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Precarious Employment

The term precarity was adopted by social scientists to define states of employment that lack the security or benefits of more traditional employment relationships. Many labour market researchers point to precarious employment becoming the new normal in Canada’s workforce.

Canadian Jobs Report

The health of Canada’s labour force since the 2008 recession has been hotly debated in the media and in public discourse. The Canadian federal government over the past six years has consistently reported on an improving economy that has seen employment return to pre-recession highs due to the various employment programs and measures they instituted to strengthen the economy.

Challenges to Collective Bargaining and Unionization

With a number of high profile work stoppages and government interventions since the 2008 recession, the debate around the value of unions and the collective bargaining process has grown increasingly polarizing. Anti-union sentiment has materialized into “right-to-work” politics; unsuccessful Charter challenges in the Supreme Court for “freedom-to-not-associate” (with unions); and proposed legislation for stricter financial reporting measures on unions (e.g. Bill C-377) and to make the union certification process more difficult (e.g.

Unionization, Democracy & Equality

In Canada, there has been a long-term trend of declining unionization rates, from 38% in 1981 to 30% in 2012. The biggest drop can be seen in the private sector, from 30% in the 1970s to 16.4% in 2012 as well as in men, from roughly 42% in 1981 to 28% in 2012.

On the other hand, the unionization rate for women has held steady from 1981 – 2012 at around 31% and similarly so for the public sector at around 70%. Unionization among young workers (aged 15-24) has also increased in recent years.

Collective Bargaining in Canada

There is a wealth of information to be found on the Government of Canada’s websites about collective bargaining in Canada, from upcoming collective bargaining dates, work stoppages, wage settlements, ratified settlements and more.

Currently, the major issues being negotiated include wages, job security, health programs/benefits, and pension plans, where unions are being asked by employers to make more concessions and as a result, we have seen wages increasing at their lowest rate since 1998.

Guaranteed Annual Income

What is a Guaranteed Annual Income

Debate over whether Canada should institute a Guaranteed Annual Income (GAI) has a long history. As Professors Margot Young and James Mulvale explain, “the term “guaranteed income”… is used to signal reform proposals that advocate some variant of an income benefit scheme in which the state provides a minimum level of basic income on a continuing basis to every adult, irrespective of personal circumstances or need, with no or very few conditions attached.”

Living Wage

What is a Living Wage?

The term “living wage” is used to describe earnings (whether hourly, weekly or annual rates) that are on par – or exceed – the basic standard of living. Living wages are designed to lift workers, and their families, out of poverty and will vary depending on the geographic location, among other factors.

Minimum Wage

Historical Development of Minimum Wage Laws

Minimum wage laws have been around for centuries. Its basic stipulation: raise wages of workers so they can live within acceptable standards of living. What’s deemed “acceptable” varies greatly across (and within) societies. Some of the earliest examples of minimum wage laws tied salaries to the cost of food – a core consideration for any good job.

Canada’s Growing Gap

Income inequality (and wealth inequality) has been worsening in Canada over recent decades. Growing income polarization, while morally unjust, has real (and negative) social consequences. A decline in good, well-paying, jobs will only fuel this disparity. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has tracked this phenomenon through its ground-breaking Growing Gap Project.

Unpaid Internships

Many young worker and student advocates have raised concern in recent years regarding the misclassification of workers (mostly young student workers) as ‘interns’. This practice has enabled some employers to hire workers and provide them training or ‘real-life’ work experience, in lieu of wages.

The Challenge of Under-Employment

A growing list of researchers and policy analysts suggest the more substantial challenges facing young workers is ‘under-employment’, or the under utilization of skills possessed by new workers and students entering the labour market.

Economic and Social Costs of Youth Unemployment

There are significant economic and social costs to long-term youth unemployment. Lower overall career earnings, less opportunity for skills development are lower career prospects are obvious concerns. Recent studies have even pointed to a severe ‘scarring’ effect chronic unemployment has on young people, fostering feelings of distrust among social and political institutions and stoking unrest.

Regional Experiences with Youth Unemployment

In 2013, 387,000 young people (between 15 and 24 years old) looked, but couldn’t find a job. The youth unemployment rate – while having declined from 15% to 13.7% in recent years – is still frustratingly high.

Youth Unemployment in Canada

Canada’s job market performance has been underwhelming since the 2008 recession. Un- and underemployment remains frustratingly high, in many regions of the country.

Diversity and Inclusion

It is well-documented that racialized individuals disproportionately experience low-wage and precarious work. At the same time, diversity and inclusion are becoming increasingly recognized as important drivers of growth and innovation. There are serious economic and social costs to allowing a colour coded labour market to develop in any jurisdiction. In spite of the trend some companies are discovering just how beneficial diversity and inclusion can be.

Good jobs as good business in retail

Too many retailers believe that they must offer bad jobs to keep prices low. As a result, a growing number of workers suffer low wages, poor benefits, constantly changing schedules and few opportunities for advancement. But many researchers and retail managers are finding that good jobs, with better pay and more predictable hours, are actually good for the bottom line.

Green Jobs and Environment

Climate change is happening. How Canada responds will have important and far-reaching implications for the environment, the economy and the labour market.

Discussion Paper

Getting the conversation started...

For too many people in Canada today, the dream of landing a good job is out of reach. For an increasing number, jobs that were once considered ‘stable’ – with decent wages, benefits and working conditions – are under threat. Good jobs appear to be falling off the economic map.

Unifor to release major auto industry study

TORONTO, March 27, 2015 /CNW/ - Canada's largest union in the private sector, and the leading union in the auto sector, will release an independent study Monday examining the economic impact of the General Motors plant in Oshawa.

Unifor protests imminent airport layoffs

TORONTO, March 25, 2015 /CNW/ - With more than 280 jobs on the line, Unifor held a protest at the offices of the Greater Toronto Airport Authority today. The union is calling on the GTAA to require offers of employment to the low-wage workers that will be out of a job due to a change in the contract for those who service seniors and passengers with special needs at the airport.

Media Advisory - Unifor to protest mass layoffs at airport

TORONTO, March 24, 2015 /CNW/ - Unifor will hold a rally at the offices of the Greater Toronto Airport Authority (GTAA) to protest the layoff of more than 280 low-wage workers who service passengers who require extra assistance.

"The GTAA has a choice—it can give job security to the workers who service passengers with special needs and seniors, or it can toss them into unemployment," said Jerry Dias, Unifor's National President.