OTTAWA—A new Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) study claims the average unioized worker in Canada earns $5.11 an hour more than non-unio workers.

The study, called The unio Advantage in Canadian Communities, looked at what workers with unios bring to Canada as a whole, as well as 29 selected communities across the country.

That extra money in the pockets of individual workers means the unio advantage is worth a cumulative $793-million per week added to our economy, CLC president Ken Georgetti said in a statement.

Georgetti said cities and towns with more unio members enjoy higher incomes overall and support a richer mix of businesses and services.

These services benefit everyone in the community, he said. In short, they are better places to work and live.

According to Georgetti, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have confirmed that broadly-based collective bargaining is the best mechanism to build a healthy middle class.

When workers, through their unios, are able to bargain freely for decent wages, benefits and pensions, there are benefits for the middle class and for society as a whole, he said. unioized workers spend most or all of their pay cheques in businesses in their local community.

We believe that decent wages and decent pensions enrich the community and the country.

The report can be found at www.canadianlabour.ca.