Near a thousand protesters for the International Workers Day

 

For May Day 2017, while the unions sent their permanent es-es and employee distribute leaflets, the IWW as well as numerous groups mobilized for a day of struggle, of working class solidarity and combative unionism. In the program; office occupancy placement agencies, popular meals and demonstration Southern center to Downtown o? ù the police waiting at a halt!

Occupancy of Thompson Tremblay's offices and ManPower Recruitment Solutions

This year the start of the International day of workers has been given at noon for members of the Industrial Workers Union and Workers (SITT-IWW) Montreal and the Workers Association of Temporary Workers of Employment Agencies (ATTAP) who went occupy Thompson Tremblay offices and ManPower Recruitment Solutions, two placement agencies.

Temporary employment agencies specialize in ofoffering a flexible workforce to companies. Essentially, it transforms the boss-employee relationship in a triangular relationship of employer-employee-agency. The agencies allow companies to reduce their production costs by reducing the accounting staff and evasion of payment of benefits and protections of minimum labor standards such as cotisations with EI, insurance in case of work accidents, parental leave, as well as for caregivers, pensions, holidays, etc. They also limit the right to unionize, the right to direct negotiations with the boss to have a collective agreement and the right to strike as a defense mechanism. Victims workers of this process do not accumulate seniority, have no minimum hours of guaranteed work or job security and receive no annual salary increase. Since the disruption of the conference of the ACSESS 5 april 2017, our working conditions have not improved. Our demands remain the same so:

popular meal in the Center-Sud neighborhood
Despite the rain, near 200 people who are grouped Médéric Martin Park in the early afternoon. Housed-e-s by the tents of SOS Roaming and warmed-e-s by the food provided by the Coop Café Touski, the members of our dedicated union, but also those of the Mouvement Action Unemployment, Plateau Mont-Royal Housing Committee, the Collective Opposed to Police Brutality, the Association for Student Solidarity Trade Union (ASSÉ), Student Union of Workers of UQÀM, Solidarity Without Borders, Faculty Student Association Sciences Humaines of UQÀM, and various Antifascist group present in the area such as RASH, the Montreal Sisterhood and the Young Guard benefited from this community gathering.

The theme of the day? Enough is enough! While the cost of living is rising constantly, utilities are cutting. Welfare recipients suffer savage attacks. There is the threat of a reform of labor standards who would benefit the employers that awaits us, and to add insult to injury, while unions and community groups are calling for a minimum wage 15$ /h, the bosses and the state answer us : you're onlyUERE more than $ 11.25 / hour.

As if that was not enough, the social climate deteriorates. Racist discourse have vast grandstands. They mistreat the difference. Hate crimes against women, the muslims and LGBTQIA community * multiply. We do not tolerate the spread of hate speech in the medias, workplaces and communities.

Frontenac Metro Protest in Downtown

Eventually joined by pink bloc and anti-gentrification groups of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, is the theme of anti-fascism and the opening of borders rather than inward-be that the event is finally set in motion at 17:40. Fanfare, flags, smoke and fireworks brightened Ontario Street subway Frontenac to the Great Library at Berri-UQAM metro or demonstrators took the streets of downtown in order to join the great event organized by the Convergence anticapitalist struggles (CLAC). If the participants of the latter already had to defend themselves from a first police charge at Place Ville Marie, the arrival of the fascist contingent and syndicalist gave new life to the demonstration continued until past 20 hours in the evening in the streets of downtown.

At the time of publication, there was only one arrest. Our thanks to lawyer's team Desmarais & Desvignes and Ouellet Nadon and associates that united for the legal monitoring of our members.

 

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