Latest News
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NUPGE supports locked out CUPW members"Our members across the country support postal workers in their efforts to bargain for a solid and profitable corporation, one that treats its workers with dignity and respect, to serve the best interests of Canadians for decades to come." - James Clancy, NUPGE national president. Ottawa (16 June 2011) - The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) calls on Canada Post and Harper government to honestly and fairly negotiate with Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW). NUPGE pledges its support and solidarity with the locked out CUPW members across the country. Read the full letter to Honourable Denis Lebel, MP, PC, the Minister responsible for Canada Post Corporation. Pictures of James Clancy, national president of NUPGE, and members walking the picket with striking CUPW members in Ottawa. NUPGE The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE |
June 16, 2011 |
Harper government provoking a confrontation with labour movement“We’re witnessing a concerted effort by the new Harper majority government to weaken the rights of workers and the influence of their unions.” Ottawa (16 June 2011) – The announcement by Lisa Raitt, federal Labour Minister, that the government will push through back-to-work legislation to end strikes at Air Canada and Canada Post is “a troubling sign the Harper government intends to spend the next four years trampling on the fundamental rights of workers”, according to the president of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE). “It’s unbelievable that a government which purports to be non-interventionist is so quick to interfere in a labour dispute,” said James Clancy, NUPGE national president. “They clearly have no respect for labour rights and don’t understand how collective bargaining works.” Clancy suggested there is an alternative motive behind the legislation. “This is a clear sign that Harper intends to replicate the mean-spirited and divisive politics of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker," said Clancy. "It’s a politically-driven agenda to support his corporate friends and it’s an ideologically-driven attack on workers’ rights and the union movement,” said Clancy. “Harper narrowly won a majority government and now we’re witnessing a concerted effort to weaken the rights of workers and the influence of their unions to bargain basic things like wages and good pensions.” “If they get away with this, I’m afraid we’ll see the assault on labour rights spread across the country like a grass fire,” said Clancy. “The labour movement must stand shoulder-to-shoulder across the country and fight against Harper’s ideological attacks,” said Clancy. “We must give meaning to labour’s old adage that ‘an injury to one is an injury to all.’ These legislative attacks don’t just impact postal and airline workers. A bad labour law, regardless of what workers and what jurisdiction it covers, has a negative impact on the entire labour movement.” Clancy also urged Canadians to think about the broader impact this attack has on society as a whole. “Unions have always fought to improve the quality of life for all families. A weaker labour movement will lead to more job insecurity, fewer rights and benefits and greater income inequality for all workers.” NUPGE The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE |
June 15, 2011 |
NUPGE supports striking CAW members at Air Canada"We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with CAW members and all Air Canada workers and urge you to show these workers the respect they deserve and negotiate a fair deal, including good pension benefits." - James Clancy, NUPGE national president. Ottawa (13 June 2011) - The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is pledging its support and solidarity for CAW members who work at Air Canada and are currently on strike across the country. Read the full letter to Air Canada. Pictures of James Clancy, national president of NUPGE, and members walking the picket with striking CAW members in Ottawa. Wisconsin student activist Peter Rickman, one of the founders of We Are Wisconsin, joined National President Clancy on the picket line. NUPGE The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE |
June 14, 2011 |
ITUC Survey: Repression of union rights and economic freedoms across the globeA survey across 143 countries find Colombia and the Americas the deadliest region. Brussels/Geneva (9 June 2011) - Colombia and the Americas lead in number of murders and the repression of workers in latest world Annual Survey of violation of trade union rights released by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). The Annual Survey, conducted across 143 countries and covering the year 2010, reveals: 90 murders of trade union activists (49 in Colombia alone) another 75 recorded death threats and at least 2,500 arrests at least 5,000 sackings of unionists because of union activities. "Around the world, workers, communities and populations are trying to claim basic rights to decent work and a decent life, and in many countries these people are being met with sackings, violence and in extreme cases murder by governments and by employers and businesses," said the General Secretary of the ITUC, Sharan Burrow. Trends include governments not enforcing labour laws, lack of funding for inspection or protection, lack of rights and abuse of migrant labour particularly in the Gulf States, and the exploitation of the mainly female workforces in export processing zones. Across the Middle East, the Survey shows governments trying to repress their people trying to better their lives through union representation and collective bargaining. In Egypt - sackings and reprisals by employers, police violence and numerous arrests as workers joined independent trade unions and took strike action. In Tunisia - rising tide of social protest linked to the fight for economic rights, and the government responding by meddling in the affairs of the trade union movement. In Bahrain - recurrent problem of unemployment and inequality and disappearances, arrests and violence directed at the independent trade unionists over the past months. Ms. Burrow also issued a warning to the global governing bodies and to the G20. "The world's unemployment queue is growing. Without proper jobs or hope for the future, governments risk increasing political instability. Union rights are fundamental to democracy, to economic growth and to a civilised future," Ms. Burrow said. To read the survey in full click here. The ITUC represents 175 million workers in 151 countries and territories and has 305 national affiliates. NUPGE The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE More information: ITUC survey |
June 8, 2011 |
Fraser decision denies agricultural workers access to meaningful collective bargaining“For the Court to suggest that a mere right to have bargaining proposals considered in good faith amounts to an extension of real and meaningful bargaining in the Canadian context is to ignore both labour history and collective bargaining reality.” Ottawa (7 June 2011) – As a result of the Supreme Court of Canada’s (SCC) recent decision on Fraser, agricultural workers unfortunately will not have access to meaningful collective bargaining, according to well-known labour lawyer, Steven Barrett, who represented the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) as an intervener before the Supreme Court. Barrett was speaking last week at The Labour Movement after Fraser seminar sponsored by the Canadian Foundation for Labour Rights (CFLR). The seminar, attended by some 30 prominent labour law academics, union-side labour lawyers and union leaders, was organized by CFLR to discuss the implications of the recent SCC Fraser decision on the Canadian labour movement. The SCC’s Fraser decision, which was released April 29, concerns the Agricultural Employees Protection Act (AEPA) which UFCW challenged as unconstitutional for its denial of collective bargaining rights to farm workers in Ontario. The SCC denied UFCW’s claim with the majority of justices ruling that the AEPA is constitutional by implying the legislation provided a duty to bargain. According to Barrett, for the Court to suggest that a mere right to have bargaining proposals considered in good faith amounts to an extension of real and meaningful bargaining in the Canadian context is to ignore both labour history and collective bargaining reality. “It may be that freedom of association does not, as the Court held, require for all times a particular model or process for collective bargaining. However, to exclude a group of vulnerable and marginalized workers from a uniform model of collective bargaining that has been enacted by legislatures across the country is to exclude them from the possibility of collective bargaining, as that term is understood by labour experts, neutrals, and lawyers from both the union and management bars.” Barrett pointed that the decision may reflect a reluctance by the Court to interpret and apply the freedom of association guarantee in a manner which requires legislatures to positively enact certain essential provisions of the Wagner Act or any labour relations model. However, according to Barrett, “the unions were not, as the majority suggested, arguing that this model is perfect, or constitutionally required for all time. What they argued was that the effect of denying agricultural workers – a particularly marginalized and vulnerable group – access to a statutory framework for collective bargaining available to virtually all other workers, and relegating them to an inferior and restrictive regime, means that agricultural workers have been denied any meaningful ability to engage in collective bargaining.” Barrett also added that the Court's reluctance to require positive legislative protection "should not extend to legislation which restricts or overrides free collective bargaining, as it did in B.C. Health Services – that is when there is not a claim to positive legislative protection, but to protection from legislative interference with free collective bargaining. “Given what is happening to public sector workers in the US (including Wisconsin), and the possibility of more conservative governments in Canada, freedom of association still extends a constitutional shield against legislation which attempts to prohibit or restrict workers – public sector or otherwise – from engaging in free collective bargaining.” Barrett’s analysis of the SCC Fraser decision covered several other major areas. A detailed summary of his presentation will be included in a report of the May 30 seminar which the CFLR will be publishing in the next several weeks. CFLR The Canadian Foundation for Labour Rights (CFLR) was established by the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE). CFLR is a national voice devoted to promoting labour rights as an important means to strengthening democracy, equality and economic prosperity here in Canada and internationally. The key objectives the Foundation has established for itself are to create greater public awareness and understanding of labour rights as a key critical component of human rights and build effective political momentum and public support for progressive labour law reform. CFLR NUPGE The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE More Information: Fraser decision “troubling” according to lead counsel for UFCWCFLR seminar on Fraser decision – agenda and speakers’ bios |
June 7, 2011 |
ITUC reports more teachers murdered in Colombia"The Colombian authorities must take every action necessary to end this constant violence against the trade union movement, as well as the impunity surrounding these crimes," said ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow. Brussels (8 June 2011) - The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has once again condemned and expressed its deep sorrow at the murders of two more Colombian teachers, Carlos Julio Gómez Freddy, on 26 May, and Antonio Cuadrado Núñez, on 29 May. Their killings add to the long list of trade unionists and teachers murdered this year. Carlos Julio Gómez, who taught at the General Santander school in Cali and was a member of the education workers' union SUTEV (Sindicato Único de Trabajadores de la Educación del Valle), was attacked by unknown assailants with firearms on the morning of 26 May. Gómez was seriously injured and taken to the Clínica Rey David hospital in Cali where he died on 29 May. Freddy Antonio Cuadrado Núñez, who taught at the Isaac J. Pereira school, was killed on Friday 27 May in Ciénaga, Magdalena. He was shot in the head by a hired gunman whilst celebrating his 46th birthday. In a letter to President Santos (click here for a copy), ITUC urged Colombian authorities to ensure that "all those responsible for these crimes be immediately found and punished with the full force of the law." "The Colombian authorities must take every action necessary to end this constant violence against the trade union movement, as well as the impunity surrounding these crimes," said ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow. The Colombian trade union confederation (CUT) has called for Colombia to be included in the list of 25 countries that most violate human and trade union rights given the persistent trade union rights violations in Colombia and the anti-union murders. This issue will be discussed within the Committee on the Application of Standards at the International Labour Conference in Geneva. The ITUC represents 175 million workers in 151 countries and territories and has 305 national affiliates. NUPGE The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE More information: The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) ITUC Youtube Channel |
June 6, 2011 |
Workers at All Care Home Support Ltd. choose NAPE"We are pleased to have been selected by the employees for All Care Home Support as their union." - Carol Furlong, NAPE president. St. John's (6 June 2011) — The Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees (NAPE/NUPGE) has been certified by the Labour Relations Board as the bargaining agent for 68 employees of All Care Home Support Ltd., which provides home care services in Trinity Bay and is headquartered in New Harbour. “NAPE is the only union in the province that represents workers in the home care industry. This is the twenty-first agency where employees have voted to join NAPE and this brings the total number of home care workers represented by NAPE to approximately three thousand,” stated NAPE President Carol Furlong. According to Furlong, “NAPE continues to organize home care agencies, while at the same time we strive to negotiate better wages and benefits for their employees. We are pleased to have been selected by the employees for All Care Home Support as their union. NAPE has notified the employer that we wish to commence collective bargaining immediately, with the aim of reaching a first collective agreement in the very near future.” NAPE/NUPGE represents the majority of home care workers in Newfoundland and Labrador and is aggressively continuing its attempts to organize the remaining home care agencies. NUPGE The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE |
June 5, 2011 |
Fraser decision “troubling” according to lead counsel for UFCW"The farm workers case unfortunately seems to have been lost in a larger political battle beyond their control.” Toronto (31 May 2011) – The conclusion of the majority of Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) justices on the Fraser decision is “troubling from a number of perspectives”, according to Paul Cavalluzzo, lead counsel for the United Food and Commercial Workers of Canada (UFCW) who argued the case before the Supreme Court. The SCC’s Fraser decision, which was released April 29, concerns the Agricultural Employees Protection Act (AEPA) which UFCW challenged as unconstitutional for its denial of collective bargaining rights to farm workers in Ontario. Cavalluzzo was speaking yesterday at The Labour Movement After Fraser seminar sponsored by the Canadian Foundation for Labour Rights (CFLR). The seminar, attended by some 30 prominent labour law academics, union-side labour lawyers and union leaders, was organized by CFLR to discuss the implications of the recent SCC Fraser decision on the Canadian labour movement. The SCC denied UFCW’s claim with the majority of justices ruling that the AEPA is constitutional by implying the legislation provided a duty to bargain. Cavalluzzo pointed out the SCC majority position was not even argued by the government of Ontario or any other party. “Indeed, the government argued against this position by submitting that the Charter could not impose a duty to bargain on agricultural employers because they are in the private sector. Up to and including the argument in the Supreme Court, all parties and the courts below operated on the understanding that the law did not impose a duty to bargain.” “The former Harris government never intended to confer collective bargaining rights on farm workers. Indeed, in introducing the legislation in the legislature the Minister of Agriculture stated that the AEPA did not confer collective bargaining rights on farm workers. All of the government written materials in support of the legislation said the same thing.” He also pointed out that both Justices Abella and Rothstein, in their separate opinions, held that the language in the Act could not be stretched to imply a duty to bargain when the law only imposes on the employer a duty to listen to employee representation if given orally or give a written acknowledgement that the employer received representations in writing. “In my view, Justices Abella and Rothstein are correct that the AEPA cannot be read to imply a duty to bargain,” noted Cavalluzzo. “As these two judges said, if the BC Health Services case is upheld, as it was by the majority, the inevitable result is that the AEPA is unconstitutional. It is for this reason that Justice Rothstein described the majority's conclusion as ‘entirely novel and unprecedented’." Cavalluzzo noted that while the majority's ruling noted the relevance of international law and the International Labour Organization (ILO) decisions in informing the interpretation of s. 2(d) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, they failed to refer to two ILO rulings concerning the AEPA in the record of evidence. “Both of these ILO decisions found the legislation violates Canada's obligations under international human rights law by failing to provide agricultural workers with collective bargaining rights." In concluding his remarks, Cavalluzzo noted that "the farm workers case unfortunately seems to have been lost in a larger political battle beyond their control.” “Big business and governments used the farm workers case to argue the BC Health Services case had gone too far in its protection of collective bargaining rights under s. 2(d) of the Charter. A reading of the judgments reflects this in that most of the judgments deal with whether BC Health Services should be overturned rather than to the extensive record before them which demonstrated the plight of farm workers as one of the most vulnerable groups of workers in Canada." Several other speakers presented both their analysis of the decision and its implications for the labour movement at yesterday’s seminar. Within the next several weeks CFLR will be publishing a report on the seminar. CFLR The Canadian Foundation for Labour Rights (CFLR) was established by the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE). CFLR is a national voice devoted to promoting labour rights as an important means to strengthening democracy, equality and economic prosperity here in Canada and internationally. The key objectives the Foundation has established for itself are to create greater public awareness and understanding of labour rights as a key critical component of human rights and build effective political momentum and public support for progressive labour law reform. CFLR NUPGE The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE More Information: CFLR seminar on Fraser decision – agenda and speakers’ biosSupreme Court of Canada turns its back on farm workersSupreme Court decision on rights of agricultural workers unworkable |
May 31, 2011 |
Judge strikes down Wisconsin’s anti-union lawLaw would have eliminated collective bargaining rights for most public sector employees. Wisconsin (26 May 2011) – A Wisconsin circuit judge today issued a permanent injunction against Republican State Governor Scott Walker's controversial anti-union bill which would have eliminated collective bargaining rights for most public sector employees. The law is effectively dead until the Wisconsin Supreme Court acts on it. In her decision, Dane County Judge Maryann Sumi said there was "clear and convincing evidence" that Republicans who control the legislature, violated the state's open meeting laws in their rush to pass the legislation, meaning the law is void. She added that her decision took into account "the potential damage to public trust and confidence in government" if lawmakers don't adhere to the state's transparency laws. The decision marks the latest event in the months-long battle over union rights in Wisconsin, pitting Walker and Republicans in the legislature against organized labour and Democrats. Walker originally signed his anti-union bill in March, amid protests by citizens and Democratic lawmakers alike. The law brought tens of thousands of protesters opposed to the legislation to Madison, the state capitol, for days on end in February and March. Almost immediately, the bill sparked legal challenges, including the one Judge Sumi ruled on today. Lawyers with the State’s Department of Justice had appealed Sumi's previous restraining order that has held up the changes from taking effect. They argued Sumi exceeded her authority in putting a temporary stop to the law in late March and are asking the high court to overturn her ruling. The State Supreme Court has scheduled arguments for June 6 to determine whether it will take up the case. NUPGE The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE More information: This is what democracy looks like - check out our photos from Wisconsin Wisconsin people not giving up despite sneaky move by Senators in dark of night President's Commentary: Lessons from Wisconsin |
May 26, 2011 |
ITUC report cites major restrictions of labour rights in CanadaIn the last 29 years, federal and provincial governments across the country have enacted 90 pieces of back-to-work legislation. Brussels, (26 May 2011) – A new report by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) on core labour standards in Canada, published to coincide with the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) review of its trade policies, finds some significant workers’ rights restrictions. Despite the fact that federal and provincial labour laws grant workers in both public and private sectors the right to join and form trade unions, the ITUC report notes that many restrictions of trade union rights exist due to the restrictive labour laws in force in several Canadian provinces. Furthermore federal and provincial governments frequently use back-to-work legislation to unilaterally end strikes by their employees. Research compiled by the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) as part of its ongoing Labour Rights are Human Rights campaign shows that in the last 29 years, the federal government alone passed 14 pieces of back-to-work legislation. Provincial governments across the country have enacted 76 pieces of back-to-work legislation. Most of this legislation (51 of the 90 pieces of legislation) not only forced workers back to work after taking strike action, but also arbitrarily imposed settlements on the striking workers. The ITUC report also finds that, although the laws of Canada prohibit discrimination, women still face a considerable pay gap and the labour market is segregated on gender lines. Canada has only ratified five of the eight ILO international core labour standards which are recognized as being fundamental to the rights of human beings at work. all eight core ILO Conventions have been ratified by the overwhelming majority of ILO member States. Unfortunately, Canada is one of only 56 countries in the world that have not ratified all eight. ITUC represents 175 million workers in 151 countries and territories and has 305 national affiliates. NUPGE The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE More information: Read the full ITUC reportCampaign to have Canada ratify all ILO core ConventionsRestrictive labour laws passed in Canada NUPGE on Labour Rights |
May 26, 2011 |
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