NB Power union slams Hydro-Québec deal

[SIZE="3"]The union representing 2,200 NB Power workers has come out against the sale of the utility to Hydro-Québec, citing pension plan concerns.

Local 37 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers has spent the last two weeks analyzing the proposed deal, said business manager Ross Galbraith.

But members continue to be left in the dark about their pension plan, he said.

"They've not received much in the way of communication, and the types of things we've gotten is not anything that is legally enforceable," Galbraith said.

"The problem is we can't just say `Well everything is going to be fine.' What we need to see is legal commitments, things that are hard and fast, that we know we can count on on a go-forward basis."

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) to sell most of NB Power to Hydro-Quebec states that existing union contracts will be respected, but a lawyer hired by the union says the word "respected" has no legal standing, Galbraith said.

[B]Agreement unclear[/B]

"When you see the MOU, it says members will be offered employment. It doesn't say people will be seamlessly transferred with all their rights and benefits and the things that they've accrued. So the language is kind of unclear."

It's also unfair that current NB Power employees will remain in their existing pension fund, while new employees would come under an unspecified new plan, he said.

Energy Minister Jack Keir said he understands why the union is nervous, but he says the wording of the final contract, due to be signed by the end of March, will be iron-clad.

"Nothing's going to change for them in terms of their employment contracts, in terms of their collective rights and in terms of their pension plan moving forward in the province of New Brunswick," Keir said.

Under the proposed deal, announced Oct. 29, Hydro-Québec would take over most of New Brunswick's generating stations for $4.8 billion, which represents the equivalent of NB Power's debt, Premier Shawn Graham has said.

Hydro-Québec would promise to freeze residential power rates in New Brunswick for five years. During the same period, large industrial rates would be lowered to the power prices offered to similar customers in Quebec, but they would not be frozen. That component of the deal is worth an estimated $5 billion to NB Power customers, according to Graham.

The proposed sale of NB Power needs legislative approval before it can go ahead. The Progressive Conservatives have demanded an election over the issue and have promised to stall the legislation if there is no immediate campaign.

The Liberal government has said if the deal is delayed past March 31, NB Power's planned three per cent rate hike will go forward, instead of the rate freeze promised in the Hydro-Québec agreement.[/SIZE]