October 20, 2019

TORONTO –The election of a Liberal minority government, with the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois holding the balance of power gives workers a strong voice in Parliament.

“This election was always about workers and big questions. How can we create good paying jobs, provide vital services including healthcare, and confront climate change as a country? Canadian voters delivered an answer on how today- we’ll do it together,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President.

Unifor actively opposed the Conservative election agenda with a successful campaign to Stop Scheer.

“Workers remember that Andrew Scheer was a part of a Harper government that catered to big business at our expense,” said Dias. “We see Conservative policies in action in Alberta and Ontario where wages and vital services have been cut. That’s why we took action to prevent Andrew Scheer from inflicting similar harm from the federal level.”

The union calls on the next government to implement national, universal pharmacare and childcare programs, investing in bold, new public services that will benefit all workers.

“Progressive, minority governments have brought about some of our country’s greatest social and legislative changes. It is my hope that the MPs elected today are ready to work together to find the solutions that workers in Canada need,” added Renaud Gagné, Unifor Quebec Director.

Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.

Dear members,

There is less than one week until Election Day. Unifor members across Canada are busy talking to their co-workers about the issues that matter most to our union: affordability, worker’s rights, pharmacare, and many others.  An informed vote by Unifor members can make all the difference in electing a progressive, government that will stand with Canada’s workers.

Although it has not made headlines, or been a topic in the recent federal leaders’ debates, the outcome of this election could have a dramatic affect on employment standards – specifically for workers in the Federally Regulated Private Sector (FRPS).

Over the past year, the federal government has undertaken an ambitious modernization of the Canada Labour Code – perhaps the most progressive overhaul of labour standards in all of Canada. Unifor is proud to have played an advocacy role in winning these reforms, workplace protections that our union has long bargained for.

New rules introduced by the Trudeau Government, such as paid personal days, flexible work arrangements, gender pay equity, accessible leaves, protections against contract flipping, guaranteed rest periods and improved scheduling notice are just a few of the long-overdue improvements to work standards for workers in the FRPS.

Additional changes, including fair pay laws for part-time and contract workers, will soon come into force… but only if we have a federal government willing to fight for them.
Here is what we know: corporations are not happy. Many large employers have successfully pushed to have entire categories of workers temporarily exempted from specific rules, including new rest periods.

In some cases, new standards still lack supporting regulations – clear, practical instructions that outline how new rules should be applied. This leaves workers vulnerable. It can result in a denial of benefits, especially in non-union workplaces.

We also know that provincially, conservative governments have irresponsibly torn up progressive labour laws. In Ontario, the Doug Ford conservatives ripped up landmark labour legislation within months of taking office. In Alberta, Jason Kenney weakened provincial labour standards within days.

Unifor believes that, if elected, Andrew Scheer will follow the lead of both Ford and Kenney and these federal labour gains, while not perfect, will be lost. We can’t take that risk.

This election matters to Unifor members working in the Federally-Regulated Private Sector – workers in Canada’s airlines, railways, roadways, waterways; in  elecommunications and broadcasting; in banking and financial services; in grain handling and others.

We need you to step up, speak out and STAND STRONG for Canada’s workers. On October 21, we need all Unifor members to cast their ballot to Stop Scheer.

In solidarity,

Jerry Dias
National President

October 16, 2019

TORONTO—Today labour activists from across Ontario occupied Doug Ford’s office to demand action from the provincial government to prevent workplace death and injuries at Fiera Foods.

“Desperate times call for extreme measures and the situation at Fiera Foods is certainly desperate,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “We are calling on the Doug Ford government to protect precarious workers like those at Fiera Foods and we won’t take silence as an answer.”

Unifor is joining an occupation of the Doug Ford’s constituency office led by the Workers’ Action Centre and Jane Finch Action Against Poverty. The action comes after the tragic deaths of Amina Diaby in 2017 and Enrico Miranda last month at Fiera Foods in Toronto. A solidarity rally was also held on October 2 where community organizations and labour unions expressed outrage at the lack of government response to the conditions at the factory.

“Two workers have died on Premier Doug Ford’s watch at Fiera Foods and they may very well still be alive today if his government had acted to prevent their deaths,” said Naureen Rizvi, Unifor Ontario Director. “We have no choice but to escalate the situation to draw out the Premier from wherever he is currently hiding.”

In 2018, the previous Liberal government amended the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act to allow regulations to be introduced that would make employers such as Fiera Foods responsible for workplace injuries and deaths when employing temporary employment agency workers. To date no regulations have been introduced since Doug Ford came to power. The organizations occupying Doug Ford’s constituency office are jointly calling on the government to enact such a regulation.

Unifor is Canada’s largest union in the private sector, representing 315,000 workers in every major area of the economy. The union advocates for all working people and their rights, fights for equality and social justice in Canada and abroad, and strives to create progressive change for a better future.