On Injured Workers Day, Canada’s unions say: safe work now!
May 31, 2024
June 1st is Injured Workers Day. Far too many workers continue to be injured on the job – many in critical, life-changing ways. According to the Association of Workers Compensation Boards of Canada, an astounding 348,747 lost time claims were made in 2022, the last year for which complete data is available. Shockingly, this number doesn’t even count those who…
Canada’s unions: Migrant workers in Canada deserve equal rights, protections
December 18, 2023
Canada’s unions are marking International Migrants Day by calling for greater protections and improved conditions for migrant workers engaged in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). Thousands of workers come to Canada each year to work through the TFWP; Statistics Canada reports that temporary foreign workers represented around one-quarter of all agriculture workers in 2021. Many of these workers face…
To achieve gender equality, Canada’s decision makers must prioritize investments in care
September 22, 2022
Canada’s unions are marking Gender Equality Week by calling on the federal government to reduce and redistribute women’s unpaid care work and help fix Canada’s broken care systems. “Investments in care are essential if we’re going to reduce and redistribute women’s unpaid work and pave the way for women to take on paid work, or to access education or training,”…
Celebrate May Day the best way possible: organize!
May 1, 2022
Canada’s unions are marking May Day by standing in solidarity with workers around the world, and reminding all workers of the importance of building solidarity through worker engagement and organizing. When we organize collectively, we can ensure life is fairer for everyone. Today we also celebrate workers, the people who built this country and power our communities. From the shop…
Building a low-wage economy with stomach-churning greed
April 26, 2022
Bruske: Minimum wage employees being replaced by offshore workers making $3.75 an hour will hurt workers everywhere 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…
By Bea Bruske I think almost everyone can agree 2021 was a rough year. The pandemic we hoped was ending now rolls on with new variants and new disruptions. But in 2021 we also saw some hopeful signs of what’s possible when people work together in common cause. Workers with newfound confidence demanding better. People seeking out jobs that offered…
Statement of the CLC and provincial and territorial federations of labour in response to the Ontario Workforce Recovery Advisory Committee Report
December 20, 2021
The Canadian Labour Congress and Canada’s provincial and territorial federations of labour unanimously reject the recommendations of the report of the Ontario’s Workforce Recovery Advisory Committee (OWRAC) that would enshrine second-class status for gig workers. We believe every worker deserves the same high standard of protection under the law. Employers have long used excuses to misclassify their employees as independent…
O’Toole another Conservative who would put our public health care system at risk
September 16, 2021
With the pandemic pushing provinces to the brink, a federal Conservative government would put Canada’s public health care system in jeopardy. OTTAWA – Health care systems are on the brink. Alberta is witnessing 1,500 new cases a day and rising while their health care system is on the verge of collapse. Saskatchewan saw a record 506 new cases. Cases are spiking…
Bruske: Uber’s flex work proposal would continue to fail to protect gig workers
August 30, 2021
Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress, released the following statement about Uber’s “Flexible Work” proposal: “Nobody goes to work asking for more insecurity and vulnerability, but that’s what Uber is offering their workers. These workers are being asked by a giant multinational to give away their rights as employees, and that’s wrong. “This raises the question of whose…
Canada’s unions welcome certification of Uber class action
August 12, 2021
The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) welcomes today’s decision from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in favour of Uber drivers seeking legal recognition of their status as drivers. Uber drivers successfully petitioned the court to certify a class action on behalf of all Uber drivers and delivery workers who submit they are employees misclassified as independent contractors. “All workers should…