St. Mary’s Cement: Unilateral Amendments To A Pension Plan

The ongoing economic uncertainty has forced many employers to consider various costs saving measures, including changes to employee retirement income arrangements. In the unionized context, such changes may prove more difficult to implement, in addition to the plan and legislative/regulatory requirements, which pose their own challenges. This is especially the case where a retirement benefit program is expressly incorporated into a collective agreement.

Whether an employer can unilaterally amend the terms of a program that is expressly incorporated in a collective agreement will depend on both the plan text and the terms of the collective agreement. For instance, a collective agreement may contain a specific provision prohibiting the employer from altering or discontinuing certain benefits without the union's consent. In such instances where the union's consent is required, and the union does not provide it, the contemplated change will have to be negotiated at the