This coming week-end will see what has been called "fortress Toronto" put into action. The security measures as we know have been sold to us as necessary to protect the leaders of the twenty most industrialized countries and largest economies in the world. By this late date just about all that can be said about this colossal waste of much needed public money has been said.
The irony of all this is that the security measures are put in place to protect the very people that can do little or no more harm to us at this summit than they and their predecessors have done everyday for decades as they hammer into existence more and more legislative policy that hurts ordinary working people around the world.
I would like to suggest an alternate use for the security measures and the fence; it is better used to protect the people that will rally and protest from the leaders that will be in Toronto at the summit. If we assume that virtually every protester has designs on making sure that their actions hurt no one during the week-end then we already know their designs are more honorable than the leaders who will continue to act in a way far less honorable as they return home next week and seek out new ways to deregulate economies in the interest of globalization with virtually no interest in seeing workers around the world protected and secure in a future that provides living incomes and social safety networks such that their retirement may be with dignity.
Keep the fence up and lets just hope it keeps the protesters safe from the G20 leaders.
Dave Trumble
President
Grey-Bruce Labour Council
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Deregulation Still Haunts Us
This often referred too "first week-end of summer" is a time of awakening for many Canadians as we reopen cottages, light Bar-b-Cues for the first time since last fall and wax our cars, but this awakening is also a time of re-awakening the pain of grief and suffering as the wonderful people of Walkerton Ontario mark the tenth anniversary of the Walkerton water tragedy.
This avoidable tragedy brought to the people of Walkerton suffering and death; suffering and death of family, friends and loved ones. Yes it was avoidable on more that one front; a couple of the operators of the water treatment system received much of the blame, but it must never be forgotten that deregulation of our public services such as water treatment and sampling greatly accelerated the trip to disaster and tragedy.
If one needs more examples of where deregulation governments such as the former Harris government in Ontario and the current McGuinty government fail to represent and care for the people in their jurisdiction just think back to the privatization of TSSA inspections and the deadly propane explosion in north Toronto of a couple of summers ago. Fast forward to to-day and the McGuinty government is entertaining the possibility of privatizing Ministry of Labour inspections. Just imagine the disservice that workers in Ontario will be subject too if this privatization and deregulation exercise dose for workers what the privatization of TSSA inspections and water sampling did for the public safety.
Dave Trumble
President
Grey-Bruce
Labour Council
This avoidable tragedy brought to the people of Walkerton suffering and death; suffering and death of family, friends and loved ones. Yes it was avoidable on more that one front; a couple of the operators of the water treatment system received much of the blame, but it must never be forgotten that deregulation of our public services such as water treatment and sampling greatly accelerated the trip to disaster and tragedy.
If one needs more examples of where deregulation governments such as the former Harris government in Ontario and the current McGuinty government fail to represent and care for the people in their jurisdiction just think back to the privatization of TSSA inspections and the deadly propane explosion in north Toronto of a couple of summers ago. Fast forward to to-day and the McGuinty government is entertaining the possibility of privatizing Ministry of Labour inspections. Just imagine the disservice that workers in Ontario will be subject too if this privatization and deregulation exercise dose for workers what the privatization of TSSA inspections and water sampling did for the public safety.
Dave Trumble
President
Grey-Bruce
Labour Council
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Federal Conservative Party Intolerance
If there was much doubt about the agenda of intolerance that the federal Conservative party subscribes too the last few weeks should have cleared up that doubt. In the past few weeks the federal Conservatives have excluded abortion, in contrast to the rest of the G8, as part of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's G8 maternal-health initiative, have witnessed some raw political advice on the same abortion issue from a Conservative senator to women's groups “shut up” or it could get worse and, lastly, the removal of funding for Toronto's pride celebration.
Take these last few items, which are only a small subset of numerous other attacks on a wide variety of progressive groups and unions, and add them to the contempt for parliament that Harper has and a clear picture of intolerance emerges.
Canada is built on a long standing foundation of tolerance and understanding and in light of this should Harper ever have the courage to face the electorate the voters will need to give thorough consideration to this most important consideration; what type of Canada do we still want and who do we want to represent that Canada.
Dave Trumble
President
Grey-Bruce Labour Council
Take these last few items, which are only a small subset of numerous other attacks on a wide variety of progressive groups and unions, and add them to the contempt for parliament that Harper has and a clear picture of intolerance emerges.
Canada is built on a long standing foundation of tolerance and understanding and in light of this should Harper ever have the courage to face the electorate the voters will need to give thorough consideration to this most important consideration; what type of Canada do we still want and who do we want to represent that Canada.
Dave Trumble
President
Grey-Bruce Labour Council
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Sunshine List, $100,000 High Rollers ?
Mainstream media, or should I say media that has long forgot the necessary balance between being a successful business and selling papers or advertising space and being true to journalistic standards that report on a subject while leaving out the unnecessary right wing and short term thinking bias that is so much part of most mainstream media to-day has once again lived up to its reputation by unidimensionally reporting on the public sector employees who were compensated in excess of $100,000 in 2009; the sunshine list.
The first important piece of the report that is never discussed is that this mandatory reporting commenced only when the government of Mike Harris implemented this requirement. The Harris regime in its manic fear of a functioning and educated public service insisted on this report to further the Harris mantra of demonizing the Ontario Public Service to swing the so easily manipulated electorate of the time to believe that Harris' goal of privatization was not only financially prudent (which we know not to be true then nor is it today), but more sinister was the dark propaganda genius of not only requiring the reporting, but mounting the greatest campaign of misinformation about all unions in a generation or more. The reporting in concert with the campaign of misinformation lead those easily lead into a dislike of the public service thus requiring the dedicated public service workers, largely unionized, to fight to maintain their jobs and unable to provide the necessary public oversight that would have been provided to the public such that they would have seen the dogmatic direction of the Harris regime that certainly had no desire to look at anything in a broader social context for the general good in anyway shape or form.
In support of the poor reporting of this story lets examine the facts of those actually listed on the sunshine list. According to the Toronto Star, who seemed to report the story with some editorial conscience, most of the 63,671 Ontario public employees who made more than $100,000 last year aren't high rollers. They're nurses, police officers and garbage collectors who worked a lot of overtime, or mid-level bureaucrats who were pushed into the six-figure club by inflation. They certainly did better than the average Ontarian – who made $45,400 last year – but they weren't egregiously overpaid. And, as the government noted, if the annual "sunshine list" were indexed to inflation, the threshold would now be $130,000, not $100,000, and the list would be 70 per cent shorter.
By the way the overtime is often associated with the underhiring of full time staff.
While the sunshine list is still in existence and in reality still doing a great deal of harm to dedicated public service employees and unions in the public service the omission of such items of interest as the minimum wage is now only poised to reach $10.25 an hour. It took over 1,000 days to reach $10 and hour from the day the ten dollar minimum wage legislation was enacted almost three years ago. Further to this is the short term memory experienced by so many in the Ontario electorate; the three days of debate the Ontario government under Dalton McGinty took to give itself a 25% raise while continuing to attack the rights and benefits that were collectively bargained with Ontario public service unions while the minimum wage debate was still on.
The sunshine list has outlived its usefulness in its current structure and context as it puts the focus unfairly in only one area and was created out of malicious intent instead of a desire to provide fair and equitable disclosure.
Dave Trumble
President
Grey-Bruce Labour Council
The first important piece of the report that is never discussed is that this mandatory reporting commenced only when the government of Mike Harris implemented this requirement. The Harris regime in its manic fear of a functioning and educated public service insisted on this report to further the Harris mantra of demonizing the Ontario Public Service to swing the so easily manipulated electorate of the time to believe that Harris' goal of privatization was not only financially prudent (which we know not to be true then nor is it today), but more sinister was the dark propaganda genius of not only requiring the reporting, but mounting the greatest campaign of misinformation about all unions in a generation or more. The reporting in concert with the campaign of misinformation lead those easily lead into a dislike of the public service thus requiring the dedicated public service workers, largely unionized, to fight to maintain their jobs and unable to provide the necessary public oversight that would have been provided to the public such that they would have seen the dogmatic direction of the Harris regime that certainly had no desire to look at anything in a broader social context for the general good in anyway shape or form.
In support of the poor reporting of this story lets examine the facts of those actually listed on the sunshine list. According to the Toronto Star, who seemed to report the story with some editorial conscience, most of the 63,671 Ontario public employees who made more than $100,000 last year aren't high rollers. They're nurses, police officers and garbage collectors who worked a lot of overtime, or mid-level bureaucrats who were pushed into the six-figure club by inflation. They certainly did better than the average Ontarian – who made $45,400 last year – but they weren't egregiously overpaid. And, as the government noted, if the annual "sunshine list" were indexed to inflation, the threshold would now be $130,000, not $100,000, and the list would be 70 per cent shorter.
By the way the overtime is often associated with the underhiring of full time staff.
While the sunshine list is still in existence and in reality still doing a great deal of harm to dedicated public service employees and unions in the public service the omission of such items of interest as the minimum wage is now only poised to reach $10.25 an hour. It took over 1,000 days to reach $10 and hour from the day the ten dollar minimum wage legislation was enacted almost three years ago. Further to this is the short term memory experienced by so many in the Ontario electorate; the three days of debate the Ontario government under Dalton McGinty took to give itself a 25% raise while continuing to attack the rights and benefits that were collectively bargained with Ontario public service unions while the minimum wage debate was still on.
The sunshine list has outlived its usefulness in its current structure and context as it puts the focus unfairly in only one area and was created out of malicious intent instead of a desire to provide fair and equitable disclosure.
Dave Trumble
President
Grey-Bruce Labour Council
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Grey-Bruce Labour Council Delivers Message of Solidarity to Striking Steelworkers at Vale Inco
On March 22nd thousands of workers, union and non-union alike, will be in Sudbury to tell “Vale Inco that imposing its way of doing things on Canadian workers is unacceptable. In light of the recent celebrations of International Women’s day and Anti-Racism Day Labour Council President, Dave Trumble is clear in his message of support to the members of the United Steelworkers and the workers that will rally in support of the Steelworkers at Vale Inco; “We have to get the message to foreign corporations that they cannot import anti-union strategies to Ontario and Canada. In the company’s Brazilian operations, workers are not laid off, but terminated without cause. They have no seniority rights, no access to grievance and arbitration procedures and health and safety standards are extremely low”.
The 3,000 Steelworkers at Vale Inco are clearly holding the line for all workers and people of social conscience. Many in the business community will say that Vale Inco’s actions are necessary to make Vale Inco competitive in to-day’s global market. In response to this Len Hope, Labour Council Executive Member and Pension advocate, points to numerous profitable Canadian Companies such as Inco in the days before the feeble excuse of globalization permitted Vale’s Brazilian type punitive style of business and labour relations to take hold. Hope says that “globalization has been the excuse for too long for unwarranted, perhaps unprecedented, punitive attacks on Canadian workers and in the end a way of life that no Canadian should ever permit to be threatened, no matter where the threat comes from”.
The Grey-Bruce Labour Council, and the thousands of workers that find their voice in the Council stand in solidarity with the members of the United Steelworkers and all workers who will rally in support of the Vale Inco workers and the fight to maintain not only their collective rights in Sudbury, but in a very real way the society of fairness and social responsibility that has and must define Canadians and Canadian society going forward.
The 3,000 Steelworkers at Vale Inco are clearly holding the line for all workers and people of social conscience. Many in the business community will say that Vale Inco’s actions are necessary to make Vale Inco competitive in to-day’s global market. In response to this Len Hope, Labour Council Executive Member and Pension advocate, points to numerous profitable Canadian Companies such as Inco in the days before the feeble excuse of globalization permitted Vale’s Brazilian type punitive style of business and labour relations to take hold. Hope says that “globalization has been the excuse for too long for unwarranted, perhaps unprecedented, punitive attacks on Canadian workers and in the end a way of life that no Canadian should ever permit to be threatened, no matter where the threat comes from”.
The Grey-Bruce Labour Council, and the thousands of workers that find their voice in the Council stand in solidarity with the members of the United Steelworkers and all workers who will rally in support of the Vale Inco workers and the fight to maintain not only their collective rights in Sudbury, but in a very real way the society of fairness and social responsibility that has and must define Canadians and Canadian society going forward.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Kill a Worker, go to jail
Twelve years after the Westray mine disaster of 1992 the Criminal Code of Canada was amended by Bill C-45. Bill C-45 allowed for prosecutions of corporate executives, directors and managers who wrongfully or neglect to uphold their responsibilities to make and keep workplaces (large and small) healthy and safe. The successful passing of the amendment had little to do with political will and more to do with the work of United Steelworkers for whom the Westray mine disaster meant the loss of 26 of their brothers.
As of to-day no executive, director or manager resides in prison as a result of the amendment and a successful prosecution. The fact that hundreds of workers in Ontario alone have lost their lives since 2004 and over two Million workers have been injured is proof enough that executives, directors and mangers across Ontario and Canada who neglect their health and safety responsibilities have not had a change of heart such that Bill C-45 is not needed. Never more true is the opposite; they have simply been able to avoid successful prosecution under C-45 even if they were in many cases successful prosecuted under various provincial acts such as the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
It may be that the end is near, for those in a position of corporate power who wrongfully or neglect to uphold their responsibilities to make and keep workplaces healthy and safe, as Millennium Crane Rentals Ltd. will appear in court this week on charges of criminal negligence causing death following a fatal accident last spring, according to an article published yesterday at http://www.lawtimesnews.com. The charges are as a result of Bill C-45, according to the article.
By charging Millennium Crane Rentals Ltd. law enforcement in this case is making it clear to employers that if they kill a worker they are going to jail. The Labour movement under the leadership of the Ontario Federation of Labour has called for a criminal investigation into the Christmas Eve tragedy that took the lives of four construction workers and seriously injured a fifth. There is no doubt that as this plays out Bill C-45 will be very much on the minds of the investigators and on those that acted in such a way as to cause these deaths and injuries.
Plainly and simply, the time has come for corporate leaders and trade union leaders who put safety as their first priority to push as hard as possible for the maximum penalties under the law for corporate leaders who choose to do otherwise.
Dave Trumble
President
Grey-Bruce Labour Council
As of to-day no executive, director or manager resides in prison as a result of the amendment and a successful prosecution. The fact that hundreds of workers in Ontario alone have lost their lives since 2004 and over two Million workers have been injured is proof enough that executives, directors and mangers across Ontario and Canada who neglect their health and safety responsibilities have not had a change of heart such that Bill C-45 is not needed. Never more true is the opposite; they have simply been able to avoid successful prosecution under C-45 even if they were in many cases successful prosecuted under various provincial acts such as the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
It may be that the end is near, for those in a position of corporate power who wrongfully or neglect to uphold their responsibilities to make and keep workplaces healthy and safe, as Millennium Crane Rentals Ltd. will appear in court this week on charges of criminal negligence causing death following a fatal accident last spring, according to an article published yesterday at http://www.lawtimesnews.com. The charges are as a result of Bill C-45, according to the article.
By charging Millennium Crane Rentals Ltd. law enforcement in this case is making it clear to employers that if they kill a worker they are going to jail. The Labour movement under the leadership of the Ontario Federation of Labour has called for a criminal investigation into the Christmas Eve tragedy that took the lives of four construction workers and seriously injured a fifth. There is no doubt that as this plays out Bill C-45 will be very much on the minds of the investigators and on those that acted in such a way as to cause these deaths and injuries.
Plainly and simply, the time has come for corporate leaders and trade union leaders who put safety as their first priority to push as hard as possible for the maximum penalties under the law for corporate leaders who choose to do otherwise.
Dave Trumble
President
Grey-Bruce Labour Council
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