Labour Day: Acknowledging and celebrating Ontario midwives’ labour

From the Toronto printers’ strike of 1872 that led to a movement for workers’ rights and later a federal statutory holiday, Labour Day celebrates the collective power of workers across North America. None of the protections now associated with the labour movement were granted automatically. They were secured because workers organized, advocated and insisted on their rights and fair processes. And, despite more than a century of this movement, workers' rights require constant vigilance to uphold and protect. 

On this day, we recognize all workers who sustain our communities and have collectively fought to advance fairness, dignity and safety at work. 

Even with the many advances made by the labour movement, the struggle for labour and economic rights, including pay equity and fair working conditions, continues for midwives and other workers in the care economy. 

Organizing and uniting through collective representation matters and makes a difference. By acting collectively, midwives have made strides towards pay equity and improved system integration. The AOM continues to tirelessly advocate on midwives’ behalf—for equal pay for work of equal value and for sustainable working conditions that can support midwives to stay and thrive in the profession. As with wins made by the labour movement more broadly, midwives’ solidarity strengthens a collective voice that cannot be ignored.

On this Labour Day, and every day, the AOM celebrates the labour of midwives. We see your dedication to your profession and your clients, day in day out, night after night. We see your commitment to providing person-centred care based on relationships, informed by evidence and directed by the choices your clients make. This is work that matters and deserves to be appropriately valued for the essential care you provide. 

Standing up for what is right takes commitment, solidarity and grit. The AOM stands in solidarity with workers and unions in our collective struggle for workers’ rights to fair and equitable pay and working conditions.