Ontario to Rescue Nortel Pensioners

The whole thing is part of the proto typical world of bizarro politics.
Inadequate liberals, and conservatives, like Manley, Mcguinty, Flaherty, Clement,
Watson and others have done ZILCHO for almost a year with respect to how pensioners have been treated. It took an up and coming bye election in ottawa to get it done in. Nobody cared enough before then.
As the conservatives said if Mcguinty really wanted to do something why
did he wait for so long. His answer is they could not act since the pension value had
depreciated enough so doing something now would not be as costly had they acted 8 months or more ago. Hard to know what to believe but the fact remains the liberals
did act on this one. I suppose their is hope for even the most despicable.

Its all in the numbers game ... How many employee's in Canada work for Nortel VS our population? The only reasons they acted ..#1 the value of the fund is back up (less costly) #2 Public opinion out side of Nortel ( It looked really BAD on them , considering what other countries did ....and Canada didn't)

Don't kid yourself , Sociopaths do not suddenly grow a heart .. its not in their DNA

Nortel Enters Into Settlement Agreement With Former and Disabled Canadian Employee Representatives

February 08, 2010: 03:14 PM ET


Nortel(i) Networks Corporation (OTCBB: NRTLQ) today announced that it, Nortel Networks Limited and their Canadian subsidiaries that have filed for creditor protection under CCAA (collectively, Nortel), have reached an agreement on certain employment related matters regarding former Canadian Nortel employees, including Nortel's Canadian registered pension plans and benefits for Canadian pensioners and Nortel employees on long term disability (LTD).

Nortel entered into a Settlement Agreement with court-appointed representatives of its Canadian former employees, pensioners and LTD beneficiaries, the court-appointed representative counsel to such parties, Koskie Minsky LLP, the CAW Canada and Nortel's court-appointed Monitor. The Settlement Agreement is subject to, among other things, the approval of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

The Settlement Agreement provides that Nortel will continue to administer the Nortel Networks Negotiated Pension Plan and the Nortel Networks Limited Managerial and Non-Negotiated Pension Plan until September 30, 2010, at which point these pension plans will be transitioned, in accordance with the Ontario Pension Benefits Act, to a new administrator appointed by the Superintendent of Financial Services. Nortel and the Monitor will take all reasonable steps to complete the transfer of the administration of the pension plans to the new administrator. Nortel will continue to fund these pension plans consistent with the current service and special payments it has been making during the course of the CCAA proceedings through March 31, 2010, and thereafter will make current service payments until September 30, 2010.

For the remainder of 2010, Nortel will continue to pay medical and dental benefits to Nortel pensioners and survivors and Nortel LTD beneficiaries in accordance with the current benefit plan terms and conditions. Life insurance benefits will continue unchanged until December 31, 2010 and will continue to be funded consistent with 2009 funding. Further, Nortel will pay income benefits to the LTD beneficiaries and to those receiving survivor income benefits and survivor transition benefits through December 31, 2010, which payments will be made directly by Nortel. The employment of the LTD beneficiaries will terminate on December 31, 2010. The parties have agreed to work toward a court-approved distribution, in 2010, of the assets of Nortel's Health and Welfare Trust, the vehicle through which Nortel generally has historically funded these benefits, with the exception noted above.

The Settlement Agreement also provides that Nortel will establish a fund of CDN$4.2 million for termination payments of up to CDN$3,000 per employee to be made to eligible terminated employees as an advance against their claims under CCAA.

"We are pleased to have come to a resolution on these important matters," said David Richardson, Chairman, Nortel. "We understand the need to provide clarity to former employees as well as several months of certainty that will allow beneficiaries to make alternate plans. The Board of Directors and Nortel's management team have been working diligently with its advisors and stakeholders to reach an agreement that is as fair as possible in the circumstances, and that will result in almost two years of medical, dental and LTD coverage, an unusually lengthy period of time for companies under CCAA. It is expected that in aggregate, for the period from filing for creditor protection until the respective end dates announced today, Nortel will pay approximately CDN$100 million to the pension plans and towards benefits".

Under the Settlement Agreement, any claim made by any party in relation to the matters settled under the agreement will rank as ordinary unsecured claims under the CCAA proceedings. A charge in the maximum amount of CDN$57 million on Nortel's assets will be established to secure the payments to be made by Nortel under the Settlement Agreement, which amount shall be reduced by the amount of payments made.

Now if they would just help out the shareholders...... let's say 10 cents on the dollar (as he tokes another one ;>)

Common Shareholders are the former Ownes of the hard assets , unless secured & unsecured creditors such as Bond holders , Preferred Shareholders , Lenders and Suppliers get paid in full ...its not likely. I believe ALL creditors GLOBALLY should be put in the blender .. 10-25-50 cents on the dollar? what ever it works out to... employee's inclueded , Its bankruptcy .. no playing favorites.

Waaaaay too logical... which is why the lawyers made it the way it is... good for them, bad for most everybody else.

good one. helps some of you folks.

This hot topic seems to have caught the attention of front page Toronto Star this morning.

http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/762...

One good comment I thought was going after the millions in bonuses and salaries paid to management, let alone junk bond holders. Seems outrageous to me that employees come second to big business creditors and exorbitant management fees.Even this far from destitute board of directors traded their losing options for cash again, which defies the principle of options to begin with. And how much are the premiums on increased lawsuit insurance for a whopping $300M. Everyone but the employees are considered, even to go so far as accuse them of buying Liberal votes than any philanthropy.

We in the UK are desperate for our Goverment and Courts to even recognise the fact that the Administrators have been ignoring and breaking employment law, stealing from the ex-employee creditors. Whereas other EMEA personel have been compenstated in full. E&Y and NNUK in administration, scream that the company is bankrupt or losing money, but employees were getting success bonuses from january to december, when Avaya took the enteprise reigns. The bank balance in NN has grown from $2.9Billion to nearl $5Billion us, large creditors have recieved "favourable" solutuions, like Flextronics and STILL we hear about senior execs "withdrawing large sums of cash from schemes just before announcing creditor protection" while delaying redundancy payments to december 2008 redundees, thus witholding payment in total in January 2009. WHEN IS THE CANADIAN PROSECUTION SERVICE GOING TO STAND UP AND BE COUNTED.

Wow. Noble statesmen everywhere are stepping up without hesitation to help the People:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/02/05/ve...

In a televised speech, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez went so far as to say that spreading criticism against the government through the Internet constitutes "terrorism."

Ramiro Valdes is one of only four remaining original rebels led by Castro in the 1950s in Cuba. Now, Valdes has accepted a new task outside Cuba that is raising skepticism. He arrived this week in Venezuela as a consultant for that country's energy crisis.

The issue has become a political one, but regardless of the reason for the electricity shortages, experts warn that Venezuela faces a complete electric collapse if something isn't done soon.

"His reputation is as a ruthless minister of interior," said Ann Louise Bardach, who wrote about Valdes One thing Valdes lacks, critics say, is experience in the energy sector.

"For us engineers in Venezuela, it makes no sense," Enzo Betancourt, president of Venezuela's Association of Engineers, told CNN.

Looks like Nortel may repeat itself in Venezuela (AAN being the terrorist org that ruined the former). Owens, Dunn,Z = Valdes, Castro, Chavez...
Energy problems everywhere, staff outsourcing, dissent silenced, money disappearing.

Good for the disabled and pensioners but ideally what they should have done is make a new assessment of what is in the pension pool lets say as of dec 31 2009. Then pay the pensioners this %(70%, 80% or whatever the actuary calculations would have come to). This way it would have been fair for all people that were fired and took out of the pension fund what they were authorize(69% and in some case 85or 86%). Also this would have been fair to all the people that still have the money in the Nortel's pension fund because : 1- They are still working there and will get the money when at pension or 2- people that left the money in the fund because of the tax burden that would have hit them if they took the money out(in some cases drawing the money out meant a large portion that was taxable as an income and not transferable into a RRSP kind of vehicle). After the complete wind up of the fund that will happen eventually the money left could have been split through all the people that have rights in Nortel's pension fund. This way no one would have withdraw more then what is actually in the fund.(current pensioners are getting 100% of their pension while we all know that the fund is under capitalized). But hey ! Nortel and logic was never a strong match !

Diane Urquhart, an outspoken critic of fraud, and social injustice on pension reform, indicates that the position of pensioners vs. junk bond holders.can only be affected by changes to the national bankruptcy and insolvency act.

Informative details of her plight are found here in this news interview on video at the Nortel pension rally.

These are they types of people we must support and applaud, I have the greatest respect and admiration for this lady trying to do the right thing.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAfBoPOftT4


You go girl, god bless you!

Everything that has to be know-ed was said here loud and clear. This should be televised nationally has it is of national interest.

Very good news for Ontario pensioners. And for Quebec pensioners ??? ......euh the RRQ which screwed up more then badly in managing quebecers provincial pension plan will take over(with 0$ added to the pool) after the wind up. That's what you get living in a third world state !

Well Well Well.
The Pressure finally worked.
McGuinea Caved.
The Ontario lieberals finally made a correct, sensible, popular decision.
Rather than top up the pockets of "Canadians of Convenience" via refugee
payouts, welfare, bailouts, free boat rides from their real homelands, habitat for humanity and gross social assistance the gov't is recognizing and supporting people who "contributed" to the economy and who against their own will had to pay for the very sick policies Morontario uses via taxes.
One small step for Morontario. Long way to Go Dalton.
Congrats to Ontario Pensioners.