Media release: The Halifax Workers Action Centre (“Halifax-WAC”) says the Liberal Government’s plan to provide a reimbursement to employers for providing paid sickness leave to employees is a move in the right direction, but the plan falls far short of what Nova Scotia workers need.
Join us for a presentation in English / Patois on Youtube Live. Hosted by the Migrant Worker Rights Working Group.
“Our $12.95 comes not even close to a living wage in this province. Workers in Nova Scotians deserve better; They deserve better wages; they deserve better working conditions, they deserve paid sick days; They deserve a fair wage.”
“I took every shift I could get, up to 70-hours per week, to make ends meet. With wages that low, this is what you have to do.” Lisa Cameron reports on Justin Trudeau’s 2019 promise of a federal minimum wage of at least $15 and hour, starting in 2020, and rising with inflation. We are in the final days of 2020, and yet Trudeau has taken no steps to honour this commitment.
Press release: Last year, Justin Trudeau promised “a federal minimum wage of at least $15 per hour, starting in 2020 and rising with inflation, with provisions to ensure that where provincial or territorial minimum wages are higher, that wage will prevail.” The year-end is quickly approaching, and yet there has been no movement to honour this commitment.
Shavan is a father of three from Jamaica who’s been coming to Nova Scotia as a migrant farm worker for eight years. This past year, his bunkhouse was overrun with large rats. He says, “I know that’s not part of Canada’s standards.” Even during the heatwave over the summer, Shavan and other migrant workers were working 10-hour days in the blistering sun for minimum wage.
As we brace for the second wave of COVID-19, Stacey Gomez, Asaf Rashid, Jessica Tellez and Wanda Thomas call for uregnt action to end systemic racism faced by migrant workers.
PSA: Join us for a screening of the groundbreaking documentary “El Contrato” (The Contract), directed by Min Sook Lee. This film follows the story of Teodoro and other migrant workers who come from Mexico to work in tomato greenhouses in Leamington, Ontario. We’ll also hear the story of Shavan, a father of three from Jamaica who’s been coming to Nova Scotia as a migrant farm worker for 8 years (through a pre-recorded interview). This will be followed by Q & A discussion.
Lisa Cameron reports how a server at a popular Halifax restaurant was fired after she went into quarantine, even though earlier she was told her job would be waiting for her. That is against the law and also infringes on the worker’s human rights, she writes.
Not quite a Labour Day march, but a rally earlier today in support of 10 paid sick days in Nova Scotia drew close to 100 people to downtown Halifax.
The Halifax Workers’ Action Centre (Halifax-WAC) is renewing its call for the Labour Standards Code to be amended to guarantee employees paid sick leave.