Unions Say Government Has No Consent and No Mandate

Alberta unions are standing as one to call on the government to cease and desist its arbitrary actions and abuse of power in seizing control of pension funds, issuing the following joint statement.

In response to this blatant grab for money and control, the representatives of more than 300,000 working Albertans, have a three-part message for the premier and his government.

First, this isn't your money. It belongs to the Albertans who saved it month after month. How can a party that styles itself as a champion of individual rights and property rights think it's appropriate for government to essentially seize control of other people's savings?

Second, you don't have permission. You never mentioned sweeping changes to Alberta's retirement system in the recent election, so you do not have a mandate for any of this.

Third, you don't have the confidence of the people who this money really belongs to. Working Albertans did not ask the UCP to interfere in the administration of their pensions, nor do they have confidence that they will run those plans in a fair or responsible way.

In fact, we're worried that what you're attempting to do is use other people's money to create a huge slush fund to finance an agenda that has not yet been articulated to the public and which most people would not feel comfortable using their life savings to support.

For these reasons, on behalf of all working Albertans, we demand that you keep your hands off our retirement savings. You can do that by rescinding Bill 22 and abandoning your reckless and irresponsible plan to withdraw from CPP.

If you don't do these things, we will make sure all of our members know who, exactly, seized their pension savings and put their retirement security at risk. We will make sure that Bill 22 becomes an albatross that hangs around your necks, from now until the next election.

Gil McGowan, president, Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL)
Guy Smith, president, Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE)
Heather Smith, president, United Nurses of Alberta (UNA)
Mike Parker, president, Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA)
Rory Gill, president, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE Alberta Divisions)
Jason Schilling, president, Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA)

This article was published in

Volume 49 Number 29 - November 30, 2019

Article Link:
Unions Say Government Has No Consent And No Mandate

    

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