BUTT OUT
Toronto — Cigarette maker Rothmans Benson & Hedges Inc. was charged with violating Toronto’s workplace smoking bylaw by letting employees smoke at their desks. And it lost a bid for smoking rights in Brampton, Ont., where it plans to move some employees. The company contends they need to test products, not unlike a bakery or brewery, with actual people doing the testing. The company plans to fight Toronto’s charges. But Brampton has agreed to look at alternative arrangements to accommodate the company’s needs.
INCO BAGS EARNING-BASED DEAL
Toronto — Inco Ltd., the world’s second-largest nickel miner, has brought the 3,400 Ontario United Steelworkers of America employees in as cost cutting partners by basing an hourly bonus on operating profit. In a previous contract, Inco had agreed to a rare provision based on the price of nickel. The bonus that is highest of the two approaches will be paid to the workers. The “earnings-based compensation” agreement gives each worker an hourly bonus of 25 cents for each $10 million US of operating profit from the Ontario division. Based on the division’s first quarter earnings, each worker would get an additional $3 CDN per hour. Wayne Fraser, union co-ordinator for the Sudbury area said the contract recognizes the contribution its members made as part of a major cost-reduction program, which helped to save $270 million US.
NOTHING LIKE FAMILY
Montreal — Ivaco Inc.’s chief executive Paul Ivanier defended a massive bonus for high performance given to himself and family members in senior positions at the steel company. A handpicked compensation committee doled out $10.5 million last year alone in bonuses to Ivanier, president and CEO, and his four immediate subordinates, including his brother, Sydney Ivanier, his uncle Michael Herling and his brother-in-law, Albert Kassab. Another 27 senior executives shared a further $8 million in bonus money.
TIME TO CONSULT?
Toronto — HR functions are rapidly being outsourced, shows a survey by Buck Consultants. Outsourcing HR and Employee Benefits found that last year 58 per cent of companies outsourced employee training, compared with 22 per cent in 1996. Overall, 70 per cent of organizations outsource some of their benefit functions, compared to just 47 per cent in 1996. And 40 per cent outsource their recruitment efforts.
TEACHERS VOTE TO DITCH TALISMAN
Toronto — The Ontario Teachers Federation’s executive committee, representing 144,000 teachers, has voted in favour of its powerful retirement fund, the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board, divesting its $191.5 million stake in Talisman Energy Inc. because of the Calgary oil company’s controversial Sudan operations. The pension board is reviewing the request.
HARGROVE ACCUSED OF “SCABBING IT”
Toronto — Buzz Hargrove, president of the Canadian Auto Workers union, was accused of organizing scab workers at the union, which is in the midst of a strike by its support staff. The CAW’s 92 administrative workers set up picket lines at union offices across Canada. The workers, secretaries and clerks who are almost all women, are seeking the same pension benefits as senior union officials, known as “staff representatives,” who earn nearly twice as much as the support workers and are nearly all men.
Ottawa — A House of Commons committee has recommended splitting Human Resources Development Canada into smaller departments to improve efficiency and performance. The jobs training scandal focused attention on the department, and the thinking is that its size — it accounts for 45 per cent of federal spending to the tune of $60-billion annually — is unwieldy. Responsibilities for social programs may not be a good fit with HRDC’s other human resources responsibilities, the committee stated.
AIR CANADA PLAYS HARD BALL
Montreal — Air Canada is adopting a tough bargaining position in negotiations to renew corporate discount travel rates with Canadian companies. One of the Big Five banks got a slightly less than advantageous discount deal after recent talks with the airline carrier, according to a unnamed source in the Globe & Mail. On the whole, observers warn that companies should brace themselves for less-generous travel packages now that the airline holds a monopoly.
ROTHMANS TOLD TO BUTT OUT
Toronto — Cigarette maker Rothmans Benson & Hedges Inc. was charged with violating Toronto’s workplace smoking bylaw by letting employees smoke at their desks. And it lost a bid for smoking rights in Brampton, Ont., where it plans to move some employees. The company contends they need to test products, not unlike a bakery or brewery, with actual people doing the testing. The company plans to fight Toronto’s charges. But Brampton has agreed to look at alternative arrangements to accommodate the company’s needs.
INCO BAGS EARNING-BASED DEAL
Toronto — Inco Ltd., the world’s second-largest nickel miner, has brought the 3,400 Ontario United Steelworkers of America employees in as cost cutting partners by basing an hourly bonus on operating profit. In a previous contract, Inco had agreed to a rare provision based on the price of nickel. The bonus that is highest of the two approaches will be paid to the workers. The “earnings-based compensation” agreement gives each worker an hourly bonus of 25 cents for each $10 million US of operating profit from the Ontario division. Based on the division’s first quarter earnings, each worker would get an additional $3 CDN per hour. Wayne Fraser, union co-ordinator for the Sudbury area said the contract recognizes the contribution its members made as part of a major cost-reduction program, which helped to save $270 million US.
NOTHING LIKE FAMILY
Montreal — Ivaco Inc.’s chief executive Paul Ivanier defended a massive bonus for high performance given to himself and family members in senior positions at the steel company. A handpicked compensation committee doled out $10.5 million last year alone in bonuses to Ivanier, president and CEO, and his four immediate subordinates, including his brother, Sydney Ivanier, his uncle Michael Herling and his brother-in-law, Albert Kassab. Another 27 senior executives shared a further $8 million in bonus money.
TIME TO CONSULT?
Toronto — HR functions are rapidly being outsourced, shows a survey by Buck Consultants. Outsourcing HR and Employee Benefits found that last year 58 per cent of companies outsourced employee training, compared with 22 per cent in 1996. Overall, 70 per cent of organizations outsource some of their benefit functions, compared to just 47 per cent in 1996. And 40 per cent outsource their recruitment efforts.
TEACHERS VOTE TO DITCH TALISMAN
Toronto — The Ontario Teachers Federation’s executive committee, representing 144,000 teachers, has voted in favour of its powerful retirement fund, the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board, divesting its $191.5 million stake in Talisman Energy Inc. because of the Calgary oil company’s controversial Sudan operations. The pension board is reviewing the request.
HARGROVE ACCUSED OF “SCABBING IT”
Toronto — Buzz Hargrove, president of the Canadian Auto Workers union, was accused of organizing scab workers at the union, which is in the midst of a strike by its support staff. The CAW’s 92 administrative workers set up picket lines at union offices across Canada. The workers, secretaries and clerks who are almost all women, are seeking the same pension benefits as senior union officials, known as “staff representatives,” who earn nearly twice as much as the support workers and are nearly all men.
