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Facilitating Workers’ Choice to Get Together
It’s no surprise that more workers seek the bargaining power and protection that comes with a union: to try to make sure their wages keep up with inflation, they are safe from COVID at work, and more. But often it takes an epic battle, like something out of a Hollywood movie, to achieve that goal. That’s because of multiple barriers erected in the path of unionization, by employers who want to preserve their unilateral control in the workplace. In this commentary, originally published in the Toronto Star, Centre for Future Work Director Jim Stanford discusses why unionization is so difficult, and what policies would facilitate fairer and more democratic certification…
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Inflation: Causes, Consequences, and Cures
The surge in inflation in recent months has generated great concern and debate in Canada. This inflation is clearly the result of unique and often external factors related to the COVID pandemic and subsequent recovery: including disruptions in global supply chains (such as the chaos in superconductor markets), energy shocks (made worse by the war in Ukraine), and shifts in consumer demand away from services and towards goods products (due to restrictions on many service activities during the pandemic). Despite the unique nature of this inflation, anti-inflation hawks are now dusting off their old policy recipes to restrain domestic demand and employment, and wrestle inflation back to the ground. The…
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Wages Gain Steam, But Not Enough to Keep Up With Inflation
The latest employment data from Statistics Canada confirm that Canada’s post-COVID recovery remains strong. The unemployment rate in March fell to 5.3%, the lowest since Statistics Canada began its monthly labour force survey in 1976. Another positive sign was an uptick in the growth of average wages. Hourly wages grew by 3.4% in the year ending in March, and weekly wages grew by 3.9% in the same period (weekly wages grew faster than hourly wages thanks to increases in full-time work and average hours of work). That represents a modest acceleration in wage growth from recent months. However, the pace of wage growth has really just returned to normal pre-pandemic…
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What’s a Union Good For, Anyway?
Centre for Future Work Director Jim Stanford recently joined Colin Ellis from TVO for a podcast conversation on unions: What are they? Why are they useful? And why, in the wake of the COVID pandemic, are we seeing an upsurge in union organizing efforts in Canada and other countries? Their conversation is a great primer on why most workers have little bargaining power if engage with their employer one-on-one. There’s an inherent asymmetry in the employment relationship: most workers need their job, more than their employer needs them on an individual basis. But employers do need their workforce in aggregate, to operate their business – and that’s why collective representation…
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Getting Real About Recruitment and Retention in a “Labour Shortage”
Employers complain they can’t find and keep the right people to run their businesses, in this era of supposed labour “shortage”. Have they tried treating them better … starting with paying more? Not always. Sometimes the simplest answers are the last ones considered. While employers wax eloquent about trying to build a better “culture” in their workplaces, and tap into workers’ desire to “do good” in the world, they shouldn’t forget the imperative that workers have to pay their bills, put a roof over their heads, and (hopefully) prepare for retirement. Improving pay and benefits are the first things employers should do, if they are genuine about addressing their recruitment…
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Don’t be Fooled by Ontario’s ‘Minimum Wage’ for Gig Workers
Just months before a provincial election, the Ontario government has announced a plan to guarantee a ‘minimum wage’ of $15/hour for gig workers. It sounds good, but there are some big devils lurking in the details. In practice, the plan will have absolutely zero impact on the incomes of gig workers. Anyone who accepts that this ‘minimum wage’ will lift gig workers’ incomes does not understand how the gig business model works. The biggest problem is that the so-called minimum wage will only apply for time gig workers spend engaged on an assignment: driving a passenger, delivering a meal, or performing some other assigned task. But gig workers regularly spend…
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Federal Government Should Pay CERB-Like Benefits to Workers Affected by Ottawa Protest
The federal government should extend emergency income supports to workers who were prevented from working as a result of the 3-week occupation of downtown Ottawa by “freedom convoy” protestors, the Centre for Future Work’s Director Jim Stanford has urged. He called on the federal government to offer benefits similar to the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) to workers who lost significant hours of work and pay because of the occupation. “CERB and its successor benefits were designed to support Canadians who could not work because of lockdowns and other public health measures intended to fight the pandemic,” Stanford reasoned. “This was definitely a lockdown, although not one implemented by the…
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Real Truckers Have Real Issues That Could be Solved With Regulation, Investment, and Unions
Despite claims of organizers, the protests and blockades in Ottawa and at several of Canada’s border crossings are not really about issues faced by working truck drivers. Rather, they are part of an organized effort to overturn Canada’s public health rules – and, for some of the organizers, Canada’s elected government. But the references to “hard-working truckers” arising from the protests should spark a more genuine examination of the challenges truckers face in their jobs, and how their working lives could be improved. In this column, originally published in the Toronto Star, our Director Jim Stanford discusses several of the most pressing challenges facing real truckers: including low pay, misclassification,…
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Three Paths to Strengthening Labour Standards for Gig Workers
Centre for Future Work Director Jim Stanford was recently interviewed by Shaye Ganam on his morning news show on the 770CHQR and 630CHED radio stations in Alberta about the accelerating trend toward gig employment in Canada. The interview covered the origins of the gig business model, the risks faced by gig workers, and new developments in other countries aimed at closing some of the regulatory gaps that have allowed platforms like Uber to evade traditional labour standards (like minimum wages, workers compensation, pensions, and holidays). The full interview is posted below, covering the first 13 minutes of the program. In the interview Jim outlined three paths to improving labour conditions…
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A Healthy Economy Requires Healthy Workers
With the Omicron variant rampaging through Canadian communities, many industries are experiencing supply disruptions because many workers cannot go to their jobs: because they have COVID, were exposed to it, or are caring for others (like kids who can’t go to school). Perversely, this has spurred governments to weaken policies that limited the spread of COVID in workplaces. This may seem like a quick ‘fix’, but will only accelerate further contagion (and exacerbate supply chain problems) within days. In this commentary, originally published in the Toronto Star, Centre for Future Work Director Jim Stanford highlights the contradictory messages from political and business leaders toward workers throughout the entire pandemic. At…