News

Action Alert: Support Workers in Cambodia in International Women’s Day

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International Women’s Day in Cambodia is closely associated with the women who make the clothes you might be wearing as you read this.  Their unions play a key role in organizing IWD events in that country.

All week the Cambodian government has been moving police and troops into position.  Tomorrow an estimated 30,000 women garment workers are expected to celebrate IWD  by attending an open-air ‘Forum on Labour Rights’ in Phnom Penh.  And if the recent history of Cambodia is anything to go by, they will then be attacked.

Knowing that the world is watching might just give the Cambodian government second thoughts.  The global union you might be a member of (among others, the Steelworkers and Unifor are affiliated to it), IndustriALL, is running an online action HERE. Take 5 seconds out of your Friday and send a message that might save a life tomorrow.
via www.labourstart.org

Manitoba Budget: Focus on the Future

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WINNIPEG – Manitoba’s budget, which was tabled on Thursday afternoon by Finance Minister Jennifer Howard is a straight-forward, pragmatic budget that focuses on ensuring that Manitoba’s public services receive the resources needed to maintain the programs that Manitobans rely on, says CUPE.

“We are encouraged that the NDP is not cutting public services and jobs like we’ve seen in other provinces, or even federally” states Kelly Moist, President of CUPE Manitoba. “New investments in child care, health, and long-term care are essential in ensuring that services for Manitobans are there when they are needed .”

This budget has also prioritized addressing poverty in the province, one of the biggest challenges facing our community. Increasing the EIA Rental Allowance to 75% of the average cost of renting (median market), and increasing the amount of affordable and social housing is a vital step in reducing poverty in Manitoba – all of which have been applauded by community poverty-reduction advocates. The government has also committed to increasing the minimum wage.

Additionally, the province has announced $5.5 million in new funding for child care in Manitoba, focusing on creating new spaces and fair wages for child care workers, a move that CUPE fully supports.

The Manitoba NDP’s commitment to increasing educational opportunities for skilled trades is a priority in this budget, and builds towards a stronger future of trained workers in the province. There is also an additional 2.5% increase in funding for universities, and 2% for colleges.

Unprecedented new infrastructure funding was also announced, including $5.5 billion over the next five years towards roads, bridges, and water infrastructure.

However, new initiatives on “Lean” management should be heavily scrutinized through consultation with unions and the public, before being implemented.

“Lean management” is a corporate management model that has proven problematic in other places where it has been implemented in the public sector, and CUPE has serious concerns with its adaptability in this context.

CUPE has also been pushing for the Manitoba government to take a stronger line in calling for the federal government to negotiate a new federal Health Accord as the current one expires this year.

“CUPE is deeply concerned that the federal government is not coming to the table with the province on a new Health Accord” said Moist, “this means that Manitoba will be out millions of dollars in federal health transfers, deeply affecting the province’s ability to offer quality health care”.

CUPE continues to applaud the Manitoba government’s commitment to ensuring that no deep cuts are made to public services and programs, such as education and health care, and, when compared to other provinces, Manitoba is on the right track to building a strong economy that puts people first.

December 6 – Day of Mourning

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At today’s Sunrise Memorial held at the Manitoba Legislature, 14 women who were murdered at the 1989 Ecole Polytechnique massacre in Montreal, and the 11 Manitoba women who were murdered within the past year were remembered.

A traditional aboriginal drumming group sang an honor song and all who attended wrote their commitments to continued, renewed activism and working towards eliminating violence against women.L & K L & SC & L Committments

 

 

 

KLA

Celebrating School Support Staff Recognition Week

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270965_649636578384159_1733082272_nThanks to the hard work of the School Division Sector of CUPE Manitoba, the provincial government has proclaimed November 18 – 22 as the first-ever School Support Staff Recognition Week.

To help celebrate and raise awareness, CUPE Manitoba has launched a radio ad, highlighting the week, and the work our members do! The ad will be aired in Winnipeg and Southern Manitoba, the Interlake, Brandon, The Pas, and Dauphin.

Click here: CUPE Radio to listen to the CUPE Manitoba radio ad.

Click here for the full government news release.

Throne Speech Means Stability: CUPE

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WINNIPEG – Today’s Throne Speech means increased opportunities and more stability for Manitoba families.

“The government has once again given us the important assurance that they will not cut the vital services that Manitobans rely on,” said Kelly Moist, CUPE Manitoba President, “the cuts experienced in health care and education by the Conservatives in the 1990s are still fresh in the memories of our members”.

The government also announced that it would be focusing on building the province’s infrastructure, including better roads to rural and Northern communities – many of which are traveled on daily by CUPE members providing services to those communities.

“New infrastructure connecting rural and Northern communities means that our members, including midwives, school bus drivers, health care workers, and more, can get to-and-from their workplaces safely to deliver quality services to Manitobans” stated Moist “and doing this without cutting services at the same time is the type of leadership and innovation from the government that we can applaud”.

The province also committed to expanding and building on apprenticeship programs, ensuring that Manitoba has a strong, well-trained workforce for the future as well as further investments in Manitoba Hydro to ensure that Manitoba is well-endowed with skilled labour, and low utility rates.

“These are the types of initiatives that governments should be looking at to ensure the long-term benefit for Manitoba families” said Moist “investing now means that we can all enjoy a prosperous future.”

While the provincial government is looking to capitalize off the ill-conceived Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement achieved by the Federal government, CUPE remains opposed to the opportunities for privatization and P3s that agreements such as CETA provide, and expects that any private partnerships will be fully scrutinized and assessed through the new Manitoba P3 Accountability Legislation

“Although the government may be taking some political risks, it is important that we as a community realize that the alternative – what the Conservatives have to offer – is a bigger risk” concluded Moist “Manitobans should not forget that the opposite of improving services, is gutting them, and that’s not something we’ve seen this government do”.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees is Canada’s largest union representing more than a half-million women and men. In Manitoba, CUPE represents 25,000 members who work in health care, school divisions, municipalities, personal care homes, childcare, public utilities, libraries and emergency services.