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Employers must pay retail sales tax in addition to negotiated contributions to multi-employer benefit plans.
The applicant unions filed grievances alleging that the responding employers violated the provincial collective agreement by failing to remit the proper contribution amounts to multi-employer benefit plans.
Following the enactment of an 8% retail sales tax on group insurance premiums, the employers took the position that their negotiated contribution amounts were tax-inclusive, effectively reducing the net amount remitted to the funds.
The employers argued the Board lacked jurisdiction to enforce a tax statute.
The Board found it had jurisdiction to interpret the collective agreement and held that the negotiated contribution amounts were exclusive of the retail sales tax.
The employers were required to pay the tax in addition to the full contribution amounts specified in the collective agreement.
