October 18, 2012
- Westray +20 Symposium
- CEP/CAW Merger Begins
- The Economist--more libertarian propaganda?
- An Antidote to Libertarian Propaganda
- Mining Jobs in British Columbia for Indigenous Peoples
- Want a Mining Job in BC? - Learn Mandarin
- Engagement at Risk
- Presenteeism Trumps Absenteeism
- CanLII and Lancaster House
- Information-Seeking in College Graduates in the Workplace
- The Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria
- International Action on Climate Change
- From the Left
- “No One Puts Baby in a Binder”
- Book of the Week
Westray +20 Symposium
To mark the 20th anniversary of the Westray mine tragedy, a disaster in which twenty-six workers were killed as a result of dangerous and illegal working conditions, this two-day symposium will explore the growing international interest in the introduction of criminal laws dealing with serious injury and death in the workplace.
Speakers include: Richard Johnstone (Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia); Harry Glasbeek (York University, Toronto, Canada); Annie Thébaud-Mony (Directrice de recherche à l'Inserm, Directrice de GISCOP93); Steve Tombs (John Moores University, Liverpool, UK).
Westray +20 Program (2 pages, PDF)
CEP/CAW Merger Begins
“The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) voted Monday to approve a merger with the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW), which gave its OK to the plan in August.” “The union that will soon become the largest in Canada's private sector will seek to double its size by organizing new workplaces and opening up its ranks to non-traditional members — including those who aren't working.”
“Queen's University labour expert Pradeep Kumar said the creation of a large private sector union will attempt to stop the slide in union membership in Canada and be a stronger political force that will cause Ottawa and provincial governments to take notice.”
Global News, October 15, 2012: New union aims to be political force for workers and disenfranchised Canadians, by Ross Marowits, October 15, 2012.
National Post, October 15, 2012: “Canadian Auto Workers, CEP join forces to create Canadian mega-union.”
The Economist-- more libertarian propaganda?
““True progressivism,” according to the Economist, requires addressing rising inequality by destroying teachers’ unions and cutting expenditures on the elderly, while avoiding major tax increases on “wealth-creators.” If you think that American public schoolteachers are more responsible than Wall Street for growing inequality in the U.S., and if you think that the richest people in the U.S. and the world are accurately described as “wealth-creators,” then I encourage you to buy a subscription to the Economist. I prefer to read libertarian propaganda without the genteel camouflage.”[Salon]
Salon, October 15, 2012: “The Economist’s phony “progressivism”: This week, the overrated weekly echoes Tea Party rhetoric about “wealth creators,” by Michael Lind
The Economist, October 13, 2012: “For richer, for poorer: Growing inequality is one of the biggest social, economic and political challenges of our time. But it is not inevitable,” says Zanny Minton Beddoes
The Economist, October 13, 2012: “Inequality and the world economy True Progressivism: A new form of radical centrist politics is needed to tackle inequality without hurting economic growth.”
An Antidote to Libertarian Propaganda
“Elites that have prospered from inclusive systems can be tempted to pull up the ladder they climbed to the top. Eventually, their societies become extractive and their economies languish.”
“That was the future predicted by Karl Marx, who wrote that capitalism contained the seeds of its own destruction. And it is the danger America faces today, as the 1 percent pulls away from everyone else and pursues an economic, political and social agenda that will increase that gap even further — ultimately destroying the open system that made America rich and allowed its 1 percent to thrive in the first place.”[Chrystia Freeland]
New York Times, October 13, 2012: “The Self-Destruction of the 1 Percent,” by Chrystia Freeland the editor of Thomson Reuters Digital and the author of “Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else,” (October 16, 2012) from which this essay is adapted.
Yahoo Finance, October 16, 2012: Rise of the Super-Rich Isn't Just a US Phenomenon – interview with Chrystia Freeland
Why Nations Fail (link to UTLibraries locations)
Mining Jobs in British Columbia for Indigenous Peoples
Labour Shortage forecast for BC as new mines open. “To ease the shortage, the mining industry has been stepping up efforts to recruit women, immigrants and aboriginal workers. One such initiative is the British Columbia Aboriginal Mine Training Association, a federally funded program launched in 2009.
Against that backdrop, Chinese-backed HD International recently obtained permission to bring 200 workers under the Temporary Foreign Worker program to work at its proposed Murray River coal project in Tumbler Ridge. Other proposals could bring more foreign workers to the region.”
BC Aboriginal Mine Training Association: Careers in Mining
Mining Industry Human Resource Council, Aboriginals: scroll down for online resources
The Globe and Mail, Oct. 14, 2012: “Counting on first nations to fill a looming labour shortfall,” by Wendy Stueck
Indigenous Leadership Success
The Globe and Mail, Oct. 15, 2012: “Let’s hear more indigenous success stories,” by Brian Caillou
The Banff Centre: Indigenous Leadership and Management Library
The Banff Centre, Sept. 2012: Wise Practices in Indigenous Community Development Symposium
World Indigenous Business Forum: WIBF 2012
Want a Mining Job in BC? - Learn Mandarin
“British Columbia’s mining industry hiring requirements to exceed 16,700 over the next 10 years according to report released by the Mining HR Council in partnership with the BC Mining HR Task Force. The report presents forecasts of hiring requirements and available talent for the B.C. exploration, mining, and stone, sand and gravel sectors. Forecasts are followed with analysis and discussion on the projected talent gaps and recommendations for future action.”
“An important source of new talent for B.C.’s mining industry will be immigration. Even though B.C. is a large centre for immigration activity, attracting new Canadians to mining offers a great challenge largely since they have not traditionally been attracted to mining communities.”
Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR) and BC Mining HR Task Force, September 2012:The British Columbia Hiring Requirements and Available Talent Forecasts: Exploration, Mining, and Stone, Sand, & Gravel 2012 report (62 pages, PDF)
Mining Association of British Columbia, September 26, 2012: BC HR Task Force Announces Mining Sector Employment Forecasts press release
Want a Mining Job in B.C? - Learn Mandarin
"The crisis that's been created is from the lack of training, and the lack of government incentives or insight into what's happening," Hunt said. "As people retire, you have to replace them. Had we been on the ball in British Columbia and Canada, we would have offered the same types of training programs ... We are the mining experts in Canada, global experts. And to suggest that we have to rely on Chinese coal companies is an insult."
CBC News, October 10, 2012: Plan to bring foreign workers to B.C. mines irks union
"How can the B.C. government and the companies involved claim that no B.C. or Canadian workers are available to work in these mines when they purposefully include a Mandarin language requirement meant to exclude them?"
USW, October 16, 2012: Job Postings Prove Canadian Workers Purposefully Excluded From Consideration for Mine Jobs
Engagement at Risk
An Evolution in Employee Engagement — 2012 Global Workforce Study: This year's study shows employees struggling with the impact of financial pressure and constant change, which have taken a toll on workers' stress levels, attitudes and behaviors on the job. The survey of 32,000 workers in 28 countries offers a revealing look at what can attract and retain the workforce, how they view managers and leaders, what they look for in a company, job or career, and more.
Towers Watson, October 2012: 2012 Global Workforce Study: Engagement at Risk: driving strong performance in a volatile Global Environment (24 pages, PDF) (if you have any problems with this link you can go to this page and register to receive your copy)
The Globe and Mail, October 18, 2012: “Canada Competes Do your employees want to come to work?” by James Martin
Presenteeism Trumps Absenteeism
The UK’s Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) released survey results from the 2012 Absence Management Survey, which found that the average level of employee absence has fallen compared with last year from 7.7 days to 6.8 per employee per year.
However, the fall in absence levels coincides with almost a third of employers reporting an increase in the number of people going into work ill. The threat of redundancies and concerns over job security are shown to contribute to such ‘presenteeism’.
CIPD, Oct.9, 2012: 2012 Absence Management Survey by Simplyhealth and CIPD
The Guardian, Oct. 11, 2012: Clear presenteeism danger by Philip Landau
The Globe and Mail, Jul. 11, 2012: Workplace absenteeism on the rise in Canada
Statistics Canada, Apr. 20, 2012: Work absences in 2011 by Maria Dabboussy and Sharanjit Uppal (PDF, 11 pages)
Statistics Canada: Absence rates for full-time employees by occupation, 2011
CanLII and Lancaster House
Lancaster House Publishing has made its eText on Wrongful Dismissal and Employment Law (1st edition) available free on CanLII
CanLII is a non-profit organization managed by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. CanLII's goal is to make Canadian law accessible for free on the Internet. This website provides access to court judgments, tribunal decisions, statutes and regulations from all Canadian jurisdictions.
Information-Seeking in College Graduates in the Workplace
Project Information Literacy (PIL) has released the research report "Learning Curve: How College Graduates Solve Information Problems Once they Join the Workplace." Overall, our findings suggest there is a distinct difference between today’s graduates who demonstrated how quickly they found answers online and seasoned employers who needed college hires to use a combination of online and traditional methods to conduct comprehensive research.
This report is the first in a new research initiative at PIL called the "The Passage Studies." These studies investigate the information transitions young adults go through at critical junctures in their lives. PIL is a public benefit nonprofit dedicated to conducting ongoing, large-scale research about early adults and their research habits.
Project Information Literacy, Oct. 16, 2012: How College Graduates Solve Information Problems Once They Join the Workplace by Alison J. Head (PDF, 38 pages)
Project Information Literacy, Oct. 14, 2012: Major Findings: PIL's Day after Graduation Study (video, 3:30 mins.)
Project Information Literacy, Oct. 10, 2012: Ken Bain: Deep Learning: Pursuing Questions that Are Important, Intriguing, or Just Beautiful by Alison Head
The Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria
The University of Victoria is committed to preserving the history of pioneering activists, community leaders, and researchers working for the betterment of transgender people. The Transgender Archives holds the world’s largest collection of archival material related to modern transgender activism and research. Further donations of materials would be greatly appreciated, as would contributions to support the enhancement of public access to the collection. The archives are accessible to the public, and available to faculty, students, and scholars for teaching and research.
The University of Victoria: Transgender Archives
International Action on Climate Change
“By 2013, 33 countries and 18 so-called sub-national jurisdictions will have some sort of levy associated with the emission of CO2, according to the Australian Climate Commission. In many cases, the tax will not only be a narrow tax on CO2 emissions themselves, but a “carbon price,” a floor on the price of fuels that generate climate-changing emissions fixed by cap and trade schemes as well as taxes on coal, gasoline and transportation.”
Climate Commission, October 15, 2012: The Critical Decade: International Action on Climate Change
Climate Commission, October 15, 2012: The Critical Decade: International Action on Climate Change (75 pages, PDF)
New York Times, October 15, 2012: “Norway Increases Carbon Tax on Domestic Production,” By Christopher F. Schuetze
Map of Global Action on Climate Change
…and in defense of economists
“Your average U.S. academic economist is a moderate Democrat, though with higher levels of support for immigration and free-trade than most. He (and your average economist is still a he) supports efforts to reduce greenhouse gases and supports measures for cleaner air and water. He prefers market-based measures, such as the cap-and-trade measures of the Clean Air Act, rather than the heavy hand of government regulations. He worries about inequality and wants to see corporations pay for their pollution, rather than be handed permits for free. He does not resemble Mr. Suzuki’s characterization of an academic economist.”
The Globe and Mail, October 15, 2012: “What economists really think about environmental issues,” by Mike Moffatt
From the Left
Eric Hobsbawm, historian, died on October 1st, aged 95
“Defiant, Mr Hobsbawm championed Marx to the last. For his intellectual force; for his grasp of the world as a whole, at once political, economic, scientific and philosophical; and not least for his conviction, as relevant in 2008 as in 1848, that the capitalist system, with its yawning inequalities and naked greed, would inevitably—irresistibly—necessarily—be destroyed by its own internal tensions, and would be superseded by something better.”
“The most famous modern manifestation of leftish fury, in Paris in May 1968, seemed to him a Club Med affair of spoiled middle-class kids. Yet part of him had longed to be there.
Next to sex, he claimed, there was nothing so physically intense as “participation in a mass demonstration at a time of great public exaltation”.”
The Economist, October 6, 2012: “Eric Hobsbawm, historian, died on October 1st, aged 95”
“No One Puts Baby in a Binder”
While answering a question regarding pay equity for women in the workplace during the second American presidential debate, Mitt Romney inadvertently created an Internet sensation. His “binders full of women” comment lead to an explosion of the phrase in the Twitter-sphere and the creation of a satiric Tumblr, Binders Full of Women, which started posting memes before the debate had ended.
Tumblr: Binders Full of Women by HeyVeronica
The Boston Phoenix, Oct. 16, 2012: Mind The Binder by David S. Bernstein
The Globe and Mail, Oct. 17, 2012: Romney's 'binders full of women’ gaffe, and why women should be furious by Erin Anderssen
The Huffington Post, Oct. 17, 2012: 'Binders Full Of Women': Mitt Romney's Comment Goes Viral by Timothy Stenovec
The Atlantic, Oct. 17, 2012: Binders Full of Women: A Meme That Means Something
Book of the Week
Legislated Inequality: Temporary Labour Migration in Canada, edited by Patti Tamara Lenard and Christine Straehle. Montreal : McGill-Queen's University Press, 2012. 407 p. 9780773540415 (hardcover)
UTLibraries link to catalogue record: http://go.utlib.ca/cat/8574334
Historically, Canada has adopted immigration policies focused on admitting migrants who were expected to become citizens. A dramatic shift has occurred in recent years as the number of temporary labourers admitted to Canada has increased substantially. Legislated Inequality critically evaluates this radical development in Canadian immigration, arguing that it threatens to undermine Canada's success as an immigrant nation. Assessing each of the four major temporary labour migration programs in Canada, contributors from a range of disciplines - including comparative political science, philosophy, and sociology - show how temporary migrants are posed to occupy a permanent yet marginal status in society and argue that Canada's temporary labour policy must undergo fundamental changes in order to support Canada's long held immigration goals. The difficult working conditions faced by migrant workers, as well as the economic and social dangers of relying on temporary migration to relieve labour shortages, are described in detail. Legislated Inequality provides an essential critical analysis of the failings of temporary labour migration programs in Canada and proposes tangible ways to improve the lives of labourers.
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