WINNIPEG—While full-scale privatization of Manitoba Hydro was not part of former Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall’s new report, it does suggest incremental privatization, says Unifor.
“We can’t trust Brad Wall to advise anybody but Brad Wall,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “As premier he never acted in the best interests of working people. Nothing has changed.”
EDMONTON—For Albertan families struggling under a pandemic and a slumping economy, the budget cuts introduced today will only make matters worse, says Unifor.
“Jason Kenney doesn’t get it: Albertans don’t need an experiment in austerity. They need good jobs and high-quality public services to weather these challenging times,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President.
Long-term care staffing in Ontario remain far below pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. The gravity of the staffing shortage requires a substantive and comprehensive recruitment, training and retention workforce strategy, say health care unions representing approximately 70,000 Personal Support Workers (PSWs).
Unifor is calling on the federal government to prioritize improvements to income security, pandemic supports, industrial strategy, critical infrastructure, and public services in the union’s federal budget recommendations, with the goal to #BuildBackBetter from COVID-19.
Unifor urges immediate action from the federal government to protect jobs in Canada’s aerospace industry as De Havilland Canada announces it will leave the current Downsview production facility and suspend production of the Dash 8.
TORONTO—Pilots represented by Unifor Local 7378 have ratified a new four -year agreement with Sunwing Airlines.
“In the most unprecedented of times while the entire aviation industry in Canada has been shuttered, our pilots came together and this agreement provides a road forward and a plan for all of our members who are suffering financially,” said Barret Armann, President of Unifor Local 7378.
WINDSOR—Unifor is outraged after the Ministry of Labour confirms that non-medical AIRE masks given to workers at Fairfield Park are not the same ones the employer claimed were verified Level 1 medical masks, after a field visit on February 8, 2021.
EDMONTON–Premier Jason Kenney’s recognition of frontline COVID heroes is too little, too late says Unifor, after the Alberta government announced it’s giving danger pay to essential workers, 11 months into the pandemic.
As details continue to emerge about the cuts announced by CTV Bell Media last week, it is becoming increasingly clear that we are witnessing a severe reduction in the news media that Canadians rely on every day, by a company still making good profits.
Sarnia Public Library and Art Gallery workers face increasing uncertainty after Lambton County set a midnight bargaining deadline for Wednesday February 10, 2021.
TORONTO – Unifor is calling for enhanced safety precautions for school bus drivers as schools reopen across Ontario in the midst of a second wave of the pandemic that is still not under control and as more infectious new variants take hold.
“Keeping school bus drivers safe means keeping students safe. They are all crammed into the same confined space for the ride to school,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias.
Unifor is condemning a round of cuts being made to CTV newsrooms across much of Bell Media this week, saying the layoffs will cost the network many valued media workers just when their communities need them most.
VANCOUVER—Significant Labour Relations Code and Employment Standard changes are needed to reduce income inequality, according to the final report issued by the British Columbia Basic Income Panel.
“If you’re working, forming a union is one of the best anti-poverty strategies there is,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “The protections offered by a union go well beyond bargaining leverage for wages and benefits. Being a part of a union means your voice matters at work.”
In light of further travel restriction measures by the Canadian government, Unifor calls on the federal government to provide immediate financial support to the industry to prevent its total collapse.
Ottawa – The Canadian Air Traffic Control Association (CATCA), the union representing all air traffic controllers in the country, today will raise serious public safety concerns at the House of Commons Transport Committee about anticipated air traffic control tower closures and service reductions as a result of an ongoing NAV Canada review.
Unifor is reiterating demands that Premier Ford protect frontline workers, as a new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) shows Ontario leading in unallocated pandemic relief funds and lagging in provincial share of COVID-19 spending.
TORONTO—Today, Unifor’s Aerospace Industry Council released a new policy paper urging the federal government to immediately implement a substantial recovery plan for the sector in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic’s devastating economic effects.
Flights and passenger traffic have already dropped by 90% from pre-pandemic levels
Government should consider science and data and consult with industry and unions before further action to avoid unintended consequences
January 22, 2021/OTTAWA – Canada’s largest airline industry association and the unions representing more than 325,000 Canadian workers today urged the federal government to consult with them before it enacts new measures to reduce travel.
St. John’s – The Newfoundland and Labrador PC Party says the province needs more full time jobs, but their payroll tax cut plan will do more harm than good says Unifor.
TORONTO – Porter Airlines is using the pandemic as an excuse to stop paying workers using the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and terminating health care coverage for its furloughed workers.
Members of Unifor Local 88 who work at the CAMI Assembly Plant in Ingersoll, Ontario have voted to ratify a new agreement with General Motors that brings $1 billion in investments to begin large scale production of electric commercial delivery vans.
January 15, 2021 INGERSOLL—Unifor Local 88’s bargaining committee, representing 1,900 workers at the CAMI Assembly Plant in Ingersoll, Ontario has reached a tentative agreement with General Motors today. “This tentative deal delivers significant investment, new products, new jobs, and job security, achieving our union’s key bargaining priorities during these challenging times,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. General Motors has agreed to invest $1 billion dollars to begin large-scale commercial production of EV600, an all electric van, starting next year.
St. John’s – As Newfoundland and Labrador begins a provincial election, workers in the province will look to parties for policies that ensure good jobs for all, and supports key industries.
TORONTO – Air Canada's decision to suspend Jazz flights to Yellowknife, Kamloops, Gander and Goose Bay regional airports is one more blow to remote communities already suffering from the current crisis in the airlines industry.
Unifor believes the recently announced workforce reductions at Air Canada could have been lessened if the federal government had developed a plan to support Canada's aviation industry.
