
In a vote held on June 5th, 2008 the OMERS Sponsor’s Corporation has refused to change the pension plan to allow paramedics retire early. The vote was split evenly with all of the Employer representatives voting against amending the plan to allow paramedics, like police and firefighters to negotiate normal retirement age 60 pensions. Click above for the whole story.
In a show of support for pension fairness, Paramedics from across the province travelled to Toronto to attend the OMERS Annual Regional meeting. People came from as far as Sault Ste Marie and Ottawa to bring their message of pension fairness directly to OMERS.
Paramedics from across the province are asking the OMERS Pension Plan for the same right to negotiate early retirement pensions as police and firefighters.
The Health Professions Regulatory Advisory Council (HPRAC) has told CUPE that it plans to begin a formal review of a college for paramedics early next year.
A number of other health care professions in Ontario are regulated through a “college”: the College of Nurses, the College of Respiratory Therapists, the College of Dental Hygienists, etc. This document explains how a regulatory college for paramedics would work. The information is provided in a question and answer format.