Ontario’s University workers and students need more than ‘window dressing’ from Ford Government to get through COVID-19 crisis

COVID-19, Solidarity, University

TORONTO, ON – In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, workers and students at Ontario’s post-secondary institutions need more than ‘window dressing’ currently on offer from the Provincial Government, the Chair of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario University Workers’ Coordinating Committee (OUWCC) warned today. “Ontario’s Universities are by no means immune from…

“We haven’t been treated the same”: CUPE airline workers call for immediate financial support and access to benefits

Airlines, COVID-19, Solidarity

(TORONTO, ON) Yesterday, on April 1, flight attendants and flight directors, members of the Toronto Base of Air Transat, CUPE Local 4047, made their final repatriation flights, bringing Canadians back to the country due to the pandemic. The 740 members in Toronto, who are being laid off on April 5, are currently voting on a…

Health minister misinformed: 87 per cent of Ontario health care staff polled say not enough PPE on hand to keep them safe

COVID-19, Health and Safety, Health Care, Solidarity

TORONTO, ON – On Saturday, after Ontario Minister of Health Christine Elliot announced that personal protective equipment (PPE) it was readily available, 87 per cent of health care staff polled by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) reported that they do not have access to the PPE they need to deal with COVID-19 patients.…

“Workers must be paid!”: CUPE Ontario calls for immediate measures to support struggling workers

COVID-19, Solidarity

(TORONTO, ON) CUPE Ontario, the province’s largest union, has announced proposals to help Ontarians who are financially impacted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. With reports of wide-spread layoffs and income loss, the union has called on the Ontario government to include significant measures in the economic and fiscal update that’s scheduled for Wednesday. The union…

Delayed budget must be opportunity to introduce substantial investments to help Ontarians

COVID-19, Governmental, Solidarity

(TORONTO, ON) CUPE Ontario, representing 280,000 public sector workers, calls for more measures to support the province’s workers and for increased resources from the Ontario Government to support communities affected by COVID-19, in response to the Ontario Government’s announcement. “Delaying next week’s budget was clearly necessary,” said Fred Hahn, CUPE Ontario President, about the province’s…

One of the strongest protections for Ontarians is to keep health-care workers healthy and working during COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19, Health Care, Solidarity

Toronto – March 13, 2020: Ontarians know that they can count on the commitment of the province’s health- care workers to provide the best and safest care possible under challenging conditions, including under the current Pandemic COVID-19 outbreak. This is why nurses and other front-line health-care workers are calling on the Ontario Government to ensure…

Province’s youngest, vulnerable and low-paid left out of government plans to stop COVID-19: CUPE

COVID-19, School Boards, Solidarity

Government says leaving childcare open in schools is “up to school boards” TORONTO – The Ford government’s efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 could make life more dangerous in Ontario if the government won’t also protect the children, families and workers in and around the childcare centres that operate out of publicly funded schools,…