Issue 38 – 25, February 16, 2025
The Rights of Older Persons Campaign – takes on new phase
The Rights of Older Persons is likely to be the next major human rights treaty adopted by the United Nations. You will remember the success of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which has seen near universal acceptance since 1989. Where the UNCRC focuses on the rights of younger persons, the UNCROP will address those who form the older portion of society, who according to United Nations reports, are becoming increasingly vulnerable as a group without applicable normative standards of human rights law.
Support for a Convention is becoming increasingly popular, as human rights groups including the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), HelpAge International, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the International Labour Organization, and many other NGOs and the Canadian Labour Congress have expressed support for a universal instrument.
CURC and a number of NGOs from across the world have joined forces in advocating for a Convention in the Global Alliance for the Rights of Older Persons (GAROP) which has been set up out of the need to strengthen the rights of older persons worldwide. Among the human rights issues faced by older persons are ageist attitudes leading to discrimination, exclusion and constraints on the legal capacity, autonomy and independent living of older people.
Human rights violations have been further exacerbated and put on the spotlight by the COVID-19 pandemic. Older people have been denied access to health services and became prone to physical and social isolation. The stigmatisation of older people and ageist images of older persons have also become more evident. The debate surrounding the convention focuses on the implementation and safeguarding of older persons’ human rights aiming to set standards of human rights for older persons in an international legally binding instrument.
The HRC58 will take place from 24th February to 4th April 2025, in Geneva. GAROP’s priority is for members to reiterate our call that the HRC should respond to the General Assembly resolution 78/324
adopted on 13th August 2024 and establish an inter-governmental working group to start drafting a UN convention. GAROP is working on a joint consensus statement to be presented on behalf of our full network at the 58th session.
Read more - GAROP Strategy Report
Amazon – Union Busters
Centre for Future Work Director Jim Stanford considers options for overcoming Amazon’s union-busting strategy. Since the company must continue to engage workers in Quebec to perform logistics and delivery work for Quebec customers, this creates opportunity (with support of labour law) to neutralize Amazon’s effort to use more precarious workers (including gig workers) to replace its former warehouse staff.
Amazon, the fourth-richest corporation in the world, recently announced the closure of 7 of its warehouses in Quebec because one of them (in Laval) had voted to unionize and was about to attain a collective agreement (thanks to Quebec’s first-contract arbitration system). This decision will throw 1700 workers out of their jobs.
Read More - Amazon’s Union-Busting in Quebec Can Be Overcome - Centre for Future Work
Congress of Union Retirees of Canada Convention
Registration is now open for the Fifteenth Convention of the Congress of Union Retirees of Canada. The convention will take place at the Pan Pacific Toronto, 900 York Mills Rd, Toronto, on June 17th through June 19, 2025. This will be our first in person CURC convention in 7 years due to the pandemic, and we are encouraged to move forward with a new agenda for the union retiree movement.
We are anticipating an exciting convention, informative, educational and will include a major report of the review of the organization, and the planning of a more inclusive, stronger union retiree movement.
Hope you and your organization make plans to attend.
More information – email curc@clcctc.ca