Here is a letter sent to federal Minister of Health Mark Holland by Canadian and Quebec unions that are members of Public Services International (PSI) that represent workers in health care.

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We are writing on behalf of Canadian and Quebec unions that are members of Public Services International (PSI) that represent workers in health care. Collectively, we represent more than 500,000 workers who provide services in every aspect of our health care sector.

Our union is following the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) process to draft and negotiate an international agreement on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response, also known as the WHO Pandemic Treaty. We have done this work with the support of Public Services International (PSI), the global union federation representing public services, health workers, and care workers around the world, to which we are affiliated.

We are concerned that the first session of the seventh round of discussions of the INB (INB7) held November 6–10 is not progressing adequately on key priorities for health workers and care workers. We urge your Ministry to address the points shared below during the resumed INB7 session December 4–8, 2023.

In addition, we would like to meet with you to be debriefed on the outcomes of INB7. With your support, this future instrument will build on the learnings and experience of health workers and care workers who were at the front lines during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Uphold the Right to Decent Work for Health Workers and Care Workers
While we welcome the inclusion of an article on the workforce in health care and care work, in the current draft of the negotiating text, we are disappointed by its limited progress. Safe workers save lives. Yet, language in drafts prior to this negotiation stage that prioritized adequate protective equipment for front-line health workers during pandemics has been deleted.

It is imperative for countries to recognize the crucial work done by front-line workers during the pandemic and integrate this into the international accord (in Article 7) towards safeguarding the lives and health of health workers in the event of future health emergencies.

Further, the current draft lacks substantial provisions that uphold decent work for all health workers and care workers, protect their health and safety, and recognize the essential role of front-line and migrant health workers and care workers.

We recommend the following:
● Include in Article 1 a broad definition of the health and care workforce, which incorporates all workers classified as health workers by the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) used by WHO.
● Decent work should also be incorporated into Article 3 as a guiding principle to be followed when developing, planning, and implementing any measures related to the preparedness, prevention, and response to a future pandemic.
● Article 7 must include provisions that will secure and protect the labour rights of the health and care workforce, including with reference to ILO Conventions 87 and 98.
● Article 7 must guarantee safe staff-to-patient ratios and other minimum work and employment standards as outlined in the ILO Convention 149 on Nursing Personnel and the 2017 ILO Tripartite Meeting on Improving Employment and Working Conditions in Health Services.
● Include a provision for prioritizing Occupational Safety and Health measures in Article 3 (guiding principles), including a reference to ILO Convention 155 and Resolution 164.
● Include the precautionary principle in Article 3 as a guiding principle, and substantive language in Article 7, so that the precautionary principle is applied when the cause-and-effect relationships are not fully established scientifically and there may be threats of harm to human health or the environment, particularly in the delivery of health care and care services during pandemics.
● Include in Article 7 provisions to address injury, sequelae, or death for health workers and care workers, as well as their families during pandemic response.
● Include clauses in Article 7 that hold both source and destination countries accountable for protecting both the migrant workers and the health systems of sending countries.
Ensure Public Financing for Public Goods
In order to truly realize a robust, fair, and equitable global innovation system that will generate affordable and timely health technologies, we must understand health technologies (medical countermeasures) as public goods. Article 9.4 should guarantee that all health products, technologies, know-how, etc. that originate from publicly funded research programs are kept in the public domain and cannot be patented.
● Manufacturers of technologies that were developed with public funding must provide the resulting medical countermeasures on a no profit/no loss basis upon the announcement of a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).
● This should apply regardless of the extent of public funding.

The Covid-19 pandemic showed that we cannot rely on the voluntary agreements the private sector promotes. We need compulsory measures to ensure transparency of costs of R & D and future public contracts signed with private companies. An earlier draft (the pre-zero draft) included compulsory measures for entities that receive public funding for R & D in pandemic countermeasures to disclose prices and contractual terms of public procurement (Article 9.3.b). However, this measure—the only one that created an obligation for private entities—has been removed. This should be put back, i.e., included.

Waive Patent Rights in All Cases of Public Health Emergencies
The COVID-19 pandemic has again shown that maintaining intellectual property privileges during a health crisis generates artificial scarcity and high prices, costing hundreds of thousands of lives, especially in the Global South. We cannot live through another health emergency by naturalizing monopolies and relying on voluntary solutions. The text must include a binding and automatic mechanism to waive intellectual property rights for technologies related to dealing with such an emergency immediately after a PHEIC is declared (in Article 11.3.(a)). Further, the future instrument should encourage countries to put in place similar mechanisms at the national level.

Further, countries are worried about implementing time-bound waivers unilaterally due to the threats of legal action. This had been addressed in an earlier version of the text that mentioned that parties couldn’t challenge these measures. We recommend this text be included in article 11.3.(a). Similarly, text that creates barriers to governments that are willing to put in place compulsory measures without the consent of patent and/or other intellectual property rights holders (i.e., “on mutually agreed terms”) should be removed from the draft text.

Finally, we recommend the inclusion of provisions towards the review of relevant free trade agreements to remove TRIPS-plus measures, such as data protection, linkage, and patent term extension, amongst others.

Ensuring Everyone Shares and Everyone Benefits
The inclusion of a Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system (PABS system, in Article 12) is an important learning from the mistakes of the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet, we are concerned that the concrete elements of this system are left unaddressed and are worried that such a gap can render this important effort meaningless. We urge governments to maintain the same timeline for the PABS System as for the rest of the treaty.

We require monetary and non-monetary obligations on the recipient of pathogen data (Recipients), and for governments to bear the responsibility to ensure that commitments are respected. We welcome the requirement for Recipients to provide WHO with real-time access to pandemic-related products, though this should be based on a higher minimum (currently set at a minimum of 20%), as well as an appropriate distribution based on a rolling assessment of evolving public health risks and needs. In addition, the 3 subsections of Article 12.4 (c) should be revised into mandatory benefit-sharing conditions for the Recipients.

Strengthen Health Systems to Prevent Health Emergencies
Pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response require a global financial architecture that ensures that all countries have sufficient resources to inject into building strong and universal public health systems. We are concerned that language on finance is weak. The text should include the principle of solidarity and a commitment to an Equitable International Order (in article 3), as well as provisions towards equity in financing of pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.

Further, the ILO has underlined the role of social dialogue in strengthening public services, including public health systems.1 The European Commission document also highlights that “social dialogue is an essential tool for balanced crisis management and for finding effective mitigation and recovery policies,” and that “experience shows that social dialogue contributes to effective crisis management.”2 Article 6 should direct relevant actors to engage in social dialogue and governments to ensure active participation of unions and workers both in the planning and response during an emergency and in times of no pandemic.

Inclusion of Climate Crisis
We strongly recommend the inclusion of the climate crisis as a central priority to be considered in all pandemic and hazard preparedness and response programs. We further strongly recommend the need to prioritize improving health care resiliency in preparation for the ongoing climate crisis. In the zero draft of the pandemic treaty, the proposed “Article 5.(a). Strengthening pandemic prevention and preparedness through a One Health Approach” was the only article to mention climate change. Article 5.(a) did not make it into the current draft. We strongly encourage its inclusion in addition to much stronger language about preparing for health hazards in the context of our ongoing climate crisis.

Our current health care system is unprepared to respond to both current and future hazards created by the ongoing climate crisis. The pandemic treaty presents an opportunity to hold governments to account to invest in programs that would improve the resiliency of our health care infrastructure, protect the health care workforce during climate disasters, and support research into the health impacts of climate change.

We urge the negotiators to incorporate the climate crisis (and specifically, the extreme weather disasters that are caused by climate change), as hazards that require attention and funding. We encourage the negotiators to include the creation of funding programs to invest in construction projects to improve the resilience and pre-disaster mitigation of our health care infrastructure. Finally, we urge the negotiators to require investment in occupational health and safety programs and hazard pay for health care workers during any extreme weather event.

The negotiations now enter a key moment. We look forward to your support and remain at your disposal for any questions you may have.
Yours sincerely.

Below is a statement from the Executive Vice President of Canadian Labor Congress, Larry Rousseau regarding the rise of far-right and anti-trans groups who oppose the policy of inclusion of 2SLGBTQI+ children in Canadian schools.

COPE / SEPB unreservedly supports the CLC initiative and strongly denounces the actions taken by far-right groups.

“For COPE, it is a question of human rights. Attacking the policy of inclusion of 2SLGBTQI+ children is absurd and demonstrates a blatant lack of empathy and compassion. A progressive organization like ours must loudly denounce actions aimed at further isolating minority groups,” explains COPE President Annette Toth.

We invite you to read the following statement and take appropriate action:

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Today, far-right and anti-trans groups organized protests against education policies designed to make schools safer and more inclusive spaces for 2SLGBTQI+ children.

Billed as the #1MillionMarch4Children, these groups are calling for parents to remove their children from school and join protests, rallies and other gatherings. Over 80 locations across the country have been announced as participating, with larger events planned in major cities. You will find a somewhat comprehensive listing of protest sites on the website of the so-called “anti-woke” organization, Blueprint for Canada. Note that while most events are taking place on September 20, some are planned for other days of this week.

Here are some ways you can take action against this disturbing rise of hatred and extremism:

• Make a strong statement opposing any attack on 2SLGBTQI+ rights and these hate-motivated efforts to undermine the progress we have made in ensuring our schools are safe and welcoming learning environments for all students.

• Amplify and support local, provincial and national allies who are leading the pushback against this growing hate movement and who are often the target of attacks, including Egale, Momentum Canada, and the Canadian Anti-Hate Network.

• If you wish to be involved in efforts to counter any potential changes in government policy in Ontario, add your organization to Momentum’s list of allies.

• We encourage you to reach out to local organizations and networks who may be planning counter-protests on this day, including already-established union flying squads, to get involved in planning, and to promote any planned counter-protests to your members. Some federations of labour have begun a coordinated effort and we encourage you to get involved.

• Consider making a financial or in-kind donation to local groups and networks that are coordinating counter-protest action. Most are grassroots and led by volunteers, many of whom are queer and trans folk who have been dealing with this hatred on a daily basis. This might include donations, megaphones, food and water, masks, printing, marshall vests and trained marshalls, meeting space, etc.

Today’s events targeted  schools, school board offices, city or town halls, legislatures and offices of provincial politicians. If your local has a flying squad, I hope they were mobilized to be at these events and remain a counter-protest. connected with local 2SLGBTQI+ organizations. This will not be the last time these hate filled protests will take place so we need to be prepared for now and into the future. This guide provides tips on safety at counter-protests.

As you can imagine, today was a challenging day for our 2SLGBTQI+ members and the community, and these events raise serious health and safety concerns for workers, students, and community members regardless of gender or sexual orientation. We want our queer and trans friends, colleagues, and family members to know that they are loved and valued, and that their safety matters to all of us.

It’s important to pay attention to this movement, as their rhetoric and demands are being validated by conservative politicians in several provinces and echoed by the federal Conservatives. Education policies are being rolled back in at least two provinces, and under consideration elsewhere, with additional open musing about changes to legislation.

Bigotry and violence that threatens the fundamental human rights of 2SLGBTQI+ people require a strong unified response rooted in solidarity from all workers, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation. An injury to one, is an injury to all.

A strong show of union solidarity for the 2SLGBTQI+ communities in the face of persistent and rising hatred and bigotry is essential.  COPE/SEPB remains 100% opposed to all forms of hate. sing hatred and bigotry is absolutely essential. We will continue to keep you posted on developments and encourage you to connect with our Human Rights Department as well as our regional staff if you have questions regarding our ongoing work or wish to share information.

 

The Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union (COPE/SEPB) stands with the millions of people around the world to denounce the forced kiss suffered by soccer player Jenni Hermoso after the Spanish women’s team win at the World Cup on August 20th.

In the festivities after the victory, the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales took Ms. Hermoso’s head in his hands and then kissed her on the mouth without her consent.

“This gesture is not trivial and progressive organizations like ours must denounce this gender based physical assault. With movements like #MeToo, our message is clear and it can no longer be ignored: this behavior is completely unacceptable.” said COPE/SEPB President Annette Toth.

Not Just a Kiss

In the days following the assault, many people leapt defend Luis Rubiales, calling his actions a “a simple kiss”. The only thing simple is this: Luis Rubiales must be removed from his position of power, immediately.

“To trivialize this assault is to invalidate the discomfort and indignation of millions of people who witnessed the scene live. What’s more, this trivialization validates the rape culture in which our society has found itself for too long. We say no, enough is enough! There is no place for this kind of behavior in our world,” concludes Ms. Toth.

As a progressive union COPE/SEPB stands up for fairness, dignity, and respect for all. We are committed to breaking down barriers and fighting against systems of oppression and discrimination, in society and within our own structures. We will not be silent.

Word from Larry Rousseau Executive Vice-President of CTC: 

As the 2023 Pride season rapidly approaches, the CLC is happy to share materials to assist affiliates in their preparations for events across the country.

This year, we have chosen to adopt the ILGA World IDAHOBIT Committee’s theme for 2023 Pride, “Together Always, United in Our Diversity.” The emphasis of this theme highlights the importance of solidarity, an action we know well in our labour movement and that is paramount in defending the hard-earned gains we have made to advance 2SLGBTQI+ rights in Canada.

It is no secret that Pride organizations from coast to coast have been the targets of homophobic and transphobic hate and violence, and these attacks are irrefutably connected to larger, global efforts of alt-right and white supremacist organizing. That is why it is so important that we celebrate this year by communicating labour’s commitment to human rights. To be loud and clear, that we as a movement will bring our solidarity and strength to the front lines of every Pride event we can attend, to vehemently defend against the bigotry and ignorance peddled by the far right. That we will celebrate the richness and contributions of 2SLGBTQI+ people in Canada, and that side by side, we will continue to push for equity and justice both in the workplace and in our communities.

To help you incorporate this theme and focus into your planning for this year’s Pride events, we have developed some tools for you to use. We invite you to use these materials and customize them as you see fit.

The CLC Pride 2023 Campaign Toolkit includes:

• Sample social media posts
• Shareable graphics
• Customizable graphics
• Previews of our May 17 International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, Biphobia and Intersexphobia (IDAHOTBI) and June 1 Pride statements

This Pride season, let’s make it clear that Canada’s unions view all forms of 2SLGBTQI+ phobia and violence as an injury to the progressive vision we will forever champion for our country. It is time we push back against the hate and celebrate with Pride!

COPE / SEPB joins Public Services International (PSI) and allies to critique the absurd UN policies for most SDGs that suggest that we use public subsidies to ‘attract’ private capital.

The United Nations designated by 22 March as the day to celebrate water around the world. 2023 will see thousands flock to UN headquarters in New York for the first UN-wide water conference since the one in Mar del Plata, Argentina in 1977. PSI will be there with affiliates FNV from the Netherlands, FNU from Brazil and DC37 from the USA.

However, the UN Water Conference 2023 is a missed opportunity.  It lasts only three days.  It will not result in new policies based on a thorough review of past progress or failings.  Instead, the UN wants to see governments, businesses and NGOs make voluntary, non-binding commitments of actions they will carry out in order to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goal on water and sanitation – SDG6.  For example, agri-business giants might commit to reduce the amount they pollute water, or to help some communities close to their factories have better access to water.

The main problem with SDG6 is the way to pay for improvements in water and sanitation infrastructure.  Many billions of people on the planet don’t have access to safe drinking water or sanitation services.  Existing water and sanitation infrastructure needs serious upgrading and improvements, both to extend services and ensure safety, but also to deal with the threats of the climate crisis.  More staff need to be hired, trained and retained, and their wages and working conditions improved.  Sanitation workers require major improvements, first moving from informal to formal employment, then reducing their massive health and safety risks.

All of this needs reliable, predictable long-term finance.  But the UN policies for most SDGs, including water, suggest that we use public subsidies to ‘attract’ private capital.  This implies that water services need to be made profitable enough to attract global finance capital.  Projects need to be ‘bankable’.  Countries must change their laws and regulations to provide the ‘enabling environment’ to protect private investors.  This ensures that the rights of investors dominate human rights or the rights of nature, including in the courts and in arbitrations.

PSI is working with unions and allies to critique these absurd policies.  Our Water Justice Movement is committed to defend human rights, including by supporting public services, as well as other community-based formats.  There is a common will to fight privatisation, which has a long list of structural problems that won’t go away with new wording, such as innovative or blended finance.

Together, the Water Justice Movement published a Manifesto for release in New York.  The Manifesto contains a set of core principles and values that can guide our work for the decades to come.  Members of the Movement will participate in the debates in the UN, in side events and in a number of meetings around the city.

The Movement will call for reform of the UN’s governance structures for the water sector.  Amongst others, we insist that the UN meet more often to resolve issues on water; that more community activists, trade unions, public water operators and mayors are involved in these meetings, and that industry and agro-business are held accountable for their uses and misuses of our precious water resources – voluntary measures are not enough.

Water Justice Manifesto

Source: PSI

List of  organizations that have signed on:

Name of entity or collective	Country
Acción Colectiva Socioambiental, A.C.	México
Acción contra el Hambre	España
Aceh Wetland Foundation	Indonesia
Acueducto comunitario Reserva Familiar	Colombia
Acueducto comunitario Reserva Familiar	Colombia
Africa Water Justice Network	Ghana
Agua y Vida: Mujeres, Derechos y Ambiente	México
Aguacero tecnologia y salud comunitaria	México
Águas Sem Fronteiras	Brasil
Aigua és Vida	Catalonia
Alianza contra la Pobreza Energética
Alianza Regional Contra La Minería en el Norte del Tolima	Colombia
Alianza Verde	Spain
Alliance pour la Maitrise de l’Eau et l’Energie	Cameroun
Amigos del Río San Rodrigo A.C.	México
An Organization for Socio-Economic Development-AOSED	Bangladesh
AOSED-An Organization for Socio-Economic Development	Bangladesh
Articulação Estadual das Comunidades Tradicionais de Fundos e Fechos de Pasto – Bahia	Brasil
ASA	México
Asamblea Social del Agua	Mexico
Asociación Ambiente y Sociedad	Colombia
Asociación Comunitaria Unida por el Agua y la Agricultura ACUA	El Salvador
Asociación de Afectados por el Proyecto Hidroelectrico El Quimbo-ASOQUIMBO-	Colombia
Asociación de Usuarios del Agua de Saltillo AUAS, A.C.	México
Asociación de Vecinos de Carabanchel Alto	España
Asociación Española de Operadores Públicos de Abastecimiento y Saneamiento (AEOPAS)	España
Asociación LiertAgua potable	España
Asociación Regional Centroamericana para el Agua y el Ambiente. ARCA	Costa Rica
Asociación Salvadoreña de Ayuda Humanitaria PRO-VIDA	El Salvador
Associação Água Pública	Portugal
Associação Águas do Nordeste	Brasil
Associação Brasileira de Reforma Agrária ABRA	Brasil
Associação dos Aposentados e Pensionistas da Sabesp	Brasil
Associação dos Engenheiros da Sabesp – AESabesp	Brasil
Associação dos Profissionais Universitários da Sabesp – APU	Brasil
Associação Programa 1 Milhão de Cisternas	Brasil
Associació de Municipis i Entitats per l’Aigua Pública (AMAP)	Cataluña (España)
Association pour la défense des droits à l’eau et à l’assainissement	Sénégal
Attac France	France
Berliner Wassertisch	Germany
Binodan Tripura	Bangladesh
Blue Planet Project	International
Botelho & Global Associates	Brasil
Breathe Easy Susquehanna County	USA
Butterfly Effect NGO coalition	Canada
Cabildo por las Mujeres del cantón Cuenca-Ecuador	Ecuador
Caminos de Agua	Mexico
Canoa Habitat Popular	Argentina
CARITAS FORT PORTAL -HEWASA	UGANDA
Casa Armaluz, Organización de Educación-Acción Comunitaria del Pueblo Originario de San Pedro Cuajimalpa, CDMX.	México
Cátedra del Tajo UCLM-Soliss	España
CCOO Madrid Area de Medio Ambiente y Movilidad	España
CEAMUJER	Nicaragua
CEDAC – Centro de Ação Comunitária	Brasil
CENSAT Agua Viva	Colombia
Center for sustainable development of Serbia	Serbia
Central Única dos Trabalhadores – CUT Brasil	Brasil
Centre Tricontinental	Belgium
Centro de estudios independientes, Color Tierra -Universidad de la Tierra Manizales-Caldas y Suroccidente Colombiano	Colombia
Centro Ibérico de Restauración Fluvial	España y Portugal
CEPACI REGIÓN CARBONÍFERA	México
CeVI – Centro di Volontariato Internazionale	Italy
CGT – Confederación General del Trabajo	España
Chile Sin Ecocidio	Chile
Closing the Water Gap Working Group	United States
CMP – Central de Movimentos Populares	Brasil
CNAPE	Guinea
Coalición de Organizaciones Mexicanas por el Derecho al Agua (COMDA)	México
Coalition Eau	France
COESUS Coalición LatinoAmericana contra el Fracking	Brasil
Colectiva de mujeres kawoq	El Salvador
Colectiva PaziFlora
Colectivo Ansur	Colombia
Colectivo Educación para la Paz y los Derechos Humanos A.C. (CEPAZDH)	México
Colectivo Sí a la Vida	México
Coletivo Popular Direito à Cidade de Porto Velho – Rondônia	Brasil
Collectif citoyen du Val-de-Travers “Non aux forages d’hydrocarbures”	Suisse
Colonia Maya	México
Comisión Legal Sol	España
Comisiones Obreras “CCOO”.	España
Comissão Socioambiental da Diocese de São José dos Campos	Brasil
Comité ambiental de Piedras Tolima Colombia Sur América	Colombia
Comité Ambiental En Defensa De La Vida	Colombia
Comite Oscar Romero – Sicsal Chile	Chile
Committee in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples of the Americas (CSIA-Nitassinan)	France
Company of the Daughters of Charity	United States
Comunidades SETAA	Colombia
CONAM – Confederação Nacional das Associações de Moradores	Brasil
Concejo Ciudadano del Agua El Platanal	Mexico
Confederação Nacional das Associações de Moradores	Brasil
Confederación de Jubilados	México
Confédération des Syndicats Autonomes du Sénégal (CSA)	Sénégal
Consejo Ciudadano por el Agua de Yucatán	México
Consejo Ciudadano por el Agua y el Territorio en la Cuenca de Jovel, San Cristóbal de Las Casas.
Construção Coletiva O Futuro Que Queremos	Brasil
Contraloria Ciudadana del Agua	Mexico
Cooperativa Sagrada Familia	Honduras
Coordinadora de Organizaciones Campesinas e Indígenas de la Huasteca Potosina AC	Mexico
Corporación Ecológica y Cultural Penca de Sábila	Colombia
Corporación Privada para el Desarrollo de Aysén	Chile
Corporación Programa La Caleta, CHILE	Chile
Corporate Accountability	Global
CORREDOR BIOLÓGICO MUNDIAL	España
CTC-42 (Collectif pour la transition citoyenne dans la Loire)	Brasil
Defensores do planeta	Brasil
Derechos Humanos Madrid	España
Earth Ethics, Inc.	United States
Eau Secours	Canada
Ecologistas en Acción – Ecofontaneros	España
Ecologistas en Acción -Ecofontaneros- Zaragoza	España
Ecologistas en Acción Valladolid	España
Ecologistas en Acción-La Rioja	España
Ecologistes en Acció de Catalunya	Catalunya
Edmund rice international	USA
Educating Girls and Young Women for Development-EGYD	Zambia
Encuentro Ciudadano Lagunero	México
End Water Poverty
ENDA Colombia	Colombia
Enlace Comunicación y Capacitación A.C.	México
Espacio Común 15M	España
European Water Movement	Continental
Experts-Solidaires	France
Federação de Órgãos para Assistência Social e Educacional – FASE	Brasil
Federação Interestadual de Sindicatos de Engenheiros- Fisenge	Brasil
Federação Nacional dos Urbanitarios – FNU	Brasil
Federación de Consumidores y Usuarios CECU	España
Federación de Mujeres Indígenas Huaynakana Kamatahuara Kana	Peru
Federación de Servicios a la Ciudadanía de CCOO	España
Federación de Trabajadores del Agua Potable y Alcantarillado del Perú – FENTAP	Perú
Federación Ecologistas en Acción de la Comunidad de Madrid	España
Federatie Nederlandse Vakbeweging – FNV Overheid	Netherlands
FEDEVI Argentina	Argentina
FENATEMA – Federação Nacional dos Trabalhadores em Água, Energia e Meio Ambiente	Brasil
Food & Water Watch	United States of America
Food Empowerment Project	USA
Foro Italiano dei Movimenti dell’Acqua-European Water Movement	ITALIA-EUROPA
Forum Brasileiro de Ongs e Movimentos Sociais pelo Meio Ambiente – FBOMS	Brasil
Fórum de Mulheres do Mercosul Brasil	Brasil
Fórum Mudanças Climáticas e Justiça Socioambiental – FMCJS	Brasil
Forum Nord-Sud ASBL	Belgium
Fracking Free Clare	Ireland
Frente Ciudadano en Defensa del Agua y la Vida, BCS	México
Freshwater Action Network Mexico (FANMex)	México
Fundação SOS Mata Atlântica	Brasil
Fundación Abril	Bolivia
Fundación Ambiental Molécula Verde
Fundacion ARAYARA	Uruguay
Fundacion Chile Sustentable	CHILE
Fundación Nueva Cultura del Agua	España
Fundación Savia por el Compromiso y los Valores	España
Fundación venezolana por el derecho a la vivienda	Venezuela
Fundacja Strefa Zieleni	Poland
Gambá- Grupo Ambientalista da Bahia	Brasil
GEEMA – Grupo de Estudos em Educação e Meio Ambiente do Rio de Janeiro	Brasil
Geledes Instituto da Mulher Negra	Brasil
Gobierno comunitario de chilón Chiapas	México
Godfrey Mulinda, Joint Effort to Save the Environment (JESE)	Uganda
Građanski preokret	Serbia
GRAMA -Grupo de Acción para el Medio Ambiente-	España
GRAUS (Gram Unnayon Sangathon)	Bangladesh
Gret	France
Grupo de ensino, pesquisa e extensão em saúde e educação ambiental do LAPSA/IOC/ Fiocruz	Brasil
Grupo de estudos em Educação Ambiental desde el Sur GEASUR UNIRIO	Brasil
Habitat Brasil	Brasil
Halimatou Barry	Sénégal
HEKS, Swiss Church Aid	Switzerland
Hermandad de la Cuenca de la Independencia	México
Hydraulique Sans Frontières	France
Impulsemos Tolima	Colombia
India Peace Centre	India
Ingeniería Sin Fronteras Internacional	Spain
Inicijativa Eko Barajevo	Serbia
INSPIRIT Creatives	Germany
Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá	Brasil
Instituto de Permacultura da Bahia
Instituto Internacional Arayara	Brasil
Instituto Mayor Campesino	Colombia
Instituto Popular Memorial de Canudos – IPMC
International Alliance iof Inhabitants	Global
International Rivers	United States
IPESA – Instituto de Projetos e Pesquisas Socioambientais
iRevolucija	Serbia
IRPAA
Join For Water	Belgium
Junta de Acción Comunal barrio LA Unión de Caloto Cauca	Colombia
Kenya Water and Sanitation Civil Society Network (KEWASNET)	Kenya
KRuHA (Koalisi Rakyat untuk Hak atas Air) / people’s coalition for the right to water
Letizia Herrera Álvarez	España
MDN guatemala	Guatemala
medicusmundi	España
MEDIODES, Consultoría Ambiental y Paisajismo, S.L.	España
Mercy International Association – Global Action	Global
Mesopotamia Ecology Movement	Kurdistan
MORHAN – Movimento de Reintegração das Pessoas Atingidas pela Hanseníase	Brasil
Movimento Sócio-Ambiental Caminho das Águas	Brasil
Movimiento MOVILIZANDONOS por una cultura de derechos de niños, niñas y Adolescentes en Chile	Chile
Movimiento por la Defensa del Agua, la Tierra y el Medio Ambiente (MODATIMA) de Chile	Chile
MulherAção Cotia	Brasil
NOAH Friends of the Earth Denmark	Denmark
Nossa Horta	Brasil
Obispado de Aysen	Chile
Observatio Latinoamericano por la Accion Climática	América Latina
Observatorio Ciudadano para la conservación del Patrimonio de la Sierra de Guadarrama	España
Observatório Nacional dos Direitos à Água e ao Saneamento – ONDAS	Brasil
Ocean Conservation Research	USA
Oficina para América Latina de la Coalición Internacional para el Hábitat	México
ONGAWA, Ingeniería para el Desarrollo Humano
OPG Observatório do Petróleo e Gás	Brasil
Paix dans le monde France	France
Park Watershed	USA
Pastoral Verde, Arquidiócesis de Monterrey	Mexico
Peace Watch Switzerland	Switzerland
People’s Coaltion for the Rights to Water (KRuHA)	Indonesia
Peru Sin Ecocidio	Peru
Plataforma contra la especulación urbanística y ambiental de Candeleda	España
Plataforma contra la privatización de Canal de Isabel II (PCPCYII)	España
Plataforma de Acuerdos Público Comunitarios de Las AMéricas	International
Plataforma de Toledo en Defensa del Tajo	España
Plataforma Salvemos el Humedal de los Cárcamos	México
Podrinje anto corruption team PAKT	Serbia
Polish Agroforestry Association	Poland
Population and Development Initiative	Tanzania
Por la Tierra AC	México
Por Un Mar Vivo / Por Un Mar Menor Vivo	España
Practical Action	Bangladesh
Pravo na vodu	Serbia
PROYECTO GRAN SIMIO (GAP/PGS-España)	España
Public Services International	International
Raíces y Alas	Perú y España
Reaccion Climatica	Bolivia
Red Agua Pública	España
Red Andaluza de la Nueva Cultura del Agua	España
Red Ant SMAN 1 Tambun Selatan	Indonesia
Red Centroamericana para el Agua y el Ambiente. FANCA	Centroamérica
Red de Agua Pública de la Comunidad de Madrid (RAPM)	España
Red de alternativas sustentables agropecuarias de Jalisco	Mexico
Red de Apoyo al Agua Pública de Aragón	España
Red de Información y Acción Ambiental de Veracruz (México)	México
Red de Mujeres Ambientalistas del Meta	Colombia
Red de Vigilancia Interamericana para la Defensa y Derecho al Agua – Red VIDA	Sur, centro y norte américa
Red territorial de acueductos comunitarios RETACO	Colombia
Rede Brasileira de Educação Ambiental	Brasil
Rede de Educação Ambiental de Sergipe	Brasil
Rede de Educação Ambiental do Rio de Janeiro	Brasil
Rede de Educação Ambiental e Políticas Públicas	Brasil
Rede de Mulheres Ambientalistas da América Latina	Brasil
Redes del Agua Latinoamérica
Reformed Church Nydegg, Bern	Switzerland
Reformierte Kirchgemeinde Winterthur-Mattenbach	Switzerland
Reformierte Kirchgemeinde Winterthur-Wülflingen	Switzerland
Rettet den Regenwald	Germany
Secours Islamique France	France
Semanario Mirada Sur	Mexico
Sendas A.C	México
Seven Circles Foundation	USA
Simavi	Bangladesh
Sindae Campinas
SINDAEN	Brasil
SINDAGUA MS	Brasil
Sindiagua Ceará	Brasil
Sindica dos Trabalhadores na Indústria da Purificação e Distribuição de Água e em Serviços de Esgoto de Campinas e Região	Brasil
Sindicato Dos Bancarios de Santa Cruz do Sul e Região	Brasil
Sindicato dos engenheiros no Estado de São Paulo-SEESP	Brasil
Sindicato dos Engenheiros no Estado do Rio de Janeiro- SENGE-RJ	Brasil
Sindicato dos Trabalhadores em Água, Esgoto e Meio Ambiente no Estado do Espírito Santo – SINDAEMA/ES	Brasil
Sindicato dos Trabalhadores na Indústria da Purificação e Distribuição de Água e Serviços de Esgotos do Estado do MS	Brasil
Sindicato dos Trabalhadores nas Empresas de Agua, Esgoto e Saneamento Noroeste Paraná	Brasil
Sindicato dos Trabalhadores nas Indústrias Urbanas de Santos, Baixada Santista, Litoral Sul e Vale do Ribeira	Brasil
Sindicato dos Urbanitário do Estado do Pará- Stiupa	Brasil
Sindicato dos Urbanitários da Paraíba	Brasil
Sindicato dos Urbanitarios de Alagoas	Brasil
SINDISAN -SE	Brasil
Sinpaf Solos	Brasil
Sintaema – Sindicato dos trabalhadores em água, esgoto e meio ambiente do estado de São Paulo	Brasil
SINTAEMA/SC	Brasil
Sisters of Mercy	Canada
Sisters of Mercy Justice Team	United States
Sisters of Saint Francis Rochester MN	USA – Colombia
SLOPB Bangladesh	Bangladesh
SOBREVIVENCIA, Amigos de la Tierra Paraguay	Paraguay
Sociedad Aragonesa de Protección a los Animales y Plantas	España
Solidaridad Internacional Andalucía	España
Stop Desahucios Móstoles	España
TAHZINGDONG	Bangladesh
Taula de l’aigua de Terrassa	Spain
The ant	India
The Council of Canadians	Canada
The Demography Project	Kenya
The Gaia Foundation	UK
The Youngdahl Law Firm	United States
TransLAB.URB	Brasil
Transnational Institute (TNI)	Netherlands
Union of Lawyers of the State of São Paulo – SASP	Brasil
UNIPAZ – Universidade Internacional da Paz
United Native Americans	United States
USBI – United States Biochar Initiative	USA
Uttaran- A social development organization	Bangladesh
VIVAT International	United States
VPOD – Verband des Personals oeffentlicher Dienste (Public Service Union) Zurich	Switzerland
WALHI Sulawesi Selatan	Indonesia
Xúquer Viu	España
Zimbabwe People’s Land Rights Movement	Zimbabwe

Black History Month is an important time to recognize and celebrate the contributions, achievements and struggles of Black communities in this country. In recognition of the vital role Black workers have played in this nation’s care systems, Canada’s unions are calling for fair and decent work for care workers.

From the hidden experiences of Black Nova Scotian domestic workers in the mid-twentieth century, to the young Black women domestic workers who participated in Canada’s West Indian Domestic Scheme, to the Black women who overcame significant racial discrimination to train and work as nurses, Black care workers have been integral to this country’s care history.

“Black care workers helped build this country. They fought and organized for justice, helping to secure the rights that all workers now benefit from. Today—and every day— we honour this hard work by fighting for fairness and justice for Black care workers,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress.

Care workers continue to do the hard work of providing care—paid and unpaid—for our families and communities. This work is often carried out by Black, racialized, immigrant and migrant women.

Wages and working conditions for care jobs do not reflect the true value of the work: jobs are precarious and wages are low. These women often work under poor, unsafe and unfair conditions, with few protections. Care work is traditionally understood to be women’s work, and as such, it is undervalued. This upholds gender stereotypes promoting ideas about women’s place in society and the forms of work assigned to them.

“The racial dimensions and undervaluing of care work also have deep roots, going back to when African and Indigenous peoples were bought, sold, traded and inherited in Canada’s system of chattel slavery, the impacts of which are still felt deeply by Black and Indigenous workers and communities. Black workers helped raise this nation, caring for others—first under duress, and today, out of necessity, yet their work and contributions aren’t properly valued,” said Larry Rousseau, CLC Executive Vice-President.

In addition to the hardships of unjust wages and working conditions, Black care workers face anti-Black racism, racial violence and abuse on the job. Without access to equal rights and protections, these inequities persist.

Care work is necessary to the continued well-being of our families and communities, and the functioning of our economy. Despite the indispensable nature of this work, Canada’s care systems are failing its workers and all those who need care. The pandemic has exacerbated the existing cracks in our care systems.

Black care workers helped build Canada and continue to provide the crucial care we all need and depend on. Let’s show up and show we care by fighting together to secure fair and decent work for Black care workers and committing to eradicating gender, racial and other inequities that are bound up with the undervaluing and maldistribution of care work. Send a letter to your MP urging them to invest in repairing our public care systems and join the fight at https://showwecare.ca/.

From 29th November to 2nd December over a thousand representatives from over one hundred countries, from grassroots movements, advocacy, human rights, and development organisations, feminist movements, trade unions, and other civil society organisations, met in Santiago, Chile, and virtually, to discuss the critical role of public services for our future.

The commercialisation and privatisation of public services and the commodification of all aspects of life have driven growing inequalities and entrenched power disparities, giving prominence to profit and corruption over people’s rights and ecological and social well-being. It adversely affects workers, service users, and communities, with the costs and damages falling disproportionately on those who have historically been exploited.

“COPE represents thousands of workers in the public sector, so signing the declaration was self-evident for the good of all those we represent,” explained Annette Toth, President of COPE.

To read the Santiago Declaration clic here.

The current parliamentary session has drawn to a close, and Canada’s unions are taking the opportunity to celebrate the progress made this year for workers.

In 2022, many workers and their families buckled under sky-high inflation, eye-popping grocery bills and stagnant wages, as well as rapid interest rate hikes, which drove up housing costs. But unions have been a strong voice to correct the Bank of Canada’s single-minded strategy of lowering inflation by raising rates, at the expense of workers.

“Canada’s unions are working hard to fend off a Bank of Canada-manufactured recession. Throwing hundreds of thousands out of work now would be devastating,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress.

Unions urged the federal government to throw a lifeline to struggling families. Cooperation between the New Democrats and the Liberal government resulted in significant gains, including dental care for low-income children and a $500 rent subsidy for low-income renters. The GST rebate was also doubled, providing relief to many Canadians. Unions will continue to call for EI reform, which is more important than ever as Canada teeters on the brink of a recession.

“Parliamentarians working together, across party lines, is key to progress,” said Ms. Bruske. She added that Canada’s unions would push for more cooperation to tackle the pressing challenges ahead of us.

Unions have also led the charge against corporate greed. “When we have grocery CEOs clinking glasses with shareholders to celebrate colossal profits at the same time as one in five families are skipping meals to get by, something is broken,” Bruske added. “We hope to see progress urgently. The federal agriculture committee’s investigation into grocery store profits is a good first step and we welcome it, but there is still much that needs to be done.”

Affordability is not the only issue on Canadians’ minds. This year, in the shadow of a health care crisis, unions helped secure $2 billion in additional funding for health care to help people access the care they need. But those funds just scratched the surface of the needs of our care systems.

“Emergency rooms are overflowing with sick kids. People are waiting up to a decade to find a family doctor. Health care workers are overworked, underpaid and exhausted. We need urgent action from our provincial and federal governments to ensure staff are supported, and everyone in Canada has access to quality, public health care when they need it,” said Bruske.

Child care workers, their unions and advocates across the country scored a major victory when the federal government penned agreements for $10/day child care programs in all provinces. Bruske commented, “Affordable child care makes it easier for parents to work and provide for their families, and it will give children the opportunity to learn and grow in a safe and nurturing environment.” Next, we must ensure child care is accessible and workers have good working conditions.

“We’ve made progress but we can’t lose sight of the next big challenge ahead, the climate crisis, which continues to threaten people in Canada and around the world,” said Bruske, who applauded the federal government’s $250 million investment in the Sustainable Jobs Training Centre and the Union Training and Innovation Program. “Now we expect workers to be given a seat at the table, and we’re looking for meaningful investments in sustainable jobs that will help Canada meet its climate targets,” she added.

2022 also produced some significant wins for workers’ rights. Ontario Premier Doug Ford attempted to block workers’ charter right to strike and impose a collective agreement on low-paid education workers. He was forced to back down and sent back to the bargaining table because of the strength and unity of the labour movement across Canada.

Unions made strides on worker-centered legislation. Bill C-228, which will protect workers’ hard-earned pensions in the event of employer bankruptcy, passed the House of Commons. Now, we urge Senators to waste no time and make sure this bill is passed swiftly. The federal government also announced anti-scab legislation, which will go a long way towards restoring fairness at the bargaining table. A major focus of next year will be ensuring both pieces of legislation pass into law quickly.

“Canadian unions are a powerful force for good, standing up for workers and advocating for strong public services, education and health care that benefit everyone,” said Ms. Bruske. “We’re just getting started. This year, we have proven that our labour movement is stronger than ever. We are ready to do what it takes to put workers first and fight against corporate greed and injustice in 2023 and beyond.”

Here are the resolutions adopted during our 7th convention which took place in Vancouver last June: 

Adopted resolutions – Seventh National COPE Convention

Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress, released the following statement:

“Today, the Supreme Court of the United States delivered a devastating decision to overturn the landmark precedent set 50 years ago in Roe v. Wade. The decision to rule against the constitutional right to access safe and legal abortion care jeopardizes the reproductive rights of millions of Americans.

“Canada’s unions are reacting to this decision with deep concern and a renewed commitment to redouble our efforts for equitable access to abortion care and reproductive health services across our country.

“Access to safe, legal abortion is a fundamental human right that must be guaranteed to everyone and should not be a privilege related to the colour of your skin, where you live or how much money you have. Taking away peoples’ reproductive health and rights is wrong and will inevitably impact poor and racialized communities the most.

“Abortion bans do not stop abortion. They only make abortions harder to access and more dangerous, particularly for communities who are already marginalized. The World Health Organization estimates that 25 million unsafe abortions take place each year, and identifies that the lack of safe, respectful, timely abortion care services is a critical public health issue and leading cause for maternal deaths and morbidities world-wide.

“While abortion is decriminalized in Canada, barriers to accessing this essential health service persist. These barriers include a lack of accurate information, travel and other costs associated with accessing care, wait times, and gestational limits. These barriers disproportionately impact low-income, young, newcomer and racialized populations, as well as people with disabilities, and those living in rural and remote communities.

“Anti-abortion movements, attacks on 2SLGBTQI communities, and the growing tide of right-wing extremism, are well funded movements that have no borders. We must remain vigilant in standing up for the rights of all people.

“While there is still much work to do here in Canada, we remain committed in our solidarity to all advocates and activists continuing the fight for bodily autonomy and gender justice, in the United States and around the world.”

For more information about sexual and reproductive health and rights in Canada:
Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada: https://www.arcc-cdac.ca/
Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights: https://www.actioncanadashr.org/