Toronto – August 31, 2016 – UFCW Canada activists recently stood in solidarity with United Steelworkers of Canada allies at a Toronto rally calling on the government to restore funding for two job action centres that provide vital services to Ontario manufacturing workers who have lost their jobs.

Over the past decade, the impact of globalization has cost Ontario more than 250,000 jobs lost in the manufacturing sector.

The two job action centres at risk – operated by the United Steelworkers of Canada (USW) – have been helping laid-off manufacturing workers through difficult times since 2003. The rally and protest took place outside the offices of the Ontario Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development. The ministry’s decision to cancel the centres’ annual funding means that these valuable resources will no longer be able to assist displaced workers in the Toronto and Peel areas.

It is just the latest cutback in Ontario government funding – as well as cutbacks in employer funding – for programs to help displaced workers develop new job-seeking skills and retraining. Over the past decade UFCW Canada has been a leader in successfully pushing back this selfish corporate agenda, by ensuring that closure agreements include government and employer funding for job action centres to help members retrain and find new employment.