The Stel Salaried
Pensioners Organization wishes to thank The Hamilton Spectator for permission
to post the following article by Reporter Tara Perkins published in the
February 20, 2004 edition
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Feb. 20, 2004. 12:47 AM |
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Don't let judge touch pact, union
tells Ontario adviser |
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Stelco workers want attorney general to prevent
possibility of ruling that would tear up collective agreement |
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By Tara Perkins |
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Steelworkers want the province to prevent Justice James Farley from tearing up their collective agreements. In a two-hour closed-door meeting yesterday, the presidents of three Stelco union locals asked the province's special steel adviser, James Arnett, to arrange for them to make their case to Ontario's attorney general. The United Steelworkers don't think judges should be allowed to override provincial labour laws while companies are in bankruptcy protection. "We told him that if the judge allows guys to be laid off without severance, we will be on the steps of the legislature," said Wayne Fraser, head of the Ontario and Atlantic division of the union. Arnett is a lawyer and former Molson chief executive who has been appointed by Premier Dalton McGuinty to advise the province on Stelco's restructuring and the steel industry. He was the Ontario government's advisor during Algoma Steel's bankruptcy protection hearings which ended in 2002. The meeting at the United Steelworkers of America district headquarters in Toronto was Arnett's first with the union. He has already met with Stelco officials. Fraser said he asked Arnett to set up a meeting with the provincial attorney general, Michael Bryant. Fraser said he wants to ask the attorney general whether Farley, an Ontario Superior Court judge who is overseeing Stelco's bankruptcy protection, has the power to put union contracts on hold while Stelco is under bankruptcy protection. In recent years, Farley has presided over most of the major bankruptcy protection cases heard in Ontario, including Algoma and Air Canada. In both cases, union contracts were renegotiated and employees were faced with taking pay and pension cuts. Bill Ferguson, president of Steelworkers Local 8782 at Lake Erie Steel, said the union wants answers about the bankruptcy protection laws. The process is governed by the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), a vague piece of legislation that leaves most rules up to the judge. "We need to know what the rules are," Ferguson said. "How does standing legislation apply in CCAA, and how can someone overturn that legislation?" Union leaders want to know if the judge is allowed to do away with provincial labour laws in order to help a company restructure. "Is judge Farley bigger than the premier?" said Scott Duvall, head of Stelwire's Local 5328. Stelwire, with plants in Hamilton and Burlington, has about 315 employees that belong to the union. Duvall said that Stelco has been allowed to forego severance payments to employees who have been laid off in the past month and that means that the judge has essentially overruled the labour relations act and provincial employment standards. The steelworkers also want Arnett to see that the province makes sure that Stelco workers and pensioners get every dollar they thought they would be getting in pension payments, Fraser said. "All I can say is that I had a very good, friendly, open and candid discussion," Arnett said after the meeting. "I am still learning, trying to figure out what's going on in this situation," he said. "My main goal is to assist the premier and the Ontario government to play the role it wants to play." Arnett said he left the meeting with a good idea of the union's goals. Ferguson said that Arnett "seems like a pretty straightforward person, and we are looking forward to working with him." "He is clearly a fact-finder, his role will be talking to the premier about what he is hearing," Fraser said. "He's not a decision maker." In contrast to the union leaders' meeting with McGuinty the day before, yesterday's discussion focussed more on specifics, they said. The meeting with the premier dealt with problems in the steel industry as a whole. Fraser said he told Arnett he has a standing invitation to the union's regular Monday meetings. Stelco had about 8,400 employees at the end of 2003. About three-quarters of them are unionized. Stelco Hamilton has about 4,830 workers. Lake Erie employs about 1,380. There are 13,000 retirees. tperkins@thespec.com 905-526-4620 |