The union representing 450 employees at Domtar Corp. in Dryden, Ont. has ratified three collective agreements that include benefits and pension gains. The agreements include several group benefits enhancements, including $100 for vision, a $200 increase for dental and orthodontics, a $10,000 increase in life insurance, $1,000 for eye surgery and improvements in short- and […]
Walmart Canada is enhancing its employee benefits plan with coverage for fertility treatments and gender affirmation. Nadia Cerisano, vice-president of total rewards and global mobility at Walmart, says the new benefits, which take effect Feb. 1, will help employees be their authentic selves in the workplace. Last fall, Walmart extended fertility benefits to its U.S. […]
While 80 per cent of U.S. employees view mental-health coverage as critical, only 61 per cent have access to mental-health care as part of their benefits package, according to a new survey by Aflac Inc. The survey, which polled more than 2,000 employees and 1,200 employers in the U.S., found more than half (59 per cent) […]
In the midst of the enduring conversation about the changing nature of work and the workplace, some often underappreciated — and potentially underused — benefits have taken centre stage during the coronavirus pandemic. This month, Benefits Canada is exploring two black sheep of the benefits plan: employer-provided travel coverage and vision benefits. In English idiom, […]
In March 2020, Bill Gosling Outsourcing’s benefits plan was facing unsustainable costs, as well as a deficit due to incoming premium increases. The coronavirus pandemic, which was declared at the same time, presented an opportunity for the organization to make significant changes. “During the pandemic, people were housebound, so they weren’t going to the dentist […]
Employees in most sectors are experiencing an exponential increase in the amount of time they spend in front of screens during work hours, so updates to vision benefits are long overdue. “Current vision coverage isn’t sufficient and it would be great to see some changes,” says Dr. Harry Bohnsack, an optometrist based in Fredericton, N.B. […]
The union representing employees at automobile manufacturing company Stellantis’ assembly plants in Windsor, Ont. and Brampton, Ont. has ratified a three-year collective agreement that includes pension and retiree benefits improvements. The agreement will add $1 per hour to the current company pension contribution. Employees earning the current maximum wage rate will see the pension contribution converted […]
Eight in 10 (80 per cent) small- and medium-sized employers in Eastern Canada say they don’t provide employee benefits, according to a new survey for Medavie Blue Cross by Abacus Data. The survey, which polled SMEs and SME workers in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada, found a third (35 per cent) of SMEs that don’t […]
The union representing employees at a Blackburn Media Inc. radio station in Wingham, Ont. has ratified a three-year collective agreement that includes increased benefits and a flexible work schedule. The agreement includes an increase for vision care, from $100 to $300 every 24 months, and an increase in paramedical coverage to an annual maximum of […]
A majority (88 per cent) of benefits plan sponsors are very (34 per cent) or somewhat (54 per cent) satisfied with their organization’s virtual health-care offerings, up from nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) in 2021, according to the 2022 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey. More than a quarter of plan sponsors (29 per cent) and plan […]