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March 15, 2012
- CIRHR Alumni Tony Fang Awarded Fellowship
- Labour Battles and Challenges in Nova Scotia
- Behind the Numbers – the Long Term Unemployed in the U.S.
- Social Media Snooping, at Work and School, in the U.S.
- Employment at Will - or Whim - in the U.S.
- Tired Health Care Workers Present Risks to Patients and Themselves
- Wellness Plans and Worker Well-Being
- LinkedIn Useful for Employment Insights (And Lawyers Like it Too)
- Income Inequality Realities in Canada and the U.S.
- Young Workers Losing Hope?
- More than 50,000 British Workers Deemed Fit to Work, and ‘Incapacity Benefits’ Cut Off
- Tiring Time Out!
- Book of the Week
CIRHR Alumni Tony Fang Awarded Fellowship
Dr. Tony Fang, currently an associate professor of Human Resources Management and Industrial Relations at York University, and a research associate with the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources Management at University of Toronto, has been awarded a J. Robert Beyster Faculty Fellowship. Congratulations!
Labour Battles and Challenges in Nova Scotia
“Workers in Nova Scotia are worse off economically than they were a quarter century ago. For the most part, this deterioration in wages happened at the same time that the economy of the province vigorously increased the wealth it generated.” A new report describes these trends, and why they are happening, in detail. “Overall unemployment has ticked down slightly from the peaks of the recession, but long-term unemployment remains historically high, threatening the long-term economic security of workers and the country as a whole.”
Centre for Economic and Policy Research , February 2012: “Labour Standards Reform in Nova Scotia: Reversing the War Against Workers”, by Kyle Buott, Larry Haiven, Judy Haiven. (PDF, 38 pages)
CBC News , March 15, 2012: ”Halifax ferries back in service as strike ends”
The Globe and Mail, March 12, 2012: “One conciliator helps resolve two labour disputes gripping Nova Scotia”, by Jane Taber
Canadian Business, March 12, 2012: “Bowater Mersey paper mill in Nova Scotia begins three-week shutdown”
The Globe and Mail, March 12, 2012: “Halifax public transit may be restored by Friday after tentative deal reached”
The Globe and Mail, March 6, 2012: “Halifax labour woes a symbol for a nation”, by Jane Taber
Canadian Press, January 1, 2012: “Nova Scotia premier says province should prepare for rough economy this year”, by Keith Doucette
Behind the Numbers – the Long Term Unemployed in the U.S.
A new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research sheds light on the demographics of the millions of workers struggling with unemployment and under-employment.
Centre for Economic and Policy Research , March 6, 2012: “Unemployment Rate Does Not Tell the Full Story: Long-term Hardship a Tremendous Burden on Millions of Workers and the Economy”, by John Schmitt and Janelle Jones (Full report, PDF, 15 pages)
National Employment Law Project, March 9, 2012: “Economy in Focus: Long Road Ahead for Older Unemployed Workers”, by Claire McKenna. (PDF, 5 pages)
UnemployedWorkers.org. Laid Off And Left Out. Website.
Social Media Snooping, at Work and School, in the U.S.
Employers and colleges are finding a wealth of personal information behind password-protected accounts and privacy walls on Facebook, and other social media, just too tempting, and some are demanding full access from job applicants and student athletes.
Also, read LexisNexis blog discussions and criticism of a recent Office of the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board on social media and protected concerted activity (PDF, 35 pages),including how the guidelines may relate to union activity.
MSNBC, March 6, 2012: “Govt. agencies, colleges demand applicants' Facebook passwords”, by Bob Sullivan
Time Moneyland, February 22, 2012: “Your Facebook Profile Can Predict Your Job Performance”, by Josh Sanburn
SSRN, Mississippi College Law Review, Vol. 31, 2012: “Expectations of Privacy in Social Media”, by Stephen E. Henderson, University of Oklahoma College of Law
LexisNexis, Labor & Employment Commentary Blog, February 17, 2012: “By George! Here's an Angle on NLRB/Social Media That I Bet You Haven't Thought Of”, by Robin Shea. A LexisNexis blogger discusses the Office of the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board report on social media and protected concerted activity, and suggests that even if you believe “it's premature to rush out to rewrite your social media policy, you might want to do it post haste if you think your company is vulnerable to a union campaign”
Employment at Will - or Whim - in the U.S.
The United States has some of the most relaxed employment protections in the world, and “is centered on the long-standing employment-at-will doctrine, which allows employers to discharge employees at any time and for any reason, with no notice. “Even absurd rationales, such as left- handedness, are permissible grounds for discharge. […] While employers can, and regularly do, terminate workers without cause, notice, or reason, that does not necessarily mean that such legal discharges occur without a price. This Article reports the results of an empirical survey aimed at measuring the reactions of individuals to various employment discharge scenarios. “
Oregon Law Review, Justice, 2011: “Employment, and the Psychological Contract”, by Larry A. DiMatteo, Robert C. Bird, and Jason A. Colquitt (PDF, 76 pages). Link provided by IWS Documented News Service.
Tired Health Care Workers Present Risks to Patients and Themselves
“The link between health care worker fatigue and adverse events is well documented, with a substantial number of studies indicating that the practice of extended work hours contributes to high levels of worker fatigue and reduced productivity. These studies and others show that fatigue increases the risk of adverse events, compromises patient safety, and increases risk to personal safety and well-being. While it is acknowledged that many factors contribute to fatigue, including but not limited to insufficient staffing and excessive workloads, the purpose of thisSentinel Event Alertis to address the effects and risks of an extended work day and of cumulative days of extended work hours.”
The Joint Commission, December 14, 2011: Sentinel Event Alert Issue 48: Health care worker fatigue and patient safety. (PDF, 4 pages)
Business Insurance, January 8, 2012: “Health care body highlights dangers of worker fatigue”, by Maureen McKinney
Wellness Plans and Worker Well-Being
“Employers more and more are depending on health and wellness initiatives to build and foster a successful and productive workforce. This survey was conducted to identify traditional wellness plans and new trends in employee well-being. The objective was to gauge how many programs and initiatives organizations offered and how those offerings are expanding to include a more integrated well-being approach beyond one that is just health-related.”
WorldatWork, February 2012: Total Rewards and Employee Well-Being Survey (PDF, 34 pages).
Link provided by IWS Documented News Service.
LinkedIn Useful for Employment Insights (And Lawyers Like it Too)
LinkedIn can offer many insights in to the current world of work, for example, “one of the fastest-growing job titles in America is “adjunct professor” (an ill-paid, overworked species of academic)”. And, posted resumes are more likely to be truthful – at least about their work history. In other social media news, “20 percent of law firms have a full-time social media specialist on staff, and about 40 percent said blogging and social networking initiatives have helped the firm land new work”.
Washington Post, March 11, 2012: “Law firms get into the social media game”, by Catherine Ho
Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, March 2012: “The Effect of Linkedin on Deception in Resumes”, by Jamie Guillory and Jeffrey T. Hancock. Abstract. (Full Article, PDF, 6 pages)
NPR News, March 14, 2012: “Study: LinkedIn Resumes More Honest - In Some Ways”
The Economist, March 10, 2012: “A pixelated portrait of labour: LinkedIn offers a new way to look at employment”
Income Inequality Realities in Canada and the U.S.
In Alberta, the Union of Provincial Employees intends to press the provincial government to address a disparity in pay equity in the wake of a report that shows women working full-time in the province earn 68 per cent as much as men. Alberta ranks with Newfoundland and Labrador as having the highest wage gap in the country.
In the U.S. and worldwide, the income inequality gap between the 1% and everyone else continue to grow, and Richard Florida suggests the “intriguing conclusion about the connection between cities and wages. On the one hand, city-size has become a factor in increasing inequality, magnifying the underlying bifurcation of the labor market. On the other hand, bigger cities appear to pay better average wages. Cities make us richer, more productive, and increase our wages, even as they reflect and compound the growing social and economic divides of today's increasingly spiky world.”
Finally, a new Statistics Canada release tells us more about the poor in Canada.
Parkland Institute, March 7, 2012: “Alberta’s Wage Gap Still Highest in Canada: New fact sheet shows status of Alberta women lagging behind the rest of the country”. Summary. (Report, PDF, 2 pages)
The Edmonton Journal, March 7, 2012: “AUPE wants Redford to address wage disparity between women and men” by Marty Klinkenberg
The Economist, March 12, 2012: ”The gap widens, again: No more than a temporary blip from the Great Recession”
Martin Prosperity Institute, Rotman School of Management, January 19, 2012: “The Inequality of Cities: Differences and Determinants of Wage and Income Inequity across U.S. Metros” by Richard Florida and Charlotta Mellander. (Full Text, PDF, 26 pages)
The Atlantic, February 24, 2011: “Cities, Inequality, and Wages”, by Richard Florida
U.S. Census Bureau, February 2012: “Household Income Inequality Within U.S. Counties: 2006–2010” by Adam Bee. Link provided by IWS Documented News Service. (PDF, 5 pages)
“There is sustained interest in finding out in broad terms how many poor people are in Canada, how poor they are, what their characteristics are, where they live, and how long they stay poor.Statistics Canada does not define ‘poor’ nor does it estimate the number of poor families and individuals in Canada.[...]The primary purpose of Statistics Canada’s low income lines are to provide some indication of the extent, nature, and evolution of persons with low-income who may be said to be at-risk of poverty.”
Statistics Canada, March 7, 2012: “Low Income in Canada - A Multi-line and Multi-index Perspective”, by Brian Murphy, Xuelin Zhang and Claude Dionne
Young Workers Losing Hope?
Young people today see few jobs vacancies, are often competing with much older workers for the positions that are available, and if they do manage to land a job, they earn entry-level wages are lower than in the past. To find work, some young Canadians are heading west and north, but American youth are less likely to leave home and move to find a job. In both countries, many young unemployed are simply giving up.
TD Economics, March 8, 2012: The plight of younger workers (PDF, 3 pages)
The Toronto Star, March 14, 2012: Gen Y on the move: Why Canadian young people leave home for work”, by Alyshah Hasham
The Globe and Mail, March 10, 2012: “Young leading job market exodus”, by Tavia Grant
The Toronto Star, March 9, 2012: “Youth unemployment: How joblessness delays adulthood”, by Alyshah Hasham
The Toronto Star, March 9, 2012: “Jobless Gen Y: Young, unemployed and giving up hope”, by Alyshah Hasham
New York Times, March 10, 2012: “The Go-Nowhere Generation”, by , Todd G. Buchholz and Victoria Buchholz
Reuters, March 9, 2012: “Improving U.S. jobs trend favors old over young”, by Martin Hutchinson
“From 2000 to 2011, a period of disappointing overall wage growth, wages actually fell among every entry-level group regardless of education. Wage losses occurred for each group of entry-level workers between 2000 and 2007, as well as during the recessionary years between 2007 and 2011. This stands in sharp contrast to the extremely strong wage growth for each of these groups from 1995 to 2000. [...] These changes illustrate how the wages for entry-level workers vary considerably depending on whether the overall economy is experiencing strong wage growth, or wage stagnation.”
Economic Policy Institute, March 7, 2012: “Entry-level workers’ wages fell in lost decade”, by Lawrence Mishel . PDF also available for download.
More than 50,000 British Workers Deemed Fit to Work, and ‘Incapacity Benefits’ Cut Off
In the United Kingdom, more than a third of incapacity benefit claimants being reassessed for a new Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) have been deemed fit to work. “The controversial reviews started across the UK last April and will eventually cover 1.5 million incapacity benefit claimants by early 2014.”
BBC News, March 15, 2012: “Incapacity tests reject 37% of claimants: 1.5 million people will be reassessed by spring 2014”.
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), June 2011: A guide to Employment and Support Allowance – The Work Capability Assessment. (PDF, 27 pages)
Tiring Time Out!
In Dallas, “for $25 for five minutes, customers can smash up television sets, throw printers against the wall and otherwise let their rage fly". The Anger Room has reportedly had more than 300 customers, including restaurant employees, hospital workers, attorneys, psychiatrists and their patients.”
The Globe and Mail, March 9, 2012: “Could you use some time in the Anger Room? A Dallas business lets people vent their frustrations by smashing items for a small charge”, by Wency Leung
Book of the Week
Youth on Globalised Labour Markets: Rising Uncertainty and its Effects on Early Employment and Family Lives in Europe, edited by Hans-Peter Blossfeld, Sonia Bertolini and Dirk Hofäcker. Opladen ; Farmington Hills, MI : Barbara Budrich Publishers, 2011. 340 p. ISBN 9783866493285 (pbk.)
Following the repercussions of the recent financial market crisis, both academic as well as public interest in the phenomena of transnationalization, globalization, and Europeanization has continued to rise. Increasingly, these three terms have become central reference points - for the media, politicians, academics, and policy-makers - to explain social change in modern societies of contemporary Europe. This book examines the topic from the perspective of European national case studies, including France, Italy, Austria, Estonia, the Czech Republic, and Poland.
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