Western Regional YIP a success

The 2011 Western Regional Youth Internship Program (YIP) in Harrison Hot Springs, B.C., recently marked the completion of yet another successful session of Canada’s leading program for youth and labour activists.

This year’s Western YIP brought together UFCW Canada activists from B.C. and Alberta to learn more about their union and various aspects of the labour movement.

UFCW Canada Locals 401, 1118 and 1518 participated in the week long session and “all participants thoroughly enjoyed the activities, exercises and ideas that were debated and discussed,” says UFCW Canada national representative Enver Harbans who coordinated the Western YIP. “Participants particularly enjoyed conversations around the issues facing migrant workers and how Canada’s temporary foreign workers program relates to a broader system of global exploitation and globalization.”

Brother Harbans also reports that the group of young workers and UFCW Canada activists expressed their satisfaction with learning about the union’s day-to-day activities and how to properly investigate and file a grievance and how the arbitration process works. Participants agreed that the YIP course makes them more informed and more prepared to handle issues in the workplace.

Two regional sessions for this year’s Youth Internship Program remain. The Prairie Regional YIP will run from August 21-26, and the Atlantic Regional YIP is scheduled to run from October 2-7.

To find out more about getting involved in the UFCW Canada Youth Internship Program, visit www.ufcw.ca/yip.