Judge agrees to amended agreement.

The following news release was published on the NRPC web site at 3:30-pm today.

It means the pension will continue until September 30th, and Health and Welfare benefits in Canada will continue until the end of 2010 as well as payments to LTD people. Terminated people will also be paid $3000 severance as an advance on their claims.

After that we are on our own.

I don't know if the agreement will have any bearing on US health benefits.

The indications from the annoncement are that if the Canadian BIA is amended in favor of retirees, the judge would not allow Nortel to switch into the BIA process and would have to liquidate under the CCAA. That's my reading. What a crock!

In other words, if Canada alters the BIA to help pensioners get priority to claim what is rightfully theirs, we Nortel retirees will not be allowed to excercise that right. It also means that all other companies going bankruptcy would probably try to liquidate under the CCAA instead of the BIA and deny pensioners the right to a higher priority.

It's a good old boys Canadian Club!

Media Release: For release at 3.00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 31, 2010

NRPC relieved that new Settlement Agreement is approved; will continue to fight for changes to bankruptcy laws.

OTTAWA: The NRPC is relieved that the presiding judge in Nortel's bankruptcy proceedings today approved the amended Settlement Agreement between Nortel and representatives of its retirees, terminated and long-term disabled employees signed on March 29, 2010. The agreement postpones income cutbacks and benefit losses until later in the year for Nortel's former workers and provides a payment of $3000 to terminated employees who received no severance.

Last week Judge Geoffrey Morawetz ruled that he would not approve the previous version of the Settlement Agreement because of a clause that he deemed to be unfair to other creditors. The controversial clause would have preserved the right of Nortel's former workers to claim preferred status if Canada's bankruptcy laws were to be amended prior to Nortel's final liquidation. It has now been removed.

"We are not giving up the fight to change Canada's unjust bankruptcy laws!" said Don Sproule, National Chair of NRPC. He added: "The judge's earlier ruling indicates that since Nortel and other creditors will object, he would not allow the bankruptcy to move to liquidation under an amended Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. Our campaign at the federal level must now aim for retroactive legislative changes which could be applied to the current situation".

NRPC will also continue its efforts to persuade the Ontario government to establish a Pension Agency, in line with the recommendations of the 2008 Ontario Expert Commission on Pensions. The Agency would take over and run abandoned pension plans instead of using the remaining assets to buy annuities for retirees. The Nortel pension fund is significantly underfinanced and winding-up the plan to purchase annuities would further reduce pensioners' incomes.