Education shouldn’t be a debt sentence
CUPE is answering the Canadian Federation of Students rallying cry for a national day of action against rising tuition fees on Feb. 7, 2007.
“We are calling on CUPE locals to lend their support on Feb. 7,” said CUPE National President Paul Moist.
Thousands of CUPE members are also students.
“We say step up to the plate and earmark federal dollars to post secondary education,” added National Secretary-Treasurer Claude Généreux. “No more prohibitive user fees in the form of tuition fees.”
Tory child care plans fail families
The Conservative government has shuffled its cabinet and shifted priorities, but it has some major unfinished business when it comes to child care.
In a report released this week, Code Blue for Child Care confirms that the Tories’ piecemeal approach to child care won’t work. The impact of the Conservative’s policy on child care spaces is being magnified in British Columbia, where the government has capped the amount of money for subsidies.
Ontario long-term care bill must include minimum standard of care
CUPE Ontario caregivers are calling on the Dalton McGuinty government to ensure long-term care residents receive three-and-a-half hours of care every day.
The Liberal government is proposing a new law for Ontario’s nursing homes, homes for the aged and rest homes. However, CUPE says that Bill 140, which will replace three major pieces of legislation affecting almost 75,000 residents in these facilities, provides no minimum standard of care.
The union wants the Liberal government to stand up to operators of homes who oppose minimum standards of care. Bill 140 also needs to set out funding for adequate staffing and provide better whistle blower protection for workers who speak out on care issues.
Important WorkSafeBC decision for CUPE members
An important decision from WorkSafeBC will see CUPE locals in school districts across British Columbia taking a hard look at health and safety issues.
In April 2005, eight members of CUPE 409 in the New Westminster School District were asked to remove flooring in a school. Workers were not advised that the tiling possibly contained asbestos and did not wear any protective equipment.
WorkSafeBC recently imposed an administrative penalty on the district, saying the employer had created a high risk of serious injury or death and that their violation was ‘knowing’ or ‘with reckless disregard to’ the health and safety of their employees.
New CUPE Atlantic regional director
Robert Chisholm, the former leader of the Nova Scotia New Democrats and opposition leader, is the new director for CUPE’s Atlantic region (Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador).
Chisholm, who returned to CUPE after he left politics in 2003, was a researcher and a servicing representative prior to the appointment.
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