Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the government plans to move out-of-work Canadians into the employment insurance system and provide parallel support for millions set to exhaust emergency pandemic aid who don’t have EI to fall back on. The $80-billion Canada Emergency Response Benefit is set to wind down over the coming weeks, with those who […]
More than eight million Canadians have received the $2,000 monthly Canada Emergency Response Benefit over the course of the pandemic. But labour experts say its very existence, while a triumph of policy-making on the fly, proves the need for significant reform to Canada’s employment insurance system. The pandemic quickly exposed long-standing issues with the EI […]
The Supreme Court of Canada has cleared the way for Uber drivers to take the next step in their fight to be recognized as employees. In a ruling Friday, the high court upheld an Ontario Court of Appeal decision that opened the door to a possible class-action suit aimed at securing a minimum wage, vacation […]
While Foodora announced in April that it’s shutting down its Canadian operations, its Toronto and Mississauga drivers, nevertheless, have voted to join the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, making them the first app-based workforce to unionize. “The truth is free — we are a union and we deserve respect and rights from our employer,” said Iván Ostos, a […]
Toronto drivers for Uber Technologies Inc.’s premium Black service are fighting to bring themselves one stop closer to unionization and being recognized as employees of the popular ride-sharing app. The United Food and Commercial Workers Union appeared in a virtual Ontario Labour Relations Board hearing on Friday to represent Uber Black limousine and SUV drivers working in and out […]
The federal government is expanding the Canada Emergency Response Benefit to include workers whose monthly income has been reduced to $1,000 or less, in response to concerns from gig economy workers who didn’t qualify for the original version of the benefit. The benefit will also now apply to seasonal workers who won’t have work because […]
Summers are big business for the Butlers. Samantha and her husband John are partners in a small photography and videography business, with the bulk of their work taking place during the summer wedding season. But this year will be different. “We’re facing about $30,000 of lost income,” she says. “And we’ve only lost weddings up […]
Alexander Kurth is planning to apply for the new Canada Emergency Response Benefit once the application is available on Monday. But despite being a gig economy worker who wouldn’t be able to receive employment insurance, it’s only because of a timing coincidence that he qualifies for the new support at all. Toronto-based Kurth is nearing […]
The Ontario Labour Relations Board ruled on Tuesday that Foodora Canada couriers are dependent contractors and have the right to unionize. The ruling, which sets a precedent for app-based workers seeking to unionize, agreed with Foodsters United and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers that Foodora’s relationship to its couriers and their working conditions rendered them […]
The United Food and Commercial Workers Canada Local 1518 is waiting for a decision from the Labour Relations Board of British Columbia on its application to classify drivers using the Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. apps as employees. Currently, drivers in other Canadian jurisdictions are classified as independent contractors, which means they aren’t covered by the province’s Employment […]