Publications

Conservatives blocking CPP improvements Finance Minister pandering to special interest groups

OTTAWA ― The President of the Canadian Labour Congress says the Conservative government is blocking all attempts to improve the Canada and Quebec Pension Plans, and Ken Georgetti is calling on ordinary citizens to help provincial governments push back against that irresponsible decision. Georgetti was commenting on a meeting of federal and provincial finance ministers in Ottawa and at Meech…

Now is the time to expand the CPP: New CLC research shows enhancements affordable

OTTAWA ― Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labour Congress, says that the time for action has arrived on expanding the Canada and Quebec Pension Plan (CPP/QPP). “Retirement security is one of Canadians’ biggest concerns and rightly so,” Georgetti says. “There’s no big secret why we should expand the CPP – it simply makes sense.” Georgetti’s comments come as Canada’s…

Part-time jobs, discouraged workers the new norm: CLC responds to November Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey

OTTAWA ― The President of the Canadian Labour Congress says that unemployment remains high in post-recession Canada and that both the number and quality of new jobs leave much to be desired. “The official unemployment rate is stuck near the 7% level but that’s not the half of it,” says Ken Georgetti. “Underemployed workers and those who have given up…

CLC mourns passing of Nelson Mandela – Unions were involved in anti-apartheid struggle

OTTAWA ― The President of the Canadian Labour Congress says that workers everywhere are mourning the death of Nelson Mandela, the former President of South Africa and leader of the African National Congress (ANC). “Canadians will forever remember the courage and dignity of a statesman who devoted his life to end South Africa’s system of apartheid, the legalized racial discrimination…

CLC, Western University launch first ever nation-wide workplace survey

OTTAWA ― The Canadian Labour Congress, working in partnership with researchers at Western University, is launching a national survey on the impact of domestic violence on workers and workplaces, the first-ever survey of its kind in Canada. “The results of this survey will provide made-in-Canada research that will help unions, employers, advocates and governments develop good public policy as well…

Canadian workers being under-utilized: Ken Georgetti responds to Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey

OTTAWA ― The President of the Canadian Labour Congress says that too many Canadian workers are stuck in part time jobs and others have given up looking for work altogether. Ken Georgetti was commenting on the release by Statistics Canada of its Labour Force Survey for October 2013. “I get letters almost every month from people who have been looking…

CLC says seasonal unemployment a fact of life: Georgetti calls for better training programs

OTTAWA ― The President of the Canadian Labour Congress says Ottawa should admit that seasonal unemployment is a reality in Canada and design the Employment Insurance system accordingly. “We all know that seasonal work is a fact of life in Canada, not only in fisheries and agriculture but among people who work for provinces, cities, towns and municipalities,” says Ken…

Labour Code changes target collective bargaining: CLC’s Georgetti calls it affront to democracy

OTTAWA ― Amendments that the Conservative government has slipped into a giant budget bill is an attack on the constitutional right to collective bargaining, says Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labour Congress. “The Conservative government is using a 308 page budget bill to do by stealth what they will not do by the light of day,” says Georgetti. “This…

Labour Code changes endanger workers: Amendments buried in budget bill

OTTAWA ― The Canadian Labour Congress says that the lives of workers in the federal sector will be placed in danger as a result of cynical amendments that the Conservative government is making to the Canada Labour Code. “These amendments could put workers’ lives at risk by redefining dangerous work,” says Hassan Yussuff, CLC Secretary-Treasurer. “The Conservatives are up to…

Job growth lags five years after the recession: Georgetti says jobs not keeping up with population growth

OTTAWA―The President of the Canadian Labour Congress says that employment growth continues to lag five years after the economy began to shed jobs in the Great Recession that began in the fall of 2008. “The number of new jobs is not keeping up with population growth, and as a result too many people are being forced into precarious work and…