Posted: Monday, 26 May 2008

TORONTO – The President of the Canadian Labour Congress, Ken Georgetti, opened the 25th Convention of the CLC with a call for increased unionization in Canada.

“Our goal must be to give far more workers the union advantage – defined benefit pensions, better wages, better working conditions, and better benefits,” said Georgetti.

The Convention brings together over 2,000 delegates from unions, federations of labour and labour councils from every part of Canada. The CLC holds conventions every three years; they are the supreme governing body of the Canadian Labour Congress.

“We urgently need to increase the labour movement’s organizing efforts.

Because we simply have to, in order for us to get the changes that working women and men need – to improve their lives.

The recent Statistics Canada report on median income shows that while the rich have gotten richer over the past 25 years, not only have the poor become poorer but also the wages of middle income Canadians are completely stagnant.

We’re not surprised – we predicted it, workers experienced it, we still feel it.

25 years of bad trade deals, the assault on the rights of workers to join unions, and tax breaks for the rich – none of this has improved the quality of life for the majority of Canadians at all.

The only way we can help most workers is – by increasing unionization,” said Georgetti.

The Canadian Labour Congress, the national voice of the labour movement, represents 3.2 million Canadian workers. The CLC brings together Canada’s national and international unions along with the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 130 district labour councils. Web site: www.canadianlabour.ca

Contact:
Jeff Atkinson, Communications, 613-526-7425 et 613-863-1413