Friday March7, 2014
To all members of the COA
Re:Post Retirement Benefits
A recent memo from ADM Logan from the Employee Relations Division of the Ministry of Government Services indicated that the intention of the Government was to amend the benefits payment for pension benefits effective January 1st, 2017 – unless the member met two criteria.
The benefits of the COA members are administered by the OPPA through a tripartite agreement, which remains in place.The position of the OPPA is that the retirement benefits of the contract (for OPPA and through agreement the COA) are a negotiated benefit of the contract.
The current Tripartite agreement states that the Association (OPPA) shall provide active Commissioned Officers with benefits that at a minimum equal the benefits provided to active OPP employees covered by the Collective agreement, and that the OPPA shall provide pensioners with benefits that are, at a minimum, equal to the benefits provided to active OPP employees, save and except the Long Term Income Protection and the Group Life provisions.
Since the announcement OPPA Executive have sought clarity on the intent of the Government and have learned that they intend to move towards an imposed take away and will likely make this one of their main submissions at the next round of bargaining. The current Collective Agreement expires on December 31st of this year. Bargaining will commence at a mutually agreed upon time shortly after this expiration date.
This is obviously a topic of great concern to all members of the OPP (both OPPA and COA) and one which will be the topic of discussion and negotiation in the near future. Please keep in mind that no changes are anticipated to take effect at least until January 1st, 2017. The Executive will ensure open lines of Communication with the OPPA, and will undertake to ensure the COA membership is kept appraised of developments in this matter as they occur.
Your COA Executive