This report looks at trends in youth employment, and finds that one of the most troubling narratives to emerge from the economic downturn of 2007–08 revolved around the effect of recessed global and local economies on young workers. According to the report, young workers are more likely to be unemployed or precariously employed in non-permanent jobs—and regardless of whether they have post-secondary qualifications, these young workers will likely endure the negative effects of un- and underemployment for years to come.
Employment and labour
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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).
This paper constitutes a response to the Consultation Paper on the Renewal of Labour Legislation in Saskatchewan issued by the Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety in May 2012. It 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.
A major confrontation is shaping up between progressive elements of Canadian society associated with the trade union movement and social democracy, and anti-union organizations (many of them inspired and guided by the National Right-to-Work Committee based in Virginia) that are seeking to eliminate the institutional arrangements that protect trade union rights and secure their role in the life of Canada. This conflict involves a clash over fundamental values. At stake is the very nature of Canadian society—the kind of society we bequeath to future generations.
The Harper government’s April 26 announcement of yet another change to the deeply flawed Temporary Foreign Worker Program will not benefit any workers or communities.
Ministers Diane Finley and Jason Kenney revealed that employer applications for temporary migrant workers will be fast-tracked from three months to 10 days. The new program has been given the acronym ALMO – Accelerated Labour Market Opinion.
The grand debate between defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) models has dominated the pension discourse in labour relations for most of the last two decades.
Journalism was always the career I wanted, almost from the time I learned to read and write, and I was fortunate to get into it while still in my teens. I became a reporter and columnist, and worked for several newapapers, first with Corner Book's Western Star, later for The Montreal Gazette and The Toronto Star. I enjoyed my work, most of the time, because the managing editors and publishers gave me a lot of freedom and rarely rejected or censored what I wrote.
Premier Clark's much anticipated BC Jobs Plan comes up short where it matters most: the jobs. For all the fuss of a four-day media launch, the "Canada Starts Here" plan contains very few measures that will lead to new employment, and the ones that are there come many years into the future, and at great environmental cost.
At best, the so-called jobs plan is a rehashing of old ideas that have been government policy going back to the last NDP government: cut small business taxes, simplify and reduce regulations, and expand exports to Asian markets.
The Saskatchewan government's recent release of their Consultation Paper on the Renewal of Labour Legislation has raised many legal questions regarding the constitutionality of the government's proposed changes. Dan Cameron reviews the government's position and asks whether the consultations may actually serve as an opportunity for the provincial labour movement to expand the process of collective bargaining.
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