Auto Workers Want Government To Guarantee Their Pensions
Posted April 23, 2009 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Many have spent lifetimes working to secure their futures, and now they’re worried it may all be taken away from them.
Thousands of C.A.W. members rallied at Queen’s Park on Thursday, fighting to secure their pensions in the face of mounting bankruptcy rumours.
They want the Liberal government to back up their pensions in the event that G.M. or Chrysler go under.
“How would you feel if someone has promised you something, you’ve earned it, then they take it away from you, especially when you are a retiree and you’re not in a position to do much about it?” asked Vince Bailey, retired auto worker.
Premier Dalton McGuinty warned that the province’s safety net isn’t big enough to cover G.M. pensions if they go bankrupt, but Minister of Economic Development, Michael Bryant, said that was unlikely.
“The scenario in which those pensions are put into danger, is a scenario where G.M. goes into liquidation and I can not believe that we are ever going to get to that point,” he said.
“Even in the event of a Chapter 11…no Canadian judge has ever in essence required pensioners to abandon their pensions, it’s just never happened.”
Until the government guarantees those pensions, however, anxiety will remain high.
“This isn’t a bailout,” notes Chris Buckley, C.A.W. Local 222 President. “This is legislation that’s been in place for workers in the case that their employer goes into bankruptcy. This is not just about our auto workers. This is about every worker across the province that stands to lose the guaranteed pension protection in the case of bankruptcy.”
Hamilton East MPP Paul Miller explained the sacrifices workers have made to assure a secure retirement.
“These pensions are really deferred wages over the years,” he said. “It was part of the negotiations that went on (during) many contracts with the Big 3…instead of taking wages up front, they took less money to bolster their pension situation, now they are telling them that there’s not enough in the fund to cover any pension defaults that may happen and that is unacceptable.”
