News releases
WCB presumption decision a step forward; time will tell if it's a big one — BCFED
July 24, 2020
(Unceded Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam territories — Vancouver, BC) The Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB)'s decision to presume COVID-19-related claims are workplace-related is a welcome step, the BC Federation of Labour said today.Â
"It's good news that the Workers' Compensation... more BC Federation of Labour welcomes changes to workers’ compensation as a positive first step
July 14, 2020 | Health, Safety, and Compensation
(Coast Salish Territory, Vancouver, BC) Today, the BC NDP government announced changes to the Workers Compensation Act arising from three expert reviews conducted in 2018 and 2019 by Lisa Jean Helps, Paul Petrie and Terry Bogyo. The Helps report responded to the two tragic... more “Working sick isn’t working”: BCFED launches plan to ensure paid sick leave for every worker
July 9, 2020 | Health, Safety, and Compensation
(Unceded Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam territories — Vancouver, BC) — With workplace COVID-19 outbreaks fresh in the minds of political leaders and the public alike, the BCFED has released a plan to ensure paid sick leave for every worker in British Columbia. Remembering Kim Manton
June 29, 2020
We’re heartbroken today at the loss of one of the brightest, warmest and most passionate people in our movement. Kim Manton passed away on Friday from cancer, but her spirit shone brightly right up the end. We’re so much poorer for her loss, and so much richer for having known her. Pride 2020: A statement from the BCFED
June 26, 2020
We celebrate Pride in 2020 at a distance from each other. But that doesn’t diminish our solidarity with LGBTQI2S community members within our unions, in our province and around the world.
In a year where protests have brought so many to the streets to oppose racism and violence, we begin by... more Workers hit with temporary layoff extension need guarantee they’ll go back to work: BCFED
June 25, 2020
(Unceded Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam territories — Vancouver, BC) — With employers gaining a newly-extended temporary layoff period, the province must now ensure those laid-off workers have the right to return to their jobs when the layoff ends, BC Federation of Labour president... more Statement on National Indigenous Peoples Day 2020
June 19, 2020
June 21 is a day to recognize and celebrate First Nations, Inuit and MĂ©tis peoples. And while we celebrate Indigenous peoples, we must also recognize that these continue to be difficult and painful times. The promise and hopes for reconciliation raised over the past few years have often failed to... more Five worker deaths in 15 days an intolerable loss: BCFED
June 17, 2020
The BCFED released the following statement today from president Laird Cronk and secretary-treasurer Sussanne Skidmore:The tragic news that a BC Ferries maintenance worker died on the job on Friday, and a CN Rail conductor was killed while working on Monday, brings the toll to five workplace deaths... more WCB should cover workers who contract COVID-19 at work, British Columbians say in survey
June 15, 2020
(Coast Salish Territory, Vancouver BC) British Columbians support stronger workplace health and safety protection and Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) coverage for workers who contract COVID-19 by a wide margin, according to a survey conducted by polling firm Stratcom for the BC... more Economic recovery for everyone means taking gender into account, says BCFED
June 11, 2020
(Coast Salish Territory, Vancouver BC) - The pandemic has affected British Columbians in very different ways depending on their gender, and an equitable economic recovery requires the provincial government to see BC through that lens, the BC Federation of Labour said today.