International Women’s Day – March 8th

For Immediate Release March 4, 2016  – Statement from NB Federation of Labour

This year marks a century of voting rights for Women in Provincial elections. This was an early step in the path to equality and women’s rights.

On behalf of the New-Brunswick Federation of Labour (NBFL), we wish to thank New-Brunswick women for their continuous efforts and contributions to the society and economy of this province.

We want to recognize the contribution that our female affiliates make to the New-Brunswick labour movement. Your dedicated work continues to improve workers’ rights and working conditions and it also makes a difference in the lives of all New-Brunswick workers.

This year’s theme for International Women’s Day is “Pledge for Parity”. Worldwide, women continue to contribute to social, economic, cultural and political achievement. Yet, let’s also be aware progress has slowed in many places across the world, so we must continue to take action against the government on all levels.

While women are well represented in the workforce and in post-secondary education, women make up a significant majority of part-time and precarious workers, and are over-represented in undervalued and low-wage sectors of employment.

Canada’s lack of a universal system of comprehensive, high-quality early childhood education and child care remains one of the most significant barriers to the advancement of women’s rights and economic empowerment.

Everyone depends on someone who depends on child care. On this International Women’s Day, let’s urge governments at all level to work together to building a universal child care system that will help women enter and stay in the workforce, educate and train for better jobs.

I have no doubt that our female affiliates will continue their work to improve the lives of New-Brunswick workers and women.

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Sincerely,

Shanny Doucet, Patrick Colford

Vice President for Women’s Issues, NBFL President, NBFL

(506) 227-9900 (cell) (506) 857-2125 / (506) 381-8969 (cell)

The New Brunswick Federation of Labour is the central voice of organized labour in the province. We represent over 40,000 workers from every sector of the economy and from every community in the province.

SOURCE:  http://www.nbfl-fttnb.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/IWD.pdf 

March – International Women’s Day – Statement from Unifor

March 8, 2016

InternationalWomen’s Day is an event with its roots in the labour movement. Over 100 years ago,

women took to the streets to demand better wages and working conditions. Our members engage many

different events to mark this day, but each event has a common theme: celebrating our achievements

and recommitting our efforts to fight for gender equality. It is more than just being equal to men; our

efforts must recognize the systemic injustice and violence that women face.

Unifor women are active right across the country and in the last year have had many successes to

celebrate: we helped defeat a regressive federal government and put a progressive agenda in place;

we’ve helped secure an inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls; we brought

down a sexist billboard in Killam, Alberta; and we shut down a misogynist group hoping to host meet

ups in our communities. We donated almost $150,000 to women’s shelters across the country to ensure

women receive these crucial services. In 2016 we marked 100 years of the first women in Canada

getting the right to vote, which included putting a spotlight on the many women who were excluded.

There is still much work to be done and Unifor is up for the challenge – the union is continuing to

advocate for change. Unifor made submissions to different levels of government calling for an increase

in women in skilled trades, supporting paid domestic violence leave, and closing the gender wage gap.

Unifor activists lobbied the new federal Minister of the Status of Women to press our demands for a

universal child care program, re-opening Status of Women offices, restoring funding to feminist

organizations working on gender equality, developing an action plan on violence against women, and

addressing women’s financial insecurity due to unpaid caregiving and wage inequity.

This spring, Unifor women will be engaging our members in the Manitoba and Saskatchewan elections,

making our equality agenda a reality.

Let this InternationalWomen’s Day be a reminder to all of us that we can make transformative change

for justice.

SOURCE:  http://www.unifor.org/sites/default/files/attachments/formated_iwd_statement_2016.pdf