Rana Plaza: 12 years of fighting for corporate accountability
April 24, 2025
Since 2013, when the Rana Plaza factory collapsed in Bangladesh, Canada’s unions have marked the tragic April 24th anniversary by bringing attention to the ongoing unacceptable working conditions of Bangladeshi workers in the ready-made garment industry. The Rana Plaza industrial disaster, which killed 1,134 workers and injured thousands more, shone a spotlight on the lack of accountability of transnational corporations…
On Injured Workers Day, Canada’s unions say: safe work now!
May 31, 2024
June 1st is Injured Workers Day. Far too many workers continue to be injured on the job – many in critical, life-changing ways. According to the Association of Workers Compensation Boards of Canada, an astounding 348,747 lost time claims were made in 2022, the last year for which complete data is available. Shockingly, this number doesn’t even count those who…
Statement by Bea Bruske on the Port of Vancouver Strike
July 6, 2023
Bruske: The most durable deal is the one negotiated at the bargaining table OTTAWA – Canada’s unions stand in solidarity with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and urge the BC Maritime Employers Association (BCME) to return to the table and bargain outstanding issues in good faith. The fact is the best labour agreements are always the ones negotiated…
Never again: Canada’s unions mark 10 years since the Rana Plaza factory collapse
April 24, 2023
On April 24, workers in Bangladesh and across the globe will gather to mark the anniversary of the Rana Plaza garment factory collapse and mourn the loss of the more than 1,100 workers who were killed. Over 2,500 workers and their families continue to live with the aftermath of serious injuries sustained in one of the world’s worst industrial disasters.…
Canada’s unions celebrate B.C. card check law to empower workers
June 2, 2022
Bruske: It’s about fairness. Premier Horgan’s government enacts critical law to support working people VICTORIA, B.C. – Canada’s unions celebrate an important milestone today as a new law in British Columbia, to return automatic certification to the province, received royal assent. Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress, was in the B.C. legislature to witness the legislation becoming law.…
In Canada and around the world, 2SLGBTQI people are facing a rising tide of hatred, discrimination and violence. Canada’s unions are marking the 2022 Pride season by standing in solidarity with 2SLGBTQI communities and against these growing attacks on human rights related to sexual orientation, gender identity, expression and sex characteristics. Canada’s unions are calling on the federal government to…
Building a low-wage economy with stomach-churning greed
April 26, 2022
Bruske: Minimum wage employees being replaced by offshore workers making $3.75 an hour will hurt workers everywhere OTTAWA –– Replacing frontline workers with exploited offshore workers, as the restaurant chain Freshii is now doing, moves us towards a low-wage economy that weakens our communities and exploits workers, according to Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “This is about replacing…
Statement of the CLC and provincial and territorial federations of labour in response to the Ontario Workforce Recovery Advisory Committee Report
December 20, 2021
The Canadian Labour Congress and Canada’s provincial and territorial federations of labour unanimously reject the recommendations of the report of the Ontario’s Workforce Recovery Advisory Committee (OWRAC) that would enshrine second-class status for gig workers. We believe every worker deserves the same high standard of protection under the law. Employers have long used excuses to misclassify their employees as independent…
Canada’s unions welcome federal legislation on paid sick leave and protecting health care workers
November 26, 2021
Bruske: we will keep fighting until every worker in Canada has access to paid sick leave OTTAWA – Canada’s unions are welcoming today’s announcement of new legislation making 10 days of paid sick leave available for all workers in federally-regulated workplaces as a positive step forward for public health and worker protection. “Paid sick leave saves lives. We thank…
Bea Bruske: Put working families at the heart of Canada’s recovery
September 6, 2021
OTTAWA – Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress released the following statement on Labour Day: “Over the past eighteen months, workers and their families have faced unprecedented challenges from a pandemic and fiscal crisis. “Parents faced the pressure of working from home while dealing with their kids’ schooling. Workers faced the anxiety of being thrown out of work…