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November 27, 2024

“We’ve got to step up here as a nation to make sure that we are doing everything to protect Canadian jobs,” says Unifor National President Lana Payne on Trump tariff threats. Watch Lana’s message on trade to Unifor Quebec Regional Council delegates.

November 27, 2024

 

December 3 marks the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD), a day to recognize the vital contributions of persons with disabilities in our workplaces, communities and unions.

This year’s theme, “Amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future,” serves as a reminder that inclusion is not just about removing barriers but about creating opportunities for leadership and influence.

Workers with disabilities have always been integral to labour and social movements and it is our collective responsibility to ensure their voices are heard and their rights protected.

Unifor locals can play a pivotal role in this effort. We encourage all locals to take concrete steps to foster greater inclusion and accessibility, including:

• Reviewing collective agreements in conjunction with workers with lived experience to ensure they include provisions that accommodate workers with diverse abilities, such as flexibility for caregiving, modified work arrangements and accessibility measures.
• Establishing Workers with disAbilities committees to provide spaces for advocacy, leadership and the development of inclusive practices. These committees empower workers with disabilities to engage fully in union activities and help shape the priorities of their locals.
• Creating spaces for mentoring and encouraging workers with diverse abilities to run for leadership positions, ensuring their voices are represented at every decision-making table.
• Using the Inclusive Practices Toolkit when planning membership meetings, ratifications, and other union events. Simple steps like providing accessible locations, offering closed captioning and distributing materials in alternative formats can make a significant difference.
• Sharing educational resources, such as the Workers with disAbilities video at local meetings to spark conversations and raise awareness about the experiences of workers with disabilities.

Our union will continue to push employers to do their part in providing a workplace that is accessible to all workers. Accessibility in the workplace must go beyond compliance; it should be rooted in respect and equity. Employers must actively work to eliminate physical, technological, and systemic barriers and create environments where all workers can contribute their skills and leadership.

Our union is proud of the work of the Workers with disAbilities Committees, whose leadership and advocacy have been instrumental in driving these conversations forward. Their work exemplifies the power of collective action in breaking down barriers and amplifying voices that have too often been sidelined.

This year, as we reflect on the theme of IDPD, we challenge ourselves and our communities to move beyond awareness and commit to tangible actions that support the leadership and participation of workers with disabilities. Only by doing so can we achieve an inclusive and sustainable future where no one is left behind.

Together, let’s continue building a union and a society that values and celebrates the contributions of all workers.

Every year in the lead up to the holiday season, countless Ontarians look forward to gathering with their family and friends to share food, presents, and good company. For those forced into poverty by work injury or illness and related disabilities, comfort and joy is not so easy to come by.

Decades of cuts to injured worker benefits through practices like ‘deeming’ (pretending an injured worker has a job that they cannot get, and cutting their benefits), massive denial rates (especially in psychological injuries and occupational illness), cuts to healthcare, and ignoring the diagnoses and advice of an injured worker’s actual treating doctors have left many permanently injured and ill workers in financial and emotional ruin. These practices have created massive surpluses for the WSIB. Heading into a potential spring election, injured workers had begun to wonder out loud if some of their decimated benefits would be restored with all of the extra money the Compensation Board brags about having in their bank.

Imagine the shock, when WSIB announced that instead of restoring decades of cuts to injured workers, they are simply handing $2.5 BILLION to the very employers who have left workers injured, ill, and fighting for claim approvals.

Join injured workers in communities across Ontario to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. Injured and ill workers and allies will gather on December 9, 2024, to present the Minister of Labour with a clear list of what that money should and could be spent on to address the very basic needs of legitimately injured and ill workers first, before simply handing it over to employers.

Toronto Demonstration

What:            Join injured workers in Toronto as we rally & deliver our demands for 2025
When:           Monday, December 09, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. ET
Where:         Ministry of Labour, 400 University Avenue, Toronto, ON

 

Thunder Bay Demonstration

What:             Join injured workers in Thunder Bay as we rally & deliver our demands for 2025
When:            Monday, December 09, 2024, from 12:00 p.m. ET
Where:          MPP Kevin Holland’s Office – 774 James St. N., Thunder Bay, Ontario

 

Windsor Demonstration

What:             Join injured workers in Windsor as we rally & deliver our demands for 2025
When:           Monday, December 09, 2024, from 4:00 p.m ET
Where:          Windsor WSIB Office – 2485 Ouellette Ave, Windsor, Ontario

 

Study after study show that permanently injured and ill workers face poverty, stigma, and a cascading set of health effects that can cause people to lose their homes, their families, and the lives they once knew. Instead of addressing this known problem, the WSIB has chosen to make wealthy employers $2.5 billion wealthier as they head into 2025.

Please stand with the Unifor Health, Safety and Environment Department, the Ontario Regional Council Workers’ Compensation Benefits Committee, and injured and ill workers on December 9.