As workers face rising inequality, precarious work, and growing pressure from automation and artificial intelligence, delegates at the Canadian Labour Congress’ 31st Constitutional Convention adopted an ambitious action plan to strengthen labour rights, expand access to unions and collective bargaining, and build worker power. 

CLC President Bea Bruske said workers should not be expected to absorb the costs of economic instability and corporate-driven change on their own. 

“Canadian workers are being squeezed from every direction,” said  Bruske. “Donald Trump’s trade war is putting jobs and industries at risk. Austerity and cuts to public services are weakening the supports workers and families rely on. At the same time, employers are using automation, AI, and algorithms to increase insecurity and weaken protections on the job. Workers are standing together to fight back

“Winnipeg has a proud labour history. In 1919, workers took to the streets to demand fairness, dignity, and a better future. Today, we are once again raising our voices to demand an economy that works for people, not just corporations and billionaires.”

According to Bruske, a union card is a worker’s ticket to better pay, safer workplaces, respect and dignity, and security in uncertain times. 

“This action plan is about rebuilding worker power in every sector of the economy, in every region in Canada, and ensuring labour rights keep pace with the realities of modern work,” said Bruske.

The “We Build Worker Power” action plan calls for changes to federal and provincial labour and employment laws that raise workplace standards, improve access to unions and effective collective bargaining, and remove governments’ special powers to override workers’ constitutional rights. It also takes aim at the impacts of artificial intelligence while calling for fair scheduling laws, 10 paid days of medical leave for every worker in Canada, and greater protections from psychosocial workplace injuries. 

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Highlights include:

•           Cultural performances by the Ivan Flett Memorial Dancers, Red River Dancers, and Leonard Sumner.

•           Remarks from Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew.

•           Debate on the CLC action plan “We Build the Future,” focused on creating good union jobs, public investment, industrial strategy, workforce development, and a worker-centred transition to a green economy.

•           Panel discussions and debate connected to the “We Fight for Dignity” action plan, addressing affordability, wages, housing, inequality, and expanding public services.

WHAT:

Day two of the CLC Constitutional Convention

WHEN:

Tuesday, May 12, 2026

WHERE:

RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg (375 York Avenue, Winnipeg, MB)

* Key moments will be livestreamed here: https://www.youtube.com/@canadianlabour/streams

Additional programming details are available here: https://canadianlabour.ca/buildcarefight/

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CLC Media Relations 
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Canada’s trade policy is failing workers, families and entire communities. For too long, decisions have been made behind closed doors that cost Canadians their jobs, hollow out our industries, and weaken our public services.

The message to parliamentarians is a simple one: Labour has a clear plan and it must have a seat at the table.

WHAT: An economic strategy and future trade deals must centre workers

WHEN: Wednesday, February 4 at 1:15 PM ET

WHERE: Rogers Centre (55 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa), Trillium Room or via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82682528884 (Meeting ID: 826 8252 8884)

WHO:

• Bea Bruske, President, Canadian Labour Congress (CLC)
• Lana Payne, National President, Unifor
• Mark Hancock, National President, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)
• Marty Warren, National Director, United Steelworkers (USW)
• Sharon DeSousa, President, Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC)
• David Chartrand, General Vice-President, Machinists Union (IAM Union)

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 CLC Media Relations 
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While Ottawa frames this deal as a way to diversify markets for Canadian farmers and exporters, it ultimately puts both groups at risk, offering uncertain, short-term relief for canola and select fisheries while endangering hundreds of thousands of good jobs across Canada’s manufacturing and industrial sectors. In the end, no sector truly wins, and workers in every industry are left more vulnerable.

At its core, this deal drastically reduces Canada’s surtax on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs), creating a pathway for tens of thousands of inexpensive, state-subsidized vehicles to flood our auto market. As the largest private-sector union in Canada has warned, opening our market to Chinese EVs risks undermining our domestic auto industry, jeopardizing existing jobs, suppressing investment, and eroding the independent supply chain that sustains thousands of Canadian workers.

The Government’s willingness to trade hard-earned leverage on issues like auto tariffs and North American cooperation for temporary tariff reductions on canola and some seafood products is deeply troubling. The relief offered for agriculture and fisheries is time-limited, uncertain beyond this year, and insufficient compensation for exposing strategic industries to global competition fueled by massive state intervention.

This agreement raises serious questions about the broader strategy of the Canadian Government in its dealings with our most important economic partners—the United States and the European Union. And it ignores China’s ongoing human rights abuses including the documented use of forced labour and the suppression of workers’ rights.

Instead of charting a coherent, worker-first trade strategy, Ottawa appears to be trading one form of instability for another, responding to the chaos and unpredictability of Trump-style U.S. trade policy by opening the door to state-subsidized Chinese imports that threaten to hollow out Canada’s manufacturing base. Workers are being asked to absorb the risks on both sides: job insecurity driven by U.S. trade volatility on the one hand, and the long-term destruction of domestic manufacturing capacity on the other. Neither approach protects workers, communities, or Canada’s economic sovereignty, and both leave working people paying the price.

Canada cannot secure a prosperous future by sacrificing job security and industrial resilience for symbolic gains. A responsible trade strategy must defend Canadian workers, uphold fair trade principles, and coordinate with allies to ensure that global competition does not come at the expense of Canadian workers, industry and communities.

The post Statement – On the Canada–China Strategic Partnership appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Canadian Labour Congress President Bea Bruske was joined by leaders from several of Canada’s largest manufacturing and building trades unions representing workers whose jobs, communities, and futures depend directly on trade and industrial policy decisions.

With renewed U.S. tariff threats and growing trade instability, unions warned the federal government against repeating the mistakes of the past: trading away domestic production, good union jobs, and industrial capacity in pursuit of an agreement at any cost.

“Any deal that undermines Canadian jobs or weakens Canada’s ability to build its own economy would be worse than no deal at all,” said Bruske. “The United States has increasingly abandoned the rules-based trading system, using trade pressure to weaken workers, destabilize supply chains, and advantage corporations. Canada must respond from a position of strength, not concession, and refuse to sacrifice workers to appease U.S. demands.”

The CLC is urging the federal government to remain laser-focused on a workers-first trade policy that preserves and expands Canadian jobs, strengthens domestic industry, and regulatory space to invest in domestic manufacturing, supply-chain resilience, and future industries. Canada continues to bleed production and jobs due to U.S. sectoral tariffs on auto, softwood lumber, and other industries, with widening impacts on communities and local economies. The government must urgently work to have these tariffs removed.

At the negotiating table, Canada must defend its right to pursue active industrial policy, enforce strong labour protections, and expand domestic value-added production. Trade rules must not be used to undermine workers’ rights, public services, industrial development, or fair wages.

Unions also pressed for a strong, enforceable labour chapter in any renewed agreement, including expanded use of the Rapid Response Mechanism to hold employers accountable for labour rights violations across North America.

The message from labour was unified and unequivocal: the CUSMA review must strengthen Canadian industries and working-class communities, not hollow them out. The government must engage with unions and bring them into the trade negotiations; unions know their industries better than anyone else. Workers do not want the government trading away their jobs, livelihoods, or economic future just to renew a flawed deal.

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Across the country, people are losing jobs and struggling to make ends meet.

“The reality facing workers right now is grim,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “In the last quarter alone, Canada lost 66,000 jobs. Growth has dropped every month for two straight quarters. The trade war continues, with no end in sight. Concessions we’ve made to appease Donald Trump haven’t worked. Just look at what happened last Friday, we got hit with new U.S. tariffs on buses and trucks. Working people are still trapped in an affordability and housing crisis that just won’t quit. Families are stretched to the limit and so are our public services and healthcare.”

Trump’s reckless tariff escalation is pulling investment and production out of Canada and into the United States, undermining decades of partnership and cooperation. His aggressive trade tactics are threatening jobs in key sectors like auto, steel, aluminum, lumber, and manufacturing — and Canadian workers are paying the price.

Inflation has climbed again, reaching 2.4% in September, with grocery prices up 4%. Families are being squeezed harder than ever; paying more for food, housing, and gas while watching good jobs vanish from their communities.

Canada’s unions are calling for an all-hands-on-deck approach to protect Canadian jobs, strengthen our economy, and support families through this crisis. That means:

• Focusing on jobs and affordability: Invest in public projects and build more housing to create good, stable jobs and ease the cost-of-living crisis;

• Fixing Employment Insurance: Modernize EI and ensure workers impacted by the trade war aren’t left behind;

• Protecting public services: Now is not the time for cuts. With more Canadians depending on healthcare, education, and community supports, we must not reduce services — and we must not add to the jobless; and

• Standing up to Trump: Match U.S. tariffs with strong, targeted retaliatory measures, including a 50% tariff on U.S. steel and aluminum, to defend Canadian industries and show that we will not be bullied.

“Canada’s unions remain ready to work with the government and Parliament to get Canada through this crisis,” Bruske added. “Workers power our economy, and together, we can rebuild it stronger, fairer, and more resilient.”

It’s time to protect Canadian jobs, defend our industries, and put workers first.

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This reckless escalation is a direct attack on Canadian workers, businesses, and local economies. The impact threatens to devastate Canada’s steel and aluminum industries, shut Canadian producers out of the U.S. market, and jeopardize thousands of good, unionized jobs across the country.

Bea Bruske (Canadian Labour Congress), Candace Laing (Canadian Chamber of Commerce), and Carole Saab (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) will outline the urgent need for a coordinated federal response to defend Canadian jobs, businesses, and communities.

WHAT:           Joint press conference on U.S. tariffs and their impact on Canada

WHEN:          Wednesday, June 4, 2025, at 1:00 PM ET

WHERE:        Press Conference Room 135-B, West Block, Parliament Hill

WHO:            Bea Bruske, President, Canadian Labour Congress (CLC)
                       Candace Laing, President and CEO, Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CCC)
                       Carole Saab, CEO, Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM)

Please RSVP to: 
CLC Media Relations 
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613-526-7426

The post Canada’s Labour, Business, and Municipal Leaders Respond to Trump’s Tariff Hike appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

The shutdown of the Stellantis Windsor Assembly Plant, effective today, marks the beginning of a growing crisis that extends beyond the auto sector.

Entire communities face financial uncertainty, and the labour movement is demanding swift federal action to stabilize affected industries and support workers.

This morning, CLC President Bea Bruske and Executive Vice-President Siobhán Vipond joined local labour leaders and workers at Assumption North Park in Windsor, Ontario, to address the economic disruption triggered by the U.S. administration’s imposition of 25% tariffs on Canadian autos—a direct attack on over half a million Canadian jobs.

“Workers across the country are worried about their future and their jobs and they are looking for a national response as bold as the threat we face,” said Bruske. “That starts with defending Canadian jobs, and it ends with building a future where Canada is less vulnerable to the whims of foreign actors.”

Bruske emphasized the need for the government to support workers through emergency reforms to Employment Insurance (EI), relief from banks and financial institutions, and strong industrial investments.

“Overnight, thousands of workers lost paycheques. Canadian workers should never be collateral damage in a political power play,” Bruske continued. “We must defend jobs today while building a more self-reliant, resilient economy for tomorrow. That means investing in local production, protecting our manufacturing base, and putting workers at the centre of our recovery strategy.”

The CLC laid out a comprehensive blueprint for immediate action, including:

• Modernizing EI with lower qualification thresholds and longer benefits;
• Using public procurement to drive innovation and sustain good union jobs;
• Expanding domestic green industry with government support tied to wages, training, and sustainability; and
• Cracking down on profiteering and redirecting revenues into health care, housing, and essential services.

“We’re not going to let workers bear the brunt of this alone,” said Vipond. “We’ve done our part. Now it’s time for the government—and corporate Canada—to do theirs.”

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The post Labour Leaders Rally in Windsor as Tariffs Threaten Canadian Jobs appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Steel and aluminum are critical to Canada’s industrial base, supplying essential inputs to the automotive, energy, construction, transportation, and manufacturing sectors. In total, over 43,000 Canadian jobs are directly or indirectly at risk. When Trump imposed similar tariffs in 2018, Canadian steel exports to the U.S. plummeted by 38%, causing economic pain for workers and communities across the country. The aluminum industry, already facing global trade disruptions, now sees 9,500 direct Canadian jobs under threat.

“Donald Trump’s tariffs are a direct attack on Canadian workers and our economy. These tariffs don’t protect jobs—they kill them. Canada cannot sit idly by while our workers are treated as bargaining chips in Trump’s trade war. Our government must respond with strong, immediate action to defend Canadian industries and the workers who keep them running,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress.

Canada’s unions fought back in 2018, and we will fight back again. We call on the federal government to take immediate action to defend Canadian workers, through strong retaliatory measures, investments in affected industries, and direct support for impacted workers.

Trump’s trade war tactics put corporate profits ahead of workers’ livelihoods. Canada must not allow its economy to be held hostage by U.S. policies. We stand with steel and aluminum workers and demand a strong, swift response to protect jobs, industries, and communities.

The post Another Attack on Canadian Workers: Trump’s 25% Tariffs on Canadian Steel and Aluminum appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Last night, the CLC Executive and key unions representing workers on the front lines of Trump’s trade war held an emergency meeting to discuss the urgent need for action.

Minister Steven MacKinnon and government officials were also in attendance.

“Canada must act decisively to protect workers and push back against these harmful policies. The U.S. needs to feel immediate consequences for targeting our economy and the livelihoods of Canadian workers.” – Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress

Labour leaders made it clear: workers should not pay the price for Trump’s reckless tariffs.

The CLC is calling for a full-scale response that includes:

• Cutting off U.S. access to critical Canadian resources—including electricity, lumber, critical minerals, oil, and gas—until the tariffs are lifted.
• Dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs to ensure the U.S. administration faces the consequences of its actions.
• Immediate support for impacted workers, including financial assistance, job protection measures, and transition programs.
• A long-term strategy to reduce Canada’s reliance on U.S. trade, diversifying markets to protect workers from future foreign policy disruptions.

To arrange an interview with Bea Bruske, please email: media@clcctc.ca.

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Donald Trump’s reckless tariffs are an attack on Canadian workers and our economy. With 2.4 million jobs tied directly or indirectly to trade with the U.S., these tariffs put industries, families, and entire communities at risk. But Canada’s unions know how to respond, and have solutions. 

Canada must take decisive action to protect workers and push back against these harmful policies. The United States must feel immediate pain for their actions aimed at harming the Canadian economy and its workers. 

The Canadian Labour Congress is calling for a comprehensive response that includes: 

• Matching tariffs dollar-for-dollar to ensure the U.S. administration feels the consequences of its actions. 

• Cutting off U.S. access to critical Canadian resources—including electricity, lumber, critical minerals, oil, and gas—until the tariffs are lifted.  
• Immediate support for impacted workers through financial assistance, job protection measures, and transition programs. `  

• A long-term strategy to reduce Canada’s reliance on U.S. trade, expanding our economic partnerships and diversifying markets to protect workers from future foreign policy disruptions. 

The federal government has taken a first step by considering income supports for affected workers—an approach that helped stabilize our economy during the pandemic. But much more is needed to meet the scale of this threat. A suite of measures to preserve jobs and manufacturing capacity, protections for distressed borrowers, and robust income supports are needed to ensure that workers and our communities can weather this storm. 

For generations, Canada and the U.S. have built a relationship based on mutual respect, economic partnership, and cross-border solidarity. If this is how Trump treats his closest ally, no country is safe from his reckless economic policies. 

Recent polling shows that Canadians overwhelmingly support strong action: 

• 77% want the federal government to impose tariffs in retaliation. 

• 75% support restricting U.S. access to Canadian resources. 

• 90% believe Trump’s tariffs will damage Canada-U.S. relations. 

Workers expect leaders to stand up for them. This is a pivotal moment for Canada to come together with a bold plan to protect jobs, strengthen industries, and create new opportunities for workers. The labour movement will always mobilize, organize, and push for solutions that secure livelihoods, support communities, and drive sustainable economic growth. 

The post Cut Off U.S. Energy and Resources Now: No Electricity, No Critical Minerals, No Oil and Gas  appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“Donald Trump’s reckless threats are a direct attack on workers on both sides of the border”, said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Canadians are rightfully alarmed and expect strong leadership from their governments to protect their jobs and defend our industries from these harmful policies.”

Eight in ten Canadians believe American tariffs on Canadian goods will increase the cost of living and nine in ten believe it will have a negative impact on Canada-US relations.

In response to these threats:

• 90% of Canadians support an investment plan to grow our economy, support Canadian industries and create good jobs.
• 77% believe the federal government should retaliate by placing tariffs on American imports and 75% want Canada to cut off American access to Canadian resources like electricity, oil and wood.
• 80% want the government to support people who would be impacted by job losses.
• Two in three Canadians reject an appeasement policy toward Trump.

“This is a moment of unity for Canada,” said Bruske. “Political leaders at all levels of government and from all parties should listen to Canadians and understand that people expect them to stand united for Canada and Canadian workers.”

The post Canadians reject Trump’s tariff threats: New CLC poll appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“As the next federal election draws closer, workers are demanding all parties agree to respect and enhance workers’ rights,” declared Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Political parties must make concrete platform commitments to remove obstacles to organizing and crack down on union-busting companies that engage in workplace threats and intimidation. Any party that fails to back their words with action will face serious consequences at the ballot box when the next election comes.” 

Bruske shared findings from a new poll commissioned by the Canadian Labour Congress. The national survey was conducted by GQR Canada from 1-8 April 2024 and surveyed 1,549 eligible voters. Full details of the poll are available on the CLC’s website. 

The poll found:  

• A majority of Canadians, 62%, believe belonging to a union is a good thing. Support is highest amongst women and in the electoral battleground regions of Ontario and the Maritimes.  
• An overwhelming 80% of young workers (18-29), think there are obstacles to joining a union, such as workplace intimidation, employers spreading misinformation, and too many bureaucratic steps that impede organizing.  
• 70% of Canadians want governments to remove barriers to forming or joining a union. Only 9% strongly disagree. 

“So many struggle with higher prices, worsening work-life balance, and deteriorating working conditions. The reality is employers always start out with the upper hand. It’s no wonder so many Canadians see the value of having a union to protect them,” explained Bruske. “But as part of a union, workers can negotiate better. A union card in your back pocket is your ticket to fairer wages, decent benefits, respect in your workplace, and financial security when you retire. That’s why the labour movement is seeing so much momentum and growth across the country.”  

The Canadian Labour Congress is the largest labour organization in Canada, bringing together dozens of national and international unions, provincial and territorial federations of labour and community-based labour councils to represent more than 3 million workers across the country.

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Canada’s unions are happy to see significant progress made on banning replacement workers, a crucial missing piece of Canada’s labour laws for decades. This was made possible by thousands of union activists across the country who stood up and demanded better from the government.

This is an important step towards truly protecting workers and their right to strike, this legislation must apply to any work regularly performed by bargaining unit workers and should not deny workers the right to legally strike by creating more essential service barriers.

We have seen years of record corporate profits while workers’ pay lagged far behind. Workers are rightly demanding fairer wages, better safety standards and respect from their employers.

By banning the use of scabs once and for all, we can take a real step towards less labour disruptions, avoiding work stoppages and building a more balanced economy—while increasing the benefits and respect workers deserve.

Now, we need Parliamentarians of all stripes to work together and amend the legislation to ensure it comes into force as soon as it receives Royal Assent. It is pivotal in order to bring immediate protection for workers’ rights and restore fairness to the collective bargaining process. We’ve waited long enough.

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The latest report, Putting workers and communities at the centre of Canada’s net-zero energy economy, funded by Natural Resources Canada, outlines actions and investments that governments should make to support workers in the shift to a sustainable economy.

“Canada stands at a crossroads. People across the country and around the globe are experiencing the impacts of climate change in their work and their everyday lives to a degree that’s unprecedented,” said Bea Bruske, President of the CLC. “Our economy must adapt in order to prevent the worst impacts of climate change, but it must also be positioned to take advantage of the massive industrial and economic opportunities that come with a global shift to net-zero. To accomplish that, we must ensure workers have a seat at the decision-making table.”

“Countries around the world are racing to secure their place in a net-zero future,” said Chris Severson-Baker, Executive Director of the Pembina Institute. “At the same time, a people-centered energy transition and industrial decarbonization strategies have the potential to create a host of co-benefits that can improve the everyday lives of Canadians — boosting the economy, creating new livelihoods, improving health outcomes, and creating a better future for equity-deserving groups.”

“This report rightly puts skills development and training at the heart of a blueprint needed to achieve Canada’s climate targets and carve out new sources of competitive advantage in a net-zero world,” said Pedro Barata, Executive Director of the Future Skills Centre. “The recommendations point to the need for place-based and sectoral approaches that bring together stakeholders – including workers – to co-design and implement solutions to the challenges facing Canadian workers, starting now, in the places where they will be felt first and most acutely.”

The report shows that 2 million people will be working in the Canadian clean energy sector by 2050, that investing in workers and regional economies can increase GDP by a cumulative $55 billion between 2040 and 2050, and supports for accredited, non-profit training can drive down unemployment and increase wages for workers in resource sectors.

“We absolutely cannot afford to let these opportunities pass Canada by,” added Bruske.

Canada can either be a leader with a plan to train workers, decarbonize industries, support economic diversification, and ensure our workers are leaders in a net-zero global economy, or miss this golden opportunity.

“A framework for international and national just transitions is needed. It must address equity, social, economic, and environmental dimensions, aligning with the ILO guidelines adopted by governments at the ILC in June on Just Transition,” said Diana Junquera Curiel, Acting Director of the Just Transition Centre. “Labour rights, social dialogue, and social protection are being pushed by unions into the climate discussions, emphasizing the need for international justice for a Just Transition and workers at the table in Just Transition policies.”

Decision-makers across the federal government, provinces, territories, the Sustainable Jobs Partnership Council and Sustainable Jobs Secretariat will find in this report recommendations to support workers with skills and training, income security, engagement and labour rights, as well as economic-focused actions to optimize and leverage the energy transition for the good of workers and their communities. The sustainable blueprint for Canada will provide a roadmap to ensure workers can see a path forward for their future.

ABOUT:

The Canadian Labour Congress is the largest labour organization in Canada, bringing together dozens of national and international unions, provincial and territorial federations of labour and community-based labour councils to represent more than 3 million workers across the country.

The Pembina Institute is a charitable thinktank working to solve today’s greatest energy challenges — reducing the harmful impacts of fossil fuels while supporting the transition to an energy system that is clean, safe and sustains a high quality of life.

The Future Skills Centre (FSC) is a forward-thinking centre for research and collaboration dedicated to driving innovation in skills development so that everyone in Canada can be prepared for the future of work. The FSC is funded by the Government of Canada’s Future Skills Program.

The Just Transition Centre was established in 2016 by the ITUC and partners. The Centre brings together workers and their unions, businesses and governments in social dialogue and stakeholder engagement with communities and civil society to ensure that labour has a seat at the table when planning for a Just Transition to a low-carbon world.

ENGLISH VERSION

The full English report can be accessed here.

FRENCH VERSION

The full French report can be accessed here.

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OTTAWA—Canada’s unions are pleased to see the federal government launch a Union-Led Advisory Table to help workers succeed in Canada’s economic future, announced today. 

The Advisory Table will be chaired by Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress, and will include 15 labour leaders from across Canada with expertise across sectors. The table will advise the government on pressing issues facing workers and will provide recommendations on how best to support workers affected by economic change. 

“I am proud to chair this advisory table and thank the government for taking this much-needed step,” said Bruske. “Unions have led the way in the face of the ongoing affordability crisis, and we know that to stabilize our economy, we need workers at the table. They are at the heart of Canada’s economy.” 

The union-led advisory table will complement the Sustainable Jobs Partnership Council included in the Sustainable Jobs Act and will not duplicate it. This new initiative will guide conversations on what Canada needs to do to strengthen the workforce and ensure workers find their footing in a changing economy. 

“The workforce is changing rapidly with the environmental transition and the digitalization of work. To achieve a smooth transition, it is crucial for workers to be considered and heard,” said Bruske. “Our economy is shifting, and Canada’s unions are ready to work with the government to ensure no workers are left behind.” 

The Canadian Labour Congress is the largest labour organization in Canada, bringing together dozens of national and international unions, provincial and territorial federations of labour and community-based labour councils to represent more than 3 million workers across the country. 

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OTTAWA––Workers from across Canada took to Parliament Hill this week to urge the government to create a public, universal pharmacare system.

“This government had a chance to show that they are serious about pharmacare, but we saw no mention of it in the recent fall economic statement,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “This government has been talking about implementing pharmacare for years. Canadians have waited long enough, it’s time for this government to walk the talk.”

Pharmacare is a cornerstone of the Liberal-NDP supply and confidence agreement, with the two parties agreeing to introduce legislation by the end of 2023.

“The Liberals are running out of time to make pharmacare a reality,” said Bruske. “Hundreds of workers are in Ottawa this week to make it clear they expect the government to stand by its promise and make a universal public prescription drug plan happen and provide coverage for all.”

In addition to pharmacare, Canada’s workers are ramping up pressure on parliamentarians to pass Bill C-58 to ban scab labour and Bill C-50, the Sustainable Jobs Act rapidly.

Bill C-58 is currently being debated in the House and Pierre Poilievre and the Conservative Caucus have yet to state a clear and coherent stance on it. Despite the bill receiving support from the NDP and the Bloc Québecois, Poilievre continues to claim he needs more information before making a decision.

“Workers want to know: Do the Conservatives support the bill – support workers – or not?” said Bruske. “Poilievre is loud on rhetoric and good with soundbites, but completely silent on his real agenda – workers see through his nonsense.”

“In not clearly stating his support of Bill C-58, Pierre Poilievre has once again shown his true colours. He can talk all he wants about being for workers, but he has a chance right now to show that he’s with them and instead of doing that he is stalling the process – just like with Bill C-50,” said Bruske. “Poilievre has a long track record of attacking workers’ rights and siding with profitable corporations over everyday people, which makes clear the kind of leader he is. We remember when he introduced anti-labour laws and helped rich corporations pay even less in taxes and voted to cut support for unemployed workers. We know that he will vote against workers’ interests, every time.”

Canada’s unions also call on the government to take immediate action to move Bill C-50 forward and for the Conservatives to end their obstruction of the act.

“It’s time to move forward. Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives have wasted enough time. Workers see through the Conservatives’ nonsense,’’ said Bruske. “Workers and their families are struggling to make ends meet and worry that they’ll be out of work as we transition our economy. I urge the Liberal government to introduce legislation to enact universal pharmacare and to move forward with bills C-50 and C-58.”

The Canadian Labour Congress is the largest labour organization in Canada, bringing together dozens of national and international unions, provincial and territorial federations of labour and community-based labour councils to represent more than 3 million workers across the country.

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The post Workers mobilize on the Hill to urge MPs to act as families continue to struggle appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“High decibel levels from the right-wing business community demanding cuts simply fail to recognize that when we invest in housing, child care and sustainable jobs we are investing in our future and our kids’ future,” declared Bruske. “When we create child care spaces, more parents can enter the workforce. When we invest in the energy transition, we create the good, sustainable, union jobs of the future. These are the kinds of smart, pragmatic decisions that will build the future communities we want to live in.”

“October saw the largest one month increase in rent prices in over 40 years. That’s the biggest jump in over four decades. Working people welcomed progress on housing affordability, but more is needed to help people struggling to afford rising prices.”

Workers are looking to the government to act as families fall further behind.

“The government is predicting a big jump in unemployment and slower economic growth. This will mean 150,000 more workers losing their job. It is concerning as our economy is teetering on the precipice of a recession,” explained Bruske. “Instead of even more cuts to our public service, workers wanted to see the government take action to make wildly profitable oil and grocery corporations pay what they owe and fix Employment Insurance, so critical support is there for workers when they need it most.”

Bruske added that Canada faces stark fiscal policy decisions in the months and years ahead that will shape Canada’s future.

“We need to be on a financially sustainable path. But this doesn’t mean cuts to critical help and services families rely on, as Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives keep pushing,” warned Bruske. “Amplifying anger may help serve his ambition, but it’s not doing anything to actually help people. Mr. Poilievre will never ask profitable oil companies and grocery chains to pay what they owe – the government should.”

The Canadian Labour Congress is the largest labour organization in Canada, bringing together dozens of national and international unions, provincial and territorial federations of labour and community-based labour councils to represent more than 3 million workers across the country.

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Too many workers are currently underpaid, leaving them struggling to make ends meet. This especially impacts sectors that are predominantly staffed by women and racialized workers, like the care sector.

These workers’ contributions have an immense impact on our society and our economy and, like all workers, should be rewarded appropriately.

“We have heard countless stories about the low wages and disrespect care workers face”, says Siobhán Vipond, Vice-President of the CLC. “These worrying stories are being echoed from workers in other sectors too, as the affordability crisis deepens. We must confront this crisis now by making sure all workers earn a livable wage.”

Despite six provinces raising their minimum wage just last week, not one province or territory has a minimum wage that matches the income necessary to make ends meet. At a time when inflation is at an all-time high and soaring corporate profits are driving up the cost of unavoidable necessities like food and shelter, workers need decent jobs that pay a livable wage.

Canada’s unions celebrate the workers on the front lines of this fight. When faced with wages that don’t keep up with inflation and employers who are unwilling to do something about it, workers are using their collective power to demand better from their employers. This year saw significant wins from PSAC workers in the federal government and United Steelworkers at National Steel Car in Hamilton.

“Workers are saying enough is enough and using their power to strike for better wages. Union wins will mean better conditions for all workers, just like the statutory holiday many workers are enjoying this weekend,” says Bea Bruske, President of the CLC. “The wins gained in unionized workplaces often set trends that become the standard across the working world.”

“We need governments that will stand with working people, not the wealthy CEOs who suppress wages and make record profits off the efforts of their employees. It’s these corporate profiteers, not workers, who are the source of the current crisis. They must be made to pay their fair share.” Read the ITUC’s statement on the 2023 World Day for Decent Work.

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“Workers from coast-to-coast are ready to get to work and contribute to building a strong, sustainable economy. This report provides a comprehensive framework for government action to support workers in this critical undertaking,” said Bea Bruske, President of the CLC. “Canada’s unions expect, and will continue to press for, swift government action to provide the tools and opportunities needed to make a sustainable future a reality.”  

The Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act, introduced in June, presents an important opportunity to protect workers, ensure new low-carbon jobs are high quality, and give workers a seat at the table as decisions are made about their futures. 

However, steps must be taken to ensure the legislation meets its potential. The report provides specific recommendations to strengthen the Act, including improving guiding principles, equipping the Sustainable Jobs Partnership Council with the tools needed to meaningfully shape Canada’s sustainable jobs strategy, and establishing an effective Secretariat to enhance policy integration, intergovernmental coordination, and worker support. Adopting these recommendations would ensure that the legislation supports workers and communities with a pathway to good, sustainable jobs. 

Bruske emphasized: “Workers are the linchpin in facilitating the shift toward a sustainable economy. But this shift will be impossible if we don’t prioritize fair and safe work, decent wages, and workers’ rights.” She added: “Through collaboration with workers, unions, and businesses, Canada can be a global leader in good, sustainable jobs and the fight against climate change.” 

The full report can be accessed here.  

The second installment in the Sustainable Jobs Blueprint Series is set to be released shortly and will focus on sustainable jobs policies that support workers and their communities. 

This project was funded by Natural Resources Canada. 

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“Canada’s unions are looking to MPs from all parties to come together behind swift action to make sure help is there for people facing high prices, stretched budgets and a weakening economy,” urged Bruske. “Parliament must also act urgently on the dual challenges of addressing climate change while creating sustainable jobs.”

Bruske said Canada’s unions expect MPs to make it a top priority to strengthen the Sustainable Jobs Act, C-50, and get the bill passed before the winter break.

“The Americans’ Inflation Reduction Act has challenged the world to act, and many countries are responding. The Sustainable Jobs Act provides a roadmap for Canada’s governments, businesses, and unions to work together and make sure our workers aren’t left behind in the global transition to a low-carbon economy,” warned Bruske. “Climate change is real and getting worse. MPs must make it job one this fall to take smart action that creates the kind of good, sustainable, union jobs that are the cornerstone to building thriving communities.”

Bruske said that Parliament must also act to make things a bit easier for those struggling the most through urgent action to create more affordable homes, make sure EI is there for people when they need it, and pass a new pharmacare act so Canada can implement public, universal pharmacare.

“Building affordable homes and implementing publicly funded and publicly delivered pharmacare are tangible ways we can make sure no one is left with the impossible choice of choosing whether to pay for rent, groceries, or their kid’s medicine. MPs must deliver on pharmacare this fall,” declared Bruske. “3 in 5 unemployed people don’t even qualify for benefits. With unemployment rising and more people being thrown out of work, it’s critical we finally reform EI so help is there for workers when they need it.”

Bruske added that it is also critical the government introduces, and MPs pass, anti-scab legislation this fall.

“We have seen years of record corporate profits while workers’ pay lagged far behind. Workers are rightly demanding more balanced workplaces,” said Bruske. “If we ban the use of scabs once and for all, we can take a real step towards greater labour peace, avoiding work stoppages and building a more balanced economy.” 

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By Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress as published in National Newswatch

Over the next four weeks, Conservatives will spare no expense to try to scare the wits out of you. Their campaign strategy is, in a nutshell, hoping they can panic you into voting for them yet again.

Indeed, my fellow Manitobans, brace yourself for the great ‘Stefansmear’ campaign of 2023.

You will hear false claims about taxes and crime, and dishonest attacks on Wab Kinew’s character. Anything and everything they can think of to keep you from remembering the 7 long years of Conservative broken promises.

But we remember. For over seven years we’ve watched while Brian Pallister, Heather Stefanson, and the whole Conservative gang let us down. Their lack of care and compassion for working people is stunning. Time and again they’ve displayed an almost criminal level of neglect.

Let’s not forget how Conservatives promised action on affordability – but then raised hydro bills. Now they are planning to ding Manitoba families with ‘surge’ energy pricing. Which is government-speak for making you pay more for energy, just when you need it most.

Remember how Conservatives promised a constructive relationship with workers? Then they imposed contracts with lower pay, attacked workers’ rights, cut apprenticeships, and rolled back worker safety.

Who can forget how Conservatives promised 200 more nurses, 80 more paramedics and more personal care home beds? In government, Conservatives then delivered 300 fewer nurses, 87 fewer paramedics and 149 fewer personal care beds.

But look, broken promises aren’t about the numbers, it’s about all the people getting hurt by Conservative policies. If your pay is falling so far behind inflation you can’t make rent, or if you’re waiting for your child to get care in an Emergency Room, or if you’re waiting in vain for a personal care bed for your elderly relative, you’re another Manitoban who’s paying the price for these heartless Conservative policies.

Conservatives try to scare people into thinking you must choose between the fair treatment of workers and a strong economy. Ms. Stefanson has demonized unions. Hypocritically, she attacks workers fighting for fair wages while she gave herself a raise.

The reality is, making workers poorer may make billionaires richer, but it doesn’t help to build thriving communities. No, it’s workers who build and power our economy. This is why I was delighted to see Wab Kinew’s New Democrats already making a commitment to reverse Conservative cuts to training, restore the 1-to-1 apprentice ratio to improve worker safety, and ensure local communities benefit from major projects. Kinew’s plan will put more Manitobans to work and create good, sustainable jobs.

In contrast, for over 7 years we’ve watched as Ms. Stefanson steadily failed her way upwards through the Manitoba government. She was Brian Pallister’s Deputy Premier, his justice minister while crime got worse, his health minister while Conservatives closed three Emergency Rooms in Winnipeg. Despite this, bizarrely, Conservatives gave her a promotion. As premier, she’s cut education, raised energy costs, and failed to fix the health crisis she helped create. Now Ms. Stefanson wants to be rewarded for doing a bad job. It’s time for a change.

I know Wab Kinew, and I know how deeply he cares about how tough things have gotten for working people. He knows what it means to worry about whether care will be there for your kids. He’s been through trial by fire and has the strength of character to stand up to powerful interests. That’s why I trust him to put help for people and good jobs at the centre of his government.

As we mark Labour Day in Manitoba this year, I urge workers and families to see past the latest Conservative promises and their scaremongering rhetoric to take a close look at what they actually delivered over the past 8 years in government. Look at how Conservative policies have made life more expensive for families and hurt workers, then ask yourself: Who cares about people getting good jobs, with fair pay, for an honest day’s work? Who can I trust to help families as their budgets are stretched to the breaking point? Who will make sure public health care is there, not only for my family, but for generations of Manitobans to come?

In 2023, only the NDP are offering this kind of positive change.

Bea Bruske is President of the Canadian Labour Congress. Follow her on Twitter @PresidentCLC

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During a year when many communities are witnessing a worsening of the already-devastating impacts of climate change, the need for swift and widespread climate action remains urgent. “Climate change is the defining crisis of our time and one that will include everyone from government officials to energy company executives, to front line workers and their unions,” says Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Workers in communities across Canada are leading the transition to powering the country with sustainable energy. They expect the government to take ambitious action to move with them.” 

Canada’s unions are pleased that the vision document includes a plan to include workers and their unions in a meaningful way throughout the process. As Canada transitions to a net-zero economy there is immense opportunity to create and protect good, unionized jobs, with pathways into these jobs for women, Indigenous and racialized workers, and other equity-seeking groups. 

“These workers are the ones who will make our transition possible; we won’t meet our climate goals without them,” says Bruske. “If Canada is going to achieve net-zero by 2030, the workers making that happen need good, union jobs.” 

Canada’s unions will continue to push for investments in sustainable energy and climate action, including supports for workers whose jobs are affected by climate change and provisions like new jobs, comprehensive training initiatives, upskilling and reskilling, skills recognition, Employment Insurance (EI), mental health support, family support, pension bridging, relocation assistance, and other essential measures. 

“Today’s announcement is a critical step in the climate action process. We remain committed to working with all stakeholders to ensure that workers are included in the creation of an equitable and sustainable future for all,” says Bruske. “We know that communities with good, union jobs embedded within them are stable and resilient. We are focused on making sure the transition puts as many of these jobs in as many communities as possible.” 

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“Back-to-work legislation would be a misstep that would only aggravate the situation. If the right to strike is weakened by the federal government legislating the 7000 ILWU workers back to work, it will have a significant impact on every Canadian who expects to have their rights protected by their government. Collective bargaining and the right to strike are fundamental rights. They are central to our democracy. We urge your government to allow the parties to finish bargaining the outstanding issues in good faith,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. 

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Compounding this immense tragedy, is the fact that workers had refused to enter the factory because cracks in the walls had been spotted the day before, but were ordered back to work to avoid costly production delays.

“Rana Plaza exposed the dire conditions for workers in these factories that produce the world’s garments: poor wages, unsafe working conditions, precarious work, and intimidation and harassment in the workplace. Garment workers not only in Bangladesh, but around the world, are still working in absolutely appalling conditions and receiving unfair wages for their labour. It is way past time for things to change,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress.

Canada’s unions, representing 3 million workers, have supported Bangladesh workers in their struggle for decent working conditions and the right to form independent unions to represent workers. We are part of allied networks pushing the government to enact robust legislation to mandate human rights obligations in the supply chains of Canadian companies.

On this grim anniversary, Canada’s unions stand in solidarity with workers in the garment sector in Bangladesh who are demanding respect for their human rights, including freedom of association, healthy and safe working conditions, and a living wage.  

In order to effectively prevent the next Rana Plaza, we call on the Canadian Government to:

• Introduce mandatory human rights due diligence legislation that requires Canadian companies, and companies that import goods into Canada, to respect human rights throughout their supply chains;
• Promote and protect the right to organize and bargain collectively as key enabling rights, without which decent work cannot take place; and
• Make trade preferences dependent on the respect for workers’ right to organize.

We call on Canadian clothing brands to:

• Sign the International Accord, the continuation of the Bangladesh Accord on Building and Fire Safety, which brought massive success in health and safety inspections and repairs to thousands of factories. When the Accord expires, it should be renewed as a legally binding, enforceable agreement, expanded to more countries for the long-term;
• End the race to the bottom borne by workers, by providing living wages and living wage compensation for workers suffering injury or death in the workplace across their supply chains; and
• Take responsibility for financing a permanent Employment Injury Scheme (EIS) in Bangladesh to compensate workers injured at work. 

Click here to add your voice to the struggle by leaving a message commemorating victims of the Rana Plaza disaster on a virtual memorial, and by calling on major international brands to sign the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry, ensure workplace safety and recognize the rights of workers to organize, refuse unsafe work and raise health and safety concerns.

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As communities across the country and around the world grapple with the impacts of climate change, it is crucial that we work together to drive down emissions and hit our climate targets. 

“We cannot afford to ignore the looming threat of the climate crisis. Global economies are shifting to address climate change, which means jobs and work will also evolve. Workers and unions must be at the decision-making table to make sure no one is left behind,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. 

Bruske added, “Make no mistake; when governments are investing in sustainable jobs, labour rights are a must. Social protection is essential. Workers are at the forefront of Canada’s changing climate, and they deserve to bring their concerns, skills, and expertise to the table. Now is the time to ensure that all workers – especially those who have been historically marginalized – have their voices heard.” 

Canada’s unions welcome investments to date, such as increases to the Union Training and Innovation Program under the Canada Sustainable Jobs Plan and tax credits designed to spur investment in emissions-reducing projects and technologies while incentivizing the creation of good-paying, sustainable jobs. The federal government’s commitment to tie labour requirements to clean energy tax credits in Budget 2023, including prevailing wage levels and apprenticeship training opportunities, is particularly welcome.  

However, this is just a start. Moving towards a sustainable economy requires ambitious, targeted investments to meet climate targets while protecting and creating good, unionized work. It necessitates meaningful collaboration and social dialogue between organized labour, governments, and businesses to provide good-paying, secure jobs – and there must be pathways into these jobs for women, Indigenous and racialized workers, and other equity-seeking groups. 

“More action is needed to ensure jobs in the sustainable economy provide fair compensation and benefits, health and safety protections, democratic representation in the workplace, and opportunities for equity,” said Larry Rousseau, Executive Vice-President of the CLC. “Concrete action – and investments – are vital for our collective wellbeing. For our planet and our communities, we must act now.” 

Add your voice to call for a Just Transition that puts sustainable, healthy, and resilient communities at the heart of climate action.

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Bank risks substantially weakening our economy, potentially throwing hundreds of thousands of Canadians out of work

Facing a one-two punch of sky-high prices on daily essentials combined with rising credit card, mortgage and other bills, the last thing Canadians need right now is a recession, which could mean massive job losses and economic upheaval. But that’s exactly what could happen if the Bank of Canada raises interest rates Wednesday for the seventh time in the past nine months.

The Bank of Canada, led by governor Tiff Macklem, has already raised interest rates faster than almost any other country. These hikes have left millions of Canadians facing eye-popping rises in credit payments. Combined, Canadians now owe $2.29 trillion in credit, according to TransUnion LLC’s Q3 2022 Credit Industry Insights Report. Rate hikes have even pushed the Bank of Canada itself into the red for the first time in history, with a loss of $522 million in the third quarter.

Central banks raise interest rates to cool the economy and slow inflation, but Macklem has been doing more than just tightening monetary policy. He has also been waging an ongoing public relations campaign against phantom wage growth, arguing that wages are fuelling inflation. There is zero evidence that wages are fuelling inflation. Statistics Canada’s labour force survey, released Friday, shows wage increases are lagging inflation, not driving it.

In a recent report from the Canadian Labour Congress and the Centre for Future Work called A Cure Worse than the Disease? Toward a More Balanced Understanding of Inflation and What to Do About It, economist Jim Stanford lays out evidence showing how wages are not the cause of inflation. Stanford points out that corporate Canada’s pricing power has been fuelling higher prices, resulting in corporate accounts being padded with sky-high, record profits. In 2022, corporate profits in Canada reached the largest share of gross domestic product (GDP) in Canadian history, or put another way, corporate profits grew three times faster than wages since 2019.

Despite all this, Macklem has stubbornly declared that the Bank of Canada will continue raising interest rates, even if it pushes our economy into a harmful recession. With the myopic policy focus on achieving the target inflation rate of two percent, the bank risks substantially weakening our economy and potentially throwing hundreds of thousands of Canadians out of work.

If the Bank of Canada is determined to manufacture an economic recession, we know the pain will not be shared equally. Just last week, the International Labour Organization (ILO) warned that global poverty and income inequality are on the rise worldwide while people’s purchasing power is falling behind. The ILO’s Global Wage Report recently warned that for the first time in history, real wages fell into negative territory in 2022, down 0.9 per cent, with low-income workers and households feeling the pinch most of all.

The ILO cautions that this not only puts the pandemic recovery at risk, but it could also fuel growing social unrest. As the inquiry into the Ottawa convoy occupation wraps up, and the U.S. hearings examining the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection draw to a close, the prospect of a manufactured economic crisis driving growing social unrest is not one we should take lightly. Pouring more cold water on our economy now — and driving it into a damaging, monetary policy-induced recession — will only make things worse.

As Macklem announces the Bank of Canada’s interest rate decision this Wednesday, he should consider the well-being of the workers and families already paying the biggest price from the cost-of-living crisis. This should start with Macklem pushing pause on more interest rate hikes. Let’s take time to evaluate the impact of previous hikes before raising them any further.

Bea Bruske is president of the Canadian Labour Congress.

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OTTAWA–Canada’s unions are marking Labour Day by celebrating the hard-fought gains of the labour movement and bringing workers, their families and allies together in solidarity, united in their commitment to the important work ahead.

“The collective power of workers and our long fight for fairness has delivered the forty-hour work week, pensions, weekends and so much more. Unions have paved a path to the middle class for millions of Canadians,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Today, more and more people are standing up, joining unions and demanding better. Coming together to fight for good jobs with fair wages, better benefits and improved working conditions.”

With workers struggling to afford necessities, as inflation skyrockets and wages lag well behind, Canada is seeing growing momentum behind workers fighting back against those trying to make workers pay for today’s affordability crisis.

“We keep hearing Bay St. CEOs calling for austerity and warning about rising wages. But this corporate scaremongering ignores the fact that while corporations are doing better than ever, wages aren’t keeping up and family budgets are breaking under the weight of runaway costs for housing, food, transportation and so many other daily essentials,” explained Bruske. “What we have seen is growing ‘greedflation’ from profitable companies, using the crisis to jack up prices, rake in record profits and drive-up inflation.”

Bruske added that Canada’s unions will also continue to fight for government action to fix our public health crisis and address health worker shortages; help families struggling to survive the affordability crisis; and tackle climate change in a way that creates good jobs and leaves no worker behind.

“Canada’s unions stand united in the face of greedy corporations and demand governments make mega-profitable companies pay their fair share and play their part in making sure our economy can bounce back and people can prosper. We cannot solve today’s economic crisis by leaving workers and families behind,” concluded Bruske. “Today we march together in communities across Canada, in solidarity, because we believe in a country where workers have the opportunity not just to survive, but to thrive.”

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“The pandemic and its devastating effects aren’t behind us yet, but workers in Canada have an opportunity to help shape the future we want,” said Bea Bruske, President of the CLC. “More and more workers are pushing back and demanding better: better wages, better benefits and better working conditions. This is our moment to seize, to shape the world of work we want.”

Workers across the country will gather at local Labour Day events in their communities, after two years of virtual events. Canada’s unions are happy to be hosting in-person and hybrid events, to celebrate workers’ contributions in weathering the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We owe a great debt to the frontline workers who kept us safe, healthy, fed and supported over the past two and a half years. Governments and employers must recognize that there is no recovery without workers. In a time when inflation is rising at a breakneck pace, and the cost of living is becoming unlivable, decision-makers must take concrete action to ensure workers aren’t left behind. We should want to see workers in this country thrive, instead of watching them struggle to survive,” said Bruske.

Bruske will join workers and community leaders in Toronto for the annual Labour Day parade. This will mark the 150^th anniversary of labour taking to the streets in Toronto to mark Labour Day.

What:              Parade

Where:            Parade begins at Queen St. W. at University Ave.

When:             Monday, September 5, 2022 at 9:30 am ET

Who:               CLC President, Bea Bruske

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To arrange an interview on or before Labour Day, contact:
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cstdenis@clcctc.ca
613-355-1962                                                                                     

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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.

“Signing a union card is the best way for workers to improve their working lives. I am delighted to be here in Victoria to welcome this critical piece of labour legislation as it officially becomes the law,” said Bruske. “Congratulations to Premier John Horgan for his government’s leadership on empowering and supporting working people.”

Bruske pointed out that for decades, governments have moved to ban automatic certification, even in cases where 100 percent of the workers in a bargaining unit demonstrated their support by signing union cards. These moves have coincided with a troubling decline in unionization rates.

“Employers routinely pressure workers not to join a union, threatening to close the business, lay-off employees or withhold promotions and other opportunities,” continued Bruske. “The reality is, showing your support for a union by signing a membership card is democratic. If you have majority support, there’s no reason you should be forced to repeat the process and give employers more time to unduly pressure workers.”

Bruske added that it is critical for workers to have the support of a union and a collective voice at their workplace. This leads to better health and safety, higher morale and less employee turnover.

“Being part of a union and having a collective agreement means stability, predictability and better conditions for workers. This strengthens our communities and benefits our economy,” concluded Bruske. “We urge provincial governments across the country to follow B.C.’s lead and pass laws that make the process fairer for workers to join unions.”

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BERLIN – Today in Germany, Bea Bruske delivered a strong message from international labour leaders to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, President of the G7.

“When it comes to building a plan to decarbonize every sector of our economies, it is critical that workers are at the table. These workers help build the economies of these countries and they must not be left to carry the burden on their own,” said Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress.

Bruske delivered her comments on behalf of the “Labour 7,” a group of representatives from the trade union federations of the G7 countries.

“We, the labour leaders in G7 countries, urge our governments to move from ambition to implementation on climate protection,” Bruske said in her remarks. “These investments should not be diminished by responding to other global crises. As you stated Monday, Chancellor, increased military spending should not affect social cohesion nor diminish commitments to other priorities.”

Bruske argued that G7 leaders should put workers and their families at the centre of their plans when it comes to action on fighting climate change.

“It was an honour to deliver a clear message from workers to Chancellor Scholz and the G7,” Bruske said. “Labour leaders around the world were able to find common ground around protecting our climate, environment and biodiversity, and accelerating the global energy transition, while building a sustainable and fair economic system where workers are not left behind. This is essential for ensuring a better life for all on our planet.”

Bruske stressed the importance for world leaders to take action, working together with the labour movement, around creating jobs that are family supporting and high quality.

“We must not trade good jobs for low-quality, precarious work. The leaders of the wealthiest nations must understand that building a just transition for workers is central for us to successfully tackle climate change,” said Bruske.

Bruske added that international conventions on occupational health and safety, robust social and workplace protections, and investing in health care and social services are all critical elements to achieving a sustainable planet.

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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 Canadian workers with low-wage offshore ones and using technology to skirt around our country’s labour laws and workplace standards. If this isn’t illegal, it should be,” said Bruske. “The workers serving Canadian customers aren’t paying taxes in Canada and aren’t protected by Canadian labour standards. Companies that profit off of Canadian consumers shouldn’t use low-wage offshore workers to serve customers here in Canada. It’s bad for workers and bad for our economy.”

Bruske said this isn’t about an inability to attract workers, which can be done through competitive wages, real benefits and proper working conditions, but instead another sign of corporate greed and exploiting a low-wage offshore workforce.

“Gig workers in Canada already don’t have proper workplace protections. But with the use of offshore workers, the exploitation of employees and move to a low-wage economy is being super-sized,” said Bruske. “Companies must wake up to the long-term benefits to both the communities they operate in and their business when they invest in the people who work for them.”

Bruske added that there are things consumers can do to voice their objections to this new concerning trend towards offshoring and automation.

“Is an employee 3000 kms away going to know if the avocado is fresh today or whether field greens or kale would make a better salad bowl?” asked Bruske. “Customers should understand they can vote with their wallets on the kind of communities they want to live in.

Choose companies that treat employees properly, with a fresh attitude towards workplaces, not greedy corporations with their stale approach of exploiting workers.”

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613-526-7426

The post Building a low-wage economy with stomach-churning greed appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“The switch from automatic certification to mandatory voting has coincided with the decline in unionization rates. This is no accident,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “We need to see more government action to empower workers. Having a union and a clear collective agreement provides stability and predictability for workers that benefits them and our economy.”

Since the early 1990s governments across Canada have prohibited labour board from automatic certification, even in cases where 100 percent of the bargaining unit demonstrated support by signing union cards.

“Demonstrating support for a union with signed membership cards is democratic. If you have majority support, you should not have to duplicate the process and give the employer time to pressure workers,” said Bruske. “Research across Canada and the United States shows that adding an unnecessary second step – a formal vote to confirm the support employees have already demonstrated by signing their cards – is nothing but an opportunity for employers to interfere.”

Employers can and routinely do pressure workers not to join a union. They may threaten to close the business, initiate layoffs, withhold promotion and training opportunities or take other steps. The fines are low and the benefits of breaking the law to defeat the union, in their view, outweigh the costs.

The right to form an independent association for the purposes of collective bargaining is protected under s. 2(d) freedom of association guarantee under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Government of Canada has adopted multiple International Labour Organization conventions supporting the right to unionize and engage in collective bargaining.

Employee voice in the workplace is a fundamental pillar of workplace democracy. Providing workers with a collective voice at work improves workplace health and safety, strengthens employee morale and reduces employee turnover (since exit is no longer the sole option for dealing with dissatisfactory working conditions).

The Government of Canada recognized this in 2016 when it restored automatic certification federally and reversed the Harper government’s Bill C-525, which withdrew automatic certification as an option in the federal private sector without any study, dialogue or debate.

The post BC government move to card check certification a win for workers appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Hundreds of workers have been engaging MPs about the need for swift action to help struggling seniors and better support care workers as Parliament works to end the pandemic and start Canada along the long road towards an equitable economic recovery.

“Hundreds of union members reached out to over 140 MPs and sent over 1,700 letters, sharing powerful stories explaining the urgent need for Parliament to make sure people are not left behind,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). “A critical first step would be for the government to use the upcoming Economic and Fiscal Update to immediately end the unfair GIS clawbacks tens of thousands of low-income seniors are now facing.”

Canada’s unions’ Action Week also involved 265 union members reaching out to meet their MP, almost 10,000 peer-to-peer text conversations, and 574 people engaged in training and webinars.

“With rising inflation and so many Canadians still struggling, union members are delivering a clear message to Parliamentarians that it is vital they remain focussed on helping people,” said Bruske. “MPs heard from care workers who have spent the past 20 months working around the clock on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19 about their need for better support. Care workers have had our backs, now it’s time MPs have theirs.”

Bruske added that energy workers also engaged MPs with a clear message that action against climate change is imperative – and this must include investments in green infrastructure, green jobs and a just transition so no worker is left behind.

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To arrange an interview, please contact:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

The post Rank and file union members engage MPs with powerful stories about the need to end seniors’ clawbacks appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Canada’s recent Labour Force Survey showed that nearly one and a half million people are still looking for work and total hours worked still lag well below pre-pandemic levels.

“Behind the headlines, the recent Labour Force report revealed some troubling facts. Nearly 250,000 people have been out of work for a year or longer. Many have exhausted their EI claims and have nowhere else to turn,” warned Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “The end of the pandemic is in sight, but the recovery is still just beginning. Canada’s unions have been demanding a recovery with workers at the centre, and that starts with extending these vital benefits.”

Despite 750,000 people still relying on the help, the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) is set to expire on October 23, 2021.

“It’s no surprise the conservative media and some businesses are demanding an end to emergency benefits – even while they are still asking for government handouts for themselves,” said Bruske. “What is shocking is that the government might declare ‘mission accomplished’ and end this vital lifeline for hundreds of thousands of jobless and vulnerable workers. If the government abandons these workers now, many will struggle for years to come.”

Bruske added that after CRB emergency help is extended, Parliament must get back to work on the other critical elements of a worker-centred recovery. This includes raising the minimum wage; enacting fair scheduling laws; increasing and permanently fixing EI and paid sick leave; extending employment standards to gig economy workers; outlawing pay discrimination against part-time employees; and strengthening workers’ voices by providing a path to unionization.

“Canada’s unions will engage our new Parliament and demand MPs choose an economy that is more equitable, more inclusive, more sustainable, and where lost jobs are replaced with better ones,” concluded Bruske.

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To arrange an interview, please contact:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

The post As clock ticks down, Canada’s unions demand government chooses help for people appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“The pandemic has highlighted the existing inequity and precarity in Canada’s job market and shone a light on the pervasiveness of work defined by low wages, unstable hours, and lack of access to basic employment rights,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Without workers, there is no recovery. Workers want to return to good jobs that offer decent pay, benefits and a path to unionization.”

The recovery must also address the disproportionate impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on marginalized workers including women, racialized workers, and workers with a disability. Some of the hardest-hit workers were employed in precarious, low-wage and frontline jobs, in sectors like long-term care, retail, tourism, education, child care and hospitality. Women – particularly racialized women – tend to be overrepresented in these fields.

“Canadian unions demand the new Liberal government develop a robust jobs plan, full employment, and decent work for everyone. The government can address inequality by strengthening our social safety net, through investments in affordable child care and housing, universal pharmacare and improvements to EI,” said Bruske.

Learn more about how Canada’s union are helping to shape the recovery at canadianplan.ca.

The post Canada’s unions calling for worker-centred pandemic recovery appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Canada’s unions are raising the alarm, warning that Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey shows signs that the economic recovery is uneven, wage growth for low-paid workers remains weak, and some groups are being left behind.

“In the US, wages of lower-skilled workers have begun to rise, but wage growth for low-paid workers in Canada, like in the service sector, is still anemic.” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadians Labour Congress.

Unemployment among racialized workers was almost 10%, with little change since June. Long-term joblessness is still sky high and 100,000 jobless Canadians haven’t worked since the pandemic struck. While women remain well behind pre-pandemic labour force participation rates.

“Canada’s labour market shows growing signs of lasting, long-term damage, and the jobs recovery is uneven. And we must be wary about the impact of the pandemic’s fourth wave in the months ahead,” said Bruske. “We’re certainly not out of the woods. This morning’s report raises serious questions about the quality of the jobs being created and delivers a clear warning that some groups risk being left behind.”

Bruske added that workers of colour, Indigenous workers, workers with disabilities and the long-term unemployed need more help and better training and employment programs to help them rejoin the labour market.

“With the election only ten days away, all parties must rise to the challenge of the moment and present plans for repairing the damage the pandemic has done – and addressing the inequality and insecurity of the pre-pandemic years. Ensuring higher quality jobs are created is vital. We must replace lost jobs with better ones.”

“We have a critical choice before us,” concluded Bruske. “Will we build a recovery with workers at its heart, where inequality is reduced? Will we make decent paid work and training for everyone who wants it a priority? Or will we choose a recovery that puts business interests first, like Mr. O’Toole is proposing?”

The post New job numbers show there’s work to be done on economic recovery appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Canada’s unions are warning that a huge fiscal hole in Erin O’Toole’s platform and proposals that leave workers behind would put Canada’s already weakened social safety net at risk.

Experts have been pointing to how the Conservatives’ unrealistic growth projections create a gigantic fiscal gap in their plan.

“Mr. O’Toole’s risky plan not only has a large fiscal hole at its heart, his policies seem to be written by his friends at Uber and his buddies on Bay Street,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “He’s trying to build a social safety net out of hot air and empty promises.”

Bruske pointed to O’Toole’s pledge to cancel agreements with provinces to create new child care spaces and his proposal to create an “Employee Savings Account” as two prime examples of how Conservative policies would weaken Canada’s social safety net.

“Workers – mostly women – faced an impossible choice when schools and daycares closed. Many were forced to put their working lives on hold. What is Mr. O’Toole’s answer to parents?” asked Bruske. “After working women fought and struggled for decades for child care, Mr. O’Toole is vowing to tear up agreements for more high-quality affordable child care spaces.”

In a separate move that further weakens Canada’s social safety net, the Conservatives’ proposed “Employee Savings Account” would deny some gig economy workers real access to a pension and EI, forcing them to rely on costly financial products sold by banks and financial institutions instead.

“Mr. O’Toole would not only chip away at the foundations of EI and the CPP, he would entrench a two-tier system where low-paid workers have to accept second-class status,” said Bruske. “The pandemic taught us we must expand EI coverage to all workers, yet Conservatives would instead weaken the social safety net workers rely on.”

-30-

To arrange an interview, please contact:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-355-1962

The post O’Toole would build a social safety net out of hot air appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“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 and being forced to turn to lower-paid, precarious jobs in the gig economy just to get by. We all faced the constant worry of trying to keep our loved ones safe and healthy.

“The pandemic also laid bare the inequality in our society. Too many women were forced out of the labour market altogether – pushed to the economic sidelines. Many of these workers are Black, Indigenous, racialized or recent immigrants and migrants. The she-cession isn’t just a catchy phrase, it’s a terrifying reality for so many women today.

“This election comes at a pivotal moment. The recovery provides a unique opportunity to finally address these problems. The choices Canada’s leaders make in the days and weeks to come will resonate for years into the future.

“While today we celebrate the important gains workers and their unions have made, we also commit to making sure the voices of working people are heard loud and clear, during this election and in the months and years that follow.

“Canada’s unions are demanding all parties embrace a recovery plan that includes replacing lost jobs with better ones. A plan for creating good jobs that are permanent, pay a living wage, have benefits and pensions, and are unionized. We know that more good union jobs means less inequality.

“The next crisis is coming, whether health or climate related. We are challenging all parties to work with us to do the hard work now, so Canada is ready when the next crisis comes. This means disaster-proofing Canada’s social safety net; investing in housing and child care, to help make life more affordable for families struggling to make ends meet; and strengthening our public health care through implementing pharmacare and getting profits out of seniors care.

“More than even in this election, political parties are campaigning for the votes of workers. We welcome this attention. But positive rhetoric is not enough if your policies appear to be written by large corporations.

“Canada’s unions will continue to amplify the voices of millions of workers – engaging voters and supporting candidates who put workers at the centre of their recovery plans. And we will be relentless in holding parties to account for policies that leave workers and their families behind.”

-30-

To arrange an interview, please contact:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-355-1962

The post Bea Bruske: Put working families at the heart of Canada’s recovery appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

OTTAWA – Hidden in Erin O’Toole’s Conservative policy platform is a kick in the teeth for the retirement and job security of gig workers.

“Conservatives have a policy plan that includes a blatant attack on public pensions. They would permanently relegate gig workers to second-class status in Canada’s workforce,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC).

The Conservative platform proposes a new private retirement and wage-loss scheme for gig workers that would replace the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Employment Insurance (EI) program. It’s called the portable Employee Savings Account, and it forces workers to depend on a private fund at the mercy of bank fees and subject to unpredictable stock markets.

“The Conservatives’ plan denies over a million gig economy workers access to not only the protections of basic labour standards, but to the Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance as well,” said Bruske. “These workers kept Canada going during the darkest days of the pandemic, yet Erin O’Toole and the Conservatives would deny them retirement security, EI benefits and even basic legal protections. That is reprehensible.”

The policy, as outlined in the Conservative election platform, would exclude gig economy workers from vital social programs that provide employees cost-effective retirement and unemployment benefits and force them into a riskier private plan.

“If Erin O’Toole forms government he would create two tiers of Canadian workers. One with basic workplace protections and hard-fought benefits, built by generations of Canadians – the other left to the whims of the market,” said Bruske. “Mr. O’Toole has made quite a show of claiming he is pro-union and pro-worker, but his platform amounts to a hypocritical attack on workers,” concluded Bruske.

“Canada’s unions will fight this unfair scheme and stand up for gig economy workers.”

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To arrange an interview, please contact:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-355-1962

The post Hidden in Conservative platform: An attack on public pensions and EI appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

A few short weeks ago, I was truly honoured to be elected to serve the working people of Canada as president of the Canadian Labour Congress. My fellow officers and I do not take this responsibility lightly – and it is not a job anyone can do alone. We are counting on you for your support … and your action.

Lily Chang, Siobhán Vipond, Larry Rousseau and I have already hit the ground running because we know that Canadians may very well be headed towards a federal election in the middle of a pandemic – making it one of the most important elections in a generation.

My first experience in the labour movement was as a young worker fighting for fair wages, benefits and protections at a corner grocery store in Winnipeg. My spirits were lifted by the incredible support we received from other workers and community members.

That memory has continued to inspire me to stand up for other people, speak out against injustice, and to always – always – try to make the world a better place.

But that memory also stands out because of how relevant that lesson is today.

When the global pandemic plunged our economy into uncertainty, it was front line workers in every sector who kept our families safe and healthy, and our communities running.

After being celebrated as heroes for the first few months, most of those workers lost their wage premiums, despite their continued dedication and exposure to risk. Meanwhile, many of the corporate CEOs clawing back their benefits continue making record profits.

I am sure that every worker in Canada has a unique story about the impact of the pandemic.

The upcoming federal election will be our opportunity to define Canada’s priorities.

It is our opportunity to fight for decent wages, standards, and equity to ensure no one is left behind, and we know that workers’ rights are human rights.

It is our opportunity to fight for paid sick leave and social programs – like universal pharmacare, affordable childcare, better healthcare and a stronger social safety net – to put an end to precarity and insecurity.

And it is our opportunity to protect the planet for future generations, by demanding bold climate action and a sustainable recovery.

That’s why I am asking you, and every worker in Canada, to sign up to be a part of this fight.

Click here to join our Action Team to help amplify worker issues and priorities in the upcoming federal election. We will call on you to share messages, send letters, and press local candidates and national parties to support worker issues.

I also invite you to follow me on Facebook and Twitter to be a part of my team too.

After all, I know that we are much stronger when we work together.

In Solidarity,

Bea Bruske
President

The post Open Letter to the Working People of Canada appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

May Day is an annual celebration held every May 1^st during which workers from around the world celebrate the achievements made by trade unions. This year, the pandemic remains a focal point for the concerns of workers and their families.

“Millions of workers around the world have lost their jobs since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). “Here in Canada, the federal government recently promised significant investments to help with our recovery. Canada’s political leaders must now work together to pass the budget implementation bill and turn these promises into action.”

The government’s recently announced investments in child care, training and skills development and a $15 federal minimum wage, in addition to a further expansion of emergency benefits would bring much needed relief to workers and their families.

Workers in Canada – and around the world – continue to struggle under the weight of the year-long pandemic. Developed countries have a responsibility to ensure that all workers in developing and under developing nations have access to vaccines to help put an end to this global health crisis.

In the meantime, gaps in the social safety net, both at home and abroad, have become painfully clear. Those gaps include a shameful lack of paid sick leave in most provinces.

“Workers and advocates have been calling for paid sick leave since before the pandemic,” said Yussuff.

“However, COVID-19 has highlighted just how dangerous a lack of paid sick time can be. Being able to stay home when you are sick is fundamental to reducing workplace exposures and illness. Essential workers being forced to choose between going to work sick and putting food on the table puts us all at risk and is prolonging and deepening the impacts of the pandemic. Provincial and territorial governments must act immediately.”

Canada’s unions further remind all levels of government to respect and uphold the collective bargaining rights of workers, even during times of crisis.

“Upholding workers’ rights is integral to the functioning of a free and fair democracy in which there is a counterweight to the unfettered power of employers and monied interests. Collective bargaining ensures a more fair, equitable present and future for all.”

To learn more about what unions are calling for, visit canadianplan.ca.

The post Canada’s unions mark May Day by calling on governments to prioritize workers and their families appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

These shortcomings were not accidental; they were the result of a political agenda that prioritized cutting taxes, minimizing costs and regulatory burdens for employers, keeping workers vulnerable and reducing social program spending and public investment. In the 2020 pandemic, the decades-old priority placed on balanced budgets and holding down social investment failed Canadians spectacularly. Equally, however, the improvised emergency income supports, caregiver benefits, sick benefits and other measures rushed into place contained the seeds, however partial and incomplete, of a more resilient, equitable and inclusive society.

The CLC, which represents over 3 million workers in Canada, previously responded to the budget announcement, and is now issuing a more in-depth analysis of what these commitments by the federal government will mean for Canadian workers and their families.

Read the CLC’s full analysis here.

The post Canada’s unions release detailed analysis of Budget 2021 appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“The devastating effects of the pandemic were made worse by years of austerity by successive governments,” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). “As a result of cuts, the social programs that would have helped sustain people were not in place. We cannot let that happen again.”

The CLC’s top five priorities for Budget 2021 include:

• A national, high-quality, public, accessible early learning and childcare system;
• Funding a national medicines formulary to establish a universal, national Pharmacare program;
• Green jobs and a Just Transition for workers;
• Improve working conditions and labour standards; and
• Fair tax reform.

“This government has promised to create one million jobs, and we need to focus on ensuring those are decent, sustainable jobs,” said Yussuff. “We also need to reform Employment Insurance so that it reflects the realities workers are facing today.”

Canada’s unions are further calling on the federal government to institute a $15 federal minimum wage and outline a plan to work with the provinces to enshrine paid sick leave across Canada.

The CLC also wants to see ambitious investments in skills training, literacy and apprenticeships, including targeted measures to help youth, women, equity-seeking groups and the long-term unemployed.

Job creation should also focus on expanding Just Transition measures, to help affected workers access training and support to transition to new jobs or retirement. For more details on what unions are asking for, read our pre-budget submission here and details on the top five priority demands here.

To arrange an interview, please contact:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

The post Top five labour demands ahead of upcoming federal budget appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Statistics Canada released its latest Labour Force Survey today. It shows that more than 1.5 million unemployed and under-employed workers continue to struggle to find work, and thousands more have dropped out of the labour force altogether.

While February and March numbers showed strong job gains, the cresting of the Third Wave in April and subsequent lockdowns mean many of those gains could be lost.

“Following February’s achievements, a second month of strong job growth is welcome, but the federal government must stay the course and ensure a strong and broad-based recovery,” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). “We need to see strong fiscal support to bring people back into the job market, especially women and workers of colour, and into decent green and care-economy jobs.”

Last fall’s Speech from the Throne promised the largest investment in Canadian history in training. That investment is what Canada’s unions will be looking for in the federal budget on April 19.

Ambitious investments in training and education are much-needed over the short- and medium term to help workers affected by ongoing technological change. Unions want to see expanded investment in upskilling opportunities and targeted support for the 30% of jobless Canadians who count among the long-term unemployed.

“Now is the time for a rapid return to full employment and investing in improving job quality to help workers fully get back on their feet,” said Yussuff.

To arrange an interview, please contact:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

The post Latest job numbers encouraging but a lot rides on federal job investments appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Among the top priorities for Canada’s unions are:

• fully containing the public health crisis and implementing national pharmacare;
• investing in the care economy; and
• and getting Canadians back to work and fully-employed in safe, decently-paid, productive and sustainable jobs.

The post Budget 2021: Canada’s unions call for strong measures to help pandemic recovery appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Following higher than expected job losses at the end of 2020, workers faced another large drop in employment, with 213,000 jobs lost last month.

“We’ve lost the small gains we had made in the fall. Canada lost three times more jobs in January than we did the previous month,” said Canadian Labour Congress President Hassan Yussuff.

“Many workers are due to exhaust both unemployment and recovery benefits next month. The federal government must extend these benefits so that workers who are unemployed, through no fault of their own, will be supported until our economy begins a more stable recovery.”

Ongoing lockdown measures aimed at slowing the spread of the virus are inevitably having a devastating effect on job growth. Workers of colour and women have been hit especially hard by the economic upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Workers are struggling to make ends meet. The federal government must implement strong measures that will help ensure a healthy economic recovery when the pandemic is over. These job numbers highlight the important need for greater access to training opportunities for jobless workers looking to retrain or improve their skill set while receiving EI and recovery benefits,” said Yussuff.

To read more about the direct investments the CLC is calling for, visit canadaplan.ca.

To arrange an interview, please contact:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

The post Latest job numbers point to need for urgent extension of EI benefits and job retraining appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Read our recommendations for EI reform here.

The post EI for the 21st Century appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

The December Labour Force Survey, released today by Statistics Canada, shows higher than expected job losses last month. Unemployment rose to 8.6 percent, with employment down 63,000 and job-market participation dropping for the second month in a row.

“These are unprecedented times. The important public health precautions implemented over the past year have had an exceptionally hard impact on workers,” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Workers in Canada need to know that when the virus is contained, they can count on decent jobs, with good wages, and adequate benefits to help their families bounce back.”

Facing another round of shutdowns as COVID numbers rise, many workers across the country worried that their financial forecast is getting bleaker. Recent reports have revealed stories of personal support workers checking into homeless shelters and other workers failing to claim the federal government’s sick leave program out of fear of reprisal.

“Investing in Canada’s workers is a direct investment in our economy and it is vital to an economic recovery. The federal government must remain focused on income support and assistance to ensure that workers’ jobs are protected,” said Yussuff. “As we invest in a healthy recovery, Canada must also prepare for the long-term future by disaster-proofing our economy so that we are ready when the next crisis hits.”

The post End-of-year unemployment data shows need for continued support for workers appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

November’s labour force survey released today by Statistics Canada showed high rates of long-term unemployment. A total of 1.5 million people are currently unemployed and looking for work; 400,000 have been without work for six months or longer. Another 317,000 workers dropped out of the labour market altogether last month.

“The scale of the jobs crisis has been without parallel in recent memory,” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “The second wave of this pandemic is making life very difficult for many workers, many of whom have given up trying to find work for the time being. Beyond the immediate emergency supports that are helping to put food on the table for these families, government stimulus will be key to putting people back to work.”

The survey also showed that women continue to bear the brunt of child care responsibilities, with 55 per cent more mothers with young children working less than half their usual hours compared to this time last year.

The federal government has made commitments towards the creation of one million jobs and investments in skills and training.

“We’re heartened that the government has promised to make investments in long-term care and child care, two areas that employ significant numbers of women, including many who are racialized,” said Yussuff. “However, time is of the essence and workers need to see concrete actions.”

A recent study showed that investment in early learning and child care would create 200,000 new jobs in child care provision and another 80,000 indirect jobs, including 8,000 construction jobs. It would also increase women’s participation by as many as 725,000 additional workers.

Austerity policies implemented soon after the 2008-09 global economic downturn led to sluggish growth, prolonged unemployment and growing precarity in Canada. In our current crisis, continued income support and expanded public investments will be crucial to help people weather the pandemic’s second wave and to move the nation towards a strong recovery.

To arrange an interview, please contact:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

The post Latest job numbers signal bleak winter ahead appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

The latest figures from this morning’s release of Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey demonstrates a weakening jobs rebound. The survey showed a slowing recovery, with employment rising just 0.5 percent in October, a dramatic slowdown compared to summer months. The unemployment rate currently sits at 8.9 percent, and long-term unemployment rose sharply in September and October.

“Growing long-term joblessness means more workers risk disconnection from the job market, causing lasting harm to skills, incomes and opportunities,” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “The federal government assured Canadians it is committed to creating one million new jobs and that will be crucial. Time is running out for hundreds of thousands of workers who are seeing job prospects deteriorate in the midst of a second wave of the pandemic which shows no signs of slowing,”

Canada’s unions are calling on the federal government to provide details on its commitments when it tables the next fiscal update.

Nearly 50,000 people working in the already hard-hit accommodation and hospitality sector lost their jobs in October. The job recovery in various industries including construction, transportation and warehousing remains stalled.

The latest survey also shows that workers of colour struggle with a higher unemployment rate (11.7%) than Canadians who were not Indigenous or racialized.

Women of various backgrounds also continue to experience disproportionately lower rates of employment than men; racialized women are even more disadvantaged.

To read more about the direct investments the CLC is calling for, visit canadianplan.ca.

To arrange an interview, please contact:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

The post Canada’s unions say slowing job recovery necessitates urgent government intervention appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Workers around the world want investment in public health and care services including mental health, child care, early childhood education, elderly care and other social care services that serve all our communities. In Canada, unions are also calling for a federal Care Economy Commission.

Decades of austerity-driven fiscal policies and a market-based approach to the delivery of care have created inequities and gaps.

“We have been sounding the alarm about the crisis in care services for years,” said CLC Secretary-Treasurer Marie Clarke Walker. “The added pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic has compounded these problems. Our economy is relying more than ever on unpaid labour, and on precarious, low-wage work done by women, a disproportionate number of whom are racialized.”

Canada needs care-focused solutions for the recovery. These solutions must meet the needs of our most vulnerable, create better jobs and disaster-proof our economy and our social safety net against future crises.

The proposed federal Care Economy Commission would study, design and implement a care strategy for Canada that would:

• Create a broad and inclusive labour market strategy to achieve high-quality, equitable care jobs;
• Examine paid and unpaid care work and develop a roadmap to meet the increasing demands for care; and
• Reduce and redistribute women’s unpaid care work by improving access to public care services for children, the elderly and people living with disabilities.

“This pandemic has shone a light on what’s been broken for too long,” said Walker. “We need to rethink our approach to care. Strong public care systems – whether health care, child care, long term care or care services for persons with disabilities – are central to the well-being of individuals, families and communities.”

Canada’s unions are calling for a Canadian plan that’s rooted in our way of doing things – and that means taking care of one another. Public investments in services – not austerity – are a key part of a robust response and recovery that ensures our collective well-being.

The post Canada’s unions join Global Day of Action on Care appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

“Despite ongoing gains, the latest numbers continue to signal medium-term risks to Canada’s labour market,” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). “We are seeing increases in long-term unemployment, and young people, low-wage workers, women and racialized workers continue to struggle in this job market.”

While unemployment rates declined further in September, new rounds of layoffs are threatening the aviation, hospitality, accommodation and food service sectors. The federal government did pledge that it would create 1 million new jobs in last month’s Speech from the Throne.

“Now is not the time for austerity. The government must work quickly to ensure immediate action on job creation,” said Yussuff. “There needs to be focused investments on programs that will show immediate benefits for employment, like a national, universal public child care program.”

Canada’s unions are also calling on the government to take advantage of low interest rates to build a green economy through innovative infrastructure projects.

After the 2008 global economic downturn, Canada’s government failed to invest in the economy and it took years for workers and their families to bounce back. With the COVID-19 crisis, Canada’s unions are calling on all levels of government to resist calls for austerity and to instead expand investments in working people in order to ensure a robust recovery.

To read more about the directed investments the CLC is calling for, visit canadianplan.ca.

The post Canada’s unions welcome employment gains, but urge continued focus on jobs appeared first on Canadian Labour Congress.

Before the pandemic, ever-increasing globalization meant many workers were employed in precarious, low-wage work with few, if any, benefits. Now millions of people across Canada and around the world have seen their jobs disappear. We need a worldwide recovery focused on secure employment and social protection.

This context serves as the backdrop for the annual commemoration of the World Day for Decent Work today, October 7.

“It’s clear that we need a recovery that is focused on shared prosperity and sustainability,” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Better jobs are at the core of a robust recovery and that is true both nationally and internationally.”

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is calling for a new social contract to ensure a strong global economic recovery. Canada’s unions have similarly launched Forward Together: A Canadian Plan, a campaign calling for a similar focus on better jobs and reducing inequality.

“With millions of jobs lost across Canada, and hundreds of millions globally, we have to turn our focus to job creation. That includes focusing on secure employment, living wages, the universal right to collective bargaining and occupational health and safety,” said Yussuff. “The current economic model has failed working people. It’s time for us to rise to the challenge we’ve been presented with and to move forward, together.”

The CLC is marking the World Day for Decent Work with a webinar that aims to explore the issues at stake. It will be held on Wednesday, October 7 at 2 PM EDT. To register, click here.

Read ITUC’s statement on A New Social Contract for Recovery and Resilience here.

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“The announcement today by the U.S. President undermines the stated purpose and spirit of Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement,” said Hassan Yussuff, president of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). “The Canadian government must provide support to affected workers while they work out this dispute. The government should respond swiftly with retaliatory actions.”

The United States previously imposed tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel before the ratification of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). Canada’s unions fought for over a year to have them removed.

The imposition of tariffs for a second time is particularly offensive considering the newly renegotiated trade agreement entered into force on July 1^st.

“Canadian workers are not a prop for Donald Trump to use in his re-election campaign,” said Yussuff. “This is a clear affront. The federal government has to continue to forcefully stand up for Canadian workers and industry and must counter these unfair tariffs.”

To arrange an interview, please contact:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

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“We were very glad to see sick leave specifically mentioned in this agreement,” said Canadian Labour Congress President, Hassan Yussuff. “Canada’s unions have been fighting for paid sick leave for all workers. This ensures that every worker can take time off when they are sick and need to self-isolate. Workers should not be penalized for taking care of themselves and safeguarding public health.”

It should be noted that BC Premier John Horgan acted as the champion of sick leave during these negotiations.

Unions are also welcoming other important measures in the new agreement including funding directed at municipalities and investments in child care and long-term care.

“Communities across the country are in financial crisis after months of unanticipated costs and collapsing revenues,” said Yussuff. “Municipalities are not only major employers, they are major economic drivers. This deal will have a significant impact, though we still have a long way ahead towards full recovery.”

The CLC is calling for reforms to the Employment Insurance system to support workers who will no longer be covered by the Canada Emergency Response Benefit in September.

“There is no quick way out of this crisis; funding must be directed towards social supports that will help workers get back on their feet,” said Yussuff. “Millions of Canadians are still facing uncertainty and governments will need to continue to step up.”

To arrange an interview, please contact:

CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

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“A single deficit number does not tell the full story. If we look at the total debt to GDP ratio, Canada is still in good shape,” said Canadian Labour Congress President, Hassan Yussuff. “This means the country is in a strong position to ensure that workers and their families continue to receive the support they desperately need. Calls for austerity and cuts are misguided, cruel and out of step with what most Canadians expect from our governments.

“We are still in the midst of dealing with the social and economic fallout of an ongoing pandemic. Two million jobs are currently being subsidized by the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy program. Almost seven million Canadians still don’t have a job to go back to, and with the Canada Emergency Response Benefit ending in August, we urgently need a plan to help those who continue to face uncertainty.”

The CLC has six recommendations for EI reform to ensure a smooth transition for those currently on CERB. These reforms include waiving qualifying hours to maximize access to the program, increasing the duration of EI and allowing EI claimants to enroll in education programs.

Furthermore, the CLC will be calling on all levels of government to learn from the lessons of COVID-19 to build a stronger, more resilient economy. The recovery should include reforms of social programs to ensure no one falls through the cracks.

“The federal government responded quickly when we needed them to,” said Yussuff. “There is still capacity to deal with what has been the most significant financial and health crisis in recent history. The government is right to continue financially supporting Canadians throughout these unprecedented times.”

Canada has the lowest debt to GDP ratio among G7 nations, and is the only G7 country below 50 per cent.

To arrange an interview, please contact:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

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The federal government moved quickly to respond to the economic fallout precipitated by COVID-19. Since March, the government has spent heavily on a variety of programs that ensure workers and businesses received support throughout this crisis.

“The Canadian Emergency Response Benefit and the Canada Emergency Wage Supplement have provided urgent relief to many workers and businesses devastated by the pandemic,” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Millions of people continue to be out of work and many businesses remain shuttered or are operating at diminished capacity.”

While this unexpected government spending has no doubt resulted in significant deficits, Canada’s unions maintain that the country requires ongoing investment to ensure a full recovery.

“The federal government has spent these past few months investing in people at a time of uncertainty and heightened fears about the future,” said Yussuff. “This pandemic continues to have devastating financial impacts on workers and families across the country. Millions of people still require help to get through these unprecedented times.”

The CLC is calling on the government to recognize the critical need for a responsive Employment Insurance program to protect low-wage workers who were hit the hardest by the crisis. This will necessitate significant reforms to ensure unemployed workers currently dependant on the CERB are able to transition smoothly to the EI program.

“Our focus must be on the people who still don’t have jobs to go back to,” said Yussuff. “The government recognized that the EI system was not good enough to help every worker affected by the pandemic. It still isn’t.”

The CLC has six recommendations for EI reform, including waiving qualifying hours to maximize access to the program, increasing the duration of EI and allowing EI claimants to enroll in education programs. For further details, click here.

Furthermore, the CLC urges the federal government to ensure our country’s robust public service remains intact in order to oversee and deliver the programs that Canadians rely on.

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“This decision underscores the message that a worker is a worker,” said Canadian Labour Congress President, Hassan Yussuff. “This ruling sends a clear message to employers that they can’t skirt around workers’ rights by using legalese to pretend they are ‘independent operators’ instead of employees.”

The Supreme Court ruling reaffirms a ruling by the Ontario Court of Appeal that Uber drivers may be subject to the Ontario Employment Standards Act. With this ruling, a class-action suit against Uber can proceed.

“There is an imbalance of power in organizations like Uber, with precarious workers fighting for better job conditions against a behemoth enterprise hiding behind complex international legal loopholes,” said Yussuff. “Given this ruling, provincial governments have a responsibility to examine the misclassification of employees and protect all gig economy workers.”

Canada’s unions have been raising the alarm about the rise of the gig economy and precarious work for years and will continue to fight for workers in these jobs.

To arrange an interview, please contact:

CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

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“It is important that we recognize the significant economic contribution of domestic work  – work performed in or for a household or households – as valuable work, and acknowledge the effect that the current pandemic has had on these vulnerable workers,” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Many have lost work because employers are following public health guidelines on physical distancing or because their employers have lost income and can no longer afford these services.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has meant loss or reduction of income for many domestic workers, leaving them unable to support themselves and their families.

According to UN Women, 83 per cent of domestic workers worldwide are women, and a majority of those are racialized women. Wages are low and working conditions can be challenging – even abusive. The pandemic’s impacts are not gender neutral. There are increased demands on workloads with children at home from school, child care centres closed and more demands on household responsibilities in general.

Internationally, many domestic workers are migrants or part of the informal economy. In Canada, the pandemic has exacerbated the precarity of their situation, making them ineligible for government income supports. Moreover, migrant care workers should be granted fair and accessible pathways to citizenship in Canada.

“The pandemic has laid bare just how essential the labour of domestic workers is – cleaning, cooking, caring for children, the elderly and people with disabilities. All of this work is necessary to sustain our economy,” said Yussuff. “It is time we cared for those who care for us.”

Read more about Domestic Workers and COVID-19: https://idwfed.org/en/covid-19

Resources for Domestic Workers on COVID-19: https://idwfed.org/en/covid-19/the-idwf/educational-awareness/stay-safe-what-do-you-need-to-know-about-covid-19

Recommendations for employers, governments, and others: https://idwfed.org/en/covid-19/advocacy-to-the-target-groups

Read more on the campaign to Ratify C189: https://idwfed.org/en/campaigns/ratify-c189

Caregivers Action Centre: http://www.caregiversactioncentre.org/

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The economic fallout of COVID-19 is stark – and women are feeling the brunt of it.

Over 1.5 million women lost jobs over March and April, according to Statistics Canada. That’s a 17% drop in employment levels since February. Even with workplaces and services beginning to reopen, families will struggle to return to work without adequate child care in place.

Advocates, employers and policymakers alike fear that the burden of care will fall on women.

With Canadian women typically contributing about 40% of household income, there can be no full economic recovery without what economist Armine Yalnizyan has dubbed a “she-covery”.

Child care is key to making that possible.

It’s become clear that child care is a vital part of social infrastructure. Without child care, workers in women-dominated sectors that keep us healthy, safe and fed could not keep operating. This is why we saw several jurisdictions move quickly to make child care available to essential workers as a central component of their response efforts.

But that temporary solution is a far cry from what’s actually needed to address the gaping holes in a severely underfunded and fragmented system. It’s a system in which child care costs far too much for many families, and even when affordable, is highly competitive – sometimes with three or more children to every one licenced space.

As we begin to shape the new normal, child care must be at the heart of the post-COVID economy. Child care encourages participation in the labour market and is also an important source of employment for women – an economic driver in and of itself.

Investments in the care economy will largely pay for themselves as middle class families engage in greater labour-market participation, higher productivity, rising incomes, and increased tax revenue.

The federal government has the opportunity to spearhead a comprehensive pan-Canadian effort to build back better in the child care sector. Such a sector would ensure children have access to safe early learning and care and that parents are able to return to the paid labour force with relatively little worry.

In the short-term, the government will have to work with the provinces and territories to provide immediate funds to stabilize existing child care infrastructure.

The federal government has already committed to establishing a Federal Child Care Secretariat in order to help strengthen Canada’s social infrastructure.

The Secretariat will play a fundamental role in the reconstruction process, which will require long-term commitment and teamwork.

The Secretariat will also need to develop a workforce strategy to raise the quality of early learning in child care, improve working conditions for early childhood educators and oversee the expansion of the system.

Through collaboration, creativity and trust, we can take meaningful steps forward to ensure a robust economic recovery for all.

Hassan Yussuff is the president of the Canadian Labour Congress. Follow him on Twitter @Hassan_Yussuff
Goldy Hyder is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canada Business Council

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Persons with disabilities – especially those living at the intersections of multiple marginalized identities – face high unemployment rates and high levels of poverty and need additional support during the COVID-19 crisis and after.

“The current health crisis has intensified the discrimination and stigma workers with disabilities were already facing,” said Larry Rousseau, Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Hard-won workplace accommodations are at risk when the office becomes virtual, and workers with disabilities are at a greater risk of being laid off or having their jobs furloughed.”

The Canadian Labour Congress is marking National AccessAbility Week to shine a light on the challenges faced by persons with disabilities, and those whose experiences are amplified by multiple marginalized identities, including being a woman, Indigenous, racialized and 2SLGBTQI, et al.

Canada’s unions have joined with disability rights organizations in the Include Me coalition, calling for a number of priorities to protect the health and safety and provide care and support to persons with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal government has yet to announce specific targeted income supports for persons with disabilities to navigate their unique financial impact of this crisis.

Unemployment rates are between 35 per cent for people with ‘mild’ disabilities and 74 per cent for people with ‘severe’ disabilities. High levels of poverty and unemployment means more reliance on affordable housing, income and health care supports – programs whose funding and availability vary greatly across the country.

“We are working together to ensure that Canada’s response to this crisis leaves no one behind,” said Rousseau. “We need to see targeted income supports for persons with disabilities to address the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, and, in the longer-term, recovery planning must make accessibility and inclusion a core priority.”

For more information on on-going advocacy efforts from disability related organizations in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic, check out the Include Me coalition’s COVID-19 resource centre.

National AccessAbility Week was first introduced in 2019 after the implementation of the Accessible Canada Act, learn more about the history of the week here.

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This is a monumental challenge in the era of COVID-19, but it is a challenge that we must meet. There are numerous Canadian and international examples of inadequate workplace health and safety protections leading to worker exposures and deaths and in some cases widespread community transmission of the virus. Workers are on the frontlines of this pandemic, and yet references to worker health and safety in public health guidance are rare and often insufficient.

As Canadian jurisdictions begin to re-start sectors of the economy, governments and employers must take steps to protect workers’ health and safety from COVID-19 exposure.

Before opening, employers must have in place a safety plan that keeps workers healthy and safe and ensures that workplaces don’t contribute to the spread of COVID-19 in the community. Specifically, employers must have an infection prevention and control plan, developed with the participation of workplace health and safety committees, or worker health and safety representatives. This plan must be in place before an employer is allowed to re-open. This plan must include a detailed health and safety response in the event of a workplace COVID-19 outbreak. Governments must have the capacity and commitment to enforcing occupational health and safety laws. If we are to avoid a dangerous second wave of COVID-19 infections, governments must also ramp up research and staffing capacity for rapid, effective COVID-19 testing and contact tracing to stem the spread of infections.

Health and Safety Rights at Work:

Canadian health and safety law is based on three basic rights at work, including:

1. The right to know about the dangers in their workplace;
2. The right to participate in decisions that affect their health and safety; and
3. The right to refuse unsafe work.

Employers have a duty to remove workplace hazards that put the health and the lives of workers at risk.

These health and safety rights at work are enshrined in law in every jurisdiction in this country. Canada’s unions are clear: we will not relinquish those rights, risking workers’ lives as governments and employers make decisions to re-open sectors of the economy. We will not accept employers or our governments prioritising profits over people, putting workers in harm’s way without the appropriate safeguards and protective equipment. Employers must fulfill their duty to ensure a safe workplace, even in the face of this pandemic. Governments must protect a workers’ right to refuse unsafe work, and not ask workers to put their lives on the line without ensuring that every possible step is taken to allow them to do their jobs safely.

When a worker invokes their right to refuse unsafe work, they are deploying the last tool available to them to protect themselves from grave danger. It is not a step that anyone takes lightly. Accounts of government regulators ruling against all but a handful of refusals are extremely troubling. Reports indicating that there have been over 200 work refusals in Ontario with not a single one being upheld after the provincial government quietly set-up an internal committee to oversee the inspectors’ enforcement efforts, and inspectors reporting a chill on their ability to do their jobs is unacceptable to workers. Unions having to file complaints with the provincial labour relations board for employers to fulfill their health and safety obligations and the government to enforce the law is unacceptable. Workers deserve better than this. Ensuring that workers can exercise their basic health and safety right to safe work is non-negotiable.

Paid Sick Leave and Job Protection:

Although certain provinces have instituted COVID-19-specific measures to allow for quarantine or self-isolation, many of those sanctioned sick days are unpaid. No jurisdiction in Canada provides adequate, job-protected paid sick leave, leaving workers in the impossible situation of having to choose between paying the bills and protecting their health and that of their coworkers and community. Further, access to the protections that do exist often depends on where a person lives and what job they do. This is a recipe for a public health catastrophe.

Governments must ensure that every worker has access to at minimum, 14 paid, job-protected sick days so that they can take time off work when they are sick and need to quarantine or self-isolate.

Key to preventing a second, more severe wave of COVID-19 infections is ensuring that every worker in the country has access to sufficient paid, job-protected sick leave, regardless of where they live in Canada.

Worker Engagement:

Before re-opening, employers must make a COVID-19 safety plan that demonstrates how they will operate safely. This safety planning is key to ensuring that the workplace is effectively implementing COVID-19 controls and that the health and safety of workers and others aren’t put at risk as a result of their work arrangement.

It is important that employers consult with workers, their unions and their health and safety representatives about how to make sure these safety plans and COVID-19 controls will work. Engaging joint health and safety committees early on, and in an ongoing way is crucial to ensuring safe workplaces. Engaging workers, through their health and safety committees to participate in assessing COVID-19 related hazards and developing responses is an important part of good health and safety practice and must be included in workplace COVID-19 safety planning.

It is also the law. Canadian law and international labour conventions to which Canada is party require employers to involve workers in decisions that affect workplace health and safety. Employers cannot ignore workers’ concerns, making decisions unilaterally. Governments must commit to robust enforcement of these statutes.

Hazard Prevention and Control:

Hazard prevention planning and the hierarchy of controls are common workplace health and safety prevention tools. While there will be COVID-19 related hazards in the workplace for the foreseeable future, certainly until an effective vaccine is widely available, those hazards must be controlled to protect worker safety. Employers can play a role in preventing COVID-19 being transmitted to workers and the wider community by putting in controls to minimize the risk of infection, including:

• Supporting people with flu-like symptoms to self-isolate;
• Ensuring separation distances in the workplace;
• Disinfecting surfaces;
• Maintaining good hygiene, particularly good hand hygiene and cough/sneeze protocols.

Other controls to minimize exposure:

The workplace hazard prevention/control program and the hierarchy of controls must be deployed to reduce the likelihood of exposure. This includes:

• Eliminating hazards and Substituting higher risk procedures with lower risk activities, including allowing ongoing increased flexible working from home/telework arrangements to facilitate greater physical distancing within workplaces;
• Implementing engineering controls, including workplace design, equipment and ventilation system changes to reduce exposure;
• Using administrative controls such as staggered scheduling, controlling or restricting access to common spaces, more frequent cleaning/disinfecting of the workplace, preparing and training for emergency situations, as well as training and communication on COVID-related health and safety procedures and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Assessing work schedules and the potential need for additional health breaks to accommodate for fatigue related to the use of PPE, or increased workload related to COVID-19 protocols.
• Ensuring that workers have access to appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) when the hazard cannot be eliminated through substitution, engineering or administrative controls. As it will be impossible to completely eliminate COVID-19 hazards in some workplace contexts through the use of substitution, engineering and administrative controls, an adequate supply of appropriate PPE will be critical to any strategy to re-open the economy. Workers will also require training and opportunities to practice in order to use PPE effectively. PPE must be provided at no cost to the worker.

The Precautionary Principle and Appropriate Personal Protective Equipment

As a new coronavirus, our knowledge of this virus, how it is transmitted and how infection presents with symptoms of COVID-19 is far from settled. As with any new hazard, a health and safety approach requires that we use the precautionary principle when making decisions on how to eliminate or control for this hazard. That means, implementing the higher level of protection, and not waiting for scientific certainty before taking precautions. Otherwise, individual workers are left to bear the burden of new hazards while our knowledge evolves. Just as knowledge about how COVID-19 symptoms presents in different populations is evolving, so is the evidence of how this virus is transmitted. There remains a lack of consensus on potential transmission pathways for COVID-19. Workers at elevated risk of exposure as a result of the populations they work with must be protected from all potential, not only the most common, routes of transmission.

Personal protective equipment is the last line of defence in the hierarchy of controls. If it fails, the worker is exposed to the hazard without any protection at all. This is why the precautionary principle is at the core of the labour movement’s argument for providing the higher levels of protection for workers.

Governments and employers would do well to remember the lessons of earlier outbreaks with this observation from the author of the SARS Commission Report:

“Scientific uncertainty and scientific debate can go on forever,” wrote Justice Archie Campbell at the conclusion of a public inquiry he led into Ontario’s handling of the SARS outbreak that killed dozens and sickened hundreds nearly two decades ago.

“What we need to do is to follow the precautionary approach that reasonable steps to reduce risk need not await scientific certainty … There is no longer any excuse for governments and hospitals to be caught off guard and no longer any excuse for health-care workers not to have the maximum level of protection through appropriate equipment and training.”

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) is making all of its pandemic planning and mental health resources available at no charge. Those resources can be found here.

CCOHS has also prepared a series of COVID-19 tip sheets for a variety of workplace sectors, which can be found at no cost here.

Worker Safety Data Collection and Transparency:

Some workers are at increased risk for workplace COVID-19 infections. Healthcare workers represent a disproportionately high percentage of those infected in Canada. Workers in food processing, transport, essential retail and all public-facing positions are also at increased risk for infection. To date, there is insufficient tracking and reporting on workplace exposures, illnesses and deaths of workers in these and other sectors. There is also a need for greater tracking and transparency on how this pandemic is affecting populations differently. We see in other countries that the number of exposures, illness and poorer outcomes varies significantly across equity-seeking groups and income levels. Canadian jurisdictions must collect and report on this data. Public health agencies can assist by supporting public exposure and infection registries to collect and report on this data. There is also a need for greater tracking and transparency on the state of supply of personal protective equipment (PPE). Fears of shortages without sufficient data lead to decisions that are putting frontline workers in harm’s way.

Protect Workers from Reprisals:

Just as the burden of the pandemic is not being experienced equally, neither will workers’ ability to return to the workplace as jurisdictions begin to re-open sectors of their economy. Workers with responsibilities to care for children or vulnerable adults, or who are at elevated risk for poor outcomes if they are exposed to the virus must be protected from reprisals if they cannot return to work when their workplace re-opens.

Employers must also accommodate, or implement specific controls to protect workers with elevated individual risk factors such as chronic medical conditions, pregnancy or older age when they return to the workplace.

Workers’ Compensation Systems:

Our first priority must be preventing worker exposures, illness and deaths from COVID-19. However, workers need to know that their workers’ compensation system will provide the benefits and supports that they need if they become ill as a result of their work. This is especially true in this pandemic. That means, broadening coverage to include all workers – including those in workplaces currently exempt from mandatory compensation coverage, as well as precarious and gig economy workers. It also means ensuring coverage for workers who must be quarantined or self-isolate as a result of a workplace exposure but may not yet have symptoms of COVID-19. It means streamlining adjudication processes for workers and protecting injured workers’ right to appeal decisions. It also means removing systemic financial incentives for employer claims suppression related to COVID-19 infections.

Finally, it also means moving to presumptive coverage for COVID-19 related illness, so that workers are not denied access to supports, waiting for their claim to be accepted. Certain international jurisdictions have implemented presumptive compensation coverage for some frontline workers, recognizing that streamlining the process for accessing supports will result in better health outcomes and safer return to work pathways for workers at higher risk of COVID-19 infection. We are encouraged to see that WorkSafe BC has begun the process to include COVID-19 for presumptive compensation coverage. Other jurisdictions must move in the same direction, to ensure that workers have the supports and compensation they need when their work makes them sick.

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With unanimous consent of all parties, Bill C-14: A second Act respecting certain measures in response to COVID-19 passed during a special sitting at the House of Commons. The bill will now pass the Senate and receive Royal Assent by the end of the day.

The wage subsidy aims to make it easier for employers to retain staff during the COVID-19 crisis. Not only will it ease the financial strain on employers, it aims to help expedite the eventual economic recovery.

“Parliamentarians are clearly sensing the need to act decisively to protect jobs and to help keep Canadian households afloat,” said Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) President Hassan Yussuff. “This bill ensures that workers will continue to receive wages and also have access to workplace benefits in the short term.”

This subsidy will be made available to eligible companies, non-profits and charities, providing a benefit of up to $847 per week or 75 per cent of the employee’s prior weekly paycheque, whichever is less. The CLC is urging the government to enforce the expectation that employers make every effort to top up wages so that workers receive 100% of their pre-crisis pay.

The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy will also provide employers with a refund for certain contributions to Employment Insurance, the Canada Pension Plan, the Quebec Pension Plan, and the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan.

The CLC has been urging employers who have laid off workers to quickly reinstate them using this subsidy. Air Canada, for instance, is already working to rehire 16,500 employees.

“The next step is stronger support for essential workers, part-time employees and gig workers, so no one falls through the cracks,” said Yussuff.

For more information:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

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According to Statistics Canada, employment fell by one million in March and the ranks of the unemployed grew by 413,000. Canada’s unemployment rate rose by 2.2 percentage points to 7.8 per cent, the largest single-month increase since comparable data became available in 1976.

“Today’s alarming unemployment numbers underscore the devastation this pandemic is having on workers and has made clear the enormous task in front of us,” said Hassan Yussuff, CLC’s president.

“Right now, working people need secure and adequate incomes, rent and mortgage relief, and a break on bank and credit card fees. The federal government’s commitment to increasing the Canada Child Benefit and expanding the GST/HST credit was welcomed news. As are the emergency benefits package and wage subsidy programs which are integral to preserving jobs and getting money to many of these workers. However, the scope of coverage simply needs to be broadened.”

The latest numbers highlight the impact of current efforts to curb coronavirus infections on communities across the country. Losses were concentrated in accommodation and food services where employment fell by 294,000 jobs, or 23.9 per cent compared to the previous month. Women and vulnerable workers have been hit hardest in this sudden downturn.

All provinces saw increases in the unemployment rate, with the exception of Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island. The largest increases were in Quebec (+3.6 percentage points to 8.1 per cent), British Columbia (+2.2 percentage points to 7.2 per cent) and Ontario (+2.1 percentage points to 7.6 per cent).

April employment numbers are expected to show even higher numbers of job losses. The critical need for social distancing will continue to impact the country’s economic well-being. Beyond that, it will take cross-sector efforts to ensure that a full, robust recovery benefits everyone.

“Economic recovery will take all orders of government, business and industry, workers and labour being at the same table building durable, long-term solutions. The CLC will continue to demand action to support the livelihoods of all workers in Canada, now and in the recovery to come,” said Yussuff.

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“It takes 16 months for women’s median earnings to catch up to what men make in twelve. We mark Equal Pay Day to draw attention to the continued realities of wage discrimination and gender inequality in our country,” said Marie Clarke Walker, Secretary Treasurer of the Canadian Labour Congress. “This year we must also recognize the gendered impact the COVID-19 crisis will have. The pandemic has exposed the lack of concrete protections for workers, especially for workers in sectors where women are often employed, and for women who work in low-wage and precarious jobs.”

The pandemic has demonstrated how important the work traditionally performed by women is to the maintenance of healthy and safe communities. Many undervalued workers have now been deemed essential, but these workers are still underpaid. Their work is often invisible and unrecognized, marked with poor working conditions, exposure to violence and harassment and other health and safety risks, limited job security and access to benefits, including paid sick leave.

“These workers are putting themselves and their families at risk so the rest of us can stay home to slow the spread of COVID-19,” said Clarke Walker. “Not only do these workers deserve higher wages, they should have predictable hours and job security, paid sick days and emergency leave, access to the equipment to do their job safely, support to meet their child care needs, and access to Employment Insurance and health benefits.”
“It’s time to usher in a new normal for our most vulnerable—and valuable—workers.”

According to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 13 percent of all working women in Canada are at risk of layoff, compared to nine percent of working men. Low-wage workers, who are disproportionately women, are most at risk.

Canada’s unions say that this is a time for bold, feminist action to recognize the value of women’s work and to end wage discrimination. Canada must make women’s economic justice a priority in the COVID-19 response and in the plan for recovery.

“This crisis has exposed who falls through the gaps in our system. The government has taken an important step with the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, but much more needs to be done to ensure that we leave no one behind as we respond to COVID-19. Every level of government must apply a gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) to how it’s responding to this crisis,” said Clarke Walker.

Join the cross-country Equal Pay Day Virtual Rally on April 4 at 1:00 p.m. by registering here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/9119266283687928587

To learn more about Equal Pay Day, go to the Ontario Equal Pay Coalition website.

Click to access the CLC COVID-19 Resource Centre.

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Representing 40,000 employees, Canada’s airline unions participating in the meeting included the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Unifor, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) Canada, the Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA) as well as the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC).

“A key priority for today’s call was to ensure that front-line aviation employees still working have the appropriate personal protective equipment,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “This includes pre-board screeners, flight crews, and passenger agents who are working to ensure the safety of both employees and the travelling public.”

Union leaders urged the federal government to consider measures similar to those in U.S. Congress where affected airline and airport workers are to be provided top-up benefits similar to those in U.S. Congress where 80% of wages are guaranteed. The Unions also proposed that employers extend health benefit plans and ensure pensionable service is accrued under retirement plans. Moreover, they also wanted to ensure that any federal aid allows laid-off employees to return to payroll and maintains employment levels.

Unions also asserted that any government support be accompanied by tight restrictions on executive compensation. This includes bonuses and stock options, share buybacks and dividend payments, as well as debt repayment designed to increase shareholder value.

“Air travel is a vital part of Canada’s transportation network and economy, and the success of any federal financial aid package will require worker supports,” added Yussuff. “Canada’s unions welcome the federal government’s efforts to work with Labour to ensure the airline industry will continue to flourish into the future.”

To arrange an interview, please contact:

CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

CUPE
Philippe Gagnon
613-894-0146

UNIFOR
Hamid Osman
Hamid.Osman@unifor.org
647-448-2823

IAMAW
Frank Saptel
fsaptel@iamaw.org
416-386-1789

ALPA
media@alpa.org

ACPA
Kym Robertson
krobertson@acpa.ca

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Income support will be critical to minimizing the economic impact of COVID-19.

In addition, the Canadian Labour Congress is calling on all governments and employers to take every step necessary to protect the health and well-being of workers, including health care workers who are on the frontlines of this public health emergency. These measures include:

1. Permitting flexible work arrangements, telecommuting, video and teleconferencing, ending non-essential travel, and postponing unnecessary meetings and events.
2. Providing paid sick leave under short-term disability and sick leave plans while maintaining drug coverage.
3. Providing 14 days paid sick leave for workers under prevailing federal, provincial and territorial labour standards to cover the quarantine period. 
4. Waiving any requirement for a doctor’s note to permit sick leave.
5. Prohibiting coronavirus testing as a condition of continued employment.
6. Working with Service Canada to take full advantage of the improved EI Work-Sharing Program to minimize layoffs.
7. Working closely with health and safety committees and unions to provide accurate and timely information to employees about accessing benefits and support.
8. Providing compassionate care and bereavement leave support to employees, as well as mental health counselling and support.
   

   Specific to health care workers, employers should, among other things:

    

9.  Provide an adequate supply of appropriate N95 respirators on hand as well as PAPR (for aerosol-generating procedures, e.g. intubation) and other personal protective equipment.
10. Conduct a risk assessment to determine all points of potential entry (and how to restrict them) and other points of potential exposure for workers (e.g. screening, triage, isolation rooms).

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“We continue to share our recommendations with the federal government as this situation progresses. While there has been an important move in easing measures around Employment Insurance (EI) benefits, the government will need to go much further to protect the most vulnerable,” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC).

After decades of cuts, Canada’s unemployment safety net is wholly inadequate and paid sick leave policies across the country are insufficient.

In 2018, only 33 per cent of unemployed women and 38 per cent of unemployed men received EI benefits. Seasonal workers, those with precarious employment and the self-employed are most vulnerable and will require urgent support.

“While we acknowledge the important measures all levels of governments are taking to ease the burden on the business community to help save jobs in the private sector, more must be done to assist front-line workers in health care fields who are vital in the fight against COVID-19,” said Yussuff.

Further, CLC urges the federal government to:

• Reduce the entry requirement for EI regular and sickness benefits;
• Immediately increase the current benefit rate from 55 per cent to 60 per cent;
• Establish an emergency benefit with a low minimum contribution requirement to support otherwise ineligible workers;
• Implement regulations to waive the requirement that claimants obtain a doctor’s note if they require quarantine;
• Make additional government funds available to provide special income relief for health sector workers who may be subject to quarantine or who become sick;
• Instruct utilities, banks, landlords, credit card companies and financial institutions to extend and relax mortgage, rent and bill payment requirements, loan servicing obligations, and other responsibilities facing consumers and households;
• Work with First Ministers to declare that no one be fired for self-quarantining or recovering from infection, and that if a worker loses their job for these reasons, they will be reinstated;
• Double the GST/HST credit to provide income support to low-income Canadians; and
• Increase the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) paid to low- and modest-income families.

“Single and vulnerable parents living paycheck to paycheck are going to struggle to pay rent and utilities if they have to scale back hours and turn down shifts to deal with the child care crisis. We know that these measures will disproportionately affect women.

“All across Canada, working people have been listening to public health authorities and doing their part to slow the spread of COVID-19—it is now time for Canada to support them.”

Read more: Supporting workers in a time of crisis — Key steps for governments and employers.

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“Canadian workers are in a very tenuous situation right now. The majority have no paid sick leave and low cash reserves to buffer against unemployment. For many, missing work is not an option,” said Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) President Hassan Yussuff. “No one should be fired for self-quarantining or recovering from infection. We need to make sure the needs of all workers are moved to the top of the priority list as we position ourselves to respond to this evolving threat.”

While the Prime Minister acted quickly to form a cabinet committee to respond to the spread of the virus, Canada’s unions are calling on the Minister of Labour to be included in this response unit.

The CLC is also asking the federal government to consider a host of measures, including:

• Additional paid days leave for all sick or self-isolated federally regulated workers, which includes the transportation sector, and encourage the provinces to follow suit.
• That the CLC calls on the federal government and First Ministers meeting this week to declare that no one must be fired for self-quarantining or recovering from infection, and any worker losing their job for these reasons will be reinstated.
• Implement a sharp reduction in Employment Insurance (EI) qualifying hours. The hours threshold prevents a significant proportion of low-income, non-standard workers from qualifying for EI benefits.
• Implement temporary regulations that waive any requirement that claimants obtain a medical certificate if their employer, a public authority or a health care professional recommends or requires their quarantine. A simple declaration or attestation of the claimant could be required in place of a medical certificate.
• Make available additional government funds through the EI program to provide special income relief for vulnerable workers and health sector workers who do not qualify for EI, but who may be subject to quarantine or became sick with COVID-19.

“If we’re going to ask anyone with COVID-19 symptoms to self-quarantine for 14 days, Canadians need to know the government has their backs,” added Yussuff. “We’re confident that our recommendations coupled with a commitment that no one will be fired for self-quarantining, will help limit the spread of this virus.”

CLC letter to the Prime Minister found here.

For more information:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca 
613-526-7426

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“From increasing health coverage, to tackling climate change, to improving working conditions, this new minority government has set benchmarks for success,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “Pharmacare has been an issue the CLC has been heavily advocating for over the last few years. Nobody should have to choose between paying for groceries and paying for medication they need—Canada is ready for universal pharmacare.”

In another move towards fairness, the throne speech announced the government’s intent to establish a federal minimum wage as a standard across Canada. This announcement comes as welcomed news to Canada’s unions and workers across Canada struggling at low-wage jobs.

“Not only will a federal minimum wage benefit tens of thousands of Canadians directly, it will put pressure on the provinces to follow suit,” added Yussuff. “Lifting people out of poverty, an increased minimum wage will have an important impact on the Canadian economy.”

Canada’s unions are also looking to the federal government to lead the way on finding the right balance between protecting jobs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Today’s commitments on climate change begin to transition Canada towards a more sustainable future.

“We need bold targets to fight climate change, we owe that to our children,” said Yussuff. “We also owe the next generation good jobs and commitments to minimize the impact on workers. Today’s commitments move us towards a greener economy.”

Creating protections for workers facing domestic violence has been a focus for the CLC over the past few years, working internationally to end gender-based violence.

“Building a national action plan on ending violence against women will go a long way,” added Yussuff.

Over the coming months, Canada’s unions will work with this minority government to ensure today’s commitments become a reality. The CLC is looking forward to getting to work building universal pharmacare and ensuring this government is building a fairer Canada for everyone.

For more information and to set up an interview, please contact:

media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

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To mark the 27^th anniversary of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD), Canada’s unions are expressing support for the My Canada Includes Me campaign, which aims to support employment for Canadians with disabilities.

“The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) supports the call from My Canada Includes Me for an inclusive, employment-first strategy aimed at reducing barriers for persons with disabilities in the labour market,” said CLC Executive Vice-President Larry Rousseau.

Persons with disabilities continue to face high unemployment rates and high levels of poverty. This in turn leads to greater use and demands on social assistance programs like affordable housing, income and health care supports – programs whose funding varies greatly across the country.

“Removing barriers to employment can be empowering to building quality of life. Canada’s unions are ready to help the government lead the way in ensuring accessibilty of good jobs and advancement in the workplace for all Canadians,” added Rousseau. “Workers with disabilities deserve no less.”

Learn more about the history of IDPD here.

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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 education.

Teachers and education workers are speaking for frustrated parents, fed up with growing class sizes and dramatic cuts to teaching staff. They are standing with students, who are facing a loss of access to course options and programs. They are sticking up for Ontario’s vulnerable and at-risk learners, who will be hit hardest by Doug Ford’s spending cuts. They are championing early learning by defending Ontario’s full-day kindergarten program and its unique and successful mix of teacher and early childhood educator expertise.

Doug Ford does not have the courage to own up to the scale and destructiveness of his cuts. He hopes that spin and blatant falsehoods will fool Ontarians.

Parents, teachers, education workers, students and voters have had enough. By undermining publicly-funded education and attacking our schools, the Ford government is jeopardizing the future of our children and Ontario’s economy.

Not only has the Ford government attempted to weaken the foundations of publicly-funded education, they have shown contempt for free and fair collective bargaining, most recently with Bill 124, which tramples the Charter rights of Ontario public sector employees.

The unions of the CLC demand the Ford government cease its assault on publicly-funded education, listen to the needs of parents, students, and education workers, and get serious about negotiating a fair settlement with these affiliates.

The unions of the CLC pledge to:

• Stand in solidarity with, and support, Ontario teachers and education workers;
• Stand in defense of high-quality publicly-funded education;
• Defend teachers and education workers against the Ford government’s attacks; and
• Recommit our efforts to fight for students and high-quality publicly-funded education.

The CLC represents over three million workers and brings together Canada’s national, international and provincial unions, along with the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 107 district labour councils, whose members work in virtually all sectors of the Canadian economy, in all occupations and in all parts of Canada.

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While unemployment rates continue to fall overall, many Canadians aged 15-29 are staying in school or giving up looking for work altogether.

In particular, the number of people aged 25 to 29 who are not in employment, education, or training (NEET) has remained high since the 2008-2009 recession. This is when most Canadians have finished their formal education and should be able to find meaningful work that matches their education and training.

The Labour Market Snapshot is a quarterly report, which examines Canada’s employment landscape to spotlight trends in the economy. Analysis is based on Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Surveys.

Read the full Labour Market Snapshot here.

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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 Legault made numerous public statements favouring ABI, the employer, and undermining the union representing ABI workers.

The USW lodged a formal complaint with the International Labour Organization (ILO), a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social justice and promote decent work by setting international labour standards. Canada has been a signatory to ILO Convention 87 – Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise – for over 45 years and, in 2017, Canada ratified ILO Convention 98 on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining.

In a letter to the ILO sent on June 19, 2019, CLC’s President Hassan Yussuff writes that, “The CLC supports the USW position that the Government of Quebec, through the public statements made by its leader and official representative, Premier François Legault, interfered in negotiations in the 17-month lockout at the aluminum smelter in Bécancour, co-owned by multi-national aluminum giants Alcoa and Rio Tinto.”

Click here to read the CLC’s full letter.

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The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) provides a detailed quarterly analysis of select labour market indicators and what it means for Canada’s workers.

In our spring snapshot, the CLC discovers that while job growth in Canada is strong, garnering laudatory headlines, there is a hidden story.

While the unemployment rate hovered near 40-year lows, the overall percentage of employed Canadians continued to trend below levels seen before the global financial crisis of 2008. The ensuing recession led many Canadians – particularly women and youth – to leave or delay their entry into the labour market. These dynamics continue to affect the labour market today.

To learn more, download the spring 2019 snapshot here.

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“The cancellation of steel and aluminum tariffs is good news for workers,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “Canada’s unions welcome this decision to restore stability and predictability to our economy and to workers’ lives. For almost a year, these tariffs have had a damaging impact on an industry and the people who work hard to make it thrive.”

Last year, Canadians were shocked to learn that their most significant trading partner was imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum that would have a damaging effect on an industry, and indeed the entire Canadian economy. Canada’s unions have consistently called the American tariffs, imposed under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, unjust and illegal because they cited an imaginary threat to U.S. national security.

“In reality, the tight integration of Canadian and U.S. steel industries has underpinned the economic security and prosperity for both countries for over half a century. Arguing the opposite during a trade negotiation was always more about politics than economics,” said Yussuff.

Since their imposition on June 1, 2018, these tariffs have hit the workers in one of Canada’s key industries hard. The steel sector supports 22,000 direct jobs across Canada and the aluminum sector supports nearly 10,000 direct jobs mostly in BC and Quebec, with supply chains and related industries affecting more than 100,000 additional workers.

Today’s announcement also provides for continued monitoring of steel flows, to ensure that Canada doesn’t become a dumping ground for other countries. Yussuff expressed his continued support of careful monitoring and robust anti-dumping measures to counter trade diversion.

“In the resolution of this dispute is a reminder of the importance of Canada maintaining a strong trade remedy system and vigilance against unfair competition so that dumped and subsidized steel from China and elsewhere are not redirected through the Canadian economy,” said Yussuff.

Canada’s unions commend the Prime Minister and Minister Freeland for their determination and diligence in working to reverse these tariffs, without condition.

Workers are hopeful that today’s agreement puts an end to threats of politically-motivated tariffs that harm workers in both countries and fuel economic uncertainty.

“Canadian workers and their families are breathing a big sigh of relief today, and we hope that affected companies will be able to reverse any layoffs. Ending tariffs means Canadians can get back to work,” said Yussuff.

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“Far too many journalists continue to risk their lives in upholding a basic cornerstone of all democratic societies: press freedom,” said Hassan Yussuff, president of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). “This is an important day to remember those who have died in the line of duty and to continue to advocate for better protections for those who continue to do their important work despite the fear of retribution or attack.”

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) observatory recorded 99 journalists killed in 2018, and a total of 1,307 journalists killed between 1994 and 2018. The 2019 World Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters Without Borders, marks an ongoing decline in the numbers of countries around the world where journalists are able to work safely.

The index shows Canada’s ranking has remained steady at 18^th overall in the index since 2018. “Back in the top 20 but still room for improvement,” write the authors. The report points to a number of factors contributing to this stagnation: the ongoing effort by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to compel a VICE News reporter to hand over communications with a source; criminal and civil charges against a journalist over his coverage of protests against a hydroelectric project in Labrador; and the closure of more than 40 independent newspapers.

“Canada must do better in upholding the principles of press freedom and media pluralism,” added Yussuff. “At a time of growing mistrust of media institutions, we must now more than ever do all we can to support the independence of news organizations and continue to advocate for investments in local news outlets and companies. Our democracy depends on it.”

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This Black History Month, Canada’s unions say there can be no environmental justice without racial justice: addressing anti-Black racism is an integral part of the conversation on environmental activism.

Alongside Canada’s Indigenous communities, Black and people of African descent are disproportionately burdened with environmental hazards. This environmental racism includes exposure to toxic waste facilities, garbage dumps, and other sources of environmental pollution that negatively impact quality of life and health outcomes.

Africville, a small, yet vibrant, Black community in Halifax, NS, is an important example of how anti-Black racism was perpetuated by environmental policies. Despite paying municipal taxes, the community was deprived of basic services such as access to clean water, sewage, and waste management. Africville’s proximity to the development of an infectious disease hospital, a prison and a garbage dump, over time, added to deplorable living conditions imposed by the City.

The residents, after 120 years of resilience, were subject to a forced and dispersed relocation. Often overnight, over the span of a number of years, residents had their personal items transported in garbage trucks and their homes demolished.

This forced relocation, after years of marginalization by the City of Halifax, impacted the community by displacing residents both from their homes and their place of work, therefore exacerbating their economic insecurity.

Today, compounded by the barriers to sustainable employment, pay inequities, and barriers to opportunities for advancement in the workplace, Black workers and their families are still exposed to harmful and often life-threatening conditions in their home communities.

Hogan’s Alley in British Columbia, Leamington in Ontario, and Shelburne in Nova Scotia, are only a few examples of Black communities faced with the serious challenge of environmental racism.

“In the case of environmental racism in Black communities, environmental justice is linked to economic justice and that is at the root of why this is a trade union issue,” said CLC Executive Vice-President, Larry Rousseau.

A UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent recommended that the “Government of Canada should encourage federal, provincial and municipal governments to seriously consider the concerns of African Nova Scotians and help to develop legislation on environmental issues affecting them.”

Ingrid R.G. Waldron, author of There’s Something In The Water: Environmental Racism in Indigenous & Black Communities, has said that although environmental racism has a disproportionate impact on Black and Indigenous communities, pollution travels to adjacent communities, meaning this injustice affects everyone and will require collective action.

“Ingrid Waldron’s research shows the true reach of this issue — it expands far beyond Nova Scotia. We can’t ignore or deny the history of mistreatment of Black communities across Canada. Canada’s unions can play a key role in connecting the dots between environmental justice and anti-Black racism,” said Rousseau.

Last February, the Federal Government acknowledged the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024). While this recognition is important, more action is required. Canada’s unions and our allies are ready to take on the issue of environmental racism in Canada.

To learn more about anti-Black racism in Canada and how workers are challenging it, sign up here.

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“The right to strike is an integral part of collective bargaining. Without it, an employer has no incentive to bargain in good faith, and workers have no recourse to demand a fair process,” said CLC President, Hassan Yussuff.

“This federal government was supposed to be different from the last, and yet here we are again,” said CUPW President, Mike Palecek. “Trudeau is showing his true colours and the anti-worker agenda shared with former Prime Minister Harper. He knows we have always been prepared to bargain in good faith and to negotiate – quickly – fair collective agreements for our members. He could have directed Canada Post to do the same.”

Palecek added “Back-to-work legislation has serious long-term impacts on the work environment and on labour relations. Once contracts are imposed that don’t address our core concerns around unsafe working conditions, equality for rural carriers, and access to secure full-time middle-class jobs, that’s just more ground we’ll continue to struggle to regain.”

The Harper Conservative government’s back-to-work legislation in 2011 drove postal workers to accept regressive contracts. It was later ruled unconstitutional. After a federal review of the postal service, the Liberal government made it a priority to improve labour relations at Canada Post. Back-to-work legislation will seriously damage that effort.

“We are calling on the federal government to allow for a fair process by encouraging workers and the employer to come to an agreement that works for everyone,” said Yussuff. “This back-to-work legislation is a clear violation of workers’ Charter rights. CUPW successfully fought to have this right explicitly upheld by the Supreme Court.”

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Mike Harris’ plan to overhaul Ontario’s education system did not entirely go as planned. Introduced as the Education Quality Improvement Act, Bill 160 was a massive, 226 page plan to radically centralize power in the hands of the Minister of Education and the Cabinet, and then impose standards that had previously been set in the collective agreements negotiated by school boards with their local teachers and their unions. It imposed more work, with less time to do it as the government secretly planned to slash education spending.

Ontario’s teachers walked out in protest.

At the time, the protest was the largest work action by teachers in North American history, involving 126,000 teachers. Picket lines were set up across the province. Demonstrations took place at schools, on the streets, and at the offices of Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Teachers and their unions organized mass rallies, including one on the front lawn of the legislature at Queen’s Park that drew thousands.

The government responded with a propaganda campaign, spending millions on television ads in an attempt to label the protest as an “illegal strike” and teacher unions as selfish “special interests” – but people were not buying it. One week into the protest, a poll found 63% of Ontarians wanted the government to scrap its reforms.

Harris’ attempt to have the protest declared an illegal strike by the courts also struck‑out when judges ruled that the teachers’ action was a legitimate protest. He responded by threatening back-to-work legislation to silence and punish the teachers instead.

After two weeks away from work, many teachers felt they had made their point and voted to end the strike.

No, they had not stopped the government’s plans to shift power away from local school boards, but they had won over public opinion. Talking with students, parents and media, the teachers and their unions exposed hidden aspects of the government’s agenda – plans to lay off teachers and cut education budgets that Harris himself had denied during the election campaign.

The solidarity shown by Ontario’s unions in support of the teachers and their protest also planted the seeds of future resistance to the ideologically driven austerity agenda that was at the heart of the Harris CSR.

Canada’s unions have a long history of standing up to the unfairness of government austerity, especially the ferocious and cult-like austerity seen in the 1990s under conservative-minded governments lead by Mike Harris in Ontario, Ralph Klein in Alberta and more recently under Liberal governments in British Columbia and Nova Scotia.

Funding tax cuts for wealthy investors and powerful interests by slashing public spending on health care, education, public infrastructure and social programs is an old corporate trick. So is undermining the unions, journalists, public institutions and social movements that stand up against them.

The 1997 Ontario teachers’ protest was a moment when people stood up and said enough. While it did not stop the government, it made them blink and it woke people up.

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“We support the federal government’s counter-tariffs as a retaliation to the American bullying tactics. Trump’s tariffs will be damaging to workers on both sides of the border. Unions welcome the Canadian government’s rapid response in defense of Canadian workers as an important first step in protecting workers and communities who will be adversely affected by this misguided attack on Canadian industry,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

In particular, the CLC welcomes the following steps announced today:

• Measures that aim to reduce lay-offs by extending the maximum period for Work-Sharing agreements from 38 weeks to 76 weeks;
• Expanded access to retraining and skills development programs to help workers transition to new jobs;
• Federal loans and loan guarantees from the Business Development Bank of Canada and Export Development Canada to help companies in the short and medium term; and
• Investments to diversify export markets overseas and promote the diversification of the steel and aluminum products sectors in Canada.

“The steel and aluminum industries are vital suppliers to the Canadian manufacturing, energy, automotive and construction sectors. Today’s announcement is a good first step to counter the impact of unreasonable U.S. trade demands on workers in Canada. We look forward to working closely with the government to implement further supports for workers as needed,” said Yussuff.

Such additional supports could include an extension of Employment Insurance benefits, wage insurance or “targeted earnings supplements” for workers who find new jobs that pay less, and enhanced mobility assistance, to help workers who have to move or extend their commute to work.

Yussuff also expressed his continued support of immediate action on anti-dumping measures, and advised that the federal government work closely with their provincial and territorial counterparts to develop more robust and targeted training options.

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U.S. President Trump released his finalized steel and aluminum tariff package today, with temporary exemptions for Canada and Mexico.

Despite these exemptions, today’s announcement will mean that Canadian producers will be competing with the excess supply of steel and aluminum diverted from the U.S. market.

“The steel and aluminum sectors are one of Canada’s key economic drivers and employers, directly and indirectly supporting good jobs in nearly every region in Canada,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

“Canadian steel and aluminum should have a permanent exemption from American tariffs. Canada and the U.S. have an integrated economy that has yielded economic benefits for both countries, but this move jeopardizes the future of that relationship,” said Yussuff.

The steel sector supports 22,000 direct jobs across Canada and the aluminum sector supports nearly 10,000 direct jobs mostly in BC and Quebec, with supply chains and related industries affecting more than 100,000 additional workers.

“The Canadian government must take immediate action to prevent foreign steel and aluminum dumping in the Canadian market. The federal and provincial governments must also be prepared to assist Canadian workers and steel manufacturers who will need support to maintain their livelihoods and stay in business,” said Yussuff.

Yussuff also underscored that this announcement should not impact ongoing NAFTA negotiations.

The Canadian Labour Congress is asking for the federal government to put together a rapid response working group with industry and worker representatives to develop a package to support workers, businesses, and communities.

Elements of a package could include:

• Action by Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to address any trade diversion caused by US measures;
• Additional resources devoted to border agents and inspections to ensure Canadian market isn’t flooded with dumped products;
• Policy measures that prioritize the use of Canadian made steel and aluminum for energy projects within Canada. This would enable the government to meet its stated aim of developing Canada’s energy resources in an environmentally responsible way.

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The call comes after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose duties of up to 25% on steel imports, and 10% on aluminum imports. Key details, such as whether fair-trading allies such as Canada will be excluded from duties, have yet to be disclosed.

“The steel sector is one of Canada’s key economic drivers and employers, directly and indirectly supporting good jobs in nearly every region in Canada,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff.

“If Canada were included in this aggressive trade action, it would affect workers and businesses on both sides of the border. It would decimate Canada’s steel industry and impact the lives of 22,000 workers directly employed by the industry, and another 100,000 indirectly employed workers,” he added.

Every year, Canada exports $6 billion worth of steel products to the U.S., and, because of the integrated nature of the North American steel industry, imports steel products of the same value from the U.S. Last year, Canada exported $9.3 billion worth of aluminum products to the United States.

Canada’s steel industry is also responsible for millions of dollars worth of research and development throughout the economy.

“Federal and provincial governments must vigorously defend the interests of Canadian workers and businesses by demanding that U.S. president Trump exclude fair-trading allies such as Canada,” said Yussuff.

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