Perry Work Report: work&labour news&research, May 6, 2016

May 6, 2016

Announcement:

Announcing a New Professor at the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources

This past year, the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources (CIRHR) engaged in a wide-ranging search for a new academic tenure stream position in employment relations. As a result of that search -- which yielded some amazing candidates -- we are now pleased to announce that Professor Dionne Pohler, from the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Saskatchewan, has agreed to join the CIRHR team here at the University of Toronto effective July 1st, 2016.  In Dionne’s words: 'I am proud to join the CIRHR, which has long been considered among the top research centres in IR/HR anywhere in the world. I am also excited to begin teaching in the Employment Relations and MIRHR programs, and meeting such talented and committed students'. We echo those sentiments and take great pride in welcoming Dionne to the Centre.  
- Professor Rafael Gomez (Director, CIRHR, University of Toronto).

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

Ontario Supreme Court Ruling on Right to Collective Bargaining

“The Ontario government violated teachers’ Charter rights in 2012, when it temporarily suspended the right to strike and imposed contracts on some teacher unions, a court has ruled.”

“The decision from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Wednesday found the province contravened the unions’ right to collective bargaining under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”

"The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO), the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF), the Canadian Union of Public Employees Ontario (CUPE) and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union launched the Charter challenge shortly after Bill 115, the Putting Students First Act, was passed in the fall of 2012 under then-premier Dalton McGuinty and Laurel Broten, the education minister at the time.”

“What effect the ruling will have on the government was not immediately clear. ETFO said the court did not impose a penalty on the province, but asked that the government and unions negotiate 'a remedy.' If they cannot come up with something themselves, the court will impose one.”

“As part of an austerity program, Mr. McGuinty sought to freeze teachers’ pay and end the practice of banking unused sick days that could be cashed in upon retirement. While the government reached deals with some unions, ETFO, OSSTF and CUPE, which represents school support staff, would not agree to his terms. So the province imposed terms in Bill 115, which cut their wages, sliced their sick days and limited their ability to strike.”

The Globe and Mail, April 20, 2016: “Ontario violated teachers’ right to strike, court rules,” by Adrian Morrow and Caroline Alphonso

Goldblatt Partners, April 20, 2016: "'Ontario ran over the rights of the employees': Superior Court of Justice holds Bill 115 violates the Charter"

OPSEU v. Ontario, 2016 ONSC 2197 COURT FILE NO.: CV-12-465269 DATE:20160420  (Howard Goldblatt, Steven Barrett and Charlene Wiseman represented the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario in the case.)

“How can these unions turn a moral victory into a tangible one?”

“First, an aggressive campaign should be launched that explains to educational workers across Ontario what has just happened. The unions can’t rely on media reports to communicate this information alone: members also need to hear this from their union representatives.”

“Second, there should be an emphasis on organizing to expose the negative outcomes from the imposed contracts. While workers’ rights were trampled on, history has also shown that teachers were bargaining in both their own best interests and the best interests of the system. We now know that there have been huge financial implications from the Ontario government’s decision to force a regime change to sick days."

Rabble, April 21, 2016: “Union court victory will be hollow if not used to mobilize teachers,” by Nora Loreto

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Abuse of Toronto's Chinese Food Workers

“Thousands of Chinese workers labouring in restaurants throughout the Greater Toronto Area are precisely such a group. And a new report from the Metro Toronto Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic raises troubling concerns about the way these people are treated. The authors conclude that Ontario has utterly failed to act on its legal obligation to protect such workers.”

“In a key recommendation, the report urges the labour ministry to implement ‘an immediate and comprehensive inspection sweep of the restaurant industry, in particular of the Chinese restaurants in the GTA,’ checking for violations of the Employment Standards Act. This seems far more likely to produce results and protect at-risk workers than simply waiting for complaints.”

“Titled Sweet & Sour: The Struggle of Chinese Restaurant-Workers the 41-page report follows up on a survey of this group that was carried out almost 30 years ago. Sadly, it found that little has changed.”

The Toronto Star, April 29, 2016: “End abuse of Chinese food workers: Editorial”

The Toronto Star, April 25, 2016: “'Widespread’ workplace abuse persists for Chinese restaurant workers,” by Sara Mojtehedzadeh and Nicholas Keung

Metro Toronto Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic, April 25, 2016: “Sweet & Sour: The Struggle of Chinese Restaurant-Workers,” by Yan Chen, Avvy Go, Angela Wong and Daniel Yau (42 pages, PDF)

Fighting for fair wages and dignity at the Ontario Food Terminal

“At nearly 20 hectares in size, the Food Terminal is where almost all the produce in Toronto -- be it organic or GMO, local or from California -- is delivered, sorted and sold. With more than 400 seasonal vendors and 21 permanent warehouse vendors, the Food Terminal distributes nearly 2.5 million kilograms of fruits, produce and horticultural products everyday to hungry mouths in the Greater Toronto Area and beyond. Thousands of workers are employed by the vendors to ensure smooth delivery of food. Of this workforce, almost 400 are Tibetan-Canadians.”

“Before they joined the Teamsters back in October, Nyendak says Fresh Taste workers who complained about being shortchanged on hours worked or requested a pay raise would be told  by management ‘to walk. There are many other Tibetans like you outside, they’d tell us,’ says [Thupten Nyendak].”

“Since April 21, Nyendak and 13 of his colleagues have been on strike, protesting low wages, lack of job benefits and workplace harassment. They have been bargaining for a first contract since November.”

Now Toronto, May 2, 2016: “Tibetan immigrants fight for fair wages and dignity at the Ontario Food Terminal," by Gelek Badheytsang

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Librarians on the Line

“A strike or lockout that would have closed all library branches across the city has been avoided as the union representing library workers says it has reached a tentative deal.”

“Local 4948 president Maureen O’Reilly said in an emailed release”:

“This has been a difficult round of bargaining, but our bargaining committee has secured a deal which we believe addresses some of our concerns and allows Toronto’s library workers to continue to provide great services in the city’s 100 branches.”

“The union had said the city was focused on making library workers accept concessions. The city offered a below-inflation salary increase of five per cent over four years and was looking to phase out job security for employees without 15 years of job security. That was similar to deals with the city’s inside and outside workers, which were struck earlier this year after much tension.”

The Toronto Star, May 2, 2016: “Toronto library workers reach tentative deal,” by Jennifer Pagliaro

The Toronto Star, 27, 2016: “Toronto library workers say they’re heading for strike,” by David Rider

Rabble, April 29, 2016: “Toronto library workers fight against austerity as strike looms,” by Teuila Fuatai

“A public poll conducted on behalf of the union and released last week revealed that nearly 60 per cent think library workers, half of whom are part-time, should be provided more full-time work.”

“The same number believes library workers should have the same wage increase as those received by the police, around 2 per cent annually.”

Global News, April 29, 2016: “Toronto Public Library workers may strike on Monday if deal not reached,” by David Shum

Canadian Union of Public Employees, March 2016: “Public Research on City of Toronto Programs & Services For the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE Toronto)” (18 pages, PDF)

CBC News, March 27, 2016: “Librarians fight rise of precarious work”

 

The Cost of Newfoundland’s Library Cuts

“Numbers released by the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Libraries (NLPL) show local libraries used heavily in many rural areas are now set to close.”

“The numbers show that more than 1.2 million books, or physical materials, were borrowed at the province’s 95 libraries last year. Some of the libraries being closed saw a lot of traffic considering the size of their communities.” 

CBC News, April 30, 2016: “Closing libraries have heavy use, show numbers released Friday,” by Meghan McCabe

“Dwight Lethbridge, the mayor of Cartwright, told the Labrador Morning Show that people in his town can’t drive to another library. He wrote in a Facebook post:”

“This cut [affects] the lowest income and disadvantaged the most. Pretty soon, we are not going to have any services left.”

CBC News, April 29, 2016: “'Just devastated’ by library closures, say rural residents”

CBC News, April 28, 2016: “Library closures will hit children, rural areas hardest, says association”

CBC News, May 2, 2016: “Library cuts will have ‘huge repercussions,’ says author Lisa Moore,” by Stephanie Tobin

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#Census2016: It's Census Time in Canada

“Statistics Canada [Monday] officially begins mailing out access codes so Canadians can prepare to complete the 2016 census online -- either the regular or the newly restored long-form version -- next week.”

“Census Day is May 10, but Statistics Canada is encouraging Canadians to complete their census forms as soon as they receive them.”

“One in four randomly selected households in Canada will receive the 36-page long-form questionnaire known as the National Household Survey, while the remainder of Canadians will receive the 10-question short version. Both are mandatory.”

CBC News, May 2, 2016: “The long-form census is back, it’s online -- and this time, it’s mandatory,” by Hannah Jackson 

The Globe and Mail, May 3, 2016: “How big of a census nerd are you? Try our quiz,” by Tavia Grant

“The move to online census completion was aimed at making data collection more efficient and convenient. However, households trying to fill out their forms on Statistics Canada’s census website found a message saying the site was undergoing ‘scheduled maintenance.’"

“A tweet from Statistics Canada suggested the system was overwhelmed by the large number of Canadians attempting to access the site.”

CBC News, May 3, 2016: “Census website interruption still being investigated, StatsCan says,” by Hannah Jackson

CBC News, May 3, 2016: “Canada’s ‘enthusiasm’ for census brings down StatsCan website,” by John Bowman

Buzzfeed, May 2, 2016: “Canadians Are Completely Nerding Out On The Long-Form Census,” by Craig Silverman

Buzzfeed, May 3, 2016: “15 Canadians Who Were Crushed They Only Got The Short-Form Census,” by Ishmael N. Daro

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Uber the Conqueror: Not Just About Cars

“The only trouble with ‘Uber math’ is how it feels to be part of the labour force that delivers it. A founding principle of Uber is that it is a mere broker that enables riders and drivers to come together, and the company never tells anyone what to do. ‘I think the extreme edge of our nudging is very, very hands off,’ Elvidge, London’s general manager, assured me. But for the network to grow, and the graphs to steepen, Uber needs its platform to be ever more responsive. In London, drivers have 15 seconds to decide whether or not to accept a job. If they refuse three in a row, they are logged out of the system for 10 minutes. Last month, Mirza, whose YouTube videos generally extol the platform, was banned from taking jobs from Heathrow airport for four weeks for cancelling one too many requests. He posted a video titled ‘Do we work with Uber or for Uber?’”

The Guardian, April 27, 2016: “How Uber conquered London,” by Sam Knight

The Verge, May 2, 2016: “Uber drivers in New York can’t unionize, but some are forming a labor group,” by Andrew J. Hawkins

Rabble, April 29, 2016: “What’s yours is mine: Against the sharing economy,” by Redeye Collective

“Toronto Councillor Gord Perks said in a fiery speech”:

“Who doesn’t win in the taxi industry? The people who do the work.”

“Yes, there’s a more level playing field between the millionaires and the billionaires, but for the consumer, the level playing field goes down. The drivers lose, the public lose, the billionaires and the millionaires win. That’s how this city has decided to apportion the benefits of new technology.”

The Globe and Mail, May 3, 2016: “UberX will be allowed to operate legally in Toronto, city council decides,” by Oliver Moore

The Globe and Mail, May 3, 2016: “Toronto, just do it already: Legalize Uber”

Employees vs Contractors

“Uber completely avoided any legal ruling on whether the company must classify its drivers as employees. Uber has an estimated valuation of $64 billion (how much of that is attributable to its refusal to acknowledge its drivers are employees is anybody’s guess), and the company likely sees the settlement as a way to buy some legal breathing room on the issue of misclassification as it faces attacks on several other fronts.”

“Uber’s $84 million settlement with drivers made for nice headlines, but as Michael Hiltzik notes for The Los Angeles Times, when looked at closely it’s a far better deal for the company than the workers. The most active drivers in the suit will receive up to $8,000, but compensation for the vast majority of the drivers involved will likely be just a couple hundred bucks.” 

Alternet, May 2, 2016: “Uber, Airbnb and the Clash Between Workers and the On-Demand Economy,” by Justin Miller

“Less than two weeks after Uber Technologies agreed to pay up to $100 million to settle class-action lawsuits in California and Massachusetts in which drivers sought to be reclassified as employees instead of independent contractors, the ride-hailing company has been slapped with two new cases.”
“Lawyers in Florida and Illinois have filed similar nationwide class-action lawsuits on behalf of Uber drivers who say the San Francisco company violated the Fair Labor Standard Act. They seek to recover drivers’ unpaid overtime wages and work-related expenses.”

The Los Angeles Times, May 2, 2016: “Uber sued again over drivers’ employment status,” by Tracey Lien      

NPR, April 22, 2016: “Uber Settles 2 Lawsuits, Won’t Have To Treat Drivers As Employees,” by Barbara Campbell

And in Canada

“Jay Strosberg, the uppity class-action lawyer and partner at Sutts Strosberg LLP ... is currently suing Uber (and associated entities) about UberX for $400-million on behalf of beleaguered taxi and limousine operators in Ontario” 

The Globe and Mail, April 29, 2016: “A class-action matador,” by Ian Brown

CBC News, April 27, 2016: “Employee vs contractor: tribunal delivers victory for pizza boy,” by Jason Proctor

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Family Income Mobility in Canada

“From the late 1990s to 2012, Canadian taxfilers saw their family incomes increase at a faster rate than during the 1980s and the early 1990s. They also became less likely to move up or down the income distribution ladder.”

“From the 1980s to the early 1990s, about three-quarters of Canadian taxfilers changed income deciles within a five-year period. However, from 2007 to 2012, the most recent period examined, the proportion of taxfilers who moved to a different income decile in the five-year period fell to two-thirds.”

“Top family income earners were also less likely to fall to a lower income decile in the 2000s. In 2007, 42.6% of top decile family income earners fell to a lower decile within five years, compared with 48.4% in 1982. Likewise, during the 2000s, taxfilers from lower family income deciles were less likely to move up to a higher decile in five years.”

“This trend toward less movement on the income ladder occurred against a backdrop of relatively strong growth in family incomes in the late 1990s and 2000s. For example, in the 1980s and early 1990s, the growth rate of family incomes was 2.1%. Over the late 1990s and 2000s, after-tax family income grew by an average of 8.5% during each five-year period.”

Statistics Canada The Daily, May 3, 2016: “Study: Family income mobility of Canadian taxfilers, 1982 to 2012"

Statistics Canada, May 3, 2016: “Income Research Paper Series: The evolution of income mobility in Canada: Evidence from the Longitudinal Administrative Databank, 1982 to 2012,” by Xuelin Zhang, Habib Saani, and Jackson Chung (26 pages, PDF)

Statistics Canada The Daily, April 28, 2016: “Payroll employment, earnings and hours, February 2016"

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Institutional Innovation in Canada

“Dan Breznitz is Munk Chair of Innovation Studies and co-director of the Innovation Policy Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. He is the author of several award-winning books on innovation and growth.”

“Our policy-makers need to use well-known qualitative and quantitative metrics for policy evaluation to determine whether more businesses engage in innovation; whether the private sector is undertaking more innovation; whether we stimulate more private investment in business R&D per taxpayer dollar spent; and whether indigenous ideas are scaling up in Canada, creating the good jobs and wealth we need.”

“Over the past two decades, Canadian ability to invent (a necessary first step for innovation) moved from great to excellent. Canadians have created some of the world’s most valuable inventions, even if we failed to innovate with them. Our research and education infrastructure is the best in the world. Finland, South Korea and Israel, the three countries whose innovation-based growth we dream of matching, have between them zero universities in the world’s top 50. Canada has three.”

“So what needs to be done for Canada to benefit from these positive attributes? The answer is simple: Create effective innovation policies focused on the 'agency' -- the company and the entrepreneurs -- and ensure that Canadian businesses that innovate can do business in Canada.”

The Globe and Mail, April 23, 2016: “Four things for Ottawa to keep in mind as consultation on innovation unfolds,” by Daniel Munro

The Globe and Mail, May 2, 2016: “Four things for Ottawa to keep in mind as consultation on innovation unfolds,” by Daniel Munro

The Globe and Mail, May 4, 2016: “Canada’s ‘innovation agenda’ isn’t just tech -- it’s social,” by Tonya Surman and Victoria Lennox

Medium, May 3, 2016: “How do companies come up with new ideas?,” by Scott Andes

“Dave McKay is chief executive officer of Royal Bank of Canada”:

“What do Canadian banks and universities have in common? Both are respected institutions, operating at the very heart of the community, with loyal followings and passionate and professional staff. And both sectors are experiencing seismic disruption like never before.”

The Globe and Mail, May 3, 2016: “Experiential learning, agile employees: Getting our students on the right path,” by Dave McKay

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Violence that Comes with the Job

“Violence against workers in health-care settings like hospitals, nursing homes and psychiatric environments is an under-reported, ubiquitous and persistent problem, says an article published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. What’s worse, the article says, it’s a problem that’s been tolerated and largely ignored.”

“What were 'once considered to be safe havens are now confronting steadily increasing rates of crime, including violent crimes such as assault, rape and homicide,' says the review article.”

CBC News, April 27, 2016: “Workplace violence against health-care workers under-reported, largely ignored,” by Kas Roussey

The New England Journal of Medicine, April 28, 2016: “Workplace Violence against Health Care Workers in the United States,” by James P. Phillips

Panic buttons for vulnerable workers

“In an effort to provide better protection to hotel workers, a coalition of women’s organizations, health professionals, community leaders, and clergy are pushing Long Beach’s city council to adopt new standards. The provisions include a requirement that all workers receive portable panic buttons and that security must respond to calls within three minutes. Guests would be made aware that all workers have these panic buttons, and signage posted throughout the building would attempt to increase awareness of the risks of assault. The hotel would also be legally responsible for keeping precise records of reported assaults.”

Quartz, May 4, 2016: “Why your hotel maid needs a panic button,” by Maggy Donaldson

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Getting Employees Their Due

“Recently Ontario recovered nearly $140,000 in wages owed to interns at workplaces across the province.”

“From September 1 to December 31, 2015, Ministry of Labour employment standards officers visited 123 workplaces believed to have internship programs and investigated whether interns were entitled to minimum wage and other employment standards such as public holidays and vacation.”

“The blitz found $140,630 in wages that were owed to interns, and since that time a total of $138,731 has been recovered.“

“Under the ESA, there are limited circumstances when a person can work as an intern for no pay. For instance, employers usually do not have to pay interns who perform work under secondary school co-op work experience programs for credit or programs approved by a college of applied arts and technology or a university.”

Ontario Newsroom, April 29, 2016: “Ontario Recovers Thousands of Dollars Owed to Interns”

Ontario Ministry of Labour, April 29, 2016: “Blitz Results: Internships”

The Globe and Mail, April 29, 2016: “Ontario recovers nearly $140,000 in wages for unpaid interns’

Meanwhile in the federal government...

“A senior federal civil servant overseeing the problem-plagued Phoenix payroll system has told public servants who are not getting paid properly to ask their departments for emergency cheques.”

“While some of the problems lie with her department, [Brigitte Fortin, assistant deputy minister with Public Services and Procurement Canada] pointed out that some employees and managers are unfamiliar with the new system, or may have delayed inputting data into the new program.”

“Yet the Public Service Alliance of Canada said this week that hundreds of public servants still aren’t getting paycheques and the government’s toll-free help line has been swamped with calls. The union is also urging employees to request priority pay if they have not received their wages on time.”

CBC News, April 28, 2016: “Unpaid public servants told to ask for emergency cheques,” by Alison Crawford

CBC News, April 21, 2016: “New payroll system leaving thousands of public servants in the lurch, says PSAC,” by Alison Crawford

One in six employers of domestic workers fails to pay the minimum wage in California

“In the first study of its kind on an industry that typically avoids scrutiny, researchers with the University of California Los Angeles Labor Center found that out of two million domestic employers in the state -- those who hire people for house cleaning, home care support and childcare -- roughly 17% violate the minimum wage law.”

The Guardian, May 4, 2016: “One in six domestic work employers fails to pay minimum wage in California,” by Sam Levin

UCLA Labor Center, May 2016: “Profile, Practices and Needs of California’s Domestic Work Employers,” by Saba Waheed, Lecero Herrera, Reyna Orellana, Blake Valenta and Tia Koonse

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A Comedian's Guide to Hiring

A Comedian predicts tech giants’ secret hiring strategies:

“If you, too, want to hire the world’s best top tech talent, try one of these secret hiring strategies.”

“Ask the candidate to solve your own, specific problems”

“WHY? Because you really need help with this problem. Tech companies often have candidates solve real problems they are currently facing. This is a good way to get some free help with those problems.”

“Conduct dual interviews with a good cop / bad cop vibe”

“WHY? To find people who can multi-task under pressure. Put the candidate in the middle of a conference room with interviewers at both ends of the table. Is the candidate able to simultaneously direct her attention to both interviewers while sufficiently answering each question at the same time? Or is she clearly exhausted and wondering why she even agreed to this interview? This is a great indicator of how the candidate will perform during a crunch.”

“Ask the same questions over and over and over again”

“WHY? To test consistency. In the tech world, predictability is a good thing. During the interview, don’t worry about asking the same question over and over again because you keep blanking out. This is a great tool for testing the candidate’s consistency. Candidates should only be wildly inconsistent with their answers when interviewing for senior roles.”

Quartz, May 3, 2016: “Here are Google, Amazon, and Facebook’s secrets to hiring the best people,” by Sarah Cooper

Medium, April 26, 2016: “Toddler vs. CEO,” by Sarah Cooper

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The 17 Best-Paying University Subjects to Study if You're a Woman

“Average raw earnings for female university graduates are much less than men who study the same subjects, a study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) shows.”

“Along with highlighting the gap between male and female grads, the report also shows the median raw earnings by subject for female students who graduated between 1999 and 2005.”

“While the numbers may seem low, they take into account women who may not have gone into a profession directly related to the subject they studied.”

World Economic Forum, April 19, 2016: “The 17 best-paying university subjects to study if you’re a woman,” by Matthew Nitch Smith

Institute for Fiscal Studies, April 13, 2016: “How English domiciled graduate earnings vary with gender, institution attended, subject and socioeconomic background,” by Jack Britton, Lorraine Dearden, Neil Shephard and Anna Vignoles (63 pages, PDF)

Quartz, April 30, 2016: “Academia is quietly and systematically keeping its women from succeeding,” by Marice Bianco

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Economic Perspectives on Incarceration

“Calls for criminal justice reform have been mounting in recent years, in large part due to the extraordinarily high levels of incarceration in the United States. Today, the incarcerated population is 4.5 times larger than in 1980, with approximately 2.2 million people in the United States behind bars, including individuals in Federal and State prisons as well as local jails. The push for reform comes from many angles, from the high financial cost of maintaining current levels of incarceration to the humanitarian consequences of detaining more individuals than any other country.”

The White House, April 23, 2016: “CEA report: Economic Perspectives on Incarceration and the Criminal Justice System”

The White House, April 2016: “Economic Perspectives on Incarceration and the Criminal Justice System,” by the Council of Economic Advisors (80 pages, PDF)

The Huffington Post, April 23, 2016: “National Reentry Week: An Essential Part of Our Mission,” by Loretta Lynch

“For many people, the lingering impact of a stint in jail extends far beyond the prison gates. In many cases, the financial consequences of a conviction can damn a person to an eternal financial purgatory. In a new report, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles damningly map out how the criminal-justice system works to bury ostensibly ‘free’ people under mountains of debt, forcing citizens who have already served their time in jail to continue laboring not for wages so much as for basic civil rights.”

The Nation, April 12, 2016: “You Either Work or You Go to Jail,” by Michelle Chen

UCLA Labor Center, March 2016: “Get to Work or Go To Jail: Workplace Rights Under Threat,” by Noah Zatz, Tia Koonse, Theresa Zhen, Lucero Herrera, Han Lu, Steven Shafer and Blake Valenta

UCLA Faculty Voice, April 28, 2016: “UCLA faculty voice: What’s unjust about ‘work or jail’,” by Noah Zatz

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Behind the Scenes of a Child-Labour Raid

“Kailash Satyarthi [the children’s rights activist who shared the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize with girls’ education campaigner Malala Yousafzai] says raids are the best tool for the worst forms of child labour and slavery -- a last resort when parents have no other means of recovering their children, or when the traffickers are powerful and connected to local police.”

“Once they identify an area with underage labourers, local activists will monitor it for several days to pinpoint where they work and how many of them need to be rescued.”

“Before a raid, activists always inform local officials. When it’s time to begin, they divide up in teams that include labour officials, lawyers and a police escort. Activists keep the exact address of a raid secret until the last possible moment, because of the real risk the employers will be tipped off -- more often than not by corrupt police. Despite all these precautions, there is no such thing as a textbook raid.”

“There is also no such thing as a safe raid. Danger is inherent in a process that threatens someone’s livelihood. Employers can get aggressive, even violent when someone tries to take the children away. Some of them turn out to be armed, while others call on goons who arrive ready for a fight. Then there are angry mobs of parents or guardians, even complicit local residents, who can crowd the activists and try to snatch children back.”

“Sensing their own future is at risk, the children themselves may resist or, more likely, run away.”

CBC News, May 2, 2016: “Dirty Work,” by Nahlah Ayed

CBC Documentary, May 3, 2016: “Rescuing child labourers in India” (video 18:40)

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Book of the Week

Will College Pay Off?: A Guide to the Most Important Financial Decision You Will Ever Make, by Peter Cappelli. New York: PublicAffairs, 2015. 215 p. ISBN 9781610395267 (hardcover)

From the publisher: "The decision of whether to go to college, or where, is hampered by poor information and inadequate understanding of the financial risk involved. Adding to the confusion, the same degree can cost dramatically different amounts for different people. A barrage of advertising offers new degrees designed to lead to specific jobs, but we see no information on whether graduates ever get those jobs. Mix in a frenzied applications process, and pressure from politicians for ‘relevant’ programs, and there is an urgent need to separate myth from reality. Peter Cappelli, an acclaimed expert in employment trends, the workforce, and education, provides hard evidence that counters conventional wisdom and helps us make cost-effective choices. Among the issues Cappelli analyzes are: What is the real link between a college degree and a job that enables you to pay off the cost of college, especially in a market that is in constant change?; Why it may be a mistake to pursue degrees that will land you the hottest jobs because what is hot today is unlikely to be so by the time you graduate; Why the most expensive colleges may actually be the cheapest because of their ability to graduate students on time; How parents and students can find out what different colleges actually deliver to students and whether it is something that employers really want. College is the biggest expense for many families, larger even than the cost of the family home, and one that can bankrupt students and their parents if it works out poorly. Peter Cappelli offers vital insight for parents and students to make decisions that both make sense financially and provide the foundation that will help students make their way in the world."

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