TORONTO – Local 79 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) will call upon the provincial government today to change proposed legislation, Bill 206, the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System Act, 2005, which discriminates against women workers.
Workers in certain male-dominated jobs, police officers and fire fighters, are able to negotiate superior pension benefits and retire earlier than plan contributors in other jobs.
“We don’t begrudge police officers and firefighters right to these benefits,” says Ann Dembinski, the president of the local. “There is serious, systemic gender discrimination inherent in this proposed legislation. We represent many women who do very tough jobs, including nurses who deal with epidemics like SARS. Everyone should have equal rights to negotiate decent pensions and that is what we will be telling the government today.”
Ann Dembinski and Tim Maguire, the Local 79 Vice-President/Chief Steward, will make a presentation about the proposed legislation at:
- WHEN? Wednesday, November 23rd, 4:40 p.m.
- WHERE? Queen’s Park, Amethyst Room.
CUPE Local 79 represents more than 18,000 employees of the City of Toronto, the Toronto Community Housing Corporation, and Bridgepoint Hospital.
For further information, please contact:
Shannon McManus, CUPE Communications, 416-455-8247
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