HAMILTON, ON – Canwest has told CHCH TV retirees that it will be winding up the CHCH TV pension plan effective August 31, 2009.
The retirees were also told that the plan has an unfunded windup deficiency, and that Canwest has no intention of funding the deficiency. This means that CHCH TV retirees will have their pensions reduced when the plan is wound up next month, but Canwest has yet to tell them by how much, the press release said.
“Retirees are concerned that the issue of pension plan windup will pit current active employees at CHCH TV against retired former employees,” said CHCH TV retiree Bob Ireland, in the release. “If Canwest lacks the resources to fund its commitments, then a better solution is to approach the federal government to seek regulatory relief. Regulatory relief would have the benefit of protecting the interests of both active and retired members.”
CHCH TV retirees have banded together and retained the same legal counsel who worked on the restructuring of both the Canadian Press and Air Canada pension plans.
“Canwest Global has demonstrated that it has a great deal of influence with the federal government”, Ireland continued. “Canwest Global obtained approval to receive carriage fees from cable and satellite carriers. Given that the company is now in a position to receive these new revenue streams, a portion of those funds should be used to honour the pension promise to retirees.”
