Remembering Rana Plaza: Canadian corporations must do more
April 23, 2018
Canada’s unions are marking the fifth anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster by urging Canadian companies to commit to protecting and promoting the human rights of textile workers. On April 24, 2013, over one thousand garment workers were killed or injured when the Rana Plaza factory collapsed. Investigations showed that working conditions in the building did not meet safety standards.…
Unions welcome announcement on federal human rights ombudsperson
January 17, 2018
Canada’s unions are welcoming the federal government’s announcement that it will appoint an ombudsperson to ensure Canadian corporations respect their human rights obligations abroad. The new position, formally titled the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE), was announced today by François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of International Trade. The ombudsperson will be mandated to investigate allegations of wrongdoing by Canadian mining, energy, and…
Report vindicates Colombian unions in their struggle for basic workers’ rights
February 2, 2017
For years, Colombian unions have been sounding the alarm about workers’ and human rights abuses in their country. Now, a new report vindicates long-standing grievances about the violation of Colombian unions’ rights to organize and bargain collectively. The report was released by the National Administrative Office (NAO), in response to a joint submission from the Canadian Labour Congress and five…
Unions promote corporate accountability and workers’ rights in Bangladesh
January 29, 2016
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…
Profits & People: Canadian extractive sector companies need to be held accountable
July 15, 2015
Canadian extractive sector companies account for almost half of the world’s mining and mineral exploration activity. They have interests in more than 8,000 places in over 100 countries globally. With this amount of power and capacity internationally, it’s important that policies and standards are in place to ensure these companies engage in responsible business practices. This includes worker safety and…
5 reasons to oppose OceanaGold’s lawsuit against El Salvador
June 26, 2015
Given our shared struggle for human rights and corporate accountability, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) supports the position of the El Salvadoran government in respect to the investor-state arbitration suit with OceanaGold. The CLC is against investor-state arbitration that drains countries of their natural resources and gives power to corporations. We call on the Canadian government to reject the Investor State Dispute Settlement…
International union bodies welcome G7 pledges on supply chains, climate and tax
June 10, 2015
International trade unions have welcomed key pledges made by the leaders of major global economies at the 2015 G7 Summit, while warning that public confidence in governments and business is waning and stronger action for sustainable economic growth is needed on a number of fronts. Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary, said: “Chancellor Merkel, as Summit host, has shown clear leadership…
Over 50 organizations call on Canadian government to support survivors of Rana Plaza tragedy
September 16, 2014
OTTAWA ― Over fifty human rights, religious, international development, trade union, women’s, teacher, student, community and investor organizations have released an Open Letter calling on the Canadian government to publicly urge Canadian companies whose apparel products are made in Bangladesh to contribute generously to a trust fund for the approximately 2,500 workers injured and the families of over 1,100 workers…
CLC asks Prime Minister to take action on Bangladesh Accord
April 24, 2014
The Canadian Labour Congress has written a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper on the anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh. The letter urges him to take action on getting companies in Canada to sign onto an Accord for Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. Another letter will also go out soon to about 130 companies in…
CLC deplores preventable factory deaths in Bangladesh: Wants action from Canadian government
April 26, 2013
OTTAWA ― The Canadian Labour Congress deplores the preventable deaths and injuries that have occurred as a result of a tragic factory collapse near Dhaka, Bangladesh, says CLC President Ken Georgetti. More than 305 workers lost their lives in the factory collapse and 2,445 more have been injured or permanently disabled. These workers made clothing for a Bangladeshi company whose…