@ Work Centres near you.

Greetings,

This morning we officially launched our “Pay Fair Chartwell” campaign to uncover realities of the working conditions at Chartwell Retirement Homes.

Health care locals across the province organized actions this morning in Chartwell Retirement Home communities to inform residents, families and community members about the shamefully low wages being paid by Chartwell Retirement Homes in seven locations across the province.

Chartwell Retirement Homes pay many of their staff minimum wage. In fact, most of their employees do not receive a living wage. To make matters worse, Chartwell has proposed all minimum wage employees have their wages frozen until 2020. These workers provide care and compassion to residents, work that is so important that the Ontario Labour Relations Board has consistently denied them the right to strike, putting them under the same legislation as other essential service providers, such as hospital workers.

Meanwhile the Chair of the Chartwell Board, former Premier Mike Harris earns $237,000.00 annually – for a part-time job. This is unfair and insulting to Chartwell workers and residents who trust them to deliver the best care.

The Pay Fair Chartwell campaign also features billboard advertisements in all Chartwell Retirement Home communities, a petition calling on Chartwell CEO Brent Binions and Chair of the Board Mike Harris to pay workers a decent, living wage and the “Ask Hilda” video series, providing the union its own take on Chartwell’s “Ask Edna” videos.

Please take two minutes and sign the petition and demand our members be paid a fair wage. Together, we can show Chartwell management that Unifor members are united, and that poverty wages are unacceptable.

Chartwell Retirement can afford to pay fair. These caregivers need your support.

Thank you in advance for your efforts!

In solidarity,

Naureen Rizvi
Ontario Regional Director

Canada’s telecommunications industry is rapidly changing, and workers are driving the campaign to ensure that jobs at Canada’s largest telecommunications companies are good jobs where members are respected.

More than 170 members attended the Unifor Telecommunications Conference in Niagara Falls, Ontario from February 25-28, 2019.

“Telecommunications is one of the largest sectors in our union, and these workers are on the front line in the fight for decent work right across the country,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “This is a rapidly-changing sector, which means at every turn, we are pushing back against corporate greed but also adapting to technological change.”

Ahead of the conference, members from every unionized Bell Canada workplace and Bell subsidiary met to discuss strengths, weaknesses and areas of improvement for bargaining committees and campaigns.

“Technological change, the effects of a 5G network and outsourcing are only some of the many factors at play in the telecommunications industry,” said Renaud Gagné, Unifor Quebec Regional Director. “With massive changes underway, this conference offers a much-needed platform for members to strategize about bargaining priorities and member engagement going forward.”

The conference featured expert research on challenges facing the industry, technological change workers are dealing with and the ways in which the industry may evolve in the years to come, from 5G to beyond.

Telco local unions have been putting increased efforts towards membership mobilization in recent years, and this has resulted in major progress at the bargaining table and has helped build strong local unions. Other highlights included presentations by Political Action and Membership Mobilization, Strategic Planning and Communications department. These sessions focused on integrated approaches to preparing for bargaining, strategies to enhance member mobilization, and the resources available to support these objectives.

Guest speakers from UNI Global Union and the University of Quebec were also in attendance, shedding light on the global effects of outsourcing, how the international labour movement is addressing worker exploitation in receiving countries.

The conference offered delegates a platform to strategize for member engagement through local unions and to devise a broader legislative approach for addressing sector-specific challenges, including stacked ranking and other performance management measures. The conference closed with a commitment for action and unity across the sector.