by Anna Bianca Roach Foodora workers laid their bikes on the ground, stood two metres apart, and blocked Richmond Street traffic in front of the company’s office on Friday afternoon. The workers chanted and gave speeches protesting Foodora’s recent decision to withdraw from the Canadian market. Foodora couriers won the right to unionize roughly two Continue readingCouriers block traffic to protest Foodora’s withdrawal from Canada
Ontario
By Zaid Noorsumar The Ontario Health Coalition is holding an online Day of Action today, May 1, to demand the Ontario PC government and Premier Doug Ford fix long-term care. The hashtag #FixLTCFord is being used by the Coalition and its supporters on Twitter and other social media platforms. In addition to demanding the elimination Continue readingDemands grow louder in Ontario to end for-profit nursing homes
by Emily Leedham After two weeks of pressure from the Oshawa community, General Motors announced yesterday it would re-open a portion of the plant to manufacture one million masks per month for health care workers. Former Oshawa GM workers and health care workers held a joint-press conference on Thursday, April 9 demanding the Oshawa complex Continue reading“A great first step”: Workers respond to GM Oshawa plant conversion for PPE
by Emily Leedham To address the shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other medical equipment such as ventilators, workers are demanding former General Motors plant in Oshawa be converted to produce these supplies to support frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. “There’s a dire shortage of that equipment, it’s being rationed,” Michael Hurley, President Continue readingWorkers demand Oshawa GM plant converted to produce medical equipment
By Zaid Noorsumar On March 27, the Ontario government announced an emergency order making “sweeping changes” to staffing, training, and reporting requirements in the province’s long-term care homes. The order was issued in response to COVID-19’s disastrous impact in the sector. As of April 1, 29 deaths in Ontario nursing homes have been linked to Continue readingParty of Profits: Ontario Tories and the profit motive in long-term care
By Zaid Noorsumar Protective equipment shortages in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis are causing panic among home and community care workers and placing them on the verge of quitting, says an Ontario nurse who works in the sector. Janice Ackerman*, a registered practical nurse (RPN), says personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves, masks, Continue reading“We are dropping like flies,” says Ontario home care nurse
by Emily Leedham You can’t pay while staying six feet away. So cities across Canada are implementing free public transit and back door boarding to encourage social distancing and curb the spread of COVID-19. Free transit reduces operator interactions with riders entering and exiting the vehicle and limits operator exposure to infection. Free transit also Continue readingCities across Canada implement free transit to curb COVID-19
By Zaid Noorsumar Ontario’s home care workers are facing uncertainty due to the challenges posed by COVID-19 in a sector that is already under stress due to decades of privatization and underfunding. Workers across the sector who serve over 700,000 clients appear to be hampered by the shortage of personal protective equipment such as surgical Continue readingHome care workers face new health risks and financial hardships
Carolina Jimenez from the Decent Work & Health Network discusses the fight for paid sick days, while Marika Prokosh talks fighting Winnipeg’s austerity budget during a pandemic. We also look at attacks on public health sector across the prairies that has left our public health care providers under staffed and under resourced.Can we wrestle wins Continue readingHow do we organize during a pandemic?
Panel also criticized for having no union representation By Zaid Noorsumar The Ontario government’s recently constituted long-term care staffing advisory group includes the owner of a for-profit chain that donated $20,000 to health minister and deputy premier Christine Elliot’s campaign to lead the Ontario Progressive Conservatives in 2015. James Schlegel, the CEO of Schlegel Villages, Continue readingOntario PC donor and nursing home CEO appointed to Ford’s long-term care panel
by Zaid Noorsumar About 100 frontline health care workers at a nursing home in Ontario are being denied wage increases by the Ford government even though the employer wants to pay them more. Service International Employees Union (SEIU) reached an agreement last summer with Mariann Home, a non-profit long-term care facility located in Richmond Hill. Continue readingFord invokes wage-cap law for long-term care workers
by Kyle HoskinGarbageman, CUPE Local 1287 What a meeting! This past Friday in Niagara, the Ontario Federation of Labour met with the community and labour to discuss how we plan to rally against Doug Ford’s Regressive Conservatives convention on February 21-22 at the Scotiabank Centre in Niagara Falls. The room had 46 participants with a Continue readingNiagara prepares for Feb.22 Ontario PC convention