Canada’s unions support nurses, midwives and all health care workers
April 7, 2020
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…
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…
Statement on educational sector collective bargaining in Ontario
November 18, 2019
The 55 unions represented on the Canadian Council of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) declare their support for Ontario’s education unions that are demanding the government support high-quality education. Members of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association, and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation have overwhelmingly voted to stand up and fight for publicly-funded…
Today, on the twelfth annual World Day for Decent Work, Canada’s unions are calling for a federal task force on care work and care jobs in Canada. The World Day for Decent Work is a global day of action for trade unions around the world. The theme for 2019, Investing in care for gender equality, recognizes that work in the…
Improving the lives of workers is sound business sense
September 11, 2019
By Hassan Yussuff, as published in the Toronto Sun. There will always be those who believe that the most important aspect of any business is the bottom line, regardless of how such tunnel vision can negatively impact the lives of workers. But the best employers understand that a sound business model includes nurturing workplaces in which their employees are treated with…
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.…
What the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike teaches every working person
May 15, 2019
By Hassan Yussuff, as published in the Winnipeg Free Press and in the Toronto Star. The year 1919 was fraught with discontent. Workers in Canada were struggling to make ends meet and inflation had risen by 65% over a six-year span. Men who had just returned from a horrific war in Europe could not find employment; factories were shutting down…
Canadian workers are building the economy, but many working families cannot make ends meet. The labour movement works to change this, advocating for a range of policies. Unions bargain for better wages and benefits, helping workers and their families and creating a more just, prosperous and equitable society.