Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

Major Public Forum: We are expecting representatives from all political parties with over 1000 members of the public attending this event.

The topic: Homelessness! What’s happened? What’s next? The number of homeless in Vancouver keeps rising! Learn about innovations in Vancouver!

Hear from Steve Snyder and Tim Richter! (Calgary’s Committee to End Homelessness www.endinghomelessness.ca)

• May 22, 2008 at 7pm (doors open 6:30)
• St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church
• Nelson & Burrard, Vancouver
• (free underground parking from alley)

For more information call: 604-683-4574

“Challenging the Myths of Migration, Building workers’ solidarity in Canada”

A critical look at the expansion of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Workers’ Program (TFWP)

• Community Forum
• Sunday, April 6, 2008, 2:00 pm
• Kalayaan Centre, 451 Powell Street, Vancouver (between Jackson & Dunlevy Streets)

Speakers include: SIKLAB-B.C. (Advance the Rights and Welfare of Overseas Filipino Workers and their Families), Justicia for Migrant Worker, Other speakers to be announced. For more information: email: ilps_canada@shawcable.com

via email

The fight against poverty requires justice and equality for women. Around the world, women and girls are more likely to face violence, have fewer rights and receive less education than men. And because women are often denied fair compensation for their work, poverty rates among women are much higher.

Gender equality is a key part of making poverty history. Policies that promote the health, education and rights of women make huge contributions towards alleviating poverty. Any serious attempt to eradicate poverty must work towards gender equality. That’s why to “promote gender equality and empower women” is one of the eight Millenium Development Goals.

So we are asking you to participate in International Women’s Day, this Saturday, March 8, in whatever way you can: learn more about the issues, tell your friends about the day, attend an event or take action online.

Learn more

Make Poverty History is part of a coalition of groups called the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) See the GCAP International Women’s Day video on YouTube. Read GCAP’s page on the importance of gender equality here

Send and ecard to your friends or attend an event

Remind your friends of the importance of March 8th by sending them an e-card from www.makepovertyhistory.ca.

Make Poverty History volunteers will be at Women’s Day events across the country this Saturday - why don’t you join them? See events on March 8 here.

Goal is to collect 5,000 pairs by February 14.

Socks can be delivered to:
VDLC office, 20 - 1880 Triumph Street, Vancouver
Reclaiming Our Spirit, 3985 Dumfries, Vancouver

Labour of Love Fundraising Luncheon:
February 14, Thursday, Simon Baker Aboriginal Friendship Centre, 1607 East Hastings

Message from Reclaiming our Spirit:

Hello everyone, homelessness has a thousand faces.  The reasons people are homeless are many and varied.  Many of the homeless have become disconnected from their families and communities.  A broad base of understanding is required to create and build programs and services that will work towards providing support for each and every person who faces homelessness.  Homelessness can affect people of any age, gender or ethnic background, it does not discriminate.  It is that time of year again and Reclaiming Our Spirit will be conducting our 3rd Annual Sock Drive for the Homeless.  We are seeking your support to make this a successful fundraiser.  If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call our office. 

Also as a part of this important community event we will be having our First Annual Labour of Love Fundraising Luncheon at the Chief Simon Baker Room February 14, 2008 at 1607 East Hastings street from 12:00 noon -2:00 pm. All proceeds from this luncheon will go towards the Labour of Love Sock Drive.   All support is appreciated.

Picket and Rally

Wednesday, January 30, 4 pm
Picket outside the U.S. Consulate in Vancouver (1075 W. Pender)

War and Occupation are a Health Crisis.

The Israeli occupation is a health crisis for Palestinians. In particular, the total siege by the Israeli Occupation Forces in Gaza effectively detains Palestinian men, women and children in what amounts to a giant open air prison, creating a mounting health emergency by denying even the basic necessities of life. In addition to the Israeli-created public health crisis, Palestinians face arbitrary and criminal military violence from the Israeli occupiers.

The conditions in Gaza demonstrate clearly the criminal nature of the Israeli occupation:

Ongoing killings, assassinations and air attacks by Israeli occupation forces; already in January, 2008, Israeli occupying forces in Gaza have killed 26 Palestinians, including children and women, and wounded 44 others. This death toll does not include the countless others whose physical and mental health hangs in the balance of the siege.

Tens of thousands are denied access to safe water and sanitation as raw sewage runs through the streets. General scarcity of food, clean water, and fuel, resulting in malnutrition, disease are a public health clamity. Gaza is on the verge of a humanitarian, health and environmental crisis, threatening the lives of 1.5 million civilians.

Surgical operations and medical aid are suspended at hospitals due to lack of power and supplies, leaving patients languishing in need of medical attention. Furthermore, medical personal are unable to reach people due to the siege conditions.

Blockade of supplies for UN Relief and Works Agency which supplies over 900,000 Palestinians in refugee camp; humanitarian aid is suspended in a region where 85% of the Palestinian population depends upon humanitarian aid their basic needs for survival.

The U.S. and Canadian governments share culpability for this disaster as they continue to support the Israeli occupation. The U.S.A. provides billions of dollars in aid to Israel annually, much of it military aid. Meanwhile the Canadian government has over the last several years shifted to a position of essentially unconditional support for Israel at the U.N. and was the first government to cut humanitarian aid to Palestinians following their democratic election in 2006, punishment for not voting for the ‘correct’ representatives.

Peace, justice and health for Palestinians are impossible under conditions of occupation and siege. We must speak out! We must ACT NOW to break the siege and end the occupation.

Break the Siege on Gaza!

Canada & U.S. - stop supporting Israeli war crimes!

End the Israeli Occupation! Free Palestine!

Organized by the Health Now! Campaign, Alliance for Peoples Health, Al Awda – Palestinian Right of Return Coalition, International League of Peoples Struggles participating organizations in Vancouver (BC Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines, Grassroots Women, Ugnayan Ng Kabataang Pilipino Sa Canada/Filipino-Canadian Youth Alliance, SIKLAB, Bus Riders Union, Filipino Nurses Support Group), Free Ahmed Sa’adat Campaign.

Email contact.

• Date: Tuesday, January 29, 2008
• Time: 7-9 PM
• Location: The Richmond Caring Place,
• 7000 Minoru Blvd @ Granville
• Cost: minimum donation of $5 but no one will be turned away

Since Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assumed power in the Philippines in January 2001, there are now more than 830 reported cases of extra-judicial killings and almost 200 cases of forcible disappearances in the Philippines. Despite this terror, the Filipino peoples resistance continues. The killings, mostly carried out by unidentified men often wearing face masks who shoot the victims before escaping on motorcycles, have rarely led to the arrest, prosecution and punishment of those responsible.

Come to a forum at the Richmond Women’s Resource Centre and learn more about the situation of women in the Philippines and how you can be a Sister In Solidarity.

For more information contact Philippine Women Centre of BC (604) 215-1103, pwc@kalayaancentre.net, www.kalayaancentre.net/pwcofbc or Richmond Women’s Resource Centre (604) 279-7060, www.richmondwomenscentre.bc.ca

Endorsed by the PSAC Vancouver Regional Women’s Committee

via Vancouver & District Labour Council

A Chance to Go to School in Cuba

Wouldn’t it be great to have a place to meet other activists, learn something useful and have some fun in the sun at the same time?

Well how about getting together in Havana, Cuba in May, 2008 for a week of global solidarity courses and a program of events designed especially for activists.

That is the idea behind a Global Solidarity School. Its being organized in Cuba by a group of Canadian labour activists and educators. The school will run from May 4 to May 10 and offer five week-long courses designed to interest activists and their spouses.

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Only Colombia is riskier for union organizers.

The Philippines provide a steady stream of hard working immigrants seeking a better life in British Columbia. For most of these newcomers, the pay may not stretch far, given the high cost of living here and, often, a chunk of the paycheque sent to help family back home.

• Send a message to the Philippine Government: stop the political killings! 

But at least in B.C., standing up for your rights on the job won’t get you killed.

Under the Arroyo government in the Philippines there has been a higher incidence of murders and assaults against union activists than during the notorious Marcos regime, according to a Philippine labour leader who recently toured Canada.

And an international study that reported a 25 per cent increase in murders of trade unionists around the world in 2006 says that the Philippines is the second most lethal environment for union activists globally, only topped for murder of union leaders by the blood stained record of Colombia.

Continue reading at thetyee.ca.

SIKLAB-CANADA READIES FOR THE INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS’ ALLIANCE; ENCOURAGES MIGRANTS IN CANADA TO JOIN

Filipino migrants in Canada are set to bring their fight for their rights to a new level.

SIKLAB-Canada, a national formation representing migrant Filipino workers, is readying for the historic launching of the International Migrants’ Alliance (IMA) in June 2008 in Hong Kong.

“There is an urgent need to form the IMA,” explains Roderrick Carreon, Chairperson of SIKLAB-Canada, “The issue of migration has become a global phenomenon and the focal point for much intense debate and discussion among academics and politicians on how to administer and manage international migration. It is now also time for those of us organizing around migrant rights to join together internationally to focus on the real lived experience and exploitation of migrant workers, the structures behind global migration, and the impacts of imperialist globalization,” continues Carreon.

There are over half a million Filipinos across Canada, the majority of whom are women who have entered the country as live-in domestic workers under the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP). SIKLAB is actively campaigning for the scrapping of the LCP calling the immigration program “anti-woman and racist”.

Under the LCP, migrant workers are required to live-in their employers’ home for 24 months, hold only temporary immigration status, and are tied to their employers because of the required employer-specific contracts under the program — conditions, which SIKLAB argues breed exploitation, abuse and oppression of Filipino migrant workers in Canada.

“We know that our community’s migration to Canada as cheap and expendable labour is shared by many other migrant and immigrant communities,” says Glecy Duran, Vice-Chairperson of SIKLAB-Canada, “Because we are here and legislated to perform low-wage and dangerous jobs that no other Canadians will perform, migrants of all nationalities, especially those of colour, share a common experience of exploitation. We need to unite,” adds Duran.

The objectives of the IMA are:

• To promote the rights, livelihood and welfare of migrants, refugees and displaced persons all over the world;
• To defend the interests of migrants, refugees and displaced persons from attacks of imperialist globalization and its lackeys;
• To forge coordinated and joint actions and plans in advancing the rights and well-being of im/migrants and refugees.
• To intensify campaigns for just wage, job security, against commodification and against criminalization of undocumented migrants and immigrants.
• Extend support and cooperation among the members.
• To further promote international solidarity and cooperation with progressive and genuine anti-imperialist organizations and alliances.

The IMA was initiated by the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) Study Commission on Migrants and Immigrants, and aims to be a broad international formation of progressive and anti-imperialist migrant organizations of various nationalities.

As a convenor of the launching the IMA, SIKLAB-Canada is also inviting other like-minded organizations of migrants and immigrants in Canada to join the significant founding of the IMA.

For more information: SIKLAB-B.C.: Glecy Duran, siklab@kalayaancentre.net; 604-215-1103
–
SIKLAB-British Columbia
Advance the Rights and Welfare of Overseas Filipino Workers and Their Families
Member of SIKLAB-Canada
c/o Kalayaan Centre, 451 Powell Street, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V6A 1G7
Phone: 604.215.1103 | Fax: 604.215.1905 | http://www.kalayaancentre.net

Via makepovertyhistory.ca …

I am writing to you today to ask for your help in stopping a dangerous trade deal that you have probably never heard of. The government of Canada is negotiating a trade deal with Colombia, a country that Human Rights Watch calls the “worst human rights and humanitarian disaster” in the Americas.

This controversial deal will make many poor in Colombia worse off and help support a government involved in serious human rights abuses. The US Congress refused to approve a similar deal earlier this year, citing human rights abuses. If Canadians don’t speak up, this deal can be passed without parliamentary approval or public debate.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Write to your Member of Parliament and insist that this deal not go through without a full debate in Parliament and the explicit approval of our elected representatives.

There is not much time - negotiations are underway, and are set to be completed before the end of the year. Millions of people in Colombia have been displaced through a violent conflict over land and resources. Transnational companies have become complicit in this violence. Many people living in poverty in Colombia are concerned that this deal increases the power of corporations at the expense of the poor.

Act in solidarity with Colombian social justice activists. Tell others that trade is a matter that affects poverty and human rights, and that you care. Speak out now!

Dennis Howlett
Coordinator
Make Poverty History

Canadian Labour Congress to Ministers Solberg and Finley: Where are the Filipino 11?
Temporary Foreign Worker Program Should Be Suspended

OTTAWA – The Canadian Labour Congress calls for an immediate moratorium of the government’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program until a comprehensive investigation of identified abuse and exploitation cases takes place. Full suspension of this program is necessary as the government officially acknowledges that it cannot “monitor the working conditions offered by the employer following entry into Canada” – that it cannot protect these workers.

To print the English PDF version, please click the link below

http://canadianlabour.ca/index.php/november/1290

PAKISTAN UNDER THE GUN
Perspectives on Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law
Public Forum, Film Screening and Discussion

Tuesday, December 11th, 2007, 6:30 pm
Alma Van Dusen Room, Vancouver Public Library
350 West Georgia - between Homer and Hamilton(lower level -take elevator/stairs by main library entrance)
From Granville Skytrain Station: 2 blocks east on Dunsmuir, 1 block south on Homer

FREE EVENT:

Join us for a public forum and interactive discussion on human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Pakistan. Support the resistance of the Pakistani people!

Co-sponsored by the Vancouver and District Labour Council, India Pakistan Peace Network (IPPN), South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD), Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada. Endorsed by the PSAC International Solidarity Committee.

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Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of Foreign Affairs

Dear Minister Bernier:

On behalf of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, a national union made up of over 160,000 members, I am writing to express our grave concern regarding the appalling human rights situation in the Philippines under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

In recent months, we have become aware of the rapidly deteriorating situation in the Philippines marked with extrajudicial killings and trade union repression from a variety of sources.

• Send an email to the Philippine & Canadian Governments - Stop the political killings!

In March 2007, we heard from individuals who survived assassination attempts under the Arroyo government, such as Dr. Constancio Claver, who told of the political targeting and surveillance he experienced that ultimately resulted in the murder of his wife and attempted murder of himself and his daughter when they were ambushed in July 2006. He also shared his frustration with the Philippine National Police’s lack of investigation and prosecutions in his case.

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The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A2

Dear Prime Minister:

On behalf of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, I am writing to express our grave concern and dismay regarding the imposition of a state of emergency and suspension of the constitution in Pakistan by the country’s military ruler and President, General Pervez Musharraf.

Musharraf’s dictatorial actions, including: the suspension of Pakistan’s Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and other members of the judiciary; bans against the media; and the suppression of fundamental democratic rights; have resulted in protests throughout Pakistan and growing condemnation from human rights organizations, trade unions and government leaders from around the world, including Canada.

The people of Pakistan have a long and vibrant history of fighting to protect civil society and democracy and have been on the frontlines of the struggle since a state of emergency was declared in the country. Pakistan’s military dictatorship has responded with wide spread detentions and arrests of lawyers, journalists, students and internationally respected human rights defenders such as Asma Jahangir.

On November 11, the Musharraf government amended the Army Act of 1952, allowing the army to court martial civilianspeaking out against the state with charges of sedition, treason and terrorism, with trials conducted through military courts. This most recent change in legislation signals a dangerous escalation in the regime’s long history of human rights violations by allowing the military to act with total impunity, and presents a very serious threat to justice and human rights in the country.

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I want to share with you our latest effort in the Campaign to increase BC’s minimum wage and win a long overdue pay raise for 250,000 low paid workers.

$10 NOW: BC Workers Need a Raise is a short video piece where working people talk about why our minimum wage needs to be increased. It’s just been posted on You Tube, and you can watch it now …

Please let your friends and family know about the video and share it with them.

Thanks to the thousands of people who’ve taken part in our 10 for $10 challenge in October. We generated more than 10,000 new signatures on our petition in the lead up to the November 1st anniversary of the last time B.C.’s minimum was boosted in 2001. Now 50,000 British Columbians have signed on to show their support for a $10 minimum wage.

I also want to give you my commitment that the B.C. Federation of Labour Campaign will continue until the minimum wage is increased and tens of thousands of workers are brought up to the poverty line.

Keep up the fight!

Jim Sinclair, President, B.C. Federation of Labour

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo boasted of her country’s recent economic growth. However, a Philippine labour activist, during a visit to PSAC on October 11, explained that this growth has occurred amid a continuing increase in human and trade union rights violations.

• Send an email to the Canadian & Philippine governments, demand justice and human rights now!

“Human rights violations under the Arroyo regime has surpassed the record under the Marcos dictatorship,” says Arnel Salvador, the deputy executive director of the Workers Assistance Center (WAC) in Cavite province, Philippines.

Salvador’s one-month tour in Canada seeks to raise awareness among and gain support from Canadians, particularly the labour movement, for the Filipino workers’ struggles against the spate of labour repression and human rights violations under the Arroyo regime.

From the time Arroyo assumed power on January 20, 2001 until June 30, 2006, more than 60 leaders, members, organizers and supporters of trade unions and workers organizations have been killed. They are among the more than 800 victims of political killings of progressive activists and critics of the Arroyo regime. Aside from killings, other trade union violations include assaults on the picketline, illegal arrests and detentions, grave threats, intimidations, abductions and harassment. According to the Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR), an independent workers research institute in the Philippines, there were 982 cases of trade union and human rights violations victimizing 77,028 workers from 2001 to 2006.

(more…)

via BCFed

In conjunction with the PSAC Leadership Training Conference taking place this week in downtown Vancouver, come and take part in the next petitioning event for the B.C. Federation of Labour’s $10 NOW campaign Sat. Oct. 20th.

• Saturday, Oct. 20, 9:45 am to 12 noon
• meet at the Port of the World room, Renaissance Hotel, 1133 W. Hastings, Vancouver then;
• disperse to solicit signatures in downtown Vancouver

It’s an important event because the BC Fed is trying to get as many petition signatures as possible before Nov. 1 - the sixth anniversary of the last time B.C.’s minimum wage was increased. The event is being organized in conjunction with our leadership training conference and is designed to link PSAC leaders with activists who’ve been part of the minimum wage campaign and share skills.

The PSAC will host a lunch for all volunteers back at the Renaissance Hotel, and the BCFed will have a premium for all those who take part. If you’re interested please contact Stephen Howard at the B.C. Federation of Labour, 604-430-1421 or cell 604-220-2965.

On October 17, 2007 — The United Nations Day for the Eradication of Poverty — join millions around the world as they STAND UP and SPEAK OUT to Make Poverty History. STAND UP is an innovative and exciting challenge issued by the Global Call to Action Against Poverty and the United Nations Millennium Campaign.

Last year, 23.5 million people worldwide, including 49,000 Canadians, stood up against poverty in a 24 hour period, setting a Guinness World Record.

Show your support for the global fight against poverty and let world leaders know that we are holding them accountable for their promises to end poverty by 2015.

What qualifies as a STAND UP event?

A STAND UP event can be almost anything - a concert, vigil, picnic. It can take place anywhere: at work, in the streets, at the family dinner table, or classroom. The only requirement is that there must be a time when everyone reads a poverty pledge and STANDS UP for 1 minute to be counted for the Guinness World Record.

What are PSAC members doing?

On October 16 and 17, PSAC members will be joining people around the world by standing up and speaking out at their own events. To be counted, events in BC must take place between October 16 at 2:00 p.m. and October 17 at 2:00 p.m. To be included in the Stand Up and Speak Out count, please e-mail the following information to Janet St. Jean (stjeanj@psac-afpc.com) at PSAC’s Social Justice Fund no later than 8:00 p.m. (EST) on October 17.

• Your Local/Branch
• Date, time and location of your event
• Number of people counted and;
• Contact information

Note: members are encouraged to participate in the count by raising their hand if standing up is not possible.

Download the … (all .pdf)

• Stand up and speak out against poverty instructions for PSAC members
• Stand up and speak out against poverty poster
• Stand up and speak out against poverty info. flyer

For more information contact the Vancouver Regional Office.

How else can I get involved?

There are several other ways that you can be part of STAND UP and SPEAK OUT to Make Poverty History.

• Organize your own STAND UP and SPEAK OUT to Make Poverty History event. Check out our creative ideas.
• Insert a STAND UP and SPEAK OUT to Make Poverty History moment into an existing event or gathering — a sporting match, workplace lunchroom, a classroom, conference, or a movie theatre.
• Attend a STAND UP and SPEAK OUT to Make Poverty History Action organized by others in your community. Click to see what’s happening across Canada.
• Register your Stand Up Event and report your numbers after the event at standagainstpoverty.org/events/create

For more information visit: makepovertyhistory.ca/stand-up

PSAC member Be Gomes and the Terrace District Labour council successfully lobbies Terrace City Council to support the $10 minimum wage campaign.

source: The Terrace Standard.

TO ENSURE a healthy local economy and people’s survival, B.C.’S minimum wage must be raised to $10 an hour, according to a representative of the local labour council.

“Terrace is a perfect example,” Kitimat-Terrace & District Labour Council spokesperson Be Gomes says. Gomes attributes various job vacancies around town to potential workers not bothering to apply because of low wages.

“People can not afford to live off $8 an hour,” she said.

B.C.’s general minimum wage is $8 an hour though employees with little or no are categorized differently. The minimum wage for their first 500 hours of work is $6 an hour.

Gomes said many workers are also exhausted just trying to make ends meet. Her own daughter works two jobs a day for a total of 13.5 hours and is taking a year off school to save money. She was initially excited to be making money but quickly realized the minimum wage didn’t go far, Gomes said.

Gomes solicited the Terrace city council’s support for a minimum wage increase Sept. 10.

(more…)

The Philippine Women Centre of BC invites you to a multi-media report back from the Women’s International Solidarity Affair in the Philippines (WISAP) organized by GABRIELA-Philippines that was held from July 29 - August 5th, 2007.

• Date and time: Monday, September 10, 6:30 pm
• Venue: Kalayaan Centre, 451 Powell Street (see map)
• Who: All are welcome!

Monica Urrutia, member of the Philippine Women Centre of BC and staff of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, was one of the delegates to the WISAP and will be sharing her experiences from her exposure trip to Leyte province, and her participation in the 10th annual WISAP under the theme: The Women’s Vision - Strategies and Tactics of Women’s Resistance.