Firefighters hail a win in pension row
Union members within rights over retirements
Montreal’s firefighter’s union is declaring its first victory in its legal battle against municipal pension plan reforms after a Quebec Superior Court judge ruled its members were within their rights to apply for last- minute retirements.
The case focused on 35 firefighters who announced they would take their retirements on June 12, 2014, the day the provincial government tabled Bill 3, its effort to rein in ballooning municipal pension plan costs by forcing union members to pay equally into pension plans and shoulder an equal burden of plan deficits. Told by their union that the changes could cost them tens of thousands of dollars, 80 members of the firefighters union had already taken its advice to retire.
Article 62 of the pension plan bill stipulated only those members “who made a request to their pension fund manager between Jan. 1, 2014 and June 12, 2014,” would be considered as eligible for the existing pension plan payouts. The 35 members in question submitted their intention to retire between 11 p. m. and 11: 59 p. m. on that day.
Quebec’s crown prosecutor, along with provincial pension plan regulator Retraite Québec, argued that the municipal affairs minister had said in the National Assembly anyone wanting to be included under the old regime had to broadcast their intention to retire before June 12. Judge Michel Yergeau, however, said that was not specified in the government’s bill, and sided with the union.
“We are very pleased, we are satisfied that our arguments were heard and that this is a win on every level,” said Ronald Martin, president of the firefighters union. Martin said he could not estimate how much retired firefighters would save by being allowed to remain under their old plans because negotiations and court challenges are ongoing. Figures in the range of $ 70,000 were cited in 2014.
Changes under the plan could cut the overall remuneration of active firefighters by 20 per cent, he said.
The firefighters union, along with a collective of 65,000 municipal employees across the province, are contesting the new pension legislation, saying it is unconstitutional because it negates collective agreements bargained in good faith and imposes rollbacks that came into effect before Bill 3 was voted into law in December 2014.
The legal battle promises to be a long one, Martin said. More than a year after the law was voted, court documents and briefs from the various parties have just been submitted to the justice overseeing the file, and more than 62 prosecutors have been assigned to the case.