Today at noon, while inside the Nova Scotia government convened the Legislature for a new session, the streets outside Province House filled with around a thousand angry workers, loudly demanding that the Public Services Sustainability Act (Bill 148) be revoked.
How come real gains are made in the Fight for 15 elsewhere in Canada, but not in Nova Scotia? Does it have to be that way, and are there lessons to be learned both from earlier false starts here and successes elsewhere in Canada?
Judy Haiven wonders why a professional licensed massage therapist here in Halifax has to rely on dumpster diving for food. Meanwhile, it appears that the clinic’s franchisee does not have that problem.
Poverty activist Kendall Worth spoke fearlessly at the Halifax Labour Day celebrations. Here he talks about what that was like, and why it makes perfect sense to talk about social assistance and poverty at a Labour event.
Maybe the unions united in their opposition to the Liberal government’s anti labour stance should begin to think about action beyond the current strategy of legal appeals, lobbying and rallies
Seven unions will file to be added to the partial review of Bill 148 by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal initiated by the Nova Scotia government. This was the announcement at this morning’s joint news conference, that also served to push back on the government’s narrative on the legislation.
Larry Haiven on Bill 148:| “Unions and collective bargaining and, yes, strikes, are part of the price we all pay for living in a democracy, convenient or not. Bill 148 takes us back to the dark ages and workers, again, will have to take matters into their own hands.”
The City of Halifax is not following up on a recommendation around criminal record checks that would remove obstacles to hiring Black and Indigenous workers in its Municipal Operations Programs (MOPS) division. The policy hasn’t really changed, and the City’s employment website is as uninviting to people with even a trivial criminal record as it has always been..
Danny Cavanagh, the president of the NS Federation of Labour, offers a short and powerful statement against fascist violence, white supremacy, racism, Islamophobia, and anti-Semitism. “Sisters and brothers, we cannot stay silent in the face of such hatred and we know that the future of our society and children are at stake if we don’t intensify our fight against discrimination, hatred and violence.”
The City of Halifax could save millions of dollars if it were to expand its permanent staff rather than pay for expensive consultants. That is the conclusion of a business case developed by the Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) division of the city acquired by the Nova Scotia Advocate through a Freedom of Information request.