Labour and education in the news

Below are recent news stories on labour and education related issues. Click the headline to be taken to the article. Some may require a subscription. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for article text.

November 21, 2025

Former Brandon University dean accused of ‘mathematically impossible’ grade change
Winnipeg Free Press
A now-senior executive at Brandon University turned a student’s failing grade into an A+ when she was the dean of science, a move that overrode the course instructor’s concerns and is raising questions about grading oversight in the aftermath.

Pupils flee as grizzly attacks elementary class in B.C., injuring 11, some critically
Winnipeg Free Press
A grizzly bear has attacked a group of elementary school students and teachers in the B.C. central coast community of Bella Coola, leaving two people critically injured and two others seriously hurt.

The Battle for the Soul of the University
Maclean's
In early 2020, as the world was shutting down, the X̱wi7x̱wa Library at the University of British Columbia released a manual for instructors who were moving classes online. It mainly contained material you’d expect to see: links to digitized books and guides to remote-teaching strategies. It ended with suggestions for giving virtual land acknowledgments, which it defined as “respectful, yet political” declarations recognizing “the colonial context of the Indigenous territory/territories where a gathering is taking place.”

B.C. college instructor who was fired over Hamas comments reinstated
Globe and Mail
An arbitrator has reinstated an instructor who was fired by a B.C. college after making comments that some interpreted as praising the Hamas-led attacks in Israel two years ago.

N.L. family fights admissions process to MUN’s medical school, says it discriminates against military members
CBC
For Rebecca McDonald, it’s long been a dream to study medicine, become a doctor and practise at home — in Newfoundland and Labrador.

A new law gives Ontario more power over school boards. What does Bill 33 mean for your family?
CBC
A controversial new law that will give Ontario's education minister more power over school boards and other facets of the education system has passed in the province's legislature.

Behind Korea's school meal strike — What pushed workers outside the kitchen
The Korea Herald
A nationwide walkout by school meal workers and other nonregular school staff began Thursday, with unions seeking fair wages, pay during school breaks and better welfare. But workers say these demands, while important, only skim the surface of what pushed thousands to walk out of Korea’s schools.

Bribery controls North Korean university admissions as slots allocated by connections
Daily NK
As high school seniors apply for spots at North Korea’s universities, bribery in the admission process is once more coming into the spotlight. Party officials are bribed to give certain schools more university  slots, which often leaves students in rural or less developed areas unable to even apply.

‘If we have to grey-list every hospital… that’s what we’ll do’
Winnipeg Free Press
The Manitoba Nurses Union is threatening to “grey-list every hospital” in the province after a nurse was sexually assaulted in the parkade of St. Boniface Hospital this month — the latest violent incident against a staff member at a health facility.

Union takes province to task for wildly inaccurate paramedic numbers
Winnipeg Free Press
The provincial government is walking back numbers suggesting Manitoba saw a net-gain of hundreds of paramedics in recent years, sparking outrage from the union representing such professionals in rural regions.

Winnipeg’s Maple Leaf plant workers say employer not taking negotiations seriously
CityNews
Nearly 1,900 workers at Winnipeg’s Maple Leaf plant are ready to hit the picket lines after the unionized members voted overwhelmingly to confirm a strike mandate.

Canada Post talks with union quietly continue, experts express cautious optimism
Toronto Star
They’re still talking.

Bell slashes nearly 700 jobs in latest round of layoffs
CBC
Bell Canada says it's cutting approximately 690 employees, mostly managers, to help reduce debt and drive growth. The cuts follow thousands of company layoffs last year.

If Condé Nast Can Illegally Fire Me, No Union Worker Is Safe
The Nation
Condé Nast illegally fired me from Bon Appétit for posing questions to a human resources manager. On November 5, I was part of an effort by our union to get answers about layoffs. Two days earlier, Condé announced the near-shuttering of Teen Vogue, which entailed letting go of eight people. My termination and that of three of my coworkers were clearly retaliatory, and if Condé can get away with this—and with President Donald Trump sabotaging the National Labor Relations Board, the company appears to be betting that it can—it will send a message to unions and employers across our industry that the foundations of labor law are collapsing.

Child care workers are building a network of resistance against ICE
The 19th*
The mother was just arriving to pick up her girls at their elementary school in Chicago when someone with a bullhorn at the nearby shopping center let everyone know: ICE is here. 

Verizon laying off more than 13,000 workers
The Hill
Verizon is beginning to lay off more than 13,000 workers on Thursday in an effort to trim down staff and increase investments. 

From Mexico to the Persian Gulf: more than 137 million children are exploited in global supply chains
Equal Times
Ahmed (not his real name) and his older sister sneak onto the tram from Karaköy to Kabatas in Istanbul after sunset, carrying a mountain of empty plastic bottles. They go unnoticed among tourists and locals alike: their presence has become normalised. Barefoot and ragged, neither is older than ten. Where are their parents? The little boy shrugs and slips between the adults. His sister runs off as soon as they reach the platform, dodging questions. A few metres away, a Syrian boy struggles under the weight of a huge basket of textiles, barely able to move, as his mother walks ahead of him, scolding him amidst the chaos of Istanbul traffic.

November 20, 2025

Nurses’ union skeptical of plan to end mandatory OT amid Westman shortage
Winnipeg Free Press
Despite a 30 per cent vacancy rate for nurses in the Prairie Mountain Health region, the province is forging ahead with a plan to end mandatory overtime for health-care workers.

Manitoba Boosts Paramedic Training to Tackle EMS Staffing Shortages
ChrisD.ca
The Manitoba government is increasing paramedic training opportunities across the province, aiming to boost staffing levels and improve emergency response times.

If Quebec tribunal finds Amazon guilty of union-busting, what comes next?
CBC
Just as a new union — the first of its kind in the country — was solidifying at one of its distribution centres, Amazon abruptly fired thousands of workers and closed its seven facilities in Quebec.

'No choice': Alberta nurses, health-care aides set to strike Saturday morning
Edmonton Journal
On the main floor of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees’ west-end offices, a common area has been transformed into what looks like a war room from an action movie.

TD sued by former U.S. employees alleging wrongful dismissal during money-laundering probe
Globe and Mail
Toronto-Dominion Bank is being sued by five former employees in the United States who allege they were wrongly fired as the lender contended with an investigation by authorities that found failures in its anti-money-laundering (AML) procedures.

Portugal Faces Largest General Strike Over Labor Reform
Grand Pinnacle Tribune
Portugal is bracing for its first joint general strike in over a decade, as tensions mount between the government and the country’s largest trade unions over a sweeping draft labor law reform. The showdown, set for December 11, 2025, has sparked heated accusations from all sides and is shaping up to be a defining moment for labor rights and political discourse in the nation.

Everything we know about the three-day strike hitting Belgium next week
The Brussels Times
Services are set to be disrupted next week as Belgium is hit with three consecutive days of strike action across multiple sectors.

Child-care access getting worse in Manitoba despite government promises
Fraser Institute
Politicians like to boast about what their big spending initiatives accomplish, but their claims are often at odds with reality. Case in point—child care in Manitoba. In March 2023, the federal and provincial governments jointly “announced that Manitoba will achieve an average of $10-a-day regulated child care on April 2, 2023—three years ahead of the national target.”

Ontario passes controversial bill giving the province more power over schools
Globe and Mail
Ontario has passed sweeping new legislation that critics say gives the government too much power over education.

Unionized part-time faculty ratify agreements with SMU, MSVU
CBC
Part-time faculty at Saint Mary's University and Mount Saint Vincent University are back on the job after being on strike for more than three weeks.

Pro-Palestinian student strikes hit McGill, but university says disruption limited so far
The Gazette
McGill University faced a fresh wave of pro-Palestinian disruption this week as students across a swath of different subjects co-ordinated strikes. But the university says only a handful of classes have been affected. It has warned that students who break campus rules risk temporary exclusion from its grounds.

Ontario’s Education Unions Warn Against Passage of Bill 33
OSSTF
L'Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO), Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA), Ontario School Board Council of Unions (CUPE-OSBCU), and Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) have issued the following joint statement on the expected passage of Bill 33, the Supporting Children and Students Act

Charter override on trans laws to prevent 'medical experiments' on children: Smith
Times Colonist
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says using the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to uphold restrictions on transgender health care is about preventing “medical experiments” on children.

Time To Disagree?
University Affairs
Before she begins each course, Jacqueline Leighton speaks to her students about freedom of expression. Growing up in Chile as a young girl, she witnessed the 1973 coup d’état that brought dictator Augusto Pinochet to power. The far-right regime quashed civil society by banning public assembly, censoring media and purging universities of leftist sympathizers. Pinochet’s military junta employed torture, imprisonment, disappearances and murder to establish its 17-year-long authoritarian rule, causing thousands to flee the country — including Dr. Leighton’s family, who immigrated to Brazil before arriving in Calgary in 1978.

Attacks on campus speech come from both sides
The Hill
Like many professors, I’m outraged by recent assaults on academic freedom. Over 30 states have enacted laws restricting the teaching of certain topics, especially race and gender. And universities have established their own restrictions: at Texas A&M, for example, courses that “advocate race or gender ideology, sexual orientation, or gender identity” now require approval from the university president.

November 19, 2025

From Promise to Progress: Manitoba Government Presents Throne Speech
Province of Manitoba
The Manitoba government was joined by members of the public and community leaders from across the province at the reading of the speech from the throne, which outlines what Manitobans can expect from their government this new session, Premier Wab Kinew announced today.

Speech from the Throne
Province of Manitoba
We begin by honouring the sacred importance of these lands and waters, and of the ancestors that once walked where we are standing today.

Fifteen highlights from the throne speech
Winnipeg Free Press
New health-care staff-to-patient ratios, a crackdown on meth and a bill to stop “unfair” rent increases are among the province’s priorities in the next legislative session.

Thompson hospital nurses voting on measure to ‘grey-list’ facility over safety concerns
Winnipeg Free Press
Unionized nurses in northern Manitoba will vote on whether to “grey list” their workplace because of persistent safety concerns and staffing issues.

Construction company broke law by firing employee who pushed for new union at Winnipeg site: labour board
CBC
Canadian construction company Aecon broke the law when it fired a worker who was trying to get others to join a new union, the Manitoba Labour Board found.

Canada’s highly skilled immigrants are leaving the fastest: report
CTV News
At a time when Canada is defending itself in a trade war with the U.S., a new report casts doubt on whether the nation’s immigration policy is able to retain the global talent required to bolster the economy on the home front.

Ontario cancels fast-track immigration program for skilled trades
Globe and Mail
Ontario has quietly suspended a fast-track immigration stream for skilled tradespeople and is cancelling all current applications to the stream, leaving candidates who were awaiting decisions in limbo − and at risk of losing their right to live and work in the province.

Canada Post paints bleak financial picture, hints at big job cuts
CBC
At its annual public meeting on Tuesday, Canada Post revealed that it continues to bleed cash and hinted at big job cuts through attrition.

Union leaders say they are still in the dark about budget cuts, buyout rules
Globe and Mail
Two weeks after the federal government announced budget plans to eliminate tens of thousands of public service jobs, union leaders say they are still in the dark about how the cuts will play out.

Public service workers to be notified about layoffs 'shortly,' says union
Ottawa Citizen
The Public Service Alliance of Canada stated that it has not received any further information about layoffs and buy-out packages outlined in the latest federal budget, but did say members can expect to be notified by their managers “shortly.”

Hertz Canada accused of unionbusting
Alberta Worker
Last week, the Alberta Labour Relations Board published their second new applications report for November 2025. In it was an application accusing an employer of unionbusting.

Houston Government offers poverty wages and expects gratitude
CUPE
Bargaining negotiations between long term care workers represented by CUPE and the Houston government broke down yesterday, leading the union to begin the process to file for conciliation.

How a small Chicago nonprofit is resisting Trump's war on DEI (podcast and transcript)
NPR
President Trump's war on diversity, equity and inclusion is reaching far beyond the federal government. Many employers have ended their DEI programs. Universities and community groups have lost funding for equity-related work. But one small nonprofit is fighting back. NPR's Andrea Hsu reports from Chicago.

AI fears to curb homework assignments
Winnipeg Free Press
Francophone teachers have been asked to limit homework wherever possible and promote nightly reading routines in response to the rise of artificial intelligence.

The numbers don't lie: The struggle is real for Gen Z students
CBC
On a sunny September afternoon, Rose Landry sits on a rock in a shady area of campus, eating her lunch out of a jar.

Trump Dismantles Education Department, Here’s What Happens to Student Loans
Newsweek
The Trump administration is accelerating its plan to dismantle the U.S. Education Department, shifting billions of dollars in federal school grants to other agencies — but leaving the nation’s $1.6 trillion student loan system in place, at least for now.

Lowering the bar on proficiency is the latest fad in public education
The Hill
State education administrators often say, “It’s all about the kids,” yet their actions suggest it’s more about protecting adult reputations than improving student outcomes. They all want students to do better, but not if it means adults being forced to change their behavior to make it happen.

Women’s safety at work declines
Independent Education Union
Women’s safety in the workforce was the only gender equality measure to lose ground in the Australian Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusion’s 2025 Gender Equality @ Work Index.

November 18, 2025

Maple Leaf workers at Winnipeg plant vote in favour of strike
Winnipeg Free Press
Maple Leaf Consumer Foods Inc. workers in Winnipeg could go on strike in the new year.

Manitoba looks to end sick notes unless employee absent for 1 week
CBC
Doctors are sick of filing sick notes for minor illnesses — and the Manitoba government is heeding their advice.

Nearly half of Canadian retirees left work force earlier than planned, survey finds
Globe and Mail
Almost half of Canadian retirees left the work force earlier than they had initially planned not because they could afford to, but because personal-health issues or caregiving demands pushed them out of the work force, according to a new report from Manulife Group Retirement.

Alberta plans to allow doctors to deliver public and private services
Globe and Mail
Alberta intends to allow physicians working in the province’s public health care system to simultaneously offer services in a parallel private market, according to confidential draft legislation obtained by The Globe and Mail.

CUP-W says Mail is Flowing With No Disruptions as Mediated Talks Continue
VOCM
The local president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers says mail is flowing through the system, despite the ongoing labour dispute with Canada Post.

Media Advisory – Locked out Titan Tool Workers to launch city-wide protest as dispute reaches 100 days
Unifor
Unifor Local 195 members at Titan Tool & Die and their community supporters will gather to protest on Tuesday November 18, 2025.  Members and supporters will drive a caravan of vehicles throughout Windsor to raise public awareness about the ongoing dispute. The union is drawing particular attention to the Company’s owner and CEO for their actions, including moving equipment and materials to a facility in the U.S., ongoing demands for punitive concessions on its loyal and highly skilled workforce, and prolonging the dispute to the point where the lockout now exceeds the city’s longest labour action, the 99-day Ford strike in 1945.

Ottawa’s austerity plan pushes women out — just before pay equity kicks in
Rabble
On November 4, the Carney government released its 2025 Federal Budget, outlining a plan to save money: eliminating 40,000 public service jobs by 2029.

Canadian workers split on threat of AI job loss: report
Canadian HR Reporter
Canadian workers are sharply divided over the likelihood that artificial intelligence (AI) will trigger mass job losses, according to a recent report.

Air Transat pilots open strike vote, picket in Montreal & Toronto
PAX
Hundreds of Air Transat pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), conducted informational picketing Monday (Nov. 17) in three locations – the same day that the pilots began voting on a strike ballot.

Union representing 25,000 nurses reaches deal with UC, averts planned strike
The Daily Californian
The University of California and the California Nurses Association, or CNA, a labor union representing over 25,000 registered nurses across 19 UC facilities, have reached a tentative contract agreement on pay and benefits after five months of negotiating. The agreement averted a planned two-day system-wide sympathy strike that was scheduled to begin Monday. 

ILO: Strengthen Global Rules to Protect Gig Workers
Human Rights Watch
Governments negotiating a new global treaty on gig work should strengthen the draft text to ensure fair wages and social security for these workers and protect them from exploitative management, Human Rights Watch said today, submitting a briefing with proposals for the treaty.

It pays to be union: Campaigning stops disastrous cuts to workers’ compensation
PSA
Campaigning by the PSA CPSU NSW, in tandem with other unions in our state, has seen the State Government fail to pass legislation slashing access to workers’ compensation.

LUFA says no to government interference in free collective bargaining
The Canadian Press
The Laurentian University Faculty Association (LUFA) announced that it is launching a Charter challenge under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms against the Government of Ontario for interfering with its free and fair collective bargaining process.

Canada’s research and scientific spending is declining relative to other nations, report says
Globe and Mail
In October, University of Montreal computer scientist Yoshua Bengio reached an extraordinary milestone. According to the academic search engine Google Scholar, he is the first living person to be cited in research literature more than one million times.

Professors at ÉTS issue five-day strike mandate
CityNews
Professors at the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) in Montreal have just given themselves a mandate for a five-day strike, to be exercised at the appropriate time.

Black student unions are under pressure – here’s what they do and how they help Black students find community
The Conversation
Black student unions have been a vital part of many Black college students’ lives for more than 60 years. But since 2024, Black student unions have lost their institutional support, campus space and funding with the rise of anti-diversity, equity and inclusion laws in Utah and Alabama.

November 17, 2025

Budget 2025 slashes Canada Student Grants, experts warn
CBC
Some experts are concerned that post-secondary students will have access to less money through the Canada Student Grant (CSG), based on a line item buried in Budget 2025.

Yukon University president finishes term 'effective immediately,' school announces
CBC
There's been a shake-up at Yukon University, with the school's president for the last four years leaving without fanfare on Thursday.

Shelved funding formula review could have lessened cuts for B.C. universities, students say
Castanet
The B.C. government had all the information it needed to fix problems in how public universities and colleges across the province are funded before federal policy changes caused a sector-wide financial crisis.

Laurentian faculty hoping for ‘fair deal’ after CCAA concessions
Sudbury.com
Laurentian University and the union representing its faculty sit down at the bargaining table next week to try to hammer out a deal for the first time since a contract was signed “under duress” in 2021, during the university’s time under creditor protection.

Class dismissed
Globe and Mail
Amanda Shaw has worked at St. Lawrence College’s Cornwall campus for more than a decade, long enough to have lived through the international student boom. And now the bust.

The growing pains of Ottawa’s subsidized child-care program keep on growing
Globe and Mail
In news that should shock no one paying the slightest bit of attention, the province of Ontario will not meet its joint target with Ottawa for expanding subsidized child care in the province.

Child-care affordability is coming at the expense of equity — and it’s time governments acted
The Conversation
Five years into Canada’s $10-a-day child care plan, affordability has improved dramatically for families fortunate enough to have a space. However, the families who need care the most are being left behind.

Scholarly Outputs
Higher Education Strategy Associates
Every couple of years, I do an analysis of Candian university research ouptut data from the Leiden rankings, which always provide excellent and transparent data on publications and citations linked to each university. And, well, it’s that time again. So let’s dive in.

US judge bars Trump administration from cutting off University of California funds
The Guardian
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from withholding federal funding and threatening hefty fines against the University of California amid the administration’s attempts to coerce elite US universities into adopting and promoting conservative ideals.

Texas A&M System approves new policy that could limit 'race or gender ideology' courses
Texas Public Radio
Courses at Texas A&M University System schools that advocate "race or gender ideology or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity" will only be allowed with pre-approval, following a policy change approved Thursday.

Warren urges Trump administration to 'immediately cease' student loan selloff plans
ABC News
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is attempting to stop the reported selloff of the $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio to private companies -- demanding Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent quit their reported talks of a potential sale.

'Our community is pushing back': Faculty and students address challenges to academic freedom
The Chronicle
Although it is easy to think academic freedom is a modern concept, that assumption is wrong, according to Peter Sigal, professor of history and gender, sexuality and feminist studies.

New international students are increasingly avoiding US universities
USA Today
The number of international students newly enrolling in American universities plummeted this year, according to figures released Monday, Nov. 17, as foreign-born students navigate visa restrictions and are caught up in the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign.

Why an email about cows is intensifying concerns about academic freedom in India
CNN
One of India’s most prestigious universities has been accused of compromising its academic freedom by cancelling a seminar on democracy the same day it issued a directive to staff to promote a summit on cow welfare.

Federal refugee employment program faces 'extremely long, ballooning wait times'
CBC
Instead of waiting months, a federal program is now taking years to process the applications of refugees who are living overseas and have a job waiting for them in Canada.

CFLPA president Eliminian expects union will be consulted on future rule changes
CBC
Once is enough for Solomon Elimimian and the CFL Players' Association.

STM avoids another strike, reaches agreement with administrative staff
CBC
The union representing administrative and technical staff at the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) says it won't be striking this week, after it reached a tentative deal with the public transit authority Sunday evening.

November 14, 2025

Part-time faculty, Saint Mary’s University reach tentative deal; classes could resume Monday
CTV News
Part-time faculty at Saint Mary’s University, who have been on strike for three weeks, have reached a tentative agreement over wages and vacation pay.

Canada seeks star academics from abroad, but stable funding for higher education remains a concern
CBC
While it's not uncommon to find academics from abroad teaching at Canada's universities, the federal government and post-secondary institutions are hoping to attract a fresh wave of star scholars into our lecture halls and research labs.

Why Canadian students will pay the price for international student cuts
Globe and Mail
The announcement that visas for international students in Canada will be halved in the coming year hardly comes as a surprise.

B.C. allocates one-third of international undergraduate seats to private institutions. Here's why that matters
Vancouver Sun
As many of B.C.’s public post-secondary schools face a funding crisis linked to plummeting international student enrolment, experts say the way the province distributes seats for them between public and private institutions deserves closer scrutiny.

Why AI Is Forcing Higher Education To Rebuild Workforce Pathways
Forbes
Artificial intelligence is restructuring the labor market faster than colleges can update a syllabus. The traditional degree-to-job pipeline—once a reliable proxy for workforce readiness—is no longer aligned with how skills emerge, how roles evolve, or how people actually enter the AI economy. Across research labs, labor-market analytics firms, and impact-investment portfolios, a new reality is coming into focus: The future of work may run on pathways; not credentials.

Johns Hopkins University unveils tuition-free program for families earning up to $200,000
WBAL
Johns Hopkins University will become tuition-free for undergraduate students from families who earn up to $200,000 annually.

Tenured professor sues University of Kentucky for banning him from law school over comments on Israel
The Guardian
A tenured law professor sued the University of Kentucky on Thursday after he was banned from teaching and from the law school for comments he made about Israel, including characterizations of the state as a “colonization project” and calls for the world to wage war against it.

Big employers are the only ones hiring, and that’s a big problem
Globe and Mail
For an economy squarely in the tariff crosshairs of its largest trading partner, Canada has boasted a surprisingly strong job market over the past two months. One thing appears to be driving it: hiring by large employers.

Union Presidents Say Federal Government is “Scapegoating” Public Servants For the Deficit
PressProgress
Canada’s public service unions are gearing up for a battle in bargaining after Prime Minister Mark Carney proposed significant job cuts and changes to the rules that govern collective bargaining in the 2025 budget.

B.C. public service workers ratify new agreement with province
CBC
B.C. General Employees' Union (BCGEU) members voted overwhelmingly in favour of ratifying a new agreement with the province that will have them receive a three per cent general wage increase per year over the next four years.

Grand Theft Auto makers accused of union-busting after firing employees in Canada, U.K.
CBC
The company behind the Grand Theft Auto games fired more than 30 employees last week in what a union leader called an egregious example of union-busting, with some effects being felt in Canada.

Some Starbucks workers in the U.S. are on strike. Here's why
CBC
Unionized baristas from 65 Starbucks locations across the U.S. launched a strike on Thursday, strengthening their push to finalize a collective bargaining agreement addressing wage and staffing concerns.

Workers ‘needed more’ from Budget 2025 amidst trade crisis, Labour Congress says
Rabble
With the stall of trade talks between Canada and the US, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) said workers needed more investment and fewer cuts from the 2025 federal budget.

Union threatens to seize CAMI auto plant if GM removes machinery
Driving
Workers at CAMI Assembly in Ingersoll, Ontario are threatening to seize the plant and push GM Canada into a legal battle if the automaker attempts to remove machinery from the site. More than 1,100 laid-off workers, members of Unifor Local 88, will take over the plant and refuse to leave, impeding any effort by the automaker to remove equipment, said Mike Van Boekel, union chairperson. “It’s the only leverage we have,” Van Boekel said.

NHS doctors go on strike as leaders warn industrial action could mean staff cuts
The Standard
The NHS may have to cut frontline staff plus appointments and operations for patients if doctors’ strikes continue, health leaders have warned.

Two hours a night: Japan PM’s sleep schedule prompts concerns about work-life balance
The Guardian
Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has said she gets by on just two to four hours sleep a night – prompting concern over her commitment to a better work-life balance among the country’s fatigued employees.