Please follow us on Twitter @cirhrlibrary
March 8, 2012
- 2012 Sefton Memorial Lecture. “The Three-Part Crisis of Globalization”
- CRIMT 2012 International Conference
- A New Contract Model for Canadian Auto Workers?
- Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society – January Issue Free Online
- Severance Pay Around the Globe
- Sick Leave Days, Used, and Unused
- Redshirting: Holding Kids Back From Kindergarten
- Immigration to Canada - Changes Planned
- Life After Military Life
- Oil Sands Activity Continues to Drive Employment, and Worker Shortages
- March 8, International Women’s Day
- Collective Bargaining Newsletter for Europe
- A Union of One
- Book of the Week
2012 Sefton Memorial Lecture. “The Three-Part Crisis of Globalization”
Speaker: John Cartwright, President, Toronto & York Region Labour Council
The Sefton Award for contributions to labour relations will be presented to Chris Schenk, former Research Director, Ontario Federation of Labour. The Morley Gunderson Prize in Industrial Relations will be presented to Dr. Maurice Mazerolle, Director,
Centre for Labour Management and Relations, Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012, 7:00 p.m., Kruger Hall Commons, Woodsworth College, 119 St. George St.
Free Admission- RSVP required. All are welcome. A wine & cheese reception will follow the lecture.More information.
CRIMT 2012 International Conference
“As part of its Major Collaborative Research Initiatives project, the Interuniversity Research Centre on Globalization and Work (CRIMT) will host an international conference on trade union futures with a strong focus on assessing innovations, transformations and strategies developed by trade unions at the local, national and transnational levels. This conference will take place from Thursday October 25th to Saturday October 27th 2012in Montreal, Canada. We hope that this conference will bring together academics and practitioners from all perspectives and from many countries, including emerging economies, in order to better our understanding of the challenges to unions of a changing world of work and employment.” More information.
A New Contract Model for Canadian Auto Workers?
A new deal reached by Lear Corp. with the Canadian Auto Workers union will see workers' wages reduced by about 30% over the next four years, but the workers will get a $40,000 transition payment. New hires will start at about half what the workers had been paid, allowing the company to bid on future work with a lower labour-cost base.
St. Thomas Times Journal, March 6, 2012: “Revolutionary new contract could drive auto industry”
The London Free Press, March 5, 2012: “Plant-saver deal model for auto industry? Labour contract: Kitchener pact might be a way to preserve other jobs, factories, but union says it would not have helped London's EMD plant survive”, by Norman De Bono
Globe and Mail, March 1, 2012: High loonie has taken its toll on auto sector, banks say”, by Greg Keenan
Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society – January Issue Free Online
The January issue ofIndustrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, the UC Berkeley-Institute for Research on Labor and Employment academic journal, is currently available online for free. Celebrating its 50th year of publication, Industrial Relations publishes scholarship about the world of work, including worker motivation, employee involvement, organizational behavior, race and gender issues, and other labor market structures around the world that produce low pay and unemployment.
Severance Pay Around the Globe
“Severance pay—a program compensating formal workers for dismissal by employers or with an end-of-service benefit—is often blamed for distorting employer hiring and firing decisions. Together with restrictive labor market regulations and other formal labor market features, this program is held responsible for excessive job protection with a negative impact on labor market outcomes, in particular affecting the most vulnerable. Despite this strong negative assessment among many labor market economists, surprisingly little is known about this program that exists in most countries around the world as a legally mandated benefit.” This book’s objective is to shed light on this program — “its historical origins, its rationale, and its characteristics across the world. It reviews the soundness of the empirical accusation, assesses recent country reforms, and offers policy reform alternatives and policy guidance.”
World Bank, 2012: Reforming Severance Pay: An International Perspective (PDF, 320 pages)
MoneyVille.ca, February 24, 2012: “Fired? Too bad you don't live in Europe”, by Josh Rubin
Sick Leave Days, Used, and Unused
“BLS data from the March 2009 National Compensation Survey (NCS) show that full-time private industry workers who had a paid sick leave plan with a fixed number of sick leave days earned per year did not, on average, use all of the paid sick leave they were provided. The data also show that usage varies among different industry groups.” Currently, in Canada and the U.S., the payout of unused sick days is a benefit under attack for those in the public service sector - especially for teachers.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 29, 2012: “Paid Sick Leave: Prevalence, Provision, and Usage among Full-Time Workers in Private Industry” by Ross O. Barthold and Jason L. Ford. Includes charts, table and references.Link provided by IWS Documented News Service.
Globe and Mail, March 1, 2012: “Clampdown on teachers’ labour costs [including payout of sick days] will protect education, Ontario says”, by James Bradshaw
Globe and Mail, March 2, 2012: “McGuinty asks teachers to ‘do their part’ in YouTube video: Ontario premier thanks teachers for their years of work before asking them to accept a wage freeze and changes to their sick leave plan”
Globe and Mail, March 1, 2012: “Teacher's sick days leave government with billion dollar liability: Education Minister”
Chicago Sun Times, February 2, 2012: “CPS [Chicago Public Schools] spends millions on workers for unused sick and vacation days”, By Barbara Rose And Patrick Rehkamp
Redshirting: Holding Kids Back From Kindergarten
On CBS News 60 Minutes on March 4, Morley Safer reported on the rising trend of "redshirting," delaying starting kindergarten until the age of six. Safer interviewed Malcolm Gladwell, and also Elizabeth Dhuey - economist and Assistant Professor of Economics at the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources - who believes older children starting school get more attention from the start: “They're just older but they look more able so they get in the higher reading group in kindergarten so they learn how to read a little better. And then in first grade they know to read a little better so they're put in the higher reading group again. And then they know how to read a little better in the first grade. And it perpetuates over time.“
CBC News, March 4, 2012: Advantage of holding kids back. (Video out take featuring Elizabeth Dhuey, 1:41 minutes). Data analysis by economist Elizabeth Dhuey supports the idea that the older students in a particular grade gain and maintain an advantage throughout school.
CBC News, March 4, 2012: Redshirting: Holding kids back from kindergarten (video, 13:41 minutes).Transcript.
Immigration to Canada - Changes Planned
Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney plans to build a faster, more flexible, just-in-time immigration engine, and redesign the points system, used to evaluate immigrants, to emphasize language ability and youth, "to create a new economic stream for trades people, who currently don’t qualify under Canada’s education-focused federal skilled worker program".
The Globe and Mail, March 1, 2012: “Immigration overhaul to let employers choose prospects”, by Joe Friesen
Toronto Star, March 1, 2012: “A new immigration point system for Canada starts in 2012” by Nicholas Keung
The Globe and Mail, March 1, 2012: Kenney urges employers to help build just-in-time immigration system, by Joe Friesen
Statistics Canada, February 29, 2012: “Immigrant Earnings Growth: Selection Bias or Real Progress?”
by Garnett Picot and Patrizio Piraino. (PDF, 30 pages).This study uses "longitudinal tax data linked to immigrant landing records in order to estimate the change in immigrant earnings and the immigrant-Canadian-born earnings gap.” “While low-earning immigrants are more likely than their high-earning counterparts to leave the cross-sectional samples over time, the same is true of the Canadian-born population. Thus, no evidence of a bias is observed when one compares immigrant earnings trajectories with the trajectories of the Canadian-born.”
Life After Military Life
Approximately 5,000 members are "released" annually from the Canadian Forces. About 39,000 Canadian soldiers served in Afghanistan, of which women comprised more than 9%. But returning to civilian life, and finding work, can be difficult for vets. Half of the soldiers in the Canadian military today have a high school education or less, and although career transition programs are offered through Veterans Affairs, participation is low. Adding to the challenge, thousands of returned veterans also suffer from serious PTSD, and other mental health issues. It is expected that, now the Afghanistan combat mission is over, up to 35,000 soldiers will be released from the Canadian Forces over the next five years.
The Globe and Mail, March 7, 2012: “Why is Canada kicking injured soldiers when they’re down?”, by Sean Bruyea
CBC News , March 7, 2012: “Veterans Affairs cut will hit services, says union. Minister says changes will safeguard veterans' benefits”
National Post, February 27, 2012: “End of Afghan mission leaves vets grappling with their return to Canada”, by Lee Berthiaume
National Post, February 28, 2012: “What to do now?; Military experiences don't translate well to the civilian workplace” by Jordan Press
Canada Newswire, December 21, 2011: “From War To Work: RBC Ex-Military Recruitment Program”
CBC, Metro Morning, November 11, 2011: “From Soldier To Finance”. Matt Galloway discussed a new recruitment program at RBC, with Mark Walden and David Mack. (Podcast, 7:04 minutes)
Canadian Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy, 2010: “Making It on Civvy Street: An Online Survey of Canadian Veterans in Transition”, by Timothy G. Black, University of Victoria and Chiara Papile, University of Alberta. (PDF, 19 pages)
Oil Sands Activity Continues to Drive Employment, and Worker Shortages
InGaining grounds in the sands 2012, Deloitte argues “that challenges associated with labour shortages and productivity are among the most urgent facing companies working in the oil and gas sector today, especially the oil sands". In Balancing the people equation: How enhanced collaboration can help solve labour challenges in the oil sands, Deloitte proposes that “solving this “people equation” involves finding new ways to manage and leverage workforces in the face of skilled labour supply and demand imbalance.” Between 2010 and 2035, Ontario stands to receive 52 per cent of all oilsands related employment outside Alberta, and B.C. will add 31,500 jobs, or 25 per cent of all employment outside Alberta.
Deloitte, February 15, 2012: Balancing the people equation: How enhanced collaboration can help solve labour challenges in the oil sands (PDF, 16 pages)
The Edmonton Journal, March 7, 2012: “As oilsands activity heats up, Alberta employers brace for soaring costs, worker shortages”, By Gary Lamphier
The Globe and Mail, March 5, 2012: “Oil sands fuel a new manufacturing boom – in Alberta”, by Gordon Pitts
The Globe and Mail, March 3, 2012: “Ontario has a big part in oil sands work – as middleman”, by Nathan Vanderklippe
The Calgary Herald, February 25, 2012: “Water scientists in demand: More engineers needed in energy sector”, by Derek Sankey
Canadian Energy Research Institute, June 2011: “Economic Impacts of Staged Development of Oil Sands Projects in Alberta (2010-2035)”, by Afshin Honarvar, Dinara Millington, Jon Rozhon, Thorn Walden, Carlos A. Murillo. (PDF, 39 pages).
March 8, International Women’s Day
To mark International Women’s Day, several reports on women’s underrepresentation in leadership roles have been released. Ryerson University’s Diversity Institute’s Diversity Leads report looks at “how and why women in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) are advancing to senior leadership positions.” The report found that while women represent 38.1% of elected positions, and 37.3% of public positions, only 17.4% are represented on corporate boards and executive seats. Globally, according to OECD data, only one in ten board members of top companies are women. Mirroring the OECD’s findings, international advisory firm, Grant Thornton found that the proportion of women in senior management positions has fallen to 2004 levels. Finally, in Europe the European Commission has released a report that looks at gender equality in the EU and makes recommendations on how to achieve gender balance on company boards.
International Women’s Day website
Toronto Star, March 8, 2012: “International Women’s Day: Minority women grossly underrepresented at the top”, by Nicholas Keung
National Post, March 8, 2012: “International Women’s Day celebrated with a Google Doodle”, by Joe Rayment
The Globe and Mail, March 8, 2012: “Role models for women more accessible than ever”, by Mia Pearson
Diversity Institute, March 8, 2012: “DiversityLeads 2012”, a summary of the research (PDF, 2 pages).Click here to have a hard copy of the report. An electronic version will be available in the coming days.
OECD, March 5, 2012: “Gender: Only one in ten board members of top companies are women, finds CEO”. Link provided by IWS Documented News Service.
OECD: OECD Gender Initiative homepage. You can access the OECD’s Gender data browser, an MS-Excel interactive tool to exploring gender outcomes in education, employment and entrepreneurship.
Grant Thornton, 2012: “Proportion of women in senior management falls to 2004 levels”
European Commission, March 2012: “Women in Decision-Making Positions” (PDF, 30 pages). Link provided by IWS Documented News Service.
Collective Bargaining Newsletter for Europe
"The Collective Bargaining Newsletter presents up-to-date information on collective bargaining developments across Europe. It aims to facilitate information exchange between trade unions and to support the work of the ETUC’s collective bargaining committee.” Full issues, dating back to January of 2010, can be downloaded in PDF format. The latest issue includes union news from more than 20 European countries. Link provided by IWS Documented News Service.
A Union of One
Wall Street Journal, March 5, 2012: “A Labor Force Faces the Ultimate in Downsizing: Herbert Jenkins Heads Detroit Union With a Single Member—Him”, By Matthew Dolan
Book of the Week
Perspectives on Organizational Fit, edited by Cheri Ostroff and Timothy A. Judge. New York : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2007. 477 p. ISBN 9780805851953
This book concerns how employees consider their work lives, how well they fit their jobs, the work setting, other people, and what is important and valued in their organizations.Perspectives on Organizational Fit, a new book in SIOP's Organizational Frontiers Series, takes a scholarly look at fit in organizations: the relationship between individuals and the environments in which they find themselves.
As the volume extends upon recent advances in fit theory, the contributors address how fit theory is used within selection, recruitment, diversity, and leadership teams. It also explores the integration of different fit perspectives, and clarifies the methodological and statistical issues that plague fit research.
About the Author:
Dr. Timothy Judge received his doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also holds a master's degree from Illinois and an undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa. Previously, Dr. Judge was associate professor in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University, and the Stanley M. Howe Professor in Leadership in the College of Business Administration, University of Iowa. Dr. Judge's research interests are in the areas of personality and individual differences, leadership and influence behaviors, internal and external staffing, and job attitudes. Dr. Judge is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. In 1995, Judge received the Ernest J. McCormick Award for Distinguished Early Career Contributions from the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and in 2001, he received the Larry L. Cummings Award for mid-career contributions from the Organizational Behavior Division of the Academy of Management.
Visit the Recent Books at the CIRHR Library blog.
This publication is protected by Canadian copyright laws and may not be copied, posted or forwarded electronically without permission.
Questions or comments: cirhr.library@utoronto.ca
Editors: Claire Wollen, and Yasmin Hartung
Designer: Nick Strupat
Copyright © 2012 Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources, University of Toronto. All rights reserved.