Labour

Secure jobs and living wages. Neighbours have stable employment that pays them enough and enables them to prepare for emergencies and retirement. We live affordably and have true living wages. Household debt levels are reduced. A universal basic income eliminates the bumps of life and creates a minimum standard for how employers should treat and compensate their employees.

Employment standards. Workers have adequate paid sick leave, vacation time, advance notice for scheduling, and job protection after returning from a leave of absence. Anti-burnout policies acknowledge emotional labour and trauma-informed employment standards.

Local ownership and strong communities. Cooperative and locally-owned employers commit to long-term, good-paying jobs that support the local community in more ways than one. Employees get good jobs, wealth remains in the community, and high standards of living reduce the pressure on social services.

Health and safety. Every industry has safe workplaces. On-the-job serious injuries and deaths have fallen to zero. Workplaces provide robust conflict resolution tools to protect employees against discrimination, harassment, and mental health crises. All workers understand their rights, including the importance of labour history and collective solidarity actions.

A day in the life: flexibility and high morale
Sindhu is a father with two children who he/they have every other week. They are able to walk their children to school and to work. They live close to work, which is a studio. Hours are flexible and rent is cheap. Buses are free. The household shares chores and daycare duties. There are communal spaces and gardens. Because everyone has a living wage, morale is high and crime is low. Artists are paid fairly for their work. Businesses sponsor artists and pay them to run programs in large workplaces.
— Reflection by a roundtable participant

Gig work and temporary foreign workers. Gig workers, who are dependent on work assigned through a platform that controls their rate of pay and terms of work, are considered employees. They have the full rights and responsibilities of employment (including employment insurance and a public pension), and are no longer erroneously classified as independent contractors. The temporary foreign worker program has been replaced with a system that offers workers a path to citizenship and the right to change employers.

Academic work. Research assistants, teaching assistants and sessional instructors at post-secondary institutions are compensated fairly for their work, including research, teaching, preparation time, and grading. The use of short-term contracts has been significantly reduced, and a larger proportion of instructors are tenured.