A Year From Hell for Canada's Unemployed Workers - Canadian Labour Congress

OTTAWA – “It’s been a year from hell for Canada’s unemployed workers,” says Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Since last fall hundreds of thousands of people have seen their full-time jobs disappear, their families have been decimated and their communities hollowed out,” Georgetti says.

He was commenting on the release by Statistics Canada of labour force figures for October 2009. “Compared to this time last year we are in terrible shape. People have had to trade full-time, family-supporting work for part-time jobs and
self-employment. Fewer than half of unemployed workers qualify for Employment Insurance and those who do get benefits are receiving an average of about $50 a day. That’s just not right. We have asked the government again and again to fix Employment Insurance but they keep tinkering around the edges.”

Statistics Canada reports that in October 2009 there were 1.59 million unemployed Canadian men and women, or 8.6% of the workforce. Since last fall 400,000 jobs have been lost.

Georgetti says that workers paid their Employment Insurance premiums in good faith and the program should be there for them now that they have been thrown out of work through no fault of their own. He says that the EI system needs comprehensive reform, and is calling upon Ottawa to:

• change accessibility rules to provide regular EI benefits on the basis of 360 hours of work, no matter where people live and work in Canada.
• make all workers eligible for up to 50 weeks of EI benefits.
• raise benefits immediately to 60% of earnings calculated on a worker's best 12 weeks of earnings.

Quick Analysis from CLC Senior Economist Sylvain Schetagne 

The job numbers for October 2009 confirm that the labour market continues to deteriorate rapidly and there are no signs of improvement. While there were some indication in recent months that labour market deterioration was slowing, that can be described as the eye of a hurricane before the second part of the storm hits us.

In October, the number of employees in Canada dropped by 71,000. The public sector lost 26,000 employees and the private sector lost 45,000. The unemployment rate rose from 8.4% to 8.6% and the number of unemployed Canadians is now 1,587,400, up by 37,700 since September 2009.

The decline that occurred in the last 12 months was mainly in manufacturing, construction, transport and natural resources. The deterioration of the labour market is now spreading to the service industry, including retail and wholesale trade, down by 31,000, and “other services", down by 20,000. Women aged 25 and over (-24,400) and young workers 
(-19,900) who are traditionally over-represented in service, retail and wholesale, suffered most of the lay-offs in October.

Since October 2008, about 400,000 Canadians have been laid off, most of them full-time workers (-378,000). The unemployment rate has increased by 2.3 percentage points, from 6.3% to 8.6%. The number of unemployed Canadians has grown by 435,900 during the same period, a 37.9% increase over a year. In summary, the deterioration of the labour market has spread to all Canadians in all sectors of the economy.

The Canadian Labour Congress, the national voice of the labour movement, represents 3.2 million Canadian workers. The CLC brings together Canada's national and international unions along with the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 130 district labour councils. Web site: www.canadianlabour.ca

With an Election Coming in 2 Years Dalton McGuinty Should not Tackle the Broader Public Sector

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty's musings on unpaid holidays for civil servants reflect rising political pressure among conservatives to do something about the perceived advantages that the province's public sector has enjoyed over private-sector employees:

But the Premier runs the risk of undermining his own legacy for restoring labour peace in Ontario if he declares "Dalton Days," a measure that would result in some cost savings for the government but would do nothing to address the province's economic problems, observers say. A look at Lakehead University's tussle over unpaid days gives a taste of the unrest any major moves could trigger for the McGuinty government.

The observers, from a range of sectors, questioned the Liberals' resolve to potentially pick a fight with nurses, teachers and civil servants. After all, they said, the Liberals have demonstrated little desire to rein in spending since the onset of the global recession a year ago, and they are facing a provincial election in 2011.

"No government is going to cast its fate to the wind roughly [two years] before they have to go to the public," said Hugh Mackenzie, research associate with the left-of-centre Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Mr. McGuinty said this week it is not fair that civil servants have been sheltered from the recession while thousands of private-sector workers have lost their jobs. He refused to rule out unpaid days off for public-sector workers.

His comments followed Finance Minister Dwight Duncan's announcement of a "sweeping review" of government spending to help eliminate the province's record $24.7-billion deficit for this fiscal year.

"We have to look at every aspect of government, including wages and benefits," Mr. Duncan told reporters yesterday.

So far, the government has spared the legislature's 107 MPPs and senior civil servants from sharing the pain. As part of a restraint package unveiled last December, salary increases were capped at 1.5 per cent a year for MPPs and senior civil servants, and the Ontario Public Service was frozen at 68,645 employees.

Mr. McGuinty was elected in 2003 on a pledge to restore labour peace in the province following dramatic funding cuts to health care and education as part of the former Harris government's Common Sense Revolution.

David Docherty, a political science professor at Wilfrid Laurier University, said Mr. McGuinty faces difficult choices. "I think he's afraid of being attacked on the right if he were to raise taxes, and he would be going against what got him elected in the first place if he cut services," Prof. Docherty said.

Former NDP premier Bob Rae used a similar strategy of unpaid days off to deal with a deficit in the early 1990s, which the unions condemned as "Rae Days."

Warren Thomas, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, has warned the government that the NDP's Social Contract would be struck down by the courts today because collective bargaining has been recognized as a protected right. "McGuinty can't legislate his way out of this," Mr. Thomas said.

The experience of Lakehead, the first university in Canada to ask faculty members to take unpaid days off during the Christmas holidays, could serve as a spectre of what's in store for the McGuinty government, said Henry Mandelbaum, executive director of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations. The union representing faculty argues that the move amounts to a pay cut and the matter is now before an arbitrator.

"Not only would he be tackling a large portion of the Ontario population and making his party's re-election more difficult, but also he'd be undermining his own legacy," Mr. Mandelbaum said.

Via The Globe and Mail

Dalton McGuinty is musing about nothing. A 2007 Supreme Court of Canada decision against the British Columbia government on Bill 29 made it illegal for McGuinty to pry open an existing collective agreement in order to dismantle or strip job protection.

McGuinty Days, unless accepted by both parties, would violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom.

Bill 29 eliminated collective agreement provisions for health care workers and paved the
way for massive job losses and privatization.

The controversial and unprecedented law excluded health and community social services
workers from labour laws that protected other workers in the province. And it eliminated
collective agreement provisions that safeguarded workers and services from privatization.

The Supreme Court of Canada reversed the Bill.

We argue that McGuinty Days would violate the equality and freedom of association
provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Mcguinty's musing are nothing but PR to appease conservative elements in the province.

The reality of the matter for McGuinty is that the governing liberals are going to the polls in less than two years and he will be mindful of the potential adverse and negative consequences of taking on the broader public sector so close to a general election.

We would think that cancelling large tax breaks for the private sector and getting rid of ineffective and expensive consultants in the public sector, particularly at the Ministry of Health, would be a better way to tackle the deficit.

Day of Action at Queen's Park Mentions CUPE 3906 Strike

TORONTO, Ont. – As students across Ontario take part in a ‘Day of Action’ for a poverty-free Ontario, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario Sid Ryan issued a call to Premier Dalton McGuinty to implement the simplest anti-student poverty measure possible—putting a stop to unreasonable tuition hikes.

“We have members in Hamilton who are on strike right now at McMaster University, and one of the key sticking points has been the university’s insistence on raising tuition and student fees far above the rate of inflation,” said Ryan.

Members of CUPE 3906, representing more than 3,000 teaching assistants (TAs) and research assistants (RAs) at McMaster, went on strike earlier in the week. Among the outstanding issues on the table is the University Board of Governors’ recent approval of tuition increases ranging from $250 for undergraduate teaching assistants to $753 for international graduate student teaching assistants.

“This is not the direction Ontario’s universities should be taking. If anything, our universities should be reducing tuition fees and the province should be taking steps to eliminate them outright,” said Ryan.

Ryan, who attended the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario Day of Action events in Toronto, also called on students and union members to show their support for striking McMaster teaching and research assistants.

CUPE 3906 was encouraged yesterday by the strong show of support coming from labour unions. Another rally is schedule for Monday. Hamilton residents are encouraged to attend and show their support for McMaster teaching and research assistants.

Ontario Collective Bargaining Highlights - July 2009

There are currently 10,724 collective agreements in the Province of Ontario.

Highlights of agreements ratified in July: 

In July, 28 collective agreements were ratified, each covering
200 or more employees. These agreements covered 51,848
employees, 75% of whom were in the public sector (38,846),
with the majority in public administration (34,246).

The overall average annual increase in base wage rates in July
was 1.7%, a slight increase from 1.6% reported in the previous
month. In the public sector, 17 agreements were settled for an
average annual wage increase of 2.1%, down from 2.5% in
June. In the private sector, 11 agreements were settled for an
average annual wage increase of 0.5%, a decrease from 1.3%
in June.

Major settlements in July included five 36-month agreements
between the City of Toronto and the Canadian Union of Public
Employees (CUPE), covering 28,800 employees. Each
agreement provides an average annual wage increase of 2%.
CUPE also settled two agreements with the City of Windsor.
The settlements cover 1,870 employees and provide average
annual wage increases of 1.6% over 48 months. York Regional
Police Services Board and York Regional Police Association
settled two 12-month agreements. The agreements, covering
1,350 uniform officers and 491 civilian employees, include annual
wage increases of 3.8%. VHA Home Health Care and the
Service Employees International Union reached a settlement
providing 1,100 employees with an average annual wage
increase of 1.7% over three years.

Number of Agreements that have expired and not been renewed

As of July 31, 2009, there were 176 agreements, each covering 200 or more employees, that have expired and not been renewed.

More information is available in the Ministry of Labour's Collective Bargaining Highlights.

The View from Steeltown will continue to provide these reports on a monthly basis as they become available.

CUPE LOCAL 3906 RALLY - Thursday, November 5, 2009

Support the Teaching Assistants and Research Assistants on strike against McMaster University.

CUPE LOCAL 3906 RALLY

4:30 pm

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Sterling Street entrance to the university.

Bring flags and banners!

Stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in their current struggle.