Perry Work Report: work&labour news&research, March 4, 2016

March 4, 2016

Announcements:

The 35th Annual Sefton-Williams Lecture

The Annual Sefton-Williams Memorial Lecture will be held on Thursday, March 31st, 2016. The Sefton-Williams Award will be presented to Olivia Chow.

Speaker: Dr. David Weil, Administrator, Wage and Hour Division, US Department of Labor

Dr. David Weil from the US Department of Labour will be joining both Woodsworth College and the Centre for Industrial Relations & Human Resources for a lecture on The Fissured Workplace: Is there still a Role for Labour Policy in the new World of Work? 

This event is presented by the Center of Industrial Relations and Human Resources, Woodsworth College, and Closing the Gap. Register here.

Upcoming Seminar Hosted by the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources

Thursday, March 10th, 2016
Speaker: Angela Hildyard, Vice-President, Human Resources & Equity
Title: Hard Bargains and Labour Relations on Campus: The Life of a University Negotiator
Time: 12 Noon -- 1:00 p.m.
Location: Waters Lounge, Woodsworth Residence -- 321 Bloor Street West (corner of St. George and Bloor St. West)

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

Redesigning Canadian Trade Policies for New Global Realities

"Thirty leading academics, government researchers and practitioners from Canada and abroad analyze how changes in global commerce, technology, and shifting economic and geopolitical power are affecting Canada, and what this means for policy. Some chapters will be prereleased before the book is available.”

Institute for Research on Public Policy, August 8, 2015: “Redesigning Canadian Trade Policies for New Global Realities”

Chapters available online:

  • “International Trade with Firm Heterogeneity: Recent Theoretical Developments and Policy Implications,” by Beverly Lapham (41 pages, PDF)
  • “Trade and Productivity: Insights from Canadian Firm-Level Data,” by John Baldwin and Beiling Yan (20 pages, PDF)
  • “Global Value Chains and the Rise of a Supply Chain Mindset,” by Ari Van Assche (30 pages, PDF)
  • “Leveraging Global Supply Chains in Canadian Trade Policy,” by Emily Blanchard (23 pages, PDF)
  • “Chasing the Chain: Canada’s Pursuit of Global Value Chains,” by Dan Koldyk, Lewis M. Quinn and Todd Evans (34 pages, PDF)
  • “New International Evidence on Canada’s Participation in Global Value Chains,” by Koen De Backer and Sebastien Miroudot (34 pages, PDF)
  • “By Road, Rail, Sea and Air: The Role of Transportation Networks in Moving Canada’s Merchandise Trade,” by Jacques Roy (32 pages, PDF)
  • “International Regulatory Cooperation in a Supply Chain World,” by Bernard Hoekman (34 pages, PDF)
  • “Trade and Sustainable Development,” by Scott Vaughan (12 pages, PDF)

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Perspectives on Ontario's New Post-Secondary Tuition Grant

“The government is taking money from the ‘30 per cent off Ontario tuition’ grant, Ontario Student Opportunity Grant, Ontario Access Grants and other OSAP grants to introduce a single upfront grant."

“The most obvious reason for skepticism is that this new policy doesn’t come into effect until 2017, the same year that the tuition fee increase cap of three per cent is set to expire. This offers the perfect opening for tuition fees to be increased as high as the government wants them to go. What’s the problem, if students are then going to receive grants to offset these increases?”

“It’s a system that many institutions try to employ in the United States. It’s how Ontario’s patchwork childcare system works. It hides behind progressive language to justify full-blown privatization of higher education in Ontario.”

“The problem with this system is that people will always fall through the cracks. From students who have been kicked out of their homes to students from families whose parents make $25,000 and $26,000 annually, it’s a system that you can make work on paper but that has never proven to be a viable progressive option anywhere in the world.”

Rabble, February 26, 2016: “Ontario Liberal promise of free tuition could usher in long-held dream of privatizing the system,” by Nora Leto

Ontario Ministry of Finance, February 29, 2016: “2016 Ontario Budget”

Vice, February 26, 2016: “Ontario’s Free Tuition Promise Doesn’t Really Work For All Students With Broke Parents,” by Jake Kivanc

“The government’s math is based on the idea that average undergraduate university tuition costs $6,160. According to Statistics Canada, average undergraduate tuition in Ontario is currently $7,868. That leaves a $1,700 gap without even counting the tuition increase of roughly four per cent scheduled for 2017.”

“It’s the same story for colleges. Ontario’s math requires college tuition to be $2,768. According to Colleges Ontario, while average tuition is $2,400 for diploma programs, it’s $3,600 for graduate certificate programs, $5,000 for collaborative programs and $6,100 for bachelor’s programs.”

“Minister for Training Colleges and Universities Reza Moridi has an explanation for the discrepancy: Ontario doesn’t count more expensive programs when determining its average. For colleges the government only counts diploma programs. For universities the government only counts tuition fees in arts and science programs, leaving out the more costly tuition fees in professional programs such as engineering.”

“'Engineering students have to pay a little more. Arts and science students, it will be completely free for them,' says Moridi. Moridi defended the use of the lower figures by saying: 'They have to use a figure, so that’s the figure they have been using in the ministry.'"

Maclean’s, February 26, 2016: “Ontario’s ‘free tuition’ promise doesn’t add up,” by Zane Schwartz

Statistics Canada The Daily, September 9, 2015: “University tuition fees, 2015/2016“

Colleges Ontario: “Paying for College: Tuition and Financial Assistance“

“The changes to financial aid ushered in by Thursday’s Ontario budget are an experiment that will take years to play out and will have to be followed by other intensive investments if accessibility is to be improved, experts say.”

“Although many experts are enthusiastic that the government replaced a generation’s worth of complicated tax credits, loans and grants with one upfront grant, they also say the changes are only a first step.”

“Once tuition and aid are looked after, students’ motivation and relationship to the secondary-school system will have to be addressed.”

“If students think they belong in higher education, they are more likely to work toward it. That is why [Fiona Deller, an executive director at the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario, an educational think tank of the Ontario government] believes that for low-income students, knowing tuition will be covered makes a difference.”

The Globe and Mail, February 26, 2016: “Ontario’s new post-secondary tuition grant is just a first step, experts say,” by Simona Chiose

The Globe and Mail, February 26, 2016: “Free tuition -- but for whom? Charting Ontario students’ fiscal landscape,” by Evan Annett and Tom Cardoso

The Globe and Mail, March 1, 2016: “Amounts of Ontario student grants will rise with inflation, tuition: minister”

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Clean Technology for Smart Prosperity

"A group of prominent business leaders -- including Ottawa’s growth guru Dominic Barton -- is urging Canada to accelerate the transition to a cleaner, lower-carbon economy by pursuing a society-wide game plan that includes carbon pricing.”

“Smart Prosperity is founded by a coalition of 26 corporate executives, environmental activists, First Nations representatives and labour and community leaders. They include Galen Weston, executive chairman of Loblaw Cos. Ltd.; Darren Entwistle, chief executive at Telus Corp.; former Shell Canada president Lorraine Mitchelmore; and Mr. Barton, who runs the consulting giant McKinsey & Co. and heads Ottawa’s newly created Advisory Council on Economic Growth.”

“In a report to be released with [the March 1, 2016] launch, the fledgling think tank forecasts that the global demand for clean-technology goods and services will be $2-trillion in 2020. Canada’s share of that market has declined in recent years, while the country also ranks near the bottom among industrialized states on water, energy and resource productivity – which means it uses more for every unit of GDP than its global competitors.”

“The coalition lays out five key actions the country needs to take: accelerate clean innovation, boost energy and resource efficiency, put a price on pollution and waste, invest in advanced infrastructure, and conserve and value nature. It lists recommendations for businesses, cities, federal and provincial governments, and consumers in pursuit of those actions, and will track progress on them over the next decade.”

The Globe and Mail, February 29, 2016: “Group of business leaders calls for quicker transition to green economy,” by Shawn McCarthy

Smart Prosperity, February 25, 2016: “New Thinking: Canada’s Roadmap to Smart Prosperity: Executive Summary"

Smart Prosperity, February 2016: “New Thinking: Canada’s Roadmap to Smart Prosperity" (76 pages, PDF)

Smart Prosperity [website]

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Fourth Industrial Revolution Comes to Canada

“Certainly, on its most basic level, the [Ontario] budget explains where the money is coming from and where it will go. But the document is also a tangible expression of Ontario’s government values and the direction it wants for the province’s economy.”

“One of the best examples is in a little-noticed segment on manufacturing. Hiding in plain sight on Page 8 is funding for a new initiative. If properly played, this line item holds the potential to propel Ontario, and Canada, to the forefront of a major trend reshaping global manufacturing.”

“The budget supports an Advanced Manufacturing Consortium being formed between McMaster University in Hamilton, Western University in London and the University of Waterloo.”

“If properly played, this line item holds the potential to propel Ontario, and Canada, to the forefront of a major trend reshaping global manufacturing.”

“Many call this the fourth industrial revolution -- Industry 4.0. Empowered by the 'Internet of Things,' it’s the next phase in the evolution of manufacturing and with it, everything changes. Everything.”

“Industry 4.0 breaks down barriers. It brings together emerging technologies and trends -- for example, huge increases in connectivity, data volume, data integration, computational power, predictive modelling -- and gives us powerful new tools. Some are not yet ready for application at scale, but many are at a point where reliability and costs are creating industrial opportunities.”

The Globe and Mail, March 1, 2016: “The future of manufacturing, revealed in an Ontario budget line item,” by Greg Mordue

Ontario Ministry of Finance, February 29, 2016: “2016 Ontario Budget”

“Three of the top research-intensive and industrially collaborative universities in Ontario -- McMaster University, University of Waterloo and Western University -- received $35 million in funding over five years from the Government of Ontario today as part of a $50 million project aimed at combining existing strengths in the heart of Ontario’s manufacturing region to create an Advanced Manufacturing Consortium.”

“The Consortium is meant to lead Ontario in advanced manufacturing in the broadest sense, including in emerging sectors like next-generation additive manufacturing, digital components and devices, across a variety of sectors with the potential to make significant impact on a global scale. The three partner institutions have already established a significant critical mass of infrastructure, talent and know-how.”

Waterloo News, February 25, 2016: “Three Ontario universities receive funding to create Advanced Manufacturing Consortium”

McMaster Innovation Park: “McMaster University Automotive Resource Centre (MARC)”

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Canada's Second Hand Economy

“Despite the acceptance that the second-hand economy is an important source of economic activity in Canada, little is known about participation in this economy and its magnitude. This is why the Second-Hand Economy Index is so significant -- it allows us to generate important insights about the second-hand economy and its contribution to Canadians’ economic well-being.”

“The second annual survey results, (Kijiji sponsors the index), reinforce the perception that the second-hand economy is an important source of economic activity. Over all, it is estimated that the value of the direct and indirect effects of the second-hand economy are up to $36-billion. In addition, nearly 85 per cent of Canadians have participated in second-hand trades, which is more than the proportion that participate in Canada’s labour force.”

“A significant finding from the survey is that the direct effects related to second-hand transactions do not represent activity that has simply been shifted away from the market for new goods. A full two-thirds of second-hand transactions represent economic activity that would not have otherwise occurred. This means that $19-billion of the overall value represents additional economic activity directly attributed to the second-hand marketplace.”

The Globe and Mail, March 1, 2016: “Quantifying the impact of Canada’s second-hand economy,” by Lindsay Tedds

Kijiji, 2016: “The Kijiji Second-Hand Economy Index Website”

Kijiji, February 2016: “The Kijiji Second-Hand Economy Index 2016 Report” (40 pages, PDF)

The Kijiji Economy

“The report includes three composite profiles of high-, medium- and low-intensity users of second-hand markets. The ‘heavy’ user likely has kids and a comfortable household income. He or she may be selling goods the household no longer needs or upgrading from an older-model good (maybe last year’s smartphone model) to subsidize the costs of the new model in the traditional retail market. The report points out that while many second-hand buyers or resellers name ecological motives, economic motives are strongest and 22 per cent of resellers said their proceeds would be going toward the cost of a new product.”

“But the profile that interests me the most is the ‘medium-intensity’ user whom the report describes as struggling to make ends meet with an income that ‘barely meets their budgets.’ I’ve seen this kind of user in other data. They struggle at times to keep up with monthly bills. They are more likely to turn to fringe ‘financial services’ like a payday lender or pawnbroker. They may have some small cash savings, but if a sudden cost wipes those out, their next buffer is fixed assets like household goods. They aren’t less financially literate than you or me, and in fact do a better job of watching their spending and economizing. How do they use the second-hand economy to liquidate fixed assets as a way to borrow or to meet household needs at a lower cost? What role does the second-hand market play in their household financial practices? I think these are big and policy-relevant questions worth asking.”

Maclean’s, March 1, 2016: “The Kijiji economy and what it says about Canadian households,” by Jennifer Robson

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A Canadian Ecosystem for Innovative Business

”In the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor’s annual survey of 100 countries, Canada ranks at the top on entrepreneurial ambition, virtually tied with the United States and well ahead of countries tagged with 'innovation nation' status, such as Finland, Germany and Israel. A report by Industry Canada confirms that Canadians create new firms at a higher rate per capita than our friends south of the border.”

“According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Canada ranks near the top for ambition and for public investment in R&D. Yet, we’re at the bottom of the rankings in tangible business creation and scaling from startup phase to high-growth phase and ultimately to large enterprises.”

“[350,000] ambitious Canadians have moved to other jurisdictions that have a complete ecosystem to scale technology startups rapidly into globally competitive businesses. Everything there -- educational institutions, financial sector, legal system, government engagement -- is mission-oriented toward rapidly growing their technology businesses.”

“We are at risk of losing more of our innovative entrepreneurs to jurisdictions like Silicon Valley if our leaders don’t focus their attention where we need them the most: on creating a uniquely Canadian ecosystem that gets behind our innovative businesses.”

The Globe and Mail, February 26, 2016: “Myth of Canadian complacency has permeated our highest echelons,” by Neil Desai

Global Entrepreneurship Monitor: “Global Reports”

Industry Canada, February 2010: “The State of Entrepreneurship in Canada” (31 pages, PDF) or (html)

Statistics Canada, The Daily, February 14, 2014: “Survey of Innovation and Business Strategy, 2012"

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Passion vs. Practicality

“The stress of achieving their life goals has youth across Canada feeling increasingly worried. In a recent survey conducted by RBC on young people’s perspectives and optimism for the future, Canadians as young as 14 cited finances and getting a job as their top two worries (67 per cent and 61 per cent). This is disheartening, particularly when combined with the findings that 96 per cent of youth believe that doing what they love is important, but less than two-thirds believe they’ll get the chance.”

“The gap between expectation and reality is wider than ever before. Society, including parents and teachers, has built up the belief that anything is possible. Young people are told to ‘follow your passion.’ Don’t get me wrong, passion is a good thing. We’ve brought up a generation brimming with education, idealism and confidence. But we haven’t, in the meantime, put systems and experiences in place to help them figure out what that passion might be. The workplace also hasn’t evolved to meet those same expectations, leaving a wide, unrealistic gap between expectation and reality.” 

The Globe and Mail, February 25, 2016: “Passion vs. practicality: Young people, get ready for the future,” by Lauren Friese

RBC, 2015: “2015 RBC Youth Optimism Study” (72 pages, PDF)

The New Dream Jobs

“Survey after survey shows that millennials want to work for companies that place a premium on employee welfare, offer flexible scheduling and, above all, bestow a sense of purpose.”

“Stability is an abstract concept to ... young workers, so they instead tend to focus on creating a rich, textured life now, rather than planning for a future obscured by uncertainty. How these desires map onto companies like Google and Facebook is clear, given their strong roots in philanthropy and innovation.”

The New York Times Magazine, February 25, 2016 “The New Dream Jobs,” by Jenna Wortham

Why I Quit My Dream Job to Launch a Marijuana Business

Not everyone is hankering to work at Google though.

"On my way to a voodoo ceremony with a Ghanian tour guide, I reflected on my career path, admitting to him that I’d lost focus and felt unfulfilled. What he told me changed the course of my life: ‘You either work on something you love, or work because it supports the people you love.’"

"That’s when I quit Google."

"Meditating for months in the beautiful landscape of Japan, I had a revelation that would guide me toward building my current business, Tokyo Smoke, with my father. My data from TimeOn reflected that I was happiest when I talked to people I loved and about things that I loved."

The Globe and Mail, February 22, 2016: “Why I quit my dream job at Google to launch a marijuana business,” by Alan Gertner

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Re-Thinking the Work-Life Equation

This article is part of the New York Times Magazine’s Work Issue: Reimagining the Office.

“Workers in the experimental group were told they could work wherever, and whenever, they chose so long as projects were completed on time and goals were met; the new emphasis would be on results rather than on the number of hours spent in the office. Managers were trained to be supportive of their employees’ personal issues and were formally encouraged to open up about their own priorities outside work -- an ill parent, or a child wanting her mom to watch her soccer games.”

“The research found that employees in the experimental group met their goals as reliably as those in the control group, and they were, in short, much happier: They were sleeping better, were healthier and experienced less stress. A year out, and then three years out, employees in the experimental group reported less interest in leaving the organization than those in the control group.”

“By asking managers to acknowledge openly the demands outside work, Moen and Kelly were subverting certain conventions of office culture. For years, an image of professionalism was closely tied, perhaps especially for women, to a strict respect for boundaries -- to the presentation of the self, at the office, as someone wholly unencumbered by the messiness of home life. Those boundaries, Moen and Kelly’s work suggested, were possibly counterproductive.”

“At best, balance is perhaps an unrealistic goal: a state of grace in which all is aligned. ‘Balance is something you want but can never have,’ says Cali Yost [CEO of Flex+Strategy Group/Work+Life Fit, Inc.] She started referring to ‘work-life fit’ to capture the way workers try to piece the disparate parts of their lives together. Part of changing workplace culture to encourage flexibility, Yost argues, is making it gender-neutral. Flexibility, she says, should be seen not as a perk to work around the inconvenient fact that some people have children but as a way of enhancing the performance (and happiness) of both men and women, parents and the childless alike.”

The New York Times Magazine, February 25, 2016: “Rethinking the Work-Life Equation,” by Susan Dominus

American Sociological Review, February 2016: “Does a Flexibility/Support Organizational Initiative Improve High-Tech Employees’ Well-Being? Evidence from the Work, Family, and Health Network,” by Phyllis Moen et. al.

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Advertising a New Meaning of Masculinity

“[There is a] shift that is slowly taking hold in advertising: depicting men more frequently as considerate husbands, caring fathers and active members of their households.”

“There is good reason for this: When Unilever PLC conducted a survey of roughly 3,700 men in five countries in December, 2014, only 7 per cent said they could relate to media depictions of masculinity. And 86 per cent said they believe that the meaning of masculinity has changed since their fathers’ generation.”

“Marketers are chasing changes in buying habits, too: From 2007 to 2012, product launches targeted to men in the beauty and personal care segment rose 70 per cent, according to research firm Mintel. And they are making purchasing decisions on behalf of their households: In a 2014 survey conducted by Microsoft Advertising Canada and Omnicom Group Inc., approximately three-quarters of men said they buy personal-care products, and do at least some of the grocery shopping.”

“Ads such as this don’t just appeal to men who are taking on more chores around the home; they may also win over women, who want that kind of balance in their own lives.”

“Advertisers are hardly altruistic: The ultimate goal of these messages is to sell stuff. But regardless of the motives, a change in ads’ gender portrayals has important consequences.”

The Globe and Mail, February 25, 2016: “Advertisers (finally) depicting a broader view of masculinity,” by Susan Krashinsky

Sex Roles, May 2013: “An Analysis of Hyper-Masculinity in Magazine Advertisements“

Mintel, September 10, 2013: “Beauty and personal care product launches targeted to men increase by 70% over the past six years”

Center for the Study of Men and Masculinities

“The Center is committed to fostering a world in which everyone, regardless of race, gender, or sexuality, reach their full potential as human beings. We support and promote research that furthers the development of boys and men in the service of healthy masculinities and greater gender equality. We seek to build bridges among a new generation of researchers, practitioners, and activists who work toward these ends. This unique collaboration will enhance the quality and impact of research, and enable a more informed policy and practice.”

Centre for the Study of Men and Masculinities [website]

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The Robots Are Coming

Is no one is safe? Because the robots are coming for Wall Street, too. Hundreds of financial analysts are being replaced with software. What office jobs are next?

“Within a decade ... between a third and a half of the current employees in finance will lose their jobs to Kensho and other automation software. It began with the lower-paid clerks, many of whom became unnecessary when stock tickers and trading tickets went electronic. It has moved on to research and analysis, as software like Kensho has become capable of parsing enormous data sets far more quickly and reliably than humans ever could. The next ‘tranche’... will come from the employees who deal with clients: Soon, sophisticated interfaces will mean that clients no longer feel they need or even want to work through a human being.”

“But it’s not clear how beneficial [Kensho] will be to the American labor market as a whole. Back when I first met [Kensho founder Daniel] Nadler, for a lunch last summer, he wasn’t too proud to admit this. ‘The cynical answer that another tech entrepreneur would give you is that we’re creating new jobs, we’re creating technology jobs,’ he told me. ‘We’ve created, on paper at least, more than a dozen millionaires. That might help people sleep better at night,’ he continued, ‘but we are creating a very small number of high-paying jobs in return for destroying a very large number of fairly high-paying jobs, and the net-net to society, absent some sort of policy intervention or new industry that no one’s thought of yet to employ all those people, is a net loss.’”

The New York Times Magazine, February 25, 2016: “The Robots Are Coming for Wall Street,” by Nathaniel Popper

“Workers looking for jobs in 2035 might consider retraining as remote-controlled vehicle operators or online chaperones. Those are two of the jobs of the future suggested in a report by the CSIRO [Australia’s national science agency] that charts 20-year trends in increasingly digitally focused and automated Australian workplaces.”

The Guardian, February 26, 2016: “Is this the future of work? Scientists predict which jobs will still be open to humans in 2035,” by Paul Karp

CSIRO, February 25, 2016: “Tomorrow’s Digitally Enabled Workforce”

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Nearly a Third of Japan's Women Sexually Harassed at Work

“Almost a third of Japanese women have been sexually harassed at work, according to a government report that deals another blow to attempts to boost women’s role in the workplace.”

“In the first survey of its kind in Japan, the health, labour and welfare ministry said 30% of respondents in full- and part-time employment reported being sexually harassed at work. Among full-time workers, the figure rose to 35%.”

“The most frequent perpetrators -- in 24.1% of cases -- were the women’s bosses.”

“Japan is struggling to raise the profile of women in the workplace, particularly in senior positions. While they are well represented in the part-time, low-paid economy, only a tiny number of executives at Japan’s 3,600 listed companies are female.”

“At present, women account for just 8% of senior roles in companies employing 100 people or more, compared to a global average of 22%, according to the Grant Thornton International Business Report 2015.”

“[The] ‘womenomics’ programme also calls for an increase in the size of the female workforce to encourage growth. Economists have warned that without them, the country faces economic decline as its population falls and its workforce continues to shrink.”

“Japan performs poorly in international gender equality comparisons. In the World Economic Forum’s 2015 global gender gap index, it ranked 101st out of 145 countries.”

The Guardian, March 2, 2016: “Nearly a third of Japan’s women ‘sexually harassed at work,” by Justin McCurry

“Grant Thornton, 2015: “Women in business: the path to leadership: Grant Thornton International Business Report 2015″ (20 pages, PDF)

Grant Thornton, March 2015: Video: “Women in Business: the path to leadership”

Maternity Harassment (Matahara)

“Matahara Net, a group of women campaigning for an end to maternity harassment, has documented numerous examples on its website, even though dismissing or demoting employees due to pregnancy or childbirth violates Japanese employment laws.”

“The campaign to end maternity harassment has been given a boost by the courts, however.”

“Last year the supreme court ruled that demoting a woman because she is pregnant is illegal. That landmark ruling came in a case brought by a hospital physiotherapist who had been demoted after asking for a lighter workload during her pregnancy.”

The Guardian, November 15, 2015: “Japanese women suffer widespread 'maternity harassment’ at work,” by Justin McCurry

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Taking a Stance Against Child and Forced Labour

“President Barack Obama signed a law [February 24, 2016] that bars the country from importing a long list of items produced by forced or slave labor.”

“The ‘prohibition on the importation of goods made with convict labor, forced labor, or indentured labor’ was embedded into a broader trade enforcement bill .... A loophole in the Tariff Act of 1930 meant that these goods were still making their way into the country because of ‘consumptive demand’ -- when goods are in short supply in the U.S.”

“Once the law goes into effect in 15 days, 136 goods from 74 countries will no longer be imported, including garments that children and other slaves produced in Argentina; cotton and gold from Burkina Faso; electronics, toys and bricks from China; coffee from the Ivory Coast and textiles from Ethiopia, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s 2014 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor.”

The Huffington Post, February 25, 2016: “You Won’t Be Able To Get These Slave-Made Items In The U.S. Anymore,” by Willa Frej

Modern Day Slavery at Nestle and Accusations of Child Labour

“Andrew Wallis, chief executive of Unseen UK, an anti-trafficking charity advocating for more supply chain accountability, said: ‘For me there is a big issue with one part of Nestle saying, ‘OK we have been dragged along with everyone else to face the issue of slavery in Thailand and so let’s take the initiative and do something about it’, and at the same time fighting tooth and nail through the courts to avoid charges of child slavery in its core operations in the Ivory Coast.’”

“He argues that Nestle’s self-reporting could also be seen as a tactic to head off or deflate other pending civil litigation suits. ‘It’s easy to own up to something that has already been uncovered,' he says. ‘By the time Nestle owned up to slavery in the Thai seafood industry it was accepted knowledge. It’ll be a brave new world when companies are actually doing the real investigation to probe into part of their supply chains that have remained outside the public domain.’”

The Guardian, February 1, 2016: “Nestle admits slavery in Thailand while fighting child labour lawsuit in Ivory Coast,” by Annie Kelly

Verite, November 2015: “Recruitment Practices and Migrant Labor Conditions in Nestle's Thai Shrimp Supply Chain: An Examination of Forced Labor and other Human Rights Risks Endemic to the Thai Seafood Sector” (26 pages, PDF)

Portraits by Prisoners

“Charles Listo Vera, prison ID #A1-61401, is serving 19 years for attempted manslaughter. One of his pastimes is drawing portraits, some of which his family sells on eBay. His latest portrait, though, was done for nothing: it’s a pencil drawing of a man Vera thinks deserves to be in prison more than he does. A man whose actions Vera feels help support child slavery and infanticide: Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, chairman of Nestle.”

Co.Design, February 22, 2016: “10 Corporate Executives Who Should Be In Prison, According To Prisoners,” by John Brownlee

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Book of the Week

Out of Time: the Consequences of Non-Standard Employment Schedules for Family Cohesion, by Kadri Taht and Melinda Mills. New York: Springer, 2016. ISBN 9789401774000 (paperback)

From the publisher: "This pioneering work aims at understanding the impact of non-standard (evening, night, weekend) working time on family cohesion, meaning parent-child interaction, partnership quality and divorce or partnership dissolution. ‘Out of time - the Consequences of Non-standard Employment Schedules for Family Cohesion’ is the first work to treat this important topic in a cross-national, comparative way by using data from two large comparable surveys. The impact of work in non-standard schedules on workers can be divided into individual and social consequences. Research so far has shown the clear individual effects of these schedules, such as increased stress levels and sleeping and physical disorders. There is less clarity about social consequences. Either no or positive effects of these types of schedules on workers and their families are found, or a significant negative impact on the relations between the workers and others, especially other members of the family is shown in research results. This Brief compares the Netherlands and the United States of America, countries that both show a high prevalence of non-standard schedule work, whereas both operate in very different institutional and welfare regime settings of working time regulation. By combining both quantitative and qualitative data, the authors are able to provide generalized views of comparative surveys and challenging those generalizations at the same time, thus enabling the reader to get a better understanding and more balanced view of the actual relationship between non-standard employment schedules and family cohesion."

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