ATU Refusal to Sign Pension Agreement Only Barrier to Contract Deal

Wages and other issues have been resolved and all that remains between us reaching an agreement is the Transit union’s demand for a better pension deal than anyone else received.

The transit union served the City with a 48 hour strike notice late Friday; it and the City bargained for most of the weekend and made progress towards a collective agreement.    The union executive has refused to take the City’s last offer to its membership.

“The City remains open and wants to continue with the discussions because we are very interested in getting an agreement,” says Catherine Gryba, General Manager of the Corporate Performance Department.  “A ten per cent wage increase is very fair and in the current economic downturn, it’s certainly above what many workers would receive elsewhere in the marketplace.”

Here’s what a Transit operator is being offered in 2016 in Saskatoon compared to what a Transit operator is being paid in Regina and Winnipeg:  

In addition, the City proposes to pay employees that obtain the Professional Bus Operators Certification an additional $0.45/hour effective the first month after ratification.  This would mean those operators would be the highest paid of Regina and Winnipeg at $26.78 per hour.  Based on 40 hours per week this works out to $55,702.40 per year.

Pension

We care about all our employees.  We need to manage and protect the Plan over the long-term for all employees to have a reliable pension.

It remains a defined benefit pension plan. This means at retirement, the plan provides its members with a predictable monthly dollar amount which is based on a combination of their service, age and average earnings. 

“It is not a targeted benefit plan,” Gryba says. “The City is not able to change the current defined benefit plan into a targeted benefit plan under the legislation. No one will lose their pension.”

The City and eight other unions and professional associations in the plan have come to terms on the Pension Plan; everyone recognized it was not on solid financial ground and it needed to be updated to keep it healthy. Employees still have their pensions and their pensions continue to be part of a very good plan. There have been rumours that employees will be losing their pensions, this is simply not true.

“So, the pension agreement is based on shared responsibility between the City and the unions and associations which ensures the plan is protected in the long term,” she says.

The Transit union has refused and wishes to leave all the responsibility on the taxpayers for any future shortfall.

The City cannot move on the pension plan. We have a responsibility to current transit employees, others in the pension plan and tax payers – the Transit union executive doesn't.

For more information and facts on the Final Offer, please go here.