Hamilton MP tables bill to protect workers' benefits and pensions
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Legislation in Canada greatly favours companies over workers, with the Sears Canada case providing a perfect example, according to the NDP’s Scott Duvall.
The MP for Hamilton Mountain tabled Bill C-384 earlier this week, seeking to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, as well as and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.
Those laws are both unfair and badly out-of-date, argues Duvall, which is to the detriment of countless workers across Canada.
“When the law was enacted in 1933 (during the Great Depression), it was to protect companies and help them restructure so shareholders could get their money – at that time, workers didn’t have medical benefits and pensions.”
The bankruptcy of such an iconic company has struck a chord with many Canadians and brought pension protection into the spotlight. Duvall, a former steelworker and his party’s critic for pensions, thinks the status quo is simply untenable. Especially galling for him is the increased rate of foreign companies not meeting their obligations to Canadian employees.
“A lot of Canadian companies have been bought up by foreign companies,” he says. “A lot come here, and it’s supposed to be net worth to Canada, but they are taking out these companies’ value and leaving us high and dry.”
In the case of Sears Canada, many former employees point the finger of blame at the US-based parent company. In particular, the decision to award a $9.2 million payout to executives, shortly after seeking creditor protection, enflamed tensions with the laid-off workers.
“Sears paid out millions and millions in dividends when they weren’t making any money,” says Duvall. “Most of that was to Eddie Lampert (Sears Holdings CEO) down in the States. Now they have liquidated, Eddie Lampert walks away with all this money and the workers are going without.”
Addressing the dispute in the House of Commons recently, Justin Trudeau pledged the government’s support for the affected workers and pensioners. As a backbencher, Duvall may face an uphill battle getting Bill C-384 signed into law, and he remains skeptical regarding the prime minister’s intentions.
“They talked and said they feel sorry for them, just like the workers at Wabush Mines in Labrador who were stripped of over 20% of their pension and all their medical benefits, while the company walked away with $40 million,” he says.
That instance saw US-based Cliffs Natural Resources cancel medical benefits when the mine went into creditor protection in 2015. The company also left the workers' pension plan underfunded by more than $45 million, and employees ultimately lost between 21% and 25%of their pension.
According to a recent release by CARP, the government has granted 286 companies creditor protection since 2009. Sears Canada is just the latest addition to a list that includes Can-West, Bauer Hockey Retail, SunEdison Canadian Construction, Golf Town Canada Holdings, and the Victorian Order of Nurses for Canada.
Under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, secured creditors, including lenders and debt-holders are first to receive payment, while workers are typically among the last to receive what is owed.
It’s an arrangement that needs to change, argues Duvall, which is want he intends to do with Bill C-384.
“People think they have labour laws to protect them on termination pay, on severance pay, pensions, but they have to wait in line if a company goes bankrupt … Because there isn’t a law (to protect workers), a company has the nerve to say they can’t pay benefits, but they need bonus money for their managers – that’s just absurd.”
Related stories:
Trudeau responds as workers' anger grows over Sears Canada bankruptcy
Retirees group calls for pension protection across Canada
The MP for Hamilton Mountain tabled Bill C-384 earlier this week, seeking to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, as well as and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.
Those laws are both unfair and badly out-of-date, argues Duvall, which is to the detriment of countless workers across Canada.
“When the law was enacted in 1933 (during the Great Depression), it was to protect companies and help them restructure so shareholders could get their money – at that time, workers didn’t have medical benefits and pensions.”
The bankruptcy of such an iconic company has struck a chord with many Canadians and brought pension protection into the spotlight. Duvall, a former steelworker and his party’s critic for pensions, thinks the status quo is simply untenable. Especially galling for him is the increased rate of foreign companies not meeting their obligations to Canadian employees.
“A lot of Canadian companies have been bought up by foreign companies,” he says. “A lot come here, and it’s supposed to be net worth to Canada, but they are taking out these companies’ value and leaving us high and dry.”
In the case of Sears Canada, many former employees point the finger of blame at the US-based parent company. In particular, the decision to award a $9.2 million payout to executives, shortly after seeking creditor protection, enflamed tensions with the laid-off workers.
“Sears paid out millions and millions in dividends when they weren’t making any money,” says Duvall. “Most of that was to Eddie Lampert (Sears Holdings CEO) down in the States. Now they have liquidated, Eddie Lampert walks away with all this money and the workers are going without.”
Addressing the dispute in the House of Commons recently, Justin Trudeau pledged the government’s support for the affected workers and pensioners. As a backbencher, Duvall may face an uphill battle getting Bill C-384 signed into law, and he remains skeptical regarding the prime minister’s intentions.
“They talked and said they feel sorry for them, just like the workers at Wabush Mines in Labrador who were stripped of over 20% of their pension and all their medical benefits, while the company walked away with $40 million,” he says.
That instance saw US-based Cliffs Natural Resources cancel medical benefits when the mine went into creditor protection in 2015. The company also left the workers' pension plan underfunded by more than $45 million, and employees ultimately lost between 21% and 25%of their pension.
According to a recent release by CARP, the government has granted 286 companies creditor protection since 2009. Sears Canada is just the latest addition to a list that includes Can-West, Bauer Hockey Retail, SunEdison Canadian Construction, Golf Town Canada Holdings, and the Victorian Order of Nurses for Canada.
Under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, secured creditors, including lenders and debt-holders are first to receive payment, while workers are typically among the last to receive what is owed.
It’s an arrangement that needs to change, argues Duvall, which is want he intends to do with Bill C-384.
“People think they have labour laws to protect them on termination pay, on severance pay, pensions, but they have to wait in line if a company goes bankrupt … Because there isn’t a law (to protect workers), a company has the nerve to say they can’t pay benefits, but they need bonus money for their managers – that’s just absurd.”
Related stories:
Trudeau responds as workers' anger grows over Sears Canada bankruptcy
Retirees group calls for pension protection across Canada
