Press Release Department: Non-Governmental - Canadian Labour Congress

Canada’s largest labour organization is marking Democracy Day with the launch of a campaign backing proportional representation. The campaign includes a 30-second long animated video being promoted online, online ads, and a petition hosted on ChoosePR.ca. CLC President Hassan Yussuff says, “Our electoral system is broken, and we know that proportional representation is the only way to make it fair.” He added “Canadians agree … Read more

The Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling in Wilson v. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) will deliver accountability and fairness to roughly 500,000 non-unionized federal employees, said the Canadian Labour Congress. The SCC upheld the interpretation that, under the Canada Labour Code, dismissing an employee without cause is unjust, and therefore not permitted. “This ruling … Read more

The Canadian Labour Congress is celebrating the announcement by the Finance Ministers that they have agreed to a modest universal expansion of the CPP. The CLC and its member unions have supported an expanded CPP for more than 50 years and have been actively campaigning on this issue since 2009. “Too many Canadians today are … Read more

Canadian unions are renewing their call for a comprehensive ban on asbestos, announcing today they will highlight the issue at events across the country on April 28, the National Day of Mourning for workers killed, injured or made ill on the job. “Asbestos is the leading cause of work-related death in Canada, and with imports … Read more

On the eve of the First Ministers meeting, the Canadian Labour Congress is proposing a plan that will help Canada reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by one third by creating over one million sustainable climate jobs, allowing workers to transition away from fossil fuels. The CLC – as part of the Green Economy Network – … Read more

Canadian Labout Congress president Hassan Yussuff said Canadian unions are uniting with business, faith and community groups to welcome and support the resettlement of the thousands of Syrian refugees due to start arriving in Canada shortly. “We welcomed the Canadian government’s commitment to welcome 25,000 Syrian refugees, and understand that we now have a responsibility to … Read more

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, Que.) addressed a national meeting of labour leaders from across the country in Ottawa on Tuesday morning, signaling the onset of a new era in relations between the labour movement and the federal government. “We were happy to welcome the Prime Minister to our meeting, and to hear him recommit to … Read more

The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision affirming the right to strike as essential to meaningful collective bargaining. “Today’s decision levels the playing field for workers by placing checks on the power of governments, as employers, to legislate unfair essential services arrangements that tip the scales in management’s favour,” said CLC president Hassan Yussuff. The … Read more

Long-time labour activist Hassan Husseini has launched a campaign to ” Take Back the CLC” in the first contested election for president of the Canadian Labour Congress since 2005. Over the next four weeks, Husseini will be travelling across the country to meet with workers and CLC convention delegates. For more information about Hassan Husseini and … Read more

Underemployment remains Canada’s biggest labour market challenge, said Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labour Congress.  Georgetti was responding to the release by Statistics Canada of its Labour Force Survey for March 2014. The official unemployment rate was 6.9% in March but the rate of underemployment rate was much higher at 15.1 per cent.  “There … Read more