REGINA—Unifor has uncovered more contracting out of permanent, unionized jobs on the site simplyhired.ca, the fourth such discovery this year by the union.

“Scott Moe needs to answer to SaskTel customers and the people of Saskatchewan: why the rush to replace good jobs with low-bid contractors and out-of-province firms?” said Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor Western Regional Director.

The latest job posting for a “Major Telecom Sales Representative” at Berks Payment Solutions is work that has historically been done by full-time SaskTel employees, says Mike Pilipow, President of Unifor Local 2-S.

“This is union work, pure and simple,” said Pilipow. “Contracting sales representative work to a third party is part of a dangerous pattern at SaskTel under the Sask Party that results in lower job security for workers and poor service for the customer.”

Earlier this year, Unifor raised concerns about contracting out of union work at SaskTel, including it’s SecurTek division and DirectWest.

“Unbridled contracting out will be dealt with at the bargaining table during our next contract talks, you can count on that,” said Pilipow. “Until this is resolved in the collective agreement, the government should protect good jobs with a moratorium on contracting out at SaskTel.”

Unifor strongly opposes Bell Media’s application to the CRTC to eliminate all regulatory requirements for local news at all of its CTV, CTV2 and Noovo stations across Canada. We will do everything in our power to ensure that Bell Media continues to live up to its legislated obligations to fund and create local news and programming.

Local news is essential to a healthy democracy, and protecting and promoting the creation of Canadian cultural content and local programming is a fundamental principle for Canadian media policy and legislation. If approved, Bell Media’s outrageous and misguided scheme would deprive the Canadian public of vital local news and programming, while putting hundreds of highly-trained and professional journalists out of work.

The funding model that supported local news and programming for decades has collapsed, and it is clear that broadcasters and news outlets need a new policy framework that will deliver sustainable and ongoing funding. The federal government and the CRTC are moving ahead with the Online Streaming Act (Bill C-11) and the Online News Act (C-18), which will deliver new revenue streams for domestic broadcasters and news outlets.

After years of waiting for much-needed reforms, we are on the cusp of a new deal for domestic broadcasters and local news outlets. Bell Media’s application to the CRTC is premature, and a slight to the many organizations and individuals who have worked hard to build a viable path forward local news and programming in Canada.

Our union will be filing a formal response with the CRTC in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, we call on BCE and Bell Media to rescind these applications and recommit to providing professional, high quality local news and programming for communities across the country.

BCE’s application was filed on June 14th, the same day that BCE Inc. announced it was laying off 1,300 workers (3% of BCE’s workforce), including 340 layoffs within Bell Media (6% of that division’s workforce), plus the shuttering six AM radio stations, and the closure or scaling back of three foreign bureaus.

KITCHENER, ON – Front-line hospital workers marched to the office of St. Mary’s General Hospital president Mark Fam on Monday afternoon and delivered a petition calling on management to take a stand against the provincial government’s plan to privatize hospital services.

The action was part of a demonstration of about 100 healthcare workers organized by a coalition of five health-care unions outside the hospital, in response to Bill 60, the recently passed legislation that diverts money from public hospitals to private, for-profit clinics to perform surgeries and other procedures.

The petition was signed by more than 700 workers including nurses, personal support workers, housekeepers, lab technologists, clerical and other staff. The signatories comprise a majority of the unionized workforce at the hospital in Kitchener, represented by the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA), Unifor and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/SEFPO).

Instead of going along with the Ford government’s privatization agenda, St. Mary’s workers are demanding management join their call for investments in higher staffing levels, and a meaningful recruitment and retention strategy, to improve patient care and help clear the surgical backlog that Ford is using as an excuse for privatization.

Since the provincial government’s push to privatize hospital services and bring in investor-led clinics was made public, members of ONA, Service Employees International Union (SEIU Healthcare), CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU/CUPE), Unifor and OPSEU/SEFPO have all launched campaigns at community hospitals. This is the third in a series of such rallies being organized across the province.

Hospital staff say this Ontario PC plan would devastate the services in most of Ontario’s public hospitals, including Kitchener’s, and threaten public healthcare.

Quotes

“The Ford government is sitting on a $22 billion dollar surplus, instead of investing in our critically understaffed public hospitals and paying workers fair wages. Ontario’s healthcare crisis has been manufactured to divert public funds into private, for-profit clinics – and shareholders’ pockets. But healthcare workers at St. Mary’s General, and across Ontario, are organizing and standing up together to say: ‘our patients’ lives are not for profit!’ Because when we organize, when we fight together, we win!” – JP Hornick, President of OPSEU/SEFPO

“As a registered nurse with many years’ experience working in the emergency department of this hospital, I know only too well the impact that any further erosion in our public, non-profit hospital system will have on patients. ONA wholeheartedly rejects Doug Ford’s plan for corporations to profit from the health needs of our patients. To improve care and shorten wait times, we need to see St. Mary’s General Hospital invest in a staff retention and recruitment plan.” – Erin Ariss, RN, President of Ontario Nurses’ Association.

“Ontarians from every corner of this province stand united in the fight against Doug Ford’s health care privatization agenda, not just for health-care workers, but for the very soul of our health-care system. Our message is clear – Ontario public healthcare is not for sale.” – Naureen Rizvi, Unifor Ontario Regional Director.

“The profits of Doug Ford’s rich donors are not worth risking health care for all. Wait times will get longer because investor-led clinics will draw frontline staff away from public hospitals. Staffing shortages will get worse by handing healthcare delivery over to the kind of big care-cutting corporations that destroyed long-term care for seniors. And services will get cut for patients that can’t afford to pay extra fees. Taken together, Ford’s privatization plan is a disaster for healthcare in Ontario.” – Tyler Downey, Secretary-Treasurer, SEIU Healthcare.

“Hospital workers across Ontario are sending a strong message to their management and the government – we will not accept the privatization of hospital services. We will continue fighting to improve our public healthcare system, in solidarity with each other and our communities. Public funds should be used for our public system – not to enrich private corporations and their shareholders.” – Sharon Richer, Secretary-Treasurer, CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU/CUPE).

For more information, please contact:

Zaid Noorsumar, CUPE Communications, znoorsumar@cupe.ca  647-995-9859
Sheree Bond, ONA Communications, shereeb@ona.org
Kim Johnston, OPSEU/SEFPO Communications, opseucommunications@opseu.org, 416-550-4665
Hamid Osman, Unifor Communications, hamid.osman@unifor.org  647-448-2823
Corey Johnson, SEIU Healthcare Communications, c.johnson@seiuhealthcare.ca   416-529-8909

TORONTO – Unifor served the Detroit Three (D3) automakers, Ford, General Motors and Stellantis notice to bargain today on behalf of 18,000 members whose collective agreements are set to expire in September 2023.

“Unifor will open negotiations with the D3 at a critical time for the auto sector in Canada both in terms of the historic transition to electric vehicle manufacturing and the current economic challenges confronting workers,” said Lana Payne, Unifor National President. “Auto workers are in a position of strength heading in to this year’s Auto Talks. We’re ready to build on the gains we’ve made in the past, capitalize on the momentum of recent investments in the auto sector while taking the challenges faced by auto workers head-on.”

The union will open bargaining with D3 automakers August 10, 2023, in Toronto.

“We’ve been hard at work and prepared diligently for negotiations by surveying our membership, determining our priorities and setting our overall bargaining strategy,” said John D’Agnolo, Unifor Auto Council Chair and Ford Master Bargaining Chair. “At the heart of these preparations is a democratic process of direct consultations with union members who submit hundreds of proposals.”

Following consultations with Unifor members, the union adopted the following key priorities at its pre-bargaining Auto Council.

•    Pensions
•    Wage package
•    Transition issues related to the shift to electric vehicle manufacturing (e.g. retooling period)
•    Confirmation of investment and product commitments, including specific product allocations and timelines.

The union’s plans for D3 negotiations centre on members’ needs and securing their role in the EV transition. The theme echoes the union’s auto policy, ‘Navigating the Road Ahead,’ containing 29 key policy recommendations for governments and automakers.

“It’s vital that we not only secure clear product commitments for our auto plants but also all of the income security measures needed to protect union members throughout the EV transition and the retooling process,” said James Stewart, Stellantis Master Bargaining Chair.

The union will also seek to address concerns with future transition plans for internal combustion engine (ICE) powertrain facilities. “Unifor members are the ones who made the EV transition possible by building highly profitable ICE vehicles. Our goal is to ensure union members are rewarded with a secure future and a clear transition plan that includes them,” said Jason Gale, GM Master Bargaining Chair.

“When Unifor goes to the table with the D3, we will have our most valuable asset at our back: 18,000 highly skilled and dedicated workers,” said Payne. “Canada’s autoworkers are ready and determined to reach a fair and inclusive contract that clearly defines their long-term future,” said Payne.

For more information visit autotalks.ca.