OTTAWA – With the cost of living still rising while wages lag far behind, today’s Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey shows that low unemployment numbers don’t mean workers are seeing positive changes to their paycheques.

According to Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress, there are concrete things governments can do to help.

“Workers are falling behind, especially those in low wage and precarious jobs. What modest wage gains we have seen came largely from increases to minimum wages,” said Bruske. “The reality is, we can’t rely on a tight labour market to give workers fair pay or better working conditions. We need governments to step in and raise minimum wages to a living wage – and then index them to inflation.”

Bruske said that workers across the country are facing very different realities as some provinces have maintained a low minimum wage and others have refused to index wages to the cost of living.

“While the federal minimum wage and the one in B.C. are being raised and indexed, we see some Conservative premiers –in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and New Brunswick – with woefully inadequate minimum wages,” concluded Bruske. “With an average family of four’s food bill predicted to be over $280 a week in 2022, Premiers Moe, Stefanson and Higgs should be ashamed of themselves. Each province has set their minimum wage below $13.00 an hour in 2022. A minimum wage worker would need three full days of work just to pay their family’s weekly grocery bill.”

Bruske added that without government intervention and increased unionization, the strong recovery Canada is experiencing won’t translate into wages keeping pace or improved protections for precarious workers.

“For decades we have seen governments and businesses rigging the system against workers, pushing down wages and making it harder for workers to organize,” said Bruske. “We need strong, progressive public policies that provide workers a real path to unionization – and the ability to bargain fair wages, real benefits and better working conditions.”

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Canada’s unions are looking to parliament’s return next week for measures to make life more affordable, including investments to make housing more affordable, immediate implementation of pharmacare to lower the price of medicines, and agreements with every province and territory to bring down the costs of child care.

“The cost of living is skyrocketing and workers and their families are feeling the brunt of it,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “While some companies are making gigantic pandemic profits – yet now talking about passing on higher costs to everyday people – elected officials must stay focussed on helping working people and their families who are the ones suffering the most.”

Many workers face minimum wages that have fallen far behind a living wage. While others are suffering under legislated wage freezes or caps – including in Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba – where low single-digit wage increases combined with inflation surging over 4% translates into lower real wages for workers.

“Governments must immediately raise minimum wages to a living wage and rescind unfair wage freezes and caps. Having what amounts to legislated pay cuts imposed on so many workers is meanspirited,” said Bruske.

“The fact is, we do not know how long this inflation surge will last or how bumpy the road to economic recovery will be. Cleary the answer isn’t slashing taxes for the wealthy, as Conservatives always do. We need our governments acting as leaders in creating good jobs with fair wages, real benefits and better working conditions.”

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TORONTO – Today’s minimum wage announcement is another example of how Conservatives start talking friendly about workers when votes are at stake, but Doug Ford’s real record is one of putting corporate insiders first and leaving workers behind.

“Behind Doug Ford’s chummy rhetoric, you find attacks on workers and cuts to services that everyday Ontarians rely on. Throughout his 1222 days in the premier’s office, Ford has put delivering perks to his buddies first – not helping hard-working Ontarians struggling to get by,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress.

The Ontario PCs have consistently ignored the demands of workers throughout their time in office. When he took office, Ford cancelled a planned minimum wage increase to $15 an hour then earlier this year raised the minimum wage by a paltry 10 cents. Throughout the pandemic, Ford and his party opposed paid sick days.

“Ontario is the economic engine of Canada. But under Premier Ford, Ontario is a laggard, not a leader when it comes to wages. Ontario workers have fallen behind,” said Bruske. “British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon and Northwest Territories all have wages at fifteen dollars or higher already.”

“Ford’s record is one of ignoring workers and imposing pay cuts. The Doug Ford Conservatives wrote a law that imposed a 3.4% pay cut on Ontarians, under current inflation numbers. Doug Ford shouldn’t tell employers it’s fine to impose wage cuts, just when the cost of living is skyrocketing,” continued Bruske. “If you are a youth counsellor in this province, or you coordinate snowplows, or you work as a nurse, or are a food safety inspector – the fact is you are getting a pay cut courtesy of the Ford government’s wage cap.”

“Since being elected in 2018, Doug Ford’s record on workers speaks for itself,” concluded Bruske. “If Ford and his government are now serious about helping working families, they should be focussing on signing a child care agreement with the federal government so women have a path back to the workforce, negotiating a universal pharmacare agreement so workers aren’t choosing between groceries and their medicine, and ensuring every worker in the province gets a fair wage and worker protections.”

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“As communities mourn workers we’ve lost this year, including many in recent weeks, we must remember that we owe it to them to do everything we can to protect all those who are still working in the midst of this crisis,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “The best way to honour them is to fight for the living. Every person should be able to go to work without the fear of being infected, or of bringing this virus home to their loved ones.”

The theme for the annual memorial this year is “Stop the pandemic at work.” Across Canada, 4.9 million workers have been deemed essential, meaning they have to keep reporting to work. They are risking their lives every day, keeping the rest of us safe and supplied. Many of these workers are paid minimum wage and receive no benefits. Workplace injuries and deaths are preventable, even in a pandemic. All workers, in every sector, deserve to come home safe at the end of their shift.

“Canada’s unions are calling for paid sick leave and adequate personal protective equipment for every essential worker on the front lines right now,” said Yussuff. “This pandemic has demonstrated who the essential workers really are. It is up to us to ensure society never undervalues essential workers again. That means fair compensation, benefits and all manner of necessary protections.”

In Canada, workers have three basic health and safety rights at work: the right to know about what could harm them in their workplace, the right to participate in decisions that affect their health and safety, and the right to refuse unsafe work. Canada’s unions are working to ensure that all essential workers know their rights and are able to exercise them as we all do our part to fight the pandemic.

This year, to respect public health guidelines, mourners will be gathering virtually to hold vigils for those who have lost their lives or had their lives changed forever because of an incident in the workplace.

To join the CLC’s call for a uniform policy of 14 paid, job-protected sick days for all workers, sign our petition here.

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“We know that universal, public pharmacare will be less expensive and keep more people healthy and out of the hospital,” said Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “For 7.5 million Canadians that are uninsured or underinsured, pharmacare won’t just change their lives, it can save them.”

Canada’s minority governments have a history of advancing public policies that have significantly improved the lives of millions of families. On top of pharmacare, labour activists are also pressing the need for a $15 federal minimum wage, protections for worker pensions and the ratification of ILO Convention 190 on ending violence and harassment at work.

“On C-190, Canada brought this to the ILO and we have an opportunity to show real leadership by becoming one of the first countries to ratify it,” said Yussuff.

The creation of a federal minimum wage for workers in federally regulated workplaces would lift up more than 70,000 workers. These workers have been without a minimum wage since 1996, it is long overdue.

It has also been too long that workers have been told they have to wait for the creditors to be paid before they get the pensions they are owed. The government needs to protect these workers so they can retire with confidence.

“This government has a historic opportunity, and mandate, to build a more progressive Canada,” added Yussuff. “When Canadian workers come together, our collective voice has real weight with decision-makers. Canada must grasp this opportunity to make pharmacare a reality and improve Canadians’ lives.”

The Canadian Labour Congress is the voice of Canada’s labour movement representing over 3 million union members who work in every industry across the country.

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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.

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