Canadian Labour Reporter

lAboUr brieFs 2 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2014 University of Windsor imposes terms and conditions on faculty WInDsOR, Ont. — After months of failed talks, the Uni- versity of Windsor has imposed new terms and conditions for members of the school's faculty association. "Imposing terms and con- ditions of employment of the administration's own design is an extraordinary measure for an employer to take," said Anne Forrest, president of the Wind- sor University Faculty Associa- tion (WUFA). The terms — implemented on July 28 — will reportedly freeze wages for the next two years. Ac- cording to the faculty associa- tion, the terms are based on the university's July 15 offer, which was rejected by the association because of its wage freeze and "costly concessions." Along with the partial wage freeze, faculty will also report- edly see changes to their pension plan with those working over the normal retirement date continu- ing to pay into the pension plan until the age of 71. Faculty will also see their contribution to the plan rise from eight per cent to nine per cent in the contract's third year. WUFA, which represents 1,100 full-time and part-time employees, held a membership meeting on July 30. While a strike vote was not held, the association said it is considering such a vote in the coming weeks. Ontario's hydro pensions unsustainable: Report tOROntO — Pensions for Ontario's hydro agencies are not sustainable, a report revealed on Aug. 1. Commissioned by the Minis- try of Finance and penned by Jim Leech, former chief executive officer of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP), the re- port warned pension plans for the province's electricity suppli- ers are insolvent — which could leave consumers paying higher prices to subsidize the shortfalls. That includes retirement packages at Hydro One, Ontario Power Generation, the Indepen- dent Electricity System Operator and Electrical Safety Authority, where employees have defined benefit (DB) pension plans. In 2012, total contributions for all four plans was about $585 million, with slightly more than $100 million of that funded by employees. Not surprisingly, the plans have experienced signifi- cant market volatility and have been subjected to growing fund- ing deficit concerns. In 2013, the cumulative unfunded liability for the four groups was approxi- mately $490 million. As such, Leech suggested the government modify its current pension scheme, lest the burden fall on ratepayers, citing a cost- sharing system as one viable so- lution. If employees were forced to contribute 50 per cent of the cost of their pensions, for in- stance, it would address pub- lic concern regarding inflated electricity rates as well as intro- duce more incentives for both employees and employers to negotiate lower future benefits, if necessary. While both unions and companies see the need for some form of pension reform and have used the bargaining table as a forum to tackle such revisions, Leech said, on its own, bargaining is not enough to address the concerns. "The collective bargain- ing process is not designed for working through complex, tech- nical pension issues that tend to require both long-term time frames for their resolution and short-term flexibility to deal with economic downturns," the report reads. Leech said the move towards a shared plan could be fraught under current conditions, due to the demographics of the bar- gaining unit, mandates and reg- ulatory frameworks governing the agencies, union membership and contribution rates and plan benefits. That said, the report indicated the government could reach that 50-50 cost-sharing target in five years. As well, establishing a ceil- ing for the contribution rates paid by employers and employ- ees could allow funding of any existing deficits by the agencies. Ceilings require reductions in future benefits as opposed to increased contributions in the event of future deficits, the re- port also noted. The Ontario government said it will be reviewing the re- port and consulting with union representatives to assess the recommendations ahead of the next round of collective bar- gaining. Musicians and chorus members of New York's Metropolitan Opera attend a rally near Lincoln Centre. The employer recently agreed to extend negotiations with its labour unions to prevent a lockout. fORMeRlY ClV RepORts serving labour relations professionals since 1956 www.labour-reporter.com published weekly by omson Reuters Canada ltd. subscription rate: $595 per year Customer service tel: (416) 609-3800 (Toronto) (800) 387-5164 (outside Toronto) fax: (416) 298-5106 email: carswell.customerrelations@ thomsonreuters.com Website: www.carswell.com Director, Carswell Media Karen Lorimer publisher John Hobel - On leave acting publisher/Managing editor Todd Humber news editor Sabrina Nanji | (416) 649-9348 sabrina.nanji@thomsonreuters.com news editor Liz Foster | (416) 298-5129 liz.foster@thomsonreuters.com Marketing Co-ordinator Travis Chan | (416) 609-5872 travis.chan@thomsonreuters.com © 2014 Carswell, a division of omson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. 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