CUPE locals say Halifax Water misleading ratepayers on pension deficit figure

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA–(Marketwired – May 14, 2015) – With the clock now ticking toward a strike or lockout, unionized employees with Halifax Water say their employer is misleading the public and ratepayers about the size of its pension deficit.

On May 12 on News 95.7’s ‘The Sheldon MacLeod Show’, Halifax Water spokesperson James Campbell said, “We have a pension plan that in its present form is not sustainable. We have a $48M unfunded liability and we can’t afford it.”

Campbell used the same figure again on Global TV, May 13.

CUPE Pension Researcher Kevin Skerrett says, “In fact, the Commission’s own Annual Report indicates that the relevant actuarial pension deficit was actually $27 million as of January 1, 2014. The changes and benefit reductions that the union has proposed in bargaining would reduce that deficit down to a level of about $19 million.

“We are left to conclude that Mr. Campbell has chosen to refer to a different calculation of the deficit that sounds much worse but does not actually reflect funding requirements. It is nothing less than deceptive to publicly reference this $48M figure, which inflates the actual problem by more than 40%.

“Most importantly, it is not going to help us get a settlement if the employer is referencing this highly misleading accounting figure that in no way determines pension costs. This reflects badly on the employer’s credibility on the pension issue,” says Skerrett.

CUPE says it is willing to go back to the table, but at this critical point in bargaining, Halifax Water should be more interested in bargaining with its employees rather than attempting to mislead the public.

Local 227 represents 230 outside workers with Halifax Water, while Local 1431 represents 105 inside workers.

Contact Information

  • Kevin Skerrett
    CUPE Pension Specialist
    (613) 864-1590 (c)
  • John McCracken
    CUPE Communications Representative
    (902) 880-8057 (c)

MEDIA ADVISORY: Halifax Water inside and outside workers to hold news conference as strike/lockout looms

See The Original News Release Here!

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA–(Marketwired – May 7, 2015) – Unionized employees with Halifax Water, members of CUPE Locals 227 and 1431, will hold a joint news conference to talk about outstanding issues in bargaining as a strike/lockout looms.

Both locals are in conciliation scheduled for today and tomorrow (May 8, 2015), but talks are not going well.

The two outstanding issues are an employer demand for major pension concessions and wages.

WHERE: CUPE Regional Office, 271 Brownlow Avenue in Burnside (Corner of Eileen Stubbs and Brownlow)

WHO: Kevin Skerrett, CUPE Pension Researcher
Dave Dort, President CUPE Local 227 (outside workers)
Heather Corkum, President CUPE Local 1431 (inside workers)

WHEN: Friday, May 8 at 1:15 pm

CONTACT INFORMATION
John McCracken
CUPE Communications Representative
(902) 880-8057 (c)

Information Picket Notice

Download The Official Bulletin Here!

WHO:
       Members of CUPE Locals 227 and 1431
WHAT:     Information Picket – We need you!
WHEN:     Tuesday, May 12th, 2015 at 5:00pm
WHERE:   Halifax City Hall – Grand Parade
WHY:       The employer is attacking our pension plan resulting in major concessions to our retirement. They have also offered us a wage package that is less than the cost of living. We need to stand up and let the employer know that we are NOT bargaining away our futures!

In Solidarity,
CUPE Local 1431 Executive

 

April 15 Meeting Update

Dear Sisters and Brothers of CUPE Local 1431,

First, let us say how much we appreciate everyone who was able to attend our joint information meeting on April 15. We know how hard it is to get to meetings and that there have been lots of meetings and information coming your way in the past few weeks. There will be much more in the coming weeks, but that’s because your support is vital in this continued fight we have with our employer. We were also pleased to have CUPE National Pension Researcher Kevin Skerrett and CUPE Atlantic Communications Rep. John McCracken with us at the meeting.

We gave the members in attendance a quick update on the outstanding items for both locals. While there remains a gap in proposals between the union and the employer on wages and monetary items, our greatest battle is the protection of our Pension Plan.

Our Pension Plan is part of our total wage package. It is the wages that we are currently earning and have deferred to future payments. It is our mandate to keep it as whole as we possibly can, while being mindful that the plan, in the employer’s words, has to be ‘sustainable’. The Actuary that we hired in the spring told us that the plan needed a small tweak to be sustainable. We have worked with the employer to make smaller changes that we can live with and stand behind. We have shown that these changes will save Halifax Water millions of dollars in the next 10-15 years. This was not good enough for the employer, and their latest offer to the union was potentially as devastating to our promised future compensation as their initial proposal that we fought off. This is completely unacceptable.

Stay tuned to hear more from us about membership mobilization activities and events in the days ahead. For ongoing member updates, visit our closed Facebook group Your Water & Wastewater – Our Work. Together, in solidarity, we will be successful in this round of negotiations!

On behalf of your Executive and Bargaining Teams,

In Solidarity,

Heather Corkum
President, CUPE Local 1431
heather.cupe.local1431@outlook.com