Decent Work sums up the aspirations of people in their working lives. It involves opportunities to work that is productive and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for families, better prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organize and participate in the decisions that affect their lives and equality of opportunity and treatment for all.
Decent work is a priority area of the Guelph & Wellington Task Force for Poverty Elimination. To ensure that employment can offer a pathway out of poverty, the Poverty Task Force supports fair wages and working conditions for all workers in the following ways:
- Supporting the calculation of the Living Wage and acting as local contact for the Ontario Living Wage Network’s employer certification program
- Increasing awareness and support for decent work through the Decent Work Project, an initiative of the Poverty Task Force in partnership with the Guelph Neighbourhood Support Coalition and funded by Atkinson Foundation that engaged over 1500 workers in Guelph and Wellington County in community conversations, trainings and a creative workshop series that resulted in the Decent Work Audio Plays.
- Supporting conversations and action to implement Community Wealth Building as a pathway to decent work and community benefits.
Community Wealth Building: Exploring Pathways to Decent Work
The Poverty Task Force and 10C Shared Space are excited to host the event Community Wealth Building: Exploring Pathways to Decent Work on Thursday November 16th, 1-3 pm followed by a networking session from 3-4pm.
Community wealth building is an effective community-focused approach to local economic development, redirecting wealth back into the local economy, and placing benefits into the hands of local people. At its core, it’s about finding pathways to decent work and reimagining economic development to strengthen and benefit local communities!
Together, we will:
- build a shared understanding of community wealth building
- learn from experts from public, private and nonprofit sectors
- co-develop practical, action focused next steps to local implementation
Learn from an expert panel:
- Rosemarie Powell (she/her) – Executive Director, Toronto Community Benefits Network
- Nicole Norris (she/they) – Director, Social Innovation, Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Georgian College
- Nate Fehrman – Owner, Michael Clark Construction
Moderator: Professor Audrey Jamal, Assistant Dean, Partnerships/Societal Impact and Assistant Professor, Lang School of Business and Economics, University of Guelph