(Halifax) - The president of CUPE Nova Scotia, Danny Cavanagh, says his union is encouraged by reports today of a possible, province-wide pension plan for workers who currently don’t have one.
“In fact,” says Cavanagh, “this is exactly the kind of idea we presented to the provincial panel when we made our submission to them.”
Says Cavanagh, “In our hearings with the Panel, and in briefs presented by both CUPE and the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour, we spoke in support of their consideration of new models and structures that would extend defined benefit pension coverage to workers and employers that currently are unwilling or unable to establish new plans.”
“We even described in some detail the Multi Sector Pension Plan (MSPP), a highly successful plan started by CUPE and SEIU in Ontario and now being used by small employers across the country,” he says.
“What we would not want to see,” says Cavanagh, “is Nova Scotia going the route that both B.C. and Alberta appear to be going down which is a ‘defined contribution’ model, which the stock market meltdown should more than demonstrate to people why these types of pension plans are a disaster for workers.”
Cavanagh says the Canadian Labour Congress is about to release a statement on the financial crisis that will reiterate the labour movement’s position on an expanded public pension system.
Information about the Multi Sector Pension Plan is available at www.mspp.ca.
For information:
Danny Cavanagh John McCracken
President, CUPE Nova Scotia CUPE Communications Rep.