RadioLabourCanada

The International Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution will be conducting a conference in Montreal April 23-29, 2024. The intergovernmental body is working on the creation of a global treaty on plastics. Labour will be represented at the conference by Public Services International. The PSI represents more than 30 million workers in 154 countries. In Canada it represents unions such as the Ca...

Thirty-two years ago the Westray mine in Pictou county, Nova Scotia, exploded killing 26 miners. Ten years later the United Steelworkers, other labour organizations and individuals were able to get a federal Westray Law enacted which can help workers today. A memorial held on Tuesday March 26, 2024, was attended by members of the Westray Families Group, Rev. Glen Matheson, Canadian Labour Congress...

After 42 years the magazine of quality labour journalism, Our Times, is closing. In a special webinar organized by the Toronto Workers' History Project (TWHP) labour media activists and historians discussed the closing of the magazine, the state of labour journalism in Canada and what may come next. The webinar was moderated by Frank Saptel and included presentations by Ron Verzuh, Derek Blackadde...

The forestry sector in BC supports 44,000 direct jobs and close to 100,000 more indirect jobs. Since 2001, the industry has seen a 45 per cent drop in employment. Unions in the province recently held a conference to plan how to respond to the crisis. Comments by Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor's western regional director and Scott Lunny, director of United Steelworkers District 3 (Western Canada). RadioL...

The international labour movement has started a global campaign to protect democracy. This RadioLabour report features comments by Luc Triangle, the general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation which represents the Canadian Labour Congress at the world level. It also includes a presentation about democracy in the US by the president of the AFL-CIO, Liz Shuler. RadioLabour is th...

The United Nations has released a report decrying the world crisis in education: a shortage of millions of trained teachers, low pay for educators, inadequate teaching facilities and more. A RadioLabour report featuring comments by the general-secretary of Education International, David Edwards. EI's affiliate in Canada is the Canadian Teachers' Federation. RadioLabour is the international labour...

February 20 is the International Day for Social Justice. This year the International Labour Organization used the day to inaugurate a Global Coalition for Social Justice. Canada has joined the coalition as has the International Trade Union Confederation. One of the ITUC's affiliates is the Canadian Labour Congress. RadioLabour is the international labour movement's radio service. It reports on lab...

February is Black History month in Canada and the United States. About 1.5 million Canadians report being Black. They need their history, culture and experiences in the workplace better understood. Why are Black people leaving the teaching profession? What is anti-Black racism? A RadioLabour interview with the president of the Ontario Teacher' Federation of Ontario, Karen Brown. RadioLabour is the...

As the federal government opened its 2024 parliamentary session Unifor called for faster implementation of anti-scab legislation in the federal jurisdiction plus the need to reform Employment Insurance and why Canada needs to adopt effective industrial strategies. A RadioLabour interview with the president of Unifor, Lana Payne. RadioLabour is the international labour movement's radio service. It...

January 24 was the International Day for Education. The global union federation Education International used the day to mark the one year anniversary of its 'Go Public! Fund Education!' campaign with a special webinar. EI is represented in Canada by the Canadian Teachers' Federation.   RadioLabour is the international labour movement's radio service. It reports on labour union events around the wo...

Artificial computer intelligence has been predicted to destroy millions of jobs. However, with a union, workers can negotiate how it is applied. Comments by the General Secretary of UNI Global Union Christy Hoffman. UNI represents members of CUPE, Unifor and other Canadian unions at the world level. RadioLabour is the international labour movement's radio service. It reports on labour union events...

The rise of fascism in the United States and other countries needs to be confronted by unions and other progressive organizations. A special RadioLabour programme about the difference between authoritarianism and fascism. Plus the LabourStart Report about union events. And singing: "All You Fascists Are Bound to Lose."   RadioLabour is the international labour movement's radio service. It reports...

Unions at the UN's COP28 climate change conference held in Dubai, UAE, from November 30 to December 12, 2023 were disappointed in how the conference handled the topic of a fair transition for workers. One of the unionists who presented labour's final comments at the conference was DJ Pohl. Pohl is a member of the British Columbia General Employees' Union - the BCGEU. She represented NUPGE - Canada...

Featuring Dr. Salama Abu Zaiter, the president of the General Trade Union of Health Workers in Gaza and Avital Shapira, the director of International Relations for Israel's Histadrut. Included is a report from Euan Gibb, the regional assistant and multinationals organiser for Public Services International in Brazil and comments by the general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederatio...

The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) has elected a new leadership team with Laura Walton (CUPE) as president, Ahmed Gaid (UFCW) as secretary treasurer and Jackie Taylor (USW) as executive vice president. The OFL is Canada's largest provincial labour federation with more than one million members in 54 unions. RadioLabour is the international labour movement's radio service. It reports on labour u...

Two union organizers working with the Solidarity Center in the US and around the world talk about the lessons they've learned on how to organize platform workers. RadioLabour is the international labour movement's radio service. It reports on labour union events around the world with a focus on unions in the developing world. It partners with rabble to provide coverage of news of interest to Canad...

The International Accord On Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment industries was negotiated by the international labour movement after the Rana Plaza disaster which killed 1,134 mainly young women garment workers and injured more than 2,500. The Accord was extended on November 1, 2023. More than 200 major clothing brands have signed the agreement. However, Walmart in the US and Canadian Tir...

A new report by the global union Education International shows that AI can degrade the quality of education, worsen working conditions for teachers and provide inferior schooling for students. EI is the global union for teachers and other educators. In Canada, EI affiliates include the Canadian Teachers' Federation, the Canadian Association of University Teachers and four unions in Quebec. RadioLa...

The International Trade Union Confederation has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. It reiterates its long-standing call for peace in the world with a new social contract that guarantees respect for workers rights. The ITUC's affiliate in Canada is the Canadian Labour Congress. RadioLabour is the international labour movement's radio service. It reports on labour union events around the wor...

Former federal NDP leader Ed Broadbent is the co-author of a recently published book, Seeking Social Democracy: Seven Years Fighting for Equality with Francis Abele, Jonathan Sas and Luke Savage. In this interview with RadioLabour Broadbent discusses the role of trade unions in social democracy. He argues for the right of workers to join a union as soon as they start a job. He also talks about the...

There is a global crisis in nursing with understaffing, a lack of respect for family-life issues and, increasingly, problems caused by the climate crisis. Recently Global Nurses United held a conference in San Francisco to discuss what can be done. One of the nurses who attended the conference was Linda Silas, the president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions. The CFNU has about 250,000 me...

RadioLabour is proposing to start English as an Additional Language (ADL) lessons for trade unionists. The service will include an audio newscast, the English scripts translated into many languages and an English lesson. Please visit  www.radiolabour.net  to sign a petition in support of the service.  RadioLabour is the international labour movement's radio service. It reports on labour union even...

Platform gig workers in developing countries are being cruelly exploited but many are fighting back. A report by the Solidarity Center about workers in Ecuador protecting themselves by forming a union. RadioLabour is the international labour movement's radio service. It reports on labour union events around the world with a focus on unions in the developing world. It partners with rabble to provid...

In Ontario right-wing opponents of children talking about gender orientation at school held rallies across the province. Union offices were vandalized. Supporters of the children held counter-rallies. Interviews with Laura Walton, the president of the CUPE Ontario School Boards Council of Unions and Fred Hahn, the president of CUPE Ontario. RadioLabour is the international labour movement's radio...

For the first time in history a song produced by a singer with no chart-success history debuted as Billboard's #1. The song was sung by the American folksinger, Oliver Anthony. But the British singer Billie Bragg sang back saying that complaining was not enough and that Anthony should join a union. In other news a new General Secretary for the International Trade Union Confederation will be acclai...