The union representing Quebec municipal workers says Quebec mayors are making an immoral and illegal move by ending pension indexing in the new year.
Since Bill 15 shifted pension decisions from the provincial to municipal level — many mayors have proposed axing indexing.
In that event, many retirees will receive less than they expected when planning their retirement as their pension payout's will remain fixed regardless of the rate of inflation.
Marc Ranger, director of CUPE says if pension indexing isn't protected, Quebecers will wind up paying a huge lump sum when the union wins their case in the supreme court.
It can take years for cases to make it through to the highest of level of the court system and he says some retirees may not make it to see a payout if they win their case.
"In between I could die, how can you fix things? You have your indexation you lived for 7-8 years after your retirement but then you don't have what you were promised," says Ranger. "This was a contract, this is a contract, this is a promise and now this new legislation has broken that promise."
Ranger says they're exploring other faster legal option to block mayors from changing the terms of those contracts after the fact.
"We're looking at new legal avenue to make sure that the more you wait, the more it's going to cost."
Pension indexation may be cancelled in for many municipal workers as of January 1st.