TORONTO — Hydro One professional workers will get shares in the newly privatized utility as well as raises and a lump sum payment, but the Liberal government says the deal is “net zero.”
Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli says savings “derived from hiring flexibility” and “significantly increased” pension contributions from the employees will offset the increases.
The three-year ratified deal with the Society of Energy Professionals follows an agreement between Hydro One and the Power Workers’ Union, which will see them get shares equal to 2.7 per cent of their base pay every year from 2017 to 2028.
The energy ministry has not said what the value will be for the energy professionals’ share payments.
The Liberal government plans to sell off 60 per cent of Hydro One, starting with a 15-per-cent initial public offering, but the enabling legislation removed virtually all public oversight from the utility and the sale process, before any shares were sold.
The sale is expected to raise about $9 billion, $4 billion of which the government has said will be used for public transit projects and the rest to pay down hydro debt.
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