Home is not safe for everyone: Domestic violence during a pandemic
March 26, 2020
Canada’s unions are calling for increased vigilance and awareness to the growing risk of domestic violence amidst the coronavirus pandemic. The recommendation that people stay in their homes, along with added financial pressure and stress, can elevate the risk of violence and further entrenches isolation, which increases opportunities for abusers to exert power and control. Women’s shelters and transition houses…
#DoneWaiting: Make Canada a Leader in Global in Gender Equality
March 7, 2020
This International Women’s Day, Canada’s unions are calling on the federal government to meet its international obligations and show real progress towards women’s equality and economic justice. “We know some steps the federal government can take right now to be a global leader in gender equality—if they are bold enough,” said Marie Clarke Walker, Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Labour Congress.…
Canada’s unions mark 30th anniversary of Polytechnique Massacre
December 6, 2019
It has been thirty years since fourteen lives were lost in an act of misogynistic violence at Montréal’s École Polytechnique. Every year since, communities across the country have mourned those, and innumerable others, lost to gender-based violence with a National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. While recent federal initiatives have progressed the drive to end institutionalized…
Canada’s unions call on newly elected government to ratify global convention on violence and harassment
November 25, 2019
November 25th marks the first of 16 global days of action to eliminate gender-based violence. Canada’s unions are marking these days by calling on the newly elected government to ratify international labour Convention C-190, the first-ever global treaty on violence and harassment in the world of work. Convention C-190 was adopted at the Centenary Conference of the International Labour Organization…
Unions mark Gender Equality Week with election demands
September 22, 2019
Canada’s unions are marking Gender Equality Week 2019 by calling on federal political parties to commit to creating a fair Canada for everyone. “Gender Equality Week was created to celebrate recent gains while reflecting on the work that needs to be done to improve gender equality and women’s rights across Canada,” said Marie Clarke Walker, Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Labour…
A historic step towards greater protections for workers around the world
June 21, 2019
Canada’s unions join workers everywhere in celebrating today’s historic adoption of a new International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention and Recommendation addressing violence and harassment in the world of work. After over a year of negotiations with governments, employers, and workers, the Centenary International Labour Conference adopted the new framework at its convention in Geneva. “It is a historic day,” said…
Canada’s unions play key role in ILO negotiations on addressing violence at work
June 11, 2019
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the International Labour Organization (ILO). Representatives from labour, governments, and employers are meeting this month as part of the 108th International Labour Conference in Geneva. Marie Clarke Walker, Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), serves as the Worker Spokesperson and will continue as a key leader in the effort to strengthen obligations…
Prohibiting violence and harassment in the world of work
June 10, 2019
By Marie Clarke Walker The numbers are staggering. More than 800 million women globally have experienced some form of violence and harassment, ranging from physical assault to verbal abuse, bullying and intimidation, according to the International Trade Union Confederation. Here in Canada, a 2018 Angus Reid study found that 1 in 2 women reported experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace.…
Unions vow to protect reproductive rights as fundamental rights
May 25, 2019
Following a series of regressive abortion laws passed in several American states, Canada’s unions are expressing solidarity with advocates in the United States who are fighting to protect reproductive rights. The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) further commits to protecting our own hard-won gains and to fill the gaps in access to sexual and reproductive health and rights in Canada, including…
Canada’s unions mark Equal Pay Day with a call for pay equity implementation now
April 9, 2019
April 9, 2019 marks Equal Pay Day in Ontario, the date recognized as the amount of time it takes for women’s wages to catch up to men’s wages in 2018. Nationally, Equal Pay Day is an opportunity to educate communities across Canada on the realities of the gender wage gap and its negative economic impacts on women, especially women with…