Labour law reform: consultation or imposition? BY ANDREW STEVENS • NOV 3, 2012 Saskatchewan’s labour laws are being rewritten. Already, the governing Saskatchewan Party has made it more difficult for workers to unionize, and has given employers more freedom to interfere during union campaigns. As the first province to grant public servants the right to Continue reading‘Right-to-Work’ legislation provides no rights and no work
Postal Workers | Ontario teachers & Bill 115 | CAW auto parts strikes THE “NO” VOTE GAINS SUPPORT AMONG POSTAL WORKERS Rankandfile.ca has received news that the executives of the Calgary, Saskatoon and Winnipeg CUPW locals have decided to oppose the Urban Operations tentative agreement announced on October 5. This confirms informal conversations we’ve had Continue readingLabour News Brief: Postal workers, Ontario teachers, CAW auto parts strikes
by Bruce Allen Vice President, CAW local 199 (written in a personal capacity, not on behalf of the union local) The approaching merger between the Canadian Autoworkers (CAW) and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers (CEP) will create the largest private sector union in Canada with over 300,000 members employed in 22 sectors of the economy. Continue readingThe CAW – CEP Merger: A Political Reflection
Austerity and Counter-Austerity in Britain: Social Protest Movements and Political Organizing On the Rise By Roger Annis Britain is in the throes of a deepening class struggle prompted by attacks on social and democratic rights by the capitalist class. The economic elite is pressing forward with an austerity program of ever-deepening cuts to jobs and social Continue readingWeekly news up-date, 22 October 2012
On October 5, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and Canada Post arrived at a tentative agreement. They did so without the arbitration process imposed upon them by the federal government following the employer lockout in the spring of 2011. The arbitration process was delayed for months as CUPW challenged the federal Minister of Labour Continue readingCUPW and concessions: The case for a “NO” vote
Tory bill on union expenses could trip up businesses in the process Sean Tucker and Andrew Stevens are Assistant Professors in the Faculty of Business Administration at the University of Regina For decades activist shareholders, trade unions, and, more recently, Wikileaks activists have demanded greater transparency from business and governments. Indeed, one of the functions Continue readingTory bill on union expenses could trip up businesses in the process
In 2011, Federal Conservative MP, Russ Hiebart, introduced a private members, Bill C-377, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (requirements for labour organizations). While Hiebart uses the language of transparency to motivate and gain support for the Bill, C-377 is a pet project of LabourWatch, an anti-union organization that began in the United Continue readingThe Canadian Bar Association responds to Bill C-377
Last week, we published an analysis of the situation confronting teachers and all other educators in the Ontario elementary and secondary school systems, both public and Catholic. Bill 115, the Orwellian “Putting Students First Act” does the following: eliminates collective bargaining rights for Ontario’s 180,000 elementary and secondary school teachers, support staff and other education Continue readingMcGuinty’s proposed “Protecting Public Services Act, 2012”
By Doug Nesbitt and Andrew Stevens [Editors note: a couple of passages have been edited for clarification. Oct.8 2012] For the first time since the late 1990s, a provincial labour-related education bill has angered a substantial number of Ontarians, from students to parents and, of course, teachers. Bill 115, with the Orwellian title of “Putting Continue readingWaiting for a walkout: The end of McGuinty?
Labour Force Survey, September 2012 The number of employed Canadians edged up in September from the month before, with 52,000 jobs added to the economy. Still, the unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 7.4% as more people participated in the labour market. In the past year, employment has increased 1.0%, with most of the Continue readingWeekly labour news update, 5 October 2012
Union advantage A recent report released by the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) shows that the average unionized worker makes over $5 an hour more than their non-unionized counterparts. This comes to a culmulative value of almost $800 million each week across the unionized workforce. The report, titled “The Union Advantage in Canadian Communities”, is based Continue readingWeekly news update, 28 September 2012
Marikana Massacre On August 16, 34 South African platinum miners were gunned down and killed by a special police unit. The miners were employed by platinum mining giant, Lonmin, in the Marikana region of the South Africa. In response to the massacre, Lonmin chairman, Roger Phillimore said in a statement, “We are treating the developments Continue readingWeekly news update, 13 September, 2012