OFL STATEMENT
March 6, 2015
Women are Taking on the Anti-Worker Agenda:
OFL Statement on International Women’s Day – March 8, 2015
As millions of women around the world observe International Women’s Day, the Ontario Federation of Labour will proudly celebrate the role that unions have played in elevating the living standards of all women in Canada. The history of union achievements in Ontario has been one of establishing basic and fundamental rights for all people, and women workers have consistently been at the forefront of this change. However, cuts to public services and anti-worker legislation currently being championed by every level of government today pose a threat to many of the gains that women have made.
Women workers who do not belong to a union are eight times more likely to earn poverty wages and half as likely to have a workplace pension. Regardless of union membership, all Canadian women have benefited from the achievements of unions. Laws guaranteeing the minimum wage, pay equity, maternity leave and harassment free workplaces were all secured because of the work of trade unions.
Conversely, because of their disproportionately marginal standing in the economy, women from every demographic have borne the brunt of federal and provincial austerity measures. Women have been hit the hardest by recessions, by government benefit cuts and, thanks to the Harper government’s ideological attacks to public services, have seen record unemployment.
“The anti-union laws that Tim Hudak tried to bring to Canada through the front door are being surpassed by Stephen Harper’s sneaky agenda to bring in a low-wage economy through the back door,” said OFL President Sid Ryan. “Working women understood the threat this represented and mobilized through the labour movement to shut down Hudak’s election campaign last summer. Now they are organizing to deliver the same defeat to Stephen Harper.”
The OFL is calling on the Wynne government to use International Women’s Day as an opportunity to start undoing the damage the Liberal austerity measures have had on women in Ontario. The province’s plans to overhaul Ontario’s employment standards and labour laws provide an opportunity to raise the bar for every worker and make it easier for workers to improve their own working conditions through unionization. Study after study has shown that unionization is a key component of workplace equality and the best anti-poverty program for workers, their families and their communities.
For over a century, women have sought to unionize their workplaces as a vehicle to pull themselves out of low wage conditions, secure decent benefits and improve their standard of living. Now, these basic and democratic rights are being threatened by the Harper Conservatives who are championing American-style laws that would destroy collective bargaining.
“The 2015 federal election is all about basic kitchen table economics. Women are working longer and harder for less and less and they are struggling to make ends meet,” said OFL Secretary-Treasurer Nancy Hutchison. “Stephen Harper has proven that his priority is giving tax breaks to corporations and the wealthiest families at the expense of equal pay, fair wages and worker’s rights.”
Working women across Ontario are swinging into election alert with the singular focus to stop the re-election of a Conservative government. Like the women who marched in New York City over 100 years ago for shorter working hours, better pay, an end to child labour, health and safety laws, and the right to vote, women today are fighting back against a low-wage economy. As the labour movement embarks on a massive campaign to stop Harper’s anti-worker agenda, union and community women will be on the frontlines to ensure that they do not lose ground on the equality gains women have made.
“While we celebrate a history of activism at International Women’s Day events across the province, women will be redoubling our efforts to challenge austerity and the anti-union agenda,” said Sister Hutchison. “Harper’s plans to weaken unions and drive down wages will target women workers first, so we are going to form a strong line of resistance.”
The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario. For information, visit www.OFL.ca and follow the OFL on Facebook and Twitter: @OFLabour.
For further information:
Joel Duff, OFL Communications Director: 416-707-0349 (cell) or jduff@ofl-org.flywheelsites.com *ENG/FRENCH*
