The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 2424 has filed a legal grievance with the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO), calling on the agency to investigate an amendment to the pension plan that dates back to 2003.
The union, which represents more than 850 technical, administrative and clerical workers, has been on strike since March 5. CUPE 2424’s legal team filed the complaint on March 23.
The amendment in dispute permits pension benefits paid to retirees to be reduced below the level promised at retirement. According to the complaint, this alteration of the pension plan violates Ontario’s Pension Benefits Act.
CUPE 2424 president Jerrett Clark said that the union brought the issue to the university before formally filing the grievance, but that Carleton was “unresponsive and dismissive.”
Though the union has not identified any employees that have experienced a pension cut, Kevin Skerrett, senior research officer and pension specialist with CUPE 2424, said he is confident that the pensions were reduced over four consecutive years. This would suggest that anyone who was retired after 2003 would have some of their pension affected by the alteration.
Clark said he suspects that the amendment, implemented by the Board of Governors (BoG), was drafted misleadingly so that it would go unnoticed.
“This is a very unusual and serious situation,” Skerrett said.
A statement provided to the Charlatan by public affairs manager Beth Gorham denied that any of the university’s actions were illegal. The statement said that in 2010, CUPE 2424 attempted to overturn recommendations from the Pension Committee by filing similar complaints that were dismissed by the FSCO.
“Carleton will respond to this complaint with FSCO directly. We are confident it has no merit,” the statement read.
Skerrett said that while a grievance was filed by the union in 2010, it concerned an amendment regarding holiday pay, and was not filed through the FSCO. Additionally, he said that the claim went to arbitration and was ultimately settled before the arbitrator made a final decision.
As the strike marks its fourth week, union members continue dancing and chanting on the picket lines.
“Morale is high. I gotta tell you, having been at the picket line almost everyday for the last three weeks, as more info has been provided—including this complaint—people have become even more determined and energized,” Skerrett said. “They understand even more clearly why this matters.”
Carleton’s faculty association, Carleton University Academic Staff Association (CUASA), and CUPE locals 910 and 3778 have also expressed support for CUPE 2424’s legal complaint.
According to a media release from CUPE 2424, these other unions share the concern that the BoG failed to protect the pensions of their members. CUASA president Root Gorelick said in the release that the members of his union are also in contract negotiations with Carleton.
“We fully share CUPE’s concerns about the administration’s opaque decision-making and their lack of meaningful consultation regarding our pension plan. We will be taking action on what has been revealed here,” he said.
Negotiations between CUPE 2424 and the university resumed with a newly-appointed mediator on March 28, but failed to find a settlement. Skerrett said that the grievance filed through the FSCO will continue independently of negotiations.
Photo by Meagan Casalino
