‘Vancity will be filing a formal response in the B.C. Supreme Court in the coming days’

THE B.C. General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) announced on Monday that it had filed a Notice of Civil Claim in B.C. Supreme Court on April 27 against Vancity Credit Union over the financial institution’s unilateral decision to deny BCGEU members a jointly-trusteed, defined benefit pension plan that they had agreed to establish.

BCGEU President Stephanie Smith said: “Filing a lawsuit against an employer is an extraordinary step for any union to take, and filing this claim against Vancity is not a decision the BCGEU took lightly. But after years of delay tactics by Vancity capped off by unilateral withdrawal from the plan we feel this is our best option to force Vancity to honour the commitments they made in bargaining. Our BCGEU members fought for this plan, they won it in bargaining, and now we’re going to the mat to make sure Vancity delivers on their commitment.”

The lawsuit aims to force Vancity to honour the agreement between the two parties. In that agreement, which has been in effect since 2020 after being overwhelmingly ratified by union members, Vancity committed to work with the BCGEU to develop a jointly-trusteed, defined-benefit pension plan for unionized worker, the BCGEU said.

Joint trusteeship means that the pension is administered by both employer representatives and union members. A worker voice is crucial in making sure workers’ pensions are whole and secure when it’s time to retire. Jointly-trusteed, defined-benefit pension plans are the gold standard, providing more secure benefits for workers compared to solely-trusteed plans. Such plans have a preferred status under the BC Pension Benefits and Standards Act and Regulations when compared to an employer solely sponsored pension plan, it added.

The BCGEU claimed that despite agreeing to co-develop the pension plan with the BCGEU, Vancity repeatedly delayed the work—cancelling or postponing meetings and missing deadlines—before abruptly announcing their intention to offer their workers a solely-trusteed pension plan.

Click here to read a summary of the Notice of Civil Claim

“Vancity literally banks on its reputation as a company with progressive values,” said Smith. “Our members work every day to maintain that reputation. Vancity customers choose them based on that reputation. It’s time for them to live up to their reputation. We shouldn’t have to sue them to make them honour an agreement they bargained with our members.”

BCGEU represents nearly 1,000 workers at Vancity. The Notice of Civil Claim – S-223482 – was filed on April 27.

VANCITY, when asked by The VOICE asked for its response, said in a statement: “Vancity takes very seriously its responsibility to support all Vancity employees in having a stable and reliable retirement income, and has done so for many years by offering all employees either a group RRSP or defined benefit pension plan.

“Now, at a time when most employers are moving away from defined benefit pension plans, Vancity is working to ensure that every Vancity employee has access to this type of retirement plan. This plan is being developed and designed with input from employees themselves.
“We disagree with allegations made by the BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU), and we regret their attempt to delay the new pension plan for Vancity employees. Vancity has always honoured the collective agreement and has bargained in good faith throughout our collective bargaining process with the BCGEU.
“Vancity will be filing a formal response in the B.C. Supreme Court in the coming days to claims made by the BCGEU which include misrepresentations and inflammatory allegations related to Vancity’s work to deliver a defined benefit pension plan.
“For 75 years, Vancity has stood shoulder to shoulder with the labour movement on a range of issues and we’re proud of our history of shared values.
“As a values-driven cooperative, the employee voice is essential to the success of the retirement plan, and we are dedicated to providing a best-in-class defined benefit pension plan to all employees to support them with a retirement income.”

According to Vancity:

• Vancity has offered all employees the choice of either a group RRSP or defined benefit pension plan for over two decades.
• Vancity has 2,707 employees. 817 employees are members of the BCGEU.
• The current Collective Agreement for Vancity employees represented by the BCGEU does not expire until December 31, 2023.
• Vancity is the largest private-sector Living Wage employer in Canada.
• Vancity supports employees with young families through maternity and parental leave top-up payments (85% of salary), for up to 18 months.
• Vancity provides generous health benefits to employees including extended health, dental, life insurance, accidental death & dismemberment (AD&D) insurance, disability benefits, and optional benefits.