This Mother's Day affirm the right to maternity and parental leave and the campaign to reinstate Gilary!
In December 2015, Gilary Massa, the Executive Director of Communications and Outreach at the Ryerson Student Union was told that her employment was terminated while she was still on maternity leave. Gilary believes that she unjustly lost her job as part of a strategy to replace her position with a General Manager who began work one day before her employment was terminated. According to recent reports, Gilary was not offered another position nor opportunity to apply for the General Manager position.
The termination flies in the face of human rights jurisprudence which generally recognizes a woman’s right to be reinstated in her pre-leave position or to a comparable position in the event of a restructuring.
This is not just about one woman whose employment was terminated while she was on maternity leave. Women have had to fight for decades for the right to protected and secure work and to maternity leave. Gilary is not alone in her struggle. Solidarity goes out to all the women and families facing this fight.
The concern here is that a so-called "progressive" and "equity-oriented" organisation–the Ryerson Student's Union– is doing the opposite of its mandate. Student unions have historically been pillars of social justice, equity and progressive change.The Ryerson Students' Union needs to be held accountable to these principles so that we can push the fight for protected and secure maternity leave everywhere.
Join the Rally
Join the Region 5 Provincial Women's Committee at a Mother's Day Stroller Rally in defence of maternity leave.
Date: Sunday, May 8, 2016
Time: 12pm (noon)
Location: Yonge and Dundas Square
Other Actions you can take:
- Support on Social Media: Invite your friends to like the campaign. Tell Gilary’s bad bosses at the Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU) that they need to reinstate her now by tweeting #IStandWithGilary and at @RyeSU, @ObaidUllah98 @TamaraVJones,. @VictoriaMMorton.
- Volunteer: Help with outreach and other campaign tasks. Sign up here and bring a friend.
For more information on the event:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1585700841740092/
To follow the campaign: