February 9, 2012
- The Plight of Migrant Workers in Canada
- Teachers Still On “Partial Strike” in British Columbia
- Round One: CUPE 416 and City of Toronto Reach Agreement
- Caterpillar Closes London Plant
- Decision made in AMAPCEO v. Ontario (Ministry of Government Services)
- Spending Too Many Hours At Work? Or Too Few?
- Diversity and Equity in the Workplace
- Canada’s Income Inequality – Ahead of Most of the OECD Pack, but Not in a Good Way
- Census 2011 – West is Best?
- The "'Time-Bomb' of Unemployed Young "
- Airline Workers on the Radar
- Not Just Pretty Faces
- Book of the Week
The Plight of Migrant Workers in Canada
In the wake of the tragic car crash on February 6 that killed 10 Peruvian migrant workers, the status, role and treatment of the tens of thousands of migrant workers who come to Canada each year is under closer examination.
UFCW Canada and the Agriculture Workers Alliance (AWA). 2010-2011 Status of Migrant Farm Workers in Canada. Overview. Full Report (PDF, 25 pages)
Students Against Migrant Exploitation (SAME), 2011: Reality Check: The Life of a Migrant Worker. SAME is a “youth led, youth organized organization that aims to educate and empower youth on migrant worker issues. Full report (PDF, 11 pages)
CBC News, February 8, 2012: “Canada's migrant farm worker system - what works and what's lacking” by Kazi Stastna
CBC News, February 7, 2012: “Migrant workers: Who they are, where they're coming from”
The Globe and Mail , February 7, 2012: “Ontario crash sheds light on plight of migrant workers”, by Anna Mehler Paperny and Dakshana Bascaramurty
The Globe and Mail, February 7, 2012: Infographic: Temporary workers in Canada
Marketwire, January 11, 2012: “Two Migrant Agriculture Workers Die but Farm Operators Go Free in Ontario Case: Owners Go Free and Supervisor Told to Pay a Fine.” An Agriculture Workers Alliancepress release.
In B.C., the Farm Workers' Inter-Agency Compliance Committee was formed in 2007 to “ensure that the rights and safety of workers in the agriculture sector are protected”.
Teachers Still On “Partial Strike” in British Columbia
40,000 teachers represented by the BC Teachers’ Federation have not completed report cards, led field trips, or supervised extracurricular or playground activities since September. "There have been now, I think, something like 80 face-to-face bargaining sessions,” said Education Minister George Abbott. “We're in the 12th month of discussions and literally, the parties are no closer to a resolution of this dispute than they were a year ago."
British Columbia Teachers’ Federation, Bargaining Proposal: Overview: How BC teacher salaries rank among the provinces and territories in 2011. (PDF, 18 pages)
The Globe and Mail, February 9, 2012: "B.C. makes move on teachers’ strike"
The Province, February 9, 2012: “Teachers deserve a fair offer from Victoria”, by Susan Lambert [President, B.C. Teachers Federation)
CBC News, February 7, 2012: “B.C. teachers' contract should be imposed, board says Coquitlam school board calls for forced settlement in prolonged dispute”
Globe and Mail, February 3, 2012: “Surprise challenge to B.C. teachers’ union leadership offers hope for change”, by Gary Mason
The Tri-City News, February 7, 2012: “Everyone wants deal done”, by Diane Strandberg
The Globe and Mail, January 29, 2012: “B.C. teachers’ ‘dark day’ job action beyond the pale for some parents”, by Wendy Stueck
Structuring Reality So That the Law Will Follow: British Columbia Teachers' Quest for Collective Bargaining Rights. Slinn, Sara. Labour 68 (Fall 2011): 35-77,1. (Available to U of T students and faculty, and other universities, through ProQuest article database.)
Round One: CUPE 416 and City of Toronto Reach Agreement
CUPE Local 416, representing outside workers, reached an agreement with the City of Toronto without any labour disruption. The negotiations and the outcome – details of which are not yet known - may provide some insights into what to expect from future bargaining activities, including those of the city’s inside workers, Local 79.
The Toronto Star, February 6, 2012: “City’s unions eye Local 416 deal”, by Robyn Doolittle
The Toronto Star, February 6, 2012: “Hume: Hardcore Ford supporters will be irked by city labour deal”, by Christopher Hume
The Globe and Mail, February 6, 2012:“Mayor scores a big win just when it counts”, by Marcus Gee
The Globe and Mail, February 5, 2012: “History set the tone for Toronto, union negotiations”, by Marcus Gee
Caterpillar Closes London Plant
On February 3rd Caterpillar announced it will close its Electro-Motive plant in London, a move that will affect an estimated 700 workers. It is predicted that Electro-Motive will be moving its operations to Caterpillar’s newly minted plant in Indiana, the most recent and first mid-western state to pass “right-to-work” legislation. The plant’s closing has renewed calls for a review of the Investment Canada Act. The Act holds that a foreign takeover can only occur if it demonstrates a “net benefit” to Canada. Those calling for the Act’s revision argue that the Act needs a set of rules as well as a clear definition of what constitutes a “net benefit” to Canada.
The Toronto Star, February 8, 2012: “Walkom: The real villain of Caterpillar shutdown? Mindless free trade”, by Thomas Walkom
The Globe and Mail, February 8, 2012: “Electro-Motive closure: The game has changed”, by William Polushin
National Post, February 4, 2012: “Won’t compete? Don’t complain”, by Andrew Coyne
The Chronicle Herald, February 8, 2012: “NDP: Act delay makes Canada tough sell”, by Craig Wong
The Globe and Mail, February 8, 2012: “It’s too easy to kick union for saying no to Caterpillar”, by Michael Babad
The Toronto Star, February 6, 2012: “Ottawa outsources the attack on the middle class”, by Tim Harper
Industry Canada: Investment Canada Act (website)
Decision Made in AMAPCEO v. Ontario (Ministry of Government Services)
The Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) issued its ruling in the AMAPCEO v. Ontario (Ministry of Government Services case on January 30, 2012. The Board held that the Ontario government bargained in bad faith when it misrepresented a contract settlement with the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU). When AMAPCEO commenced its negotiations with the government, it requested information from the OPSEU settlement as a way of benchmarking its own wage deal. The government has said that will seek judicial review of the ruling.
Ontario Labour Relations Board, January 30, 2012: Ontario Labour Relations Board’s decision (22 pages)
Ontario Government, January 30, 2012: “Government Responds to OLRB Decision”, Ontario Government’s statement
The Globe and Mail, January 30, 2012: “Ontario labour board upholds union’s complaint about ‘secret arrangement’”, by Karen Howlett and James Bradshaw
Sack Goldblatt Mitchell LLP: Notable Cases: Labour Law: AMAPCEO v. Ontario (Ministry of Government Services), case summary by AMAPCEO’s legal counsel
Spending Too Many Hours At Work? Or Too Few?
A recent Eurofound report found that, “The number of hours worked per week continues to drift downwards, on average – the result of more people working part time, fewer people working long hours, and a fall in the collectively agreed working hours in many countries.” But a recent Institute of Household and Consumer Economics paper also suggests that those who work too many hours, “suffer adverse health “ and that “results show that work-hour mismatches (i.e., differences between actual and desired hours) have negative effects on workers´ health. In particular, we show that “overemployment” – working more hours than desired − has negative effects on different measures of self-perceived health.’
Eurofound, Foundation Findings, January 31, 2012: Working time in the EU. Summary.Full text. [PDF, 24 pages]
SSRN Paper, January 1, 2012: "Work Hours Constraints and Health”, by David Bell, Steffen Otterbach and Alfonso Sousa-Pousa
Diversity and Equity in the Workplace - Positive Indicators
The Global Employer: Equity in the Workplace presents articles from 13 jurisdictions – including Ontario and Quebec - that examine issues regarding equality in the workplace. “Countries continue to pass new legislation that aims to create an equal environment for all employees regardless of age, gender, or race.” Link provided by the IWS Documented News Service.
Baker & McKenzie, 2012: The Global Employer: Equity in the Workplace (PDF, 40 pages)
“Three years ago, the HRC Foundation launched on an ambitious project to raise the bar on a set of key CEI rating criteria so that a 100 percent score would reflect the best in class practices of LGBT inclusion in the workplace… [this year] a remarkable 190 businesses succeeded in scoring 100 percent. This rating reflects equal health care coverage for all LGBT employees and their families, including full parity for domestic partner benefits not only in basic medical coverage, but in dependent care, retirement and other benefits that affect families’ financial and medical well-being.”
Human Rights Campaign Foundation, 2012: 2012 Corporate Equality Index: Rating American Workplaces on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equality
PDF, 92 pages
Canada’s Income Inequality – Ahead of Most of the OECD Pack, but Not in a Good Way
“Canada has more income inequality than most OECD nations” and our “re-distribution programs are less effective than that of many other OECD nations” notes BC Stats, in Mind the Gap: Income Inequality Growing.
BC Stats, January 27, 2012: Mind the Gap: Income Inequality Growing (PDF, 9 pages. Report begins on page 9).
Globe and Mail Feb. 01, 2012: “Crosscheck: Should B.C. care about income inequality?”, by Robert Matas
Census 2011 – West is Best?
Census figures released on February 8 report that between 2006 and 2011, “Canada's population grew by 5.9%, up slightly from the previous intercensal period (2001 to 2006), when it grew by 5.4%. Our population growth between 2006 and 2011 was the highest among G8 countries, as was the case in the previous intercensal period (2001 to 2006).”
Every province and most territories saw its population increase between 2006 and 2011.
Statistics Canada, February 8, 2012: Statistics Canada, 2011 Census Profile
Statistics Canada, February 8, 2012: 2011 Census: Population and dwelling counts
The Globe and Mail, February 8, 2012: “Canada’s future is in the West: 2011 Census”, by Joe Friesen and Bill Curry
The Globe and Mail, February 8, 2012: “Census 2011 interactive: Canada's West grows as the East stalls”, by Alisa Mamak
The Globe and Mail, February 3, 2012: “Go West: Jobs and money leaving Eastern Canada; Unemployment rates higher than national average in every province east of Manitoba, while western provinces thrive”, by Tavia Grant
The "'Time-Bomb' of Unemployed Young "
Unemployment numbers for young people in many countries around the world are increasingly alarming, and the problem is viewed by many as one the greatest, and most urgent challenges facing the global economy. In parts of the Arab world, up to 90% of 16-24 year olds are unemployed; in the United States, 23%; in Spain nearly 50%, in the UK, 22%, in Greece, 48%, and approximately 14% in Canada. But where job vacancies do exist, “People’s skills don’t match the skills required in the workplace,” noted Morley Gunderson, CIBC Chair in Youth Employment at U of T., in a Toronto Star article which reported that “companies are starving for highly skilled workers.”
Pew Research Centre, February 9, 2012: Young, Underemployed and Optimistic: Coming of Age, Slowly, in a Tough Economy. Executive Summary.
Full report. (PDF, 65 pages)
An interview and discussion about the Pew Research Centre report, with William Rodgers III, professor of public policy and chief economist at the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University; Stephen Rose, research professor at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce; and Ingrid Schroeder, director of the Pew Fiscal Analysis Initiative.
NPR, Diane Rehm Show, February 9, 2012: The Improved Job Market & the Long-Term Unemployed.(Podcast, 60 minutes.)
The UN’s has just released its annual report on youth of the world. Chapters include: Employment & Youth, Preparing for Work, Searching for Work, Youth at Work, Conclusions & Recommendations.
United Nations, February 6, 2012: World Youth Report 2011: Youth Employment: Youth Perspectives on the Pursuit of Decent Work in Changing Times UN World Youth Report. Overview. Full report.
The Toronto Star, February 7, 2012: Canadian unemployment is rising, but so is a worker shortage. How both can be true”, by Alyshah Hasham
“Increasing the participation of young people in the labour market has become an urgent policy goal and in recent times the focus has been directed at the ‘NEET’ group – young people ‘not in employment, education and training’. This report summarises the findings from 28 national reports by experts from the ‘European Restructuring Monitor’ (ERM) network on the topic of public and social partner based measures aimed at re-engaging young NEETs (aged 15–29 years).”
European Monitoring Centre on Change, February 7, 2012: Recent policy developments related to those not in employment, education and training (NEETs) Link provided by the IWS Documented News Service.PDF ( 26 pages)
UN Data Source, Key Indicators of the Labour Market, 7th Edition, International Labor Organization October 25, 2011: Youth Unemployment, both sexes. Annual youth unemployment statistics for countries around the world. Data can be viewed or downloaded.
The Telegraph, February 6, 2012: “'Time-bomb' of unemployed young”, by Louisa Peacock
The Guardian, January 26, 2012: “'Hire and fire' has destroyed Britain's jobs economy Europe's biggest problem now is youth unemployment – we should be looking at the German labour model”, by David Marsh and Robert Bischof
BBC News, January 28, 2012: “Davos 2012: Youth unemployment 'disaster'”, by Tim Weber
The Telegraph, January 27, 2012: “Spain's lost generation: youth unemployment surges above 50 per cent”, by Fiona Govan
BBC News, Italy, February 4, 2012: Italy's young generation 'forced to leave', By Alan Johnston
Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations, The ACEVO Commission on Youth Unemployment, 2012: Youth unemployment: the crisis we cannot afford. UK. (PDF, 125 pages).
Airline Workers on the Radar
Pilots at Air France have been on strike for four days. Pilots here at home, with Air Canada, have called a strike vote for next week, and have accused the airline of planning to launch an offshore airline, “circumventing negotiations to launch it with its employees.” At American Airlines, 13,000 employees may be cut, and retired employees “filed court papers requesting permission to form an official committee to protect their interests throughout AMR's restructuring”. And new FAA rules overhaul “commercial passenger airline pilot scheduling to ensure pilots have a longer opportunity for rest before they enter the cockpit.” But WestJet workers are happy, having voted 91% to endorse the launch of a new short-haul regional airline.
Statistics Canada, January 19, 2012: Operational statistics for major Canadian airlines, Level IA(November 2011)
Reuters, February 9, 2012: “Strike [by pilots] costing Air France up to 10 mln euros a day”
The Toronto Star, February 9, 2012: Air Canada pilots call strike vote”, by Vanessa Lu
The Toronto Star, February 8, 2012: “WestJet workers vote to launch regional airline” by John Goddard
Financial Post, February 2, 2012: “Air Canada eyes offshore airline: union”, by Scott
New York Times, February 1, 2012: American Airlines Seeks 13,000 Job Cuts”, by Jad Mouawad
Wall Street Journal, January 30, 2012: “AMR's Nonunion Retirees Seek a Louder Voice”, by Jacqueline Palank
Globe and Mail , January 27, 2012: “Air Canada to allow older pilots”, by Brent Jang
FAA, December 21, 2011: Fact Sheet – Pilot Fatigue Rule Comparison
Not Just Pretty Faces
Fashion models are “often overworked, underfed and underage”, so model Sara Ziff has founded The Model Alliance, and is working on a Models Bill of Rights.
Time, February 8, 2012: “Fashion Models Organize to Fend Off Abuses”, by Leanne Italie
Book of the Week
The End Of Diversity As We Know It: Why Diversity Efforts Fail And How Leveraging Difference Can Succeed, by Martin N. Davidson. San Francisco : Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2012. 228 p. ISBN 9781605093437 (hardcover)
"Martin Davidson has developed a transformative insight: that a key to building innovative companies is to replace well-intentioned but generally ineffective ‘managing diversity’ programs with Leveraging Difference initiatives. I would highly recommend this book to any CEO, manager, or HR professional who wants to build a sustainable, high-performance organization."
—Decker Anstrom, US Ambassador, World Radiocommunication Conference, US Department of State; former President, Landmark Communications; and former Chair, The Weather Channel Companies
About the Author:
Martin N. Davidson is associate professor of leadership and organizational behavior at the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia, and served as associate dean and chief diversity officer.He was elected chair of the Gender and Diversity in Organizations Division of the Academy of Management.
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