CUPE Education Fund Application Form
Worker’s Day of Mourning Flag Raising April 28, 2014
Posted on April 28, 2014 by cupepei
In Photo: Left to Right
Robert Mitchell, MLA for District 10 – Charlottetown, Jason Woodbury and Betty Pryor, CUPE PEI Health & Safety Committee Members, and Hon. Janice Sherry, Minister of Environment, Labour, and Justice
Related news:
Flag raising ceremonies in Charlottetown for workers killed or injured at work
Posted on April 27, 2014 by cupepei
Charlottetown: April 28th has once again been proclaimed by the Premier of Prince Edward Island as the “Provincial Day of Mourning for Persons Killed or Injured in the Workplace”.
“This is a very important day for the Canadian Union of Public Employees as we are committed to take action for workers who have been killed or injured on the job”, said CUPE PEI President Lori MacKay.
“The Provincial Government and the City of Charlottetown will hold flag raising ceremonies to remember the workers that have been injured, made ill, or killed because they went to work to serve the public.”
“The Day of Mourning is an important reminder that workers are too frequently killed or injured in the workplace. According to the Canadian Labour Congress, there has been a 29% increase in Canada’s workplace related deaths over the past 20 years”, said Betty Pryor, CUPE PEI Health and Safety Chair.
“It was CUPE’s national health and safety committee that, in 1984, first proposed the idea of a day to remember workers who are injured or killed on the job”, said MacKay.
“We are pleased that 30 years later, the flag that represents the Day of Mourning is being raised across the country to remember the workers who lost their lives or got injured at the workplace.”
“We must hold governments and employers accountable when it comes to the safety of the workers. April 28th is the Day of Mourning, it’s a day that we pause and remember; but every other day of the year, we must continue to make sure that we have strong Health and safety laws to protect every workers and their family,” added MacKay.
“We hope more employers across the province will follow their footsteps and raise the Day of Mourning flag. That simple gesture shows respect for the workers. It’s about making our workplace a safer and healthier place. ”
“CUPE is committed to work with governments and employers to prevent workplace injuries and deaths as neither should be a common occurrence in our society,” concluded Lori MacKay.
Flags raising ceremonies:
· On Friday April 25th – CUPE PEI Representatives, Betty Pryor and Jason Woodbury will raise the CUPE Day of Mourning Flag with the Minister of Labour, Janice Sherry at Province House at 11:30 am.
· CUPE will be participating in the PEI Federation of Labour 13th Annual Ceremony at Province House at 6pm
· On April 28th – CUPE Day of Mourning Flags flown at the Charlottetown Office and Charlottetown City Hall
2014 Campaigns
Health Care : public solutions
What is the Health Accord?
The Health Accord is a legal agreement between the federal and provincial/territorial governments on health care funding. Running from 2004 to 2014, this 10-year plan recommitted leaders to the Canada Health Act, set wait time and other goals, and increased health care funding by 6 per cent each year.
For more on these changes and why they are needed read the following backgrounder:
- CUPE backgrounder on the Health Accord
- Protect Medicare: Stable and Sufficient Federal Funding
- Protect Medicare: National Standards
- Strengthen Medicare: Safe Health Care
- Strengthen Medicare: Better Frontline Care
- Expand Medicare: Long-Term Care and Home/Community Care
- Expand Medicare: Pharmacare
- Public Health Care Costs Less, Delivers More
- References
Let’s rebuild our economy:
Buy locally
The 10% is a campaign sponsored by CUPE PEI. The 10% Shift is a small step that every Islander can take to make a difference in our province.
Employment Insurance: Scrap the changes
The changes show an evident lack of understanding of the reality of workers and our economy, especially the rural economy.
Local 1051 CUPE Meeting
Local 1051 will be hold their by-monthly meeting on April 28th, 2014 at Western Hospital @ 7:00pm. Things to be discussed on agenda will be as follows:
- Nominations
- Annual Convention
- Education Calendar
- Upcoming Events
Membership Meetings
The CUPE Health Locals are planning to hold membership meetings across the province to try to answer members’ questions. CUPE members and retirees should feel free to attend any of the meetings, as follows:
- October 28 – CHO O’Leary – 7pm
- October 29 – Silver Fox S’side – 7pm
- October 30 – Reed’s Corner – 7pm
- November 4 – QEH Cafeteria – 7pm
PEI Announces Overhaul to Pension Plan
Articles from the media regarding changes to the Pension Plan announced last night on CBC. To view coverage, click on the links below:
PEI Announces overhaul to Pension Plan – Journal Pioneer
Actions against Pension changes likely- Journal Pioneer
P.E.I. to spend more, pay less to balance pensions – CBC
CUPE On the Front Line Your CSSF Pension Plan
CUPE “On the Front Line”
A Message from your CUPE National Representative, Bill McKinnon. To view a PFD version, click here.
Why is CUPE involved with literacy work?
PEI Health Accord Campaign – September 9th-21st
The Harper Conservatives want to privatize and dismantle our public health care system.
The Conservatives will cut $144 million from health care funding for PEI !
What this means for us and our families is:
- An increase in the impossible workload workers already face;
- Less money for rural services, hospitals, and long-term care beds;
- Less money for clean facilities and nutritious hospital food;
- Increased wait times for procedures like hip, knee and cataract surgery;
- More expensive medicines;
- Lower quality and higher cost seniors’ care;
- Islanders will receive less care than other Canadians.
CUPE together with the Council of Canadians are looking for allies to join us in fighting back against these cuts.
We need you to help bring the fight to PEI!
We’ll be in the riding of Egmont to inform Gail Shea’s constituents about the threat to our services. Gail Shea needs to be challenged to stand up to Harper to protect Islanders’ health.
We’re hosting a series of workshops, a townhall and a community festival.
Sign up for a workshop where you can learn more about the federal threat to health care and our strategy to protect, strengthen and expand medicare for ourselves and future generations.
Turn over for a list of workshop locations and times.
For questions or to register for a workshop, please contact 2014pei@gmail.com, or call the CUPE PEI office at (902) 566-4006.
Workshops
In these workshops will be going over the reasons why we need a new federal-provincial agreement for health care.
Participants will also gain skills on how to talk to the community about the loss of health care services.
- Sept 10th (9am-12noon) Charlottetown – CUPE PEI boardroom, 26 Paramount Drive
- Sept 10th (9am-12noon) Souris – Regional Services Centre, 15 Green Street
- Sept 10th (6pm-9 pm) Montague – Wellness Center, Wood Island Rd
- Sept 10th (6pm-9 pm) Summerside – Silver Fox Curling Club, 110 Water Street
- Sept 11th (9am-12noon) Alberton – Town Office, 3 Emma Drive
- Sept 11th (6pm-9 pm) O’Leary – Curling Club (NOTE CHANGE TO VENUE)
- Sept 12th (10am-1pm) Tyne Valley – Britannia Hall, 816 Canadian Rd
- Sept 12th (6pm-9pm) Wellington – Vanier Community Center
- Sept 13th (9am-12noon) Summerside – Silver Fox Curling Club, 110 Water Steet
- Sept 13th (6pm-9pm) Charlottetown – CUPE PEI boardroom, 26 Paramount Drive
We need lots of volunteers to make the campaign a success! To register for a workshop, please contact 2014pei@gmail.com, or call the CUPE PEI office at (902) 566-4006.
Canada’s Medicare Under Attack!!!
Canada’s Medicare system is under attack. The Federal government has offloaded their healthcare responsibilities onto the provinces. The Conservatives have underfunded healthcare, encouraged privatization and halted progress on national standards and expand Medicare.
Soon we will face an even bigger threat. The current federal-provincial health care agreement – the Health Accord – expires in 2014. The Conservatives have said they plan to decrease their financial contribution – the Canada Health Transfer – by $36 billion after the next federal election.
For Islanders this will mean cuts to our public system of $144 million over the next 10 years – that’s the equivalent of eliminating all homecare services across the province for 8 years! We cannot afford these drastic cuts to health care.
CUPE is responding to this threat by launching a nation-wide campaign that will pressure the Federal government to renegotiate a fair Health Accord. We need to make sure that Islanders have access to the same health care services as those in all other Canadian provinces.
CUPE’s campaign will be rolling out in three provinces in 2013 and we’re starting with PEI! The two-week campaign starts September 9th, 2013 and ends September 21st, 2013.
Working together with the Council of Canadians, the PEI Health Coalition and others, CUPE will be organizing workshops, mass public outreach, and media-grabbing public events including the Shout Out for Health Care Townhall (September 17th, 2013) and a Festival for Public Medicare (Sept. 21st)!
The federal government cannot continue to get away with abdicating their responsibilities to Islanders. The Conservatives’ privatization by stealth strategy hurts smaller provinces like PEI the most.
It’s time they paid their fair share of the health care bill – at least 25%. The federal government must negotiate a new Health Accord with the Premiers that will meet the needs of Islanders, treat everyone in Canada fairly, and provide the care that we need to be healthy and age with dignity.
Please join us in the fight to save health care! Sign up for a workshop in a location near you!
Dates and Locations to be added to the events Calendar Soon!