Members of Unifor have occupied the Northstar Aerospace plant in Milton, Ontario. The plant was purchased by Heligear Acquisition Co. in 2012. Heligear intends to move the plant to Chicago, cutting jobs and leaving the workers’ pension with a massive deficit. Unifor members at Northstar have been told their pension will be reduced by 25%. After months of negotiations, Unifor has been forced to take drastic action.
After years of attacks against pensions under the Harper government, it appears the Liberals are preparing a major assault of their own… and postal workers may be the first target.
Late last year, the government introduced legislation that attacks the stability of federally-regulated pension plans. Bill C-27 would create a framework for the conversion of defined benefit pension plans into target benefit plans. The bill was met with outrage from the labour movement, as it was introduced without any consultation whatsoever.
Minister Morneau Must Withdraw Bill C-27 - To everyone’s surprise, Minister of Finance Bill Morneau has tabled a bill to establish target benefit pension plans for private sector employers under federal jurisdiction and Crown Corporations. Postal workers are directly affected, and we strongly oppose this Bill.
Dear Minister: I am writing on behalf of the 50,000 members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers to urge you to abandon Bill C-27, An Act to amend the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985, which represents a dangerous and immediate attack on future and current retirees and Defined Benefit (DB) pension plans in the federal private sector and at Crown corporations such as Canada Post.
Support Postal Banking - Download and Sign the Petition
Canada needs a postal bank. Thousands of rural towns and villages in our country do not have a bank, but many of them have a post office that could provide financial services. As well, nearly two million Canadians desperately need an alternative to payday lenders. A postal bank could be that alternative. Download and sign the petition urging the Government of Canada to instruct Canada Post to add postal banking, with a mandate for financial inclusion.