June 20, 2011
- Canadian Labour Board Law Conference 2011 and Bora Laskin Award Dinner
- The Madison Moment – don’t forget!
- Announcements: Congratulations to Anil Verma and Tony Fang
- What Are Essential Services?
- Wal-Mart Workers in the United States Try Something Different
- Aboriginal Human Rights Now in Canada
- The State of HR in Canada: Survey Results
- CIRHR Tweets of interest
- CBC’s Economic Impact
- Gaping Holes in our Knowledge of the Labour Market
- Ontario’s Labour Pains -- the just in time workforce
- Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics – 2009 Survey Overview
- Manufacturing: The Year 2010 in Review
- Project Labour Agreements Part II
- Book of the Week
Canadian Labour Board Law Conference 2011 and Bora Laskin Award Dinner
Presented by Lancaster House and the University of Toronto, Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources,
Tuesday, October 18 & Wednesday, October 19, 2011,
The Sutton Place Hotel Toronto, 955 Bay Street, Toronto, ON M5S 2A2
SPECIAL EARLY BIRD RATE Register and pay by Monday, June 27, 2011, to save $200 on any conference or workshop.
Bora Laskin Award Winner
Andrew Sims, Q.C., a widely respected adjudicator, arbitrator and mediator, has been chosen by the Selection Committee as the 2011 recipient of the Bora Laskin Award. This award, named in honour of the late Chief Justice Bora Laskin, has been established by the University of Toronto to honour those who have made outstanding contributions to Canadian labour law.
The award will be presented at the Sutton Place Hotel in Toronto on October 18, 2011. This special dinner event is being held in conjunction with Lancaster's Conference on Canadian Labour Board Lawand is co-hosted by the University of Toronto, Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources and Lancaster House.
To reserve a ticket for yourself, or a table on behalf of your firm or organization, please call (416) 977-6618 or visit the conference registration page online
The Madison Moment – don’t forget!
Over the last year or so there have been over 700 attacks in the United States upon public sector collective bargaining. This alarming trend is also finding root in Canada with the elimination of collective bargaining rights for transit workers, the legislation back to work of Crown prosecutors and government attempts to impose wage restraints upon the public sector. This free symposium will explore this issue through a distinguished panel of speakers.
The Madison Moment: North American Public Sector Collective Bargaining Event Location: CMA Student Lounge - Ted Rogers School of Management Date: June 23, 2011 Time: 7:00 pm-9:00 pm
Update on Wisconsin
Washington Post, June 15, 2011: “Wisconsin Supreme Court lets polarizing union law pushed by Republican governor take effect Acting with unusual speed, the state Supreme Court on Tuesday reinstated Gov. Scott Walker's plan to all but end collective bargaining for tens of thousands of public workers.”
JSOnline, June 14, 2011: The court found a committee of lawmakers was not subject to the state's open meetings law, and so did not violate that law when they hastily approved the measure and made it possible for the Senate to take it up...
“Decision was a 4-3 decision with conservatives outvoting liberals on the court. Justice Prosser, who barely won reelection by 7,000, was the deciding vote. Prosser also wrote a poorly reasoned and highly partisan decision for his former colleague, Gov. Scott Walker. You should all read the scathing dissent by Chief Justice Abrahamson,that would even make Justice Scalia wince.”
Here is the decision: http://www.wicourts.gov/sc/opinion/DisplayDocument.html?content=html&seqNo=66078
Announcements: Congratulations to Anil Verma and Tony Fang
Anil Verma has been Appointed Director, Centre for Industrial Relations & Human Resources
We are pleased to announce that the Agenda Committee of Academic Board has approved the appointment of Professor Anil Verma as Director of the Centre for Industrial Relations & Human Resources, University of Toronto, effective July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2015.
Professor Verma will be on approved leave for six months effective July 1, 2011. An announcement for the acting director will be made shortly.
Tony Fang is the President-Elect 2011-2012 of the Chinese Economists Society
Board of Directors: Albert Hu Guangzhou, Ni Jinlan, Song Bingtao, Wu Yangru, Li Hui, and He Jie. Congratulations to all and many thanks for the voters. From the CES Election Committee
What Are Essential Services?
Back-to-work legislation was first passed under the premise that when a service is essential to the economy the government can legally ‘force’ employees back to work. Usually, such legislation is used only after negotiations fail to produce timely results and public pressure has significantly mounted. Recently, what constitutes an “essential” service has been the subject of heated debates as the federal government prepares to table back to work legislation for Air Canada employees less than 24 hours after the strike began. The federal government’s actions are being questioned as Air Canada’s flight schedule has not been disrupted by the strike and, as a result, has had limited economic consequences.
Adding to the fervor is Canada Post’s “rotating strikes” turned lockout by Canada Post. The Post’s move is seen by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers as a way to justify back-to-work legislation; by restricting mail delivery, the Post can argue the strike has jeopardized the delivery of its’ “essential” service. For more information and reactions to the strikes, follow the links below:
CNW, June 19, 2011: New Deal at Air Canada Gets Approval of Union Leaders, Workplace Representatives : "No worker or union member anywhere in the country should take this kind of extreme interference lightly. I would urge new Federal Labour Minister Lisa Raitt to instead start acting in the best interest of both sides and allow parties to resolve their conflicts through the collective bargaining process."
Globe and Mail, June 14, 2011: “Ottawa threatens to end Air Canada strike”, By Steven Chase and Brent Jang
Globe and Mail, June 15, 2011: “Why the rush to end the Air Canada and Canada Post strikes?”, Globe Editorial
Parliament of Canada: “Federal Back to Work Legislation: 1950 to date”, a chronological list of when back-to-work legislation has been used to end a strike.
Canadian Labour Congress, June 15, 2011: CLC president, Ken Georgetti, writes a letter to Labour Minister Lisa Raitt
Canadian Auto Workers, June 14, 2011: “CAW Angered by Possible Back to Work Legislation for Air Canada Workers”, CAW news
Rabble News, June 12, 2011: “Looming strike at Air Canada reflects a larger tension in Canadian economy”, By Ken Lewenza. : “The Air Canada battle”, writes Lewenze, is about “closing that ever-widening wealth gap and strengthening the middle class, for all Canadians”
Canadian Union of Postal Workers, June 13, 2011: “Canada Post wants a Full-Scale Strike and Back-to-Work Legislation,” Charges Union
Wal-Mart Workers in the United States Try Something Different
“After numerous failed attempts to unionize Wal-Mart stores, the nation’s main union for retail workers has decided to try a different approach: it has helped create a new, nonunion group of Wal-Mart employees that intends to press for better pay, benefits and most of all, more respect at work.”
New York Times, June 14, 2011: Wal-Mart Workers Try the Nonunion Route
Aboriginal Human Rights Now in Canada
The Canadian Human Rights Act now covers aboriginal Canadians affected by, “practices like sexual harassment in the workplace; denial of an apartment because of someone's background; or dismissal from a job because of a family feud. Previously, aboriginal Canadians could not use the complaint mechanism in the Act to appeal to the Canadian Human Rights Commission if they faced this kind of unacceptable discrimination. Now, they can.”
Globe and Mail, June 19, 2011: Aboriginal Canadians get a fuller share of rights
“The exclusion of people governed by the Indian Act from human rights law was discriminatory and contrary to democratic principles.”
Canadian Human Rights Commission, July 17, 2011: Canada Corrects Historic Human Rights Injustice - But Legal Battles Could Thwart Parliament’s Intent
The State of HR in Canada: Survey Results
In February, the IRC surveyed HR professionals across Canada to glean their perspectives on HR, the challenges and priorities for HR departments, and the kinds of skills and knowledge that are perceived as critical for the practice. Over 450 survey responses from a 53-question survey provide both demographic information and perspectives on the profession.
“According to our survey, talent management is perceived as both a challenge and a priority for HR departments, including developing and implementing succession plans, as well as building the capacity of the organization, through effective learning strategies. As such, the IRC has elected to launch a Talent Management program in Fall 2011. The program is still in the development phase; however, the focus of Talent Management is devising effective strategies for recruiting, training, and developing an organization’s talent pool. The program will be designed to allow participants to acquire the skills and knowledge to build an effective talent management strategy for their own organization, discover gaps in existing recruitment and retention practices, and become an important internal resource and advocate on talent management.”
An Inquiry into the State of HR in Canada: Executive Summary by Paul Juniper and Alison Hill (16 pages, PDF)
CIRHR Tweets of interest
CBC.ca: White Coat, Black Art: http://t.co/9qn3ZCO scroll down to: Sleepy Residents Show (June 17, 2011) available as a pod cast
This week, we rebroadcast and update our "Sleepy Residents" show from last season. Dr. Brian Goldman speaks with a panel of residents about how sleep deprivation affects their health, and yours. You'll also hear from a hospital VP who tries to keep patients safe from fumbling, overtired doctors. And a long-time ER doc talks about his controversial fix for staying awake on those long night shifts.
Pensions gets bigger in contract negotiating room http://t.co/VrzgaHF
As Canada’s big prostitution case concluded, SGM's Cynthia Petersen offered some perspective http://bit.ly/jDAWSm
CBC’s Economic Impact
CBC released a report this week detailing its impact on the Canadian economy. According to the report, the CBC contributed $3.7-billion dollars to the Canadian economy last year and, if privatized, would lead to billions in losses.
The study falls on the heels of last week’s federal budget release that will see $4 billion dollars cut from public spending. Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty, has stated that the savings “shall be found”; perhaps, CBC is hoping the report will provide the broadcaster protection from Flaherty’s funding scissors.
CBC Radio-Canada, June 8, 2011: “The Economic Impact of CBC/Radio-Canada: Report for CBC/Radio-Canada”, the full report (PDF, 97 pages)
CBC, June 16, 2011: “CBC contributes $3.7B to economy: study”, CBC News
Globe and Mail, June 16, 2011: “One will get you three if you fund the CBC,” by John Doyle
National Post, June 16, 2011: “CBC prepares to defend its finances,” By Scott Stinson
"Gaping Holes in our Knowledge of the Labour Market" and in the USA ...
In 2008, the federal government and provincial labour ministers asked Mr. Drummond to oversee a special advisory committee to examine how to improve labour-market data. The 226-page report, in 2009, recommended a central website on labour-market trends, tracking university and college graduates and more government information available for free.
The report (see below), which pegged the cost of bolstering labour-market information at less than $13-million, has since been shelved. “It’s extremely frustrating,” Mr. Drummond said.
Globe and Mail, June 20, 2011: Time to Lead: Gaping holes in our knowledge of the labour market by Tavia Grant
Advisory Panel on Labour Market Information, May 20, 2009: Working Together to Build a Better Labour Market Information System for Canada - Final Report (288 pages, PDF) – see also Reports to FLMM webpage for interim report and html format
Advisory Panel on Labour Market Information webpage
And in the United States…
Dissent Magazine Blog, June 9, 2011: Where Have All the Jobs Gone? By Judith Stein
Ontario’s Labour Pains -- the just in time workforce
“As Ontario looks for post-recession prosperity, how does our labour market stack up and what realignments do we need to get Ontario working for the future?”
The Agenda: Ontario’s Labour Market Pains video presentation with Tom Zizys, a fellow at the Metcalf Foundation; Linda Franklin, the CEO of Colleges Ontario and a spokesperson for the Ontario Workforce Shortage Coalition; Deena Ladd, the coordinator of the Workers' Action Centre and Francis Fong, an economist in charge of Canadian special studies at TD Economics.
TD Bank Financial Group, March 8, 2010: The Changing Canadian Workplace (27 pages, PDF)
Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics – 2009 Survey Overview
The Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) is an important source of income data for Canadian families, households and individuals. Introduced in 1993, SLID provides an added dimension to traditional surveys on labour market activity and income: the changes experienced by individuals and families through time. Among the survey's key objectives is understanding Canadians’ economic well-being.
Low Income Lines, 2009-2010: In order to provide a holographic or complete picture of low income, Statistics Canada implements an approach that uses three complementary low income lines: the Low Income Cut-offs (LICOs), the Low Income Measures (LIMs) and the Market Basket Measure (MBM).
Free access to CANSIM tables: With this release, users now have free access to CANSIM’s 202-series tables. They are available in several formats with any web browser. CANSIM tables can be found at CANSIM 202 series.
The 202 Series is also directly accessible in the Income in Canada publication using the Beyond 20/20 Table Browser (also free).
SLID Electronic Data Dictionary :This electronic product provides information on all Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics variables, descriptions and response categories, and range of values. Starting with content themes, information is accessed in a hierarchical fashion, quickly guiding data users to variables of interest.
Manufacturing: The Year 2010 in Review
“This study reviews status and trends for the manufacturing sector in 20010. It analyses major provincial and industry shifts in production and puts them in the context of major socio-economic drivers such as employment, productivity, prices and exports.
Manufacturing sales increased 8.9% to $529.8 billion in 2010, after posting a decline of 17.8% in 2009. It was the largest single year advance since 2000 as the sector regained approximately 40% of 2009’s decrease. Conversely, the 2009 drop in sales was the largest on record.”
“Designed for a broad audience, which includes professionals, researchers, policy makers and policy analysts, educators and students, the studies in the Analysis in Brief analytical series aim to shed light on current economic issues.”
Statistics Canada, June 20, 2011: Manufacturing: The Year 2010 in Review by Jeff Paul and Norman Cromey (18 pages, PDF) or (html with charts)
Project Labour Agreements Part II
“A Project Labor Agreement or PLA is a comprehensive, uniform labor agreement - a “job site constitution” – that standardizes contract terms among various crafts for the duration of a project. It is a valuable construction management tool for substantial cost savings, productivity, job stability, timely completion and quality work. A uniform agreement represents a planned approach to labor relations and offers significant advantages. As detailed within this report, the dramatic increase in the use of PLAs for both and private sector work in New York City and New York State in recent years reflects these advantages and attests to PLAs’ value for the industry.”
Cornell University ILR School DigitalCommons@ILR Research Studies and Reports, May 2011:Project Labor Agreements in NYS II: In the Public Interest and of Proven Value (81 pages, PDF) [source: IWS Documented News Service]
Book of the Week
Work and Labour in Canada: Critical Issues, by Andrew Jackson ; foreword by Wallace Clement. Toronto : Canadian Scholars’ Press, 2010. 2nd ed. 314 p. ISBN 9781551303666
Now in its second edition, and with a new foreword by Wallace Clement, this original and timely book focuses on critical issues surrounding work and labour in Canada. It examines changes to the labour market and in the workplace, with a strong empirical component based upon the most recent Statistics Canada data. An ideal text for Sociology of Work, and a wide range of courses in Labour Studies and Industrial Relations programs across Canada.
About the Author:
Andrew Jackson is the Chief Economisst and National Director of Social and Economic Policy with the Canadian Labour Congress. He is also a Research Professor in the Institute of Political Economy at Carleton University, a Research Associate with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and a Fellow with the School of Policy Studies at Queen's University.
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Questions or comments: cirhr.library@utoronto.ca
Editor: Vicki Skelton and thank you to special guest editor Yasmin Hartung, a student at theUniversity of Toronto iSchool working at the CIRHR Library for the summer of 2011.
Designer: Nick Strupat
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