May 31, 2010
- Lancaster House Conferences
- University of Toronto Faculty Association – workload is now negotiable
- Pot workers unionize
- Ontario Sexual Harassment Week
- Canada’s Temporary Foreign Workers Require Additional Protection
- Toronto ranks #16 in Global Quality of Living Survey
- Richard Florida on the next “Great Reset”
- Report on Business Magazine – is in the pink!
- Women's participation and economic downturns
- Work Pressure Can Be Hard on a Woman's Heart
- Workplace Mental Health Promotion: A How-To Guide
- Layoffs and their consequences
- Will Finance Ministers listen? Pension Reform Needed
- Trade unions across Europe tackle declining membership and density levels
- Book of the Week
Lancaster House & Univeristy of Toronto, Centre for Industrial Relations & Human Resources Conferences
Labour Arbitration and Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conferences
We are pleased to announce Lancaster's Labour Arbitration and Bargaining in the Broader Public Sector Conferencesand Workshops in Toronto, which will be held from December 7 to 10, 2010, at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel. Special Early Bird Rate -- Register before August 6 and save $200 off the regular price of the conference and each workshop!
Canadian Labour Board Law Conference & Bora Laskin Award Dinner
Register now for the Canadian Labour Board Law Conference & Bora Laskin Award Dinner presented by Lancaster House and the University of Toronto, Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources on Tuesday, October 19 and Wednesday, October 20, 2010 at The Sutton Place Hotel Toronto 955 Bay Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 2A2.
University of Toronto Faculty Association – workload is now negotiable
“March 16 UTFA’s Council ratified a mediation agreement that makes workload negotiable for faculty and librarians at the University of Toronto and introduces important changes to dispute resolution mechanisms. This historic agreement was reached in negotiations between the UTFA bargaining team and the University Administration, assisted by Mr. Martin Teplitsky.” “UTFA will be empowered to negotiate over workload with access to mediation and arbitration (if necessary)."
UTFA Bargaining Report University of Toronto Faculty Association March 29, 2010: Bargaining Report #6 for 2009–2010(5 pages, PDF)
Agreement on compensation, pensions and benefits is still outstanding. The briefs presented by each side are available below:
UTFA - Arbitration Brief, April 19, 2010
Administration - Arbitration Brief, April 19, 2010
UTFA - Reply Brief to Administration's Arbitration Brief, April 23, 2010
Administration - Reply Brief to UTFA's Arbitration Brief, April 27, 2010
UTFA - Supplemental Brief, May 13, 2010 (this brief is particularly interesting as it looks at public/private wage settlement comparisons, the issue of “lag”, and cites Morley Gunderson’s work on compensation in the public sector)
Pot workers unionize
About 100 workers in Oakland, California's medical marijuana industry voted to join the Retail, Statewide Agriculture, Food Processing and Community Patient Care Union. It's believed to be the first case of cannabis workers unionizing in the country
Globe and Mail, May 31, 2010: AP Video : The 26,000-member United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5 in San Jose is believed to be the first union in the country to organize workers in a marijuana-related business. It is considering new job classifications including "bud tender" - a sommelier of sorts who helps medical marijuana users choose the right strain for their ailment.
San Francisco Chronicle, May 28, 2010: San Jose union begins organizing pot workers by Joe Garofoli, Chronicle Staff Writer
Ontario Sexual Harassment Week
The Ontario government recognizes June 1-7 as Sexual Harassment Awareness Week to increase awareness of sexual harassment and honour the memories of all women who have been victimized. The occasion coincides with the Occupational Health and Safety Amendment Act that will be instigated as of June 15th. The amendments will require employers in Ontario to assess the risks of workplace violence and incorporate policies and programs regarding workplace violence and workplace harassment. According to the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL), studies have shown that the majority of working women will experience sexual harassment compounded with other forms of personal harassment.
OFL, May 28, 2010 (News Release)
Sexual Harassment Awareness Week Act, 2005
Canada’s Temporary Foreign Workers Require Additional Protection
According to a study from the Institute for Research on Public Policy, the short-term focus of Canada’s temporary labour migration policy will not help Canada fulfill its long-term labour market needs and is unfair to the vast majority of temporary foreign workers. A significant factor is the restrictive nature of the work permit which has an effect of limiting foreign workers’ employment rights and protections. Other problems include illegal recruitment practices, misinformation about migration opportunities and lack of enforcement mechanisms. To combat this, the authors recommend that a policy be adopted to support the integration of temporary foreign workers and encourage public debate about the recent changes in Canada’s labour migration policy.
Report: The Canadian Temporary Foreign Worker Program: Do Short-Term Economic Needs Prevail over Human Rights Concerns? (52 pages, PDF)
Temporary Foreign Workers Program (HRSDC) website
Toronto ranks #16 in Global Quality of Living Survey
Vienna retains the top spot as the city with the world’s best quality of living, according to the Mercer 2010 Quality of Living Survey. Canadian cities still dominate the top of the index for the Americas with Vancouver (4) retaining the top spot, followed by Ottawa (14), Toronto (16) and Montreal (21).
Calgary ranks 28 on the overall quality of living ranking BUT is number one in the Eco-city ranking, followed by Honolulu, with Ottawa and Helsinki in joint 3rd place.
Mercer conducts the ranking to help governments and multi-national companies compensate employees fairly when placing them on international assignments. The rankings are based on a point-scoring index, which sees Vienna score 108.6 and Baghdad 14.7. Cities are ranked against New York as the base city, with an index score of 100.
Mercer's 2010 Quality of Living survey highlights – Global, May 26, 2010
Worldwide top 50 cities: Quality of living ranking
Worldwide top 50 cities: Eco-city ranking
Richard Florida on the next “Great Reset”
In a recent article Richard Florida talks to the Toronto Star about how Toronto can move out of the current downturn by encouraging commercial innovation, new company start-ups, and more jobs that are “better jobs”. He also refers to a study from the University of Toronto Centre for Urban & Community Studies that looks at the growing geographical class divide in Toronto from 1970 – 2000. His resent book The Great Reset is also reviewed in the Globe & Mail and theAtlantic.
Toronto Star, May 22, 2010: Richard Florida: Toronto could use a good civic crisis
Globe and Mail, May 14, 2010: Ready, reset, go! Richard Florida: Richard Florida says it’s time to stop propping up the old economy. His solution? Ditch the car, live downtown and become a renter, reviewed by Michael Adams
The Atlantic, June 1, 2010: The Great Reset: Urban theorist Richard Florida explains why recession is the mother of invention, by Conor Clarke
The Three Cities within Toronto: Income polarization among Toronto’s neighbourhoods, 1970–2000, by By J. David Hulchanski, (12 pages, PDF)
Report on Business Magazine – is in the pink!
Report on Business Magazine, May 27, 2010: THIS IS NOT A WOMEN’S ISSUE (the companies just happen to be run by women) A qualified man is hard to find: Veterinary medicine is just one of the fields now dominated by women, along with health care, psychology, even accounting. This demographic shift is changing the way we work. But it’s causing problems, too—like, who’s going to take care of my cattle?
Women's participation and economic downturns
“Using data from the Labour Force Survey, this article examines the evolution of the employment rate and work hours of wives whose husbands suffered job loss during the last three labour market downturns: 1981 to 1983, 1990 to 1992 and 2008 to 2009.”
Perspectives on Labour and Income, May 2010: Women's participation and economic downturns (5 pages, PDF)
Work Pressure Can Be Hard on a Woman's Heart
“It's no secret that demanding, stressful jobs can lead to increased risk of heart disease. However until recently, research in this area mainly focused on men. Now a study of female nurses conducted over a 15 year period has found that high pressure jobs can increase women's risk of heart disease.”
See the latest issue of Health & Safety Report May 2010 - Volume 8, Issue 5
Access to the complete study is also available:
Workplace Mental Health Promotion: A How-To Guide
“A new website has been developed - The Workplace Mental Health Promotion: A How-To Guide - to provide both employees and employers with the tools and resources they need to create a healthy workplace. Developed by The Health Communication Unit at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association, the site educates employees who lack understanding of mental illness, empowers individuals experiencing mental illness to seek the support they need, and informs employers on how to create a mentally healthy workplace. “
See the latest issue of Health & Safety Report May 2010 - Volume 8, Issue 5
Layoffs and their consequences
“Layoffs displace a large number of workers each year, and they are known to have lasting effects on individuals' standard of living. This study conducts a comparative analysis of the risk of layoff between the 1990s and 2000s, seeking to identify the factors associated with this risk. It then examines the duration of jobless spells as well as various characteristics of the lost jobs and subsequent jobs, such as the wage, union coverage and participation in a retirement plan.”
Perspectives on Labour and Income, May 2010: Layoffs and their consequences: 1993 to 1997 and 2002 to 2006, Statistics Canada (13 pages, PDF)
Will Finance Ministers listen? Pension Reform Needed
CEO’s of Canada’s nine largest pension plans have sent an open letter to Canada’s Finance Ministers calling for federal and provincial governments to create a task force to deal with Canada’s complex pension problems. The next Finance Ministers meeting on pension reform is scheduled for June 13‐14 in Prince Edward Island.
“We strongly urge you to strike an impartial Federal‐Provincial Task Force with a mandate to identify the best possible solution to Canada’s pension coverage and cost effectiveness challenges. Such a Task Force would use (rather than duplicate) the work of the excellent pension reform commissions and research studies already undertaken. The Task Force’s mandate would flow directly from a clear statement by the Finance Ministers that Canada’s pension coverage and cost challenges are real, and that they require resolution.”
Teacher’s Pension Plan, May 19, 2010: Pension leaders urge action on pension coverage and cost
Open Letter, May 19, 2010 (2 pages, PDF)
Trade unions across Europe tackle declining membership and density levels
The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions has released a report that outlines trade union developments in both the 27 European Union Member States and Norway in response to the progressive erosion in trade union membership and density in many European countries. It examines trade union strategies to recruit new members especially outside traditional manufacturing and public sectors. The report finds that key elements of trade union activities such as the focus on collective identities and the role of union representation in improving wage levels and working conditions remain crucial.
Report (51 pages, PDF)
Book of the Week
The Great Reset: How New Ways of Living and Working Drive Post-Crash Prosperity, by Richard Florida. Toronto : Random House Canada, 2010. 225 p. ISBN 9780307358295
With his trademark blend of wit, irreverence, and rigorous research and analysis, Florida presents an optimistic and counterintuitive vision of our future, calling into question long-held beliefs about the nature of economic progress and forcing us to reassess our very way of life. He argues convincingly that it's time to turn our efforts — as individuals, as governments, and as a society — to putting the necessary pieces in place for a vibrant, prosperous future.
About the Author:
RICHARD FLORIDA is one of the world's leading public intellectuals. Currently Director of the Martin Prosperity Institute and Professor of Business and Creativity — both at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto — he is also founder of the Creative Class Group, an advisory services firm, charting new trends in business and community.
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