Nearly half of Ontario’s small manufacturers say they will either reduce wages or lay off staff once the Made-In-Ontario Retirement Pension Plan is brought in.

The finding comes from a survey that the president of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters calls disturbing.

The Ontario Retirement Pension Plan is supported by members of the Zoomer Group CARP – A New Vision of Aging.

CARP’s Vice President of Advocacy Susan Eng says employers who are feeling a money crunch can always make a decision not to give workers a salary increase while making the pension contributions on their behalf.

“We are facing both a labour shortage and a lack of jobs at this point. It’s not fluid, and so if you’re in an industry where you need to keep good people, you’re going to have to really consider how you compensate them and whether or not you really are going to reduce their wages in order to fund this modest contribution to their pension,” Eng tells Zoomer Radio News.

Meantime, Federal Finance Minister Joe Oliver is touting the Conservatives’ plan to cut payroll taxes by more than 20-percent on small businesses by 2017.

The Conservatives under Prime Minister Stephen Harper view the Ontario pension plan as a job killer.