CBC’s Vice President of People and Culture has released a statement about the status of the CBC Pension Plan (Update on the CBC Pension Plan – iO CBC_Radio-Canada-april 19 2023). In it, he confirms that the Plan is in a surplus position and that the Corporation will be taking another pension contribution holiday this year.
While he paints the use of the expected windfall of $53 million in glowing terms, he neglects to acknowledge the CBC’s determined efforts to deny pensioners and employees any benefits of the Plan’s significant surplus.
In 2009, CBC signed a deal with its pensioners and the Unions, agreeing to provide them with a share of future surpluses equal to any amount received by the Corporation. This will be the second year the Corporation has enjoyed a contribution holiday, which means the CBC will have benefitted from nearly $100 million dollars from the Plan.
The CBC has reneged on its commitment to 10,000 retirees and employees. Rather than share the positive performance of the Plan, it has spent hundreds of thousand of dollars fighting to deny them a benefit negotiated in good faith.
The CBC has always done the right thing by its retirees and employees, but the current leadership has shown a callous disregard for the contributions made over the decades that have made CBC what it is.
The PNA has taken the fight to arbitration, and we are currently awaiting a decision. Even though CBC management refuses to do the right thing, we are hopeful the decision by the Arbitrator will resolve the issue in our favour.
Dan Oldfield