Ontario's auditor general Special Report on Pandemic Readiness and Response in Long-Term Care says due to years of governments neglecting systemic concerns, the government was not prepared or equipped to handle the issues created by the pandemic.
Ontario conservative’s weak proposal for an expanded Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) does not meet the need for paid sick days amid mass death and continued COVID-19 spike, Unifor says.
Unions representing 175,000 workers serving on the frontlines of this pandemic re-iterate demand that the Ford government support workers
TORONTO, ON – Today, SEIU Healthcare, Unifor, and CUPE, unions representing 175,000 healthcare workers across Ontario, are concerned that the Ford government in Ontario has introduced a Bill to regulate personal support workers (PSWs) without also providing the urgent supports they need right now as they continue to fight the pandemic.
As Unifor prepares to mark the National Day of Mourning on April 28, the union is calling for immediate government action to provide pandemic protection for workers.
TORONTO – Unifor calls on Premier Doug Ford to exempt ORNGE paramedics from Bill 124, including the law’s wage restraint provisions, to avoid a possible strike and allow them to bargain fairly. "The road to avoiding a strike vote is respecting paramedics and resolving this issue starts and ends with Doug Ford," said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President.
WINNIPEG—Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister’s refusal to ensure workers can get vaccinated at no cost to them is callous and endangers the province’s most vulnerable, says Unifor.
“It makes no sense for Brian Pallister to drag his feet on vaccinating Manitobans,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Paid vaccination leave should be considered the bare minimum and Brian Pallister won’t even do that.”
Unifor continues to demand the immediate introduction of permanent, employer-paid sick leave as Premier Doug Ford delays action, shifts the blame and abandons essential workers, as ICU’s fill to capacity.
PRINCE GEORGE-Two of the country’s largest pulp and paper unions, Unifor and the Public and Private Workers of Canada (PPWC), have agreed to continue to work together in the next round of pulp and paper bargaining for members across Western Canada.
“There is strength in unity, and with both of our caucus’s working jointly we will be ready to look after the best interests of our members,” said Gary Fiege, PPWC President.
The province’s scramble to introduce paid sick days must meet the needs of workers with permanent, adequate and universal paid leave says Canada’s largest private sector union.
TORONTO - Unifor is demanding pandemic pay and priority vaccine access for workers at grocery stores and warehouses, as COVID-19 case numbers skyrocket and cases of the more contagious variants of concern increase.
CHETWYND—Multinational energy company CNRL is trying to bully its way into concluding a legal strike by Unifor Local 449, says Unifor.
“The energy workers in Chetwynd deserve the wage and benefits pattern that has been bargained industry-wide,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “CNRL must pay its fair share.”
VANCOUVER—The continued resistance by the Horgan government to legislate paid sick days represents a serious gap in the province’s strategy to stop the spread of the coronavirus, says Unifor.
“The B.C. government must pull out all the stops to protect public health. Employer-paid sick days is a key policy tool to let workers stay home if they’re sick,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “We need bold leadership in Victoria who is willing to stand up to a handful of business lobbyists in the name of public health.”
VANCOUVER—Unifor’s campaign for paid time off for workers to get vaccinated has succeeded with an announcement today by the Horgan government that employers shall grant three hours of work time for vaccination appointments.
April 18, 2020 TORONTO–Unifor National President Jerry Dias is available to comment on the federal budget, to be delivered on April 19, 2021. “This federal budget comes during a time of crisis, it needs to include both immediate health and economic measures to address COVID-19, but it also must look to the future. This budget is an opportunity to fix the systemic issues that this pandemic has laid bare, so we can build back a stronger economy that delivers decent paying full-time jobs and a stronger social safety net,” said Dias.
TORONTO - Unifor urges the Ontario provincial government to legislate paid sick days and fast-track vaccination for all workers deemed essential under new third-wave province-wide restrictions.
April 15, 2020 TORONTO–Unifor will hold a news conference to reveal the results of a new poll on support for Ontario to mandate paid sick days for workers. “This poll clearly shows that the people of Ontario want and need paid sick days,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. “The time has come for Premier Ford to admit the error of taking away paid sick days from workers and to recognize that his government is out of excuses to continue to deny workers this right.
TORONTO—As the State of Michigan and Enbridge Inc. enter mediation about the Line 5 pipeline, Unifor argues that the pipeline is a safe and stable source of good jobs in Ontario and Québec.
Essential workers are speaking out on the need for vaccination access and paid sick days to protect them from COVID-19, in a series of new videos of frontline Unifor members.
New amendments to the already draconian Bill 254 place extreme restrictions on unions and advocacy groups, aiming to silence dissent in the year before a critical election.
TORONTO—New federal measures aimed at bolstering Air Canada will help protect good jobs and is an important step on the road to economic recovery, says Unifor.
April 12, 2021 THUNDER BAY–Unifor Local 39-11 Superior North Emergency Medical Services paramedics have voted 97.5% in favour to ratify a new collective agreement with the City of Thunder Bay. “Narrowing the compensation gap between paramedics and other city emergency responders is an important gain in this new contract,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias.
April 10, 2021 THUNDER BAY–Unifor Local 39-11 Superior North Emergency Medical Services paramedics and the City of Thunder Bay have reached a tentative collective agreement, avoiding strike action. “These members have been on the frontline since day one of this pandemic and their skillset, education, and training are second to none in terms of first responders,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias.
April 10, 202 THUNDER BAY–Unifor is calling on the City of Thunder Bay to break the impasse in contract negotiations to avoid a paramedic strike just hours away at midnight. “Our bargaining committee believes that an agreement is within reach but city negotiators are refusing to drop a demand for frontline paramedics to cover supervisor managerial work, taking them away from patient duties and leaving citizens vulnerable with fewer available ambulances,” said Rob Moquin, Unit Chair for Unifor Local 39-11 City Paramedics.
TORONTO—Unifor is calling on the federal government to provide amnesty in next week’s budget to low-wage workers facing a major tax hit on Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) payments during a tax season that coincides with the financial fallout of wave three of COVID-19.
TORONTO – Premier Doug Ford’s announcement of yet another provincial State of Emergency lacks the commitment to mass vaccinations and paid sick days that are required to stop the spread of COVID-19.
WINNIPEG—Tax cut gimmicks and a manufactured crisis in education will not protect Manitobans and build the economy, says Unifor.
“It is a dangerous move to reduce the government’s fiscal capacity when it has so much important and life-saving work to do,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President. “Manitobans need strong public services and Crown corporations, not an experiment in conservative ideology.”
REGINA—If Saskatchewan’s families were looking for leadership in the latest provincial budget, they will be sorely disappointed, says Unifor.
“The Scott Moe government seems content to coast along while families are struggling,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President.
Unifor has been calling for the provincial government to help the province’s most vulnerable with a boost to the minimum wage and employer-paid sick leave but those calls were unanswered in today’s budget.
VANCOUVER—The B.C. government needs to stand up to a handful of business lobbyists and implement paid vaccination leave and paid sick leave, said Unifor.
“As it stands, workers are paying to take time off work to be vaccinated,” said Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor Western Regional Director. “Workers don’t need the bare minimum to defeat COVID-19, they need every possible opportunity to be vaccinated without financial penalty.”
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