For the Week of March 10, 2003

VOLUNTEERING: As a way of commemorating their 50th anniversary, on March 6 Ericsson Canada Inc. launched “Ericsson Share 50”, a major volunteer campaign in Southern Ontario and greater Montreal. All 1,800 Ericsson Canada employees are encouraged to complete a minimum of 50 hours of volunteer work in their communities throughout the course of 2003. This campaign will become an annual event, building on Ericsson already substantial record for community involvement and philanthropy. See the press release at the company website at http://www.ericsson.com/ca/en/press/2003-03-06.shtml for more details.

SEFTON LECTURE: The 2003 Sefton Lecture was delivered on March 6 by Tim Armstrong, former Deputy Minister of Labour and mediator-arbitrator in the 2002 City of Toronto CUPE dispute. His address, Contemporary Collective Bargaining: How well is it working? is available as a 25 page PDF document at the U of T Centre for Industrial Relations website at http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/cir/library/electronicarchive/seftonlectures.htm.

GLOBALIZATION: Leo Gerard, International president of the United Steelworkers presented the annual Don Wood Lecture in Industrial Relations at Queen’s University on March 6. His presentation, entitled Globalization and North American Integration: Implications for the Union Movement, warned that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will undermine the economic security and social protections of workers in Canada and other developed nations. See the press release at the USWA website at http://www.uswa.ca/eng/news_releases/gerard_global.htm. Past lectures from The Don Woods Lecture Series are available at the Queen’s IRC website ; the Gerard lecture has not yet been posted.

B.C. LABOUR CODE REVIEW: The British Columbia division of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Association presented its submission to the B.C. Labour Relations Code Review on February 27. The association states the “basic tenet” of the submission is that union members should have more rights to review the performance of their union and if necessary to seek to de-certify a union, and that companies should have an equal right to that of the union to provide information and views regarding union issues. See the 6 page document in PDF at the website of the Review Commission at http://www.labour.gov.bc.ca/lrcreview/submissions-received.htm. There are now over 50 submissions and responses to submissions posted at the site, from business, labour and individuals.

OVERTIME: Toyota has withdrawn its application for a review of an Employment Standards order from September 2002 which had held that Toyota had violated Ontario’s Employment Standards Act by scheduling mandatory overtime after eight hours of work a day. The Ontario Labour Relations Board had been scheduled to hear Toyota's application on March 10, 2003. A brief press release is available at http://www.newswire.ca/releases/March2003/06/c7862.html.

U.S. & CANADIAN TAX RATES: A recent study by Andrew Jackson of the Canadian Labour Congress shows that Canadian and U.S. tax rates have converged over the past decade to the extent that Canadian rates are on a par with U.S. rates for average and higher-paid workers. Bruce Little in a Globe and Mail article on March 10 comments on the study. The article by Andrew Jackson, entitled Are Canadians really taxed more heavily? U.S. and Canadian Taxes Compared appears as a PDF document in the CLC’s newsletter, The Economy, at the CLC website. For the article by Bruce Little go to the Globe and Mail website.

ONTARIO TEACHERS: OECTA: Headlines in the Toronto Globe and Mail on March 11 reported that Elizabeth Witmer, Minister of Education and Deputy Premier, was “shoved, punched in the arm and hit with water “ as she left the annual general meeting of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association. The minister’s appearance is also reported at the OECTA website at http://www.oecta.on.ca/ ; the President of the OECTA has promised an investigation of the incident. Information about the resolutions and activities of the meeting are posted at http://www.oecta.on.ca/agm2003/agmindex.htm.

Donna Marie Kennedy, an elementary teacher from Ottawa has been acclaimed as president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association, with her term running from July 1, 2003 to 2005. She replaces Kathy McVean. See the press release at http://www.oecta.on.ca/news/nr2003/nr030308.htm.

OSSTF: At the Convention of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation, held March 8 to 10, Rhonda Kimberley-Young, a former teacher with the Upper Canada District School Board, was elected President. She will serve until June, 2005, and replaces Earl Manners, four term president, who has announced as an NDP candidate in the next provincial election and did not seek re-election. See the press releases at http://www.osstf.on.ca/www/pub/pressrel/index.html for the union’s reports of the convention business and elections.

TORONTO SCHOOLS: After nine days negotiation, four of which involved mediator Kevin Burkett, District 12 of the OSSTF and the Toronto District School Board have declared an impasse. Outstanding issues include: salary, workload, the sick leave gratuity, benefits, and the positions of responsibility model. Teachers have instituted a modified work to rule campaign, according to the OSSTF press release at http://www.osstf.on.ca/www/pub/pressrel/sept02_aug03/mar05-203.htm.

NEWFOUNDLAND SKILLS GAP: The Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, Newfoundland and Labrador Division, has released a new report, entitled Skills Issues in the Manufacturing Sector, which reflects the expectations of manufacturers across Newfoundland and reveals an emerging industrial skills gap, particularly in the manufacturing sector. Among the improvements called for in the report are proposed initiatives for a provincial human resources strategy. See the 7 page PDF document.

BILINGUALISM: According to a report on March 10 from the CBC, the federal government will spend $650 over the next five years to increase the ability of Canadian to speak French. $325 million is earmarked for education, focusing on teaching anglophones French; $260 million on offering French services in everything from early-childhood programs to health care and justice; and $65 million on expanding the number of bilingual public servants. See the CBC report at http://cbc.ca/stories/2003/03/09/bilingualism_030309.

EARNINGS, EDUCATION AND THE WAGE GAP: Two important new reports from the 2001 Census data were released on March 11. Earnings of Canadians: Making a living in the new economy (39 pages in PDF) reveals the average earnings for Canadians aged 15 and older who had employment income reached $31,757 in 2000, an increase of 7.3% since 1990. 2.7% of Canadians reporting employment income had earnings of $100,000 or more; the highest levels in urban areas were in Calgary (4.9%) , Toronto (4.8%), Ottawa-Hull (4.3%) and Windsor (4.2%). At the other extreme, Sherbrooke and Trois Rivieres had the highest proportions of earners who worked full-time for less than $20,000 in 2000.

The report also shows that the male-female wage gap persists, though it has narrowed: women aged 15 and over who had employment income in 2000 made 64 cents for every $1 earned by men, as compared to 52 cents in 1980. Women aged 25 to 29 working full-year, full-time, made 81 cents for every $1 earned by men in the same age group.

Regardless of educational attainment, recent immigrants earned substantially less than their Canadian-born counterparts even after 10 years in Canada.

The second Census 2001 report, Education in Canada: Raising the standard (59 pages in PDF format) shows a surge in post-secondary education between 1991 and 2001: the number of adults aged 25 and over with trade, college or university credentials increased by 39%, compared with a population growth of 14%. The report shows the levels of educational attainment by fields of study, by sex, by immigrant status and by aboriginal status. It provides educational profiles of each province, showing British Columbia has the highest-educated working-age population, with over 56% of people aged 25 to 64 having graduated from a trade school, college or university. Four urban areas are also highlighted: Montreal and region; Extended Golden Horseshoe; Calgary-Edmonton corridor; and Lower mainland British Columbia.

UNEMPLOYMENT: Since the start of 2002, the number of jobs in Canada has increased by 4.1% , with job gains totalling 613,000. However, even with the increase in employment, the unemployment rate was unchanged at 7.4% in February 2003, as a result of more labour force participation. See the full report at the Statistics Canada website at http://www.statcan.ca/english/Subjects/Labour/LFS/lfs-en.htm , or view the response to the numbers in the TD Bank report at http://www.td.com/economics/comment/ml030703.html .

U.S. employment figures for February 2003 were also released on March 7, with the unemployment rate unchanged at 5.8 %, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Total nonfarm payroll employment was down by 308,000 with retail trade and services especially hard hit. See the full report at the BLS website at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm.

The TD Bank Quarterly Economic Forecast, which looks at both U.S. and Canadian economies, is available at http://www.td.com/economics/qef/qefmar03.html and a new Provincial Forecast from CIBC World Markets was published online at http://www.cibcwm.com/information/press/pressroom.asp?id=208 on March 10.

INNOVATION IN DENMARK: Several collective agreements recently negotiated in Denmark contain "individual options" clauses that allow employees to choose between higher pay and more time off. The agreements were reached in the financial and the slaughterhouse/meatpacking sectors. A discussion of the clauses can be found on the European Industrial Relations Observatory On-line website.

WORK-LIFE BALANCE IN BRITAIN: In March of 2000 the British government launched a work-life balance campaign. A recent article on the European Industrial Relations Observatory On-line website evaluates the progress that has been made over the past three years. The article also contains links to numerous relevant documents. For the article go to the EIRO website.

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