The union representing 89 employees at the University of Toronto has ratified a two-year agreement that includes retirement and benefits gains, including gender affirmation coverage. The agreement includes six retiring allowance packages equivalent to two months of base wages for employees who qualify for an unreduced pension in accordance with the University Pension Plan’s provisions. […]
While gender affirmation and fertility benefits coverage still isn’t included in all group benefits plans, around half of Canada’s group benefits providers include gender affirmation coverage (50 per cent) or fertility benefits coverage (59 per cent) in some of their plan offers, according to an exclusive survey by Benefits Canada. The survey, which polled Canada’s […]
The union representing 70 employees at Northern Transformer in Vaughan, Ont. has ratified a four-year collective agreement that includes pension and benefits gains. The agreement introduces a group registered retirement savings plan and a deferred profit-sharing plan in which the company will provide a matching contribution of three per cent of regular earnings, capped at […]
The union representing around 150 employees at West Fraser Timber in Fort Frances, Ont. has ratified a four-year collective agreement that includes multiple benefits gains. The new contract, which is retroactive to Aug. 1, 2022, includes a new maternity leave top-up program that provides new mothers with additional financial support. During the first eight weeks […]
The union representing 450 employees at Domtar Corp. in Dryden, Ont. has ratified three collective agreements that include benefits and pension gains. The agreements include several group benefits enhancements, including $100 for vision, a $200 increase for dental and orthodontics, a $10,000 increase in life insurance, $1,000 for eye surgery and improvements in short- and […]
Walmart Canada is enhancing its employee benefits plan with coverage for fertility treatments and gender affirmation. Nadia Cerisano, vice-president of total rewards and global mobility at Walmart, says the new benefits, which take effect Feb. 1, will help employees be their authentic selves in the workplace. Last fall, Walmart extended fertility benefits to its U.S. […]
While 80 per cent of U.S. employees view mental-health coverage as critical, only 61 per cent have access to mental-health care as part of their benefits package, according to a new survey by Aflac Inc. The survey, which polled more than 2,000 employees and 1,200 employers in the U.S., found more than half (59 per cent) […]
In the midst of the enduring conversation about the changing nature of work and the workplace, some often underappreciated — and potentially underused — benefits have taken centre stage during the coronavirus pandemic. This month, Benefits Canada is exploring two black sheep of the benefits plan: employer-provided travel coverage and vision benefits. In English idiom, […]
In March 2020, Bill Gosling Outsourcing’s benefits plan was facing unsustainable costs, as well as a deficit due to incoming premium increases. The coronavirus pandemic, which was declared at the same time, presented an opportunity for the organization to make significant changes. “During the pandemic, people were housebound, so they weren’t going to the dentist […]
Employees in most sectors are experiencing an exponential increase in the amount of time they spend in front of screens during work hours, so updates to vision benefits are long overdue. “Current vision coverage isn’t sufficient and it would be great to see some changes,” says Dr. Harry Bohnsack, an optometrist based in Fredericton, N.B. […]