Working families have a lot at stake this election
September 2, 2019
By Hassan Yussuff You can be forgiven if you’ve avoided thinking about the upcoming federal election all summer, but Labour Day is here. That means it’s time to return to the fall routine and start thinking about how you are going to cast your ballot. You may have seen politicians working the barbecue circuit, vying for the support of workers…
Labour Day 2019: Unions seek to put fairness on the ballot
September 2, 2019
This Labour Day, Canada’s unions are launching a campaign to make fairness a ballot box question in the October federal election. That means unions will be calling on Canadian workers to vote for candidates who support universal pharmacare, retirement security, climate action, equity and inclusion, and good jobs for everyone. “Over the last four years, our work has resulted in…
Federal government must protect workers following export ban
June 28, 2019
Canada’s unions are calling on the federal government to ensure Canadian workers are protected from job and income loss following China’s recent ban on Canadian beef and pork exports. The ban was imposed after Chinese customs inspectors detected a prohibited feed additive in a batch of pork shipments labelled as Canadian. The Canada Food and Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed the…
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 stand with locked out steelworkers in Quebec
June 20, 2019
The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) fully supports the United Steelworkers (USW) complaint against the Government of Quebec for violating international labour laws and severely impeding the rights of workers. One thousand members of USW have been locked out of their workplace at an aluminum smelter in Bécancour, Quebec for the past 17 months. Over the spring of 2019, Quebec’s Premier François…
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.
Just Transition Task Force report has potential to put people at the heart of climate policy
March 11, 2019
Canada’s unions welcome the federal government’s release of the final report of the Just Transition Task Force for Canadian Coal Power Workers and Communities, along with the accompanying report: “What We Heard from Canadian Coal Power Workers and Communities”. “The Task Force worked to put people and communities at the heart of climate policy by developing ten practical and concrete recommendations…
When government, employers & unions take domestic violence seriously
March 8, 2019
By Hassan Yussuff, Derrick Hynes, and the Hon. Patty Hajdu In the four years since the release of the first-ever pan-Canadian study on the impact of domestic violence at work, unions, employers and governments have embarked on a remarkable joint project to help protect jobs and promote workplace safety. We now have a common understanding of the magnitude of this…
After 2 weeks in the streets, Ontario teachers end their historic mass protest.
November 10, 2018
On November 10, 1997, Ontario’s teachers returned to work after staging a two-week walkout to protest the radical, anti-democratic changes imposed by the Conservative government of Mike Harris. While the protest failed to stop Bill 160 from becoming law, it was a defeat for Harris and his so-called “common sense revolution” (CSR) in both public opinion and the courts. Mike…
Canada’s unions call federal budget bill a boon for workers
October 30, 2018
Canada’s unions welcome measures in Monday’s federal budget implementation act that provide important progress for working people, including plans to achieve pay equity, provide paid domestic violence leave, protect workers during contract retendering, and otherwise elevate Canada’s labour standards. Introducing a new Pay Equity Act will bring in long-awaited legislation requiring federally-regulated employers to create proactive pay equity plans that…