VANCOUVER—Unifor locals from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia have marked International Workers’ Day by making donations to local food banks across Western Canada.
ST. CATHARINES—Members of Unifor Local 1999 working at Mr. Furnace have been served notice that they could be locked out of their jobs on Monday, in the midst of a public health and economic crisis.
“It’s a new low for labour relations to see an employer issue this notice during a pandemic,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “COVID-19 is already responsible for hundreds of thousands of layoffs. Locking out workers that still have their jobs is an especially heartless move right now.”
Pressure is growing for Premier Scott Moe to end the Co-op Refinery lockout with binding arbitration after the Regina City Council endorsed the idea today by a near unanimous vote of 9-1.
After Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) snubbed the premier’s mediators and unilaterally forced a final contract vote on refinery workers, Unifor Local 594 members have voted 89 per cent against the contract.
Unifor welcomes the Ontario government’s announcement today that it will expand access to emergency child care for essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
REGINA—Locked out members of Unifor Local 594 will hold a car rally at the legislature grounds on Wednesday to pressure the provincial government for a legislated solution to the 145-day lockout at the Co-op Refinery.
“By snubbing the report from the premier’s mediators, Co-op has demonstrated that it cannot be trusted to bargain nor end the lockout in good faith,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “We’re encouraging Premier Moe to show leadership and bring an end to this dispute.”
TORONTO-Sunwing becomes the third airline to apply for the Canada Emergency Wage Supplement (CEWS) in an effort to maintain as much of their workforce as possible.
"We're pleased to see more employers joining the effort to keep Canada's airlines working," said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. "Economic recovery is impossible without taking care of workers first."
TORONTO—Unifor is cautioning the Ontario government that it must consult with workers before proceeding with plans unveiled today in its framework for reopening the province’s economy.
Unifor is calling on the federal government to close a loophole in Bill C-14 that will allow unethical employers using scab labour to qualify for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS).
TORONTO – After weeks of campaigning for a pandemic premium pay for frontline health care workers, Unifor leadership and members received today’s news from Premier Ford of a $4.00 per hour premium with tearful relief. “For years, long before this pandemic, we have fought for the recognition and respect frontline workers deserve, particularly in the struggling long-term care and retirement home sector,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “The pandemic has brought much needed attention to sectors that were in crisis already.
Unifor’s National President is available to comment on the announcement today that Health Canada has contracted General Motors in Oshawa to begin manufacturing urgently needed masks for health care professionals and for Canadians.
Translink has moved ahead with issuing notice of hundreds of layoffs of front-line transit worker, potentially interfering in the ability of tens of thousands of essential service workers to get to their jobs, says Unifor.
VANCOUVER—Translink’s threats to cut to transit operator staffing levels, and therefore transit service, is an irresponsible move that would do more harm than good during the COVID-19 pandemic, says Unifor.
“Tens of thousands of essential services workers rely on transit to get to work,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Cutting transit service would make life even more difficult for working COVID-19 heroes, and ultimately the people they have been dutifully serving.”
A revised directive from the Ford government has employers forcing long-term care workers who have tested positive for COVID-19 but who aren’t yet showing symptoms to return to work, putting healthy workers and residents at great risk.
A coalition of unions representing more than 40,000 health care workers is launching a new campaign today, asking Nova Scotians to call on government to sign an important protocol to provide proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to our province’s frontline healthcare workers.
Unifor calls expanded access to the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) a positive step but says that additional support measures are needed for essential workers.
Unifor members at Sonoco paper mill in Quinte West, Ontario, have been told their mill will close in June of this year due to ‘market conditions’ despite the parent company making a massive $83 million investment in its South Carolina operation.
TORONTO —Unifor is calling on Chartwell Retirement Homes to immediately rescind the creation of a new job classification in their Long Term Care Homes that requires a minimum public school education to work in their facilities.
TORONTO —Unifor, working with a coalition of Ontario health care unions has succeeded in forcing the Ontario government to ensure health care workers within two meters of a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patient will have access to the appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). “We are only going to flatten the curve and beat the COVID-19 pandemic if health care workers are provided adequate safety tools needed to safely do their jobs,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President.
TORONTO—Unifor welcomes the federal government’s tentative approval of Canada Emergency Wage Supplement (CEWS) funds for Jazz Aviation to maintain its workforce levels during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Airline workers will be the backbone of the industry’s economic recovery in a post-pandemic world,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “It makes perfect sense to help cushion the impact of the temporary downturn with federal emergency funding.”
Unifor welcomes Air Canada’s announcement that it intends to use a new federal wage supplement plan to top up the pay of more than 3,000 Unifor members who were placed on Off Duty Status due to COVID-19.
Ford Motor Company of Canada, Ltd. has begun production of face shields at its Windsor Site operations to help protect Canadian medical personnel and first responders on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unifor calls on all long-term care employers to follow the lead of many essential industries, by providing a premium pay to workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Five unions representing health care workers providing care during the COVID-19 pandemic are calling on government and employers to sign onto a safety protocol that would ensure these frontline workers feel protected and supported during this unprecedented time.
Unifor is calling on London Health Science Centre (LHSC) to immediately provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to all health care workers, regardless of their occupation.
