Publications

Historic job losses represent enormous challenge

Canada’s unions say further efforts are required to support unemployed workers and to preserve existing jobs as the number of Canadians who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic continues to rise. According to Statistics Canada, employment fell by one million in March and the ranks of the unemployed grew by 413,000. Canada’s unemployment rate rose by 2.2 percentage…

Sharing our stories for the National Day of Mourning

This National Day of Mourning, we recognize the many workers in Canada who have lost their lives or who have been injured at work. While we honour the lives lost and those changed forever, we also stand with all essential workers at the frontline of the current crisis. Workers in healthcare, grocery stores, food processing, transport and so many others wake up…

Canada’s unions call on banks to reduce credit card interest rates for all

OTTAWA – Canada’s unions are calling on the country’s financial institutions to do more to mitigate the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic by further reducing credit card interest rates and applying new rates to anyone with a credit card. “This pandemic has led to major disruption in the lives of many Canadians and is taking a financial toll. Many…

Canada’s unions join #VirtualDayofPink with a renewed call for solidarity against homophobia and transphobia

In 2020, we are celebrating International Day of Pink – a day to raise awareness and combat homophobic and transphobic bullying and harassment – in the context of a global pandemic. While many us are making sure that we #stayathome, we still need to be aware of the threat of homophobic and transphobic violence that persists online, at home, and…

Canada’s unions support nurses, midwives and all health care workers

For World Health Day 2020, the World Health Organization is celebrating the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife. Right now, nurses and midwives are working shoulder to shoulder with all health care workers at ground zero of the largest pandemic in modern history. Health care workers are working overtime, playing a critical role for their patients across the country…

Credit card relief now

Canada’s unions are calling on Canada’s banks and credit card companies to step up and take action to support families through the COVID-19 crisis by reducing sky-high credit card interest rates. “The Bank of Canada has reduced its lending rate to historically low levels and that means it’s cheaper for financial institutions to borrow money,” said Canadian Labour Congress President,…

Equal Pay Day: Recognizing the Value of Women’s Work

April 4, 2020 marks the day women’s median earnings in Canada finally catch up to men’s median earnings from last year. This year, Equal Pay Day takes place with the backdrop of an unprecedented test for workers, their families and the economy: the COVID-19 pandemic. “It takes 16 months for women’s median earnings to catch up to what men make…

Sick Leave Across Canada

Rules around sick leave differ across Canada and legislative changes are happening quickly. These are the most up-to-date numbers. Canada’s unions have called on the provincial, territorial and federal governments to provide immediate income supports to workers affected by COVID-19 quarantine and closures. We have also called for employers to permit flexible working arrangements and provide paid sick leave while…

On the International Transgender Day of Visibility, make sure no one is left behind

This year, on the International Transgender Day of Visibility, perhaps more than ever, it is important that allies celebrate trans lives loudly and clearly.  While we are all struggling to make sense of the current crisis, we have to consider the most marginalized among us, who are always facing threats to their safety and security that the rest of us are now…

Canada’s unions deliver clear priorities for federal airline relief package

OTTAWA – Today, Canada’s airline unions met with the Minister of Finance and Minister of Transportation to share the concerns of aviation industry workers and to provide solutions to ensure the sector’s viability. Chief among their priorities is to ensure that any federal financial aid package responds to the needs of workers still on the job as well as the…