Ontario's proposed retirement pension plan must be expanded to include all workers

Toronto – March 5, 2015 – UFCW Canada activists have advised the Ontario government that in order for workers to have greater retirement security, the province's newly proposed, government-administered workers' pension plan must include all workers across Ontario.

This is the second time UFCW Canada activists have met with government officials to discuss the proposed plan, stressing that the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP) needs to be universal and accessible to all, like the Canada Pension Plan.

Ontario's Associate Minister of Finance, Mitzie Hunter, and the Ontario Liberal government have been conducting roundtable discussions with various groups across the province regarding the proposed ORPP.

The proposed plan would exclude workers with existing workplace pension plans.

The current proposal would require all workers in the province who are not covered by a company pension plan to contribute 1.9% of annual earnings into the publicly managed pension fund, with their employer matching the contribution. One-third of workers in the province would not qualify for the plan.

"We believe that workers in Ontario and across the country should have the best retirement security possible," says UFCW Canada National President Paul Meinema. "We don't believe that it is possible to have the best retirement security if you exclude workers."

"Many UFCW Canada members belong to a workplace pension plan. Despite having the benefit of a pension plan, a broader ORPP will allow workers with company pension plans to have even greater retirement security," adds Brother Meinema.

Previously, UFCW Canada participated in a discussion that was geared toward young adult workers and how the plan would affect them.