Perry Work Report, April 4, 2014

April 4, 2014

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Nova Scotia Nurses' Strike

“Registered nurses with Nova Scotia’s largest health authority began a 30-hour walkout after getting into a legal strike position just after midnight Thursday [April 3, 2014], two days after they were forced to end an illegal walkout.”

"As a result, Capital Health says, it postponed 91 surgeries Thursday [April 3, 2014] and has delayed 234 since labour action began earlier this week."

“Negotiations for a new collective agreement with the Capital District Health Authority have reached an impasse, and nurses say they are worried about staffing levels and patient care.”

CBC News, April 3, 2014: “Capital Health says nurse strike major disruption for patients”

The Globe and Mail, April 1, 2014: “Nova Scotia nurses’ wildcat strike delays dozens of operations,” by Jane Taber

The Globe and Mail, April 1, 2014: “Unionized B.C. nurses replace Debra McPherson as president”

The Chronicle Herald, April 2, 2014: "McIlveen: Labour law blocks crucial safety valve in health system," by Claire McIlveen

Bill-37: Essential Health and Community Services Act

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Fighting to Unionize: Toyota & WestJet

"The Unifor union and Toyota are already sparring in earnest over the union’s attempt to organize the auto maker’s two Ontario plants -- disputing the number of employees who would belong to the union."

"The issue of how many employees work at the two plants will be a critical factor as Unifor seeks to make a breakthrough that has eluded other unions -- organizing from within an auto plant or plants operated in North America by an Asian or Europe-based auto maker. The union must persuade 50 per cent of employees plus one in the potential bargaining unit to win certification."

“‘This really isn’t about wages and benefits,’ [Unifor president Jerry] Dias said. ‘This is about the Toyota team members saying they want a collective agreement. They want to stop the arbitrary decisions and they want to have a voice in the workplace.’”

"The employees who spoke at the news conference pointed to health and safety concerns, the elimination of a defined benefit pension plan for newly hired employees and what they called arbitrary changes in work schedules as reasons for joining Unifor and encouraging their colleagues to do so as well."

The Globe and Mail, April 2, 2014: “Toyota, Unifor spar over union’s attempt to organize Ontario plants,” by Greg Keenan

Financial Post, March 31, 2014: “Toyota plant vote in Ontario over Unifor deal is key test for other unionization efforts,” by Scott Deveau

Unifor for Toyota website

"A group of employees calling itself the WestJet Professional Flight Attendants Association (WPFAA) is the latest unionization attempt to crop up at the airline, mirroring a similar effort within the pilots’ ranks. Union giant CUPE launched its own organization drive at the airline last June, aiming its efforts at the flight attendants."

"But unlike CUPE, WPFAA aims to be more of a middle ground association, somewhere between the current non-unionized employee associations at WestJet and big labour, like CUPE or Unifor."

Financial Post, April 2, 2014: “WestJet Airlines Ltd’s union drive reaches a crossroads: Go in-house or join big labour?,” by Scott Deveau

WPFAA website

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Public Sector Compensation -- Ontario's 'Sunshine List'

"Eighteen years after the introduction of Ontario’s sunshine list, which names any public servant earning more than $100,000, pressure is once again building to rein in public sector compensation.”

"What we need to do is bring back a sense of proportionality and value to public sector compensation."

"...[E]xecutive compensation is broadly broken. It’s not the market deciding. It’s a system that has been gamed and inflated. Time and again, compensation committees claim to refer to industry benchmarks. Though it sounds impartial and scientific, a benchmark is set with no more than a quick survey of similar jobs."

"Imagine calling three of your friends with similar jobs, asking what they make and topping it up by 3 per cent. Run this cycle enough times and you get the upward wage spiral that has taken root across public sector organizations."

"We need to apply a brake that helps to control these salaries and push back against the broken culture of benchmarking."

The Toronto Star, February 23, 2014: “How to fix executive compensation in Ontario’s public sector,” by Peter MacLeod

According to the ‘Sunshine List’, the number of public-sector workers who earned more than $100,000 grew from 88,412 in 2012 to roughly 96,500 people in 2013.

However, “[o]ne of the main criticisms against Ontario’s ‘Sunshine List’ is that it’s not adjusted for inflation. The $100,000 threshold set in 1996 would be $137,840.91 in today’s dollars -- removing many employees from the list.”

The Globe and Mail, March 28, 2014: “How many public-sector employees are really on Ontario’s ‘Sunshine List’?”

The Globe and Mail, March 28, 2014: “Number of Ontario government workers paid over $100,000 grows,” by Adrian Morrow and Caroline Alphonso

Ontario Ministry of Finance -- Public Sector Salary Disclosure 2014

The Institute for Prosperity and Competitiveness examines the other side of the executive compensation debate in their recently released report, and claims that those in clerical jobs are benefitting more than those in management positions from the growing gap between public and private compensation.

"While clerical and administrative occupations pay an average of 10 per cent more than those in comparable jobs in the private sector, senior managers are usually paid less than private sector management, says the report by the independent think tank."

The Toronto Star, February 10, 2014: “Better public sector pay, pensions costs taxpayers $1 billion a year: study,” by Lisa Wright

The Institute for Prosperity & Competitiveness, February 2014: “The realities of Ontario’s public sector compensation” (34 pages, PDF)

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C-Suite: Ninety-Cent Dollar Popular with Most Executives

"Most executives of the C-Suite believe the lower valuation of the dollar is a good thing for Canada’s economy. Resource executives are even more enthusiastic about a 90-cent (U.S.) dollar than manufacturing executives. Like the economists who argued the dollar was overvalued, the C-Suite is concerned about some of the fundamentals. Exports and commodities markets are weak. The outlook for the economy is not close to the optimism of a decade ago. Again this quarter, C-Suite survey respondents expect slightly better returns for the U.S. economy, while almost none predict strong growth for Canada."

The Globe and Mail, March 31, 2014: “Ninety-cent dollar popular with most executives,” by David Herle and Alex Swann

The Globe and Mail, March 31, 2014: “Infographic: Highlights from the quarterly C-Suite survey”

Read more articles about the C-suite survey here.

South of the border, executives in the United States are signing a happier tune.

"The foundation upon which contemporary executive pay rests -- the practice of granting large stock-related incentives on an annual basis -- almost guarantees jackpots for top executives. By bestowing generous performance incentives year after year, corporate boards essentially reward executives for digging themselves out of whatever holes they dig themselves into.”

Boston Review, March 25, 2014: “CEO Jackpot,” by Sam Pizzigati

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Manufacturing on the Mend

“During the past decade when the Canadian dollar was high, manufacturing’s share of Canadian GDP fell from 16 per cent to 12 per cent and the number of companies in the sector fell by 20 per cent.”

"But a new report from CIBC World Markets finds a leaner, more productive manufacturing sector has emerged from the turmoil of the last 10 years and is poised to take advantage of the falling loonie."

"Several Canadian industrial sectors are poised to take advantage of the loonie’s most recent fall -- among them wood products, primary metals, machinery manufacturing and aerospace, the report said."

CBC News, April 1, 2014: “Manufacturing poised to recover after painful decade”

In a short video, “CIBC’s Benjamin Tal outlines findings of his investigation of the Canadian manufacturing sector.”

CBC News, April 1, 2014: “Manufacturing on the mend” [video, 6:29 min.]

CIBC Economics, In Focus, April 1, 2014: “Canadian Manufacturing -- Survival of the Fittest,” by Benjamin Tal and Nick Exarhos (6 pages, PDF)

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The New Canada Job Grant Program

"...[A]greements on the Canada Job Grant (CJG) have at last been reached..."

"In part, the CJG is a response to a widespread recognition that the Temporary Foreign Worker Program has grown too large, and that the ‘labour market opinions,’ on which the hiring of foreign workers was based, were far from rigorous."

"There was also a plausible impression that publicly funded training didn’t result in many actual jobs, and that a new program could be designed to match the learning of skills to the real needs of real businesses..."

"The previous Labour Market Agreements program expired on Tuesday [April 1, 2014]. The new CJG regime has an annual budget of $500-million, of which at least 40 per cent has to be ‘employer-driven,’ including the actual grant part of the program. But the plan raised questions about just whether and where Canada has genuine skills shortages. The consensus is that the economy as a whole is not suffering from a skills deficit; unemployment is mostly about lack of jobs."

"Once it’s up and running, the new program needs to be carefully studied, to figure out whether the Canada Job Grant grants are leading to new training, and new jobs."

The Globe and Mail, April 1, 2014: “Work together, study the results of the Canada Job Grant”

Canada’s Economic Action Plan website -- Canada Job Grant

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, April 2014: Hennessy’s Index: April 2014, The Skills Gap Trope -- Hennessy’s Index is a monthly listing of numbers, written by the CCPA’s Trish Hennessy, about Canada and its place in the world. For other months, click here.

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Unpaid Internships: Cracking Down and Debating

"For labour-rights crusaders seeking to protect Canadian youth from being exploited, it was a victory. For some unpaid keeners grateful for a chance to pad their resumes in a grim job market, it was a shame."

"Either way, students say they’ll continue to suffer even after [March 27, 2014’s] crackdown against unpaid internships by the Ontario Ministry of Labour -- action that led to the shuttering of two internship programs at the popular Canadian magazines Toronto Life and The Walrus.”

" [Labour lawyer Andrew] Langille hailed the ministry’s announcement and pledge to launch an inspection ‘blitz’ against other industries with unpaid internship programs. He said the internships raise another ‘glass ceiling.’"

"He rejected arguments from those who say that the setup is fair because the worker and the company agree to the provision of free labour. 'People ask what’s the harm?' Langille said. ‘Well, it cuts out people who can’t afford to do unpaid internships; it can [favour] people based on their socioeconomic class. It erodes any notion of meritocracy.’"

CBC News, March 28 2014: “Unpaid internship crackdown won’t ease young jobseekers’ suffering,” by Matt Kwong

Ontario Ministry of Labour, reviewed March 2014: “Are Unpaid Internships Legal in Ontario?”

The debate: “For decades, magazines have relied on unpaid interns to staff their offices, edit and fact-check their copy. These interns are usually aspiring journalists or students seeking entry to the industry. Last week, the Ontario Ministry of Labour ruled that these internships, as practiced by the magazines Toronto Life and The Walrus, are in violation of labour laws which forbid full-time work without pay. It appears that unpaid internships have become a thing of the past.”

"Is this a great advance for fairness and non-discrimination, or is it a boot to the head for young journalists? We’ve invited two recent journalistic interns, Kaleigh Rogers and Andrew Lovesey, to debate the question. Vote for the position you find most persuasive."

The Globe and Mail, March 31, 2014: “The unpaid internship: Doorway to employment or unfair exploitation?”

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Occupational Profile and Overqualification of Young Workers in Canada

"Between 1991 and 2011, young Canadians aged 25 to 34 became more likely to be employed in professional occupations. However, a portion of them were ‘overqualified’ during this period -- that is, working in occupations requiring lower levels of education.”

"Two studies released today in Insights on Canadian Society provide some highlights on the evolution of the occupational characteristics of young men and women in Canada between 1991 and 2011, a period during which the educational attainment of young people rose substantially.”

"The first study examines whether today’s young graduates and non-graduates aged 25 to 34 are working in the same occupations as their counterparts were 20 years ago."

"The second study examines changes in the proportion of those who are ‘overqualified’ for their job, with a focus on university graduates."

Statistics Canada, The Daily, April 2, 2014: “Study: Occupational profile and overqualification of young workers in Canada, 1991 to 2011”

Insights on Canadian Society, April 2014: “Changes in the occupational profile of young men and women in Canada,” by Sharanjit Uppal and Sebastien LaRochelle-Cote (15 pages, PDF)

Insights on Canadian Society, April 2014: “Overqualification among recent university graduates in Canada,” by Sharanjit Uppal and Sebastien LaRochelle-Cote (13 pages, PDF)

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Another Study Debunks Canadian Labour Shortage

"Much mockery was made last week over revelations the federal government relies, in part, on Kijiji ads to help calculate job vacancies. But the debate over the degree to which Canada is experiencing labour shortages -- and just how many job openings are going unfilled -- highlights a serious issue: This country’s jobs picture is still very fuzzy.”

"A muddy picture spells bad -- and costly -- decisions, leading to wasted taxpayer dollars and less efficient use of the country’s work force, which in turn weighs on economic growth. Already, jobless rates and underemployment rates for several groups -- such as youth, immigrants and aboriginal people -- are elevated, and so is the proportion of long-term unemployed; a better picture of labour-market demand would help boost both their outcomes."

The Globe and Mail, March 31, 2014: “Unreliable jobs data cloud labour picture,” by Tavia Grant

"A second study in less than a week has concluded that there is no labour shortage in Canada, nor is one expected to arrive in the next few decades."

"A study published [March 28, 2014] by a University of Lethbridge professor echoes results of a report by the federal government’s Parliamentary Budget Office released [March 25, 2014] -- both conclude there are more than enough workers on a national basis in Canada to fill available jobs.”

"The results have implications for the federal government’s temporary foreign worker program and its Canada Jobs Grant program..."

The Calgary Herald, March 28, 2014: “Study debunks Canadian labour shortage,” by Dan Healing

University of Lethbridge, March 28, 2014: “McDaniel’s SSHRC study reveals no evidence of labour shortage”

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Tories to Introduce Fines for Employers Abusing Foreign-Worker Program

"The federal government is set to introduce steep new fines for employers caught abusing the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program -- the latest crackdown on a program critics have warned can undercut wages or cost Canadians their jobs."

"Under the bill, employers will face administrative penalties in various cases, including if they brought in a worker under a false pretense, hired a foreign worker when they should have hired Canadians or fired Canadians from jobs that subsequently went to a foreign worker, [a] source said."

"The potential fines were described as ‘very heavy’ and ‘severe’ by the source, described as the strongest action the government has taken to rein in the TFW program thus far. Companies who refuse to pay up could face a court order or have their case referred to the Canada Revenue Agency."

The Globe and Mail, March 30, 2014: “Tories to introduce fines for employers abusing foreign-worker program,” by Josh Wingrove

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More Canadian Pension Plans on Stronger Footing

"More than one-third of Canadian pension plans have erased their deficits and are now operating with a surplus as they benefit from higher long-term interest rates and stronger equity markets."

"An analysis of 275 pension plans by pension consulting firm Aon Hewitt shows the average plan is now 95.4 per cent funded as of March 27 [2014], an increase from 93 per cent at the end of 2013. A year ago, as of March 31, 2013, pension plans had average funding of just 74 per cent."

"Aon Hewitt said 36 per cent of pension plans now have a surplus -- up from just 3 per cent a year ago -- which means they have more assets than needed to fund their pension obligations on a solvency basis. The survey showed 26 per cent had a surplus at the end of 2013."

"The numbers illustrate the rapid reversal of fortunes seen by Canada’s pension plans over the past 12 months as interest rates have climbed and investment returns have strengthened."

The Globe and Mail, March 31, 2014: “More Canadian pension plans on stronger footing, survey finds,” by Janet McFarland

AON Hewitt, March 31, 2014: "Canadian Defined Benefit Plans Slightly More Solvent in First Quarter, Aon Hewitt Survey Finds" (3 pages, PDF)

"The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has moved into a surplus position for the first time in a decade, underscoring the dramatic improvement in the funding of Canadian pension funds over the past year.”

The Globe and Mail, April 1, 2014: “Teachers rides hot markets to first pension surplus in a decade,” by Janet McFarland

Study Finds Economic Benefits to CPP Expansion

"Internal research by the federal Finance Department says there would be economic benefits from expanding the Canada Pension Plan -- and suggests this country could afford an improved plan in a strong economy."

"The findings in the fall 2013 document are somewhat more balanced than the bleak message presented last December, when the Harper government seized on the study’s job-loss conclusions to dismiss demands from the provinces to improve the CPP."

"Kevin Sorenson, the junior finance minister, said various proposals to boost CPP premiums and benefits would kill up to 70,000 jobs, citing the results of the internal study without releasing it."

"But a summary of the study’s contents, prepared for then-finance minister Jim Flaherty, shows the job-loss claim was based on a misleading assumption."

"The research also suggests Canada could absorb any negative economic impact from an improved CPP when the economy is more ‘robust.’"

The Globe and Mail, March 30, 2014: “Internal Finance Department study finds economic benefits to CPP expansion,” by Dean Beeby

CBC News, March 31, 2014: “Canada Pension Plan reform could benefit Canada, study found”

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Why Top Down Management Gets a Thumbs Down

"Do we need an Arab Spring in Canadian corporations?... Our immediate impulse, given the resulting chaos, might be no. But both movements were a call for freedom, and corporations, while defenders of free enterprise, are often top-down, control-minded organizations that are anything but free."

"A new report from LRN, a global performance consulting firm, suggests corporations would benefit from the breath of freedom. It calls freedom the 21st-century competitive advantage.”

“‘Conventional methods of managing and governing organizations are too programmed and inflexible for today’s world. They are inadequate to address strategic and operational complexity, the lightning speed of change, and the imperative to tap deeper levels of human innovation,’ the LRN report says.”

"After developing an index to assess the levels of freedom in companies, the consulting firm found that those with high levels of freedom were 10 times more likely to have high financial performance than low-freedom companies, and 20 times more likely to have strong innovation and long-term success."

The Globe and Mail, March 31, 2014: “Why top down management gets a thumbs down,” by Harvey Schachter

LRN, March 2014: “The Freedom Report -- New Metrics for a New Reality: Rethinking the Source of Resiliency, Innovation, and Growth”

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Women's Wages Are Rising: Why Are So Many Families Getting Poorer?

"The good news, trumpeted in Women’s Work, the latest report from the Pew Economic Mobility Project, is that dramatic increases in women’s labor-force participation have boosted the “financial security and mobility” of millions of families across America since 1970. The bad news is that growing economic opportunities for women have not translated into more family income for poor and working-class families at the lower end of the income ladder.”

"What accounts for the paradox that women’s income is rising across the board yet family income is falling for the bottom 40 percent of families? Mainly, to paraphrase Hanna Rosin, the end of marriage and men in working-class and poor communities across the nation, coupled with the fact that maternal labor-force participation has plateaued since the 1990s. That is, a dramatic retreat from marriage, declines in men’s employment and income, and a leveling off of maternal labor-force participation have all combined to limit the income available to lower-income families, and to offset the increases in women’s income documented in this new report.”

The Atlantic, April 1, 2014: “Women’s Wages Are Rising: Why Are So Many Families Getting Poorer?,” by W. Bradford Wilcox

Pew Economic Mobility Project, April 2014: “Women’s Work: The economic mobility of women across a generation” (19 pages, PDF)

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371st Report of the Committee on Freedom of Association

"The Committee on Freedom of Association set up by the Governing Body at its 117th Session (November 1951), met at the International Labour Office, Geneva, on 13, 14 March 2014, under the chairmanship of Professor Paul van der Heijden."

"Currently, there are 146 cases before the Committee, in which complaints have been submitted to the governments concerned for their observations. At its present meeting, the Committee examined 32 cases on the merits, reaching definitive conclusions in 21 cases and interim conclusions in 11 cases; the remaining cases were adjourned..."

International Labour Organization, March 26, 2014: “Reports of the Committee on Freedom of Association - 371st Report of the Committee on Freedom of Association” (286 pages, PDF)

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Book of the Week

Building More Effective Labour-Management Relationships, edited by Richard P. Chaykowski and Robert S. Hickey. Montreal ; Kingston : School of Policy Studies, Queen's University, McGill-Queen's University Press, 2013. 144 p. ISBN 9781553393061 (pbk.)

From the publisher: "Building More Effective Labour-Management Relationships combines valuable insights into new approaches to relationship-building and collective bargaining with unique knowledge and concrete lessons garnered from some of the foremost industrial relations practitioners in Canada."

"Contributors include Warren 'Smokey' Thomas (president, OPSEU), Buzz Hargrove (former president, CAW), Warren Edmondson (former ADM Labour, Government of Canada, and chair of the CLRB), George Smith (former VP at CP Rail and CBC/Radio Canada), David Logan, (ADM, Government of Ontario) Glenda Fisk (Queen's University), Richard Chaykowski (Queen's University), Robert Hickey (Queen's University)."

Visit the Recent Books at the CIRHR Library blog.

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