Labour - Unions

Sept. 16, 2022

Collectively refusing to work overtime can be illegal in Alberta, highlighting Canada’s poor labour standards.

A couple of weeks ago, workers who install scaffolding at a Suncor Inc. site in Alberta were informed by their employer that if they didn’t stop refusing “voluntary” overtime, they could be fired, fined or possibly jailed. 

Sept. 12, 2022

"We feel like this is the only thing we can do," said one nurse. "Hospitals tell us it's our fault, but we've been actively involved and getting nowhere."

Sept. 8, 2022

Why have our leaders surrendered us to rising deaths and widespread deteriorating health?

In case you were in denial that denial itself is a powerful part of the human condition, the pandemic has given us more proof.

This article reminds me of a cartoon I saw 50+ years ago: Henry Ford and a union leader are overlooking an assembly line. Ford says, "No workers here are going on strike!" The union leader replies, "Nope, and none who will buy Fords either."

                    -- Gene McGuckin

Sept. 7, 2022

Webpage Editor: Apart from the concerns mentioned in the article I wonder about the energy that would be necessary to operate these systems and their large scale and the high cost of the technology.  And what about their vulnerability to extreme environmental conditions?

Sept. 6, 2022

Sept. 8, 2022

Last week, a group of more than 50 media outlets, unions, employer associations and other organizations, representing pretty much every main player in the industry, sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling for the federal government to take action against the online harassment of journalists. 

Sept. 2, 2022

Aug. 26. 2022

New organizing in the U.S. is both promising and inspiring — and one hopes more of it spills over into Canada.

An upsurge in union organizing in the United States this year has been an inspiration to many there, as well as in Canada and beyond. Now seems like a good time to take stock of the American labour movement. 

Aug. 26, 2022

France vs. Inflation--Pension Hikes, Rent Caps, Renationalize Hydro

Aug. 4, 2022

Cost of living measures include pension rises, a cap on rent increases and a civil service pay rise

French lawmakers are to definitively adopt a range of new measures to help struggling households cope with rising energy and food prices, as well as an updated budget that will pay for France to renationalise the electricity company EDF.