Summer, Pensions & Research
I hope that this quick update finds you all safe and in good spirits. This summer has proven to be a very challenging time for all our hearts and minds.
The loss of our friend Jack Layton has been hard to bear for many Canadians. His passing has been a very reflective one for me personally, and I can speak on behalf of the entire Collective Bargaining Committee (CBC) team when I say that we offer our collective prayers and thoughts to all those who have been touched by his leadership and friendship, most specially our condolences to his family.
The Collective Bargaining Committee has been very busy working over the last few weeks finding and securing an Actuary to work on our behalf. I am happy to report that we are now working with H. Clare Pitcher, FSA, FCIA and Cindy Rynne from Buck Consulting.
You can find information on them at their website: http://www.acsbuckcanada.com/buckconsultantsca/
We are proceeding with the evaluation of all our options around our pension plan and benefits, guided now by the professional advice of our actuarial team.
As promised, before we proceed with negotiations, we will call a meeting of the entire membership in September.
I want to continue to encourage all of the membership to email us your concerns and thoughts. I assure you we read and consider each of them. Your patience and understanding throughout this very challenging time is greatly appreciated.
Finally, I want to make a few comments regarding the effort and time that the OSSTF Provincial Executive has made, particularly over the past few weeks.
The end of July and the middle of August is normally a very busy time for OSSTF Provincial Leadership. This year was no exception. OSSTF provincial has been working extremely closely with us on negotiations while preparing for the major Annual Provincial Leadership Conference.
OSSTF Leadership 2011 was held in Toronto and was four days filled with training and workshops for bargaining unit presidents and leaders. Topics ranged from occupational health & safety to social media to improving skills for mediation, bargaining and negotiations.
This year both Connie and I attended the OSSTF Leadership Conference and our experience leaves us confident that WLUSA is on track and in good hands with the leadership and guidance of OSSTF Provincial.
Yours in Solidarity.
Niru
Niru Philip, CBC Chair, OSSTF D35 WLUSA.
