Policy Papers

The special COVID-19 Employment Insurance and Recovery Benefits will soon run out for many. People are already struggling to make ends meet with these benefits and cannot do without them. The whole economy is also impacted as these benefits have sustained consumer spending at local businesses during COVID-19. COVID-19 and its impacts are far from… contine reading

This joint report from Parkdale Community Legal Services, Workers’ Action Centre, and Migrant Workers Alliance for Change (MWAC) addresses the lack of protection for temporary agency workers who do the most dangerous work for the least pay.  The use of temporary agencies likely contributed to the spread of COVID-19 on Ontario farms. Research from MWAC… contine reading

Summary of findings of the online survey conducted by the Workers’ Action Centre to hear about the experiences people have had under COVID-19, and specifically the extent to which CERB met their needs, and how they will manage when CERB ends.

When the federal government transitions recipients of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) onto a new Employment Insurance program in September 2020, following the principles outlined in this report will ensure that the new program does not leave any workers behind.

Public Health Officers across the country are telling people to stay home from work when sick. The federal government’s proposal for 10 days’ paid sick leave nation-wide is a crucial step to enable workers, particularly in the midst of the COVID recession, to go home or stay home from work when sick.  Fight for $15… contine reading

In our joint submission, Workers’ Action Centre and Parkdale Community Legal Services inform the government that Bill 66, Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act, would increase precarious and low-waged work if passed. It would reduce protections for workers from excessive overtime hours and unpaid overtime premium pay. Also, construction workers within a number of public organizations would lose the… contine reading

In our submission, the Workers’ Action Centre and Parkdale Community Legal Services urge the federal government to broaden the fair wage act to cover all government contracts and apply through sub-contracting chains. By setting a level playing field for employers bidding for government work, especially when such contracts are awarded on a low-bid basis, fair wage… contine reading

Joint submission by the Workers’ Action Centre and Parkdale Community Legal Services regarding Bill 47 that seeks to cancel the updates to the Employment Standards Act (ESA) and Labour Relations Act (LRA) recently won through Bill 148. The government is pushing Bill 47 through the legislative process despite little consultation with workers in precarious employment who depend… contine reading

Joint submission by the Workers’ Action Centre and Parkdale Community Legal Services regarding Bill 3 that will eventually require employers with 250 or more employees to make public what they pay their employees. To strengthen this bill, we recommend that all employers be required to comply with pay transparency immediately upon passage of Bill 3. Strong… contine reading

Joint response by the Workers’ Action Centre and Parkdale Community Legal Services regarding the review of the Canada Labour Code insisting that workers employed in the federal jurisdiction receive at minimum the equivalent benefit, compensation and/or protection to that enjoyed by workers employed under provincial jurisdiction. We join in supporting this principle put forward by… contine reading