Doug Parry started his four-decade career at Stelco straight out of high school, believing the company would provide for him into his retirement. But the health benefits he was promised have already disappeared and the pension he relies on could be next.
U.S. Steel, the company that bought Stelco for $1.9 billion in 2007, the year Parry retired, filed for creditor protection in 2014. It is undergoing a court process that could see the company wind down its Canadian branch and abandon its pension obligations. It told a court in September that if it doesn’t cut payments to its underfunded pension plan and stop health benefits, it will collapse.
It stopped paying health benefits in October, when it also stopped paying municipal taxes.
Over the years, as the company went through restructuring and rounds of layoffs, Parry and his fellow workers fought to keep retirement health benefits, figuring they’d need them after working such a dirty and dangerous job.
“Now we’re retired and it doesn’t mean squat to U.S. Steel,” Parry said.
With no health benefits, Parry can’t afford the medicine he needs for his diabetes, and instead has to settle for a less-effective alternative. The company stopped paying a cost-of-living allowance, while Parry’s rent is increasing $22 a month. On top of that, every day he is worried his pension could soon be reduced by as much as 30 per cent.
“I don’t spend as much as I used to, because I don’t want to go out and buy something and find out a year into that loan now my pension is going to be $300 or $400 less every month.”
He is one of 20,000 pensioners who could see their retirement income cut by as much as $4,300 a year if the steel firm goes out of business with pension plans underfunded. A provincial guarantee fund could step in to provide some aid.
Source: abc.net