This is an archive of news stories and research from the National Union of Public and General Employees. Please see our new site - https://nupge.ca - for the most current information.
"We can be very proud, all of us, for taking on this serious issue. We are not wrong. The democracy within the CLC is flawed. Our motion would have gone a very long way to correcting that. We will not abandon our efforts. With a new team at the helm of the CLC, we can foresee less obstructions in our path in the future." — Larry Brown, NUPGE President
Ottawa (18 June 2021) — The second day of the convention of the Canadian Labour Congress highlighted more important issues affecting workers. Focusing on economic and social issues, discussion turned to the importance of creating good jobs that will sustain families, communities and our country.
Constitutional resolution aimed at building fairness and transparency
NUPGE submitted a constitutional resolution to address a flaw in the CLC constitution that determines how delegates are provided with credentials to convention. Currently, credentials are provided based on the number of locals the affiliate has. The resolution would change that process by provding credentials based on the number of members. Some unions are organized internally through groupings called locals; other unions are organized differently. Some unions may have hundreds of locals, but not a lot of members, while others have very few locals but a many more members. NUPGE believes the democratic process should not be left up to antiquated, internal structures that disenfranchise members. A consistent, transparent criteria needs to be used across unions.
The resolution was #10 on the list of priorities and never reached the floor. "We can be very proud, all of us, for taking on this serious issue. We are not wrong. The democracy within the CLC is flawed. Our motion would have gone a very long way to correcting that." said Larry Brown, NUPGE President. "We will not abandon our efforts. With a new team at the helm of the CLC, we can foresee less obstructions in our path in the future."
Resolutions show need for governments to abandon hands off approach to economy
On the surface, the 3 resolutions discussed in the economic and social policy debate at the CLC convention yesterday were very different. One dealt with the forestry sector, another with Canada Post and the third with the steel and aluminum industries. But a theme running through all three resolutions is that governments have a role to play in building a strong economy and that handing out tax breaks to the private sector and hoping for the best isn’t good enough.
In the case of the forestry sector and the steel and aluminum industries, governments need to been creating sectoral strategies that support these important parts of Canada economy to develop in ways that are environmentally sustainable. In both cases it means recognizing the damage done by trade agreements and the environmental impact of production being moved to places where laws and regulations are weaker than in Canada.
The resolution on Canada Post called on the federal government to recognize the important role a publicly and operated postal service can place in building a fairer and more sustainable economy. Among the proposals were using post offices to provide a postal banking for the growing number of people who are being ignored or taken advantage of by banks and other financial institutions. The post offices network could also be used for a national system of electric vehicle charging stations.
Good jobs paper responds to precarious work and technological change
The CLC policy paper, A Good Jobs Agenda, looked at how good jobs are under attack as a result and how we can respond. It argued that problems like precarious work and jobs being lost or made worse by technological change are not inevitable. Instead they are the result of deliberate policy choices by governments and employers. The paper also recognized that some groups have been hit far harder than other by the loss of good jobs with women, young workers and workers of colour being more likely than average to be caught in precarious work.
The 45 recommendations covered a wide range of topics including the care economy, the need for workers and unions to have a voice on the use of artificial intelligence and improvements to labour standards.