A ship with a crew of five is stuck in Port Hawkesbury while Karl Risser, an inspector for the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is trying to resolve issues around unpaid wages, bad working conditions and ship safety. He sees a lot of this kind of thing, Risser explains, and trade agreements like CETA will only make it worse.
Martin O’Hanlon, president of CWA Canada, the union that is engaged in a defensive strike against the Chronicle Herald, sets the record straight. “The saddest part about this dispute is that it is so unnecessary. As a responsible union, we understand when a company is facing financial challenges and we’re willing to help. That’s why we have agreed to major monetary concessions.”
The Chronicle Herald strike is approaching its ten-months mark, but the Herald owners continue to refuse to engage in real bargaining. As the first talks in six months fall apart the union files a Labour Board complaint, and a mean-spirited owner tells the workers it will never compromise.
A bit of a timeline around the NSTU and NSGEU negotiations, originally written for the national audience of Rank and File. It all looked so promising for McNeil a year ago. What happened?
Judy Haiven pleads with the Halifax Public Libraries to do the right thing and cancel its Chronicle Herald subscriptions for the duration of the strike.
Danny Cavanagh, president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour, calls for an end to unpaid sick leave. “Daycare workers, food handlers in restaurants and food supply stores, no matter what your occupation, working sick is not working for Nova Scotia,” he writes.
“We need to think outside of the box and stop thinking that of making it sound like taking sick days is something bad. Let’s look at the real cost. Many employers can legally require their employees to provide a sick note, which doctors complain clogs up clinics with sick patients who could have otherwise just recovered at home.”
The City of Halifax applies a fair wage consideration when evaluating bids for services. But it’s just fluff, as the recent awarding of a parking enforcement contract shows. HRM doesn’t really care how well third party workers are paid, as long as costs are down.
The Local Xpress, run by striking newsroom workers, is doing very well, thank you. The news website keeps journalists, photographers and editors busy and has become a real thorn in the side of the scabby Chronicle Herald. Originally published in RankandFile.ca.
Commissionaires at the Stanfield International Airport lost their jobs after G4S Canada won the airport’s new security contract. It is widely expected that G4S will pay its staff less than its predecessor. Maybe the Airport Authority should recognize that there is more to running an airport than the bottom line, some suggest. We also take a closer look at G4S.
Halifax City outside workers, members of CUPE Local 108, rallied in front of City Hall to tell the city to get back to the bargaining table, revoke a lock-out notice, and stop chipping away at their pensions. Current city proposals dealing with workers’ pensions are simply unacceptable, the union says.