From bc_labour_enews at bcfed.net Fri Mar 9 18:00:51 2007 From: bc_labour_enews at bcfed.net (bc_labour_enews at bcfed.net) Date: Fri, 9 Mar 2007 18:00:51 -0800 Subject: [BC_Labour_E-NEWS] B.C. Federation of Labour E-news March 10, 2007 Message-ID: <1EFB83EC494285438D10B2CCC120637665335D@bcfednt.bcfed.local> Stories B.C. Federation of Labour and Canadian Farmworkers' Union to hold public meeting tomorrow to discuss the dangerous working conditions facing farmworkers Vancouver-The B.C. Federation of Labour and Canadian Farmworkers' Union are holding a public meeting tomorrow to discuss the dangerous working conditions facing farmworkers. "This week's tragic accident that saw at least 3 workers lose their lives highlights the urgent need to take action to improve farmworkers working conditions," said B.C. Federation of Labour President, Jim Sinclair Date: Saturday March 10, 2007 Time: 1:00 pm Place: Ravi Banquet Hall 201-8166 128th Street Surrey, BC Read more. Tragic accident highlights need for improved safety laws Vancouver-The tragic highway accident that killed three farmworkers and injured five others earlier today highlights the need for improved safety laws for BC farmworkers says Jim Sinclair, President of the B.C. Federation of Labour. Early reports indicate today's accident involved a van carrying more farmworkers than capacity allowed. As well, reports state that seats in the van had been removed and replaced by wooden benches. "We've seen too many accidents like today's. Again and again, we learn we need more inspections and better enforcement of safety laws," Sinclair said. Learn more and read the B.C. Federation of Labour's 2004 Report on working conditions for farmworkers in the Fraser Valley. More important than ever to keep up the fight for women's rights Vancouver-It's more important than ever to keep up the fight for women's rights says B.C. Federation of Labour Secretary-Treasurer, Angela Schira. "Pay equity, quality childcare, the rights of working women, and women's economic equality are still a long way from being a reality," Schira said today, as the B.C. Federation of Labour hosted its annual International Women's Day breakfast. "On top of provincial cuts to childcare and women's centres, this year Canadian women also saw deep cuts by the federal Conservative government to Status of Women Canada," Schira said. Schira also noted that women are still a long way away from achieving pay equity. Last year in BC, non-union women workers earned 29 percent less than men; however, the gap was smaller, 10 percent, for women belonging to a union. Read more. MLA pay should be tied to minimum wage boost VANCOUVER - MLA's wages should be tied to a boost in the minimum wage says B.C. Federation of Labour President, Jim Sinclair. In a presentation today to the Independent Commission to Review MLA Compensation, Sinclair noted that MLA's wages are already indexed, and their salaries have increased by ten percent in the last five years, while the minimum wage has remained frozen at $8 per hour for BC's 100,000 lowest paid workers. Read more. Expansion of Temporary Foreign Worker Program just a cheap labour strategy for employers Vancouver - Today's announcement by the federal and provincial governments of the expansion of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is just a cheap labour strategy for employers, says Jim Sinclair, President of the B.C. Federation of Labour. It was announced today that the Program is being expanded to allow employers to bring workers to Canada for up to 24 months. That's an increase from the previous period of 12 months, as well as changes to speed up the application process for employers. "This Program does nothing to build our immigration system or invest in the skills training our country needs," Sinclair stated. Read more. Events BC Teachers' Federation Annual General Meeting Start: Saturday March 17, 2007 7:00 pm End: Tuesday March 20, 2007 5:30 pm March 17-20, 2007 Hyatt Regency Hotel, Vancouver To learn more click here. Basic OHS Course Greater Vancouver Date: Thursday March 29, 2007 from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm The goal of this introductory Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S) course is to introduce new Committee members and worker representatives to the basic principles of workplace health and safety. OH&S Committee members who have had previous OH&S education can use it as a refresher. To learn more click here. Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) - National Pride - GLBT Conference Start: Friday March 30, 2007 8:00 am End: Sunday April 1, 2007 5:00 pm 2007 PSAC National Pride Conference, which will be held March 30, 2007 to April 1, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Vancouver under the theme "INCLUDE AND BE INCLUDED." To learn more click here. Publications Farmworkers' Deaths: A Tragedy Foretold--BC Libs long criticized for gutting worker safety. Wednesday's road accident that killed three farmworkers and left several others clinging to life was the result of the BC Liberal government's long skid away from regulating worker safety. That was the message immediately coming from farmworker advocates, members of the B.C. Federation of Labour and New Democrat politicians. They pointed out that 17 people were crammed into a van designed for 10, a vehicle with wooden benches rather than seats. Passengers weren't wearing seat belts according to the RCMP. It's not yet known just how the crash occurred. And in the legislature Wednesday, BC Liberals were quick to denounce New Democrats for trying to "score political points" over the tragedy. But the current government has a record of loosening worker safety that leaves it wide open to criticism. Read more at theTyee.ca. Will BC Rail Bomb Explode? Basi-Virk lawyers allege deal was rigged by BC Libs . "They've been calling for this deal to be cancelled since before it started, so it doesn't surprise me much. [But] there has been nothing that's come to our attention or to the attention of investigators that would lead anybody to believe that there was any concern about the CN transaction at all." -- BC Finance Minister Gary Collins, March 13, 2004 The $1 billion privatization of BC Rail will be the explosive core of the upcoming April 2 trial of former provincial BC Liberal Ministerial Aides David Basi and Bob Virk on fraud and breach of trust charges. That's what lawyers for the defence are alleging in a lengthy application for disclosure filed Feb. 27 in BC Supreme Court, saying the BC Rail deal is the key to the entire case -- and to their exoneration. Read more at theTyee.ca. Tricked and Exploited? Supermarket chain grabs passports, coerces immigrant workers, suit alleges. T&T Supermarkets, a chain of specialty food stores serving Asian communities in Canada, stands accused of abusing the rights of foreign workers brought to Canada under a federal program. In a notice of claim filed with the small claims division of the provincial court of BC, Gui Qiang Zou claims he was pressured into working longer hours for lower wages than promised after the firm kept his passport and other key documents. Read more at theTyee.ca. JU/mp cope 15 0500-07enews-ju-March 9 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bc_labour_enews at bcfed.net Fri Mar 23 17:17:38 2007 From: bc_labour_enews at bcfed.net (bc_labour_enews at bcfed.net) Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2007 17:17:38 -0700 Subject: [BC_Labour_E-NEWS] B.C. Federation of Labour E-News March 23, 2007 Message-ID: <1EFB83EC494285438D10B2CCC12063766A114C@bcfednt.bcfed.local> ________________________________ Skip navigation. British Columbia Federation of Labour The Voice of BC's Union Workers * Home * About Us * Join a Union * Issues and Campaigns * Media Centre * Publications * Current Disputes * Events B.C. Federation of Labour E-News March 23, 2007 March 23, 2007 Stories Check out bcfed.ca--the new website of the B.C. Federation of Labour Whether you're an existing union member wanting to learn more about the B.C. Fed, or a worker wanting to join a union and find out more about your rights, this site has been designed to help find information more easily. We've also added several new features. Use the RSS feature to stay on top of news releases and postings from the B.C. Fed. Keep checking "Inside the Fed," our new blog, for highlights of what we're working on and important issues in our province. Want to know more? Click here to visit our new site. B.C. Federation of Labour takes campaign for $10 minimum wage to the streets Vancouver-Young workers and labour activists will brave bad weather Saturday at Vancouver's Commercial and Broadway Skytrain station to gather support for their Campaign to boost the provincial minimum wage to $10 per hour. "When it comes to addressing the needs of our lowest paid workers, the Campbell government and their business allies have a deplorable record," said B.C. Federation of Labour President, Jim Sinclair, whose organization is gearing up the $10 NOW Campaign. Read more. Working families hear lots of talk in federal budget but see no real action Vancouver - Working families heard lots of talk that they were the centrepiece of today's federal budget but the details show it's only talk, with little action says B.C. Federation of Labour Secretary-Treasurer, Angela Schira. "No matter how much spin the Conservatives try they're simply out of touch with the needs of working families," Schira said. Read more. B.C. Fed submits recommendations to provincial government to improve working conditions & safety of BC farmworkers Vancouver - The B.C. Federation of Labour today submitted 29 recommendations to Labour Minister Olga Ilich to improve the working conditions and safety of BC farmworkers, in the wake of last week's fatal crash near Abbotsford. "It's time to act," said Federation President Jim Sinclair. "We know what the problems are, now let's put real solutions in place to protect the lives and rights of BC farmworkers." Read more. Events IAMAW - RALLY AND MARCH to save the jobs of 700 aviation maintenance professionals in Vancouver SATURDAY, MARCH 24, 2007 11:00 A.M. - 1:00 P.M. VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TERMINAL PLEASE COME OUT AND MARCH WITH US IN SOLIDARITY! * Save the jobs of 700 aviation maintenance professionals in Vancouver * Help us put an end to the corporate race to contract aviation maintenance in Canada to lowest foreign bidder. To learn more click here. $10 NOW CAMPAIGN EVENT The B.C. Federation of Labour is stepping up efforts to gain a much-needed pay raise for BC's lowest paid workers by winning an increase in the provincial minimum wage. DATE: SATURDAY, MARCH 24, 2007 TIME: 1:00 to 3:00 pm PLACE: BROADWAY AND COMMERCIAL SKYTRAIN STATION To learn more click here. PSAC National Pride Conference Start:: Friday March 30, 2007 8:00 am End: Sunday April 1, 2007 5:00 pm 2007 PSAC National Pride Conference, which will be held March 30, 2007 to April 1, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Vancouver under the theme "INCLUDE AND BE INCLUDED." To learn more click here. Publications Conservative Budget all talk when it comes to working families By Jim Sinclair, President, B.C. Federation of Labour First appeared in Business in Vancouver Pity poor federal finance Minister Jim Flaherty. He can't go for coffee in his hometown of Whitby without someone demanding tax cuts. "I hear it at the hockey arena," he told reporters. "I hear it at the coffee shop, I hear it from people on the street: taxes in Canada are way too high." So the Conservatives' 2007 budget claims to turn its back on its big business buddies - "we crack down on corporations that have avoided paying their fair share" - to "reduce the tax burden on working families." Read more. Labour Double-Standards Blamed for Farmworkers' Deaths >From thetyee.ca Did Amarjit Kaur Bal, Sarabjit Kaur Sidhu and Sukhwinder Kaur Punia die in vain? The results from a meeting held March 15 in downtown Vancouver may determine the answer to that question. Family members of farmworkers killed in the roll-over accident of an overloaded labour contractor's van last week and leaders of the BC labour movement met on the morning of March 15 with Minister of Labour Olga Ilich and Minister of Agriculture Pat Bell in Vancouver. They presented a comprehensive list of 30 proposals to remedy safety and employment standards abuses in BC fields and greenhouses. The submission to the ministers also calls on the government to strike down a controversial memorandum signed by the BC Liberals and the province's large agricultural organizations, which critics say has paved the way for lax enforcement of safety and employment standards protections in the industry. Read more. BC farmworkers deserve protection not exploitation First published in the Vancouver Sun, March 14, 2007 The March 7 death of three female farmworkers, when the overloaded passenger van they were travelling in crashed east of Abbotsford, left us with a simple choice. We all know BC farmworkers are being exploited and their lives threatened; the only question is whether we act to put an end to it. It's become a familiar news story, footage of a crumpled van, followed by a few days of funerals and families left behind. J ust like the 2003 death of farmworker Mohinder Sunar, who suffocated under the weight of other farmworkers in another overloaded van without seatbelts. Read more. Related content: * General RSS | Site Map | Accessibility Policy | Privacy Policy | Links | Contact Site design by Raised Eyebrow Web Studio -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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