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(Halifax) – Inside workers with the Halifax Regional Water Commission (HRWC) have voted 100% in favour of strike action.

CUPE National Representative Jacquie Bramwell says, “The members of CUPE Local 1431 have put this employer on notice that they are not happy with how contract talks are going.

“The main outstanding issue continues to be a pension deficit that the employer is legally obligated to fun; however, is insisting employees contribute to,” says Bramwell.

“We have two legal opinions that say the plan text of the pension plan, which is the governing document, clearly states it is the employer that is responsible for any deficit – not plan members,” says Bramwell.

“In addition, employees are incensed that the General Manager of the Commission recently wrote them a letter congratulating them on earning performance awards amounting to $615 for each employee.  In the same letter, however, he said that money would be applied to the pension deficit,” she says.

“To add insult to injury, they’ve made us a wage offer of 1.29% in the first year of a

two-year contract and no guarantee of any wage increase in year two,” says Bramwell.

CUPE Local 1431 represents customer service clerks, engineering information technicians, engineering technologists, information support techs, operations techs and operations support staff at the HRWC.  Their contract expired in December of 2006.

 

The HRWC employees will be planning an ‘information picket’ in the days ahead, in an effort to get their issues out to taxpayers and the public.

  For information:        

 

 

Bob Goguen                   Jacquie Bramwell            John McCracken

CUPE Local 1431            CUPE National Rep.       CUPE Communications Rep.

441-1074 (Cell)             240-7928 (Cell)              455-4180 (o)