CANADIAN POLITICS QUÉBEC:

POLITICIANS LEAD CHARGE AGAINST PENSIONS IN QUÉBEC:

It seems that in almost all countries there is a concerted effort to deny workers the pension benefits that they have worked and struggled for. Canada is, of course, no different, and the following open letter from the Canadian Union Of Public Employees (CUPE) speaks of how this attack is playing out in the Province of Québec.

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Politicians attack pension plans and keep Quebecers in the dark

The following open letter from CUPE Quebec was recently published by a number of media outlets (Le Devoir, Cyberpresse).


The end of 2011 was marked by an unprecedented attack against the pension plans of hundreds of thousands of Quebec workers. Quebec City's mayor Régis Labeaume is leading the attack and requesting that the Quebec government change pension plans to cut costs.

Keeping Quebecers in the dark is part of a ploy and an ideological attack on the working conditions of the middle‑class. Countless omissions (presumably intentional) are clouding the issue and making it impossible to hold a healthy debate. Montreal's mayor Gérald Tremblay is threatening to do the same.

It's time to set the record straight so that Quebecers understand what is truly at stake.

The crisis

The financial crisis is largely to blame for the current strain on certain pension plans. Overall, pension plans simply have not perform as well as expected and the cause of this financial collapse is clearly the worldwide financial crisis.

We were falsely promised that the “free market” and “invisible hand” would lead us to an era of unprecedented prosperity, and more market stability and efficiency; when in reality, it brought nothing but confusion, fraud, inequity and crisis.

Workers have consistently stood-up against this financial carelessness, using unions and progressive politicians as their voice.

However, despite the opposition representatives of the 1 per cent have still managed to force the 99 per cent into a corner. And now the blame is being laid on the last bastion of the middle class: unionized workers and their pension plans.

The challenge now is how do we solve the pension plan dilemma?

First, take a deep breath. Second, we need to look at the long-term. We must measure the solvency of pension plans over the span of a career. Yes, there may be losses, but there is also an equal chance of incurring a surplus (which would be higher and more stable if our leaders regulated our financial markets more wisely).

What about surpluses?

For years there was a surplus. However, when that was the case did you ever hear Quebec municipalities offering to lower Quebecers' taxes due to a surplus in their employees’ pension plans? Of course not.

During those golden years when employers were making contributions directly from pension fund surpluses, they argued that they were fully within their rights. They claimed that any surplus belonged to them since they were the only ones responsible in the event of a deficit.

They were quite comfortable sticking their hands in the cookie jar whenever it was convenient. But now that the good days are behind them and pension plans are struggling with deficits, workers expect their employers to do the right thing. It is their duty to take responsibility for the deficits, just as they had promised.

Now we're beginning to see that employers never really thought they would have to deal with deficits and they are doing everything in their power to avoid taking responsibility. At the very least, is it not normal for workers to expect that their employers return the money they “legally stole”?

Possible solutions

Trade unions know that they must take action and that sitting back and doing nothing is not an option. The main objective must be to keep these pension plans, but solutions must be case-specific in order to make them more structurally viable.

Unions are already doing their part by discussing possible solutions with employers. CUPE is committed to a process of lengthy consultations to find ways to secure our pension plans. It is our duty to keep senior citizens above the poverty line to not further the gap between the rich and poor.

In fact, the current struggle for the labour movement is not only to uphold private or supplemental pension plans, but also to significantly improve public pension plans, including the Quebec Pension Plan and the Canada Pension Plan. In turn, this would help protect Quebecers against poverty while reducing the cost of other pension plans.

For the sake of all Quebecers, we must act now. As trade unions that is what we are working towards!

CANADIAN POLITICS:

MARCH WITH OCAP AND CUPE THIS THURSDAY:

This appeal from the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) asks you to join the 'Raise the Rates' contingent at the upcoming Canadian Union Of Public Employees Ontario (CUPE) convention. This is for our readers down Ontario way.

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Join OCAP at CUPE Ontario Rally: Thursday, May 26th 12Noon‏

Join the OCAP Raise the Rates Contingent at the CUPE Ontario Rally:

Meet: Thursday, May 26, Noon at the Sheraton Centre, 393 Queen Street West (at York - across from City Hall)

This coming Thursday, CUPE Ontario will be holding a rally during their Annual Convention in Toronto. It will demand decent jobs, improved public services as well as a raise in social assistance rates (OW/ODSP), a living wage, and restoration of the Special Diet.

For the last year (since 2010 Convention and the passing of a 'Raise the Rates' Resolution), OCAP has been working closely with CUPE Ontario to push forward jointly the 'Raise the Rates Campaign' to demand of the McGuinty Provincial Government a reversal of the Harris era cuts, a raise in Social Assistance rates to where people can live with health and dignity, and a restoration of the Special Diet Allowance.

We have developed a 'train the trainers' for CUPE members on 'why social assistance is a worker's issue' and how to concretely get involved in the campaign (see here: http://www.cupe.on.ca/doc.php?subject_id=287 ). We have had the chance to meet with CUPE members at sectoral conferences and in locals from Windsor to Ottawa to North Bay and beyond; building CUPE-community Raise the Rates alliances wherever possible. This work is ongoing and we know all too well that the broader fight back against austerity is only just beginning. Solidarity and alliances between poor communities and public sector workers is more important now than ever before!

Join with OCAP and the Raise the Rates Contingent on Thursday, May 26th as we march to Queen's Park and fight alongside public sector workers to defend public services and those who deliver them.

Join the Raise the Rates Campaign: http://update.ocap.ca/node/947

Ontario Coalition Against Poverty www.ocap.ca 416-925-6939

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pls forward widely All community allies, activists, workers, students, Torontonians, are invited to a RALLY!

Rally

Thurs May 26 Noon

@ Sheraton Hotel, 123 Queen St.

*This rally is held during CUPE Ontario’s Convention and ends at Queen’s Park In the lead up to the provincial election on October 6 there is an opportunity to make a difference in the province of Ontario. You are invited to join members of CUPE Ontario during their annual Convention to send a message to the provincial government.

BUILD A BETTER ONTARIO DEMAND:

1.AN END TO POVERTY: A raise in social assistance rates, a livable wage and a full restoration of the Special Diet allowance

2.PUBLIC SERVICES: An increase in public funding to services like: housing, childcare and post-secondary education to ensure key services are public and accessible for all

3.GOOD JOBS: Strengthen employment standards, safety provisions, sick pay and restore anti-scab laws and card certification

Join CUPE Ontario to send a message about poverty and public services in Ontario. Tell this government what kind of Ontario we want & need!

Bring your flags, noise makers and voice! *Wheel-trains vehicle provided

CANADIAN POLITICS ONTARIO: MARCH ON MCGUINTY: This Friday, April 1, the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) along with sections of the Canadian Union of Public Employees CUPE are planning a mass demonstration to protest the McGuinty government's attack on poor people in that province. Here's the callout. Rather appropriate that this is being held on international politician day ;). TOTOTOTOTO **Please forward far and wide! All Out April 1st! March on the McGuinty Government RAISE WELFARE AND DISABILITY RATES, RESTORE THE SPECIAL DIET! /////////////////////// Friday April 1st Assemble at Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto 12 Noon *Free Meal ////////////////////// New Promo Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Guk9jOXeUco On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=178670685510930 Download the Poster here: http://ocap.ca/files/ocap%20april%201%20poster%2011x17lo.pdf Below is important information about the day of action this coming Friday, including meeting points for Toronto locations, buses coming from Hamilton and Ottawa, and a call from CUPE locals to members to join us on the day. **If you would like to organize a contingent/meeting point from your neighborhood, organization, union local, etc – Let us know! ---------------------------- Toronto meeting points: • Jane-Finch: BUS meeting @ 10:30 am at Yorkgate Mall (North-West corner of Jane -Finch) in the parking lot closest to No Frills-Return: 2:30 • Sistering - 962 Bloor Street West - 11:15am *TTC Tokens available • Parkdale: 11:15am @ PARC drop-in (1499 Queen St.W) *Tokens available • Davenport-Perth Area: 11 am meeting at the drop-in at the The Stop (1884Davenport Rd). *Tokens available • Lawrence-Weston Area: 11 am at the Weston/King Neighbourhood centre,2017 Weston Rd. *Tokens available • Downtown-East: 11:30 @ North-East corner of Dundas/Sherbourne *Tokens available From Out-of-town: • Hamilton: 10:30 at 50 Dundurn St. South -Fortino's Plaza (corner of Dundurn and King St. W)-Return is 2:30-Contact Carol @ CUPE local 5167: 289-253-4789 to reserve a seat! • Ottawa: Contact Under Pressure to arrange with rides (opirgrc@gmail.com ) • Solidarity Action in Kingston - Join Kingston Coalition Against Poverty:-Rally at 12 NOON in Skeleton Park, Kingston-March to M.P.P. Gerretson's downtown office-Contact: kcap@tao.ca Calling All CUPE Locals, Activists & District Councils - Solidarity Needed April 1st Day of Action - Raise the Rates Campaign 12 noon - Nathan Philips Square - City Hall - Toronto At our last CUPE Ontario Convention we took an important stand for solidarity with people living in poverty and to fight poverty with our resolution to support the Raise the Rates Campaign. This vital work continues and we are asking for CUPE locals and district councils to endorse the April 1st Day of Action being organized by the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty and to get the word out to their members about this important event. People living in poverty struggle every day to survive. Since 1995 when Mike Harris cut welfare and froze disability rates the cost of living has sky rocketed, yet the McGunity Liberals have only made it worse since that time by gutting the Special Diet which enabled people to access funds for healthy food. Not only have they made the Special Diet cut, the Liberal's have refused to reverse the Harris cuts and raise welfare rates. It would now take an increase of 55% just to bring benefits up to pre-Harris levels. As CUPE members we need to continue to show our solidarity with poor people. Here is what you or your local can do: • endorse this event • send the info out to your members to get involved • join the CUPE Contingent on April 1st at 100 Queen St., West - 12 noon in Toronto - bring your banners, flags, whistles and noisemakers. Other actions and solidarity events are happening outside of Toronto, please contact us at raisetheratescampaign@gmail.com to get info for your area or to get further updates on the campaign. If you need more info and are in the Toronto area, please call 416-529-9600. An Injury to One is An Injury to All - All out April 1 - 12 noon - Raise the Rates Day of Action Raise the Rates Day of Action Endorsed by: CUPE Toronto District Council, CUPE 3393 Executive, CUPE 3903, CUPE 3906, CUPE 4308, Ontario Council of Hospital Unions/CUPE ----------------- March on the McGuinty Government RAISE WELFARE AND DISABILITY RATES, RESTORE THE SPECIAL DIET! ////////////////////// Friday April 1st Assemble at Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto 12 Noon ////////////////////// It has been 16 long years since Mike Harris cut welfare and froze disability. McGuinty's Liberals have been in power for half that time and done nothing to deal with poverty. In fact people are worse off today. It would take a 55% increase to bring benefits to pre-Harris levels. If benefit levels were restored to the same level of spending power as they had in 1994, a single person on Ontario Works would now be receiving $904 a month instead of the miserable $593 now being issued. Now as the economy continues to slump and the need is greater than ever, this Government is destroying the vital Special Diet Allowance that has enabled people to survive. The new system they have proposed will provide benefits for fewer conditions and applicants will have to release medical information and face other intrusive measures designed to prevent access to the benefit. Within the Liberals’ own statement about this measure, they refer to the fact that ‘many will not be eligible’, and this is a move to ‘respect taxpayers’. The new Special Diet comes in to affect on April 1st, 2011 and all those who are not eligible under the new program will be cut off by July 31st. (See here for OCAP’s factsheet about the new Special Diet: http://www.ocap.ca/node/940) With no intention of dealing with the crisis of poverty they have created,the Liberals are setting up an 18 month long review of the welfare system to divert us from taking action to challenge them. We don't need a review to tell us we're hungry. What we need is decent income and a 55% increase in the rates now! UNITED WE EAT, DIVIDED WE STARVE March on the McGuinty Government April 1st! For More information contact the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) (416) 925-6939 / ocap@tao.ca ________________ ocap mailing list listocap@masses.tao.ca https://masses.tao.ca/lists/listinfo/ocap

CANADIAN LABOUR SASKATCHEWAN:

RALLY TO SAVE REGINA WELFARE RIGHTS CENTRE:

You can be assured that something like a 'Welfare Rights Centre' wouldn't be of top of the popularity list of people such as Saskatchewan Party (conservative) Premier Brad Wall. After all the idea that anybody on welfare has "rights" is enough to double the necessary dose of blood pressure meds for such as these. That's all fine and good, but then the employees of this centre had the effrontery to actually unionize in Local 4973 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). When a campaign of harassment and selective dismissals failed to bend the workers involved it was time to close the centre entirely which is happening this month. What follows is a news story from CUPE about a demonstration held on the 24th of January to demand the centre stay open.

The government has replied to a continued campaign for the centre with a stony silence, but no doubt there is a certain amount of smug glee amongst conservative ideologues in Molly's old home province. After 35 years of operation there is suddenly no longer any need for an ombudsman-like agency to advocate for the poor ? Now that a bright new day of free enterprise has dawned the poor are at last free to go out and get jobs...or perhaps free to starve to death silently.

Now I must say that I am not a great fan of the welfare system. Even without some almost miraculous change to a new and freer society, however, there are better ways to handle the actual problems than what has been created by decades of bureaucratic empire building. Better for both the recipients and for society in general. If, however, we are stuck with the system as it is, or with only minor tinkering with it, then the existence of an outside advocate for people trapped in the system is essential. It's the old "division of power" and "checks and balances" idea that is actually one of the better inventions to come about in politics. Without such an advocate welfare recipients are reduced to little more than helpless toys in the hands of a bureaucracy.

But enough editorializing. Here's the story. You can follow the story more as it develops at the website of the Saskatchewan division of CUPE or at the 'Support Welfare Rights Workers' Facebook page.

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Regina Welfare Rights rally

“Who is going to care for our clients? How will they cope?” asks Theresa Poness, a staff member at the Welfare Rights Centre in Regina.

Speaking at a rally in downtown Regina on January 24, Poness said she and her co-workers, members of CUPE 4973, are worried about how Regina’s most vulnerable citizens will manage when the Centre’s doors close next month.

The Welfare Rights Centre has provided advocacy and support services for people on low incomes for 35 years. But the government plans to terminate the Centre’s funding on February 25.

That doesn’t sit well with CUPE and anti-poverty activists. They have been trying to arrange a meeting with Social Services Minister June Draude for months, but have received no response. Yesterday, they took their concerns to the front door of the Social Services building.

“Silence is not an appropriate response from a Minister,” CUPE National President Paul Moist told the rally. Moist attended the rally with National Secretary-Treasurer Claude Généreux and CUPE staff. “People on low-incomes in this city need these services and our members need these jobs.” He urged the Minister to arrange a meeting.

Anti-poverty activist Peter Gilmer told the crowd, “The city desperately needs to maintain the valuable work of the Welfare Rights Centre,” noting other anti-poverty groups don’t have the capacity to handle the extra workload.

“Advocacy is a critically important service,” Gilmer said. “Those with wealth and power can protect their own interests. We need more people, not less, to defend those who cannot. We must ensure these services continue,” he told the rally.

For more information, check out CUPE’s facebook page Support Welfare Rights Workers

CANADIAN LABOUR ONTARIO:

CRIMINAL CHARGES A0GAINST NEGLIGENT COMPANY FOR WORKER DEATH IN ONTARIO:

The following news item about charges of criminal negligence causing death being filed against an Ontario contractor who caused the death of a municipal worker in Sault St. Marie Ontario come from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), the union that the killed person was a member of. A few things should be noted about what follows. One is the actual rarity of such charges under Canadian law. Since 2004 only 4 such cases have been filed. Is this because Canadian employers are exceptionally cautious and follow best practices ? Very doubtful. The workplace death rate in the EU is 2.5/100,000 employees. The USA tops this with a rate of 4.0/100,000. Canada, however, comes in a a whopping 6.8/100,000. The only European country that tops this is Portugal at 7.6/100,000. Canada's workplace deaths are not inevitable, nor accidental. Pretty well all developed countries (and many underdeveloped ones as well) have lower rates. The obvious conclusion...criminal negligence causing death at the workplace in Canada is far more common than the legal cases would indicate. If things happen that others can easily avoid that is "negligence" from at least Molly's definition. Anyways, here's the story.

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Private company facing criminal negligence charges following city worker fatality

A private company is facing criminal charges over an incident that caused the death of a CUPE member.

Millennium Crane Rentals Ltd., the crane operator and the crane owner each face charges of criminal negligence causing death. They are scheduled to be in court in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, November 30 and December 6.

According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, this is one of just four cases in which a company has been charged under the Criminal Code since Bill C-45 (criminal liability of organizations) became law in 2004.

The bill sets out rules on criminal liability for organizations and their representatives. It establishes that everyone with authority to direct another person’s work has a responsibility, within reason, to prevent bodily harm to those they direct.

“We’re pleased to see the Sault Ste. Marie police and the Ministry of Labour have taken the time to thoroughly investigate the incident, and we’ll be paying close attention to this case” said CUPE National President Paul Moist.

“We’re hopeful that regardless of the outcome, employers will get the message that all levels of management bear a responsibility in making sure workers are protected on the jobsite, so that we can avoid terrible tragedies like this.”

The criminal charges stem from the April 16, 2009 death of municipal worker James Vecchio, who was crushed when a crane fell into an excavated hole he was working in at the Fifth Line Landfill.

Reports in the Sault Star suggest that the crane, which was loading concrete into the hole where Vecchio and another municipal employee were doing sewer work, was repositioning and backed up too far, falling into the hole and pinning Vecchio.

Vecchio, a 34-year old father of two, was rushed to hospital after firefighters extracted him, but he was pronounced dead at the hospital. The other worker was unharmed.

Millennium Crane Rentals, who were under contract with the city, also faces five charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act related to the condition of the crane and the qualifications of the operator. A court date for those charges is set for January 10, 2011.

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS:

BUY NOTHING DAY AND BEYOND:

Today was Buy Nothing Day, originally a Canadian invention and now a worldwide "event", or non-event as the case may be. Molly was more or less true to the spirit of the day except that I felt compelled to go to the Liquor Commission to acquire more booze for the weekend. Actually it's pretty easy for me to observe such a day as the LC and the gas station account for pretty well over 90% of my purchases. I have to buy gas as a requirement to keep working. Maybe the booze is the same, along with the 222s for the arthritis and the occasional 50 cents for air for the slow leaking tire that the garage didn't manage to fix. Yeah a lot of places now charge for air if you can believe it or not. That seems like some sort of ultimate to me.

All that being said the idea of Buy Nothing Day seems to have gathered support outside of those who would rather spend their money on $15,000 "eco-tours" and naturopathic quackery. It has gathered the support of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) as the following article from them shows. Now a cynic might say that this merely speaks for a segment of the population that consume in different ways from the majority and would like said majority to follow their path, voluntarily or otherwise. And if they cannot afford to consume the "correct" way then too bad for them.

But does it have to be that way ? This year there is an alternative, at least in the Spanish speaking world. The 'Huelga De Consumo' promoted by the Spanish CGT bears a superficial resemblance to the Buy Nothing Day, but this event set for December 21 is another animal entirely. While it contains all of the feel-good ecoboo of BND it is expressly set forth as an instrument of class struggle, not as some new age correction of the presumed moral failings of the masses who do not share the social values (and privileges) of the 'new class'. It is meant as a 'trial balloon', following the September 29th general strike in Spain, to see if even more pressure can be put on the ruling class. It should be noted that the Spanish CGT with up to 100,000 members and representing up to 2 million Spanish workers in workplace elections is not an insignificant force.

Quite frankly I feel much more comfortable with this sort of thing than I do with the anglosphere idea of 'Buy Nothing Day' if for no other reason than the fact that the latter is merely something resembling a religious declaration of principle while a Consumers' Strike is something that may actually be a real weapon in a class war. I don't know how well the CGT's idea will lay out, but I will certainly translate further information about it here on this blog.

Until then, here is CUPE's statement on Buy Nothing Day. A very small step, but at least it is something.

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Buy Nothing Day – cut back on waste
Nov 25, 2010 01:10 PM


Friday, November 26, 2010 is Buy Nothing Day, a day set aside to shun our consumptive ways. The day was first recognized in Vancouver in 1992 and has since spread throughout the world.

The Friday after the American Thanksgiving was selected for Buy Nothing Day as this day traditionally in the United States signals the beginning of the Christmas shopping rush.

Buy Nothing Day is a time to examine over-consumption and its effects on the environment and our culture. Specifically, over-consumption is linked to excess waste generation, rising greenhouse gas emissions, negative effects on the air, water and soil quality, and other environmental issues.

Here are just a few waste facts to consider:

►According to the Recycling Council of Ontario, by the age of 6 months, the average Canadian has consumed the same amount of resources as the average person in the developing world consumes in a lifetime.

►The average Canadian produces 997 kilograms of waste per year, according to Statistics Canada.

►Environment Canada estimated that more than 140,000 tonnes of computer equipment, phones, televisions, stereos and small home appliances accumulate in Canadian landfill cites each year.

►The CUPE National Environment Committee urges members to stop and consider these impacts and refrain from buying anything on Friday November 26. Rather than celebrating consumerism by shopping, CUPE members are encouraged to celebrate the Earth.

CANADIAN LABOUR:

CANADIANS WANT PENSIONS INCREASED:

We live in interesting times. Corporations and the governments that represent them across the "developed world" are frantically trying to pare back the gains that working people have made over many decades. Some of this is an attempt to reduce labour costs to maintain competitiveness in the face of rising industrial producers such as India, China and Brazil. It is also partly an attempt to redistribute the social surplus that flows through government from ordinary people to those corporations that might be said to be "national" (though governments are generally pretty poor judges of such things) once more because of foreign competition. It is also, however, a genuine fiscal crisis of the state that has been building for a long time and has been exasperated by the recent stimulus spending that many governments have engaged in.

Many things, excluding corporate giveaways of course, are being cut back, but pensions have proven to be a particularly sore point as recent events in Greece, Spain and especially France have shown. It seems that the population of many countries have been willing to (sullenly) accept such things as long term stagnant wages and the virtual end of good chances for the social mobility of their children. As I said, sullenly, as resentment over such loses for ordinary people has led to a revival of class based politics in many places, despite its premature obituary pronounced by many pundits left and right.

The attack on pensions across the world seems to be the straw that broke the camel's back. To date the gradually growing realization that things aren't going to get any better has been tempered with an assurance that they wouldn't get significantly worse. If, however, the 'promise" of at least some comfort on retirement is withdrawn it is little wonder that open rebellion has broken out in many countries. Here in Canada where everybody except right wing "think"(sic) tanks agrees that the federal pension system is financially sound the mood of the general population is actually that pension benefits should be increased not reduced. Such a mood will provide a great barrier to the federal government following the European model of cutbacks no matter how much the neocons now in power there would dearly love to do so.

Here's an article from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) about a recent survey of what Canadians think should be done about our pension system.

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Western Canadians support increase in Canada Pension Plan benefits
Nov 4, 2010 09:02 AM


More than three quarters of western Canadians support increasing Canada Pension Plan benefits, according to a new national survey. Eighty percent also support increasing federal payments to senior citizens and four in ten believe the government is moving too slowly in reforming Canada’s pension system.

The Future of Pensions poll was completed by Environics Research Group in late August for the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the Public Service Alliance of Canada. The national poll surveyed 2,020 Canadians and has a margin of error of +/-2.2 per cent 19 times out of 20. Responses from British Columbia have a margin of error of +/-6.2 per cent 19 times out of 20, and responses from the Prairies have a margin of error of +/-4.4 per cent 19 times out of 20.

“From coast to coast, Canadians support higher CPP benefits," said CUPE National president Paul Moist. “Western Canadians are sending a clear message to federal and provincial politicians who are currently studying ways to improve the CPP."

The survey asked western Canadians their views on saving and their expectations for retirement. While many have set up a Retirement Savings Plan or a Tax-Free Savings Account, 35 per cent in British Columbia and 30 per cent on the Prairies acknowledge that they are not saving for retirement—mostly because they cannot afford to.

Only one in four western Canadians is fully confident that they will be able to save enough to live comfortably in retirement, and three in 10 believe they won’t have enough to live comfortably, with lower income being the most pessimistic.

“Western Canadians are concerned with their capacity to retire in comfort,” said John Gordon, National President of PSAC. “If action is not taken now, poverty will become a dire reality for more and more elderly Canadians.”

Poll respondents also overwhelmingly support increasing Old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplements for those living below the poverty line. OAS and GIS payments amount to only $11,000 per year.

The survey also asked respondents for their preference on different types of pension plans. Despite the economic downturn, those currently part of workplace pension plans believe their pension benefits are safe. But more than 70 per cent prefer a defined benefit plan, which guarantees a fixed amount of benefit when you retire, to a defined contribution plan, where the benefits paid out depend on the performance of the investments in the fund.

Together, CUPE and PSAC represent more than 800,000 public sector workers across Canada. Both organizations have been advocating for retirement security for all Canadians.


Read The Future of Pensions Poll


For more information, please contact:

British Columbia
Barry O’Neill, president, CUPE BC 604-340-6768 (cell)
Patrick Bragg, PSAC Communications, 778-889-3486
Clay Suddaby, CUPE Communications 604-313-1138 (mobile)

Alberta
Jeffrey Vallis, PSAC Communications, 204-391-3067
Lou Arab, CUPE Communications, 780-271-2722

Saskatchewan
Jeffrey Vallis, PSAC Communications, 204-391-3067
Tom Graham, president CUPE Saskatchewan, 306-229-8171

Manitoba
Jeffrey Vallis, PSAC Communications, 204-391-3067
Mike Skaftfeld, president CUPE Manitoba, 204-470-1313

CANADIAN POLITICS:

PROTEST CETA IN OTTAWA:

CETA, the Canada -EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, is one of those things that has the habit of sneaking up on you gradually. Only at the last moment do you realize that you are in an inescapable trap. Canada has had ample experience of this in the past with NAFTA, and now the federal government wants to tie us to yet another democracy destroying contract.

The following item from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) echoes a call from the Council of Canadians for a demonstration in Ottawa on the 22nd against this agreement. As a public service union CUPE is, of course, most concerned with the way that this agreement will be used to further privatization of public services. As an organization with a nationalist agenda the C0C is most concerned with the loss of Canadian sovereignty that such deals represent. Most important, in my point of view, is the weakening of the potential for significant decentralization in Canada as our polity becomes hamstrung by international restrictions. In any case there are many reasons to oppose such a deal. Here is the notice from CUPE.

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CETA: Treat or Trick?

Just in time for Halloween, Canadian and European Union trade negotiators are in Ottawa next week putting together a monster free trade pact. But this Harper-era trade deal is no treat. It's a trick that threatens workers, First Nations, municipal democracy, our public services and more.

People in both Canada and Europe want public services that are owned and operated by democratically elected governments and run on a not-for-profit basis. There is no place for trade deals that prohibit keeping our services and infrastructure public and keeping our tax dollars flowing back into our communities.

Don't let Harper create a trade monster. Help us chase CETA out of town!


What: rally against CETA organized by The Council of Canadians

Where: Old Ottawa City Hall, 111 Sussex Drive

When: Friday, October 22, 12 - 1 p.m.


For more information:


Tel: 613-233-2773
Email: inquiries@canadians.org

Read more about CETA on the CUPE Privatization Watch Webpage.

CANADIAN LABOUR PETERBOROUGH:
PROTEST AGAINST HOSPITAL LAYOFFS:



You have to admire our political and economic system. Our beloved rulers always have a fine sense of priorities, and they would never let such a trivial thing as patient safety interfere with finding the money for corporate tax cuts and give-aways. It is, after all, more productive to stimulate a live corporation than a dead patient. Here's a story from the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU) via the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) about some who oppose such "short-sightedness".
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Hospital staff hold rally to fight cuts in Peterborough
Oct 5, 2010 03:33 PM


Hospital staff from across Ontario rally against the deep cuts to services at Peterborough Regional Health Centre

On October 4, more than 500 workers were in attendance at a rally to show their support to the 252 layoff notices to CUPE members issued by the Peterborough Community Hospital.

In addition to the staff layoffs, the proposed cuts include:

♣Closing the downtown women’s health centre.
♣Dozens of hospital beds to be closed and an untold number of beds to remain unusable because they will not be staffed.
♣Cuts to ICU, medical and surgical beds, infection control and housekeeping.

OCHU president Michael Hurley said, “This is just the beginning, we won’t let this government close community hospital and we will have many other rallies like this one with more and more people.”


Watch the video of the rally and read the article entitled Hundreds protest hospital cuts during union rally from The Peterborough Examiner.

Read more about the struggle to save the hospital on the OCHU Website.

POLITICAL SPORT:

SOCCER WITH A DIFFERENCE:

There's the World Cup and then there's the 'Homeless World Cup'. The latter is soccer played by homeless people, street soccer if you will, and it has its own events designed to draw world attention to the plight of the homeless. This year the Homeless World Cup will be held in Rio De Janiero Brazil from Sept. 19 to 26. this alternative world Cup is sponsored by numerous organization worldwide, including the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). The following announcement of a fundraiser on September 1 out in Vancouver comes from CUPE.

HSHSHSHSHS

Support Team Vancouver in the Homeless World Cup 2010
Aug 23, 2010 07:26 PM
Team Canada is holding a fundraiser on Wednesday, September 1 from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at Doolins Pub at Granville and Nelson in Vancouver. Tickets are $15 and include a burger and a beer. The event will feature special guests, a silent auction and live entertainment.

This is a benefit and send-off for Street Soccer Team Canada which is going to Rio De Janiero, Brazil on September 15 to represent us in the 64-nation Homeless World Cup. Players have recently been homeless, are homeless, or are at risk for homelessness.

Most of Team Canada’s players were originally recruited from shelters run by the Portland Hotel Society Community Services Society (PHS).

CUPE 15 and CUPE 1004 members work for both PHS and the Carnegie Community Centre and both locals are supporting the team financially and as volunteers.

For more information call Leo Cooper at (604) 831-8412.

Watch the ad promoting the series.
For more information, visit the Homeless World Cup website.

LOCAL EVENTS WINNIPEG:

WALK FOR THE SHELTERS:

Here's an interesting event beginning today in Winkler and ending on the 21st in Memorial Park here in Winnipeg...the 'Walk for the Shelters'. The cause is the support of shelters for battered women in Winkler and in Winnipeg, and you can see more about it at the walk's website.

Yes, I know, I know, I know. The purists out there amongst the anarchists will complain about any event that asks for more government money, and doubtless they are right in an abstract sense. Yet, this is one of many situations where the government actually doles out its funds to things that are useful, and there is little immediate prospect of funding coming from elsewhere. Aside from the absurdity of waiting for the revolution that will never come there are, of course, other solutions that could be applied in the intermediate to long term. One would be to expand the category of "tax credits" such that donations to certain things would be deductible from income tax.

This is certainly not an impossibility, merely something that would be difficult to get enacted in anything but the very long term. Especially when so much of the opposition to our conservative rulers are either just as statist as they are or are under the delusion that protest is all that has to be done. Yet it would go very far to making the operation of such worthy things as shelters for battered women independent of state control. It's an idea well worth considering.

Here's the story from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) about their support for this walk.

MLMLMLMLML

CUPE Respect Campaign supports Walk for the Shelters
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(What are these?) Aug 13, 2010 01:32 PM

WINNIPEG – CUPE’s Respect Campaign is honoured to support Steve Braun’s Walk for the Shelters as he walks from Winkler to Winnipeg to raise money for two women’s shelters, drawing attention to the fact that women’s shelters across Manitoba lack the funding necessary to provide adequate services to victims of domestic violence.

On August 17 at 9:00 a.m., Steve Braun will begin his 150 kilometre walk. Kathy Macdonald, president of CUPE Local 2343 and member mobilizer for the CUPE Respect Campaign, will be walking alongside Steve during part of his four-day journey which will conclude on August 21 at Memorial Park.

“I’m proud to walk alongside Steve in his quest to make people aware of just how under-funded our women’s shelters really are,” said Kathy Macdonald. “These shelters need adequate resources to provide women and children who are victims of domestic violence a safe alternative.”

CUPE Manitoba represents social services workers in women’s shelters across Manitoba. The goal of the Respect Campaign is to raise the profile of what CUPE members contribute to the people in their care and for their communities.

“In a perfect world, shelters would receive adequate funding from the provincial government and efforts like Steve’s would not be necessary,” said Kathy Macdonald. “Sadly that is not the case. I’m very impressed with the leadership Steve has shown on this issue.”

The funds raised by the Walk for the Shelters will go directly to address staff and resource shortages at the IKWE-WIDDJIITIWIN shelter in Winnipeg and Genesis House in Winkler.

For more information about the Walk for the Shelters or to make a donation, please visit the Walk for the Shelters website.

For more information, contact:

Liam Martin
Communications Representative
Tel: (204) 612-0901

Kathy Macdonald
Respect Campaign Member Mobilizer
Tel: (204) 942-0343, ext. 214

Sheree Capar & Allan Bleich
Social Service Coordinators
Tel: (204) 942-0343

ECOLOGY CANADIAN POLITICS:

OPPOSITION TO THE NORTHERN GATEWAY PIPELINE:

The oil company Enbridge has recently joined BP on the "most unwanted list" of corporate vandals because of its pipeline spill in Michigan. Not content with playing second fiddle to the head capo of corporate crime, however, Enbridge has for some time been preparing a made in Canada potential disaster to put it up with the big boys. I refer to the planned 'Northern Gateway Pipeline' from the Alberta Oil Sands to the Pacific coast in British Columbia. This project has attracted a wide variety of opposition from environmental groups to first nations whose lands will be threatened by the development. It has even been opposed by the BC Central Coast Chamber of Commerce because of the dangers that it hazards. The Pembina Institute, a Canadian think tank concerned with energy policy, has produced a very critical report outlining the problems with this project as well as with another proposed northern pipelines. Consult that website for further details.

Canadian labour, in the person of the BC section of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE BC) has also come out in opposition to Northern Gateway. Here's their statement from the website of CUPE BC.

CLCLCLCLCL
CUPE BC opposes Enbridge tanker plans to navigate off coast
BURNABY—Citing this week’s Enbridge oil spill that has threatened a Michigan river and the earlier disaster by British Petroleum that devastated the U.S. Gulf Coast, the B.C. division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees today joined First Nations and environmental groups in voicing opposition to the Enbridge Northern Gateway project.

The project would involve super tankers carrying bitumen from the Alberta tar sands and navigating the coast of British Columbia, including the fragile Great Bear Rainforest.

CUPE BC says that any potential benefits of the Enbridge plan are outweighed by the high risk of another disaster like the BP oil spill. Enbridge itself has lost credibility in recent days with a pipeline leak that resulted in more than 3 million litres of oil flowing into the Kalamazoo River in southern Michigan, coating birds and fish.

“As we’ve seen in Michigan and the Gulf coast, any kind of oil spill on our coast would have a tremendous impact on the natural environment and would impact wildlife, including salmon and the Kermode bear which is unique to the Great Bear Rainforest,” says CUPE BC diversity vice-president (aboriginal workers) Leanne Louie. “With the BP oil spill, the damage is irreversible. We can’t let that happen here.”

Penetration of the B.C. coastline by oil tankers is only part of a massive plan to build a 1,150-kilometre underground pipeline that will result in the transportation of 525,000 barrels of oil each day across Alberta and B.C. The federal government and its joint review panel are currently reviewing Enbridge’s application for the project despite the B.C. government’s 2006 promise to protect the Great Bear Rainforest.

“Enbridge claims there is minimal risk of an oil spill. In reality, it’s not if but when an oil spill will occur,” says Sheryl Burns, co-chair of the CUPE BC environment committee. “The Campbell government says it wants to fight climate change. But by supporting the Enbridge application it’s doing precisely the opposite, since the pipeline will be a major incentive for increased production of climate-damaging oil from the tar sands. We should be creating green jobs instead that will employ British Columbians while also protecting our environment.”

In a letter to Premier Gordon Campbell, CUPE BC president Barry O’Neill reminds the premier of B.C.’s promise in 2006 to protect the Great Bear Rainforest. “We urge the provincial government to oppose the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Project altogether and honour the Great Bear Rainforest agreement it signed,” writes O’Neill.

CANADIAN LABOUR HAMILTON:

STAND WITH MCMASTER'S STAFF AGAINST CASUALIZATION:








The following appeal for online solidarity with workers at McMaster University in Hamilton Ontario comes from the Canadian Union Of Public Employees (CUPE).


MCMCMCMCMC
Fight to stop the casualization of work at McMaster University


Sessional faculty at McMaster University (CUPE 3906) are fighting management’s plan to casualize their work. We have been in contract talks with the university administration for the last three months to achieve a fair contract, but management filed for a ‘no board’ report triggering a strike/lockout deadline of August 11.

Management wants to casualize sessional faculty by dividing courses into smaller sub-units taught by different instructors. For example, a one-semester course could potentially be turned into three sub-unit courses taught by three different instructors. If management gets their way, the quality of education will suffer at McMaster and sessional faculty could become one-month employees.

In addition, McMaster management wants to continue to keep sessional faculty at the lower end of the wage scale by offering no increases to wages or benefits for two full years.

Send a message to McMaster University’s management

Help us stop the casualization of sessional faculty. Please take a moment to send an email to McMaster administration and tell them you support CUPE 3906 members’ fight to stop casualization of their work.

It’s time the administration showed them the respect they deserve.

Take action now!
MCMCMCMCMC

THE LETTER:
Please go to this link to send the following letter to the Administration at McMasters University.
MCMCMCMCMC
I support McMaster University’s sessional faculty and sessional music faculty’s fight to stop management from casualizing their work.

I am appalled the University wants to turn sessional faculty into one-month employees and continue to keep them at the lower end of the wage scale by offering no increases for two full years.

Sessional faculty make McMaster University work.

It’s time the administration showed them the respect they deserve.

I urge you to drop your concession demands and offer sessional faculty and sessional music faculty a fair contract to prevent a strike or a lockout that will hurt the very students McMaster educates.

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS HUMAN RIGHTS:

WATER AS A HUMAN RIGHT:

Most of take our access to clean safe abundant water for granted. This is not, however, the case in poorer countries nor even on many reservation here in Canada. In a time when there are increasing disputes between countries for access to water and when there is a global push to sell off public utilities to the private sector the movement to declare access to water as a human right is particularly timely. Here's a notice from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) asking you to add your voice to this movement.

WWWWWWWW
Water is a human right: Push for Canadian action


On July 28, the United Nations General Assembly will take a landmark vote on recognizing the human right to water and sanitation. CUPE members can help push Canadian representatives to support this vital resolution.

The resolution would recognize “the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a universal human right”. The resolution calls for increased financial, technological and capacity-building support to countries in the global South, to build the public services that will make this human right a reality.

The Council of Canadians’ Blue Planet Project has launched an online week of action to build support for the resolution.

Today, 1.2 billion people don’t have access to clean drinking water, and 2.6 billion don’t have access to basic sanitation services. For years, the Canadian government has blocked efforts at the UN to recognize these services as basic human rights.

CUPE has written a letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon as part of an action organized by Public Services International, the public sector trade union federation we belong to.

CUPE has also signed an open letter supporting the UN resolution.

What you can do

Now it’s time to add your voice, by sending a message to Canada’s UN representatives and Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

**Send an email to Canada’s representatives at the United Nations, Ambassadors John McNee and Henri-Paul Normandin.
**Send an email to Prime Minister Stephen Harper calling on the Canadian government to support water as a human right.

WWWWWWWW

THE LETTERS:

Here are the letters that the post above asks you to send. First of all go to this link to send the following letter to the Canadian ambassador to the UN.

WWWWWWWW
Dear Ambassador,

I am writing to express my support for the United Nations General Assembly resolution clearly recognizing the human right to water and sanitation.

I believe it is critical that the United Nations General Assembly demonstrate leadership in focusing priorities on securing water and sanitation for the 1.2 billion people without access to clean water and the 2.6 billion without access to basic sanitation. Everyone must be able to enjoy these fundamental rights.

Access to safe clean drinking water and sanitation is essential for the health and dignity of people around the world. This resolution comes at a time when communities around the world face the impacts of climate change and a global water crisis.

As you know, under Target 3 of Goal 7 of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Environmental Sustainability, states pledged to “Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.”

I am hopeful that passing the resolution will make water and sanitation high priorities at the UN Summit on the MDGs being held September 20-22, 2010 in New York, U.S. It will also focus attention on water before the Rio +20 summit in 2012, another critical moment for the global community to come together for our common future.

When the General Assembly considers this resolution, I respectfully ask that your country provide its support for a clearly stated resolution declaring the human right to water and sanitation.

I would also encourage your state to co-sponsor this historic resolution and send a further signal of your commitment to these fundamental human rights.

Sincerely,

WWWWWWWW

And if you go to this link you can send the following letter to our beloved comrade leader Sneaky Stevie Harper.

WWWWWWWW
Prime Minister Harper,

I am writing to demand that Canada support the resolution put forward by the Bolivian Mission at the United Nations, which calls for water to be recognized as a human right.

This resolution would recognize the right to water and sanitation for the 1.2 billion people without access to clean water and the 2.6 billion without access to basic sanitation.

We are concerned that Canada along with a handful of states including the United Kingdom, Sweden, the United States and Australia, are attempting to block the process by watering down what is currently a strong proposal by Bolivia to address global injustice when it comes to access to water and sanitation.

It is essential that the resolution specifically declares “the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation a universal human right.”

Your government claims it is committed to maternal and infant health, yet you have obstructed the official recognition of water as a human right at several key UN meetings. Every eight seconds a child dies from drinking dirty water. Access to safe clean drinking water and sanitation is essential for the health and dignity of communities around the world.

People living in Canada want their government to show leadership on water issues by recognizing this human right and by taking an active role in dealing with the global water crisis. It is time for Canada to stand on the right side of history and support this very important call to have water and sanitation declared human rights.

Sincerely,

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS IRAN:

STOP THE EXECUTION OF SAKINEH ASHTIANI:

In response to wide international protest the judiciary of Iran has relented and said that Sakineh Ashtiani will not be executed by "stoning". It is left open, however, whether she will be executed in another fashion for the "crime" of adultery. It should be noted that generally in Islamic jurisprudence it is almost impossible to prove adultery as it takes the eyewitness testimony of four male witnesses to the act. There is, however, an out as confessions are taken as equivalent evidence. Ashtiani's so-called "confession" was obtained by duress ie during the course of her whipping. That apparently can be done even if there is not the standard of proof required for the death penalty to be applied. She has later recanted her forced confession. Here's at item from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) calling you to sign a petition demanding that Ashtiani not be executed by any method.

IWIWIWIWIW
Help save lives in Iran


People from across the world are organizing to save the life of Sakineh Ashtiani, the Iranian woman who faces death after having been tortured for alleged adultery.

Act now and join the hundreds of thousands of people demanding that the Iranian government halt Ashtiani’s execution.

Sign the international petition

In 2006 Ashtiani was convicted of having an illicit relationship and received 99 lashes. Since this time the 43-year old mother of two has been in jail where she recanted the confession she made under the duress of the lashing.

She was recently re-tried and again convicted. Her sentence: death by stoning.

Due to international pressure Iran’s government has indicated that she will not be executed by stoning, though her death sentence may still be carried out by some other method, likely hanging.

Even if Sakineh Ashanti is not executed she may still face a long prison term. Right now fifteen more people are on death row in Iran waiting stoning, in which victims are buried up to their necks in the ground and then large rocks are thrown at their heads.

Don’t let Sakineh Ashtiani become another victim of the debasing, inhuman treatment of women that has become the daily reality in Iran. Make your voice count and encourage others to do the same.

Take action against the practice of stoning; take action against abuse of women. Sign the petition at the link below. Encourage your friends and family to do so to.

By working together we can help make a difference by keeping up the international pressure on the Iranian government to stop this brutal violation of human rights.

Take action now

IWIWIWIWIW

THE LETTER:

Please go to this link to sign the following petition to the Iranian authorities.

IWIWIWIWIW
To Ayotollah Ali Khamenei and the leaders of Iran
We call on you to finally put an end to capital punishment by stoning and to reverse the unjust judgment in the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani.

CANADIAN POLITICS CANADIAN LABOUR:

CANADIAN LABOUR COMES ON BOARD FOR A G20 INQUIRY:

Since the recent event in Toronto where the police made over 1,000 arrests of people unconnected with the pathetic little "riot" that the police certainly "encouraged" and perhaps set up totally there has been a growing movement for an independent inquiry about the police actions during those days. Molly's only quibble with this is that it should obviously include the political "rules of engagement" under which the police operated. This is very much a "political matter", and it would be disappointing if the result were only blame one individual in the Toronto police bureaucracy. Here's the call from the Canadian Union of Public Employees for the inquiry.

CPCPCPCPCP
CUPE calls for public inquiry on G20
CUPE is adding its voice to a growing list of organizations calling for a public inquiry into the traumatic and excessive use of force by police and government officials during the G20 summit.

“As we approach Canada Day, it’s deeply disturbing to think that something so undemocratic and fundamentally un-Canadian has just happened in our country,” said CUPE National President Paul Moist.

“Citizens of Toronto have a right to know why they were not consulted about the security process leading into the summit. Small business owners deserve to know why their businesses were not protected, and why they are not being compensated for damages. And hundreds of innocent people need to know why they were arbitrarily searched, detained, or subject to unreasonable aggression by the police,” said Moist.

Pressure for an independent investigation has been mounting steadily this week, with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Amnesty International, opposition parties, and tens of thousands of Canadians calling for accountability from police and government officials.

The Canadian Labour Congress has issued a statement on police actions. As well, CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn and Secretary-Treasurer Candace Rennick have issued a statement on behalf of CUPE members from across Ontario – many of whom bore witness to acts of unprovoked violence in Toronto.

“CUPE deplores the actions of those individuals who committed acts of vandalism during the summit protests,” said Moist. “However, the peaceful expression of dissent is a right that must be protected with vigilance. It’s the sign of a healthy democracy, and one of the bedrock values of this country.”

CPCPCPCPCP

As I said support for an independent inquiry has been growing. Here's an item from the Canadian Labour Congress demanding same.All these calls are fair and good, and they are definitely "of benefit" whatever convinced anarchists who don't see the need to reach out to the general population may say. At the risk of repeating myself endlessly I do have to emphasize that the political directives to the police should also be investigated. If this does not happen the author of these crimes will escape unscathed. Here's the statement from the CLC.

CPCPCPCPCP
AStatement on G20 Summit Police Actions

The Canadian Labour Congress supports the call of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and other organizations for an independent inquiry into the actions of the police during the G8 and G20 summits.

The G20 summit in Toronto on June 26 and 27 was an opportunity for us to tell our politicians that the needs of workers, of citizens, and the environment must take precedence over the greed of global finance and global corporations.

Our People First Rally on June 26 brought over 30,000 people to Toronto, to the official demonstration area at Queen's Park, and along a parade route negotiated with security officials. By all accounts – including the police – labour's rally was a peaceful demonstration with hundreds of volunteer marshals from the labour movement ensuring we had a successful event.

Unfortunately our successful and peaceful demonstration was overshadowed by the actions of small numbers of individuals unrelated to our event, who committed serious acts of vandalism.

The Canadian Labour Congress quickly and publicly deplored those actions, which undermined the efforts of labour and civil society to ensure our voices were heard.

Reports of peaceful demonstrators, exercising their democratic rights of expression and free assembly, being rounded up and detained in mass arrests are cause for concern. We are further disturbed by the revelations that the Ontario government passed in secret an amendment of the Public Works Protection Act that did not meet Canadian constitutional standards and resulted in inappropriate use of police powers to arrest and detain individuals for recognized legal activities.

It is the responsibility of our governments to ensure Canadians know exactly what transpired during this security operation, and that police will be held accountable if mistakes were made. We call on the federal and provincial governments to conduct an independent inquiry into security during the 2010 G8 and G20 summits.

CANADIAN POLITICS:

SOLVING THE PENSION CRISIS:

Molly has mentioned the appeal from the CEP Union about Canada's pension system before on this blog. The recent finance ministers' meeting made vague promises to "reform" the system as whatever "gradual increases" mean, leaving potential things like rises in the CPP payroll tax up in the air. Here's another appeal, this time from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) calling for real reform in Canada's pension system.

CPCPCPCPCPCPCP
Tell Stephen Harper: It's time to fix Canada's pension crisis
All Canadians should have the right to a secure income in their retirement through access to workplace and government-sponsored pension plans.

But 11 million Canadian workers have no workplace pension plan, and existing plans are under added stress because of the global economic meltdown.

Fortunately, we can fix this situation - by doubling the CPP to offer secure and enhanced pension benefits for the 93% of Canadians who make CPP contributions, by raising the guarantee income supplement to lift hundreds of thousands of poor pensioners out of poverty, and by introducing better regulations to protect pension plans from bankruptcy.

Tell Prime Minister Stephen Harper that there's an urgent need to solve the pension crisis in this country.

CPCPCPCPCPCPCP

THE LETTER:

Please go to this link to send the following letter to the Prime Minister.

CPCPCPCPCPCPCP

Dear Prime Minister:

All Canadians should have the right to a secure income in their retirement through access to workplace and government-sponsored pension plans.

There’s an urgent need for the federal government to solve the pension crisis in our country. I call on you to implement reforms proposed by the Canadian Union of Public Employees, including:
* Doubling Canada Pension Plan benefits to provide up to 50 per cent of the average wage;
* Working with unions and employers to ensure more Canadians are part of defined benefit pension plans and to protect the plans of workers already covered;
* Tougher laws to protect workers’ retirement income.