Entries tagged with
labour
A Thumb on the Scale
Alberta Government Interference in Public-Sector Bargaining
In 2024, about 200,000 public-sector Alberta workers will be negotiating new contracts. This report examines the ways governments, and specifically the Government of Alberta, interfere in public-sector collective bargaining. It also explores how this growing interference may impact the 2024 bargaining round. The report concludes by offering several options for how public-sector workers and their unions can respond to growing government interference, both at the bargaining table and through increased political pressure.
Six Worries for Workers This Labour Day
What can we expect from the re-elected UCP government?
What can Alberta workers expect from this United Conservative Party government? The UCP’s first term cheapened labour costs for employers, while its 2023 election platform contained few promises related to labour and employment matters. This post presents six labour-related issues that should be on every worker’s radar over the next four years.
When the Alberta government passed Bill 32: The Restoring Balance in the Workplace Act in the summer of 2020, a number of observers noted the many ways in which it unfairly targeted unions and their members. My Parkland Institute report analyzing Bill 32, however, made it clear that changes like those in the Act have broader implications for the rights of ALL Albertans. The report, Tipping the Balance, concluded that the legislation represented an Americanization of labour relations in Alberta and that many provisions undermined rights protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Increasing Employer Power at the Workplace
The Impacts of Bill 32 (Part 2)
Most of the coverage of the tabling of Bill 32 has focused on its effects on unions and unionized workers (including Part One of this post published last week). Yet, the most far-reaching impacts of the bill will be on non-unionized workers – those who are protected only by the Employment Standards Code (ESC).
Taking Aim at Unionized Workers
The Impacts of Bill 32 (Part 1)
Bill 32 will have serious impacts on unionized and non-unionized workers, and it will restrict the voices of workers in our democracy. Jason Foster, Associate Professor, Human Resources and Labour Relations at Athabasca University, explains the implications for unionized workers in the first of a two-part blog series.
In the Shadows
Living and Working Without Status in Alberta
This report examines the lives of undocumented migrant workers living in Alberta. It discusses the results of a research study of 32 undocumented workers, outlines the circumstances that led to their loss of status, describes their work and living conditions, and explores their reasons for staying and their hopes for the future.
Two meat-packing plants in southern Alberta have given rise to nearly one in six of Alberta’s 3400 cases of COVID-19. Athabasca University's Bob Barnetson and Jason Foster examine what went wrong at the two meatpacking plants, what it tells us about the inadequacy of OHS policy in Alberta and how the incidents could have been avoided.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has suggested that the federal government should bail out oil and gas companies in response to the COVID-19 crisis and the Saudi-Russian price war. In this blog researcher Ian Hussey explains why that would be a bad idea.
The Future of Alberta's Oil Sands Industry
More Production, Less Capital, Fewer Jobs
This report explores the employment, capital spending, and operational spending implications of the ongoing restructuring and consolidation of the Canadian oil sands industry.