Perry Work Report: work&labour news&research, September 18, 2015

September 18, 2015

Welcome back!
The Perry Work Report returns with a round-up of news and research from the summer months.

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Evaluating Canada's Economic Record Under the Harper Government

A study was recently released by Unifor “looking into how the economic performance of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservatives stacks up against other Canadian governments since the Second World War.”

“Its author, Unifor’s Jim Stanford, is no slouch. The study has the appearance of a thorough statistical analysis, and it addresses an important question in the election campaign. Mr. Harper’s government will argue that while the economy has certainly hit the skids this year, its overall record of economic management since coming to power in 2006 has been impressive.”

“The study thoroughly debunks the Conservatives’ claim. Having examined 16 economic indicators with extensive data for each, the report concludes that the Conservatives have the worst record of all our governments in the postwar years. ‘The Harper government ranked last or second last in 13 of the 16 indicators,’ said Mr. Stanford, who did the study with economist Jordan Brennan.”

“Out of nine governments studied -- it didn’t include governments like John Turner’s, that lasted less than a year -- the Harper government finished last in job creation, last in exports, seventh in government debt, second last in personal income growth per capita, in business investment, in youth employment. All indicators were measured using annual data from 1946 through 2014, as obtained from Statistics Canada and other public sources.”

“The Conservatives will argue that labour’s bias against them makes Mr. Stanford’s report unreliable. But there’s a lot of hard statistical data in it that makes it difficult to refute.”

The Globe and Mail, August 3, 2015: “Some hard numbers from Harper’s soft economy,” by Lawrence Martin

Unifor, July 2015: “Evaluating Canada’s Economic Record Under the Harper Government,” by Jim Staford (66 pages, PDF)

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Conservatives Pass Bill C-377 With 'Draconian Steps'

Sid Ryan, president of the Ontario Federation of Labour, “is upset with the passing of Bill C-377, the Conservatives’ controversial private member’s bill that forces labour unions to publicly disclose how they spend their money.”

“The bill, sponsored by Conservative MP Russ Hiebert and backed strongly by the Prime Minister’s Office, gained Senate approval Tuesday [June 30, 2015] and requires unions to publicly disclose any spending of $5,000 or more and any salary of more than $100,000. Unions will have to provide that information to the Canada Revenue Agency, which would publicly post the information to its website.”

“Conservatives argued the bill will shed light on union finances. Ryan called it ‘a blatant attack’ on unions. ‘It’s punitive. Nobody else is expected to do this,’ he said.”

CBC News, July 2, 2015: “Union disclosure Bill C-377 angers Ontario Federation of Labour”

Canadian Foundation for Labour Rights, June 30, 2015: “Conservatives use anti-democratic tactics to pass Bill C-377“

CBC News, June 30, 2015: “'Draconian steps’ used to move along anti-union bill“

openparliament.ca -- “Bill C-377: An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (requirements for labour organizations)“ [website]

“If you read through the text of the legislation, it’s clear that this is an exercise in political harassment rather than an attempt at transparency. And, it was passed by people who either don’t understand or don’t care how burdensome it will be to implement; not just for labour organizations but also for the government.”

“C-377 is meant to stop unions from engaging in political action despite the fact that unions only exist to engage in political action. Fighting for fair and decent working conditions is a political struggle. Prohibiting them from taking political action is to stop unions from doing what they exist to do.“

rabble.ca, July 2, 2015: “Newly passed anti-labour bill seeks to eliminate unions, not enforce transparency,” by Nora Loreto 

Stikeman and Elliot, Canadian Securities Law, September 9, 2015: “Bill C-377 may inadvertently impose costly reporting requirements on investment funds,” by Jonathan Willson and Kathleen Elhatton-Lake 

Constitutional Conflicts 

“In the United States, labour relations fall under federal jurisdiction, whereas in Canada, it is a provincial matter. That is why Bill C-377 is filed as an amendment to the Income Tax Act.”

“According to Associate Professor of Labour and Employment Law at York University David Doorey’s analysis of the bill, this classification error could leave C-377 open to a constitutional challenge.” 

“U.S. financial disclosure laws also require employers to disclose when they have spent money on union-busting, such as hiring an anti-union consultant to squash an organizing drive.”

“There is no equivalent under Canadian law, but C-377 does force unions to disclose the amount of time and resources that union staff have spent on “political activities, lobbying activities and other non-labour relations activities.”
“Doorey points out that not only is this provision onerous, one-sided, and ill-defined, it may reach outside the purview of what is constitutionally acceptable under federal tax law. No other type of organization is required to make these kinds of disclosures.”

rabble.ca, July 10, 2015: “Unions will challenge Bill C-377 first in the election, then in the courts”, by Ella Bedard

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Leaving Some Behind: What Happens When Workers Get Sick

“Only about 56 per cent of Canadians are covered by private disability insurance, a situation that leaves a large number of workers exposed to a confusing and often inadequate system of coverage, according to a new study.”

“The report for the Montreal-based Institute for Research into Public Policy calls on government and insurers to fill the big gaps in the disability income system.”

“Among the problems: 

  • Differences among the provinces on job protection and sick leave entitlement. 
  • Public sector programs that leave workers to fend for themselves for significant periods of time. 
  • Rigid definitions of ‘disability’ which don’t accommodate people with chronic or recurring conditions.”

“As the workforce ages, employees are more likely to experience periods of sickness as older workers are more likely to suffer from diabetes, cancer and other conditions. That means higher costs for employers, who are already trying to keep benefit costs in check, says Tyler Meredith, research director for IRPP and co-author of the study.”

CBC News, September 3, 2015: “Sickness benefits need an overhaul for aging workforce: study“

Institute for Research on Public Policy, September 3, 2015: “Leaving Some Behind: What Happens When Workers Get Sick,” by Tyler Meredith and Colin Chia (click here to download the 42-page PDF version of the full report)

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The Ontario Retirement Pension Plan

Quick Facts 

  • “Pension coverage is lower for young workers than for any other age group. In 2012, only about one quarter of workers aged 25 to 34 participated in a workplace pension plan, compared to nearly half of workers aged 45 to 54.”
  • “The ORPP would aim to replace 15 per cent of an individual’s earnings, up to $90,000 (in 2014 dollars).”
  • “Consistent with other pension plans in Ontario, the costs of administering the ORPP would be covered by the plan, not taxpayers. Contributions and investment funds would be held in trust for ORPP beneficiaries and would not form part of general government revenues.“
  • “ If approved, the ORPP would come into effect on January 1, 2017, and would be overseen by an arm’s-length administration corporation with a strong governance structure.”

Ontario Ministry of Finance, August 11, 2015: “The Ontario Retirement Pension: Plan Comparability, Phase-in and Benefits” Ontario Government -- Ontario Retirement Pension Plan [website]

Ontario Retirement Pension Plan: Losers and Winners  

The Losers

  • People who want to opt out
  • Workers making minimum wage: “’The closer you are to the poverty line the harder it will be to afford,’ [Lauchlan] Munro said of the ORPP. ‘It is an issue.’”
  • Small businesses with tight profit margins: “The Canadian Federation of Independent Business says most small businesses in Ontario are against the proposal. ‘Our members are telling us they are looking at cutting the number of positions they have, or at least not hiring as much as they would have liked to,’ Corinne Pohlmann, CFIB’s senior vice-president of national affairs, told CBC News Network. She said the ORPP could discourage entrepreneurship.”

 

The Winners

  • Businesses that plan early: "’It’s a modest pension,’ said [University of Toronto Rotman director emeritus Keith] Ambachtsheer. ‘When you think of it from the employer point of view, 1.9 per cent of pay phased in over a three-year period, that’s not a huge bite. I think it’s an overblown issue.’”
  • Middle class workers not saving because of inertia: “People value today more than they value tomorrow. ‘It’s inertia. The argument the government would make is that this is a way of overcoming that inertia,’ Ambachtsheer said. "That you’re helping people do what they should already be doing on their own.’”
  • Status quo: “There are many people that the ORPP won’t affect at all. Retired Canadians and those approaching retirement age ... [and those who are] self-employed.... Employees who have workplace pension plans ‘comparable’ to the ORPP will not be eligible.”

CBC News, August 14, 2015: “Ontario Retirement Pension Plan: Who loses, who wins,” by Erin Obourn

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The Best & Worst Places to Be a Woman in Canada 2015 and Report on the Status of Women in Canada

“A new study says life is better for women who live in cities such as Victoria, Gatineau, Que., and Montreal compared with Edmonton, Calgary and Ontario’s Waterloo Region.”

“Victoria sits atop a list of 25 Canadian cities that are ranked in a study done by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and the research says a strong gap remains between the sexes among five areas examined: economic security, education, health, leadership and personal security. “

“’This was a way to draw attention to the gender gap,’ said study author Kate McInturff, who based her research on Statistics Canada survey data. ‘There are solutions out there. We could really improve women’s lives across the country.'”

“McInturff said cities in Quebec fare better on average than cities in other provinces -- which she attributes to policies that help women, such as cheap and accessible daycare that allows more women to re-enter the workforce after childbirth, thereby leading to a higher employment rate for women. [Additionally,] cities where many jobs are in the public sector, such as Victoria and Gatineau, perform better because of the inherent transparency.“

Download the full report (PDF, 62 pages).

CBC News, July 15, 2015: “For women, life is better in Victoria, Gatineau, Quebec City, Montreal, new study says”

CBC News, July 15, 2015: “Halifax scores high in best, worst cities for women, except in wages,” by Allison Devereaux

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, July 15, 2015: “The Best and Worst Places to Be a Woman in Canada 2015,” by Kate McInturff

Grim Report on the Status of Women in Canada 

“Canada is falling behind the developed world in women's equality, as poverty rates climb for elderly single women and for single-parent families headed by women, says an internal report by Status of Women Canada.”

“According to the report, this country is in the bottom ranks in terms of the pay gap between men and women; support for child care and parental leave is well below average; the country registers 57th for gender equality in Parliament's elected members; and it lacks a national strategy to halt violence against women.” 

"The candid assessment, never intended for public release, is dated Feb. 10 this year and was ordered by the Privy Council Office to alert deputy ministers across many departments about issues facing women and girls in Canada."

“‘When it comes to the salary gap between the sexes, women have hit a brick wall,’ says the report. ‘A huge number of women have just been washed out of the whole safety net and pushed into part-time, self-employment [and] contract work,’ said [Kathleen Lahey, law professor at Queen's University], in validating the findings.”

Read the full Status of Women presentation document (32 pages, PDF)

CBC News, September 9, 2015: “Secret Status of Women report paints grim picture for Canada,” by Dean Beeby

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Gender Diversity Disclosure Practices

“Effective December 31, 2014, Canadian issuers in participating provinces ... became subject to new disclosure requirements with respect to the representation of women on boards and in senior management positions. The overall picture is disappointing.”

“This first year of compliance with new disclosure requirements reflects significant areas of non-compliance, low representation of women on boards and executive officer positions in companies listed on Canada’s senior stock exchange, and virtually no goals or targets for women in senior executive positions.”

“In addition to our survey results, we also examine the disclosure requirements that apply to management information circulars and annual information forms, and look at global trends, outlining the legislative steps taken to increase the representation of women on boards in countries such as Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States.”

Osler, August 14, 2015: “Women in Leadership Roles at TSX-Listed Companies: Diversity Disclosure Practices,” by Andrew MacDougall

The Washington Post, August 12, 2015: “These are the 12 major companies that still don’t have women on their boards,” by Jena McGregor 

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R.I.P Batgirl: Caped Crusader for Equality and Fair Pay

“She was the object of countless boys’ lust as the original sexy sixties Batgirl, but for a generation of girls, actor Yvonne Craig was much more: a smart role model in high-heeled boots and an early campaigner for equal rights and fair pay.” Craig passed away yesterday, August 19, 2015.

“Australian author Tara Moss was one of many to describe her as a ‘pioneer of female superheroes’, for her dual role as studious librarian Barbara Gordon turned fearless Batgirl, who was often called upon to rescue Batman and Robin, at the last minute and without breaking a sweat. Craig acknowledged the duality of the role, saying in a later interview that she was cast 'because they needed someone who could encourage an over-40 male audience and a pre-pubescent female audience. That’s the real reason why they hired me!’”

“Post-Batman, Craig appeared in Star Trek, The Six Million Dollar Man, Mod Squad, Starsky and Hutch and Kojak, continuing to take her role model status seriously. In 1974, she appeared in a public service announcement for the US labour department for the Equal Pay for Equal Work campaign. Clad once again in her purple and gold crime fighting suit, Craig as Batgirl bursts through the door of the deserted warehouse to find Batman and Robin tied to a pole, with a bomb ticking. Before she’ll free the pair, she reminds Batman about her lack of pay.”

Batgirl: I’ve worked for you for a long time, and and I’m paid less than Robin.

Robin: Holy discontent!

Batgirl: Same job, same employer means equal pay for men and women.

“It was to be her final appearance as Batgirl. She retired from acting in the 70s but continued to campaign for equal rights and pay for women. She also lent her support to a campaign for free mammograms for women who couldn’t afford them. Craig died following complications from breast cancer. She was 78.”

The Guardian, August 20, 2015: “Yvonne Craig: Batgirl star was a caped crusader for equality and fair pay,” by Alexandra Spring

The New York Times, August 18, 2015: “Readers Share Their Pay-Gap Experiences,” by Marie Tessier

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Winning Women's Soccer Team Paid 40 Times Less Than Losing Men

“In the Women’s World Cup, the USA soccer team took the championship against Japan on Sunday [July 5, 2015] just not with their pocketbooks. In fact, they are being paid 40 times less than their male counterparts.”

The “National Women’s Soccer League salaries range from $6,000 to $30,000 and teams often have a salary cap of $200,000. The Men’s League Soccer league salary cap clocked in at $3.1 million last year, and the total payout for the women’s World Cup will be just $15 million compared to the men’s $576 million sum.”

“Women’s soccer isn’t the only sport underpaying players according to gender. In tennis, the PGA tournament prize money, $250 million, is five times the amount of the women’s LPGA, $50 million. In 2013 the WNBA’s salary minimum was just under $38,000, and the team’s salary cap was $913,000. On the other hand, the NBA salary minimum was $490,180, the team salary cap was $58.7 million, and players like Kobe Bryant alone make $25 million per year.“

Jezebel, July 6, 2015: “Winning Women’s Soccer Team Paid 40 Times Less Than Men Who Lose,” by Hillary Crosley Coker

Politico, July 6, 2015: “The World Cup pay gap: What the U.S. and Japan didn’t win in the women’s soccer final,” by Mary Pilon

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What If We Achieved Real Equality for Women?

“Today marks 95 years since the passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, and 44 years since Congress designated its anniversary Women’s Equality Day. This gives us the opportunity to consider how far we’ve come, how far we have to go, and envision what the world would look like if women attained full equality.”

“The Institute for Women’s Policy Research finds that if working women were paid the same as men of the same age with similar education and hours of work then the US economy would have produced additional income of $447.6 billion in 2014. The average incomes of families with a working woman would increase by $7,078 annually and poverty rates would fall dramatically.”

“To achieve this, lawmakers must enact policies to combat overt discrimination such as the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. But that’s not enough. We must also uproot the structural factors that prevent women from pursuing and attaining the same career opportunities as men [such as paid leave].”

“... [W]omen’s equality also demands that we work for a world where the jobs that employ a majority of women are no longer so poorly paid. Strategies that target poor conditions in ... disproportionately female occupations are needed, as are those that increase women’s opportunities in higher-paid, male-dominated jobs.”

“In his 2014 State of the Union address, President Obama declared: ‘when women succeed, America succeeds.’ Achieving genuine equality would lift up the entire nation.”

Demos PolicyShop Blog, August 26, 2015: “What If We Achieved Real Equality for Women?,” by Amy Traub

The Union Advantage for Women in the USA

“This briefing paper presents an analysis of women’s union membership and the union wage and benefit advantage for women by state and by race/ethnicity. It is based on an analysis of the Current Population Survey. Wage and benefit data are for all workers covered by a union contract, irrespective of their membership in a union.”

Institute for Women’s Policy Research, August 2015: “The Union Advantage for Women” (16 pages, PDF)

Institute for Women’s Policy Research -- The Status of Women and Girls [website and full report]

Click here to view other recent research from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

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Perils of Non-Standard Work Schedules Extend to Children's Well-Being

“A growing body of research suggests that children’s language and problem-solving skills may suffer as a result of their parents’ problematic schedules, and that they may be more likely than other children to smoke and drink when they are older.”

“’Young children and adolescents of parents working unpredictable schedules or outside standard daytime working hours are more likely to have inferior cognitive and behavioral outcomes,’ the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal advocacy group, said [August 6, 2015] in a report.”

Additional research by Prof. Wen-Jui Han of New York University has also “found that children of mothers who worked nonstandard schedules performed lower on problem-solving, verbal comprehension and spoken language tests than children of mothers who worked traditional schedules. Part of the explanation, she concluded, was increased stress on the part of the parents.”

“’Parents try their best to attend to their children in a sensitive and warm manner, but the physical and emotional exhaustion from nonstandard schedules makes it difficult,” Professor Han said in an interview.”

“Another key issue, she found, was access to quality child care. Children whose mothers worked nonstandard schedules during their first year of life were significantly less likely to be enrolled in professional day care centers throughout early childhood. This type of child care setting, she noted in the paper, tends to be associated with better cognitive development than informal arrangements like relying on extended family members, a frequent alternative.”

The New York Times, August 12, 2015: “The Perils of Ever-Changing Work Schedules Extend to Children’s Well-Being,” by Noam Scheiber

ThinkProgress, August 27, 2015: “Gap Will End Scheduling Practices That Wreak Havoc On Workers’ Lives,” by Bryce Covert

Economic Policy Institute, August 6, 2015: “Parents’ Non-Standard Work Schedules Make Adequate Childrearing Difficult: Reforming Labor Market Practices Can Improve Children’s Cognitive and Behavioral Outcomes,” by Leila Morsy and Richard Rothstein

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Inside Amazon: Wrestling Big Ideas in a Bruising Workplace

“On Monday mornings, fresh recruits line up for an orientation intended to catapult them into Amazon’s singular way of working.”

“They are told to forget the ‘poor habits’ they learned at previous jobs, one employee recalled. When they ‘hit the wall’ from the unrelenting pace, there is only one solution: ‘Climb the wall,’ others reported. To be the best Amazonians they can be, they should be guided by the leadership principles, 14 rules inscribed on handy laminated cards. When quizzed days later, those with perfect scores earn a virtual award proclaiming, ‘I’m Peculiar’ --- the company’s proud phrase for overturning workplace conventions.”

“At Amazon, workers are encouraged to tear apart one another’s ideas in meetings, toil long and late (emails arrive past midnight, followed by text messages asking why they were not answered), and held to standards that the company boasts are ‘unreasonably high.’ The internal phone directory instructs colleagues on how to send secret feedback to one another’s bosses. Employees say it is frequently used to sabotage others. (The tool offers sample texts, including this: ‘I felt concerned about his inflexibility and openly complaining about minor tasks.’)”

“The company, founded and still run by Jeff Bezos, rejects many of the popular management bromides that other corporations at least pay lip service to and has instead designed what many workers call an intricate machine propelling them to achieve Mr. Bezos’ ever-expanding ambitions.”

“‘This is a company that strives to do really big, innovative, groundbreaking things, and those things aren’t easy,’ said Susan Harker, Amazon’s top recruiter. ‘When you’re shooting for the moon, the nature of the work is really challenging. For some people it doesn’t work.’”

“Nearly every person I worked with, I saw cry at their desk.” Bo Olson, worked in books marketing

“I would see people practically combust.” Liz Pearce, worked on Amazon’s wedding registry

“The joke in the office was that when it came to work/life balance, work came first, life came second, and trying to find the balance came last.” Jason Merkoski worked on projects including Kindle and the Fire TV device. Employed at Amazon 2006 to 2010, then again in 2014.

“When you have so much turnover, the risk is that people are seen as fungible. You know that tomorrow you’re going to look around and some people are going to have left the company or been managed out.” Amy Michaels worked in advertising and marketing, 2012-2014

The New York Times, August 15, 2015: “Inside Amazon: Wrestling Big Ideas in a Bruising Workplace,” by Jodi Kantor and David Streitfeld

The New York Times, August 17, 2015: “Jeff Bezos and Amazon Employees Join Debate Over Its Culture,” by Jodi Kantor and David Streitfeld

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The Labor Ruling McDonald's Has Been Dreading Just Became a Reality

“McDonald’s, Burger King and every other company that relies on a franchise business model just suffered the legal setback they’ve been fearing for years.”

“The National Labor Relations Board ruled on [August 27, 2015] that Browning Ferris Industries, a waste management company, qualifies as a ‘joint employer’ alongside one of its subcontractors. The decision effectively loosens the standards for who can be considered a worker’s boss under labor law, and its impact will be felt in any industry that relies on franchising or outsourcing work. McDonald’s, for instance, could now find itself forced to sit at the bargaining table with workers employed by a franchisee managing one of its restaurants.”

“That’s a big deal. In the case of McDonald’s, roughly 90 percent of its locations are actually run by franchisees, who are typically considered the workers’ employers. One of the main reasons companies choose to franchise or to outsource work to staffing agencies is to shift workplace responsibilities onto someone else. But if a fast-food brand or a hotel chain can be deemed a ‘joint employer’ along with the smaller company, it can be dragged into labor disputes and negotiations that it conveniently wouldn’t have to worry about otherwise. In theory, such a precedent could even make it easier for workers to unionize as employees under the larger parent company.”

“Labor unions and worker advocacy groups have been hoping for just such a decision. In their view, since companies like McDonald’s influence the working conditions in their franchised stores, they should be legally accountable to the workers who wear their logos, even if it’s a franchisee that’s technically signing the paychecks. Bringing companies at the top of the contracting chain to the table will help restore corporate responsibility in a ‘fissured economy‘, advocates say.“

The Huffington Post, August 27, 2015: “The Labor Ruling McDonald’s Has Been Dreading Just Became A Reality,” by Dave Jamieson

The New York Times, August 27, 2015: “Labor Board Says Contractors’ Workers Can Bargain With Parent Company,” by Noam Scheiber

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NLRB Rejects Northwestern Football Players' Union Bid

“The National Labor Relations Board on [August 17, 2015] dismissed a petition by Northwestern football players who were seeking to unionize, effectively denying their claim that they are university employees and should be allowed to collectively bargain. In a unanimous decision that was a clear victory for the college sports establishment, the five-member board declined to exert its jurisdiction in the case and preserved, for now, one of the N.C.A.A.’s core principles: that college athletes are primarily students.”

“The board did not rule directly on the central question in the case -- whether the players, who spend long hours on football and help generate millions of dollars for Northwestern, are university employees. Instead, it found that the novelty of the petition and its potentially wide-ranging impacts on college sports would not have promoted ‘stability in labor relations.’”

“The decision is a blow to the union movement in college sports, which was led by the former Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter and backed by the College Athletes Players Association, a United Steelworkers-supported group that sought to represent the players. The group could sue to force the N.L.R.B. to exert jurisdiction in the case, but the little-used option would be akin to a Hail Mary pass.”

“Chief among the board’s reasons for declining to consider the case were the complexities of an N.C.A.A. in which one team might be unionized while others were not, and whether a union would negotiate terms that conflicted with the association’s rules. The N.L.R.B., which has jurisdiction only over the private sector, was also reluctant to wade into territory that could have raised implications for public universities.”

The New York Times, August 17, 2015: “N.L.R.B. Rejects Northwestern Football Players’ Union Bid,” by Ben Strauss 

The Wall Street Journal, August 21, 2015: “Should College Athletes Be Paid? The Fight Is Far From Over,” by Robert Litan

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Unemployment in the EU & OECD Employment Outlook 2015

“Unemployment in the euro zone and the whole European Union has been inching down for many months, adding to signs of economic recovery, but remains well above levels recorded before the start of the financial crisis in 2008. The slow decline in current unemployment levels and the fact that, even before the crisis, unemployment was much higher in the EU than in many other regions of the world are attributed by some economists to certain labour market issues. High joblessness, especially among young people, is now considered a major social and economic problem, prompting calls for reform. Boosting what is the still sluggish economic growth and increasing the number of jobs are a key priority for European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. This note highlights a selection of commentaries and studies by major international think tanks and research institutes on labour market issues, with hyperlinks to the texts concerned.”

See the note here: Unemployment in the EU (2 pages, PDF)

European Parliament, June 26, 2015: “Unemployment in the EU [What Think Tanks are thinking]”

OECD Employment Outlook 2015

“The 2015 edition of the OECD Employment Outlook provides an in-depth review of recent labour market trends and short-term prospects in OECD countries.“

OECD, July 9, 2015: “OECD Employment Outlook 2015"

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Book of the Week

Economics for Everyone: A Short Guide to the Economics of Capitalism, by Jim Stanford ; illustrations by Tony Biddle. 2nd edition. London : Pluto, 2015. 417 p. ISBN 9780745335773 (pbk.)

From the publisher: "Economics is too important to be left to the economists. This concise and readable book provides non-specialist readers with all the information they need to understand how capitalism works (and how it doesn't). Economics for Everyone, now published in second edition, is an antidote to the abstract and ideological way that economics is normally taught and reported. Key concepts such as finance, competition and wages are explored, and their importance to everyday life is revealed. Stanford answers questions such as "Do workers need capitalists?", "Why does capitalism harm the environment?", and "What really happens on the stock market?" The book will appeal to those working for a fairer world, and students of social sciences who need to engage with economics. It is illustrated with humorous and educational cartoons by Tony Biddle, and is supported with a comprehensive set of web-based course materials for popular economics courses."

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