Radiolabour

Two union organizers working with the Solidarity Center in the US and around the world talk about the lessons they've learned on how to organize platform workers. RadioLabour is the international labour movement’s radio service. It reports on labour union events around the world with a focus on unions in the developing world. It partners with rabble to provide coverage of news of interest to Canadian workers.    

The International Accord On Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment industries was negotiated by the international labour movement after the Rana Plaza disaster which killed 1,134 mainly young women garment workers and injured more than 2,500. The Accord was extended on November 1, 2023. More than 200 major clothing brands have signed the agreement. However, Walmart in the US and Canadian Tire, which owns Mark's, have refused to sign the Accord. An interview with the General Secretary of IndustriALL global unions, Atle Høie. He says that the negotiations by the global unions with the clothing brands is the international labour movement's most successful victory. RadioLabour is the international labour movement’s radio service. It reports on labour union events around the world with a focus on unions in the developing world. It partners with rabble to provide coverage of news of interest to Canadian workers.

A new report by the global union Education International shows that AI can degrade the quality of education, worsen working conditions for teachers and provide inferior schooling for students. EI is the global union for teachers and other educators. In Canada, EI affiliates include the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, the Canadian Association of University Teachers and four unions in Quebec. RadioLabour is the international labour movement’s radio service. It reports on labour union events around the world with a focus on unions in the developing world. It partners with rabble to provide coverage of news of interest to Canadian workers.

The International Trade Union Confederation has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. It reiterates its long-standing call for peace in the world with a new social contract that guarantees respect for workers rights. The ITUC's affiliate in Canada is the Canadian Labour Congress. RadioLabour is the international labour movement’s radio service. It reports on labour union events around the world with a focus on unions in the developing world. It partners with rabble to provide coverage of news of interest to Canadian workers.

Former federal NDP leader Ed Broadbent is the co-author of a recently published book, Seeking Social Democracy: Seven Years Fighting for Equality with Francis Abele, Jonathan Sas and Luke Savage. In this interview with RadioLabour Broadbent discusses the role of trade unions in social democracy. He argues for the right of workers to join a union as soon as they start a job. He also talks about the rise of fascism in the United States.  RadioLabour is the international labour movement’s radio service. It reports on labour union events around the world with a focus on unions in the developing world. It partners with rabble to provide coverage of news of interest to Canadian workers.

There is a global crisis in nursing with understaffing, a lack of respect for family-life issues and, increasingly, problems caused by the climate crisis. Recently Global Nurses United held a conference in San Francisco to discuss what can be done. One of the nurses who attended the conference was Linda Silas, the president of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions. The CFNU has about 250,000 members in Canada. She outlined some of the solutions for the nursing crisis in Canada and around the world. RadioLabour is the international labour movement’s radio service. It reports on labour union events around the world with a focus on unions in the developing world. It partners with rabble to provide coverage of news of interest to Canadian workers.

RadioLabour is proposing to start English as an Additional Language (ADL) lessons for trade unionists. The service will include an audio newscast, the English scripts translated into many languages and an English lesson. Please visit www.radiolabour.net to sign a petition in support of the service.  RadioLabour is the international labour movement’s radio service. It reports on labour union events around the world with a focus on unions in the developing world. It partners with rabble to provide coverage of news of interest to Canadian workers.

Platform gig workers in developing countries are being cruelly exploited but many are fighting back. A report by the Solidarity Center about workers in Ecuador protecting themselves by forming a union. RadioLabour is the international labour movement’s radio service. It reports on labour union events around the world with a focus on unions in the developing world. It partners with rabble to provide coverage of news of interest to Canadian workers.

In Ontario right-wing opponents of children talking about gender orientation at school held rallies across the province. Union offices were vandalized. Supporters of the children held counter-rallies. Interviews with Laura Walton, the president of the CUPE Ontario School Boards Council of Unions and Fred Hahn, the president of CUPE Ontario. RadioLabour is the international labour movement’s radio service. It reports on labour union events around the world with a focus on unions in the developing world. It partners with rabble to provide coverage of news of interest to Canadian workers.

For the first time in history a song produced by a singer with no chart-success history debuted as Billboard's #1. The song was sung by the American folksinger, Oliver Anthony. But the British singer Billie Bragg sang back saying that complaining was not enough and that Anthony should join a union. In other news a new General Secretary for the International Trade Union Confederation will be acclaimed. RadioLabour will be starting English as an Additional Language lessons for unionists. RadioLabour is the international labour movement’s radio service. It reports on labour union events around the world with a focus on unions in the developing world. It partners with rabble to provide coverage of news of interest to Canadian workers.

Canadian delegates to the Congress of the International Union of Food Workers (held in Geneva Switzerland June 13-16, 2023) condemned transnational corporations such as Fyffes for not respecting the rights of their workers.  They called on the government of Canada to ratify conventions of the International Labour Organization. The Canadian delegates who spoke at the IUF Congress were Kelly Tosato of UFCW Local 175 and Wayne Hanley of UFCW Local 1006A. RadioLabour is the international labour movement’s radio service. It reports on labour union events around the world with a focus on unions in the developing world. It partners with rabble to provide coverage of news of interest to Canadian workers.

Microaggressions against racialized and marginalized people in the workplace need to be recognized and eliminated. This week, we speak to Marlihan Lopez, the community engagement and outreach coordinator at the Simone de Beauvoir Institute at Concordia University. Lopez is also a co-founder of Harambec, a Black feminist organization in Montreal. RadioLabour is the international labour movement’s radio service. It reports on labour union events around the world with a focus on unions in the developing world. It partners with rabble to provide coverage of news of interest to Canadian workers.

The UN Declaration of Human Rights declares that labour rights are human rights. It is backed up by a declaration by the International Labour Organization which says that labour is not a commodity. Comments by the Chair of the ILO's Workers' Group, Catelene Passchier. Canadian unions are represented at the ILO by the Canadian Labour Congress.

Developments in machine learning and computer algorithms may be about to radically change many workplaces. Governments and employers need to share control with workers. Comments by the assistant general secretary of Public Services International, Daniel Bertossa. PSI affiliates in Canada include the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the BC General Employees' Union (BCGEU). RadioLabour is the international labour movement’s radio service. It reports on labour union events around the world with a focus on unions in the developing world. It partners with rabble to provide coverage of news of interest to Canadian workers.

Seventy-seven per cent of members of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (EFTO) say they have personally experienced violence or witnessed violence against another staff member, according to a survey conducted for the Federation. This week on RadioLabour, we share comments from Karen Brown, president of the ETFO. RadioLabour is the international labour movement’s radio service. It reports on labour union events around the world with a focus on unions in the developing world. It partners with rabble to provide coverage of news of interest to Canadian workers.

After a multi-year campaign by unions the Australian government has introduced legislation to make corporate operations in all countries more transparent and help stop profit shifting. An interview with the assistant general secretary of Public Services International, Daniel Bertossa. PSI affiliates in Canada include the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the BC General Employees' Union (BCGEU). RadioLabour is the international labour movement’s radio service. It reports on labour union events around the world with a focus on unions in the developing world. It partners with rabble to provide coverage of news of interest to Canadian workers.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) started a strike of 155,000 workers on April 19, 2023. It's demanding the federal government present a fair wage proposal plus other demands such as the right to work from home when possible. Tune to hear comments by PSAC president Chris Aylward and the leader of the federal NDP Jagmeet Singh. RadioLabour is the international labour movement’s radio service. It reports on labour union events around the world with a focus on unions in the developing world. It partners with rabble to provide coverage of news of interest to Canadian workers.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada has announced that its members have voted overwhelmingly to give their negotiating team a strike mandate. The union is calling on the federal government to return to the bargaining table. Comments by PSAC president Chris Aylward and Sharon DeSousa, national executive vice president. RadioLabour is the international labour movement’s radio service. It reports on labour union events around the world with a focus on unions in the developing world. It partners with rabble to provide coverage of news of interest to Canadian workers.

The global union Public Services International is helping its affiliates bring privatized public services back to public ownership. The PSI's Canadian affiliates include the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the National Union of Public and General Employees, NUPGE. RadioLabour is the international labour movement’s radio service. It reports on labour union events around the world with a focus on unions in the developing world. It partners with rabble to provide coverage of news of interest to Canadian workers.

In 2020, the Beijing governments forced the Hong Kong government to pass a National Security Law. The legitimate labour confederation was shut down. The wife of the general secretary of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, Elizabeth Tang, was arrested March 9, 2023, when she visited her husband in prison. Elizabeth Tang is General Secretary of the International Domestic Workers Federation.  Today, a RadioLabour interview with the executive director of the Hong Kong Labour Rights Monitor, Christopher Siu-Tat Mung.  RadioLabour is the international labour movement’s radio service. It reports on labour union events around the world with a focus on unions in the developing world. It partners with rabble to provide coverage of news of interest to Canadian workers.