Paramedic Pensions:
NRA 60 campaign
Fair pensions for paramedics rejected by OMERS
July 7, 2008 The OMERS Sponsors Corporation’s employer representatives seem to think
some emergency personnel are ‘more equal than others’.
more...
 Paramedics
standing firm on pension demands
May 22, 2008 Paramedics from four
unions want the same pension rights as police officers and firefighters,
and plan a May 23 rally.
more...
Paramedics to rally: Taking our case to OMERS
May
12, 2008 Paramedics
will hold a rally May 23 in Toronto prior to the 2008 Spring Annual
Regional Meeting of the OMERS Administration Corporation.
View poster…
Fair Pensions for Paramedics: Taking
our case to OMERS
May 6, 2008 The
next step in the fair pension campaign for paramedics will be May 23 in
Toronto. more...
More What's New
Paramedics fight for
pension equity
The 5,185 women and men who serve as
Ontario’s paramedics are asking Ontario municipalities to support
changes to the OMERS pension plan allowing paramedics the same pension
rights as police and firefighters.
These changes would simply allow
union locals representing paramedics to have the right to negotiate a
normal retirement age of 60 with full pension in their workplaces.
In 2005, the federal government
designated paramedics as a Public Safety Occupation (PSO) alongside
police and firefighters. This designation recognizes the public safety
nature of paramedics’ work and how it can take a toll on the health of
these workers. The PSO designation provides paramedics the opportunity
to negotiate pension changes allowing them to leave the workplace
earlier.
Like police and firefighters, paramedics provide a
public service often under hazardous, high stress conditions. They
respond to emergencies, provide medical services and transport patients
to hospitals and medical facilities. In many cases, the initial
emergency care provided by paramedics is the deciding factor between
life and death, temporary or permanent disability, a brief confinement
or prolonged hospitalization for a patient.
Working in a job filled with a
lifetime of physical and psychological stress, the paramedic occupation
can exact a toll on workers. Many find themselves off work with
injuries, on long-term disability or having to take early retirement as
they reach age 60.
Yet unlike police and firefighters,
paramedics are not allowed to retire at 60 years of age with a full
pension.
Paramedics from across the
province are asking the OMERS Pension Plan for the same right to
negotiate early retirement pensions as police and firefighters.
To enact the changes for
paramedics in Ontario, the OMERS pension plan would have to be amended.
In a split vote, the OMERS Sponsor’s Corporation refused to implement
the changes.
In a joint union campaign
sponsored by OPSEU, CUPE, CAW and SEIU, paramedics will be asking the
public, local leaders, politicians and municipal councils to support
early retirement for paramedics. More details will be available on this
site soon
Letter from union leaders to AMO board members
Letter to paramedics: The right
to retire at 60 with full pension
Meeting schedule: more dates will be scheduled across Ontario
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