Bulletin
TST-CF – Pension Plan Policy Grievance Update
November 15, 2024
To: All MoveUP members at TST-CF
Your union has been meeting with your employer to discuss the company pension plans and the differences between the eastern plan and the western plan. As a result of these meetings, we were unsuccessful in getting your employer to move all our members into one pension plan as reflected in Article 12.08 of your collective agreement. Subsequently we filed a policy grievance in the spring of 2024. For clarity below is a history of the two pension plans and what transpired at the Canada Industrial Relations Board in 2021.
When the East unionized with the West in 2021, the Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered the parties to negotiate a mid-term transition agreement. During these mid-term negotiations we discovered that there was a disparity in the pension plans for the Eastern membership and the Western membership, with the Eastern membership inheriting the pension plan from their pre-unionization period. The employer had two distinct pension plans, one for the East and one for the West. Your union focused on streamlining the pension plans into a single, equitable system to ensure one plan for all unionized employees. Unfortunately, the employer could not combine the plans because both plans operate under their own specific set of rules and conditions.
Summary of the plans:
- The MoveUP plan in the West is a locked in defined contribution plan (DC) and the TST East plan is an RRSP/DPSP plan. The biggest advantage of an RRSP/DPSP is that you have immediate access to your funds once you are vested. Therefore, the funds in a RRSP/DPSP plan may be withdrawn anytime before retirement.
- The plans also have differences in accessing funds on retirement, portability, and contribution amounts.
- Moving from a RRSP/DPSP to a DC plan would result in members having to manage two separate pension plans and this could prove to be disruptive for the employee and administratively challenging.
Furthermore, we tried to negotiate and incorporate all employees into the West collective agreement and the West pension plan, but the employer took a hard-line against this proposal. As this was a mid-term negotiation governed by the Canada Industrial Relations Board, we did not have the ability to strike or take job action, thus resulting in a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that was signed by the parties on November 24th, 2021.
As it stands, both the East and West have pension plans which both have their own specific benefits. The East is much more flexible, and the West offers 1% more in contributions. The RRSP/DPSP contribution plan gives you greater control of your investments.
In short, the East suffered no pension losses and secured higher wages compared to the West in 2024.
PENSION PLAN DIFFERENCES EAST vs WEST
Plan highlights:
- MoveUp plan in the West is locked in a Defined Contribution Plan and the East plan is an RRSP/DPSP program.
- The plans have differences in accessing funds on retirement, portability, and contribution amounts.
- Moving from a RRSP/DPSP to a DC plan would result in members having to manage two separate pension plans.
East Contributions, matched by the company are listed below:
- 1-4 years – 3%
- 5-9 years – 4%
- 10+ years – 5%
- Eligible after one year of employment
West Contributions
- Employees’ have the option to contribute 4.5% or 6%
- Employer will contribute 6% regardless of the employee’s contribution
- Eligibility is Jan 1 after one year of continuous employment
Your union has always sought uniformity and fairness for all employees, and we continued to raise the issue with your employer. The union filed a policy grievance in the spring of 2024 and met with the employer several times over the last year to try and resolve this grievance. The employer has not changed their position on the pension plans and denied our policy grievance at step 3. The unions position remained that there should only be one pension plan as reflected in Article 12.08 and the employer’s position remained that there are two distinct plans, and the union will have to negotiate any changes at the next round of collective bargaining. Your unions arbitration specialist reviewed the case file and consulted with a third-party pension actuary, and it was determined that we would not be successful if we were to arbitrate the grievance. Therefore, based on a merit review of the case, a decision was made to withdraw the grievance. Your union will address the pension issue with the membership and employer at next round of collective bargaining.
Please contact me at 604-895-7277 if you have any questions or concerns.
In solidarity,
Richard Van Grol
Union Representative
