Perry Work Report: work&labour news&research, January 23, 2015

January 23, 2015

Announcement:

CIRA 2015 Call for Papers Deadline Extended

The deadline for the submission of proposals is now February 15, 2015. For more information on submissions click here.

“The Canadian Industrial Relations Association (CIRA) 2015 conference will bring together academics, students, policy-makers and labour relations practitioners from across Canada and the world on issues of work, trade unions, human resources and labour relations. The theme of the 2015 CIRA conference is ‘Re-writing the Rules: Advancing employment relations in a hostile climate.’”

The conference takes place May 25 to May 27, 2015, in Montreal.

 

Follow us on the CIRHR Library Tumblr and on the CIRHR Library Twitter.

The Davos Diaries

"It’s a gathering where the world’s wealthy and powerful hash out problems ranging from economic inequality to climate change -- and hundreds of them took private jets to get there [1,700 jets to be specific]. Here are some of the sublime and ridiculous highlights of this year’s World Economic Forum so far.”

  • The soaring franc: Davos delegates’ fabulous wealth isn’t going as far as it used to.
  • Russia’s state-run VTB Bank’s soiree: it featured women with LED-lit outfits and musical guests including Grammy-winning American guitarist Al di Meola.
  • Prince Andrew finally addressed allegations that he had had sex with an underage girl. “My focus is on my work,” he said.
  • Real-estate magnate Jeff Greene came to Davos on a private jet with his wife, kids and two nannies -- and once there, he warned Americans that they need to live with less to help the economy.
  • Canada’s cold shoulder for Iran: Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird passed on a high-level meeting on the future of Syria.
  • Cold warriors for climate change: see the Twitter hashtag #snowmanselfie
  • A concert on every continent: former U.S. vice-president Al Gore and pop star Pharrell Williams announced Live Earth, an awareness-raising musical stunt staging concerts on every continent.

For more information on all the fun, see The Guardian’s complete guide to Davos, the World Economic Forum’s website, or the official Davos Twitter for an up-to-minute play-by-play of the events.

The Globe and Mail, January 22, 2015: “The Davos diaries: Princes, parties, pricey francs and Pharrell,” by Evan Annett

Being a Woman in a Men’s Club

"The World Economic Forum says it’s trying to encourage more of its members to bring women to Davos. Its members aren’t doing a great job. This year, only 17% of participants at the annual invitation-only conference are women."

Apparently though, being a Davos women, and especially a “Davos wife,” isn’t the most pleasurable experience.
Davos veteran Anya Schiffrin provides a “guide to the phases you have to go through emotionally in order to survive the World Economic Forum in Davos.”

  • Denial: I never imagined I would become an old hand at the security lines, adept at finding the best cafes for hot chocolate and wiener schnitzel and a denizen of the Saturday night gala with its dessert buffet and open bar.
  • Bewilderment: Davos is all about status and makes everyone feel inferior. Why would anyone put up with this ritual humiliation, and what do all those different colored badges mean anyway?
  • Anger: Comes when you find out the truth of life as a Davos wife. ... [We are] consigned to social oblivion for the week as a quick glance at our badge (at Davos no one looks you in the eye, they just glance at your name badge) showed we were the lowest form of life and were shunned accordingly.
  • Bargaining: If I can just do something differently, maybe it will be better next year. Just please don’t let this year be the year I slip on the ice and break something and have to spend the rest of the week lying down in my hotel room with my leg in a cast....
  • Acceptance: It’s fun! Yes there are a million mansplainers all over the place ... but Davos is a finger on the corporate pulse and a way to see what the world’s elites are thinking.

Quartz, January 22, 2015: “The five stages of being a Davos woman and a Davos wife,” by Anya Schiffrin

Quartz, January 21, 2015: “Davos is still mostly a men’s club,” by David Yanofsky

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Having It All and Wanting More

According to Oxfam’s newest report the “richest one per cent of people globally are poised to own more than half of all wealth by next year.”

Surprisingly, “the cut-off to be included in the one per cent [is not a] gargantuan amount of money, the reality is quite different: the average wealth of the ‘one percenters’ is $2.7 million.”

However, “as few as 80 people own more than the world’s poorest 3.5 billion people. [While ‘o]ne in nine people do not have enough to eat and more than a billion people still live on less than $1.25 a day,’ Oxfam said in a release.”

The gap is widening quickly but according to Oxfam “a few simple policies could help tip the scales back towards a more equitable [future]. They include investing in things like universal health care and education for everyone, ensuring global standards for child and elder care, and closing the wage gap between men and women.”

Other policy suggestions include:

  • "Clamping down on tax dodgers by closing tax-evading loopholes that are only available to multinational corporations and extremely rich individuals.
  • Share the global tax burden more fairly by shifting the onus of taxation away from consumption and income and on to capital and wealth.
  • Introduce minimum wage standards and work towards a living wage for all workers.”

CBC News, January 19, 2015: “Richest 1% on track to own 50% of all wealth by 2016, Oxfam warns”

Oxfam, January 2015: “Wealth: Having it all and wanting more,” by Deborah Hardoon (12 pages, PDF)

This latest issue briefing comes just months after Oxfam launched its Even It Up campaign and released a detailed report in which the causes of the inequality crisis are investigated in greater detail and concrete solutions are presented that can overcome it.

Oxfam & Even It Up, October 29, 2014: “Even it up: Time to end extreme inequality” (141 pages, PDF)

Even It Up campaign [website] (click here for the Canadian edition)

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How Expensive It Is to Be Poor in America

"Earlier this month, the Pew Research Center released a study that found that most wealthy Americans believed ‘poor people today have it easy because they can get government benefits without doing anything in return.’"

‘Easy’ is a word not easily spoken among the poor. Things are hard -- the times are hard, the work is hard, the way is hard.”

"First, many poor people work, but they just don’t make enough to move out of poverty -- an estimated 11 million Americans fall into this category."

"In addition, many low-income people are ‘unbanked’ (not served by a financial institution), and thus nearly eaten alive by exorbitant fees."

"One way to move up the ladder and out of poverty is through higher education, but even that is not without disproportionate costs... And often, work or school requires transportation, which can be another outrageous expense."

The New York Times, January 18, 2015: “How expensive it is to be poor,” by Charles M. Blow

PewResearch, January 8, 2015: “The Politics of Financial Insecurity”

This eye-opening discussion on Reddit, prompted by the question “What do insanely poor people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about?” sheds some very personal light on this issue.

Some of the most disheartening responses include:

  • I buy “fish” antibiotics online because I can’t afford health care.
  • Poor people buy money. Payday loans, prepaid credit cards, cheque cashing, rent-to-own furniture and pawn shops.
  • Cheap meat. You don’t know how bad Spam and Vienna Weenies taste till you have them for breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner.

Reddit, January 13, 2015: “What do insanely poor people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about?”

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Train-Jumpers

"There is no shelter in Orizaba and people wait by the tracks out in the open, often for days, to catch moving freight trains."

“For the Central Americans who leap on to moving freight trains and ride on roofs through Mexico, the path to the American dream is fraught with danger. Photographer Michelle Frankfurter shows the treacherous journey taken by people in search of a better life.”

The Guardian, January 22, 2015: “The train-jumpers: life and death on the railroads for US migrants -- in pictures”

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Two Days, One Night, a Film about Workers in the Ruthless New Economy

"Like most of the Dardennes’ previous films, Two Days, One Night traffics in suspense and is a sort of thriller. But as a search for a lost (or stolen) livelihood, it is also a descendant of The Bicycle Thief, the neo-realist classic that, as Andre Bazin noted, implies a world in which ‘the poor must steal from each other in order to survive.’ In post-industrial Europe, this predicament has been globalized.”

"The factory that employed Cotillard’s character, Sandra, is a solar panel manufacturer that is itself struggling in the global economy, being undersold by Asian competitors. For Sandra, the shame of unemployment is compounded by the threat that she will lose her precarious middle-class existence: ‘I feel like a beggar,’ she tells her husband. and so she will become one."

"When, in one moment of despair, Sandra cries that she feels as though she doesn’t exist and is ‘nothing at all,’ she articulates some deeper truth about workers in the ruthless new economy -- what the sociologist-philosopher Pierre Bourdieu saw as the unnerving erosion of personal dignity in the absence of job security."

The New York Review of Books Blog, January 18, 2015: “The Passion of Marion Cotillard,” by J. Hoberman

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Union Certification Just Got Tougher

"New rules on union certification for federally regulated employers will take effect June 16, 2015, following the royal assent of Bill C-525."

"Under the outgoing regime, union certification can be awarded under Part II of the Canada Labour Code (the Code) where a union presents evidence that more than 50% of employees in a proposed bargaining unit have signed union ‘cards’ and paid for a union membership. Where such evidence could be provided, certification would be automatically granted the union without the need for a secret ballot vote.”

"Bill C-525 has eliminated the automatic card-based certification provisions of the Code. Now, all certifications will involve a secret ballot vote. Such a vote will be triggered where the union adduces evidence that 40% or more of the bargaining unit are members of the union.”

"In addition to this significant change, Bill C-525 has lowered the threshold for employees in a certified bargaining unit to trigger a vote on whether they wish to remove their union, otherwise known as de-certification or termination of bargaining rights [to 40%]."

Norton Rose Fulbright Bulletin, January 2015: “Union certification just got tougher: new Canada Labour Code rules in 2015,” by Michael Torrance

McCarthy Tetrault LLP, January 14, 2015:  “Federal labour law amendments: harder to certify a union (and easier to decertify a union),” by Daniel Pugen and Justine Lindner

openparliament.ca -- Bill C-525: Employees’ Voting Rights Act

Public Service Alliance of Canada, December 16, 2014: “Senate passes bill making it harder to unionize, despite its errors”

Click here to read the Broadbent Institute’s statement on the passing of Bill C-525 and their most recent report on the issue entitled “Union Communities, Healthy Communities: The new attack on unions and its threat to shared prosperity in Canada" (22 pages, PDF).

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Canadian Employers Want to Help Caregivers Balance Responsibilities

According to a new report, "Canadian employers do not realize how many of their workers balance their jobs with the responsibilities of caring for a loved one, but want to make things easier for employees in that situation."

"According to Statistics Canada, 35 per cent of employed Canadians provide that type of informal care, in some cases spending 30 or more hours a week at it. Their absenteeism and reduced productivity is estimated to cost the Canadian economy $1.3-billion annually. And the number of seniors requiring care is expected to double by 2031."

“‘Usually, from work you go home and you have an opportunity to relax,” [Janet Wilson, a manager at Family Service Toronto] said. But it is not the same for caregivers, she said. ‘You are right into another job.’”

The Globe and Mail, January 19, 2015: “Employers want to help caregivers balance responsibilities, report finds," by Gloria Galloway

Employment and Social Development Canada, January 2015: “Report from the Employer Panel for Caregivers - When Work and Caregiving Collide: How Employers Can Support Their Employees Who Are Caregivers”

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Target's Canadian Failure

After two disappointing years, Target is closing all 133 of its Canadian stores. Almost eighteen thousand employees will lose their jobs. Target’s $70-million financial package for employees will provide a minimum of 16 weeks of compensation including wages and benefits.

"Here are some reasons why Target struggled to catch on north of the border:

  1. Empty shelves: The company struggled from the outset to find a proper mix of inventory, often having too much of some products and not enough of others.
  2. The shopping habits of Canadians: Canadians are less accustomed to Target’s model of ‘one-stop shopping’ so popular with consumers in the U.S.
  3. High prices: Target’s Canadian stores had higher prices and lacked the same products as U.S. stores.
  4. Intense competition: Wal-Mart, Shoppers Drug Mart, and Loblaws all stepped up their game.
  5. No online presence: Target’s lack of online shopping in Canada came at a time when rivals like Wal-Mart and Amazon have expanded their online offerings here.”

The Globe and Mail, January 15, 2015: “Missing the mark: Five reasons why Target failed in Canada,” by Tamsin McMahon

The Globe and Mail, January 15, 2015: “Target tries to soften blow with unprecedented employee fund,” by Jeff Gray and Tim Shufelt

In addition to the court-approved $70-million employment trust “Jason Kenney, minister of employment and social development, said the federal government will provide ‘direct assistance’ to affected employees.”

"Kenney said the government will:

  • Offer information sessions to ensure workers know what types of jobs are in demand and where they should look for them.
  • Ensure the workers know what benefits and services are available, including training for in-demand jobs.
  • Provide information on the government’s Job Bank, including Job Alert and Job Match, which connect workers directly with jobs.”

CBC News, January 15, 2015: “Target Canada closure: What you can expect”

Labour experts are much less optimistic, however, and say that the laid-off workers face “grim job prospects.”
The Guardian, January 19, 2015: “Laid off Target workers face grim job prospects, labour experts say”

Target isn’t the only retailer closing its Canadian doors. Since the summer of 2014 Sony, Mexx Canada, Smart Set, Jacob Inc., and Bombay, Bowring & Co. Inc. and Benix & Co. Inc have all gone under, as well.

The Globe and Mail, January 16, 2015: “Retail retreat: Target isn’t the only chain closing up shop in Canada,” by Jeremiah Rodriguez

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Lessons for Southwest Ontario from America's Industrial Heartland

"As oil prices continue to plummet, Ontario has the potential to reclaim its role as the driver of Canada’s economic growth. Adam Radwanski travels to revitalized Rust Belt cities in the U.S., to see how they remade themselves and what we can learn."

"It helps that there are more things in which to take pride than there used to be. The river that caught fire has been cleaned up; old theatres have been restored; the seedy Flats neighbourhood has been replaced as the top nightlife hub by Ohio City, a trendy area that has developed largely around the enormously successful Great Lakes microbrewery."

"At the same time, much of what’s starting to work for this part of the U.S. is its embrace of the character-building aspects of hardscrabble pasts -- something [that] could translate well to a city such as Windsor. It’s an attitude perhaps best embodied by the iconic blast furnaces in Bethlehem, Pa., which sits just down the road from Allentown. ... [They have] became the backdrop for the town’s new arts centre and outdoor concert space; they’re lit up at night, and a walkway is being built along them."

“'Americans crave realness,' [The Hard Way on Purpose author David] Giffels told me, over grilled-cheese sandwiches and craft beers at a bustling downtown Akron diner, and difficult decades had given cities like his a frozen-in-time quality that satisfies that craving.”

"To [urbanologist Richey] Piiparinen, it’s all about capitalizing on an existing identity rather than trying to create a new one."

“‘You don’t want to fetishize grit,’ he says, as we celebrate Rust Belt character with a bit of good old tailgating in his backyard. ‘But you’ve gotta invest in who you are.’”

The Globe and Mail, January 16, 2015: “Rust Belt revival: Lessons for southwest Ontario from America’s industrial heartland,” by Adam Radwanski

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Workplace Pension Plans = Wealthier Canadians

According to a new Statistics Canada study, “Canadians who have workplace pension plans are significantly wealthier than those who do not, refuting suggestions that people without a pension plan will typically save and invest on their own to offset the difference.”

"The agency noted that some prior research has suggested people who do not have workplace pension contributions deducted from their paycheques use the extra funds to save on their own to create comparable retirement income. Statscan’s new report, however, suggest families without pension plans ‘are not fully compensating for their lack of [pension] coverage through increased savings in other assets.’"

"The report suggests the locked-in nature of pension holdings may act ‘as a commitment savings device’ [and] ... people with workplace pension plans maybe ‘differ intrinsically in terms of saving behaviour’ or may have a different approach to investment because of the impact of having a workplace pension plan. The study said it is conceivable workers with ‘a greater predisposition for saving’ may be more likely to join companies that offer pension plans, or companies may be more likely to offer pension plans if they have workers who demand them."

The Globe and Mail, January 15, 2015: “Families with workplace pension plans much wealthier: study,” by Janey McFarland

Statistics Canada’s Insights on Canadian Society, January 15, 2015: “Employer pensions and the wealth of Canadian families,” by Derek Messacar and Rene Morissette (12 pages, PDF)

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Why Working Remotely Makes Sense

Telecommuting, also known as telework or remote working, is on the rise. “A US federal government report said that 47% of its employees (that’s 1,020,034 people -- no, really, more than a million people) were eligible to telework -- a big increase over the year before.”

"So is the office dying? Is the attraction of working from the sofa wearing pyjamas just too strong to resist?"

Here are ten reasons why working remotely makes good business sense (getting to spend the day in your pyjamas didn’t make the list, sadly):

  1. Remote workers are less stressed
  2. Remote workers are well connected
  3. Remote workers cost less
  4. Absenteeism is good
  5. The new agile workplace creates new jobs
  6. Remote working provides choice
  7. Companies benefit from happier remote employees
  8. Remote workers are more engaged
  9. Remote venues are better than the office
  10. Commuting is bad for you

If you need help convincing your boss to let you work from home, see these tips for some direction. Hint: don’t mention pyjamas or napping.

And if your boss still won’t budge, it may be time to quit your job and join one of these companies. Forbes neatly lays out the top 100 companies offering telecommuting jobs in 2015. “The list features companies small to large, offering positions across a range of career categories.” The top seven career fields include medical & health, customer service, sales, computer & IT, administrative, educating & training, and marketing.

TechRepublic, January 19, 2015: “10 good reasons why working remotely makes sense,” by Nick Hardiman

Forbes, January 21, 2015: “Work From Home: The Top 100 Companies Offering Telecommuting Jobs In 2015,” by Laura Shin

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World Employment and Social Outlook -- Trends 2015

"Formerly entitled Global Employment Trends, the World Employment and Social Outlook -- Trends 2015 includes a forecast of global unemployment levels and explains the factors behind this trend, including continuing inequality and falling wage shares. It looks at the drivers of the rising middle class in the developing world as well as the risk of social unrest, especially in areas of elevated youth unemployment. The report addresses structural factors shaping the world of work, including an aging population and shifts in the skills sought by employers.”

Want a quick summary? Watch “The report in 2 minutes" by ILO senior economist Ekkehard Ernst.

International Labour Organization, January 2015: “World Employment and Social Outlook - Trends 2015” [full report can be downloaded here (97 pages, PDF)]

Global Wage Report 2014/15

"The 2014/15 edition examines the link between wages and inequality at the household level. The report also considers wage gaps between certain groups, such as those between women and men, migrants and nationals, and workers in the informal and formal economy." Additionally, the report "emphasizes the need for combined policy action that includes minimum wages, strengthened collective bargaining, interventions to eliminate wage gaps, the promotion of paid employment and redistribution through taxes and transfers."

International Labour Organization, December 5, 2014: “Global Wage Report 2014/15” [full report can be downloaded here 132 pages, PDF)]

The data behind the report can be found here.

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Top 10 Global Risks 2015

The fifth largest threat to the stability of the world in the next 10 years comes from the risk of unemployment and underemployment, according to the 10th edition of the Global Risks report.

"In looking at global risks in terms of their potential impact, the nearly 900 experts that took part in the Global Risk Perception Survey rated water crises as the greatest risk facing the world." Unemployment and underemployment fell to the number nine spot.

The report also “examines the interconnections between risks, as well as how they interplay with trends shaping the short- to medium-term risk landscape. It also offers analysis of three specific cases which emerge from the interconnections maps: the interplay between geopolitics and economics, the risks related to rapid and unplanned urbanization in developing countries and one on emerging technologies.”

Report highlights:

Download the full report here (69 pages, PDF).

World Economic Forum, January 15, 2015: “Top 10 global risks 2015,” by Oliver Cann

World Economic Forum -- Global Risks 2015 [website]

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Book of the Week

Heavy Work Investment: Its Nature, Sources, Outcomes and Future Directions, edited by Itzhak Harpaz and Raphael Snir. New York : Routledge, 2015. 388 p. ISBN 9780415835060 (pbk.)

From the publisher: The book deals with the concept of Heavy Work Investment (HWI) recently initiated by Snir and Harpaz. Since its introduction the interest in the general HWI model has increased considerably. The book illustrates the development of HWI conceptualization, theory, and research. It deals with the foremost HWI subtype of workaholism. However, it also compares workaholism as a 'negative' HWI subtype with work devotion/passion/engagement, as a 'positive' HWI subtype. Most importantly, it addresses HWI in general, including its possible situational subtypes. In view of Snir and Harpaz's claim that the study of situational heavy work investors is relatively scarce, this certainly constitutes a promising step in the right direction. Finally, it deals with timely and important topics examined by prominent international researchers on Heavy Work Investment and such issues as: personality factors of workaholism, work-life balance, cross-cultural similarities and differences in HWI, work addiction and technology, HWI and retirement, and intergenerational similarity in work investment."

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