Hundreds march on PEI Legislature to support alternate pension plan

 “There is a made-in-PEI solution,” Clancy said during the rally. “This government should get back to the table with the unions.”

Ottawa (18 Nov. 2013) - Nearly 500 Prince Edward Islanders marched to the provincial library on November 15 to demand the Liberal government back off on its plans to unilaterally ram through changes to its public sector pension plan that will hurt retirees and workers, particularly those who are women.

PEI Liberal government breaks promises on pensions; unilateral changes will hurt workers headed into retirement

“The premier has broken his word,” Debbie Bovyer, President of the PEI Union of Public Sector Employees (PEIUPSE/NUPGE) told the crowd. “The premier told us in 2011 there would be no changes to the pension without concurrence. The unions do not concur, but his government is going ahead with major cuts to the plan.”

As in other jurisdictions across North America, the PEI government is threatening to turn its defined-benefit pension plan into a defined-contribution plan. The government reforms will also strip plan members - including people who are retired now - of benefits that rise along with inflation. It will also reduce the benefits of future retirees by changing the way those benefits are calculated.

Overall, the move will relieve government of its responsibility to carefully manage the pension fund, and leave workers facing a retirement of anxiety and poverty. Like any cuts to pensions, it will accelerate growing income inequality.

Unions have presented reasonable alternative plan which has received widespread support

“The unions and the government do agree on one thing: some measure of pension reform is needed on Prince Edward Island,” Bovyer said. “With CUPE, we have an alternative proposal that is fair to workers, retirees and the taxpayers. The government has not been able to explain why it has rejected our plan.”

The unions’ plan will ensure that benefits will be protected from inflation. It will also protect PEI taxpayers by transferring half of the responsibility for any shortfalls the plan might have in the future to the plan members themselves.

It’s a plan that has received widespread public support. It’s been endorsed by the leader of the island’s official opposition and by the leader of the provincial NDP. In an editorial last week, the Charlottetown Guardian called on government to take a closer look at the unions’ proposals.

Liberal government dismisses worker's concerns; PEIUPSE/NUPGE plans to continue pension fight

NUPGE President James Clancy urged the PEI government not to take the easy way out. “There is a made-in-PEI solution,” Clancy said during the rally. “This government should get back to the table with the unions.”

After the rally, PEI Finance Minister Wes Sheridan said he remained unmoved in his insistence on changing the plan unilaterally. The next day, delegates to PEIUPSE/NUPGE’s 52nd annual convention voted unanimously to continuing its campaign against the government’s changes and will soon begin lobbying individual Liberal MLAs across the province.

More information:

CBC coverage: Pension protest in Charlottetown brings hundreds

Hundreds protest P.E.I. pension reforms

Union votes to keep fighting pension reforms