Following a difficult summer of strikes and concession demands from employers with austerity agendas, CUPE’s national officers would like to remind CUPE locals they are not alone in their fight.
“CUPE does not accept concessions – we bargain forward, not backward,” said CUPE National President Mark Hancock, after seeing a rise in attacks on CUPE locals, lengthy strikes, and attacks on workers across Canada by employers demanding concessions. “Two-tier bargaining, where new hires are forced to accept inferior wages, pensions, benefits or working conditions, undermines solidarity and creates division in the workplace – at the end of the day all workers lose under these schemes.”
“Our national strike fund is strong and we have skilled negotiators, specialists in research, communications, legal and other resources to support locals in campaigns and on the picket line,” said CUPE National Secretary-Treasurer Charles Fleury. “Most CUPE locals know this, but as employers become more creative about demanding concessions that erode our wages and benefits, it is important to remind all CUPE members, and employers, that we stand together to fight these attacks.”
CUPE is committed to ensuring the next generation of workers enjoys the benefits that CUPE members have already won. It is our policy to reject concessions, including all moves toward two-tier wages, benefits, and pensions. We cannot build solidarity between generations if we accept two-tier contracts.