Perry Work Report for the week of March 29, 2010

March 29, 2010

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CIRHR PhD Graduate named Dean SDSU

The College of Business Administration at San Diego State University (SDSU) announced the appointment of Dr. Gangaram Singh as the College's new associate dean for academic affairs.
Singh has been with the SDSU as a professor of management since 1999. During that time, he served as chairman of the College's management department, director of the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER), has taught in the Sports Management M.B.A. and the Executive M.B.A. programs, and has been the recipient of numerous awards, honors and grants. Gangaram received his Ph.D., from the Centre for Industrial Relations, University of Toronto in 1998.

Congratulations Gangaram! from everyone at the Centre for Industrial Relations & Human Resources

Globe and Mail, March 29, 2010: SDSU College of Business Names New Associate Dean

 

Bill 168: Changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act

June 15, 2010 marks the date that Bill 168’s amendments to Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) come into force. These amendments strengthen protection for workers from workplace harassment and violence, and will apply to all workplaces in which the OHSA currently applies.

Bill 168

Occupational Health and Safety Act

Lancaster House will also be hosting a workshop on Thursday, April 22, 2010 titled Workplace Violence and Harassment Workshop: Exercising your rights, meeting your obligations under Ontario's new Bill 168. This workshop will discuss the key roles and responsibilities of employers, employees, and unions in successfully addressing violence and harassment in the workplace.

The Globe and Mail recently published an article discussing Bill 168 and the case that prompted these changes. The Globe and Mail, March 23, 2010: Ontario employers face tough new violence laws by Jeff Gray.

 

Ontario's Minimum Wage Increases and Statistics Canada on Minimum Wage and Younger Workers

An interview in the Toronto Star with Professor Morley Gunderson of the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources, University of Toronto, finds him still concerned about the negative effects that raising the minimum wage will have on younger workers:

“On the eve of the historic increase, Gunderson is sticking to his guns.”I think the bottom line is, minimum wages tend to be advocated as an anti-poverty device," he says. "I never jump up and down and say, `Look, this is the stupidest thing you can do, stop this' ... I just say, `Look it, I don't think it works in the way it's supposed to work.”

As well, the work of Bruce Kaufman, an economics professor at Georgia State who supports legislated minimum wage, is discussed.

Ontario Minimum Wage Increases for General and Specific Job Categories

Toronto Star, March 27, 2010: McJobs: Is minimum wage a good idea? Next week, Ontario's minimum wage jumps to over $10 an hour. No, not everyone is happy

Minimum Wages in Canada: theory, evidence and policy, Commission Research, Morley Gunderson, December, 2005 (61 pages, PDF)

Link to SSNR Abstract ONLY: “Promoting Labour Market Efficiency and Fairness Through a Legal Minimum Wage: The Webbs and the Social Cost of Labour,” Bruce E. Kaufman Georgia State University, Department of Economics, British Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 47, Issue 2, pp. 306-326, June 2009

Minimum wage and younger workers

All provinces and territories set minimum wages in their employment standards legislation. This update uses the Labour Force Survey to examine the characteristics of those who work at or below the minimum wage for experienced adults in each jurisdiction. The incidence of working for minimum wage has increased each year since 2006 but remains concentrated among youth, particularly young women.

Perspectives on Labour and Income, Statistics Canada, March 2010: Minimum wage (9 pages, PDF)

 

Ontario wage freezes and Ontario Public Sector Salary Disclosure 2010

Ontario Ministry of Finance 2010 Ontario Budget – Freezing Compensation structures is under Section B Managing Responsibly-- Compensation Measures

2010 Ontario Budget: Budget Speech (24 pages, PDF)

2010 Ontario Budget: Backgrounder Managing Responsibly, March 25, 2010: As an immediate step, the government will introduce legislation that would: Extend the existing freeze of the salaries of Members of Provincial Parliament from one to three years; Freeze the compensation structures for non-bargained political and Legislative Assembly staff for two years; Freeze compensation structures in the Broader Public Sector and the OPS for two years for all non-bargained employees.

2010 Ontario Budget: FAQ: Public Sector Compensation Restraint To Protect Public Services Act, 2010

CBC News, March 30, 2010: McGuinty defends pay-freeze loophole

Globe and Mail, March 3, 2010: We can't fix the public sector in one budget Karim Bardeesy Co-operation, not confrontation, is the path to fiscal by Karim Bardeesy

Ontario Public Sector Salary Disclosure 2010 – will be released on March 31st

The Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act requires organizations that receive public funding from the Province of Ontario to disclose annually the names, positions, salaries and total taxable benefits of employees paid $100,000 or more in a calendar year. Links are available on the website for salary information on Ministries, Legislative Assembly and Offices, Judiciary, Crown Agencies, Hydro One and Ontario Power Generation, Municipalities and Services, School Boards, Universities, Colleges, Hospitals and Boards of Public Health.

Public Sector Salary Disclosure 2010 (Disclosure for 2009): Please note documents from this website will not be available until March 31, 2010)

 

Fourth Annual Immigrant Success Awards

The Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) recently announced the winners of the fourth annual Immigrant Success Awards. The awards recognize innovation and leadership in integrating skilled immigrants into the Toronto Region labour market. This year’s award winners include:

CBC Toronto Vision Award for Immigrant Inclusion: Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP

Toronto Star Award for Excellence in Workplace Integration: St. Michael's Hospital

RBC Immigrant Advantage Award: Pitney Bowes and Samtack

Canadian HR Reporter Individual Achievement Award: Michael Bach, National Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, KPMG

Visit the TRIEC website for more information

Canadian HR Reporter, March 26, 2010: Immigrant Success award winners announced

 

2010 Catalyst Award Winners

On March 24, the 2010 Catalyst Awards were presented to Campbell Soup Company, Deloitte LLP, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), and Telstra Corporation Limited for their “ground-breaking initiatives that advance women in the workplace”. This year’s winners have been described as having implemented initiatives and programs that have been major “game changers” with proven results.

Catalyst performs year-long examinations of initiatives and their measurable results through intensive on-site reviews of the finalist organizations.

2010 Catalyst Award Winners, March 24, 2010

 

New Ivey Business Journal Issue

A new issue of The Ivey Business Journal has been released. The March /April issue focuses on leadership, specifically focusing on content that will help leaders manage some of the most difficult problems in the workplace.

An article featured in the journal this month is Chairman and CEO of ING DIRECT USA, Arkadi Kuhlmann’s Culture-driven Leadership. This article discusses how a leader shapes and defines a workplace’s culture, and also describes the steps Kuhlmann took to form the distinctive and dynamic culture at ING DIRECT.

Full March/April Issue

 

Maybe it has been “Generation Me” for generations

Two recent studies give conflicting perspectives on generational differences in the workplace. The study, “Generational Differences in Work Values: Leisure and Extrinsic Values Increasing, Social and Intrinsic Values Decreasingfinds generational difference in work valuesparticularly between “GenMe” and the Boomers. According to the authors, “these findings have practical implications for the recruitment and management of the emerging workforce. “

The second study titled, Rethinking “Generation Me” A Study of Cohort Effects From 1976–2006, finds few changes in the values of the different cohorts.

These articles are available to the University of Toronto community – just go to UTLibraries main page click on e-journals and type in the journal title (as well these journals may be available through your university or college databases)

“Generational Differences in Work Values: Leisure and Extrinsic Values Increasing, Social and Intrinsic Values Decreasing,” Jean M. Twenge, Stacy M. Campbell, Brian J. Hoffman, and Charles E. Lance, Journal of Management,March 2010.

Rethinking “Generation Me” A Study of Cohort Effects From 1976–2006 by Kali H. Trzesniewski and M. Brent Donnellan in Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2010 5: 58

Toronto Star, March 20, 2010: Generation Me employees seek gold stars, vacation time; All the perks of a good job without hard work

 

Self-employment in the downturn

During the recent employment downturn, self-employment was one source of employment growth. This article uses data from the Labour Force Survey to examine the sources and characteristics of the recent increase in self-employment, the dynamics of entry into and exit out of self-employment, and to assess the extent to which those who lost paid jobs early in the recession might account for the subsequent surge in self-employment.

Perspectives on Labour and Income, Statistics Canada, March 2010: Self-employment in the downturn (9 pages, PDF)

Globe and Mail, March 30, 2010: Canadian workers enter ‘the entrepreneurial era' In a recent one-year period, 115,000 Canadians turned to self-employment for work. Lost jobs don't tell the whole story; there are many factors behind the shift

 

Toronto as a Global City: Scorecard on Prosperity - 2010

The Board of Trade has released its second annual Scorecard on Prosperity measuring the performance of the Toronto region against cities around the globe, on a wide range of indicators. According to the survey the Toronto region has made great strides in becoming one of the world’s most desirable places to live and work, but its economic performance remains mediocre. Of particular concern was traffic congestion for Toronto commuters -- the study attributed this problem to urban sprawl and underdeveloped public transit.

Toronto Board of Trade, March 29, 2010: Toronto as a Global City: Scorecard on Prosperity – 2010 (62 pages, PDF)

News release, March 29, 2010: TORONTO BOARD OF TRADE RELEASES TORONTO AS A GLOBAL CITY: 2ND ANNUAL SCORECARD ON PROSPERITY Toronto Sits in Fourth Place Overall; Rises to #2 in Labour Attractiveness; Remains Stuck in the Middle on Economic Performance

Globe and Mail, March 29, 2010: GTA has worst commutes in 19-city survey: Region has more gridlock than Los Angeles, New York or Montreal

CBC News, March 30, 2010: Toronto congestion costing Canadians $5B

Toronto Star, March, 26, 2010: Miller outraged as budget sideswipes GTA transit

 

University Rankings – ranking the rankers just might be the answer

An article in the current issue of the Economist March 27- April 2, 2010 looks at the problems with the different ranking methodologies used by the growing number of rankings of universities’ performance that are available worldwide. The article concludes:

“Yet none of the league tables shows how well universities teach in practice. Later this year, the OECD will begin to test the abilities of final-year university students in different countries. That is tricky but not unprecedented. The OECD has, since 2000, measured how well 15-year-olds are educated in different countries by testing them on how well they can use what they have learned. That should add a welcome note of realism to the frenzied competition, especially at the top of the rankings. All that remains undone is a credible, rigorous ranking of league tables themselves."

The Economist print edition, March 25, 2010: University rankings Leagues apart: How tall is my ivory tower? University league tables give different answers

 

Canadian Human Rights Commission tables its Annual Report

“Canada continues to face many human rights challenges. The Commission has chosen to highlight three issues: the rights of Aboriginal peoples, the rights of persons with disabilities and race relations. The rights of Aboriginal peoples are of special concern to the Commission given the recent repeal of section 67 of the Canadian Human Rights Act. Disability and race are highlighted because they are, respectively, the first and second most frequent grounds for complaints filed with the Commission.”

Canadian Human Rights Commission 2009 Annual report, March 29, 2010 (28 pages, PDF) or in (HTML)

 

Work-Family Policy: Raising the Global Floor

The current issue of the Sloane Work & Family Network News features an interview with Jody Heymann, who holds a Canada Research Chair in Global Health and Social Policy and is the Founding Director of the Institute for Health and Social Policy at McGill University and author of Raising the Global Floor, Stanford University Press, 2009.

Network News, March 10, 2010: An Interview with Jody Heymann

 

Work-life Balance in Europe

A report from the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions explores work and family life across Europe, finding ways for both men and women to achieve a better work-life balance. This report also analyzes tensions between work and family/household demands against different institutional settings, labour market structures and cultural factors. Findings state that adjustments must be made to working arrangements in order to accommodate for the demands of family life, along with more equal sharing of responsibilities between men and women.

Executive Summary, March 24, 2010 (2 pages, PDF)

Report: Family Life & Work, March 24, 2010 (96 pages, PDF)

 

Book of the Week

 

The International Labour Organization and the Quest for Social Justice, 1919-2009, by Gerry Rodgers ... [et al.]. Ithaca : ILR Press/Cornell University Press, 2009. 272 p. ISBN 9780801448492

The International Labour Organization was founded in 1919 in the belief that peace and social justice go hand in hand. This book explores key ideas that the ILO has championed and applied through the political and economic upheavals of the last 90 years.: rights at work, the quality of employment, income protection, employment and poverty reduction, a fair globalization and today's overriding goal of decent work for all.

There are chapters on rights at work, the quality of employment, income protection, employment and poverty reduction, a fair globalization and today's overriding goal of decent work for all. The book ends with reflections on the challenges ahead in a world where the present economic crisis underlines the urgency of global action for social justice.

Click here to subscribe to the CIRHR Book blog

 

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Questions or Comments: contact us at cirhr.library@utoronto.ca.

Editor: Vicki Skelton
Designer: Nick Strupat

Copyright © 2008 Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources, University of Toronto. All rights reserved.

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