Issue 53 – 25, June 1, 2025
Injured Workers Day
Every year, on June 1st, people come together to remember and support injured workers. It is a special day where workers, their families, and supporters gather outside government buildings, raising their voices, share their stories, and demand better support for workers hurt on the job.
The story of this day begins in 1983. On June 1st of that year, over 3,000 injured workers showed up at Queen’s Park. They wanted to tell the government about the problems they faced after getting hurt at work. Because so many workers came, they couldn’t fit inside the government buildings. Instead, they held their meetings outside on the lawn. This big event caught the attention of the media and the public, showing how important it was to support injured workers.
The workers were fighting for fair treatment and better benefits after injuries. Their courage and unity helped bring attention to their cause. Every year after that, injured workers and their families on June 1st to remember and raise awareness about their struggles.
In December 2024, a law was passed to make Injured Workers Day an official day in Ontario. A Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) named Jamie West from Sudbury helped introduce a bill to officially recognize June 1st as Injured Workers Day. MPP West said he was grateful for the support from workers’ groups and his colleagues.
Now, injured workers have a special day to be recognized by the government. Injured Workers Day is a time to celebrate the strength of workers who stand up for their rights. It’s also a reminder that we need to continue working to make workplaces safer and to support those who are hurt. By coming together, we can make sure injured workers are never forgotten and always supported.
Read more - Injured Workers’ Day
Victory and Struggles CUPW
CURC participated with CUPW in a both at FCM National Convention this week with the “Hands of our Post Office Campaign” and the “Delivering Community Power Campaign”.
We talked with hundreds of Mayors, Councillors’, Administrators from big cities and rural communities.
We are pleased with the “victory” that the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) passed a resolution calling on Canada Post, to maintain protection for small urban, rural, remote, and northern postal services. This resolution also ensures that any changes to Canada Post's mandate or service charter are subject to thorough public review, including consultation with local governments.
The resolution focuses on preserving essential postal services, particularly in areas reliant on Canada Post for delivery.
The resolution emphasizes the need for public review and consultation with local governments before any changes are made to Canada Post's operations or mandate. On Saturday down the street from the Convention and in other cities across the country rallies happened highlighting the workers struggle in the current round of bargaining.
“Our public post office is under attack. Canada Post is pushing cuts that are going to harm you, the workers, but also harm the Canadian public,” Jan Simpson, CUPW’s national president, said at the rally. process, the employees cannot strike, and the employer cannot lock-out the employees which is not the case in respect of the conduct of a forced vote. Moreover, if the Employer’s last offers are rejected by the employees, the dispute continues arguably dividing the parties further and bringing more harm to Canadians.
Read more - Rallies held to stir up support for Canada Post workers across the country
Read more - CUPW - 2025-05-31 - Statement: CUPW Invites Canada Post to Fair, Final and Binding Arbitration
New Government’s Plans
This week the government gave the speech called the "Throne Speech." CURC, listened carefully, well we may have heard some good ideas, we also have many worries about what the government might do next.
The speech talks about important things like building roads, fixing the housing crisis. Many union retirees are having trouble finding affordable places to live. We want the government to spend more money building public, affordable housing, relying only on private companies to build faster will not solve the housing crisis.
Many unions are upset because the government isn’t doing enough to protect Canadian jobs. They are asking the government to take real actions, not just talk about ideas. They want policies that support good jobs, strong public services, and fair treatment for all workers. They also want to work together with the government to make Canada a better place for everyone. They want rules to stop companies from moving jobs to other countries.
CURC also want the government to focus on fairness. This means making sure everyone, no matter their background or ability, is treated equally and has access to opportunities, our healthcare, public services and social programs are protected and strengthened.
Read more - Throne Speech misses the mark for workers | Canadian Labour Congress
CURC 15th Constitutional Convention
The Fifteenth Convention of the Congress of Union Retirees of Canada will take place at the Pan Pacific Toronto, 900 York Mills Rd, Toronto, the convention will be held June 17th, to June 19, 2025.
The Convention offers opportunities for networking, learning about new initiatives, and advocating collectively for policies that protect and enhance the union retiree’s quality of life.
Registration to be a delegate to the convention remains open until June 13, 2025. Be a delegate, participate in building the union retirement movement forward.
For more information about the convention please email curc@clcctc.ca .