Labour Matters

The final report of the proposal committee for a new union combining the CAW and CEP contains many intriguing ideas, not least being the 5 regional councils, funded by a separate per capita levy, that give the new union the feel of a labour central.  All local unions in each region will be required to be members of -- and advance the work of -- their regional council, giving the structures a potentially powerful provincial and regional presence.

If the forthcoming CEP and CAW conventions approve the plan to unite, the report promises "an ambitious program of major organizing initiatives" coinciding with the founding convention of the new union.

Due to the opaque reporting methods used by the federal government to detail its spending and employment projections, getting a clear picture of core public service job losses is unnecessarily complicated. However, CCPA Senior Economist David Macdonald has analyzed data from recently released 2012-13 Reports on Plans and Priorities (RPP) as well as the 2012 federal budget to assess the impact of several rounds of spending cuts on federal employment.  

The report, Clearing Away the Fog: Government Estimates of Job Losses, finds that the total number of federal core public service job losses over the next three years will be 29,600—far more than the 19,200 estimate that is now commonly cited. The Departments of National Defence, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, and Public Works and Government Services Canada will be particularly hard hit.

The analysis also notes that a significant number of positions at Crown corporations, non-profit agencies, and private sector firms who do business with the government outside of the core public service will also be lost, although it is difficult to determine just how many.

Click here to read the full report.

In a recent report, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) cited Canada for over 20 ongoing violations of the ILO's international labour standards. Governments across Canada have refused to change labour laws which have been found to be in contravention of Convention No. 87, Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize—a convention which Canada, with the support of all provincial and territorial governments, ratified in March 1972.

Find out more about the ILO report in these articles:

• ILO cites over 20 ongoing labour rights violations by Canadian governments
• Latest ILO report damages Canada’s human rights reputation, says CFLR

The Canadian Foundation for Labour Rights (CFLR) recently launched Constitutional Labour Rights in Canada: Farm Workers and the Fraser Case, a new book on labour rights in Canada. The book is a collection of 11 essays related to the Supreme Court of Canada April 2011 decision in Ontario (Attorney General v Fraser), which dealt with the scope of constitutional protection of collective bargaining.

"This book makes the connection between labour rights and human rights. It brings together the perspectives of a group of prominent individuals who share the view that labour rights and independent unions are essential for democratic and just societies.” - CFLR Board member, James Clancy

Contributors to the book include trade unionists, union-side lawyers, and labour law academics. Find out more here.

It is argued by some that eligibility for Old Age Security (OAS) and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) at age 65 discourages older Canadians from remaining in the workforce, and that we need to keep them working longer to avoid present and future labour shortages and a sharp rise in the so-called “dependency” ratio. Accordingly, the federal government proposes to phase-in an increase in the age of eligibility from age 65 to age 67, affecting Canadians who are now 54 and younger.

A new CCPA report, Working After Age 65: What is at Stake?, looks at some of the realities of working past age 65, and examines the potential impact of increasing the OAS eligibility age. The report finds that forcing Canadians without workplace pensions or large savings to work full-time past age 65 is unfair—especially given the high probability that the jobs many are able to find will be part-time and low paid.

Read the full report here.

American Rights at Work recently commissioned 5 studies examining the broader value and impact of unions on the US economy and society. The separate studies, profiling unionized healthcare workers, teachers, childcare providers, building trades workers, and union pension funds, are summarized together in a report entitled "Beyond the Weekend".