Introduction

The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) welcomes this opportunity to present its views on people’s right to retire and on needed legislative changes to improve the entitlements of older workers.  This submission is in response to the Ministry of Labour’s Providing Choice:  A Consultation Paper On Ending Mandatory Retirement (August 2004).

The OFL is a province-wide federation of affiliated unions encompassing approximately 650,000 members. Our members include public sector employees, construction workers, teachers and manufacturing workers plus a growing number of private service sector employees. The vast majority of our members participate in employer-sponsored and jointly trusteed pension plans and like all members of the workforce, unionized and non-unionized, depend upon the provisions of adequate public pensions.

Mandatory Retirement:  What’s Behind the Change?

Let us be clear from the outset:  there is no major demand from union members affiliated to the Ontario Federation of Labour to work beyond 65 years of age.  The overwhelming majority of our members, like the public at large, want to know how to retire before 65.  Early retirement is the desire of increasing numbers of workers. The issue for them is whether or not they can afford to retire.  So while some workers wish to retire after 65, the majority of our members seek to retire before that time.

When the Ministry of Labour talks about a person’s “right to choose when they want to retire”, they totally omit any reference to pensions and the desires and needs of all employees to have adequate pensions so as to retire in dignity.  As Ontario Federation of Labour President Wayne Samuelson, stated in a press release of August 18, 2004: “People need to have the financial ability to retire. When pension plans are inadequate and government support falls short, people are not in a position to ‘choose’ to retire.”