News

April 2011: Widespread violations of child-labour laws revealed; government performance on oil sands shameful; fed Conservatives accused of hypocrisy in dealing with immigrants; Albertans…

Widespread violations of child-labour rules revealed in study

  • Tens of thousands of adolescent Albertans are in the workforce – 21 per cent of them in illegal jobs, according to an Alberta Federation of Labour study. It found there were widespread violations of employment standards for adolescents and children in the province. For more information

Government performance on oil sands shameful

  • The Auditor General’s report revealed the Progressive Conservative government has failed to institute a way of tracking its revenue from oil-sands operations, meaning it might have foregone billions of dollars in revenue. Meanwhile, Premier Stelmach and others in the government continue to act as pitch men for a pipeline company that wants to ship raw bitumen – and good jobs – out of the province. For more on AG press release … and for Keystone XL release

Federal Conservatives accused of hypocrisy in dealing with immigrants

  • The Conservative Party of Canada reaches out to immigrants Canadians with one hand, but crafts policies that punish them with the other. It has cut targets for real immigration, while increasing the number of Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs), who have little protection from abusive employers and recruitment agencies. New rules introduced this month will make it almost impossible for TFWs to even consider becoming citizens. For more information

Albertans warned to brace for Tea Party policies

  • The infamous billionaire Koch brothers from Kansas – who have spent tens of millions of dollars funding climate-change deniers and the extreme right-wing Tea Party in the U.S. – have hired a lobbyist to push the Alberta government on taxation, economic development and energy and resource issues. Meanwhile, the AFL revealed that a provincial cabinet minister had links to an organization calling for restrictions to collective-bargaining rights in Alberta. For AFL press release … and for the Edmonton Journal news item

Urgent Action


Gate Gourmet locks out workers in Edmonton – About 60 workers at Gate Gourmet’s facility at Edmonton International Airport have been locked out after rejecting a final offer from the company that included a three-year wage freeze. The employees, represented by UFCW 401, had been seeking only moderate increases that would barely allow them to keep up with the rising cost of living. Show your support by joining them on the picket line at Airport Road. For more

Events


  • April 28 – International Day of Mourning
  • April 28 – May 1 – AFL Convention
  • May 1 – May Day
  • May 9-13 – CLC Convention
  • May 17 – International Day Against Homophobia
  • May 21 – International Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development

Did you know …


  • 8,200 Alberta children aged nine to 11 have jobs.
  • 78 per cent of the jobs done by children are clearly illegal, including newspaper delivery and janitorial services.
  • 26,000 adolescents, aged 12-14, work in Alberta.
  • More than 21 per cent of working adolescents are employed in prohibited occupations, including janitorial services, sports teams and working on golf courses.
  • 50 per cent of the jobs done by adolescents fall into the grey area of babysitting and yard work.
  • The AFL study reveals that violations of child-labour laws included working too many hours, being paid less than minimum wage and working in prohibited jobs or performing prohibited tasks.
  • The study also showed that parents did not fully understand their children’s rights and had difficulty monitoring workplace conditions. For more