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…
Workers in Canada are pushing back against attacks on DEI policies
March 21, 2025
This International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Canada’s unions reaffirm their commitment to fighting inequity and defending crucial social and human rights advancements. The recent wave of targeted actions to stop Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies, programs and initiatives in the United States has profound implications not just for workers south of the border, but for those…
Abject failure: Canada’s would-be human rights watchdog leaves Bangladeshi garment workers languishing in poverty
March 12, 2025
In many Bangladeshi garment factories, the women and men who make clothes for export around the globe endure gruelling schedules—six days a week, 10 to 12 hours a day. But no matter how long and hard they work, their wages are so low, these workers cannot escape poverty. The appalling working and living standards faced by Bangladeshi garment workers compelled…
BHM 2025: Join Canada’s unions in advancing racial and economic justice for Black workers
February 1, 2025
Canada’s unions are marking Black History Month by highlighting the crucial role unions play in advancing racial and economic justice for Black workers. On February 18, we will be hosting Black labour leaders in a virtual conversation about what Black workers are up against, and how unions can make an important difference. Recent data shows that Black workers are the…
Canada’s unions welcome the ceasefire and call on all parties to adhere to the agreement and prioritise the safety and well-being of affected communities. The CLC supports the calls in the following statement by the International Trade Union Confederation and stands with workers to advance peace and justice in the region. https://www.ituc-csi.org/gaza-ceasefire-must-lead-to
Migrant workers in Canada deserve access to permanent residency and citizenship
December 18, 2024
Canada’s unions are marking International Migrants Day by continuing to call on the government to ensure pathways to permanent residency and citizenship for migrant workers. Currently, Canada’s migrant worker streams create and reinforce a system in which migrant workers are made vulnerable to exploitation and precarity. Employers have pushed for the creation and expansion of migrant worker programs with closed…
Human Rights Day 2024: Canada’s unions push back against rising hate
December 10, 2024
Canada’s unions are marking International Human Rights Day by urging Canadians to come together to challenge the rising tide of hate being spread by an emboldened far-right. Since the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, Canada has made important human rights gains. Fairer wages, safer workplaces, and freedom from harassment and discrimination are the rights of all…
Greg Snider – Winner of the 2024 Carol McGregor CLC Disability Rights Award
December 3, 2024
Every year on December 3, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the Canadian Labour Congress will recognize a union member for their disability rights activism. This award is named in honour of Carol McGregor, an outstanding disability rights activist, member of NUPGE and the CLC Disability Rights Working Group―and who was much loved by all those who worked with…
People with disabilities deserve better from the Canada Disability Benefit
December 3, 2024
The International Day of Persons with Disabilities is celebrated annually on Dec 3. This year, Canada’s unions are marking this important date by sounding the alarm on the disproportionate levels of poverty faced by people with disabilities in Canada. “It’s no secret that Canada’s affordability crisis is hurting those at the margins the most. The proposed roll out for the…
Statement on the anniversary of the October 7 attacks
October 7, 2024
Today marks the one-year anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel. The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) condemns those attacks and mourns the horrible loss of life on that day and over the past year in Gaza and now in Lebanon. We are gravely concerned by the continued escalation of hostilities and the expansion of this horrific war in the…