PSAC Prairies held the second webinar in our Webinar Wednesday series on February 11. The webinar, titled Retirement Revolution, outlined the current pensions landscape in Canada, including CPP, the attack on pensions and labour’s response.
What was discussed:
Barb Byers, Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) Secretary-Treasurer, discussed the importance of pensions and why the CLC launched their Retirement Security For Everyone campaign. She also compared the federal government's response to the pension crisis and the labour movement's response.
Chris Roberts, CLC National Director - Social and Economic Policy Department, discussed the current pensions landscape and demographics, such as the population is getting older, living longer, with less savings and more debt. He also explained how expanding the CPP makes good economic sense.
Marianne Hladun, Prairies Regional Executive Vice-President, pointed out that pensions are the number one bargaining priority for PSAC members and listed the different types of pensions members have, including 13 per cent who have no pension at all. She also talked about the threat of target benefit pensions and why we all should be worried about the attacks on retirement security.
The reviews are in:
The response from members continues to be very positive. In a post-webinar survey, participants rated the webinar excellent, saying the information presented was very useful. Here is a sample of what members are saying:
- "Each time there has been an improvement. I love the webinars and am really trying to promote them within my local. I hope to see other components get on board with this and try to communicate with their members, as well."
- "This is an excellent way to communicate to a mass audience. I found the information very worthwhile and I look forward to your next presentation."
- "Enjoyed the webinar and like the approach of looking out for others besides ourselves."
- "Great way to inform and educate."
Watch the full webinar:
If you weren't able to participate, we've posted the webinar to the PSAC Prairies YouTube channel, and embedded the video below. Watch, learn and share with others.
The PSAC Prairie Region hosts monthly, interactive webinars as an outlet for members to learn about critical issues and get important updates. The webinars are also be an opportunity for members to ask questions and give feedback.