CUPE Ontario celebrates OMERS members’ victory over pension fairness

CUPE Ontario expressed its gratitude to its members in the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) pension plan for their successful Cancel the Cuts campaign, ensuring that no reductions will be made to their OMERS pensions.

“We knew that there was no case to be made that could justify cuts to members’ pensions. Cancel the Cuts was a sign to OMERS that it would have a fight on its hands if it had gone ahead with changes,” says Fred Hahn, CUPE Ontario president.

The campaign began as a response to anticipated cuts to OMERS retirees' pensions, following a two-year secret “plan risk assessment” conducted by OMERS’ Sponsors Corporation (SC). Concerns about potential cuts led CUPE Ontario to launch the Cancel the Cuts campaign in early 2023, collaborating with fellow plan sponsor OPSEU/SEFPO.

Pension activists mobilized plan members to resist any proposed changes to OMERS. They conducted meetings with colleagues, collaborated with CUPE locals to pass anti-cuts resolutions, and collected signatures on petitions.

“All signs were pointing to the sponsors corporation’s review being a justification of cuts to workers’ pensions. But union members weren’t going to stand for that: they got involved, they mobilized, they spoke to other plan members, and they showed OMERS that it would have a fight on its hand if it tried to cut our pensions,” Hahn adds.

The victory was secured in late fall when the SC officially confirmed that no cuts would be implemented.

“This year saw a major win for all OMERS plan members. We are all deeply grateful to the activists who spoke up to defend their and their colleagues’ pensions. The lesson we hope the SC has learned is that they can’t say they’ve consulted us and then do whatever they want – unions should have a direct and unencumbered voice at the table, and we won’t be satisfied until we get it,” says Hahn.