On May 1 each year, Unifor marks International Workers’ Day, May Day, to celebrate worker solidarity and the labour movement. International solidarity has achieved so much for workers’ rights, and must continue to form the foundation of the ongoing struggle against obscene greed and capital worldwide.

Across Canada and around the world, including Brazil, Taiwan, and India, workers have been mobilizing against U.S. President Donald Trump’s unjust tariffs that have threatened jobs and entire sectors of the economy, from auto, forestry, steel, aluminum and more.

In Canada, Unifor members have been organizing under the banner of the Protect Canadian Jobs campaign, with rallies in Vancouver, Windsor and Brampton, lobbying meetings with MPs in Ottawa, and actions on the ground, such as supporting locked out members at Titan Tool & Die in Windsor, who have fought for over 250 days to resist the movement of their jobs to the U.S.

Trump’s foreign policy is based on military aggression and violations of international law. Actions against Venezuela, Cuba and Iran have increased global political and economic instability, humanitarian emergencies, and threats to the lives and livelihoods of workers and communities. These attacks have also exacerbated the affordability crisis with higher prices on fuel, food and other basic necessities.

This approach has little to do with supporting democracy and human rights, but rather it is a deliberate strategy to assert U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere and threaten the sovereignty of nations—including Canada’s. Unifor joins the international labour movement to call for an end to hostilities, the protection of civilian lives, and the safeguarding of human rights.

Despite these challenges, workers and unions continue to organize in solidarity against regressive government policies and powerful corporate giants. In B.C., Unifor won a significant victory for Amazon warehouse workers, recovering over one million dollars in back wages owed to unionized workers.

In Quebec, workers’ economic and social rights have been under sustained attack, with the CAQ government pushing anti-union policies while the social safety net is deliberately eroded. Unions, community groups and civil society are the bulwark against this erosion—which is precisely why the CAQ is working to weaken them. On May 2, Unifor members will join workers, retirees, students, and community organizations in Montreal for an International Workers’ Day march under the theme Droits piétinés, faut resister—”trampled rights, we must resist”.

Nationally, the union has been mobilizing to strengthen Canada’s public health care system and provide greater support for health care workers. Unifor has also stood in solidarity with Air Canada flight attendants, who were fighting to put an end to unpaid work time as well as the federal government’s attack on collective bargaining rights.

South of the border, U.S. labour unions and workers are mobilizing against immigration raids and state-sponsored attacks on migrant workers and migrant worker communities.

Unifor continues to build worker solidarity internationally through the Social Justice Fund, supporting global workers’ movements, including domestic workers through the International Domestic Workers Federation, garment workers across south and southeast Asia through the Asia Floor Wage Alliance, or public transit workers in Chile, with the Santiago Metro Trade Union Federation. Creating and strengthening relationships with international labour unions and workers is needed now more than ever, in this increasingly divided and fractured world.

On May 5, Unifor members across the country mark Red Dress Day to honour the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2-Spirit people (MMIWG2S) whose lives have been taken or disrupted by violence, and to stand with the families still searching for answers.

This year, Unifor is putting its support behind a clear policy priority: a dedicated alert system for missing Indigenous women, girls, and 2-Spirit people.

The “Amber Alert” system is well-known to Canadians. When a child goes missing, the alerts cuts through the noise of daily life with phones notifications, highway signs notices, and broadcast announcements on TV and radio.

Indigenous women and girls deserve that same urgency. Historically, police in many regions have been slow to respond and communities left to organize their own searches. The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls called out this pattern as an example of systemic racism that perpetuates the disproportionate victimization of MMIWG2S in Canada.

A dedicated alert system won’t fix that on its own, but it would mark a public commitment to rapid action when an Indigenous woman, girl, or 2-Spirit person goes missing.

Unifor supports the call for a fully funded, nationally coordinated alert system, built in partnership with Indigenous families, communities, and leadership. The people closest to this crisis must shape the tool meant to address it.

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May 5, 2026 Red Dress Events

A PSW registry has opened in Ontario. 

While there have been previous attempts to register PSWs practising in the province, this is the first time the government has used legislation to set the regulatory framework of the designating body.

The group responsible for the registry is the Health and Supportive Care Providers Oversight Authority (HSCPOA). 

HSCPOA was tasked with:

• Creating a searchable database of registered PSWs in the province;
• Setting registration requirements;
• Establishing the code of ethics that registrants must follow to remain in good standing, and
• Setting out a disciplinary process to be followed if the code is violated.

To date, registration is voluntary, and many employers, such as hospitals, retain the discretion to decide whether to require PSWs to register.

Unifor is concerned about HSCPOA. 

1. Registration requirements

Our primary concerns centre on the registration requirements for long-service PSWs. A temporary pathway to registration is available to PSWs who completed their education before July 1, 2014, or who have not completed formal education but have substantial work experience in the field.

This ‘grand-parented’ pathway is open until December 1, 2027. Once closed, PSWs will need to return to school and complete an approved program to register under one of the remaining pathways.

We encourage all PSWs to visit the HSCPOA website to learn more.

2. Free, for now

While registration and the annual renewal process is currently free, the union is concerned that PSWs will be required to pay in the near future. 

3. Disciplinary process lacks PSW representation and is unclear

Currently, there are no PSWs on the disciplinary panel to adjudicate disputes and it’s not known which measures would be taken if discipline were imposed. For this reason, Unifor holds that the current disciplinary process outlined in the legislation is disturbing.

Why are ‘grand-parented’ pathways important for PSWs?

The “grand-parented” pathway is particularly important for PSWs working in long-term care facilities following a series of amendments to the Fixing Long-Term Care Act that have imposed stricter requirements on home operators.

The Act states that to be a qualified PSW, a person must have acquired their formal qualifications in Ontario on or after July 1, 2014 (or an out-of-province equivalent).

If not, PSWs who would need to be ‘grand-parented’. Meaning that those who obtained their qualifications before July 1, 2014 or have no formal education but substantial experience in the field, must register with HSCPOA before December 1, 2027, or they cannot work as a PSW in a long-term care home. 

Some long-term care employers have made registration before the deadlines specified in the Act mandatory, requiring PSWs to register to remain employed at the home.

Let us know if your workplace mandates you to join the registry.

If your employer has provided notice that it will require PSWs to register, please contact your National Representative for guidance on the next steps.

In the meantime, Unifor will continue to advocate for changes to the current registry and will keep you up to date on any important developments.