About 50 city workers protested in a friendly picket outside City Hall Monday, expressing concerns on proposed early retirement benefit cuts.
President of CUPE Local 153 Jim Bigras says they want discussions to go to the negotiating table, but they're in the middle of a contract which ends in December 2016. "Retirement savings are important, especially to our senior staff that are in the midst of deciding whether they're going to retire or not," says Bigras. "This has kind of dropped in our lap last minute and people who are retiring are scared."
"We look at it from the perspective that we just want what's fair. If it takes it to get it to bargaining and negotiated in, or out, either or, we'd like that opportunity." Monday, Sarnia councillors asked city staff to return with more information on options moving forward in the new year. Councillor Bev MacDougall hopes to preserve benefits, but says having $17-million in unfunded liability is not an acceptable option. "If we don't do something, then we leave the corporation vulnerable," says MacDougall. "The presence of unions have made it very clear to us that they value and guard their benefits. But council is left with the responsibility of making the treasury work." The city currently provides health and dental benefits for employees up to the age of 65 with at least 25 years of service. A total of 39 of the city's 250 unionized workers will be eligible for early retirement in 2016.
