On December 10 members across Alberta wore Unifor gear to show off solidarity in the face of provincial attacks on their rights at work.
“Unifor activists are thinking of creative ways to show resistance and overcome the challenges to mobilization posed by COVID-19,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “We will not be silent while Jason Kenney attempts to roll back our most fundamental rights at work.”
On top of coping with the pandemic and keeping their families safe, Unifor members in Alberta have been dealing with of one of the most anti-union provincial governments in the country. Premier Jason Kenney laid off over 20,000 education staff earlier this spring and has introduced three pieces of legislation aimed at undermining union free speech and workplace power: Bill 1 was adopted, Bill 32 was adopted with regulations pending, and Bill 47 is still before the legislature.
“Jason Kenney’s jobs plan has failed miserably and he’s looking for any distraction he can find,” said Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor Western Regional Director. “Rather than focus on a growing crisis in Alberta and his role in making matters worse, he is waging a war on workers’ power to appease wealthy UPC party donors.”
Over the past five weeks Unifor has been building the fightback with membership calls and a series of factsheets about the wide-ranging impacts of Bill 47, the re-write of Alberta’s health and safety laws.
This week’s factsheet deals with the bill’s changes to safety training and the removal of key responsibilities from supervisors.