In August, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) released their report “A Rising Tide to Lift All Boats”, making several recommendations to improve existing employment legislation in Nova Scotia. This 2019 report is a follow-up to the 2012 CCPA report, and provides and updated and in-depth critique of the laws currently governing employment relationships Continue readingNova Scotia’s workers are falling behind
Nova Scotia
If you were to believe Jerry Dias, president of Unifor Canada, you’d conclude the Northern Pulp issue is easily resolved. 350 direct jobs will be lost if the Northern Pulp plant in Pictou County closes, and 2,700 full time spinoff jobs will also be gone. That was the message Dias delivered at a press conference Continue readingNorthern Pulp and Unifor
Some 60 protesters came out the afternoon of July 24 to picket the two entrances to Halifax’s historic Citadel Hill, the location of a fundraiser for the provincial Liberal party. Fight for 15 activists reminded fundraiser attendants and tourists alike that poverty in Nova Scotia is rampant, and that our minimum wage is one of Continue readingFight for $15 pickets Nova Scotia Liberals’ fundraiser
Poor working conditions? Your rights violated at work? A new organization in Halifax offers support if you have nowhere to go By Robert Devet People who get paid the least and work in the most unstable jobs are often the people most vulnerable to abuse by their bosses. And without a union or money to Continue readingHalifax has a Workers Action Centre!
By Robert Devet KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – All is not well in the Early Learning and Child Care sector in Nova Scotia, responses to an on-line survey of employers and employees clearly show. Inadequate wages, unhappy workers and a lack of cohesion across regions and service types are the main issues identified by Early Childhood Educators Continue readingUnappreciated and underpaid: Early Childcare Educators neglected at our peril, report suggests
Children at risk as Nova Scotia’s child welfare system is on the brink, union and social workers say
By Robert Devet Child welfare services in Nova Scotia are underfunded to such an extent that Nova Scotia’s most vulnerable families are suffering. That was the urgent message delivered in unison by Jason Maclean, president of the Nova Scotia Government & General Employees Union (NSGEU) and Alec Stratford, executive director of the Nova Scotia College Continue readingChildren at risk as Nova Scotia’s child welfare system is on the brink, union and social workers say
Rank & File Radio – Prairie Edition on CKUW 95.90 FM provides Canadian labour news and analysis across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. This show is an independent partner with RankandFile.ca and supported by listeners like you through Patreon, and UFCW Local 832. This episode is broadcasting from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Treaty 1 territory, the original lands Continue readingCharles Smith & Suzanne MacNeil on the right to strike, civil disobedience & solidarity pickets
By Kendall Worth People on welfare and people who live with mental health issues both face a lot of stigma. Recently I met a young woman who has to deal with both kinds of stigma. She asked that we don’t name her. She comes from a family who are strong believers of the ignorant ideas Continue readingDouble stigma, when you’re poor and have mental health concerns
On Labour Day, we the prisoners of Burnside call upon the union workers of this province to stand in solidarity with us in our mutual push to receive basic necessities that we feel should be provided without request. Currently, men are being placed in this facility daily, some of us for things as minor as Continue readingLabour Day statement by the prisoners of Burnside
By Solidarity Halifax Northern Pulp Nova Scotia Corporation, a subsidiary of Paper Excellence, owns a pulp mill at Abercrombie Point and an effluent treatment facility in Boat Harbour – both near New Glasgow, Nova Scotia – in the Epekwitk Aqq Piktuk district of Mi’kma’ki. The mill and treatment facility have been sites of struggle for Continue readingNova Scotia: No pipe, no pandering, the enemy is the 1%
By Danny Cavanagh, President, Nova Scotia Federation of Labour When I read this headline this morning, I felt that maybe there has been some movement towards justice for needless workplace deaths. For the majority of my worklife, I have been fighting for workplace health and safety. I have attended countless Day of Mourning ceremonies and Continue readingIrving fined for 2016 sawmill death
By Robert Devet KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – Employees of the Community Justice Society (CJS) have been on strike since July 30, looking for something closer to equity with government probation workers, whose jobs are very similar. However, the workers have no quarrel with their employer. They are looking at the provincial government to offer a solution. CJS administers the Continue readingJustice for justice workers: ‘Many of us have stuck around because the work is so powerful’