Canada's Building Trades Unions Pleased with Measures in 2014 Federal Budget

OTTAWA, Feb. 11, 2014 /CNW/ - Canada's Building Trades Unions are very pleased with a number of the measures in the Federal Budget that support growth and development of a future focused construction workforce.  Creating highly skilled and well-paying jobs is in the national interest.

"After years of being a mere add-on to post-secondary education, apprenticeship is being noticed by our Federal Government" said Robert Blakely the Canadian Operating office of the Building Trades in Ottawa today.  He went on to say "the way apprentices are being treated has changed and they are now, thanks to measures introduced in the this 2014 Budget, treated more like their colleagues in college and university training."

The measures that are particularly important to Canada's Building Trades Unions include the re-affirmation of the Canada Jobs Grant, the new Canadian Apprentice Loan, the employer EI top-up to apprentices in technical training and the Flexible Apprenticeship delivery pilot (FIATT).

Fred Clare, the International Vice President of the Heat & Frost Insulators said "Our apprentice workers are generally older than the average student and they have family obligations, these measures will let skilled workers take the training with less hardship to the family and will allow them access to better ways to access training."

Speaking in Edmonton, Joseph Maloney, the International Vice President of the Boilermakers said "we like the strengthening of the compliance processes in the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program. This program is important to our Union and allows us to make sure that we have sufficient highly skilled people to do the work that is before us.  The money that is going to be used to strengthen the integrity of the TFW program is money well spent.  We access TFWs to staff the work opportunities that cannot be filled from Canadian sources by getting qualified people, who work safely, and get the same wages and conditions that a Canadian Boilermaker would get.  The TFW program cannot be used to cheat on wages. "

Finally, the Building Trades applauds the 2014 Build Canada Fund provisions, Blakely said, "This money will leverage money from other levels of government and put our members to work across Canada. There are measures in the Budget for training, mentoring and workplace supports for the skilled workforce that builds Canada. "

About the BCTD

The North America-wide BCTD AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labour - Congress of Industrial Organizations) coordinates activities and provides resources to 15 affiliated trade unions in the construction, maintenance and fabrication industries. industries. In Canada, the BCTD represents 500,000 skilled trades workers.

SOURCE: Building & Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO

Christopher Smillie
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