This Saturday, June 1 is Injured Workers’ Day. With the Ford government continuing to take rights and protections away from workers, this year’s annual Injured Workers’ Day Rally is even more important. A government “for the people” should do everything in its power to prevent the injury, illness or death of workers in Ontario. But the reality is, Premier Doug Ford cut tens of millions of dollars from the Ministry of Labour – including crucial funding aimed at preventing workplace accidents. Now we working people are left to defend our own rights around health and safety.
As a result, the risk of getting injured at work just went up dramatically. And getting financial or medical support after a workplace injury is still difficult. The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) is more interested in saving money for employers than taking care of injured workers. Under Premier Ford and Labour Minister Laurie Scott’s watch, WSIB gave a multi-billion dollar gift to employers by cutting their premiums by 30%. Meanwhile injured workers have to fight long and hard to get what little coverage they can [1]. Please join us at Saturday’s Injured Workers’ Day Rally at 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM at Queen’s Park. As workers, we all deserve safety on the job and fair compensation if we get injured.
Cuts to services that we rely on keep piling up, and the polls show that the vast majority of people in Ontario oppose them [2]. Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) is facing cuts of more than $130 million. LAO provides funding so that people with little or no income can access legal supports. Our community legal clinics are the last defence for injured workers, tenants, refugees and many of us who are dealing with bad bosses. This Friday, May 31, you can help say NO to legal aid cuts and protect access to justice as a right, by taking action at one of these Pop-Up Community Legal Clinics happening across Toronto. Sign up on Facebook to see updates on when and where you can join an action.
Workers will never stop demanding that the government do right by us and our communities. We know our rights are never handed down, but won through our determination. It is this spirit of resistance that we will celebrate at the Injured Workers’ Day Rally. We hope you’ll come down to Queen’s Park to join us on Saturday, and bring your family and friends. Let’s fight the Ford government’s cuts, but let’s also celebrate the organizing power of workers!