The Canadian Federation of Independent Business(CFIB)is engaging in “another mean-spirited and economically illiterate attack on the public sector” by claiming that taxpayers are on the hook for a widening gap between public and private sector pension plans, says Larry Brown, secretary-treasurer of the National Union of Public and General Employees(NUPGE).
In a letter to Catherine Swift, president of the CFIB, he writes that public sector employees, every single payday, have half the cost of their pension plan deducted from their paycheques.
“The majority of private sector pension plans, on the other hand, are not half paid for by the employees; instead the employer bears the full cost,” Brown writes.
He also says that the CFIB report misses the point altogether.
“The debate in Canada must focus on the real pension crisis. It’s not acceptable for a large segment of corporate Canada to off-load its responsibility onto individual workers, for their financial security in retirement.”
To read Canada headed towards a two-tier retirement system, says CFIB, click here.
To download a PDF version of Canada’s Pension Predicament from the CFIB website, click here.
A related story, entitled The pension gap, appeared in the December 2006 issue of Benefits Canada. To read that article, click here.
To comment on this story email craig.sebastiano@rci.rogers.com.