Presented by Hassan Yussuff on Monday, 7 September 2009

(Check Against Delivery)

Sisters, Brothers – I am pleased to bring greetings of solidarity on this Labour Day 2009 from the 3.2 million workers who are members of the Canadian Labour Congress!

But while we are here to celebrate the great accomplishments of labour – of the workers who literally built this wonderful country – we must also remember that their struggles in the past remain our struggles today.

And the workers who built our labour movement – starting with the first unions formed in the 1870s – would have a clear message for all of us today – fight like hell for working people!

That’s what they did to build our unions and to win better wages and working conditions – against terrible opposition from greedy employers and their friends in governments.

Today it is a sad commentary that as our country honours workers and our contributions to our society, more than 1.6 million Canadians are without work.

What’s even worse, only half of them – 800,000 workers – are receiving Employment Insurance benefits, because of totally unfair federal government rules.

That leaves hundreds of thousands more workers struggling to survive on social assistance or help from family and friends.

But Prime Minister Stephen Harper actually calls the EI program “generous”.

And the EI fund surplus now stands at an outrageous $57 billion!

This intolerable, disregard for workers in need is why the CLC is fighting to fix EI.

But while workers are suffering, CEOs are partying.

They are still enjoying their million dollar bonuses!

This unprecedented corporate greed is only possible because right-wing governments are letting them get away with highway robbery!

In fact, the Harper government is driving the get-away car for big business.

And it is even happening in the public sector.

The Public Service Pension Investment Board - the board that manages federal public employees’ pension funds - suffered a massive loss of $9 billion last year – and still 6 top executives were paid nearly $4 million in bonuses!

Why are we paying them bonuses to lose money? Are we crazy?

Why is it the only contracts our governments will stand up for and protect are CEO employment contracts with bloated salaries and bonuses?

But when it comes to workers, they’re all too ready to tear up contracts!

And while executives get paid extra to lose money, workers watch as their hard-earned pensions get slashed.

But what’s worse is that over 60% of working Canadians don’t even have a workplace pension plan.

It’s time to dramatically improve the Canada Pension Plan – which is really our country’s largest defined benefit plan and that covers 93% of working Canadians.

That’s why on this Labour Day 2009 the Canadian Labour Congress is launching a campaign to double the benefits of our public Canada Pension Plan over the next 7 to 10 years.

It’s time that each and every one of the hard-working people who built our country can afford to retire – and retire with dignity and security, not in poverty and in fear of losing their limited benefits!

Our seniors have spent their entire lifetime contributing to society – as workers, as citizens, as volunteers and as taxpayers who funded the public health care, education and services that all of us depend on.

For them to then be forced into dire circumstances because of a lack of retirement income just when they should be enjoying the golden years of their lives is simply unacceptable to the Canadian Labour Congress!

I ask for your support in what could be organized labour’s most significant and lasting contribution to Canadian social programs since our work to bring medicare to Canadians forty years ago – a Canada Pension Plan that is truly a pension that retired workers can depend on to live out their lives in comfort and with dignity and respect.

And as we celebrate workers’ achievements on Labour Day, let’s use this solidarity to fight even harder for what’s right for working people across Canada!

Thank you and enjoy Labour Day!