CBTU Statement on Labour Day

This Labour Day, let’s remember the reason for the holiday. Labour Day is, first and foremost, a day to mark workers’ sacrifices and contributions to our country. For the Building Trades, it’s a day to show our pride in the things we build, and the things that are possible because of what we build – hospitals, bridges, skyscrapers, highways, and much more. Canada is powered by workers.

With the rising cost of living, workers and the value of work have gotten more attention recently, with newfound support for organized labour. “This Labour Day weekend, let’s remember to thank workers and unions for many of the working conditions Canadians now enjoy, like weekends, benefits, and the eight-hour workday. They’re the result of advocacy and sacrifices made by working Canadians decades ago,” says Executive Director of Canada’s Building Trades Unions, Sean Strickland. Canada’s Building Trades Unions are currently advocating for skilled tradespeople by urging the federal government to pass legislation on Investment Tax Credits – financial incentives for employers when they adhere to labour standards outlined in the 2023 federal budget.

From Canada’s Building Trades Unions, and on behalf of unionized skilled tradespeople across the country, happy Labour Day!

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About CBTU

Canada’s Building Trades Unions are an alliance of 14 international unions in the construction, maintenance and fabrication industries that collectively represent over 600,000 skilled trades workers in Canada. Each year, our unions and our signatory contractor partners invest over $300 million in private sector money to fund and operate over 175 apprenticeship training and education facilities across Canada that produce the safest, most highly trained and productive skilled craft workers found anywhere in the world. Canada’s Building Trades Unions represent members who work in more than 60 different trades and occupations, and generate six per cent of Canada’s GDP. For more information, go to www.buildingtrades.ca.

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