OTTAWA—Canadian employers are likely to resist a union's proposal to amend the government pension program—to require employers not offering workplace pensions to pay increased premiums—because of the greater cost and general objections to expanding the program.

Currently, employers pay the same premiums to the Canada Pension Plan regardless of whether they provide pension plans.

"There's no economic incentive" to establish workplace plans, said Larry Brown, secretary-treasurer of the Nepean, Ontario-based National Union of Public and General Employees.

The Canada Pension Plan is a social insurance program that provides monthly pension benefits to residents in all Canadian jurisdictions except Quebec, which has a separate program. The CPP is funded by contributions from employers and employees.

NUPGE is not proposing a specific contribution increase, although doubling current premium levels for employers without workplace pensions would provide substantial funds to pay additional benefits to retired workers who did not have a workplace pension plan, Mr. Brown said.

Many employers, though, may not have plans because of the costs or administrative burdens, although they could save on administrative costs simply by paying additional CPP premiums to give their employees increased pension coverage, said Scott Perkin, president of the Toronto-based Assn. of Canadian Pension Management, which represents plan sponsors in Canada. "It may mean better coverage for the employees, which is a good thing, but it may mean more costs for employers," he said.

While employers support full pension coverage for their employees, they would prefer a private market solution that can provide plenty of access to workplace pensions on a cost-effective basis rather than compelling increased participation in the government program, said Steve Eadie, chair of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce Pension Task Force.

"I think where you would have resistance from a lot of employers is a mandatory, CPP solution vs. a voluntary, private solution," Mr. Eadie said.