Perry Work Report: work&labour news&research, April 24, 2015

April 24, 2015

Announcement:

CRIMT International Conference 2015

The Interuniversity Research Centre on Globalization and Work (CRIMT) invites you to participate in its forthcoming international conference on Institutional Change and Experimentation. Spanning a broad range of subjects related to experimentation in the world of work and the building of more inclusive and participative economies and communities, this conference includes five plenary sessions, thirty-six workshops and twelve interactive forums.

All activities will take place at HEC Montreal, from May 21--23, 2015.

You can find the detailed program, registration details and other information on the conference website: http://www.crimt.org/CRIMT2015CONFERENCE.html

 

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Teachers Strike in Ontario's Durham Region

“More than 1,500 Durham Region high-school teachers walked off the job on Monday [April 20, 2015] and picket lines went up at local schools, leaving about 24,000 students out of the classroom.“

The Globe and Mail, April 20, 2015: “Teachers strike closes high schools in Ontario’s Durham Region,” by Madeline Smith

Labour unrest has been common in Durham region public schools since the provincial government introduced Bill 115, which forced contracts and wage freezes on teachers.

For updates, visit the Durham District School Board’s website at www.ddsb.ca, or follow them via Twitter @Durhamdsb and Facebook. Updates are also available through local news media outlets, including durhamregion.com and their Twitter account, @newsdurham.

DurhamRegion.com, April 19, 2015: “Labour unrest common in Durham public schools since introduction of Bill 115“

DurhamRegion.com, April 19, 2015: “What you need to know about the Durham high school teachers’ strike”

Could more teacher strikes be brewing in Durham?

“Labour unrest appears to be brewing among Ontario’s public elementary school teachers.”

“On April 17 their union, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, asked for a ‘no board report,’ which means talks with the Province have reached an impasse.”

“Negotiations are also ongoing for the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association, which represents 45,000 Catholic elementary and high school teachers. On April 23 and 24 members across the province will participate in an online strike vote.”

DurhamRegion.com, April 23, 2015: “Could more teacher strikes be brewing in Durham?,” by Jillian Follert

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National Day of Mourning on April 28, 2015

“The National Day of Mourning, held annually on April 28, was officially recognized by the federal government in 1991, eight years after the day of remembrance was launched by the Canadian Labour Congress. The Day of Mourning has since spread to about 80 countries around the world and has been adopted by the AFL-CIO and the International Confederation of Free Trade.”

“The numbers tell the story. In 2013, 902 workplace deaths were recorded in Canada. While it’s the lowest total since 2000 when 882 fatalities were recorded, this number still represents 2.47 deaths every single day.”

“In the 21 year period from 1993 to 2013, 18,941 people lost their lives due to work-related causes (an average of 902 deaths per year).”

Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety -- National Day of Mourning -- April 28 [website]

Canadian Labour Congress -- Day of Mourning [website]

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U of T is One of Canada's 2015 Greenest Employers

“The winners of Canada’s Greenest Employers for 2015 show amazing diversity in how they make their businesses green. As environmental leaders, they’ve put their strategy into action through multiple initiatives, both formal and informal, both corporate and employee-led. For many organizations, building sustainability isn’t a trendy thing to do, but has evolved to become a part of how they operate, notes Richard Yerema, managing editor of Mediacorp Canada. These are employers who are committed for the longer term, simply becoming the way they’re going to operate in the 21st century.”

The Globe and Mail, April 22, 2015: “Canada’s greenest employers help the Earth -- and their bottom lines,” by Diane Jermyn

One of the reasons cited for U of T’s recognition as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers is it’s “unique not-for-profit "Bikechain” shop that acts as a hub for the university’s large cycling community, offering affordable repairs and educational opportunities for students, faculty and staff -- the university also continues to green its own transportation fleet with bicycles, hybrids, natural gas vehicles and electric vehicles.“

The University of Toronto, April 22, 2015: “The University of Toronto is honoured to be recognized as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for 2015“

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Generation Squeeze

“This new study reports that:

  • Canadians in their mid-40s and younger earn thousands less for full-time work compared to 1976-1980 even though they devote years more to postsecondary. 
  • The typical young person has to work five years more to save a down payment on an average home. 
  • Despite low interest rates, today’s young person works a month more per year to pay the mortgage.   
  • The same housing prices that squeeze younger generations for time and money drive wealth accumulation for those aged 55+by at least $165,000 compared to the same age group in 1977. 
  • Added wealth for those 55+ comes on top of improvements to total household income that are $14,000 to $17,000 higher than in 1976-1980.”

Generation Squeeze, April 14, 2015: “Population Aging, Generational Equity and the Middle Class,” by Dr. Paul Kershaw

Generation Squeeze, April 14, 2015: “Population Aging, Generational Equity and the Middle Class,” by Dr. Paul Kershaw (20 pages, PDF)

CBC News, April 20, 2015: “Generation Squeezed: Some young Canadians are finding it tough to get a job, buy a home or start a family” [video, 5:25 min.]

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The Local Unemployment Rate and Retirement

“Workers in economic regions that had a higher unemployment rate were expected to retire two years earlier, on average, than workers in economic regions with a lower unemployment rate.”

“In 2007, for example, workers in the economic regions with higher unemployment rates, 9.7% on average, were expected to retire at 62.7 years of age. Conversely, workers in economic regions with lower unemployment rates, 3.9% on average, were expected to retire at 64.2 years of age.”

“The relationship between the local unemployment rate and the probability to retire remained when other factors associated with retirement were taken into account. This suggests that local economic conditions play a role in a worker’s decision to retire.”

“Other factors related to the probability of an earlier retirement included the presence of a disability, access to Employment Insurance benefits, unionization and having contributed to a registered pension plan for at least five years.“

Statistics Canada’s The Daily, April 22, 2015: “Study: The local unemployment rate and retirement, 1991 to 2007″

Statistics Canada, Labour Statistics: Research Papers, April 22, 2015: “Impact of the local unemployment rate on permanent retirement,” by Diane Galarneau, Martin Turcotte, Yves Carriere, and Eric Fecteau (23 pages, PDF)

But finally it pays to have seniority. “In a budget that will take the federal government into the next election, seniors are the clear winners. They get more elbow room to manage withdrawals from their registered retirement income funds and a new tax credit to make their homes more accessible. They are also major beneficiaries of the new $10,000 annual contribution limit for tax-free savings accounts and some financial help for people who look after gravely ill relatives.“

The Globe and Mail, April 21, 2015: “Seniors the runaway winners in pre-election budget,” Rob Carrick

The Globe and Mail, April 21, 2015: “What savers and seniors need to know about the 2015 federal budget” [video, 2:48min.]

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How's Life in the City?

“There is now international support for the measurement of subjective well-being. This includes the adoption of a United Nations resolution in 2011, the establishment of March 20 as International Day of Happiness in 2012, and the release, in 2013, of a set of OECD guidelines (OECD 2013) on the measurement of subjective well-being prepared for the use of national statistical offices. Thirty years ago, Canada was almost alone in collecting survey data on life satisfaction. As of 2014, all but three OECD countries collect some form of life evaluation, with most starting since the release of the OECD guidelines. Since 2005, the Gallup World Poll has been surveying subjective well-being in most countries around the world, thus enabling the preparation of three World Happiness Reports (Helliwell, Layard and Sachs 2015) since 2012. These compare and explain international differences in life evaluations and other measures of subjective well-being.”

Statistics Canada, Economic Insights, April 20, 2015: “How’s Life in the City? Life Satisfaction Across Census Metropolitan Areas and Economic Regions in Canada,” by Chaohui Lu, Grant Schellenberg, Feng Hou, and John F. Helliwell

And according to the StatsCan report, “Toronto is the second unhappiest city in Canada.... Apparently our mopeyness is surpassed only by Vancouver, which ranked at 7.808 out of 10 compared to Toronto at 7.818.”

blogTO, April 20, 2015: “Toronto ranked 2nd unhappiest city in Canada,” by Derek Flack

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Where is Equality Now?

“Women’s rights activists and advocates worked hard during the pre-Charter constitutional negotiations to gain broad equality rights provisions in the 1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms. When those provisions came into effect on April 17, 1985, the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund opened its doors to ensure that they would be given real meaning by the courts.”

“But law reform on issues involving sexual violence is still very incomplete, as we have recently been reminded by the horrendous death of Edmonton woman Cindy Gladue and by the treatment her death received at the hands of the law. The Crown’s extraordinary and unprecedented introduction of the most intimate of a woman’s body parts into evidence in that trial, along with arguments from defence counsel that Ms. Gladue died because she consented to the ‘rough sex’ that resulted in a mortal wound to her vagina, show us how far the criminal justice system still has to go before women are respected and protected by its processes. The jury verdict in that case, acquitting the man who inflicted that wound, reinforces a harsh reality of which we are already well aware in a country where over 1100 Indigenous women and girls have gone missing or been murdered since the Charter became part of our constitution -- he reality that women cannot count on the law to protect them from sexual violence either inside and outside the courtroom.”

rabble.ca, April 17, 2015: “Thirty years since the Charter’s equality provisions and LEAF’s founding, where is equality now?”

The Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) [website]

“As you’ve likely heard, the acquittal of Cindy Gladue’s accused murderer Bradley Barton was appealed on Thursday, offering a small measure of hope that some of the injustices of the legal proceedings will be rectified the second time around. But this possibility doesn’t offer much hope for true justice for Cindy Gladue, because we know that the Canadian legal system isn’t broken, it was made this way: as Kwe Today writes, ‘I know as an Indigenous woman with sex working experience and who has also been in the criminal (in)justice system that the system does not and will not protect Indigenous peoples, especially Indigenous women in the sex trade.’ It’s important to note that these protests took place the day after Ontario decided to uphold as constitutional Canada’s new sex work laws, which, as Ella Bedard’s recent piece demonstrated, continue to harm sex workers.”

GUTS Canadian Feminist Magazine: Our Sunday Links, April 5, 2015

“‘Out of Our Hands': a short but incredibly incisive look at the way Canada’s legal system is ill equipped to deal with cases of sexual assault. (Also compelling, the piece mentions the Garneau Sisterhood, an Edmonton collective working to reclaim the eponymous neighbourhood after a series of sexual assaults.)”

GUTS Canadian Feminist Magazine: Our Sunday Links, April 19, 2015

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1.5 Million Missing Black Men

“In New York, almost 120,000 black men between the ages of 25 and 54 are missing from everyday life. In Chicago, 45,000 are, and more than 30,000 are missing in Philadelphia. Across the South -- from North Charleston, S.C., through Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi and up into Ferguson, Mo. -- hundreds of thousands more are missing.”

“African-American men have long been more likely to be locked up and more likely to die young, but the scale of the combined toll is nonetheless jarring. It is a measure of the deep disparities that continue to afflict black men -- disparities being debated after a recent spate of killings by the police -- and the gender gap is itself a further cause of social ills, leaving many communities without enough men to be fathers and husbands.”

“Perhaps the starkest description of the situation is this: More than one out of every six black men who today should be between 25 and 54 years old have disappeared from daily life.”

The New York Times, The Upshot, April 20, 2015: “1.5 Million Missing Black Men,” by Justin Wolfers, David Leonhardt, and Kevin Quealy

The New York Times, The Upshot, April 20, 2015: “The Methodology: 1.5 Million Missing Black Men,” by Justin Wolfers, David Leonhardt, and Kevin Quealy

Additionally, areas with the largest black populations have the smallest shares of black men. ”Prime-age black men are outnumbered by women only in counties where a large share of the population is black. In counties with tiny black populations, black men tend to outnumber black women, often by a lot.”

The New York Times, The Upshot, April 21, 2015: “Areas With Large Black Populations Have the Smallest Shares of Black Men,” by Justin Wolfers

This issue only makes the search for a mate by single, educated black females more difficult.

“Race is a factor in patterns of assortative mating. Black women face more difficult ‘marriage markets’ than white women, given current rates of intermarriage according to work from University of Maryland sociologist Philip N. Cohen. Black women have the lowest rates of ‘marrying out’ across race lines, in part because of racist attitudes to inter-marriage. Just 49 percent of college-educated black women marry a well-educated man..., compared to 84 percent of college-educated white women....”

“In this Long Memo, we examine race gaps in marriage patterns in terms of educational sorting, using 5-year estimates from the 2008-2012 waves of the American Community Survey. We focus in particular on college graduates.”

Brookings, April 9, 2015: “Single black female BA seeks educated husband: Race, assortative mating and inequality,” by Edward Rodrigue and Richard V. Reeves

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The Geography of Poverty

“Today, over 45 million people qualify as poor in the U.S., the largest number seen in the 50 years for which poverty data have been published, earning less than $11,490 annual income for one person or $23,550 for a family of four. At the same time, the share of income going to the top one percent of the population has doubled, rising from nine percent in 1976 to 20 percent in 2011. At the very top, the richest 0.1 percent’s share of the national wealth has tripled.”

“Income inequality in the U.S. is now on par with Cameroon, Mexico, and China, and nowhere is the country’s line between rich and poor as sharp as in California’s Central Valley, the rural, agricultural area where [photographer Matt Black lives]. Here, in the heart of the richest state, conditions rival that of any third world nation, with residents suffering some of the country’s highest unemployment and hunger rates. This project, combining images, geolocation, and poverty data, seeks to put these marginalized communities on the map, charting this unseen geography of poverty."

Global Oneness Project, April 2015: “The Geography of Poverty,” by Matt Black

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Even In Nursing, Men Earn More than Women

“Women outnumber men in the nursing profession by more than 10 to 1. But men still earn more, a new study finds.”

“The biggest disparity was for nurse anesthetists, with men earning $17,290 more.”

“The data don’t suggest why men earn more, according to Ulrike Muench, an assistant professor of nursing at the University of California, San Francisco, and the study’s lead author. Though ‘some have suggested men have better negotiating skills’ and are able to start out earning higher salaries, she says.”

“Jennifer Stewart, who oversees nursing and other workforce issues at the health research group The Advisory Board, agrees that’s one possibility. ‘Also maybe some gender discrimination,’ she adds.”

NPR, March 24, 2015: “Even In Nursing, Men Earn More Than Women," by Julie Rovner

The Journal of the American Medical Association, March 24, 2015: “Salary Differences Between Male and Female Registered Nurses in the United States,” by Ulrike Muench, Jody Sindelar, Susan H. Busch, and Peter I. Buerhaus (subscription required)

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Rana Plaza, Two Years On

“In two years since Rana Plaza collapsed, considerable progress has been made towards creating a safer ready made garment sector for Bangladesh. This ILO publication looks at what has been achieved and the challenges still ahead.”

ILO, April 21, 2015: “Rana Plaza Two Years On: Progress Made and Challenges Ahead for the Bangladesh RMG Sector” (28 pages, PDF)

ILO -- Improving Working Conditions in the Ready-Made Garment Sector in Bangladesh (RMGP Programme) [website]

While progress has been made toward creating a safer working environment for Bangladesh’s garment workers, many companies still have not done their part in terms of compensating the victims of the 2013 factory collapse disaster.

“While some companies linked to the factory complex, including Primark, were quick to pay millions towards compensation for victims and their families, many have yet to make any contribution. Others, such as Benetton, have confirmed their donation after two years. The Italian clothing giant announced last week it would donate $1.1 m towards the fund, following a previous donation of $500,000 the company made before the current fund was set up. Yet this is far short of the $5m that campaigners claimed it should pay because of its size and ability to contribute.”

The Independent, April 19, 2015: “Bangladeshi factory collapse: Clothing companies fail to pay into Rana Plaza fund that provides compensation for victims of 2013 disaster,” by Johnathan Owen

Labour Behind the Label campaign [website]

April 24, 2015 is also Fashion Revolution Day, marking the one year anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Dhaka. Fashion Revolution is an organization which hopes to “bring everyone in the fashion value chain together and help to raise awareness of the true cost of fashion, show the world that change is possible, and celebrate all those involved in creating a more sustainable future.“

Click here to view a number of excellent resources regarding the human cost of cheap clothing, complied by Fashion Revolution.

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What Bangladeshi Garment Workers Need from the West

“Big Western retailers who buy clothes from Bangladesh have taken steps to improve safety since the collapse of Rana Plaza, which housed five factories, on April 24, 2013. American and European companies have set up two groups to inspect factories and require owners to make safety improvements like installing usable fire escapes, smoke detectors and sprinklers. While those efforts have resulted in improvements, Western retailers have not done enough to prevent other labor abuses.”

“For example, the Human Rights Watch report notes that workers who try to organize unions are often beaten, fired and intimidated by factory owners. And the police and other government agencies often look the other way when workers seek justice.”

“In some cases, factory owners relent and make peace with unions when foreign customers put pressure on them. Steven Greenhouse and Hiroko Tabuchi wrote about one such case in The Times in February. That shows that Western companies, which benefit from the low cost of production in Bangladesh, need to play a more active role in stemming labor abuse.“

The New York Times, April, 23, 2015: “What Bangladeshi Garment Workers Need From the West,” by Vikas Bajaj

Human Rights Watch, April 22, 2015: “’Whoever Raises their Head Suffers the Most’: Workers’ Rights in Bangladesh’s Garment Factories” (download the PDF version here, 89 pages)

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The EU May Ban Imports from Thailand's Slavery-Dependent Fishing Industry

“The European Union is giving Thailand, the world’s third-largest seafood exporter, six months to clean up illegal and unregulated fishing or face a ban that would block nearly half a billion euros ($534 million) in annual exports, according to the Associated Press and the BBC Thai Service.”

“Overfishing in Thai waters is closely tied to rampant slavery and human rights abuses in the fishing industry, which have prompted advocacy groups and the US government to condemn Thailand’s human rights record. The Thai military junta was forced earlier this year to back down from plans to use convicts as forced labor on fishing boats, and it has ordered domestic media not to report on slavery in the industry.”

Quartz, April 21, 2015: “The EU is threatening to ban imports from Thailand’s slavery-dependent fishing industry”

Quartz, June 11, 2014: “10 charts that explain why a slave may well have caught the shrimp on your grill this summer“

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IMF: Labour Market Deregulations Not Working

“In two reports, the IMF carefully lays out the empirical evidence and it ain’t good.”

“In one of them, dated March 2015, the IMF argues that the decrease in unionization rates has largely fed the increase in incomes of those at the top.”

“Subsequently, for its April 2015 edition of the World Economic Output (WEO) report, which featured data from 16 G20 countries, the IMF concludes that there is no evidence that the neo-liberal deregulatory reforms had any positive impact on labour markets and economic growth.”

“These painful de-regulatory policies, often imposed by force, have had no impact on total factor productivity.”

CBC News, April 19, 2015: “Labour market deregulations not working: International Monetary Fund,” by Louis-Philippe Rochon

International Monetary Fund, April 2015: “World Economic Outlook”

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Book of the Week

Finding a Voice at Work?: New Perspectives on Employment Relations, edited by Stewart Johnstone and Peter Ackers. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2015. 309 p. ISBN 9780199668014 (paperback)

From the publisher: "How much 'say' should employees have in the running of business organizations, and what form should the 'voice' take? This is both the oldest and latest question in employment relations. Answers to these questions reflect our fundamental assumptions about the nature of the employment relationship, and inform our views on almost every aspect of Human Resource Management (HRM) and Employment Relations. Voice can also mean different things to different people. For some, employee voice is a synonym for trade union representation which aims to defend and promote the collective interests of workers. For others voice, is means of enhancing employee commitment and organisational performance. Others advocate workers control as an alternative to conventional capitalist organisations which are run for shareholders. There is thus both a moral and political argument for a measure of democracy at work, as well as a business case argument, which views voice as a potential link in the quest for increased organisational performance. The key debate for employment relations is which of the approaches 'works best' in delivering outcomes which balance competitiveness and productivity, on the one hand, and fair treatment of workers and social justice on the other. Policy makers need pragmatic answers to enduring questions: what works best in different contexts, what are the conditions of success, and what are the drawbacks? Some of the most significant developments in employee voice have taken place within the European Union, with various public policy and employer experiments attracting extensive academic research. The book offers a critical assessment of the main contemporary concepts and models of voice in the UK and Europe, and provides an in-depth theoretical and empirical exploration of employee voice in one accessible and cohesive collection."

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