rabble.ca - Labour

18 workers die in a fire in the Philippines

asia pacific currents — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:53:24 -0400

Labour news from the Asia-Pacific region. Interview with Noel Colina, executive director of the Filipino OHS group IOHSAD, about a shopping centre fire that killed 18 workers in Mindanao, Philippines. Asia Pacific Currents in produced at 3CR radio, Melbourne, by Australia Asia Worker Links.

Hill Dispatches: Finley's new EI rules - 'We want McDonald's to hire Canadians, not foreigners'

karl nerenberg — Thu, 24 May 2012 19:02:27 -0400

OTTAWA - Human Resources Minister Diane Finley's language was designed to be reassuring and moderate.

Canada is facing "unprecedented skills shortages," she told a Thursday news conference, and the government wants to help the unemployed to "find jobs and keep them."

Employment Insurance (EI) is this country's single largest "labour market program," she emphasized, and the government only wants to make it work better - for those out of work, for employers and, as usual, for "the economy."

Repression of Bersei protests in Malaysia

asia pacific currents — Fri, 18 May 2012 21:03:10 -0400

Labour news from the Asia-Pacific region. Followed by an interview about the recent Bersei demonstrations for clean and free elections in Malaysia, with Arul from the Socialist Party of Malaysia. Asia Pacific Currents is produced at 3CR radio in Melbourne, by Australia Asia Worker Links.

Harper government takes aim at Canadian families, workers

David Lundy — Fri, 18 May 2012 18:56:52 -0400

Harper has his majority and now he is free to wreak havoc on Canadian families. As the chosen champion of corporate interests, he has demonstrated his government's willingness to sacrifice our towns and cities, our families, our children's futures, even the very health of the planet, as he kowtows to foreign interests and grovels before the alter of corporate greed.

The Time We All Went Marching spins tales from On to Ottawa

alex — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:05:49 -0400

The last spike was driven in the transcontinental railway in 1885, satisfying a commitment made to British Columbia by the Canadian federal government. The railway would unite the Confederation, open up new lands for colonization, and provide greater access for industry and trade. Fifty years later, in June 1935, hundreds of unemployed men took to those same rails in what was dubbed the On to Ottawa Trek.

Not Rex: Ontario welfare workers - These boots were made for walking

rabble staff — Thu, 17 May 2012 10:25:41 -0400

In Ontario's Peel Region and Renfrew County, welfare workers have put on their walking boots!

Changes to EI tighten the screws on the unemployed

Progressive Economics Forum — Wed, 16 May 2012 09:39:31 -0400

The significant changes to the Employment Insurance (EI) program which are to be quickly implemented through Budget 2012 with very little consultation have not received enough critical attention.

First, a word on what is not in the budget. It is disappointing, to say the least, that the government is failing to respond to the fact that less than 40 per cent of unemployed Canadians are now qualifying for EI, well below the already low pre-recession rate. And, for all of the talk about skills shortages in Canada, it is notable that there is NO increased investment at all in EI-supported training, which would assist unemployed workers to find good jobs.

Instead, the focus is on tightening discipline over those workers who have managed to qualify for a claim.

Mayday: A Graphic History of Protest

redeye — Mon, 14 May 2012 00:20:54 -0400

Mayday: A Graphic History of Protest is the title of a new comic produced by the Graphic History collective. It traces the history of Mayday from its beginning in the late 1800s to its expression in Canada today. Writer Robin Folvik and illustrator Sam Bradd talk about the comic and the process of creating it.

To find out more about Redeye, check out our website.

Spain's Indignados mark anniversary with anti-austerity mobilizations

derrick — Sun, 13 May 2012 04:56:41 -0400

Yesterday marked the beginning of the celebration of the one-year anniversary of the Indignados movement in Spain, which helped to inspire Occupy Wall Street and like-minded efforts in many North American cities. Hundreds of thousands are participating in actions across Spain over the next few days, including some attempts at 're-occupation' of public squares, to mark the anniversary and to protest the Spanish government's austerity agenda.

'Differentiation': The a-la-carte way to hire more university course instructors

Progressive Economics Forum — Wed, 09 May 2012 08:48:01 -0400

I've written before about attempts in Canada to create more separation between university teaching, on the one hand, and university research, on the other. In 2009, I wrote this opinion piece about an attempt by five university presidents to each acquire a larger share of university research dollars. And last year, I blogged about a proposal for the Ontario government to create more separation between teaching and research within the university sector.

Temporary foreign workers and the labour market

rabble staff — Wed, 09 May 2012 08:24:12 -0400

Further to recent commentary regarding the Harper government's dramatic expansion of the Temporary Foreign Worker (TWF) program, consider this shocking factoid.

Even before the expansion of the program envisioned in the current omnibus "budget" bill, temporary foreign workers (who do not have the same rights as other Canadian workers, and whose presence here depends entirely on keeping their employers happy) already accounted for almost 30 per cent of all net new paid jobs created in Canada between 2007 and 2011.

Smash the State Report: Indigenous resistance and Quebec student strike

dan kellar — Sun, 06 May 2012 22:10:53 -0400

Friday April 27, 2012 - This Smash the State Report starts off with info on the re-opening of the abortion debate in Canada, then jumps into the Quebec student strike with a critique from Stefan Christoff of mainstream coverage, before an update of the April 28th Walk for Peace Respect and Friendship .

Why May Day: Organize, resist and win!

dan kellar — Sat, 05 May 2012 19:29:16 -0400

A segment on May Day including a reading from Libcom - A Short History of Mayday, a what's next from Occupy Belfast, we introduce The Peak's #MayDay Issue out of Guelph, then close the show off two interviews from recompositions.com, one with Phinneas a Canadian postal worker involved in 2011's strike action, and another one with Marianne, a student organizer active in Occupy and the New School occupation that happened durin

Occupy Toronto stages successful protest against Barrick Gold

johnbon — Wed, 02 May 2012 20:56:10 -0400

Following a successful May Day rally and march, Occupy Toronto held their ground and refused to budge after they “re-occupied” Simcoe Park in downtown Toronto Tuesday evening.

When police threatened - at the request of the City - to arrest and remove protesters from the park if they stayed past midnight, Occupy held a General Assembly and unanimously decided to stay put.

Click here to see more photos from Wednesday's rally.

Twenty minutes later, Toronto Parks and Recreation reversed their decision.

Occupy: 1 City of Toronto: 0.

Activist Communiqué: Happy May Day Canada!

Krystalline Kraus — Thu, 03 May 2012 01:35:38 -0400

May Day might not be as big of a spectacle here in Canada as in Europe, but with fresh blood from the Occupy movement, the working class struggle has been given a big boost of vital energy and relevancy regarding the struggle of the 99% against the 1%.

It's cool to be anti-capitalist these days.

Check out a round up Canadian May Day coverage.

Vancouver, BC:

At 1:00 p.m., May Day rallies were held at the Vancouver Art Gallery -- Occupy Vancouver's former stomping ground -- that swelled to 500 people before marching through downtown Vancouver ending on Commercial Drive. This small but mighty march was a successful collaboration between the Vancouver and District Labour Council, the B.C. Federation of Labour and Occupy Vancouver.

If You Could Change One Thing: Developing policy for progressive change

rabble staff — Thu, 03 May 2012 08:10:00 -0400

I had a great change of pace last week, when I stayed out at the CAW Family Education Centre at Port Elgin to teach a 5-day course on "Economics for Trade Unionists" through the CAW's Paid Educational Leave program.

While I have guest lectured many times at Port Elgin, I have never actually taught a course there, so this was a great opportunity for me to experience first-hand how our PEL system trains and inspires hundreds of rank-and-file union activists and local leaders every year, through a wide range of peer-taught courses. The Centre was bursting at the seams with about 250 students in a range of courses -- including toxic substances, pride, collective bargaining, and training to be women's advocates.

May Day in Madrid: A firsthand account

derrick — Wed, 02 May 2012 13:53:19 -0400

This is Part II of rabble's coverage of May Day in Spain. In Part I, Archana Rampure explained the political context behind popular mobilizations of discontent such as the Indignados movement. Here, she reports on a May Day spent in a rally and march in Madrid, one of 80 actions across Spain. Union organizers report that this year's May Day protests were the largest in many years, with close to one million people taking part.

Dozens of groups take to the streets to mark May Day of Action

johnbon — Tue, 01 May 2012 20:16:41 -0400

Hundreds converged on the streets of downtown Toronto on Tuesday afternoon.

They came here because somewhere in Toronto a city worker is struggling to survive working part time hours for seven to 10 years before being offered a permanent full-time job.

They came here because somewhere in Toronto a disabled woman is worrying herself sick wondering how she'll survive when the government is only increasing her benefits by 1 per cent this year.

They came here because somewhere in Toronto a sex-trade worker is trying to make a living every day without getting assaulted or murdered.

They came here because somewhere in Toronto a young mother, trapped in an extremely abusive relationship, prays she won't be beaten or killed this evening.

May Day in Spain: Indignados against austerity

derrick — Tue, 01 May 2012 06:06:15 -0400

Spain is not Greece, as everyone I meet here assures me.

However, the violent clashes in the streets of Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona over the introduction of labour reforms that would make it easier to fire workers still hang in the air here. April 29 saw demonstrations organized by the PSOE (the main left wing political party in Spain) in conjunction with trade unions. Forty thousand people were out on the streets of Madrid, and there were smaller but no less heartfelt demonstrations in at least 55 cities, towns and villages ranging from Avila to Zamora.

Austerity hurts

Mayday, Mayday, Mayday: A distress call on May Day

rabble staff — Tue, 01 May 2012 07:35:09 -0400

The other Mayday is a distress call. It comes from the French "m'aidez," or help me. When repeated three times on a radio frequency, Mayday signifies grave and imminent danger. If such a call had gone out May 2, 2011 -- the night of the election of a majority Harper government -- a significant number of Canadians would not have thought it a hoax.

Watch live: Montreal May Day coverage en direct from CUTV

rabble staff — Tue, 01 May 2012 08:11:49 -0400

Tune in live to CUTV (Concordia University TV) in Montreal as they report on May Day actions, and the ongoing struggle for the future of education in Quebec. NOTE: If the channel below is not streaming, watch the livestream at: http://www.cutvmontreal.ca/live

#136 - This May Day: Art and activism from Sarah Boothroyd

meagan perry — Tue, 01 May 2012 10:36:27 -0400

(1:00 - 29:30) Happy May Day. Across Canada and the world social justice and progressive activists are readying themselves to celebrate solidarity in art, music, words, ideas, and actions. Over the last year or so, the Occupy movement has been one of the largest and most visible actions for solidarity across the globe. In this episode of rabble radio, we thought we’d bring together art and activism by turning the show over to audio artist Sarah Boothroyd. Over the last year or more, Boothroyd has brought together sound, music, and action. It has all wound up in a 28-minute audio piece called rabble rousers.

'Media for the 99 Percent' challenges corporate media with joint coverage of May Day protests

rabble staff — Tue, 01 May 2012 08:30:29 -0400

rabble.ca is proud to join Media for the 99 Percent in North American May Day and Occupy coverage. Following is the media release announcing the innovative collaborative initiative.

San Fransciso. This year, International and Immigrant Workers' Day, May Day, will usher in a spring of protests fueled by the rise in anti-immigrant legislation and enforcement, a lopsided economic recovery that favors the few, and a reemergent Occupy movement poised to challenge corporate power.

#MAY1TO: May Day of Action 2012 trailer

rabble staff — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:43:15 -0400

Canada is shutting out Refugees and Families! On May Day 2012 march for Status for All!

For the last six years, No One Is Illegal - Toronto has coordinated a May Day of Action to celebrate and invigorate migrant justice struggles. This year dozens of groups across the City are collaborating in a show of solidarity and strength to mark the May Day of Action. On May 1st, 2012 No One Is Illegal - Toronto will take the streets to push back against the refugee exclusion act (Bill C-31), ensure family reunification in the face of cuts to permanent immigration for parents and grandparents, and support decolonization struggles on Turtle Island. JOIN US!

Activist Communiqué: Directory of May Day events across Canada and live updates

Krystalline Kraus — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 22:05:44 -0400

May Day, what a wonderful day to call in sick!

Why? Because cities across Canada are hosting May Day events on May 1, 2012 and have heeded the energy of the Occupy movement calling for a general strike on International Worker's Day -- and if not a general strike in your city, at least a show of support for labour and social justice movements across Canada.

International Workers' Day (also known as May Day) is a celebration of the international labour movement and left-wing movements. May 1 is a national holiday in more than 80 countries. It is also celebrated unofficially in many other countries such as Canada and the United States. But don't let that stop you from participating in your city's May Day festivities.