February 2, 2012
- MIRHR Profiles Now Available on LinkedIn
- Public Employee Survey
- Union Membership in the U.S. and Canada – Very Little Change
- Freedom 67? Or 85?!
- Right To Work in the U.S.
- Health and Safety in Canada – New Standards Proposed
- Mental Health and the Workplace
- Salaries in Canada – Past, Present and Future
- Global Employment Trends 2012
- The Impact of Federal Cutbacks
- Apple and iPhones - the Controversy Continues
- Australia’s Fly in Fly Out Workers the Subject of Parliamentary Investigation
- Ecuador Anyone? Sí!
- Book of the Week
MIRHR Profiles Now Available on LinkedIn
We invite employers to view the LinkedIn profiles for some of the MIRHR candidates who are available for full-time, contract and part-time work. These can be viewed alphabetically or by areas of interest.
The Master of Industrial Relations and Human Resources is designed to train professionals in the latest innovations and best practices within human resources management, industrial relations and labour and social policy. Admission is highly competitive and students are carefully selected for their academic excellence and achievements. Through interdisciplinary study MIRHR graduates acquire:
- An advanced understanding of strategic HR management, organizational dynamics, labour and employment law, negotiation and conflict management, and global economic trends.
- The essential analytical skills to make effective business decisions.
For more information, or to post your human resources or labour relations position to the MIRHR alumni group (at no charge), please contact deb.campbell@utoronto.ca.
Public Employee Survey
Statistics Canada’s 2011 “Public Service Employee Survey” objective was to “obtain the views of all employees of the federal Public Service about their workplaces” and provide information which will allow “managers and employees to initiate concrete actions in their own department.” In addition to general information, e.g., age, gender, and years of service, the survey asked questions regarding staffing fairness, official languages, health and safety, harassment and discrimination and retention issues.
Statistics Canada, February 2, 2012: Public Service Employee Survey, Product Main Page
Statistics Canada, February 2, 2012: For contact information regarding the survey
Statistics Canada, February 2, 2012: Survey description, including data sources, methodology, and data accuracy
Treasure Board of Canada Secretariat, 2012: “Public Service Employee Survey (PSES)”, includes and FAQ on the PSES
The survey has been released just as Statistic’s Canada’s chief economic analyst, Philip Cross, quit his post. Cross has given several reasons for his departure, including his dismay with how the changes to the long-form census were handled, and concern “that the free exchange of ideas at the agency” has diminished.
The Globe and Mail, February 2, 2012: “Statscan’s chief economist analyst quit”, by Tavia Grant
Union Membership in the U.S. and Canada – Very Little Change
“In 2011, the union membership rate--the percent of wage and salary workers who were members of a union--was 11.8 percent, essentially unchanged from 11.9 percent in 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.” But despite many state and municipal governments shedding workers over the past year, “a closer look at the numbers, though, shows that it was disproportionately government workers without union representation who lost their jobs.”
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor [PDF, 12 pages]
Center for Economic and Policy Research, January 27, 2012: Union Membership Holds Steady in 2011.
New York Times, January 31, 2012: “Government Unions and Layoffs”, by Catherine Rampell
New York Times, January 27, 2012: “Union Membership Rate Fell Again in 2011”, by Steven Greenhouse.
January 17th marked the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s executive order allowing federal employees the right to collective bargaining. At the federal level in the U.S., it is estimated that approximately 63 percent of federal workers are now unionized.
Washington Post, January 19, 2012: “50 years ago, Kennedy’s order empowered federal unions”, by Joe Davidson
And Canada sees little change in union membership numbers
At the beginning of 2010, the labour organization information obtained indicates that, 4,645,095 workers were union members. The unionization rate or union density (union membership as a percentage of non-agricultural paid employment) is 30.8% for 2010, compared with 29.9 in 2009.
Statistics Canada, November 2011: Union Membership in Canada – 2010.
(PDF version, 9 pages)
Freedom 67? Or 85?!
The Toronto Star, February 1, 2012: “Why raising OAS to 67 doesn't make sense”, by Ellen Roseman
Maclean’s, January 31, 2012: “The upside of delayed retirement”, by Angelina Chapin
The Globe and Mail, January 27, 2012: “PM’s message to Canadians: Rethink your retirement”, by Bill Curry, Steven Chase And Joe Friesen
The Globe and Mail, January 27, 2012: “Does Harper really need to raise the retirement age?”, by Kevin Milligan
The Guardian, DataBlog: Retirement ages across the OECD. Data provided for males and females, and notes indicate if and when the retirement age will change. The dataset can also be downloaded,here.
Right To Work in the U.S.
Indiana to become 23rd ‘right-to-work” state
Indiana is poised to become the first state in the upper Midwest and the 23rd state to follow the lead of Southern "right to work" states.. Right-to-work legislation bars unions from requiring nonunion workers to pay membership dues for representation in bargaining. Advocates and supporters of right-to-work legislation claim that it brings more jobs to a state while organized labour argues that such legislation effectively decreases wages and weakens unions, but the ‘right-to-work’ movement may be spreading. .
New York Times, February 1, 2012: “Indiana Governor Signs a Law Creating a ‘Right to Work’ State,”by Monica Davey
Associated Press, January 27, 2012: “After 70 years, right-to-work impact still unclear”, by Tom LoBianco
Pioneer Press, January 26, 2012: “'Right to work' issue heats up in Minnesota,”by Megan Boldt
Chicago Tribune reporter, January 25, 2012: “Indiana is the latest battleground over organized labor laws”, by Andy Grimm
Health and Safety in Canada – New Standards Proposed, as New Mining Fatalities are Reported
“A proposed Standard has been developed, setting out optimistic goals and processes for achieving “psychological health and safety” in the workplace. Policies, procedures, hazard identification, incident investigation and monitoring activities may be required, in addition to all of the existing steps being taken to develop and manage OHS systems.”
Heenan Blaikie, OHS & Worker’s Compensation Management Update, January 24, 2012: National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Canadian Workplace Released. (PDF, 6 pages)
"I think what we need to do is sit down in the room together - the Steelworkers and Vale - and have discussions about the health and safety and where we're at and where we need to go, because ... this is unacceptable," Rick Bertand, president of the Sttelworkers union local in Sudbury said in an interview with CBC News. "This can't continue to happen."
CBC News, January 31, 2012: “Mining death worsens low morale: Vale workers
CBC News, January 30, 2012: “Mine death leads Vale to suspend Sudbury operations. Sudbury-area fatality the 4th in less than a year at Vale mines”, Union boss 'angry'
The Globe and Mail, January 30, 2012: Vale suspends underground mining operations in Ontario”, by Euan Rocha.
The Sudbury Star, January 25, 2012: “Life matters the most \ AFTERMATH: Investigating team makes more than 30 recommendations to prevent mining tragedies”, by Carol Mulligan.
CTV News, February 2, 2012: “Rio Tinto Alcan employee dies in Quebec railway accident”
Mental Health and the Workplace
“Creating healthy workplaces has become increasingly urgent as awareness of mental illness has grown and stress levels have risen. The Canadian Mental Health Commission is soon to release voluntary standards for psychological health and safety in the workplace”, reports the Globe and Mail. But, “A survey of 1,000 workers (including nearly 500 front-line managers) conducted last year by the Conference Board of Canada found that only 46 per cent of respondents felt that their workplaces promoted mental health.”
The Globe and Mail, January 27, 2012: “State Of Mind Part 3: Mental Illness And Work. ‘A job you feel good about is therapeutic'”, by Erin Anderssen
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, January 11, 2012: Study finds that treatment of depression can increase work productivity
Conference Board of Canada, June 2011: Building Mentally Healthy Workplaces Perspectives of Canadian Workers and Front-Line Managers. (PDF, 66 pages).
PLoS ONE, 2012: Overtime Work as a Predictor of Major Depressive Episode: A 5-Year Follow-Up of the Whitehall II Study
Salaries in Canada – Past, Present and Future
A new Conference Board of Canada report indicates that organizations are holding steady when it comes to pay projections for 2012. “Average base pay increases for non-unionized employees are projected to be 3.0 per cent, down only slightly from the summer projection of 3.1 per cent.” Prince Edward Island residents earn less than anyone else in Canada, and Albertan’s enjoy the highest wages.
The Conference Board of Canada, January 2012: Compensation Planning Outlook 2012: Mid-Year Pulse Check, (PDF, 8 pages). (Available to the University of Toronto community via your Conference Board of Canada e-library account). MIRHR students – if you do not have a Conference Board of Canada e-Library account, sign up now - you may be able to keep it after you graduate.)
Statistics Canada, The Daily, January 26, 2012: Payroll employment, earnings and hours, November 2011.
CBC News, January 30, 2012: “Low wages hurt Islanders, says group. Almost half of residents struggling to meet basic needs”
CTV News, January 28, 2012: “Alberta's weekly wages highest in Canada”
Global Employment Trends 2012
“The annual Global Employment Trends report offers the latest global and regional information and projections on several indicators of the labour market, including employment, unemployment, working poverty and vulnerable employment. It also presents a number of policy considerations in light of the new challenges facing policy makers in the coming year.”
International Labor Organization (ILO), January 24, 2012: Global Employment Trends 2012: Preventing a deeper jobs crisis. Summary page.
Full report (PDF, 120 pages)
The Impact of Federal Cutbacks
"In total, the federal government will be slashed by $7.82 billion as of 2014–15, when all the cuts will be in effect. More than 60,000 jobs are guaranteed to disappear somewhere in Canada.”CCPA's report, The Cuts Behind the Curtain, suggests “that these cuts will be hard on the most vulnerable: Aboriginal Peoples, low-income families and individuals, those already out of work—and the environment.”
CCPA, January 23, 2012: “The Cuts Behind the Curtain: How federal cutbacks will slash services and increase unemployment”, by David Macdonald (Summary). Full report (PDF, 46 pages)
The Toronto Star, January 23, 2012: “More than 50,000 federal jobs on chopping block as Ottawa trims spending”, by Les Whittington
Apple and iPhones - the Controversy Continues
Threats and calls for a boycott of Apple, from writers at the Daily Beast, the Los Angeles Times, Newsweek and other sources, add to the company’s ongoing public relations nightmare, as allegations of worker mistreatment in China, and suicide threats, continue.
The Guardian, January 29, 2012: “Apple hit by boycott call over worker abuses in China: US writers attack conditions at Foxconn plant and call for consumers to act”, by Paul Harris.
Forbes, January 25, 2012: “The Real Reason the U.S. Doesn't Make iPhones: We Wouldn't Want To”, by Baizhu Chen, a professor of clinical finance and business economics at USC Marshall School of Business.
New York Times, January 25, 2012: “In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad”, by Charles Duhigg And Keith Bradsher
New York Times, January 21, 2012: “How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work”, by Charles Duhigg And Keith Bradsher
Australia’s Fly in Fly Out Workers the Subject of Parliamentary Investigation
Fly In Fly Out (FIFO) workers – many of whom are miners – are a controversial topic in Australia, and is now the subject of a federal government inquiry. Unions, including the powerful Australian Workers Union, criticize the practice as a "short-term, quick-fix approach" unsuitable to the structural complexities of remote work. Critics also claim that FIFO destroys communities, culture, and is an unhealthy lifestyle for both workers and their families. Proponents, including industry and local/federal government, argue the practice is necessary for providing skilled workers and services to remote areas of Australia.
Chamber of Minerals and Energy Western Australia, January 2005: Fly in / fly out: a sustainability perspective sustainable engaged significant smart responsible relevant. A discussion of the triple bottom line impact of fly in/fly out operations in Western Australia’s resources sector. (PDF, 20 pages).
BBC World Service, January 27, 2012: Australia's Fly In Fly Out Workers (audio, 25:00)
ABC News, January 31, 2012: Council talks up fly-in, fly-out benefits
The Western Australian, February 1, 2012: Fly-in, fly-out culture 'destroys' towns” by Michelle Ridley.
The Herald, December 31, 2011: “Union fights fly-in fly-out mining in Hunter”, by Ian Kirkwood.
Rio Tinto Iron Ore: Fly-in / fly-out at Rio Tinto
Ecuador Anyone? Sí!
If you’re American or Canadian, and hoping to retire soon, consider a ‘test drive’ of Ecuador. But be warned - this is, apparently, no vacation. You must be willing to relax, explore, shop, try local restaurants, maybe take a Spanish class, and report on your experience during an all-expense paid month .
Reuters, February 1, 2012: “Wanted: Retirees to live in Ecuador for a month free”, by Patricia Reaney
Book of the Week
Strings Attached: Untangling the Ethics of Incentives, by Ruth W. Grant. Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2012. 202 p. ISBN 9780691151601
In Strings Attached, Dr. Ruth Grant considers the matter of incentives to discern their universal and setting-specific usefulness. Weighing arguments from history, psychology, ancient political theory, popular culture, economics, and other fields, she pokes holes in traditional views of incentives as applied in various settings; most directly the fields of education (as in pay-for-grades), cash incentives for medical testing, IMF loan restrictions, and plea bargaining.
About the Author:
Ruth W. Grant is professor of political science and philosophy and a senior fellow of the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University. She is the author of "John Locke's Liberalism" and "Hypocrisy and Integrity".
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Editors: Claire Wollen and Yasmin Hartung
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