Labour and education in the news
Below are recent news stories on labour and education related issues. Click the headline to be taken to the article. Some may require a subscription. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for article text.
April 21, 2026
Employer Prosecuted for Workplace Incident
Province of Manitoba
As summer approaches, Manitoba Labour and Immigration is reminding employers of the importance of having safe work procedures and appropriate protective headwear in place for workers who operate all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) at work. This reminder follows the prosecution of an employer under The Workplace Safety and Health Act.
Provincial wildfire service fined for employee’s death in 2022
Winnipeg Free Press
The Manitoba Wildfire Service has been fined $100,000 in connection to an ATV crash that killed an employee nearly four years ago.
Feedback wanted: Ottawa launches consultations on federal labour law reforms
Canadian HR Reporter
Human resources leaders in federally regulated sectors may soon face new rules for bargaining, grievances and workplace protections as the federal government launches consultations on potential changes to the Canada Labour Code.
Alberta board clears Sobeys over ban on union campaign buttons at work
HRD
An Alberta labour board has ruled that a major grocery employer did not violate labour law by banning union campaign buttons from the employer's place of business and investigating three employees. In an addendum decision issued April 13, 2026, Alberta Labour Relations Board Vice Chair William J. Armstrong, K.C. found that Sobeys Capital Incorporated stayed within legal bounds when it prohibited so-called "Second Buttons" worn by employees during an active wage reopener campaign by United Food and Commercial Workers Canada Union, Local No. 401.
B.C. allowing rural businesses to retain temporary foreign workers for additional year
CBC
The B.C. government is allowing rural employers to retain existing temporary foreign workers (TFWs) for an additional year, opting in to part of a federal expansion announced last month.
Manitoba summit to explore solutions to chronic truancy
Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg teachers are cutting class on Thursday to strategize how to improve student attendance and remove barriers so more children show up for lessons on a regular basis.
Montreal's largest school service centre loses more than 100 support staff due to new secularism law
CBC
Montreal’s largest school board has lost more than 100 support staff because they refused to remove religious symbols to comply with the province’s new secularism law.
Ontario forging ahead with medical residency rule for international grads it recently rescinded
CP24
Ontario is embedding in legislation a policy that would give priority for medical residency positions to applicants with a connection to the province.
Canada falls behind in race to draw brightest students, Universities Canada CEO says
CP24
The CEO of Universities Canada says the country is falling behind in the global race to attract the world’s best and brightest students.
UPEI Board of of Governors, Faculty Association at odds over policy change
CBC
The University of Prince Edward Island and its faculty association have reached another roadblock in the implementation of a new policy regarding harassment, discrimination and sexual violence.
Indigenous identity researcher to appeal decision in defamation case
CBC
An Indigenous identity researcher who lost a defamation case in March has begun the process of appealing the decision.
Harvard grad students go on strike, walk picket lines this morning
Universal Hub
Harvard University graduate students, members of a UAW local, walked picket lines this morning after 14 months of fruitless contract talks with the school.
Louisiana bill would require AI literacy education starting in 6th grade
KNOE
A new bill at the state capitol would require Louisiana students to learn artificial intelligence literacy before they graduate.
Why are Harvard’s slavery researchers quitting or being fired?
The Guardian
Christopher Newman remembers seeing campus police officers as he walked into a human resources office at Harvard University, but he didn’t imagine that they were there for him.
Universities in England could face fines for freedom of speech failures
The Guardian
Universities in England that fail to protect free speech could face fines of £500,000 or 2% of their income, and in some cases risk losing public funding, under a new complaints system, the government has said.
British universities paid security firm to ‘spy’ on pro-Palestine students
AlJazeera
Twelve British universities paid a private firm run by former military intelligence officials to “spy” on student protesters and academics, including those who have expressed solidarity with Palestine, it can be revealed.
April 20, 2026
Canada falls behind in race to draw brightest students, Universities Canada CEO says
CTV News
The CEO of Universities Canada says the country is falling behind in the global race to attract the world’s best and brightest students.
UPDATED: Sask Polytech lays off more employees, 181 staff cut since April 2025
Regina Leader-Post
Saskatchewan Polytechnic has announced more layoffs, bringing the total number over the past year to 181.
University Canada West lays off 240 staff and faculty, citing crippling international student enrolment caps
Times Colonist
University Canada West has laid off 240 of its more than 800 staff and faculty at one of its downtown Vancouver campuses in a sweeping restructuring it says is tied to dropping international student enrolment.
In the midst of ‘cancel culture,’ universities create ways to encourage uncomfortable debate
Globe and Mail
Universities have long been sites of provocative debate and even protest, from anti-apartheid campaigns in the 1980s to encampments opposing the war in Gaza in 2024.
SAIT layoffs highlight funding challenges at Alberta post-secondary schools
Global News
The Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) is facing serious funding challenges caused by a decline in enrollment by international students, at the same time the Alberta government has imposed a two per cent cap on increases in tuition and fees for domestic students.
Teachers want the federal government to address violence in schools
Rabble
The crisis of violence in schools has increased dramatically. In one year, 80 per cent of educators and education sector workers will experience at least one act or threat of physical violence. More than 80 per cent will experience harassment, according to University of Ottawa professor of psychology, Darcy Santor.
Are university graduates ‘cooked’? A summary of recent evidence and a proposal for multi-level reforms
Academica Forum
Universities are facing intensifying criticism as the downturn in the Canadian economy augments the difficulties faced by bachelor’s graduates during labour market entry. Some observers have argued that universities are overproducing graduates in low-demand fields (e.g., humanities, social sciences) and that closer alignment between university programming and the economy is needed.
Debate rages over the cost of educating immigrant students
Politico
President Donald Trump’s campaign to expel unauthorized immigrants from the United States is trickling into the nation’s classrooms and college campuses.
Harry Keyishian, Lead Plaintiff in Academic Freedom Case, Dies at 93
New York Times
Harry Keyishian, one of five University of Buffalo faculty members who were dismissed in the early 1960s for refusing to sign a loyalty oath, a vestige of anti-Communist witch hunts, and whose legal challenge led to a Supreme Court decision that enshrined academic freedom with constitutional protection, died on April 4 in Morristown, N.J. He was 93.
Universities in England could face fines for freedom of speech failures
The Guardian
Universities in England that fail to protect free speech could face fines of £500,000 or 2% of their income, and in some cases risk losing public funding, under a new complaints system, the government has said.
‘Exam-obsessed’ schools leave pupils unready for work, Alan Milburn says
The Guardian
An “exam-obsessed” school system is leaving young people unprepared for work, Alan Milburn has said, as new polling suggests teachers believe pupils are leaving education without the skills they need for adult life.
Academic freedom or a political tool? Sternberg's NEWXUAR project clearly lacks advantages.
EUreporter
As one of the world's largest research and innovation funding programs, the EU's Horizon Europe program has always considered academic integrity, research ethics, and objectivity as fundamental evaluation criteria, and explicitly prohibits the use of public research funds for political manipulation, false narratives, and projects that incite confrontation - as published by Alerta Digital
Small towns and temporary foreign workers
Winnipeg Free Press
On any given day in a small town, restaurants should be busy. Orders coming in. People being served. The steady rhythm of a place that’s part of the community.
Canada Post workers start voting on 5-year contract, strike mandate after labour strife
Global News
Canada Post workers start voting today on a five-year contract agreement that follows labour strife and their union leader urging they reject the deal.
The Mixed Signals That Canada Post Workers Are Getting from Their Union
PressProgress
After two and a half years of negotiations, months of strike action, a back-to-work order from the federal government and dire warnings about the state of the postal service, Canada Post workers are now voting on a set of tentative agreements — for the second time.
Federal Employee Unions File Lawsuit to Block Unlawful FLRA Rule
AFGE
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), along with seven other national unions representing over a million federal employees, today filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts challenging an unlawful interim final rule issued by the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) that changes longstanding FLRA regulations without notice and comment.
Employers trust them in their homes. But can immigrant nannies and cleaners trust their employers?
19th News
“Are you documented?”
April 17, 2026
Manitoba Government Creates Nearly 1,900 Jobs for Young Manitobans
Government of Manitoba
The Manitoba government is investing up to $7.6 million in the Urban/Hometown Green Team program, which will create approximately 1,900 summer employment opportunities for young Manitobans and support 624 projects in over 170 communities provincewide, Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Glen Simard announced today.
Another hospital, another grey-listing
Winnipeg Free Press
Nurses at Seven Oaks General Hospital are considering a grey-list vote over concerns about violence and the safety of staff and patients.
Dozens protest outside legislature over expiring federal work permits
Winnipeg Free Press
For three days, Harpreet Singh Sandhu has stood outside the Manitoba Legislative Building, calling for an extension of soon-to-expire federal work permits.
Canada Post beginning work to end most door-to-door mail delivery
Winnipeg Free Press
Canada Post is starting preliminary work to convert addresses that receive door-to-door mail to community mailboxes, and to phase out some post offices.
Federal government might have to acquire new office space for public servants, analysis finds
CBC
After years of talk about shedding office space, the federal government will need more work stations in some locations with public servants headed back to the office four days a week in July, according to an analysis by Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC).
Skip the Dishes lays off staff, closes grocery delivery service centres in Canada
CBC
Winnipeg-based Skip the Dishes is closing its grocery and retail distribution centres across Canada and laying off the workers who staffed them.
Temporary Foreign Worker Permits for Truckers More Than Quadruple, Study Finds
Teamsters Canada
The number of Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) permits approved each year for truck drivers in Canada has more than quadrupled between 2010 and 2024, according to a new report released today by Teamsters Canada.
Ottawa rebuffs Manitoba immigration minister's pressing for higher numbers
CBC
The minister in charge of Manitoba's immigration system travelled to Ottawa this week with local business leaders to push for extensions to federal work permits and for immigration increases through the provincial nominee program. The answer was no.
Ontario to go ahead with new medical residency rule for international graduates
Globe and Mail
Ontario is embedding in legislation a policy that would give priority for medical residency positions to applicants with a connection to the province.
Montreal blue-collar strike enters third day as large rally held at City Hall
CityNews
Montreal’s blue-collar workers are into the third day of a citywide strike, with a large rally taking place Friday in front of City Hall as labour tensions continue between the union and the City of Montreal.
Hegseth orders termination of union contracts
Government Executive
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week instructed leaders to terminate most of the department’s collective bargaining agreements, more than a year after President Trump signed an executive order banning federal employee unions from many agencies on national security grounds.
‘Too many women have been silenced by rogue employers using NDAs’
MorningStar
TOO many women have been silenced by employers using non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), the TUC warned today as the government opened a consultation as part of the Employment Rights Act.
Surrounded by windfarms but out of work: the reality of the green jobs boom on England’s east coast
The Guardian
On paper, Jake Snell, 19, sounds like the perfect candidate for a role in the UK’s burgeoning green energy sector. He has high grades in maths and physics A-level, a distinction in BTec engineering and another distinction in an extended engineering diploma. He has also done work experience at an engineering company.
8 in 10 workers have experienced abuse at work in past year
TUC
New TUC survey findings published today reveal 8 in 10 workers have experienced abuse at work in the past year.
Samsung Elec's South Korea union says up to 40,000 expected to join rally over wages
Reuters
The leader of Samsung Electronics' (005930.KS) labour union in South Korea said on Friday that up to 40,000 workers are expected to join a rally on April 23 as it ramps up pressure on management over wage talks ahead of a possible strike.
Why these parents want to see less screen time in N.S. classrooms
CBC
Kim Herrick runs a mostly screen-free household.
NDP urges federal government to provide biometrics options for Palestinian students awaiting study permits
University Affairs
The federal NDP has called on Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to immediately implement biometrics options to fast-track study permits for 136 Palestinian students, who despite receiving admission offers and scholarships at 26 Canadian universities, remain trapped in limbo.
Committee urges penalties, random audits to crack down on foreign student visa fraud
University Affairs
The Canadian government must crack down on fraud by international students and introduce clear penalties for universities and colleges “issuing misleading documents,” a House of Commons committee recommends.
April 16, 2026
Accusations, insults fly inside legislature over former teacher discipline commissioner’s exit
Winnipeg Free Press
The political fallout over the departure of Manitoba’s independent commissioner of teacher professional conduct morphed into a bitter shouting match in the legislature Wednesday, as Education Minister Tracy Schmidt continues to defend a government narrative that began to unravel late last week.
Student union gives Wilfrid Laurier University $1.25 million gift
CTV News
Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union has decided to mark their 50th anniversary by giving the school $1.25 million to support students.
Sask. government may not accept $10-million donation for full-day kindergarten in Saskatoon
CBC
Education Minister Everett Hindley says he is "very grateful" for a family foundation's multi-million-dollar offer to keep full-day kindergarten going five days a week in Saskatoon, but he won't commit to accepting it.
Students expect their university will mishandle sexual misconduct, if they ever report it
The Conversation
Sexual misconduct – including sexual harassment, stalking, intimate partner violence and sexual assault – is a common problem on U.S. college campuses.
Ford government backs away from abolishing trustees in education overhaul
Global News
The Ford government is backing down from its threat to abolish school board trustees in Ontario and will, instead, add limits to their spending, cap the largest boards at 12 members and change how the bureaucracy is managed.
Yale Report Finds Colleges Deserve Blame for Higher Education’s Problems
New York Times
American colleges and universities bear significant responsibility for plunging public trust in higher education, a Yale University committee suggested in a report released on Wednesday.
Nine universities start legal action over student loan error row
BBC
Nine universities have begun legal action against the government in a row over students being asked to repay loans as soon as possible.
Air Canada pilots win case over religious COVID-19 exemption
The Winnipeg Sun
An arbitrator has ordered Air Canada to grant back pay to seven pilots denied religious exemptions from the airline’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy in a violation of the Canadian Human Rights Act.
Seafood processors launch $2.5M lawsuit against FFAW execs in crab dispute
CBC
Two executives with the union representing Newfoundland and Labrador fish harvesters are the target of a $2.5 million lawsuit that alleges they engaged in an "unlawful conspiracy" to prevent crab harvesters from fishing that involved threats and intimidation.
Jeff Bezos's salary hasn't changed since 1998, yet he's worth $250 billion
MSN
Jeff Bezos's salary at Amazon sparks discussions in corporate circles. Despite his net worth exceeding $250 billion ( approx. Rs 23.29 lakh crore), Bezos earns an annual salary of just $81,400 (approx. Rs 76,01,823), according to Amazon’s 2026 proxy, filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The figures remain unchanged since 1998, showcasing a modest figure, which contrasts with Amazon's $1.6 million expenditure on its security and business travel last year.
Samsung asks court to block illegal strike activities by unions
Reuters
Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) asked a court on Thursday to block its South Korean labour unions engaging in illegal activities during strike, a spokesperson said, as a wage dispute threatens to disrupt operations at the world's top memory chipmaker.
N. Korea, Russia's largest labor unions sign cooperation agreement
The Korea Times
The largest umbrella labor unions of North Korea and Russia held talks in Pyongyang and signed an agreement to boost cooperation, the North's state media said Wednesday.
Germany already told its workers to ditch four-day weeks and work-life balance—now the government wants to cut their pay for calling in sick too
Yahoo
Most people have called in sick at least once. But in Germany, workers have been taking more than one day off sick every month for the past year—and the government has had enough. Now, it’s proposing to dock workers’ wages.
Scientists left 'homeless' after government's job cuts, advocates say
RNZ
An unemployed scientist says she's seen colleagues left homeless and suicidal because of job cuts.
