Canadian Labour Reporter

lAboUr brieFs 2 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2014 emerald energy from Waste employees ratify new collective agreement BRAMPTon, onT. — After nine weeks on strike, employ- ees at Emerald Energy from Waste in Brampton, Ont., ratified a new collective agree- ment. The deal — which covers members of Unifor Local 252 — maintains employees' pension and wages. Workers will receive a lump-sum payment in each year of the four-year deal in addi- tion to a cost of living allowance in the fourth year. The company also agreed to make what the union called a "major capital investment" in the plant and committed to training for existing workers on any tech- nological changes made at the plant. "This contract secures the long-term employment for our members," said Unifor's national representative Barry Lines. Improvements will also be made to vacations and to posting procedures for new jobs. The plant's employees went on strike on July 3 following de- mands for concessions from the plant's new owners, U-Pak Dis- posals. "These workers held strong in the face of concessionary de- mands. It is a testament to their solidarity that they come out of these talks with a good contract that preserves their pension," said David Moffat, Unifor's as- sistant to the president. True cost of running CPP triples: Fraser institute oTTAWA — The cost of run- ning the Canada Pension Plan has more than tripled, accord- ing to a report released by the Fraser Institute. The study — released on Sept. 2 by the public policy think tank and authored by former chief economic analyst at Statistics Canada, Philip Cross — point- ed to skyrocketing investment board spending as the culprit. That includes transaction and external management fees and spending by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board — the Crown corporation that manages and invests CPP assets and costs incurred by the federal govern- ment while running the program. "Contrary to claims of propo- nents of an expanded CPP, or a provincial pension plan in Ontar- io, many of the costs of large, gov- ernment-managed pension plans like the CPP are hidden," Cross explained. "The CPP Investment Board now spends almost twice as much on management fees and transaction costs as it does on actual operations." In Accounting for the True Cost of the Canada Pension Plan, the institute noted that between 2006 and 2013 the total cost of running the national pension plan jumped from $600 million to $2 billion, despite the investment board's claim that operating expenses in the 2012-2013 fiscal year was $490 million. That discrepancy can be at- tributed to omissions from the operating budget, particularly the management fees it pays to exter- nal consultants, transaction fees associated with acquiring assets and costs incurred by four federal government departments. For the 2012-2013 year, the in- vestment board spent $490 mil- lion on operations, $782 million on external management fees and $177 million on transaction fees, which amounts to $1.4 bil- lion. Additionally, Ottawa's ad- ministrative costs totalled $586 million for collective contribu- tions and paying benefits, bring- ing the grand total to just under $2 billion. When all factors are consid- ered, the CPP Investment Board costs four times more than the reported operating budget, Cross said, calling for improved trans- parency. "It's vital that the CPP is as effi- cient and transparent as possible," he said. Employees from Germany's rail operator Deutsche Bahn recently held a three-hour warning strike. Train drivers plan to hold another strike to back their demand for higher wages and a shorter work week. 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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