Rally for decent work brings unsatisfied workers together for change
Vice President of the Custodial and Maintenance Association, Brenda Burton worries for the future of Canada’s children. Will they be able to find work after graduation? If the Ontario government continues with the way workers are treated now, Burton thinks not. Which is why she came to Saturday’s rally at Queen’s Park protesting for worker’s rights as it has come time for the Ontario government to re-write the Employment Standards Act.
Burton, along with thousands of other workers and union members came together at Queen’s Park on Saturday, October 1st for the Rally for Decent Work held by the Make it Fair organization. They hope to urge Premier Kathleen Wynne to follow Alberta’s lead and raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Workers also want seven guaranteed sick days, health benefits and overall more secure employment to ensure a better future for themselves and their families.
“Those coming out of university would be lucky to get a job at McDonald’s, that’s where there $60,000 education has gotten them and that’s just horrible,” Burton said about the state of the Ontario job market.
Precarious work has continuously grown into an epidemic across Canada. Young people entering the workforce after graduating from university or college are less likely than ever before to have any work beyond part-time or contract work.
Pictured: Randy O’Keefe and Brenda Burton
Jessica Sikora, the President of OPSEU Local 586, which represents Ministry of Community and Social Services workers across Toronto, was at the rally fighting for change.
“The government is planning to review and update the Employment Standards Act and the Labour Relations Act,” Sikora said. “Today is about capitalizing on the opportunity to show the Ontario government that workers are loud, strong, and united in the fight for decent work for all.”
The Ontario Liberal government has made it so that part-time workers have to be available a certain number of hours per week but without any certainty of how many hours they will receive.
“You can’t build a life with no guaranteed hours and no compensation for being perpetually on call,” Sikora said. “You can’t build a life where needing a sick day could mean losing your job.”
Sikora first became involved in the movement when she experienced the difficulties of finding a full-time job after graduating from post-secondary education. “My only options were temporary agency and contract work,” Sikora said. “I would lay awake at night wondering how I was going to pay the rent if my contract wasn’t extended.” The anxiety of not having secure employment was enough to make her want to change the way work is delegated in Ontario.
The definition of precarious in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary is scary, uncertain and possibly dangerous work, which is exemplified by the job market today for many Ontarians. Precarious work involves part-time, temporary, seasonal and contract work that is often unstable and poorly paid with few benefits for workers.
The Waterloo Regional Labour Council organized the rally as part of the Make it Fair movement spreading throughout social media to gain support for updating the Employment Standards Act. The Act has stayed the same since its creation in 2000 and changing its terms will help support Ontario’s workers.
Randy O’Keefe, the CAMA Bargaining Unit Grievance Officer explained why this event is important to him. “The government is looking at changes to the Employment Standards Act and now is the proper time to get our voice heard and have some input into those changes,” O’Keefe said.
There were 25 cities represented on Oct. 1st, including Kitchener, North Bay and Sudbury. Representatives of those cities’ unions spoke about their experiences working with and without a union supporting them.
Unions make sure that workers are guaranteed benefits, hours and security in an uncertain economic time. Without a union, workplaces can fire workers at any time and even without cause for dismissal, which makes adding guaranteed unions to the Employment Standards Act even more important to workers.
The changes that will hopefully be made to the revised version of the Employment Standards Act will create a better future for Ontario’s workers and their families. Increasing minimum wage will allow workers the freedom from job insecurity; ensuring more time to spend with their loved ones.
For more information on Make it Fair please contact –
Brenda Burton- 519-501-0990 bburton.cama@gmail.com
Jessica Sikora- Sikora.jessica@gmail.com
By Emilie Must
Please note that opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views and values of The Blank Page.
