Sisters and brothers,

At several announcements in Toronto today the Federal Government will announce a number of reforms to Canada’s Labour Code. These proposed reforms include important steps to address contract flipping and protect successor rights provisions at airports.

I applaud Minister Hajdu and her government’s move to ensure airport workers are protected against wage cuts in the event that supplier contracts change hands.

We will scrutinize the specific details of this announcement when it becomes public. However, the fact that the Minister appears willing to address this issue is a victory for our union, that has been years in the making.

The National Union, Unifor Locals and other unions worked hand-in-hand to lobby the Federal Government, mobilize our membership and put public pressure on employers to secure workers’ rights. Too often, workers would face job loss in the event that supplier contracts change hands. When this occurs, workers are often forced to re-apply for their same job, sometimes losing pay and benefits. This is completely unfair.

For Unifor, this issue came to a head in a 2015 campaign at the Greater Toronto Airport Authority (GTAA). The existing contract for customer assistance to airline passengers with mobility issues was retendered, and employees (our Unifor sisters and brothers) were told to re-apply for their jobs. Our Locals organized delegations to attend GTAA public meetings and spoke out against this practice – generating major media attention (link to: https://bit.ly/1TaXjde). Our members were on the ground collecting thousands of signatures petitioning the GTAA to protect workers rights – raising public awareness of how contract flipping hurts workers.

This past January our union made a Federal Government submission calling for greater protections to workers in the event contracts are flipped. Today, it seems, our struggle has paid off.

We should welcome today’s announcement, but we should also understand that the change proposed will not be law until it is adopted by Parliament.

We have to be ready and committed to continue our mobilizing on this issue. We have to keep the pressure on all Federal politicians to vote to ensure all workers are treated with respect, dignity – and never again forced to re-fight for the rights they’ve already won, simply because a supplier contract has changed hands.

To all the members who have taken part in this struggle, I thank you for your hard work. You’ve made our union proud.

In solidarity,

Jerry Dias
National President

Please fill out the survey today, on a personal phone or computer- not your company computer- and not during work hours.

Members,

Last week, your union reached out and asked you to join a conversation.

This conversation asks a simple question, do performance management programs actually help you perform better at work?

To answer this question, members in the telecommunications sector are participating in a massive membership survey. Have you filled out the survey yet? Click here to get started now.

As the CRTC is looking into the effects of high-pressure sales tactics, your union wants to learn more about the underlying causes of this pressure.How does your company’s performance management system affect you as an employee?

Your story matters. Add your voice to this survey today- and make sure that your experiences are counted.

We won’t share any personal or identifying information with the employer ever. But your union will be able to use your confidential responses to make the case for changing these structures. Through our collective voice, we can make jobs in telco good jobs for current and future Unifor members.

If you already did the survey, then we still need your help! Talk to your coworkers about the survey; tell them why you filled it out, and why they should too.

For more information and materials, visit the campaign cage on the national website.

In solidarity,

Chris MacDonald                                    John Caluori
Assistant to the National President            Assistant to the Quebec Director

Dear Members,

This Friday, Steve Bannon, a former senior advisor to Donald Trump, is invited to Toronto to participate in the “Munk Debates: The rise of populism.” Steve Bannon was formerly the CEO of Breitbart, an alt-right website that promotes White Sumpracy, Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism. Community groups, labour unions and activists across the GTA have been organizing to stop the debate from going forward.

Bannon is not entitled to a platform to spew this hate in our city. If enough of us take action, then we can stop this event from going forward.

Last month, the New Yorker Magazine cancelled a high profile event featuring Bannon under public pressure. Earlier this week, Scotland’s First Minister withdrew participation of an event that included Steve Bannon calling him a fascist. Over the past month, there have been newspaper articles criticizing Munk Debates organizers for inviting Bannon to Canada. Canadians have sent thousands of emails and have made countless calls to Munk Debates organizers urging for the debate to be cancelled.

The debate is tomorrow, and I am encouraging you to take action and let Munk Debate organizers know that there is no space for hatred in Toronto.  Here are three actions you can take to help keep Toronto free of Steve Bannon’s hate speech.

1. CALL The Munk Debates Organizers to let them know that Steve Bannon is not welcome here in Toronto: https://act.leadnow.ca/munk/
2. Sign the petition demanding the Directors and Advisors of the Munk Debates and the Aurea Foundation cancel Friday nights debate. https://you.leadnow.ca/p/NoBannonTO
3. Attend the rally this Friday, November 2^nd, 5 PM, Steps of Roy Thomson Hall to protest the hateful idea and policies that Steve Bannon promotes. www.facebook.com/events/1401207076681549/

 

In solidarity,

 

Christine Maclin

October 30, 2018

OTTAWA – Unifor welcomes the federal government’s launch of proactive pay equity legislation to close the gender wage gap in federally regulated sectors.

“It’s time that we address the undervaluing of women’s work and put measures in place to ensure compliance, and the proposed Pay Equity Act does just that,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “This is what our members have been pushing for in consultations across the country.”

Unifor represents more than 77,000 members in federally regulated workplaces across Canada, in sectors ranging from telecommunications and broadcasting to airlines, rail, and transport.

Members have been fighting for pay equity in our communities, at annual Equal Pay Day activities and at bargaining tables across the country.

“We look forward to working with employers through the pay equity committees that will ensure compensation is fair and not discriminatory,” said Dias. “We will be examining the details of the bill to ensure it has all the practical processes necessary.”

While non-discriminatory compensation schemes are the law, this bill puts the onus on the employer to ensure compliance, rather than workers having to complain to have their rights enforced.

“Equal pay for work of equal value, which is at the heart of this proposed legislation, should be the goal of all employers,” said Lisa Kelly, Unifor Director of Women’s department. “While this is an important protection for women in the workforce, to close the gender wage gap we need to address other barriers as well, such as the lack of universal child care and equal access to good jobs. We also need to ensure we are considering the diversity of all genders and including intersectionality in our approach.”

Unifor also applauds the Gender Budgeting Act, which seeks to incorporate a gender and diversity lens when allocating and analyzing budgets. Similarly, the establishment of the Department of Women and Gender Equality (WAGE), in place of the current Status of Women may also further equity goals.

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.

 

https://www.unifor.org/en/whats-new/press-room/unifor-welcomes-proactive-pay-equity-reduce-gender-wage-gap