VANCOUVER- BC Federation of Labour President Irene Lanzinger opened her organization’s 57th Convention Monday with a provocative speech that prosecuted the record of the Clark government and made the case for political change in next May’s provincial election.
Lanzinger targeted the Clark government’s record of losing good-paying full-time jobs and instead creating precarious part-time work.
“She wants to be called premier jobs, and she boasts about her job creation record,” says Lanzinger. “But in the last year, 75% of new jobs were part-time, low-paying jobs with no benefits. In reality, she’s premier precarious, premier part-time, or premier poverty—take your pick.”
An outspoken advocate for a $15 minimum wage, Lanzinger also took the BC Liberals to task for growing poverty and inequality in a province as wealthy as BC. “Nearly half a million workers are paid poverty wages, and thanks to Premier Clark, BC’s minimum wage is among the lowest in Canada.”
And on issues around workplace health and safety practices, Lanzinger says inaction by the Clark government allows negligent employers to kill or seriously injure workers with impunity when instead they should be serving jail time.
Looking ahead to May, Lanzinger says the election is crucial for the future of working people. “We have a government that doesn’t care about working people. We can’t afford four more years of Christy Clark making life easier for her powerful friends, and harder for the rest of us,” she says.
“We need a government that will make our lives better, not worse.”
The BCFED convention opens Monday at 11 am and runs through Friday in Exhibition Hall A of the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre West. Some 1,500 delegates from communities across the province are expected to take part.
-30-