Demand a decent retired, accessible to everyone

Following the signing of the 2011-2015 collective agreement, the Status of Women Committee of the Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux (FSSS-CSN) has updated the handbook on parental rights for employees in the public sector. The new collective agreement contains a number of important improvements to parental rights for our members, particularly with respect to leave, including the 5 weeks of paternity leave.

"The recent financial crisis has put into serious question the environment in which pension plans operate. Neither defined benefit plans nor defined contribution plans were able to withstand the financial storm we experienced. In the case of defined benefit plans, legislative changes were made in all provinces to relieve funding obligations and allow corporations to weather the crisis."

"This measure clearly targets people who have received few or no benefits and have held fairly stable jobs for many years."

"For the CSN, taxation is first and foremost a way to fund the public services and social programmes that society has collectively chosen to give itself."

The inter-union coalition, made up of the CSD, the CSN, the CSQ and the FTQ, considers that in the event of a collective dismissal or company shutdown, older workers are faced with a dramatic situation that requires a specific, rapid response. Although some labour market reviews express concern about potential workforce shortages in the coming years, and consider it necessary to adopt social policies to keep the present workforce on the labour market, they nonetheless recognize that some older workers are faced with insurmountable obstacles in their attempts to re-enter the active working population, not the least of which is discrimination in hiring.