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Ottawa, Ont. — Workers who belong to the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) pension plan could see a permanent cap on improvements to their pension benefits if a Liberal bill passes without amendment, says Sid Ryan, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario.

When the Ontario Liberal government introduced Bill 206 last June, OMERS plan members and retirees thought they were finally getting the joint trusteeship that they have demanded for so long,” Ryan said, noting that most other major public sector pension plans have a joint governance structure.

But, Bill 206 provides a weak structure with no real oversight by plan members of the management of their retirement savings. Even worse, it slaps limits on how much benefits can improve even though OMERS pensions already fall short in comparison to other plans.” OMERS is one of Canada’s largest pension plans with about 342,000 members. Almost half are represented by CUPE.

Ryan brings CUPE’s campaign for changes to Bill 206 to a meeting for OMERS plan members and retirees at the CUPE Local 503 Training Hall, 1505 Carling Avenue, Ottawa at 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 17. Media are welcome.

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For more information, contact:

Sid Ryan, President
CUPE Ontario
416-209-0066 (cell) Sharon Young
CUPE Communications
416-299-9739; 905 213-2704 (cell)