FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 26, 2016
OFL calls the ORPP a big, bold step forward, but called for a united plan to end exclusions
(TORONTO, ON) ─ The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) President Chris Buckley called the details of Ontario’s new public pension plan a big, bold step towards retirement security and called on other provinces and territories to follow suit.
“Today’s announcement sets into motion the first new social program to be launched in recent memory,” said Buckley. “For years, we have been sounding the alarm about the 70 percent of Canadians who don’t have a workplace pension and the conditions of poverty facing many retirees, who receive an average CPP payment of only $6,800 per year. The Ontario government has promised action and today’s announcement is an important step forwards.”
Since Premier Kathleen Wynne first announced plans to introduce the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP), the OFL has been working closely with the Ontario government to ensure that this made-in-Ontario pension plan enhances the retirement security of every worker. Today’s announcement unveils some very promising developments in the proposal, while leaving other concerns yet to be addressed.
Chief among the details being celebrated today are:
- Pre-retirement indexation that would be pay out benefits based on their present-day value;
- Post-retirement indexation that would tie benefit payments to inflation; and
- Extension of pension benefits to part-time workers.
“The ORPP plans unveiled today will extend pension payments for 63 percent of Ontarians who do not currently have a workplace pension and they will protect the value of those benefits well into the future,” said Buckley. “This is a big, bold step towards retirement security and it signals the kind of change we need to have happen right across the country, with absolutely no exceptions.”
The OFL today reiterated its call for the Wynne Government to:
- Guarantee at least 25 percent labour representation on the new ORPP Administrative Board;
- Extend ORPP benefits to seasonal and contract workers;
- Work with the Federal government to close income tax loopholes excluding self-employed workers; and
- Work with other provincial and territorial governments to build united support for an expanded Canada Pension Plan.
The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario. For information, visit www.OFL.ca and follow @OFLabour on Facebook and Twitter.
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For further information:
Joel Duff, OFL Communications Director: 416-707-0349 (cell) or jduff@ofl-org.flywheelsites.com *ENG/FRENCH*
www.OFL.ca | www.Twitter.com/OFLabour | www.Facebook.com/OFLabour
