There was a time, in Quebec, in the 1970s or during the student strike of 2012, when the 1er May was the occasion for major trade union demonstrations. This time seems to have passed.
However, there is still much to be done to protect our highly sought-after workforce in these times of shortage.
IRIS emphasizes that the current minimum wage should be increased to $20 per hour to ensure income above the poverty line in most regions of Quebec. Students who work at $15.75 an hour often have to work too many hours to get there, which ultimately harms their academic training.
The CNESST deplores around 200 deaths annually from workplace accidents or occupational illnesses.
Many immigrants in precarious financial situations must endure undue delays in obtaining a work permit and find themselves exploited on the black market.
Temporary foreign workers with restrictive permits are vulnerable to exploitation by sometimes unscrupulous employers.
Women are still paid less than men. Psychological or sexual harassment at work is far from being controlled.
The struggle is not just financial. The arduous negotiations between the FIQ and the government expose the issues of professional autonomy and work-family balance to broad daylight.
Mandatory overtime is a major irritant in the health network. It is ironic to remember that the violent events during strikes in Chicago on 1er May 1886 focused on demands for a maximum eight-hour day. Nurses are campaigning for the same demand 138 years later.
We cannot humanly objectively assess exposure to the multiple contaminants to which workers and the general population are exposed, such as herbicides and pesticides, eternal pollutants (PFAS), heavy metals, smog, etc.
Elsewhere in the world, forced labor of children and certain minorities fuels modern slavery.
We must not give up. Workers create wealth and are essential to the proper functioning of society. They must be protected and respected.