It was a drizzly day, but not heavy enough to force the cancellation of the 12th annual Labour Day Picnic and Flag March, hosted by the North Bay and District Labour Council Labour.
An estimated 600 to 700 people were treated to a free barbecue with activities for the kids and information booths set up for the public at the waterfront This year's theme is 'A Plan for Everyone and Decent Work."
Local Labour Council President, Henri Giroux explained that the Canadian Labour Congress used the day to launch a call for universal pharmacare for everyone. The CLC represents 3.5 million unionized workers across the country.
"Right now, Canada is the only developed country that has universal healthcare that doesn't have prescription drugs paid for, so we're pushing it for everybody," said Giroux. "Currently, 8.4 million Canadian's don't have a drug plan. That means sometimes they have to make a choice. If they don't have the money to buy the drugs, they either cut the pill in half, skip a day or don't get the prescription filled out at all. We strongly believe Canada is rich enough that we should have universal pharmacare for everybody."
Giroux says union leaders are also pushing the provincial government to reinstate card check certification, where employees sign a card indicating whether or not they want to join a union, without extending the process further.
"Right now it only takes 51% to get a card, but the employees sign the cards, often with the employer is in the room. So even though they don't see how they signed, employers can intimidate them and some have been doing it a lot. We shouldn't have that kind of disagreement with the employer. If I'm a worker and I want to join a union, I should be able to do so."
Rejean Amyotte Vice-President of the North Bay and District Labour Council pointed out Bill 148, Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act is making changes to the Employment Standards Act and the Ontario Labour Relations Act, which labour will be closely monitoring.
"There are some things that the labour movement has asked for and we know the legislation is going to be tabled very shortly with the amendments. There are some amendments we really want to see happen," said Amyotte. "We spoke at length about the issue of the elimination of replacement workers in the province during labour action, be it a lockout or strike. Those only prolong the situation. We need to stand together in solidarity to make sure our rights aren't eroded."
Unions are also keeping an eye on the Ontario Liberal government and its promise to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by January 2019.
"We're asking the government to go through with it. Of course, they've had backlash from the Chamber of Commerce and big business who don't feel their workers should be getting the raise," said Giroux. "We're also asking the government for sick days. We have a lot of places that don't have sick days, and in some cases, if they miss three days of work they're fired. We're telling the government that it's not fair, they should be getting paid sick days and we're asking for seven days for those workers. The government is proposing two days."
Labour is also putting pressure government for increased awareness and enforcement relating to health and safety issues. It wants better education for employees so they know their rights while on the job.
Giroux says Labour Day is an opportunity to celebrate all workers, and the achievements made by unions.
Ailish Davis and her young family attended the North Bay picnic as a way to offer their support to labour.
"It's our foundation, it keeps everything running. I think it's important to support everybody in our community that contributes to it. And to ensure that there's a safer community, that everybody's happy, and taken care of, and able to reinvest back into the community."
Thom Stewart worked for 50 years in various careers before retiring, the longest being 25 years. He believes in the importance of unions. He says more respect is needed in the workplace.
"Employers need to show confidence in their staff, that's the main thing. They want a job well done, well then, pat their staff on the back once in awhile and say job well done."
