It was an amazing Day of Action on Monday October 15. With over 50 actions across the province that included a banner drop, rallies at MPP offices, information pickets, petitions signing, a big rally at the Ministry of Labour, and OFL President Chris Buckley meeting with the Minister of Labour and the Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation, and Trade We sent our message loud and clear: Ontario needs decent work laws and the January 1 increase to a $15 minimum wage. We have to keep up the pressure. You can still send MPPs an email defending workers' rights by clicking here, or you can phone cabinet ministers directly by clicking here.
In this eblast:
- Day of Action grabs attention!
- Rally Oct. 23: Demand our government rebuild health care in Ontario
- Register for a training webinar on phone banking to defend decent work laws and $15 minimum wage
- Phone or email a PC Cabinet Minister - keep up the pressure!
- Prevention Link courses
- Solidarity with locked out workers
Day of Action grabs attention!
You made it happen! There was an enormous turnout at the more-than-50 events across the province on the October 15 Day of Action for decent work and $15 minimum wage.
Communities across Ontario mobilized in defense of new workers’ rights brought in by Bill 148: Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, including the $15 minimum wage that is scheduled for January 1.
To see pictures from the day click here. The OFL produced a series of videos with people who were out defending decent work laws. The videos take on issues from equal pay to equal work, to making it easier to join a union, and what decent work laws will mean to temp workers. You can find them on our twitter @OFLabour or Facebook, or on our Youtube channel. The Fight for $15 and Fairness produced this video of actions on the day itself.
The media also covered the event and decent work. You can read the article from Toronto Star, watch CTV London, or read the reporting from Alliston, Bracebridge, and Brantford.
NDP MPP Sara Singh spoke in the legislature on decent work, presenting the story of a Scarborough voter: "Kalpesh Parmar is a 46-year-old father of two. He has worked as a security guard for the last six years. Kalpesh says: Before the new decent work laws ... when I had back pain I couldn’t afford to get treatment. We didn’t have bargaining protection. Now we do, and [the] quality of life is better. Speaker, now that the Premier has said he will scrap the rules that provide these protections for workers across our province, what does the Premier have to say to workers like Kalpesh?”
Read the media advisory on the Day of Action here. Read the press release about OFL President Chris Buckley's meeting with the Ministers of Labour and Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade here.
Tuesday October 23, join in to say no cuts, no privatization, rebuild health care!
On October 23, tell Doug Ford "Hands Off Health Care." Join the OFL and the Ontario Health Coalition to say no to cuts and privatization. We need to rebuild and improve our public health care system. Rally at 12 p.m. on Tuesday October 23 at Queen’s Park in Toronto (outside of the Ontario Legislature).
When: October 23, 2018 12:00 p.m.
Where: Queen's Park, 111 Wellesley St W, Toronto, ON
Register for a training webinar on phone banking to defend decent work laws and $15 minimum wage
We must keep up the pressure on key PC Cabinet Ministers, and to that end the OFL has been holding very successful phone banking sessions. It's not difficult to be part of this campaign. To show you how to you can be part of it, the OFL is holding two webinar training sessions on Thursday, October 25, one at 11am and the other at 6pm.
These sessions will train you on how to use Call Hub, an extremely useful and effective calling tool. You can phone bank from anywhere in Ontario, helping as many activists as possible tell Doug Ford "Hands Off Workers' Rights."
Choose a one-hour session:
October 25 at 11:00 a.m.
October 25 at 6:00 p.m.
After you register, we'll send you information on how to connect to the webinar.
Don't let them off the hook - call PC Cabinet Ministers about the need for decent work laws
There's an easy way to keep the pressure on the government to keep our decent work laws. In fact, there are two.
Phone a cabinet minister: Click the link at the end of this article. When you click "make the call" on that page, your phone will ring. After you pick up, we'll connect you. You can leave a message or you can speak to the representative. Click here to make your call.
Email PC MPPs: Elected representatives need to hear from you that workers need decent work and a $15 minimum wage. Email every PC MPP and tell them to stand up for workers. Click here to send your email!
Prevention Link courses
Prevention Link is pleased to offer: Mental Health First Aid course, on behalf of the Mental Health Commission of Canada. This course gives participants the skills to provide assistance to a person developing a mental health issue or experiencing a mental health crisis. For more information, visit Prevention Link's website.
Workers’ Comp 101: A comprehensive overview of Workers’ Compensation. This course will provide participants with an introduction to Workers’ compensation legislation and policies, benefits and services, and obligations.
Return to Work 101: The objective of this course is to provide participants with the tools to develop strategies to assist workers with disabilities and return them to long-term healthy and productive employment. The course will review noteworthy case law and Human Rights legislation.
Show your solidarity with locked out and striking workers across the province
OFL.ca is building solidarity and sharing information about labour disputes across the province with our labour disputes page. You can find information on strikes, lockouts and fightback across the p
