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From the free trade deal with Europe, to workers’ rights to pre-budget planning, Unifor has put itself at the table advising government on the best way forward.
“It is important the Unifor be out front, letting government know the priorities of ordinary Canadians,” Jerry Dias said of the recent flurry of submissions the union has made to government committees.
In one week alone earlier this month:
- Dias spoke to the Standing Committee on International Trade (CIIT) on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Europe,
- Health, Safety and Environment director Sari Sairanen and Unifor Atlantic Regional Director Lana Payne spoke to the Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA) committee on Bill C4
- Economist Jim Stanford and assistant to the president Dave Moffatt spoke in pre-budget consultations with the federal Standing Committee on Finance.
In all the presentations, the overall message was the same: the actions of the federal government must be in the direct best interests of ordinary Canadians.
“What about the rights of workers to decent jobs? What about the rights of citizens to democratic decision-making?” Dias asked at the CIIT hearings, where he raised concerns about the rights of companies to sue if governments pass laws that hurt their profits.
Dias also told the committee that CETA could worsen Canada’s trade imbalance with Europe and called for the full text of the deal to be released.
At HUMA, Sairanen and Payne said C4’s provisions to weaken the rights of workers to report unsafe working conditions will put more people at risk, and called for such laws to be strengthened, not watered down.
Stanford and Moffat, meanwhile, said the federal government’s next budget should focus on job creation, and offered several suggestions for doing that.
Since its founding on Labour Day weekend, Unifor has made submissions to government on a number of issues, including minimum wages local programming.
To see Unifor’s submissions, go to http://www.unifor.org/en/whats-new/briefs-statements/briefs-submissions
