Regina —The Saskatchewan government’s contemplated changes to labour legislation as outlined in the Consultation Paper on the Renewal of Labour Legislation in Saskatchewan will have the perverse effect of lowering wages, undermining workplace democracy and contributing to worsening inequality in Saskatchewan, says a report released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
With Conservative parties in several provinces favouring similar legislation, Saskatchewan has become the frontline in the battle to maintain historic labour rights. Unions in a Democratic Society: A Response to the Consultation Paper on the Renewal of Labour Legislation in Saskatchewan by Christopher Schenk, provides a critical review of the Consultation Paper’s orientation, namely its lack of recognition of the role of labour rights in advancing democracy, equality and economic justice. It also explores how the Consultation Paper fails to understand the historical context and principles behind several key features of the Canadian industrial relations system.
The following provides a few highlights from the report.
“In a period of widening inequality, restrictive labour laws are blatantly unnecessary and regressive. Saskatchewan and the rest of Canada need to move away from austerity policies and weak economic recovery and toward environmentally sustainable economic growth that allows those who need and want to work to do so in a more democratic, equitable society. Unionization contributes to this end and labour laws should respond accordingly,” concludes Schenk.
–30–
The full report is available on the CCPA website: www.policyalternatives.ca
For more information contact Kerri-Anne Finn, CCPA Senior Communications Officer, at 613-563-1341 x306.
A new report from the CCPA’s Education Project tracks the affordability of university education across Canadian provinces. The study looks at trends in tuition and compulsory fees in Canada since 1990, projects fees for each province for the next four years, and examines the impact on affordability for median- and low-income families using a Cost of Learning Index.
Since 1990, with very few exceptions, the tuition fee burden across the country has been increasing faster than incomes, and the average tuition and compulsory fees for Canadian undergraduate students will continue to rise by an estimated 17.7% by 2015-2016.
Read the full report, Eduflation and the High Cost of Learning, to find out which provincial governments are ensuring university education is more affordable for median and low-income families, and which governments are telling students to take a hike.
Check out our Take a Hike! infographic (click to enlarge):
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-Ontario presents
the 2012 David Lewis Lecture
Brigette dePape, writer and activist also known as the “rogue page” who stood in protest in the Canadian Senate chambers
Ben Powless, Mohawk citizen from Six Nations, co-founder of the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition and organizer with Defenders of the Land
Jamie Biggar, founding executive director of Leadnow.ca who coordinates national campaigns designed to get more Canadians engaged in their own democracy
Emma Pullman, freelance writer, campaigner with sumofus.org and research director with Leadnow.ca
They’re actively engaged in the biggest challenges of our time. Find out what they think about Canada’s future.
Thursday October 4, 2012
Doors open: 6:30 pm, lecture starts: 7:30 pm
Wine and cheese social: 9:00 pm
Trinity St. Paul’s Centre, 427 Bloor Street West, Toronto (map)
Lecture only: $40 lower level seating; $20 upper level seating
CCPA Fundraising wine and cheese social, includes a free drink and a chance to meet the guest speakers (limited tickets available): $40
For more information about this event, please contact CCPA-Ontario Director Trish Hennessy at 416-525-4927 or by email at ccpaon@policyalternatives.ca.
The age and educational attainment of the US workforce have increased significantly since 1979. Since older and better educated workers generally have higher pay and better benefits, one might expect a greater share of workers to be in good jobs today compared to 30 years ago.
In a Center for Economic Policy and Research brief entitled "Where Have All the Good Jobs Gone?", John Schmitt and Janelle Jones instead find that the proportion of US workers in good jobs -- defined as paying at least at least $18.50 per hour/$37,000 per year, with employer-provided health insurance and a workplace retirement plan -- fell from 27.4% in 1979 to 24.6% in 2010. Much of this overall decline is accounted for by a drop in the share of workers with employer-provided health insurance, especially among men.
Measured against the expected increase in the share of good jobs resulting from a more-experienced, better-educated workforce, the authors estimate that the US economy lost approximately a third of its capacity to create good jobs over the 30 year time frame.
The authors find that workers at all levels of educational attainment were less likely to hold a good job in 2010 than they were three decades earlier. Ruling out technological change and the failure of workers' qualifications to keep pace as an explanation, Schmitt and Jones argue that the economy’s declining ability to generate good jobs is linked to the weaker bargaining power of workers, particular those at lower and middle income levels.
In an article entitled "Crime and the Decline of Unions," economics professors Robert Baumann and Bryan Engelhardt of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts estimate the elasticity of crime with respect to union membership. They contend that the drop in US union membership between 1993 and 2006, along with the loss of well-paying blue-collar jobs, increased property crime by 15%. For every percentage point drop in unionization, larceny, arson, burglaries, and auto theft are predicted to increase by roughly 140 crimes per 100,000 people.
CCPA not only does first-rate research; it also connects with the real world by putting powerful information in the hands of advocacy groups and by presenting intelligent, progressive ideas in the media. It is a BC jewel and I urge everyone to support it.
— Kathleen Ruff, founder, RightOn Canada