Perry Work Report for the week of October 11, 2012

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October 11, 2012

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Johanna Weststar, PhD CIRHR 2007

After almost 5 years at the Sobey School of Business at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Johanna Weststar has moved to join the Aubrey Dan Program in Management and Organizational Studies at Western University.

The “program is designed to provide a unique approach to business education. The program combines core business education in five areas that have a foundation in the Social Sciences. The goal of this inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary approach to business education is to develop graduates who have a strong foundation in business fundamentals as well as provide a broader education in the social sciences, liberal arts, or other disciplines."

Johanna will be teaching in the Human Resource Management area with specialties in Labour Relations and Training and Development. Her research interests are 1) labour's role in pension governance, and 2) work in the cultural industries with a specific focus on the video game industry.

Current publications:

Negotiating in Silence: experience with parental leave in academia, Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations, Vol. 67, No. 3, 2012

Chapter 6: “Review of Women’s Experiences of Three Dimensions of Underemployment,” by Johanna Weststar in Underemployment: Psychological, Economic, and Social Challenges Edited by Doug Maynard and Dan Feldman.

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IndustriALL New Global Union

IndustriALL Global Union represents 50 million workers in 140 countries in the mining, energy and manufacturing sectors and is a new force in global solidarity taking up the fight for better working conditions and trade union rights around the world. IndustriALL challenges the power of multinational companies and negotiates with them on a global level. IndustriALL fights for another model of globalization and a new economic and social model that puts people first, based on democracy and social justice.

Founded in spring 2012, the new organization brings together affiliates of the former global union federations: International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF), International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) and International Textiles Garment and Leather Workers' Federation (ITGLWF).

IndustriALL strives to:

IndustriALL Global Union: Action Plan of IndustriALL Global Union (5 pages, PDF)

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Discussion Continues on Precarious Work and Living Wages

Concerns over precarious employment and living wages continue to generate new studies and initiatives. Included below are links to recent publications.

International Labour Review, Sept. 2012: Special Issue: Low-Paid Work in Emerging Economies (3 pages, PDF)

  • Low-wage work: A global perspective by Sangheon Lee and Kristen Sobeck
  • Low-paid workers in urban China by Quheng Deng and Shi Li
  • Low pay in South Africa by Morne Oosthuizen
  • Low-paid employment in Brazil by Adriana Fontes, Valeria Pero and Janine Berg
  • Low pay among wage earners and the self-employed in India by Uma Rani and Patrick Belser
  • Low wages and policy options in the Republic of Korea: Are policies working? by Deok Soon Hwang and Byung-Hee Lee
  • “Varieties of minimum wage system” through the dubious lens of indicator-based rankings Sangheon Lee
  • Minimum wage violation in South Africa by Haroon Bhorat, Ravi Kanbur and Natasha Mayet 

IndustriALL Global Union: Stop Precarious Work

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Oct. 2012: A Living Wage as a Human Right by Mary Cornish (18 pages, PDF)

IndustriALL Global Union: The Triangle Trap: Unions take action against agency labour (24 pages, PDF)

Ciett, 2012: The agency work industry around the world (48 pages, PDF)

The Atlantic, Oct 10, 2012: Yes, We Can Fight Inequality: 3 Ways Washington Can Create Living-Wage Jobs by Annette Bernhardt

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U.S. Walmart Workers Protest Poor Job Conditions

The first retail worker strike against Walmart has spread from Los Angeles, where it began last week, to stores in a dozen cities, a union official said Tuesday. The workers are protesting company attempts to "silence and retaliate against workers for speaking out for improvements on the job," according to a United Food and Commercial Workers news release. Walmart workers, who are not unionized, have long complained of low pay and a lack of benefits. Some striking Walmart associates plan to protest Wednesday at a Walmart annual investor meeting at its headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. [Huffington Post].

Doorey's Workplace Law Blog, Oct 10, 2012: Walmart Workers Legally Strike in U.S., But Strike Would Be Illegal in Canada by David Doorey

The Huffington Post, Oct. 10, 2012: Walmart's First-Ever Retail Worker Strike Spreads To 12 Cities by Alice Hines

LA Times, Oct. 10, 2012: Wal-Mart to ramp up small stores amid employee strikes by Tiffany Hsu

The New York Times, Oct 9. 2012: Wal-Mart Labor Protests Grow, Organizers Say by Steven Greenhouse

Business Insider, Oct. 11, 2012: The Three Biggest Myths About Retail Workers by Ashley Lutz

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Faculty & Librarians at the University of St. Michael's College Ratify First Collective Agreement

Unionized faculty and librarians at the University of St. Michael's College (USMC) in Toronto voted unanimously on Friday, October 5 to ratify a first collective agreement. The USMC Collegium ratified the agreement on the same day, and the contract is now in force.

University of Toronto, Media Room, October 9, 2012: Faculty and librarians at the University of St. Michael's College ratify first collective agreement

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Open Source Unionism

Two of Canada’s largest unions are looking at extending membership to workers who lack workplace representation. The current “two unions” (CEP votes on potential merger with CAW October 13, 2012 ) are Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP).

Unions: Rethinking Labour in Canada, June 2012: Open source unionism: A model for the underrepresented worker? By Professor Rafael Gomez, Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources, University of Toronto.

Open Source Unionism: Beyond Exclusive Collective Bargaining by Richard B. Freeman, and Joel Rogers in WorkingUSA, Volume 5, Issue 4, pages 8-40, March 2002

Temporary help agency employment and the effects of its expansion upon labour unions and labour union response is the subject of a recent article: Unions and Temporary Help Agency Employment.By: Bartkiw, Timothy J. Relations Industrielles / Industrial Relations. Summer 2012, Vol. 67 Issue 3, p453-476. 24p.

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Minds that Matter on World Mental Health Day

Minds that Matter reports the findings from the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s (OHRC) province-wide consultation on the human rights issues experienced by people with mental health disabilities or addictions. It provides a summary of what we heard from more than 1,500 individuals and organizations across Ontario. The Ontario Human Rights Commission invites individuals and organizations to provide comments about Minds that Matter in writing by November 9, 2012. Email your comments to consultations@ohrc.on.ca

Ontario Human Rights Commission, September 13, 2012: Minds that matter: Report on the consultation on human rights, mental health and addictions (150 pages, PDF) Also available in HTML

In Ontario, mental illness and addiction contributed to more than 600,000 health-adjusted life-years, a measure that incorporates both premature death and reduced functioning or suboptimal states of health associated with disease or injury. Depression had the highest burden.

Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and Public Health Ontario, October 10, 2012: Opening Eyes, Opening Minds: The Ontario Burden of Mental Illness and Addictions Report (6 pages, PDF)

CBC News, October 10, 2012: Mental illness impact said to be bigger than cancer: Depression had the highest overall burden of mental illnesses

“To be unveiled next month, the National Standard of Canada for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace was developed by the Mental Health Commission of Canada, in collaboration with CSA Standards and the Bureau de normalisation du Quebec.”

The Globe and Mail, October 9, 2012: “Taking a measure of mental health in the workplace,” by Bertrand Marotte

World Mental Health Day, October 10, 2012, raises public awareness about mental health issues. The day promotes open discussion of mental disorders, and investments in prevention, promotion and treatment services. This year the theme for the day is “Depression: A Global Crisis”.

World Federation for Mental Health, October 10, 2012: Depression: A Global Crisis (32 pages, PDF)

Dealing with Stress? The Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers have produced a resource tool that will provide workers with a basic understanding and a place to start to learn about workplace stress and what to do about it.

OHCOW, October 2012: Action on Workplace Stress: a workers guide to addressing workplace causes of mental distress website

Action on Workplace Stress: Mental Injury Prevention Tools for Ontario Workers Online resources for the assessment and control of workplace psychosocial hazards (7 pages, PDF)

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Top 100 Employers

Canada's Top 100 Employers website with list of winners -- this is a new feature -- you can click on each company name and get the full reason why each employer was selected. You can also request an application so that your company can apply for this national competition.

The Globe and Mail, October 9, 2012: The List: Canada's top 100 employers for 2013

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Information for Job Hunters from Job Hunters

Glassdoor.com is a jobs and career community focused on acquiring “employee generated content” from employers and job seekers, including information about company interviews. They recently put together a list of companies that conduct difficult interviews. They have also compiled absurd interview questions, with Goldman Sachs heading at the top of the 2010 list. For example, it asks prospective bankers: if you were shrunk to the size of a pencil and put in a blender, how would you get out? [The Globe and Mail]

Glassdoor.com, Sept. 27, 2012: Top 25 Most Difficult Companies To Interview; Consulting Firms Lead The Way

Glassdoor.com, Sept. 28, 2012: Most Active Interview Questions and Answers

The Globe and Mail, Oct. 11, 2012: Boring interview questions, boring answers. Why do we bother? by Lucy Kellaway

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Understanding “Canadian Exceptionalism” in Immigration and Pluralism Policy

Canada is far more open to, and optimistic about, immigration than the United States and countries in Europe, despite having a greater proportion of immigrants in its population than other Western countries. A frequently cited reason for this Canadian exceptionalism is Canada’s selection of most immigrants through a points system that admits people based on skills thought to contribute to the economy. Economic selection and a geography that discourages illegal immigration are not the only factors explaining Canada’s unique experience, however. This report, part of a Transatlantic Council on Migration series on national identity, examines Canadian national identity, public opinion, immigration and immigrant integration policy, and multiculturalism.

Migration Policy Institute, July 2012: Understanding “Canadian Exceptionalism” in Immigration and Pluralism Policy by Irene Bloemraad (23 pages, PDF)

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Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker Program

“Canada’s federally regulated Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) has grown in significance in the past decade, particularly in the province of Alberta. The “stock” of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) in Alberta increased seven-fold from 8,387 to 58,228 between 1998 and 2011. From 2000 to 2011, the number of foreign workers in Canada climbed from 89,000 to 300,111. The largest growth was seen among lower-skilled occupations.

This study identifies a series of implications for government, recruiters, and employers, related to occupations requiring formalized certification in Canada. The TFWP, with its lack of accountability and restriction of worker rights, may be ill-suited to address structural labour shortages of the nature experienced in construction.”

University of Alberta, The Work and Learning Network, September 2012:Temporary Foreign Workers in Trades in Alberta By Alison Taylor, University of Alberta, Jason Foster, Athabasca University and Carolina Cambre, University of Alberta. (23 pages, PDF)

University of Alberta, The Work and Learning Network website

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Deloitte Reports on the Future of American Manufacturing

Manufacturing is experiencing a crisis of confidence in the United States. Americans view the manufacturing sector in the U.S. as fragile and unstable. They are concerned about the long-term stability of manufacturing employment and fear that manufacturing jobs will inevitably be moved to workers in other countries. There are new pathways to manufacturing opportunity in America that are both available and achievable, with a major role for public policy to play. Report recommendations include education and workforce preparation; innovation; economic, trade, financial, and tax issues; and infrastructure.

Deloitte, 2012: Manufacturing Opportunity: How America can regain global leadership in manufacturing (32 pages, PDF)

Executive Summary: PDF or HTML

Infographic: Manufacturing Opportunity in the United States (1 page, PDF)

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Matching Jobs and People in the United States

“We need not accept the current conventional wisdom that a “skills mismatch” is responsible for the high number of jobs remaining vacant. Rather, by making a modest investment in the reemployment services discussed in this paper, Congress can hasten the country’s path to a full economic recovery and start helping the long-term unemployed move more seamlessly into jobs that are waiting for them.”

NELP National Employment Law Project, October 2012: Getting Real: Time to Re-Invest in the Public Employment Service: In a Slow Recovery, Reemployment Must be a National Priority, By Claire McKenna, Rick McHugh and George Wentworth (22 pages, PDF)

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World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development

The World Bank has released their report, finding that the lives of women around the world have improved dramatically, at a pace and scope difficult to imagine even 25 years ago. Despite the progress, gaps remain in many areas. The worst disparity is the rate at which girls and women die relative to men in developing countries.

The report argues that closing these gaps is a core development objective in its own right. It is also smart economics. Greater gender equality can enhance productivity, improve development outcomes for the next generation, and make institutions more representative. While domestic policy action is crucial, the Report calls on the international community to support evidence-based public action through better data, impact evaluation and learning.

The World Bank: World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development (458 pages, PDF)

Summary: HTML

The Vancouver Sun, Oct. 10, 2012: Double discrimination: Gender and age are disadvantages for girls around the world by Daphne Bramham

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Book of the Week

Phone Clones: Authenticity Work in the Transnational Service Economy, by Kiran Mirchandani. Ithaca : ILR Press, 2012. 174 p. ISBN 9780801477676.

What happens when you need to be yourself and like someone else at the same time? This is the central demand placed on transnational service workers, who form a large and growing part of the global economy. In response, workers perform an elaborate set of largely invisible activities, which I term authenticity work. Based on interviews with one hundred transnational call center workers in India this book describes their authenticity work as they refashion themselves into ideal Indian workers who can expertly provide synchronous, voice-to-voice customer service for clients in the West.

The experiences of Indian call center workers sheds light on a wide range of service-related activities that cross national borders. Filipino nannies refashion themselves to clone faraway employers' visions of ideal caregivers. Health workers in Mexico servicing American medical tourists strive to package the quality of their services in terms of Western professional practice. The exchange of labor and capital occurs in the context of national histories and power inequities that make the negotiation of authenticity a central part of transnational service work.

About the Authors:

Kiran Mirchandani is an Associate Professor in the Department of Adult Education and Counselling Psychology at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

Visit the Recent Books at the CIRHR Library blog.

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Perry Work Report was named in honour of Elizabeth Perry, founder and editor since 2002, who retired in December 2006.

Questions or comments: cirhr.library@utoronto.ca

Editor: Vicki Skelton and Melody Tacit

Designer: Nick Strupat

Copyright © 2012 Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources, University of Toronto. All rights reserved.

Date posted