International Women's Day

Stop the attacks on women’s right to full employment and decent work

The Harper government has been slashing jobs and lowering working standards in the public sector for several years: 20,000 jobs lost in just three years in the Public Service. And now, at least 6,000 postal worker jobs will be eliminated.

• For more information, see Women's Rights

Women’s hard won gains are being rolled-back

• Pay equity in public service was basically abolished in 2009

• Retroactive wage roll-backs that violate basic principles of collective bargaining were imposed on several thousand PSAC members in 2009.

• The federal contractors obligations are diminished, and hundreds of thousands of workers lose the benefit of proactive employment equity measures in 2010.

• Currently, the “Policy Suite Review’ threatens federal Public Service workplace child care centres.

• Treasury Board is not living up to the expected standards of providing a workplace free of harassment and discrimination.

Working women’s unions are being attacked:

• The government is waging a full blown attack on collective bargaining and the right to strike in the federal public service, with Bill C-4.

• The government will force unions to divulge delicate financial information, thus restricting the union’s financial autonomy.

• The government would re-write the rules on union membership to make it harder to form unions in the federal sector and much harder to keep your union

Women are ALL Affected by the Conservative policies

The Federal government should respect its commitments to women

As a signatory to the “Millennium Development Goals” the Canadian government committed to protecting and promoting women’s right to full employment and decent work.

The Federal government also endorsed the Decent Work Agenda, when it signed onto the Agreed Conclusions of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in 2011.

So why is the government now waging a full blown attack against public sector workers and their unions!?

On International Women’s Day, PSAC calls on the federal government to stop the attacks on women’s right to full employment and decent work

The federal government must promote women’s rights at work: employment equity, pay equity, public child care, improved maternity and parental benefits, non-discriminatory and supportive workplaces for all, respect for collective bargaining and labour rights.

The PSAC will work with other unions, women’s groups and human rights organizations to hold this government accountable.