Authorized class action lawsuit: declaration of the CPEEP

Authorized class action lawsuit: declaration of the CPEEP

The Parity Committee for the Building Services (CPEEP) would like to state its position regarding the authorized class action lawsuit it is facing and concerning the group RRSP plan.

The CPEEP is the organization mandated by the Government of Quebec to ensure the application of the Decree respecting building service employees in the Montreal region; it must defend the rights of employees in the industry, which number reaches 15,000 people, year after year, a role it has held since 1975.

The government Decree determines and sets the working conditions of employees for which the CPEEP must ensure compliance.

Implementation of the collective RRSP plan: multiple actions to inform employees and raise awareness among employers of their obligations

In April 2006, following negotiations and an agreement reached between the employer association and the employees’ union, the CPEEP received the mandate to set up a group registered retirement savings plan (group RRSP) for the benefit of employees in the industry, as of June 1, 2009.

Between April 2006 all through June 2009, when the group RRSP came into effect, the CPEEP implemented a series of measures to inform employees and employers of the group RRSP and their respective obligations, including the need for employees to enroll by signing a form:

• Various meetings were held with employers to assist and help them to bring the group RRSP into effect
• Insertion of the terms of the group RRSP in the employee’s guide
• Insertion of the terms of the group RRSP in the employer’s guide
• Many advertisements in 4 languages

In addition to these measures used before and after June 1, 2009, other actions have also been taken to publicize the existence of the group RRSP and how it works:

• Personalized mailings to employees accompanied by a registration form
• Listing of various publications on the CPEEP website to announce the terms of the group RRSP
• Mailings between 2009 and 2020 providing information about the group RRSP and the need to complete an enrolment form
• Mailing of reminders between 2009 and 2020, simultaneously with the agenda mailing, provided by the CPEEP
• Massive telephone operations to reiterate the importance of completing the form
• Newsletters sent by email since 2019
• Additional reminder guidelines provided to customer service regarding the existence of the group RRSP and the importance of enrolling by signing a form

All these actions were aimed at ensuring that employees were informed of the existence of the group RRSP and the need to complete the enrolment form to benefit from it. These actions also aimed to ensure and remind employers of their role and their obligation to pay for the contributions, on behalf of their employees.

Thus, since the existence of the group RRSP, the CPEEP has multiplied its actions and interventions to keep employers and employees aware of their duties, obligations, and the terms regarding the group RRSP.

The CPEEP believes that it has done everything possible and has fulfilled its mission of providing information regarding the group RRSP and refutes the allegations made in the class action lawsuit.

A group RRSP for you

Today, after being in force for 13 years, the group RRSP has undergone various changes, in particular:

• In 2011, it was decided by the employer and union parties that employees who wished to contribute on a voluntary basis could do so.
• In 2021, at the request of the employer and union parties, the Decree was amended to create an obligation for employers to have the registration form completed at the time of hiring.

All these measures deployed have the same objective: to ensure that employees can fully benefit from a savings tool to which they are entitled.

The role of the CPEEP is to ensure compliance with the rules of the Decree set by the parties and to do so, the CPEEP uses the necessary means to take on this role and keep all parties informed of their respective obligations. This mission is essential to ensure fair competition in the cleaning industry, where unfortunately, unreported employment is present and where the turnover rate is high, both for employers and employees.

For more information about the group RRSP for the building service industry, we invite you to visit us at the following address: https://cpeep.qc.ca/en/rrsp/