Members of the Canadian Labour Congress recently attended the International Labour Conference in Geneva, Switzerland. Below is a report on that conference and other items of interest related to the Canadian Labour Congress and the International Labour Organization.

Updates: CLC & the International Labour Organization (ILO)

OTTAWA – The Canadian Labour Congress is asking Canadians to send 20 postcards in 20 days to the prime minister telling him to take action now to end violence against women.

“On December 6th it will be 20 years since 14 young women were murdered in Montreal simply because they were women,” says Barbara Byers, Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Ironically, as this anniversary approaches, our government is trying to eradicate the firearms registry, the one concrete measure taken to reduce gun violence against women.”

Byers says the CLC and its affiliate unions have distributed thousands of postcards and have asked people to return them to Prime Minister Stephen Harper between November 16th and December 6th. The cards urge him to keep the gun registry, and also contain messages asking that Canada improve the lives of women by: improving the funding of shelters for women and children; investing in new social housing; setting a national standard for welfare rates; providing equal pay for work of equal value; and improving services, including a nationally-funded child care program, better public pensions and access to Employment Insurance.

Byers says, “Rather than promoting women’s equality, the federal government is severely limiting women’s capacity to organize, advocate and lobby. They won’t support women’s equality in the workplace and have limited women’s rights to challenge discrimination before the courts. We will not accept an erosion of our hard-won equality rights and we will not be silenced by a socially conservative government agenda.”

The 20 Days 20 Ways postcards are available on the CLC website. The Canadian Labour Congress, the national voice of the labour movement, represents 3.2 million Canadian workers.

The Manitoba Federation of Labour Women’s Committee will be hosting a Day of Remembrance-Empowerment Fair on Friday, December 4th.  This Fair is in remembrance of all the women who have died by violence.  The evening will feature a memorial service, guest speakers and displays by various organizations who assist people affected by violence.

For more information, please contact the UWFA Office at 786-9430.

December 4th Day of Remembrance Poster

The annual Day of Mourning observances will be held at noon tomorrow at a ceremony organized by SAFE Workers of Tomorrow, a Winnipeg based organization that is dedicated to promoting workplace health and safety, particularly among young workers and high school students who are in, or about to enter the paid workforce.

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On Wednesday October 1, 2008, Brandon University issued a press release which put what BUFA considers to be a very unique spin on what has transpired at the negotiations table.

It is true that the Faculty Association did turn down an offer which included a reduction in workload for teaching faculty. However, what the press release did not say, was that offer was contingent upon BUFA accepting their salary offer of 2 ½%, 2% and 2% with no improvements for the pension plan. It was also contingent upon BUFA making significant language concessions.

We liken it to a situation where a parent says to a child, “You can have a cookie, but only if you never watch TV or surf the internet again. Texting’s out too.”

The Administration’s press release also lumps together normal steps through the salary scales (increments) with increases in the scale itself.

The Administration asserts that it did not remove 1.3 million dollars from its proposal. BUFA believes that it did.

BUFA believes that the Employer had allocated 2 million dollars to workload reduction. The Administration asked BUFA to priorize its demands and BUFA decided that the money would be better spent on salaries and pension improvements. It is BUFA’s position that the Administration’s next offer was short by $1.3 million. To this end, BUFA is consulting with our lawyers about launching an “unfair labour practice” action against the Employer with the Manitoba Labour Board.

The Administration is now publically saying that they wish to proceed to binding arbitration. We think that’s what they wanted all along. BUFA told the Employer during negotiations, before conciliation and mediation, that the Faculty Association had no intention of entering into binding arbitration. We believe that this is a procedure which favours the Employer. The Employer is well aware of this.BUFA believes that a collective agreement should be reached at the bargaining table, and to that end, we intend to do our best to force the Employer to come back to the table with a new proposal which could at least be a starting point for meaningful talks.

From the Manitoba Federation of Labour

“It looks increasingly like a present to big business at the expense of citizens and government’s ability to regulate.” - Michel Arsenault, QFL President

Quebec – Could the rates charged by childcare centers, by Manitoba Hydro or the benefits paid by Manitoba Public Insurance be deemed unfair competition and lead to penalties by virtue of the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) now being discussed by the Premiers?

This could very well be the case according to the presidents of provincial and territorial labour federations now assembled in Quebec City in parallel to the meeting of the Provincial Premiers who make up the Council of the Federation.  Quebec Federation of Labour President Michel Arsenault, speaking on behalf of his colleagues from the other provinces and territories said, “We observe a strong push by a powerful business lobby to deepen the AIT’s ambit and to institute a binding trade tribunal system that could impose fines on provinces. 

“Premiers would abdicate significant authority to private interests. The Quebec Model itself could be challenged by the backdoor.”

A powerful business lobby

In a recent letter to Quebec Premier Jean Charest, a powerful lobby of bankers, oil companies, chambers of commerce and manufacturers expressed satisfaction with the fact that  “(…) ministers (reached a consensus)on an enforcement mechanism to resolve disputes, including a tiered approach to monetary penalties in the event of non-compliance.”

Manitoba Federation of Labour President Darlene Dziewit said “Up to now, the AIT was a political agreement based on the consensus of the parties involved with no binding settlement mechanisms or penalties. The current negotiation would change that and open the door for corporations who might want to challenge a province or a municipality’s laws and regulations if they are deemed ‘barriers to trade’. This would import into Canadian domestic affairs the measures that now exist under NAFTA and the WTO.”

Real issues are not being addressed

Arsenault said, “It is sad that the Premiers are wasting their time providing problematic solutions to the non-existent problem of trade barriers in Canada. Claims that trade barriers are costing up to .1 % of GDP are not credible, have never been substantiated and are just an excuse to put constraints on governments’ ability to regulate. The fact of the matter is that trade among Canadian provinces vastly outweighs that with the United States.

“It seems to us that instead of putting forward erroneous solutions to non-existent problems, the Premiers ought to address the real issues such as the job crisis in manufacturing, high gas and heating oil prices, and the need to improve public transportation.” 

A culture of secrecy

The labour leaders condemned the veil of secrecy that shrouds the discussions around the AIT, discussions that could well subvert the principles of federalism and governments’ ability to regulate in the public interest. They call on all parties concerned for public consultations on this matter in every jurisdiction.

Peterborough, Ontario - On February 15th Professor Paula Sherman, a Trent University Faculty Association (TUFA) member, was charged with contempt of court, sentenced to six months in jail and fined $15,000 by Superior Court Justice, Douglas Cunningham. Her colleague, Robert Lovelace, a Queen’s Professor, was also jailed for six months and fined $25,000.

Fearing for the well-being of her children and grandchild, Sherman, a single mother negotiated
with the court to avoid a jail sentence. As part of the agreement, Professor Sherman is prohibited
from participating in, or advocating that others participate in, protests against uranium mining on native lands near Sharbot Lake, Ontario. She must also be active in persuading others to abide
by a court-ordered injunction halting the blockade protest that led to the arrests and convictions.

The protest and blockade began over concerns that the provincial government had failed to
provide adequate consultation with the aboriginal communities prior to the issuing of mining
exploration permits. Sherman and Lovelace argued that the right of aboriginal communities to this consultation has been upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada and that First Nations’ Law was
not respected in the court room. Speaking after the trial, Sherman, a respected academic and Co-
Chief of the Ardoch First Nation said: “No consideration was given to the circumstances that led
to our actions,” and that she and Lovelace were acting in compliance with Algonquin Law through
their actions against the uranium mining company.

The Union memberships has voiced concerns that a sentence which includes jail time for
Lovelace and a fine that imposes economic hardship upon Sherman sends a message that the
courts place the interests of large corporations above the rights and obligations of first nations
people to protect their traditional lands.

On Monday March 3rd, the TUFA executive board formally condemned the decision of the court
stating that the treatment of its member violates her right to public protest as a citizen and
obstructs her academic freedom which includes the right to criticize without threat of reprisal or
discrimination. On behalf of TUFA, the board has also made a $1000.00 contribution to the
defence fund that has been established to support Sherman.