The following op-ed by Sharon DeSousa, PSAC National President, was published in the Ottawa Citizen and other Postmedia papers.
Two firefighters risk their lives to keep us safe. One battles a burning building, the other fights a dangerous wildfire. Both have tough jobs that take a physical toll, resulting in mounting injuries over time. But only one can retire without penalty after 25 years of demanding frontline service.
Most firefighters, law enforcement, and public safety workers can retire with unreduced pensions after 25 years because their jobs are so demanding. But federal firefighters facing another wildfire season, firefighters on military bases, frontline workers at CBSA, northern paramedics, Coast Guard search and rescue workers, territorial Corrections Officers, and many others who keep us safe in so many ways don’t get this benefit.
These public safety workers do tough jobs but for decades have been treated as second-class workers, forced to work five extra years before they can retire compared to others doing similar demanding work.
Imagine this: after years of frontline work that takes a huge physical toll, you can’t pass qualifications anymore. But, unlike someone doing a similar job for a province or municipality, you face a big financial penalty if you retire after 25 years of service.
For over 20 years, the Public Service Alliance of Canada has been pushing the government to correct this. We were delighted when Treasury Board President Anita Anand announced in June that the government was moving forward with legislation in the fall designed to allow federal public safety workers to retire without penalty after 25 years of service, regardless of their age.
Correcting this inequality was a challenge, and our work isn’t done yet. While most unionized workers can negotiate pension conditions, federal public sector workers fall under the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act – a restrictive law that does not allow pensions to be part of collective bargaining. For us, these changes can only be made by jumping through all the hoops needed to introduce and pass legislation. Progress like this can only happen when government is willing to work together with public service unions to fix these inequities.
The forthcoming change to the legislation is a testament to the hard work of so many workers who fought for years for pension equality. Soon, thousands of federal public safety and law enforcement workers across Canada will have the same equitable retirement benefits as their peers. We finally got the government to act.
Our union will be monitoring the legislation closely to ensure that pension fairness for all deserving federal public safety workers is achieved. The details will make all the difference and it’s crucial the government get things right.
I’m sure every Parliamentarian agrees Canada should honour the service of those who put their health and wellbeing at risk to keep us safe and secure. They can show their appreciation by working with us to strengthen and pass this legislation as soon as possible – so these workers can finally get the equitable retirement they deserve.
This article was first posted on the PSAC website.
