The United Steelworkers is decrying a decision by the Ontario Superior Court to deny its bid to reinstate retiree benefits at U.S. Steel Canada.
The union says that as part of his ruling on Friday on retiree benefits, Ontario Superior Court Justice Herman Wilton-Siegel also approved U.S. Steel Canada’s motion to increase wages for salaried employees under its key employee retention plan. The judge did, however, order the company to contribute $2.7 million, as promised, to the provincial transitional fund meant to address retirees’ most urgent health-care needs. Restoring retiree benefits, on the other hand, would have cost the company $3.5 million per month, the union suggested in a release.
Read: ‘Life and death matters’ at stake as U.S. Steel retirees seek benefits reinstatement
“Our pensioners shouldn’t be forced to live off emergency government funds while managers give each other raises and bonuses,” said Bill Ferguson, president of United Steelworkers Local 8782 that represents U.S. Steel Canada employees in Nanticoke, Ont.
The company has positive cash flow of $150 million while operating under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, the union has suggested. It has also alleged U.S. Steel Canada has paid its U.S. parent company $123 million in above-market prices for coal, iron ore and other steelmaking supplies.