Publications

Unions promote corporate accountability and workers’ rights in Bangladesh

The Canadian Labour Congress will join a delegation of Canadian unions in Bangladesh on February 1st to promote corporate accountability and support ongoing efforts to improve workplace health and safety and fair labour practices for garment sector workers. Representatives from the CLC, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), United Steelworkers (USW), the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and…

Good sense prevails: Government moves to repeal C-377 and C-525

Canadian unions are pleased that the federal government has tabled legislation to repeal controversial bills C-377 and C-525.  These bills were designed to weaken unions by forcing redundant and unreasonable financial reporting, and by making it more difficult for Canadians in federally-regulated workplaces to join a union, respectively.  “This proves what we’ve been saying all along: that these bills were nothing…

Ontario must hold off on ORPP and lead on CPP expansion instead

Canada’s largest labour organization wants the Ontario government to hold off on implementing the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan and take the lead on finding a pan-Canadian solution to the looming retirement security crisis instead. “We hope Premier Wynne will consider putting the Ontario-only plan on hold and instead play a leadership role with the federal government, other provinces and the…

Full study, debate needed before any ratification of TPP

Canadian unions are disappointed with news that the government plans to sign onto the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a move that locks the country into a two-year countdown to ratify the trade deal. In a meeting with Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland today, CLC President Hassan Yussuff and several other union leaders outlined their concerns about the deal, and called for comprehensive…

Safe and healthy workplaces – it’s the law

Canada’s health and safety laws have more clout today, following a landmark court ruling in Ontario that saw, for the first time, a manager held criminally responsible and sentenced to prison for actions that resulted in the deaths of four workers under his watch. Unions worked for years to convince the government of Canada to change the criminal code, so…

Can disability rights be maintained in the “Uber-economy”?

Talk about the “sharing” or “gig” economy is everywhere, especially when it comes to ride-sharing apps like Uber. For the most part public debate has centred on issues of public safety, customer service, precarious work, insurance and taxation. And rightly so. Uber’s ability to skirt regulations not only threatens to dismantle an entire sector, but also adds to the broader…

After a rocky 2015, Canada needs a job creation and just transition plan more than ever

Today Statistics Canada released its December 2015 Labour Force Survey results, and while they appear to show improvement, the Canadian Labour Congress warned that our medium-term economic situation is still precarious. 2015 was a rocky year for jobs, and trends show 2016 could be even worse without government action. Over 2015, employment only grew by 0.9 percent, and most of…

Order of Canada Recognizes Barbara Byers’ Labour Movement Contributions

When Canadian Labour Congress Secretary-Treasurer Barbara Byers found out she had been nominated for the Order of Canada, she was stunned. Byers was one of 69 Canadians named yesterday as a Member of the Order, one of the country’s highest civilian honours. Governor General David Johnston chose to recognize Byers “for her contributions as an important voice in the Canadian…

Anti-Union bill C-377 stopped in its tracks

On Monday, the Minister of National Revenue announced she has waived the Conservatives’ anti-union Bill C-377’s reporting requirements for unions and labour trusts. The Canadian Labour Congress welcomes this announcement. Bill C-377 became law in June 2015, and reporting requirements would have applied to labour organizations beginning as early as December 31, 2015. The Conservatives tried to spin Bill C-377…

CLC says Finance Ministers’ CPP announcement is an important first step

OTTAWA – Since 2009, the Canadian Labour Congress has been actively campaigning for an expanded Canada Pension Plan. Today, it responded to the Finance Ministers’ announcement that they will begin discussion and consultation on options for the CPP going forward. “Expanding the CPP is something Canadians support and it’s already long overdue,” said Canadian Labour Congress President Hassan Yussuff. “We’ve had…