Archive for the ‘Employment Policy Context’ Category
Stephen Harper’s stealth EI changes are a worry.
May 18 2012
The Harper cabinet intends to spring a new set of “stealth” rules on us by way of regulation, months from now, after it has amended the Employment Insurance Act to strip away existing rights to refuse lousy jobs… But hurrying skilled people into menial jobs out of some misplaced sense that any job will do is a waste of resources. They should have the time to canvass for jobs that make productive use of their know-how. The current rules reflect that reality.
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, rights, standard of living
Posted in Employment Policy Context | No Comments »
Budget bill gives Conservatives broad power over EI rules
May 3, 2012
The measure is contained inside the budget implementation bill and would give cabinet the power to change employment insurance rules later through regulation without the approval of Parliament… The budget bill contains a small section that allows cabinet through regulation to define “suitable employment.” Ottawa isn’t saying what it has in mind… this and other EI changes in the budget bill – which also include replacing existing appeals bodies with a single “Social Security Tribunal” – are of such significance that they should be studied independently.
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, rights, standard of living
Posted in Employment Policy Context | No Comments »
Ottawa’s low-wage immigration policy threatens turmoil
Apr 27 2012
this government… says that if Canadians don’t want to see jobs going to foreigners, they should quit whining and accept lower wages. Which is why Ottawa’s answer to complaints made about temporary foreign workers is to toughen Employment Insurance rules. Kenney has warned that unemployed workers who refuse to take low-wage jobs will have their EI benefits cut off. If Canadians agree to work for less, he explains, Ottawa won’t have to bring in as many low-wage outsiders. All of this is a solution of sorts, I suppose, albeit a 19th century one. But it is a solution that threatens to bring with it the kind of agitation now seen in countries like France, Holland and Greece — where the racist right is on the rise and where far too many workers view immigrants as mortal enemies out to steal their jobs.
Tags: economy, ideology, immigration, participation, rights, standard of living
Posted in Employment Policy Context | No Comments »
Two-tiered wage system announced by Tories
Apr 28 2012
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has always vehemently denied bringing cheap foreign labour into Canada. Employers had to pay foreign temporary workers “the prevailing wage,” he pointed out. That indeed is what the rules said – until Wednesday, when Human Resources Minister Diane Finley quietly changed them. Employers will now be allowed to pay foreign temp workers 15 per cent less than the average wage… When Canada introduced its temporary foreign worker program in 2002, the governing Liberals vowed never to adopt the European model route in which “guest workers” are paid less than nationals and treated as second-class residents
Tags: immigration, rights, standard of living
Posted in Employment Policy Context | No Comments »
Why economically troubled nations should emulate Germany
Apr 19 2012
German industry is no less productive and innovative than its top peers, including Korea, Japan and the U.S. Yet organized labour in Germany has long had a significant role in corporate governance, as members of corporate supervisory boards. And Germany has long required employers to provide mandatory five-week vacations to workers… Germany… has not attempted, simplistically and foolishly, to slash its way back to robust health. Indeed, that Germany remains in robust economic health is a vindication of the social-welfare state.
Tags: economy, ideology, participation, standard of living
Posted in Employment Policy Context | 1 Comment »
Free-market ‘rationalism’ turned Canada from champ to chump
February 26, 2012
From Korea to Finland, China to the Netherlands, Brazil to Germany, countries which actively direct and manage growth seem to perform better in productivity, innovation, and global trade. These countries have fostered investment and innovation with focused sector strategies; deliberately favourable capital market, exchange rate, and trade policies; and sophisticated efforts to manage income distribution so that productivity growth visibly translates into higher living standards
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, poverty, rights, standard of living
Posted in Employment Policy Context | No Comments »
Pain Without Gain
Feb. 19, 2012
The confidence fairy has failed to show up: none of the countries slashing spending have seen the predicted private-sector surge. Instead, the depressing effects of fiscal austerity have been reinforced by falling private spending… Why? Because spending cuts have deeply depressed their economies, undermining their tax bases to such an extent that the ratio of debt to G.D.P., the standard indicator of fiscal progress, is getting worse rather than better.
Tags: economy, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Employment Policy Context | No Comments »
Get Ontario to work
Feb. 22, 2012
Drummond got it wrong. Indeed, while MPPs are literally debating his proposed cuts right now, they should be considering a different type of cut: to Ontario’s long list of barriers to job creation and economic growth… Drummond dismisses any hope of robust growth, claiming that the province can’t beat 2% annually in the coming years… It’s true that Ontario wastes billions, but cuts alone won’t save it… Ontario needs a systematic attack on job-killing labour laws, time-consuming approval processes, and overly strict regulations.
Tags: economy, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Employment Policy Context | No Comments »
Caterpillar fiasco highlights failure of economic and social policy
Feb 13 2012
The factory operated profitably and productively for decades. Then suddenly its workers and the whole community were confronted by an uninvited visitor — who barged in, demanded money, and then left, leaving a shuttered plant and immeasurable social despair in its wake… Caterpillar had no sooner digested its new subsidiary, than it began shifting production to Indiana (where new right-to-work laws effectively ban unions) and Mexico… moving jobs out of Canada won’t stop Caterpillar from raking in billions in revenue here… Yet nothing was demanded from Caterpillar in return for this largesse
Tags: economy, globalization, ideology, rights, standard of living, tax
Posted in Employment Policy Context | No Comments »
Why we’re seeing the ugly new face of capitalism
Feb. 14, 2012
The implicit deal is that lower taxes create more investment and competitive cost structures create more demand. Both supposedly create more (good-paying) jobs. Lower taxes, check. Lower payroll costs, check. More good-paying jobs here at home: Insert sound of crickets chirping… in Canada, federal taxes on profits had fallen to 16.6 per cent by fiscal 2010-11 after briefly dipping to 13.2 per cent in 2008, a level not seen since the Great Depression… Unlike the 1930s, corporate profits in Canada have rebounded since the 2008-9 crisis, nearing the previous high water mark… Despite growth, there is no shortage of profitable firms telling workers they can keep their jobs only if they agree to get less.
Tags: economy, featured, globalization, ideology, standard of living, tax
Posted in Employment Policy Context | No Comments »
Recent Posts