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(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. Among the findings of their report, titled Rebuilding With Equity, the BCFED points out that women have taken on much more of

(Coast Salish territory, Vancouver BC) - After months of hardship and uncertainty in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, a minimum wage increase is just what British Columbia’s lowest-paid workers need, BC Federation of Labour president Laird Cronk said today. “This is great news for hundreds of thousands of British Columbians,” Cronk said, referring to the increase in the minimum hourly wage from

(Coast Salish Territory, Vancouver BC) As BC’s economy slowly reopens, the province’s labour movement is encouraging British Columbians to think beyond just rebuilding the economy we had before the COVID-19 outbreak. “We have an unprecedented opportunity not just to restart the economy we had, but the economy we want,” said BCFED president Laird Cronk as the federation released its blueprint for

(Coast Salish Territory, Vancouver BC) – BC’s labour movement is pleased with the recent Workers Compensation Board (WCB) announcement that COVID-19 will be added to Schedule 1 of the Workers Compensation Act, BCFED president Laird Cronk said today. “It’s an important step,” he said, “and putting this into place is critical.” The measure, known as presumptive coverage, will mean “workers who

(Coast Salish Territory, Vancouver BC) — “You don’t leave your wounded soldiers on the battlefield,” BCFED president Laird Cronk said today, adding “Essential workers who become symptomatic with COVID-19 deserve WCB coverage.” The provincial government has designated a broad range of industries — from healthcare and first responders, to food production, transportation and retail sales, to

Sussanne Skidmore, Secretary Treasurer of the BC Federation of Labour (BCFED) issued the following statement: “The current health crisis has revealed how undervalued certain critical work has been in our society. I want to start off by thanking the workers on the farms throughout BC for continuing to grow, harvest and process the food that we all need to eat during this pandemic. We are incredibly