News and media

Richmond BC-Over a hundred supporters of the locked-out workers of IKEA Richmond gathered outside the store today to demand IKEA settle the lockout. On May 13, 2013, IKEA Richmond locked out its workers after the Teamsters members working in the store rejected the company’s offer unanimously. Teamsters 213, which represents the workers, continues to press the company for a negotiated contract

The B.C. Federation of Labour is deeply saddened by this shocking workplace tragedy. At a meeting today of the Executive Officers of the B.C. Federation of Labour, a moment of silence was observed for the two workers killed and two workers seriously injured in the shooting at Western Forest Products yesterday in Nanaimo, BC. “On behalf the B.C. Labour Movement, Irene Lanzinger, Secretary-Treasurer

Vancouver – BC Minimum Wage workers have had their wages frozen since May 1, 2012. The B.C. Federation of Labour is calling on the BC Government to increase minimum wage to $13.00 per hour and convene an independent panel of labour and business representatives to recommend future increase. The BC Government committed to reviewing minimum wage every second year to ensure that minimum wage workers

Vancouver, BC – Upon initial review, the labour movement gives mixed review to the BC Government’s “re-engineered education and training” program. The Federation is pleased to see the BC Government’s new plan has committed to hiring 15 apprenticeship counselors with a priority on Aboriginal people and those with a disability. However, the new plan doesn’t address the most significant barrier to

Vancouver, BC - Yesterday's Government of Canada announcement that it would suspend the Temporary Foreign Worker Labour Market Opinions (LMOs) in the food services sector would do nothing to protect current TFWs from abuse nor would it put unemployed Canadians back to work. The Government of Canada has allowed the TFW program to swell dramatically in the entry-level sector in the past few years.

“It’s been one year since the deadliest garment factory tragedy in history, and most of the families affected have had little or no compensation. If something like this happened to workers in Canada there would be outrage and companies would be heavily fined. “North American and European companies that pull in profits in the billion dollar range, and pay their executives millions of dollars a year