Machinists’ News

Fairness?  You Decide.

Back in the 1980s, Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney said it was all about “jobs, jobs, jobs”.  If we just provide the right kind of “climate” for business, they’d crank out so many good jobs that Canadian workers will be able to pick their job and name their price. So first we got the free trade deal with the U.S., then NAFTA, then tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy

International Women's Day 2011: A Call for Dignity in Retirement for Women

Women work hard. And at the end of a lifetime of hard work – paid and unpaid – women deserve to retire in dignity and security. Yet this is not the reality for many Canadian women. Women still earn less than men, and are expected to shoulder unpaid responsibilities at home. Many experience interruptions in their career because of childbearing and caregiving. Many women work in non-standard, poorly-paid jobs, which

How privatization gouges customers at Canada Post

Yes, Virginia, there is postal free enterprise. For Canadians using some franchised postal outlets, it’s appallingly free (and very expensive). Thanks to a very interesting e-mail making the rounds, Canadians are finding out about this price gouging. Most of us get the published Canada Post rates when we go to the Post Office for stamps. But how about those who use franchisees? Here’s one story worth repeating: A customer went

The Quiet Erosion of Canada's Regulation System

In Canada, regulations adopted by every level of government have historically helped to make this one of the safest, most desirable places to raise a family. But a slow, steady, and quiet erosion of regulations by our governments put Canadians’ health, safety and well-being increasingly at risk. This primer on regulation, by the CCPA’s Trish Hennessy, tells the story of Canada’s slippery slide into deregulation. It also provides resource information

ITUC supports UGTT and the Tunisian people in their fight against corruption and for democracy, calls for greater dialogue with all the peoples of the region

24 January, 2011 : The International Trade Union Confederation has reiterated its total support for its affiliated organisation in Tunisia, the UGTT, and the Tunisian people, which have been mobilising in massive numbers and with great courage, for over a month, in favour of equality, social justice, political freedom and democracy. It was the suicide, on 17 December 2010, of a young street vendor in Sidi Bouzid following the confiscation

Poster Contest - International Year of Youth

In honour of the “International Year of Youth,” identified by the United Nations General Assembly to be the year commencing International Youth Day 2010, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) launches a Poster Contest in the hopes of highlighting the struggles young workers face today. Grand Prize: $500.00Visit www.canadianlabour.ca for more information!Contest Closes: Monday, February 21, 2011Participants must reside in Canada and be under the age of thirty (30). DOWNLOAD THE

CPP and Flexible Retirement: Changes Coming

While the debate on future improvements to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) benefits continues, a number of smaller CPP changes, already agreed to by the federal and provincial governments, will be coming into effect in 2011 and over the next few years. The most significant changes involve the flexible retirement provisions of the CPP.    You can start to draw CPP retirement benefits any time between the ages of 60 and

Everybody out of the pool! PRPPs are Not the Answer

  You might have noticed a pension item in the news just before the holidays.  At a December meeting in Alberta, federal and provincial finance ministers decided not to move on improvements to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), but rather to proceed with some kind of private sector-based savings scheme – a Pooled Registered Pension Plan or PRPP. Federal finance minister Flaherty, who had been part of the broad consensus