Perry Work Report, May 30, 2014

May 30, 2014

A letter from Canadian Industrial Relations Association (CIRA) Past President Kelly Williams-Whitt welcoming the new CIRA Executive:

Dear CIRA Members,

I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to the CIRA Executive who are stepping down this year, and to welcome the new Executive Committee who were elected at our AGM. 

Thank you so much to Larry Haiven (Past President), Jean-Noel Grenier (Past Secretary-Treasurer), Lucie Morissette (Past Secretary) and Raymond Leger (Past Community Representative). Your dedication and many, many years of service to CIRA are genuinely appreciated. 

We welcome our new CIRA Executive and wish them well as they work towards the continued success of our organization:

  • President - Johanna Weststar (2014-16) CIRHR PhD 2007
  • Past-President - Kelly Williams-Whitt (2014-15)
  • Treasurer - Anthony Morven Gould (2014-16)
  • Secretary - Lorenzo Frangi (2014-16)
  • Members at Large:
    • Bruce Curran  (Student Representative) - 2015 CIRHR PhD Candidate
    • Jeffrey Hilgert - 2015
    • Maurice Mazerolle - 2016 CIR PhD 1993
    • Rupa Banerjee - 2015 CIRHR PhD 2008
    • Scott Walsworth - 2016 CIRHR PhD 2006
    • Community Representative (open) -- Call for nominations forthcoming

I would also like to congratulate the organizing committee for our 2014 conference at Brock [download the program here]. Johanna Weststar, Dionne Pohler and Bruce Curran did an outstanding job. It is a great deal of work and a significant accomplishment when it runs smoothly (and on budget!). I also want to say a special thank you to Dionne for volunteering to act as Secretary for our AGM. 

I know that our new Executive Committee has many plans for the upcoming year, so you will be hearing from them soon.

Finally, thank you to the members of CIRA for their continued support.

Yours truly,

Kelly Williams-Whitt
Past President, ACRI-CIRA

work&labour  news&research -- follow us on the CIRHR Library Tumblr and on the CIRHR Twitter

Podcast: Have Unions Lost Ground? Do They Need to Get Tougher?

"Something happened two weeks ago that didn’t get a lot of attention. The Canadian Labour Congress, Canada’s largest labour organization boasting over 3.3 million members, elected a new leader for the first time in 15 years. It was a hard fought campaign that the previous and longtime president Ken Georgetti lost by only 40 votes."

"The victor was Hassan Yussuff. He won with an appeal for a new get-tough approach with employers and governments. While not everybody in the labour movement agrees completely, there is a broad consensus that something has to be done to energize the movement. Union membership in Canada has stagnated, even declined slightly over the past 15 years. As the recession bit into employment, it too put pressure on unions to ease up and settle for less in labour disputes."

Host Rex Murphy and Hassan Yussuff, along with callers during the second half of the podcast, discuss whether unions have lost ground and if they need to get tougher.

You can read more about the guests here, and the issues discussed here.

You can also join the discussion or read others’ Twitter and e-mail comments.

Click here to listen to the podcast directly [MP3 file: runs 113 min.]

CBC Radio One’s Cross Country Checkup, May 25, 2014: “Have unions lost ground? Do they need to get tougher?”

"'We’ll work with governments that want to work with us, and we’ll work with employers that want to work with us,’ Hassan Yussuff told the Straight. ‘But those who want to confront us need to know, we’re going to battle.’”

“‘The fact that we’ve been able to hold it together I think speaks a lot about the resilience of the movement,’ Yussuff said. ‘But the reality is, we need to get out of the doldrums and we have to grow the movement to an equal extent that we did back during the Second World War.’”

The George Straight, May 25, 2014: “New Canadian Labour Congress president vows a return to grassroots action,” by Travis Lupick

The Huffington Post, May 28, 2014: “9 Questions For Hassan Yussuff, New Head Of Canadian Labour Congress (Q&A)”

rabble.ca, May 14, 2014: “How Hassan Yussuff won the CLC presidency,” by Larry Savage

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CFL, Players' Union Labour Talks Break Off

For the latest updates, follow the CFLPA hashtag on Twitter.

“Talks between the [Canadian Football League] and its players on a new collective bargaining agreement have broken down.”

“Representatives from the CFL left the second day of talks abruptly, and CFL Players’ Association president Scott Flory says the league rejected a new union proposal.”

CTV News, May 29, 2014: “Labour talks break off between CFL, CFLPA,” by Dan Ralph

Click here to read a statement from CFL Players' Association President Scott Flory and here to read CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon's statement.

"The CFL and its players are going into overtime in their collective bargaining talks."

"After spending more than 12 hours in meetings together and separately Wednesday [May 28, 2014], the two sides agreed to reconvene Thursday [May 29, 2014] at an airport hotel."

"The CFL’s current collective bargaining agreement expires at midnight ET on Thursday [May 29, 2014]. [CFL Players’ Association president Scott] Flory has said the players won’t suit up under the terms of the existing deal, meaning the two sides would either have to reach a new contract or at least be close for training camps to open on time Sunday [June 1, 2014]."

"Revenue sharing is the main stumbling block in the negotiations, with the players wanting it back to help determine the salary cap each year."

"[CFL Commissioner Mark] Cohon has said the league won’t agree to revenue sharing because it doesn’t have sufficient revenues and profits for the model to work effectively."

The Globe and Mail, May 29, 2014: “CFL, players’ union to resume labour talks Thursday morning”

CFL Players Association [website]

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Organizing Precarious Workers

Organizing Precarious Workers is H.G. Watson’s four-part special feature on precarious work.

"Today, there exists no industry in which you will not find precarious workers."

"Service industry workers face low wages and hard working conditions. The plight of temporary foreign workers has made headlines this year, along with the increased awareness of the sometimes multiple internships young people have to do before they can find full-time employment.”

"Precarity, however, isn’t an issue born solely by fast food employees or young people. It is a generational spanning phenomenon...."

"Union leaders acknowledge that for the labour movement to have a future, they will have to engage and recruit these workers. The question is -- how?"

"Over the next week, I’ll explore three of these different models. On Tuesday, we’ll look at workers action centres. On Wednesday, we dive into the world of sectoral organizing. And on Friday, to round out the series, we learn about Unifor’s community chapter initiative.”

rabble.ca, May 27, 2014: “Organizing precarious workers: Looking for a new model,” by H.G. Watson

rabble.ca, May 28, 2014: “Organizing precarious workers: Workers’ centres open their doors,” by H.G. Watson

Check out rabble.ca’s UP! Canadian Labour Rising series, as well. This series examines how Canada’s labour movement is evolving and asks important questions facing the labour movement today.

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Temporary Foreign Worker Program Controversy Continues

"The federal government approved thousands of requests to bring in temporary foreign workers at minimum wage in recent years, a practice that undermines claims from government and employers that there are serious labour shortages and that all efforts have been taken to hire Canadians."

"The revelations in newly released data come as the Conservative government is weighing major policy reforms -- including a new ‘wage floor' -- in response to criticism that employers are relying on the temporary foreign worker program as a way to avoid raising wages.”

"Using Access to Information legislation, the Alberta Federation of Labour obtained extensive statistics about the program and provided its findings to The Globe and Mail.”

"According to the documents, at least 15,006 minimum-wage positions were approved between March 31, 2010, and Feb. 10, 2014. (Only the numbers for Ontario go back as far as 2010, which means the actual totals for the period would likely be higher.)"

"Gil McGowan, the president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, said the numbers undermine Ottawa’s claims about serious labour shortages."

The Globe and Mail, May 26, 2014: “Ottawa approved thousands of foreign worker requests at minimum wage, data reveal,” by Bill Curry

The Huffington Post, May 26, 2014: “Minimum-Wage TFW Jobs OK’d By Ottawa; Restaurant Ban To Be Lifted?”

The Globe and Mail, May 27, 2014: “Temporary foreign worker ban will hurt tourist trade, restaurateurs warn,” by Bill Curry

Alberta Federation of Labour -- Temporary Foreign Workers [website]

Banff’s Changing Labour Landscape

"While debate about the future of the foreign worker program, and an increase in immigrants more generally, continues to rage across Canada, a different kind of discussion is taking place [in Banff, Alberta]. In the cafes and tourist shops that line Banff Avenue, the conversation centres not on whether transitory new immigrants are stealing jobs from long-time Canadians, but how the community copes with their burgeoning numbers. It is a new marriage that comes with a sometimes painful period of cultural adaptation, both for established residents and newcomers adjusting to changes in everything from finances to education, weather to wild animals."

The Globe and Mail, May 26, 2014: “Banff’s changing labour landscape,” Gary Mason

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Science, Technology, and the Canadian Government

Since mid-2013 we have been reporting on Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s "War on Science” and his muzzling of scientists and journalists.

On May 28, 2014, Statistics Canada released data on federal government spending on science and technology, bringing new light to the situation.

"Science and technology expenditures by federal departments and agencies are expected to decline 5.4% from the previous fiscal year to $10.3 billion dollars in 2014/2015. Federal government science and technology spending peaked in 2010/2011 and has posted annual declines in expenditures since then."

Statistics Canada’s The Daily, May 28, 2014: “Federal government spending on science and technology, 2014/2015”

A limnologist laments the deserted Experimental Lakes, sapped fisheries management, and more.

"Two years ago, the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans announced that it would be closing the Experimental Lakes Area as part of a budget-balancing move. The government first announced that the ELA was no longer needed, and that similar science could be done at its other facilities."

"The announcement caused outrage in the international science community, among journalists and the general public. The Harper government, bewildered that there would be such widespread support for an obscure low-budget field station, quickly changed its story: they would be seeking a new operator for the site."

"What has happened to the ELA is only a small part of what has been aptly described by journalist Chris Turner as 'The War on Science’ carried out by the Harper government. Many research stations have been closed or funding cut.”

"Other aspects of Harper’s ‘war’ include the muzzling of federal scientists, with the claim that departmental voices must be ‘harmonized.’"

The Tyee, May 14, 2014: “Canadian Science Goes Down the Drain,” by David Schindler

The Tyee, November 1, 2013: “Harper’s Seven-Year War on Science,” by Crawford Kilian

"When a Canadian border official learned that Emily Atkin was a U.S. reporter coming to see the country’s tar sands, he detained her for nearly an hour of questioning. As Atkin soon discovered, harassing environmental and science journalists remains the norm in our friendly neighbor to the north."

"As previously reported on io9, the Canadian government has been under investigation for its efforts to obstruct the right of the media and public to speak to government scientists.”

"Writing at ThinkProgress, Atkin reports on new information that’s adding fuel to the sands: a survey of Canadian journalists revealed that many environmental and climate stories about the tar sands often go unreported.”

io9, May 27, 2014: “O Canada, Why Are You Still Muzzling Science Journalists?,” by Mark Strauss

ThinkProgress, May 23, 2014: “‘A Government Of Thugs’: How Canada Treats Environmental Journalists,” by Emily Atkin

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Supreme Court Rules Against Lawyer Who Wouldn't Retire at 65

"After working for 40 years at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver lawyer John Michael (Mitch) McCormick refused to retire quietly when he hit 65, alleging that his firm’s mandatory retirement policy for partners was age discrimination."

"But on Thursday [May 22, 2014], the Supreme Court of Canada put an end to his legal battle, ruling that law firms and other partnerships are allowed to force their partners to retire because they are not covered by provincial human rights codes.”

"Most workers no longer face mandatory retirement in Canada, but it is a common provision in the partnership agreements at law and accounting firms...”

"At issue in Mr. McCormick’s case was whether an equity partner at a law firm or an accounting firm could be considered an employee, and therefore be covered by provincial human rights codes."

"The Supreme Court, in this case, said no. The court ruled that Mr. McCormick’s status as a partner, which allowed him to vote for and stand for the firm’s board and share in the firm’s profits and losses, meant he exercised too much control over his workplace to be considered a mere employee."

The Globe and Mail, May 22, 2014: “Supreme Court rules against lawyer who wouldn’t retire at 65,” by Jeff Gary

The Toronto Star, May 22, 2014: “Supreme Court upholds lawyer’s forced retirement,” by Donovan Vincent

McCarthy Tetrault blog: British Columbia Employee Advisor, May 22, 2014: “‘Control and Dependency Define the Essence of Employment’, SCC Rules,” by Ryley Mennie

Bennett Jones Thought Network, May 22, 2014: “Mandatory Retirement in Professional Services Firms,” by Ranjan K. Agarwal

Stewart McKelvey Lawyers, May 22, 2014: “Client Update: Professional Partnerships Breathe Easier,” by Peter McLellan

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Men, it's Time for You to Lean Out

"It seems as though everyone is reading Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In. Many, like myself, are men.”

"...What big takeaways are there for men from Lean In? Two come to mind but they revolve around the same idea -- that men should learn to Lean Out.”

"The first thought, which the evidence corroborates, is that men and future male leaders need to be more supportive of their spouses at home... A great husband of the future is one, who at the right times in his wife’s career, is willing to Lean Out to support her."

"The second thought, that men take too many risks and should Lean Out on career decisions, is rather different than Ms. Sandberg’s message to women. She comments that ‘women need to be more open to taking risks in their careers’ since ‘being risk averse can result in stagnation.’ But really, my suggestion is the other side of the same coin. Ms. Sandberg believes that women need to ‘overcorrect’ to ‘find the middle ground’ from their current risk-averse position. I believe that many men need to ‘overcorrect’ from their excessive risk taking towards a more calculated neutral position."

The Globe and Mail, May 25, 2014: “Men, it’s time for you to Lean Out,” by Karl Moore and Shaun Collins

Click here to read more articles from The Globe and Mail’s Leadership Lab series, where executives and experts share their views and advice about leadership and management.

And ladies, sometimes it’s not enough to just Lean In. You may want to consider where you live, as well. A recent report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives examines the best and worst places to be a woman in Canada.

"A closer look at how women are faring in their communities can tell us where women can expect to earn the most (Ottawa-Gatineau) and where they experience the lowest levels of poverty (Calgary). It can tell us if the country’s highest earning women are also the most educated (they are) or where women are closing the gap in trades and apprenticeships (Montreal). Finally, economic measures leave out important indicators of well-being. They don’t tell us which city records the highest stress levels (Kitchener - Cambridge - Waterloo), for example, or where women can expect to live the longest (Vancouver).”

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, April 23, 2014: “The Best and Worst Place to be a Woman in Canada: An Index of Gender Equality in Canada’s Twenty Largest Metropolitan Areas,” by Kate McInturff (58 pages, PDF)

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There's No Place Like Home

"If you’re a student, a recent grad, or an entrepreneurial startup type, chances are you’re well-versed in working from home, at the library, and in various cafes around town."

"In a new study conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of the Canadian Employee Relocation Council, researchers found that when it comes to the Canadian employment mobility landscape, more than half of those (55 per cent) who are currently employed would not relocate for a job under any circumstance."

"Considering these figures, more employees and their companies may need to consider telecommuting options and using mobile technology and broadband connections to enable distributed (rather than co-located) teams."

"Good news, then, that [other] research shows part-time and flexible work-from-home strategies, if properly implemented, can have a positive impact for both businesses and staff."

Metro News, May 27, 2014: “There’s no place like home: How to stay on task when working away of the office,” by Sidneyeve Matrix

Ipsos Reid, May 1, 2014: “The Canadian Employment Mobility Landscape: 46% of Canadians Might Move for Work, 55% Would Not Move for Any Circumstance”

Ipsos Reid & Canadian Employee Relocation Council, April 2014: “Canadians on the Move: Measuring Opinions of Career Mobility Among Canadians” (22 pages, PDF)

American Sociological Review, May 4, 2014: “Changing Work and Work-Family Conflict: Evidence from the Work, Family, and Health Network,” Erin L. Kelly et. al. (32 pages, PDF)

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Gen Y's Striking Lack of Financial Independence

"The disconnect between Gen Y’s ambitions and the financial reality is documented in the Yconic/Abacus Data Survey of Canadian Millennials, which was conducted for The Globe and Mail earlier this year and involved 1,538 young people aged 15 to 33. The most dramatic findings concern Gen Y members’ ability to establish their financial independence from parents. Survey participants expected to reach this milestone by 27 on average, but 43 per cent of the 30- to 33-year-olds said they had not yet done so.”

"A fair bit of analysis has been done on whether today’s young adults have more trouble establishing themselves after graduation than their parents. The Globe and Mail’s Who Had It Worse Time Machine suggests they do, while a recent BMO Economics study said they are better off in some ways. The Yconic/Abacus survey gives us a different take by delving into the experience and attitudes of young people rather than economic indicators.”

The Globe and Mail, May 26, 2014: “Gen Y’s lack of financial independence is striking,” by Rob Carrick

Yconic & Abacus Data, May 2014: 2014 GenY Financials Report (21 pages, PDF)

Yconic & Abacus Data, May 2014: 2014 GenY State of Mind Report (13 pages, PDF)

The Globe and Mail, May 26, 2014: “Six surprising charts that show Generation Y is not like your generation,” by Rob Carrick and Stuart A. Thompson

The Globe and Mail, May 27, 2014: “Gen Y: The ‘Can I Afford to Move Out?’ Calculator,” by Rob Carrick and Stuart A. Thompson

Another barrier to financial independence for Millennials is debt. “Student debt burdens are weighing on the economic fortunes of younger Americans, as households headed by young adults owing student debt lag far behind their peers in terms of wealth accumulation, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of government data.”

Pew Research Center, May 14, 2014: “Young Adults, Student Debt and Economic Well-Being,” by Richard Fry

Click here for the PDF version (23 pages, PDF)

The Globe and Mail, May 28, 2014: “Plan to retire? You may need to pay your Gen Y kids’ debts first,” by Rob Carrick

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The Next Generation of Top Talent & How Millennials Could Upend Wall Street and Corporate America

Class of 2014: Your Next Generation of Top Talent

“They’re optimistic, they’re driven and they’re making communication a priority. What does this mean for employers and HR professionals?”

"[On April 29, 2014, Achievers] announced the results of the ‘Class of 2014’ survey, revealing what recent graduates expect of the workplace and what companies in search of new talent should expect from them.”

"Most notably, the insights reveal that 72 percent of respondents are optimistic about their job prospects upon graduation."

"The report outlines specific actions employers can take in order to better attract and retain top talent from this year’s graduating class, including social recruiting strategies, on-boarding solutions for acclimating and motivating new hires, and recognition programs to engage the new talent pool, 71 percent of which expect immediate feedback from their leaders."

Achievers, April 29, 2014: “Achievers ‘Class of 2014’ Survey Results Reveal Majority of Graduates are Optimistic About Securing Future Employment”

Achievers, April 2014: “Class of 2014: Your Next Generation of Top Talent” (16 pages, PDF)

Register now for the Achievers Customer Experience (ACE) 2014, taking place September 9th and 10th in Toronto, Canada. “Over two days in Toronto, the Achievers Customer Experience brings together our valued customers, industry analysts and thought leaders. The mission of ACE is to share best practices on the future of Employee Success and how organizations can recruit, retain and inspire their people.”

How Millennials Could Upend Wall Street and Corporate America

“Morley Winograd and Michael Hais outline the cultural force of the Millennial generation on the economy as Millennials increasingly dominate the nation’s workplaces and permeate its corporate culture. Winograd and Hais argue that the current culture on Wall Street is becoming increasingly isolated from the beliefs and values of America’s largest adult generation. The authors also include data on Millennials’ ideal employers, their financial behaviors, and their levels of institutional trust in order to provide further insight into this important demographic.”

"Key Millennial values shaping the future of the American economy include:

  • Interest in daily work being a reflection of and part of larger societal concerns.
  • Emphasis on corporate social responsibility, ethical causes, and stronger brand loyalty for companies offering solutions to specific social problems.
  • A greater reverence for the environment, even in the absence of major environmental disaster.
  • Higher worth placed on experiences over acquisition of material things.
  • Ability to build communities around shared interests rather than geographical proximity, bridging otherwise disparate groups.”

Brookings, May 28, 2014: “How Millennials Could Upend Wall Street and Corporate America,” by Morley Winograd and Michael Hais

Click here to download the paper (19 pages, PDF).

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Bullying on Campus

David Yamada, host of Minding the Workplace, the blog of the New Workplace Institute at Suffolk University Law School, commends the American Association of University Professors for spotlighting bullying behaviors in the latest issue of their membership magazine, Academe. He writes: “[Academe] features a piece by Clara Wajngurt that focuses on the impact of bullying behaviors in colleges and universities:

Elizabeth Farrington, an expert on women in higher education, defines campus bullying as behavior at colleges and universities that tends ‘to threaten, to intimidate, to humiliate or to isolate members of the working university environment [and] that undermines reputation or job performance.’ It occurs frequently, and very often we who work in these environments are unaware of it.

...It is in the best interest of college and university leaders to promote ethical conduct and a collegial working environment. Bullied workers, be they faculty members, academic professionals, or administrators, can experience serious psychological and physiological problems, from insomnia and depression to cardiovascular disease and impaired memory. Reducing workplace bullying is cost-effective, resulting in happier, more passionate employees.”

“In addition, the magazine’s online edition includes an article by Barb Holdcroft on bullying and incivility among college students:

I recently finished a particularly disturbing semester of teaching that was filled with instances of student incivility, intimidation, and entitlement. In searching for information that could help me understand my students’ behavior, I found that other teachers have had similar experiences.

Several aspects of these behaviors can be quickly identified. All have a negative impact on education and can produce dire consequences in real life. As students repeat each behavior with ‘success,’ the behaviors become more entrenched.”

"The AAUP is the nation’s leading membership organization and collective voice for higher education faculty in the U.S., and I’m glad to see it giving bullying behaviors greater attention."

Minding the Workplace, May 26, 2014: “AAUP spotlights bullying in academe,” by David Yamada

Academe, May-June 2014: “Prevention of Bullying on Campus,” by Clara Wajngurt

Academe, May-June 2014: “Student Incivility, Intimidation, and Entitlement in Academia,” by Barb Holdcroft

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Report Run-Down: Women in the Labour Force, International Labour Statistics, and the World of Work

Databook: Women in the Labour Force

"This report presents historical and recent labor force and earnings data for women and men from the Current Population Survey (CPS), a national monthly survey of approximately 60,000 households conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics."

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2014: “Women in the Labor Force: A Databook” (106 pages, PDF)

Databook of International Labour Statistics 2014

“[The Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training] Databook of International Labour Statistics 2014 is the 18th edition of a comprehensive statistical annual from a variety of sources in different countries. The databook 2014 contains 142 tables corresponding to nine major substantive chapters on 1) economy and business; 2) population and labour force; 3) employment structure; 4) unemployment, unemployment insurance and employment adjustment; 5) wages and labour costs; 6) hours of work and working-time arrangements; 7) trade union, industrial relations and occupational accidents; 8) education and human resources development; 9) worklife and welfare. All tables are available for download in Excel and PDF format.”

The Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training, May 2014: “Databook of International Labour Statistics 2014”

ILO’s 2014 World of Work Report

"This year’s edition focuses on developing countries and argues that quality jobs are a key driver for development. It draws on evidence from over 140 developing countries and finds that a common factor amongst those countries that have achieved higher per capita income and sustained growth was quality jobs."

International Labour Organization, May 27, 2014: “World of Work 2014: Developing with jobs”

Download the:

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Fairtrade Coffee Fails to Help the Poor, British Report Finds

"Coffee drinkers who choose brands carrying the Fairtrade logo are not helping the poor and the ‘ethical trading’ claims made by fair-trade organizations are hollow, according to an in-depth report into the employment practices on coffee, tea and flower plantations in East Africa."

"Research published by the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at London University reveals that workers at Fairtrade certified farms are paid less and suffer inferior working conditions compared with those working for non-Fairtrade farms."

"The criticism emerges after a four-year research project [entitled the Fair Trade, Employment and Poverty Reduction project] conducted by development economists at SOAS. Funded by Britain’s Department for International Development, the researchers investigated labour markets for export crops in Ethiopia and Uganda. The micro-study of life for the rural poor involved 1,000 days of field research and the data covered 1,700 respondents including focus groups and life histories."

"The latter expose the often appalling conditions suffered by workers picking the coffee beans and carnations that end up on supermarket shelves in Europe, the U.S. and Canada. The report titled 'Fairtrade, Employment and Poverty Reduction in Ethiopia and Uganda' is at times a grim chronicle of exposure to harmful pesticides, workers forced to pay bribes to secure employment as well as violence and sexual abuse."

The Globe and Mail, May 26, 2014: “Fairtrade coffee fails to help the poor, British report finds,” by Carl Mortished

Marketplace, May 26, 2014: “Study: Fairtrade doesn’t always yield highest wages,” by Mark Garrison [accompanying audio clip runs: 2 min.]

The School of Oriental and African Studies, April 2014: “Fairtrade, Employment and Poverty Reduction in Ethiopia and Uganda,” by Christopher Cramer, Deborah Johnston, Carlos Oya, and John Sender (143 pages, PDF)

The Fair Trade, Employment and Poverty Reduction Project [website]

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Economics of the World Cup

Even without Canada participating, the show must go on.

"In the lead up to the World Cup tournament, Goldman Sachs has released a detailed statistical manual, estimating not only each team’s chances of winning it all (Brazil leads the way, with a whopping 48.5-per-cent chance, followed by Argentina at 14.1 per cent), but also the tournament’s indirect economic impact."

"On average, the nation that wins the World Cup sees its stock market outperform the global market by about 3.5 per cent in the first month after victory, according to the report. But those gains don’t last -- in the year following the tournament, the winning country’s stock market will underperform by about 4 per cent."

"If the predictive power of such statistics sounds dubious, that’s because it probably is. Indeed, the report’s authors acknowledge that their complex algorithms for measuring team strength will probably be outplayed by reality: ‘Football is ultimately,’ they write, ‘a pretty random game.’"

The Globe and Mail, May 28, 2014: “World Cup: Stacking up the odds of world’s most popular sport,” by Sean Tepper

CBC News, May 28, 2014: “Bet on Brazil in the World Cup: Goldman Sachs,” by Meredith Healey

Goldman Sachs, May 27, 2014: “The World Cup and Economics 2014”

Download the full report here (67 pages, PDF).

Quartz, May 28, 2014: “Here are eight totally bogus correlations between the World Cup and economics,” by John McDuling

Ernst & Young, November 21, 2011: “Sustainable Brazil: Social and Economic Impacts of the 2014 World Cup” (55 pages, PDF)

For more on the economics of the World Cup, check out The Economist’s coverage.

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Book of the Week

Handbook of Research on Employee Voice, edited by Adrian Wilkinson, Jimmy Donaghey, Tony Dundon and Richard B. Freeman. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2014. 498 p. ISBN 9780857939265 (hardcover)

From the publisher: "The term ‘employee voice’ refers to the ways and means through which employees can attempt to have a say and influence organizational issues that affect their work and the interests of managers and owners. The concept is distinct, but related to and often overlapping with issues such as participation, involvement and, more recently, engagement. This Handbook provides an up-to-date survey of the current research into employee voice, sets this research into context and sets a marker for future research in the area. The contributors are all expert in their field. The book examines the theory and history of employee voice and what voice means to various actors, including employers, middle managers, employees, unions and policy-makers. The authors observe how these actors engage in various voice processes, such as collective bargaining, grievance procedures, task-based voice, partnership and mutual gains. The efforts that have been made to date to evaluate voice across and between firms are then assessed, before the contributors go on to open up the debate on potential new areas for voice research, with a focus on voice and its relationship to organizational inclusion and exclusion."

This book includes chapters written by CIRHR faculty Rafael Gomez and Alan M. Saks.

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