Statement for World Day for Decent Work

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a globe in the centre of different coloured fists in the air. text reads, Our future is worth the fight
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Every year, Unifor marks the World Day for Decent Work on October 7.

As a trade union, we believe that good jobs, fair wages, and improving the many conditions in which people go to work each day is the way to achieve a better world for everyone.

Amidst the challenges and difficulties of working and living through the ongoing pandemic, Unifor's young workers take this opportunity to remind all Unifor members that our collective future is worth the fight!

Even before the pandemic, the climate crisis was looming and income inequality had reached critical levels. The pandemic exposed our world’s biggest inequalities, and made everything so much more challenging for everyone, including young workers' and their prospects for the future.

This time last year, our union was calling to support essential rights for essential workers. Throughout the pandemic, many young workers got laid-off. Some did not get their jobs back. Many young workers were looking after their young children while schools were closed. Today, some are still worried about the risks of exposure to the virus in schools across the country. Young workers did their best - just like all workers - to navigate a crisis and to come out of it safely. Some did not.

Young workers today are seriously worried that the world they are inheriting from previous generations is in far worse shape than the one their parents lived through.

Through this pandemic, young workers have come to better understand that safe workplaces, barrier-free access to good, green jobs, and well-funded public services are essential to a better and brighter future.

Today, on the World Day for Decent Work, we face a choice: we can live to see the devastating impacts that will inevitably result from today's crises, or we can pick up the fight and build a better future.

This week, Unifor's young workers held a series of online events to gather, strategize, and commit to the long-term fight for a better world. Through virtual events and an email conference, they shared stories of activism, exchanged tools and best practices and were intentional about creating space in our union to foster hope.

They invited young artist Hana Shafi to design three images that represent the commitment of young workers to our collective future. Unifor members can download, print and share these images today.

Let’s not let our young workers hope and fight on their own. Today, and every day, let's remember that our future is worth the fight.