Negotiations Update – ARINC International of Canada bargaining unit

Collective bargaining between ARINC International of Canada and the Public Service Alliance of Canada resumed January 19 to 21, 2010.

The parties agreed and signed off on two (2) additional items (Arbitration and Call-back) bringing up to ten (10) the number of signed off items after four (4) negotiation sessions. There are over twenty (20) issues currently being dealt with where the parties have been holding discussions and exchanging proposals. The Union has approximately ten (10) issues left to present including Hours of Work, Vacation Leave, Insurance Plans, Pension, Duration and Wages.

The next session is tentatively booked for mid-March.

This new unit of approximately 20 members provide, amongst many other duties, technical support for computers and computer networks. They also operate a help-desk responding to customer calls at the Vancouver International Airport.

January 12, 2010

On January 4, 300 HMS Host workers at the Vancouver Airport (YVR) received notice that the company was prepared to lock them out within 72 hours. Host workers have been working without a union contract since March 2009. The lockout notice came unprovoked. Workers had not taken a strike vote or job action.
Surprisingly, Host is prepared to lock out 300 food service workers on the eve of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. YVR will see record traffic from Olympics visitors in the month of February during the 3 weeks of the Olympics and as well as before and after the Games. The Host workers affected by the lockout notice work at 18 food, beverage and retail outlets at YVR. Host committee leader Uli De la Rosa said, “we are the ambassadors for the Olympics visitors. We are the first ones visitors see when they come to Vancouver.”
Host workers are fighting for job security, better wages and improved benefits eligibility. Sixty workers at a Milestones Restaurant operated by Host at YVR will lost their jobs immediately after the Olympics when Host closes the restaurant and opens a White Spot restaurant nearby. Host has told workers the White Spot will be non-union. Wages are also a big issue as many Host workers start at little more than minimum wage.
Host committee leader and Tim Horton’s cashier, Cora Asiatico commented on the lockout notice, “it’s like a slap in the face. All the hard work we put in, it’s going to be down the drain. But we will not be bullied. They can’t hold a gun to our heads and say ‘that’s it for you’.”
Committee leader Kam Ram, working at YVR for 19 years said, “I never expected this from the company. But we are fighters, we are going to fight for this. Those are our brothers and sisters at Milestones. We have to support them for their job security. What’s happening to them can affect any of us.”
On January 9, Host workers held an emergency membership meeting and voted unanimously to defy the lockout threat and stay strong on their contract demands. In preparation for lockout, the Host committee has signed up their co-workers for picket duty shifts.

Please visit www.uniteherelocal40.org for more information.

Negotiations Update – Servisair Inc. bargaining unit (Fuelers)

The second negotiation session between Servisair and the Public Service Alliance of Canada was held on January 7 and 8, 2010.

After only two (2) full days and two (2) half days of negotiations, the employer announced they had been working earlier today on an application for conciliation. The employer stated they needed the help of a third party and wanted a push to get it done.

Your bargaining team was surprised by the employer’s decision. We had placed all our energies towards reaching an agreement but now understand why the employer was distracted from negotiations earlier today.

We had made daily progress until now. Many issues had been resolved in the few days the parties have met and progress was made on many other issues yesterday and today. Agreement in principle was reached on the following issues / clauses:

• Employee Representatives
• Suspension and Discipline
• Staffing Procedure / Job Posting
• Grievance Procedure

We now look forward to reaching a new collective agreement before the conclusion of the Vancouver Winter Olympics and Paralympics with the assistance of a third party.

This new PSAC unit of seventy-three (73) members provides fueling and fueling related services at the Vancouver International Airport. Their collective agreement expired October 31, 2009.

Fellow pension activists,

The Finance Ministers meeting in Whitehorse is over, and we have good news to report:

1) We have shaped these discussions. Today we heard our plan to double CPP benefits, eliminate senior poverty (through a 15% increase to GIS), and introduce federal pension insurance is on the table (along with other options). Finance Ministers were also unanimous on a key point we’ve made — we need a pan-Canadian solution to fix our pension system.

2) In the next few months, we will have our chance to mobilize. Finance Ministers have committed to public consultations on pensions across Canada very soon in the new year. They will take the results of these proceedings to recommend policy options at their next meeting in May 2010. We must fill these proceedings with people willing to speak truth to power. We must bring the pension stories of working people to bear on those wanting to thwart our case for change.

3) Here’s the problem: Finance Ministers think our pension system is fine. Again and again, Finance Ministers reiterated the line that “our retirement income system is in good shape”. That we need targeted improvements for certain disadvantaged groups. They said this on the advice of two pension industry experts, one of whom thinks “the status quo is an option”.

Needless to say, we completely disagree, and we must use the upcoming consultations to challenge this flawed view.

At a time when:

…11 million Canadians don’t have a workplace pension,

…1.6 million seniors qualify for GIS benefits (and therefore earn less than $11,300 per year)

…employers use bankruptcy courts to shirk their pension promises

…average fees gouge a third of workers’ RRSP earnings,

…the status quo isn’t an option!

Sisters and brothers, rest up for now. Because in the new year, we will change the status quo. We will mobilize to ensure retirement security for everyone.

In solidarity,
Joel Harden
Canadian Labour Congress

The 2010 PSAC National Pride Conference will be held March 26 to 28, 2010 at the Toronto Hilton Hotel, Toronto, Ontario under the theme”Equality : are we there yet? The objectives of the 2010 PSAC National Pride Conference are to:

* Educate, politicize and mobilize PSAC GLBT members by making the links between union, workplace and community struggles to win, to protect and to promote GLBT rights;
* Enhance, support and promote inclusive GLBT self-organizing strategies in our Union and our workplaces;
* Strengthen solidarity amongst PSAC members, and to develop a strong collaboration between the PSAC, GLBT organizations and other human rights organizations.

PSAC members in good standing and who also identify as being from the GLBT communities may apply to this conference. Priority will be given to members who are active on GLBT issues in their union or workplace. Priority will also be given to community activist on GLBT issues. The selection of delegates will take into account representation such as Region, Component, language, gender and other equity groups. For more information click on the Registration Deadline to visit the national website.

Negotiations Update – Servisair Inc. bargaining unit (Fuelers)

Negotiations between Servisair and the Public Service Alliance of Canada commenced on December 10 and 11, 2009. The bargaining certificate for this new PSAC unit was issued by the Canada Industrial Relations Board on October 21, 2009. This unit of seventy-three (73) members provides fueling and fueling related services at the Vancouver International Airport.

The parties exchanged bargaining proposals on the first day. The employer’s proposals included rollbacks, including a freeze on wage progressions. Your bargaining team stated that we would not engage in concession bargaining.

Despite this disappointing start, agreement in principle had been reached by the second day on the following issues / clauses:

• Purpose and scope of the Agreement
• Some definitions
• Recognition
• Use of Employer facilities
• Check-off / Union dues
• Information
• Discrimination
• Maternity Leave
• Parental Leave
• Leave without pay for personal reasons
• Jury duty
• Health and Safety
• Arbitration
• Joint Consultation
• Agreement Reopener

Other issues dealt with where substantial progress was made include:

• Employee Representatives
• Harassment
• Compassionate Care Leave
• Grievance Procedure

Your bargaining team was hoping to continue the momentum of the first two (2) days in the week of December 21st. However, the employer was unable to meet until January. The next session is scheduled for January 7 and 8, 2010.

Bargaining Proposals Final Dec 10 09

OTTAWA – Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff today called on the Harper government to act on pension reforms that would help more Canadians to save for retirement and protect those who have lost pension income through bankruptcy.
“The Harper government has done little to safeguard the future for pensioners,” said Mr. Ignatieff. “The time is now for the government to step up and make saving for retirement easier and more secure for all Canadians.”
Liberal Seniors & Pensions Critic Judy Sgro, Finance Critic John McCallum and Senator Art Eggleton joined Mr. Ignatieff to present three pension reforms that need greater consideration from the Harper government:
• A Supplementary Canada Pension Plan (SCPP) to help Canadians save more
• Giving employees with stranded pensions following bankruptcy the option of growing their pension assets through the Canada Pension Plan
• Protecting vulnerable Canadians on long-term disability by giving them preferred status as creditors in case of bankruptcy
“Not enough Canadians are saving for retirement – which is why we need a hassle-free, safe and reliable way to save more,” said Mr. McCallum. “The Harper government should work with the provinces, pensioners, labour groups and the private sector to develop and implement an SCPP, which would allow Canadians to voluntarily invest extra funds in our trusted national pension.”
Supported by several provinces and pension experts, a national SCPP is one possible solution to the problem of low retirement savings. By providing an easy way for Canadians to put their extra savings towards future retirement income, an SCPP should be considered as part of reforms to the income security system that include Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement.
“How many more Canadians whose companies have gone bankrupt have to see their pension savings evaporate before the Harper government acts?” asked Ms. Sgro. “We’re demanding that the Harper government give employees with stranded pensions the option of growing their pension assets through the Canada Pension Plan.”
This voluntary option would guarantee pension principal and ensure pensions aren’t locked in when businesses go bankrupt and market conditions are at their worst, protecting them from future market turmoil.
“Many Canadians on long-term disability lost everything when their employers went bankrupt,” said Senator Eggleton. “That’s why I plan to introduce a bill in the Senate that would, if passed, give the most vulnerable on long-term disability preferred status as creditors.”
Backgrounder
Calls for government action on pension reform
Pension Facts
For a variety of reasons, Canadians aren’t saving enough for their retirement. The Harper government has to do more to encourage Canadians to save more.
One third of Canadians have have no retirement savings beyond what is offered through the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement, while another third don’t have enough retirement savings to maintain their current standard of living.
Over half of Canadian families do not belong to an employer sponsored pension plan. While the CPP covers 93% of workers, it is not is not sufficient on its own.
According to Statistics Canada, the $32.4 billion in RRSP contributions in 2006 represented only 7% of the total room available to eligible tax filers. Almost $500 billion of accumulated RRSP room remains unused.
Supplementary Canada Pension Plan
The Premiers of Alberta, BC, and Saskatchewan have all called on the federal government to create a Supplementary Canada Pension Plan (SCPP). They have also said that if the federal government does not allow this option soon, they will create their own.
Liberals are calling on the Harper government to work with the provinces, seniors, labour groups and the private sector to implement an SCPP as one possible solution to the problem of low retirement savings. An SCPP would provide an easy way for Canadians to put their extra savings towards future retirement income, and should be considered in reforms to the income security system alongside Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement.
Here’s what some Canadians are saying about the SCPP:
“We’ve got to get on with this… If they’re not ready to move, we’ll be moving in 2010 to try and make sure this gets in place as quickly as possible.” – British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell
“I don’t want to be pushy here, but I really believe it’s time for movement forward.” – Alberta Finance Minister Iris Evans
“Creating the CSPP is the logical next step for Canada as it strives to build the best retirement income system in the world.” – Keith Ambachtsheer, Rotman International Centre for Pension Management at the University of Toronto
“RRSPs have less than optimal participation rates, attract relatively high administrative and investment fees and place the burden of making investment decisions on individuals – many of whom readily acknowledge their lack of expertise in this regard.” – David Denison, President and CEO of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board
Rolling Underfunded Pension Plans into the CPP
The second initiative the Liberals are calling on the government to implement is designed to keep Canadians’ pensions secure. Currently, if a pension plan’s sponsor goes bankrupt, the assets in the pension fund must be converted into annuities. This often occurs when markets have declined sharply, which means that pensioners see a drastic reduction in the value of their pensions. The government should take the necessary steps to give pension plan beneficiaries the option to pool their plan with the CPP so that their savings can be managed for growth.
Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act Amendments for Self-Funded Long-Term Disability Plans
The third measure the government needs to take action on is aimed at protecting some of Canada’s most vulnerable pensioners – those on long-term disability. Today, if a company with self-funded long-term disability benefits goes bankrupt, employees dependent on these disability benefits stand to lose everything. This is the dire situation currently facing some 400 Nortel workers. We are calling on the government to protect the most vulnerable by agreeing to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act to move those on self-funded long-term disability benefit plans up to the status of preferred creditor in the case of bankruptcy. The Liberal Party will be introducing a bill to this end in the Senate shortly.

Toronto and Ottawa — The Globe and Mail Published on Tuesday, Dec. 01, 2009

A passenger plane with masking tape holding up electrical cords and a hot-wired instrument panel. Another aircraft fixed with the kind of parts that could have come from Canadian Tire.

An Air Canada jetliner doing an illegal refuelling with a running engine and passengers on board.

Those stories became public Monday as unions representing aviation inspectors, mechanics and Transport Canada staff told the House of Commons transport committee that Canada’s new airline safety system has turned them into deskbound bureaucrats who no longer conduct hands-on inspections.

The controversy stems from the federal regulator’s new oversight regime, Safety Management Systems.

Under SMS, carriers manage safety systems and government inspectors assess those systems instead of doing spot checks only.

“Most inspectors do not even leave the Transport Canada office,” Christine Collins, president of the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees, told the Commons committee Monday.

The unions were countered by the testimony of Marc Grégoire, a Transport assistant deputy minister, who said SMS lets inspectors monitor a carrier’s operations more deeply than random checks would.

But Daniel Slunder, national chairman of the Canadian Federal Pilots Association, gave the committee a string of eyebrow-raising allegations that were reported to his organization.

He gave as an example a regional carrier that sought a permit to make modifications to a plane. “Under SMS, an inspector’s job is to review this application and sign off that the paperwork is in order. Nothing else.”

He showed photos of the plane after the work was done, with masking tape holding up electrical cords in the cabin and an ungrounded power line hot-wired into the instrument panel.

“As you can see … the installation fell far short of paper promises,” Mr. Slunder said.

In another case, an aircraft was repaired with wing bolts and electrical connectors that were not made specifically for the aviation industry and “anyone could buy at Canadian Tire.”

“This airplane is not safe to fly,” Mr. Slunder said, showing photos taken by an inspector who was in the plane for another purpose. “Yet it has carried passengers in this condition, all because its state of disrepair was not visible through an assessment of this company’s SMS.”

He tabled with the committee documents that said that an Air Canada jetliner refuelled while an engine was running and alleged that it took off with ice on its wings.

Passenger plane wiring is held in place with masking tape in this photo submitted as evidence to the House of Commons transport committee.

On Oct. 9, 2009, Flight 271, an Airbus A320 flying from Toronto to Winnipeg, was diverted to Grand Forks, N.D., where it refuelled before departing.

A Canadian pilot for Emirates airline who was a passenger alerted the crew that he saw ice on the wings, Mr. Slunder said.

In an e-mail to Transport Canada, the Emirates pilot complained that the crew told him it was just moisture, even though it was -3 outside.

The Emirates pilot also said that the plane’s auxiliary power unit, which starts the engines, wasn’t working, forcing the crew to keep an engine running and do “hot refuel,” which can be more dangerous than refuelling with the engines off.

An e-mail reply from Transport Canada said that, under SMS, Air Canada would hold an internal probe while the regulator would be “closely monitoring.”

“This is a much more effective means of oversight,” Jennifer Taylor, director of National Operations at Transport Canada told the pilot in an e-mail, which was released by the CFPA.

In a statement, Air Canada said Monday that the flight left after the crew inspected the wings and found no ice.

The carrier admitted it did an illegal refuelling, saying it had no choice because there was no ground power source in Grand Forks to use in place of the auxiliary power unit, and that it could not move the passengers away from the plane during the refuelling because U.S. customs wouldn’t let them disembark.

“While Air Canada is not certified by the regulator for this procedure, the aircraft manufacturer’s specifications allow fuelling with the engines running,” the carrier said.

Carlos DaCosta, of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers in Canada, told the committee that airlines are punishing mechanics who flag problems in the SMS system.

Although the move to SMS began in 1999, when the Liberals were in power, MPs from the incumbent Conservatives defended the system at the hearing.

“Fear-mongering is not productive,” said Tory MP Candice Hoeppner.

The inspectors also complained to the committee of short-staffing.

There are currently 878 inspectors and 98 vacancies. He insisted that the present number of staff will still allow oversight. “What do you think we are going to do with 878 inspectors, play cards at the office?” he said.

By Don Cayo, Vancouver SunNovember 14, 2009

Canadians discuss pensions the way we discuss health care. That is, we look at two sorely flawed models and argue about which is best, or — if we’re being more honest — which is least bad.

In health care terms, this means the uncontrollably costly, all-inclusive Canadian model vs. the uncontrollably costly, often-exclusionary system in the U.S. We never seem to look for or at the kinds of happy mediums found, for example, in several European countries where health care is much more affordable and at least as good as here.

Canadians tend to look at pensions as a similar best-of-a-bad-lot choice. On one side are the defined benefit plans — the kind that gives employers the shivers and that ought to worry younger employees because they promise pre-determined payouts regardless of whether there’s enough cash in the kitty. And somebody — the employer or the saps still working — will have to make up the shortfall.

On the other hand are defined contribution plans. These, especially in a recession, give many folks the heebie-jeebies because their nest eggs are so prone to crack. Thousands of older Canadian workers must now put their retirement plans on hold because, given what’s been happening in the market, they no longer have enough money set aside to down tools as planned.

From the point of view of the potential pensioner, defined benefits are usually seen as best. That view is particularly pervasive among government employees, thanks to their gold-plated (compared to almost all the rest of us) plans.

Of course it’s civil servants, the future beneficiaries of these government pensions, who play the biggest role in making policy. So it may be no coincidence that, at a time when defined benefit plans are waning due to their onerous and hard-to-predict costs, almost all of pension-related policy initiatives focus on life-support for the dinosaurs. Defined contribution plans get short shrift.

William Robson, CEO of the C.D. Howe Institute, notes that not all of the problems with defined benefit plans relate to unsound financial underpinnings. For example, the benefits may be so rich and transfer so poorly when workers change jobs that many choose to remain locked into positions that don’t fully use their talents.

Rich defined benefit plans no doubt contributed greatly to the early retirement phenomenon — the belief that it’s somehow sustainable for a great many Canadians to live for perhaps 85 years, but work just 30 or so. This attitude may be changing in light of some hard economic realities, but it has certainly thinned the ranks of Canada’s labour force at the very time a worker shortage is looming.

Also, when a pension fund is under-funded — as many in Canada are now, in the wake of plunging markets — then the cost of rebuilding the fund is ultimately borne not by those who retire and get the benefits, but by those still on the job.

And what if the fund is under-funded just when the company is on its last legs? While it’s usually true that defined benefit plans are more secure, they can fail, and fail spectacularly.

So it’s hard to fault Finance Minister Jim Flaherty for tweaking pension legislation last month to make it easier for pension funds to build a cushion in good times.

But, Robson notes in a recent paper, by not addressing policy problems that erode the value of the less-favoured defined contribution plans, government actually widens the disparity between the two ways to save. Among the unfair treatment:

- Payroll taxes are due on employer contributions to RRSPs, but not to sponsored plans;

- If the assets of defined benefit plans fall short, policy fosters a quick rebuilding. But if RRSPs drop worrisomely low, the limits on contributions don’t change.

- Many RRSP holders must take their own chances on managing their savings post-retirement, while defined benefit beneficiaries get fixed payments.

- A tax-reducing pension credit is available for defined benefit beneficiaries at any age, but to RRSP holders only after age 65.

- Defined benefits last for life, but RRSP withdrawals must be made at a defined rate that threatens the serious depletion of savings for long-lived retirees.

Robson goes further than a mere call to fix these deficiencies. He advocates policies to foster hybrid plans that retain and blend the strengths of each of the existing models.

These steps may not do much for the short-term problems facing would-be retirees today, but they would be a major step forward if they prevent reruns every time the economy nose-dives.