Editorial — Labour Day a time to reflect on our hard work

MONDAY MORNING EDITORIAL — A few thoughts from others on Labour Day:

“Observing Labour Day on the first Monday of September provides us with an opportunity to give thanks to the hard-working British Columbians who built our great province and made it an even greater place to live, work and raise our families.

“Every worker has the right to come home safely at the end of the day. Following the efforts made by the labour movement and governments present and past, we continue to work collaboratively with employees, employers and unions to make workplaces safer and improve worker safety and worker rights.”

— Shirley Bond, Minister Responsible for Labour

“Just think of the exciting things we could do if we all worked together to ensure that everyone, in all regions of the province – regardless of race, gender or socioeconomic status – had access to a job where they were paid a living wage and treated with respect.

“This is what the labour movement has to offer British Columbians: strong, united and dynamic communities full of people who care for one another.

“When we all band together to demand that vital services be publicly available to everyone – not just those who can afford them – we’ll have a whole new set of victories to celebrate each year at the end of August.”

— Stephanie Smith, BCGEU President

“Virtually every government employee pension plan in Canada hit troubled waters over the past decade, but rather than reform the plans or bail out these plans with large cheque presentations, governments have been quietly increasing taxpayer contributions, creating a ‘stealth bailout.’

According to Statistics Canada data, governments in Canada put $6.7 billion into government employee pension plans back in 2002. By 2012, that expense had skyrocketed to $18.1 billion; a 169 per cent increase. The CTF calculated the cost per employee at $2,676 in 2002 and $5,741 by 2012; an increase of 115 per cent. These calculations do not include special back payments made by governments.

— Canadian Taxpayers Federation

“Labour Day is a day to reflect on the important role of working people in Canada’s economy and our society, and on the gains we’ve made in the past 100 years. This Labour Day we also remember that it was working people banding together that brought us these gains.

“It is all too easy today to take for granted the role of unions in improving our working lives. After all, the most significant successes of the labour movement have benefited all Canadian workers for decades. Whether it’s the 40-hour work week, workplace safety requirements, or the weekend; they’ve all been a part of our workplaces for as long as most of us have had jobs.

“Long enough that most Canadians don’t know that working people, through their unions, had to fight hard for each of these advances.”

— Jim Sinclair, B.C. Federation of Labour