Employment and labour

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For the past 40 years political leaders — supported by the majority of professional economists in the academy and private sector — have reduced the role government plays and increased the degree of competitiveness in the economy. The number of public-sector enterprises that have been sold off (such as Manitoba Telephone Services, Petro Canada and Air Canada), and the increasing willingness of governments to downsize the public sector and deregulate key sectors of the economy (e.g., transportation, energy, telecommunications), are testimonies to this shift in governance.
The Canadian Government is well down the road, with the European Union, towards negotiating a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).  They tell us that CETA will have everything that NAFTA has, plus more.  They say that like it’s a good thing.  But the more one looks at this Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, this CETA, the more there is to dislike.
Members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) initiated job action on June 2 in response to Canada Post’s refusal to continue the collective bargaining process for the purpose of achieving a new collective agreement.  The main unresolved issues were: health and safety, staffing, sick leave and short-term disability, wages, pensions and benefits, job creation and service expansion.
Unions are usually thought of as being about higher wages.  It's true. Unions do produce higher wages for their members (and often, as a result of knock-on effects, for other workers as well).  As of April 2011, for example, the 200,000 Manitoba workers covered by collective agreements earned an average hourly wage of $24.57, 30 percent above the $19.00 earned by workers not covered by collective agreements. Unionized workers also get better benefits.  
The Saskatchewan New Democrats have promised to reform and repeal much of Brad Wall's labour legislation in their recently released policy review "A Rooted and Growing Vision." While changes to this legislation would be most welcome to the labour movement in the province, should we be satisfied with merely returning to the status-quo if an NDP government were to return to power in the province?
Ever look at work going on around you? The computer set-ups? The tools and equipment? How much people are expected to lift and how often? Ever consider how few studies there are about most products or chemicals we use? More and more Manitobans have family, friends and neighbours with a disease, injury or illness caused, or affected, by their work.
Inside this issue: Unpacking the Housing Numbers: How Much New Social Housing is BC Building? by Seth Klein and Lorraine Copas Climate Justice, Green Jobs and Sustainable Production in BC by Marc Lee and Kenneth I. Carlaw Lack of Water Data a Cause for Public Concern by Ben Parfitt Job Creation Alone Will Not Solve BC’s Poverty Problem by Iglika Ivanova Fossil Fuel Peddling Impedes BC’s Progress Toward a Green Future by Marc Lee
An election should be a time to discuss key policy directions. One of the biggest policy transformations in the Harper era has been the enormous growth in Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) –– “guest” workers who come to Canada for short periods, generally tied to specific employers, without future prospects for immigration or citizenship, and without a genuine ability to defend and protect their workplace rights (if they believe their employment rights or workplace safety has been violated, and they complain, they may be rewarded with a ticket home).