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.
August 5, 2022
Construction company fined for workplace injury
Winnipeg Free Press
The owner of a Beausejour-based construction company has been fined $18,500 by the province, after an employee suffered a spinal fracture in a workplace accident.
Canada lost 31,000 jobs last month, the second straight monthly decline
CBC
Canada's economy lost 30,600 jobs in July, Statistics Canada said Friday.
Health-Care Unions Propose Five Priority Measures to Turn Around Dire Front-Line Staffing Crisis, Hospital Closures: Media Conference Friday, 11 a.m.
BusinessWire
The Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA), the Canadian Union of Public Employees and SEIU Healthcare will hold a media conference (virtual – ZOOM link below) on Friday, August 5, 2022, at 11 a.m. to urge the province to immediately implement five priority measures to deal with what is a now a dire staffing crisis. Recent data from Statistics Canada shows that there are 45,000 vacant health-care positions in Ontario.
How the world's biggest four-day workweek trial run changed people's lives
CNN
Workers are fed up.
Reuters U.S. journalists strike for first time in decades
Axios
Reuters on Wednesday alerted customers that its U.S. journalists planned to go on strike in response to ongoing contract negotiations between management and the NewsGuild, which represents its unionized staff.
Lufthansa ground staff agree pay deal after strike
Reuters
Ground staff of Germany's Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) and management have reached a pay deal after a third round of negotiations, averting further walkouts during the busy summer travel season, labour union Verdi and the carrier said late on Thursday.
Counter inflation with profit restraint and pay rises – not rate rises, says TUC
TUC
Commenting on today’s announcement to raise interest rates by 0.5%, TUC head of economics Kate Bell said:
Denying Workers a Voice at Any Cost
Daily Kos
Robert B. “Bull” Bulman and his co-workers at the FreightCar America plant in Cherokee, Ala., only wanted decent pay and a safe work environment.
Analysis-As inflation bites, Japan's PM finds unlikely ally in labour unions
Yahoo Finance
As Japan faces its first major battle with inflation in decades, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is extending a rare olive branch to labour unions, who he sees as crucial to his wider push to boost household wealth.
School divisions’ new leaders walked similar paths to top job
Winnipeg Free Press
Aside from their recent promotions to each oversee the education of more than 15,000 public school pupils, Winnipeg’s two newest chief superintendents have an uncanny amount in common.
Memorial to Assiniboia Residential School survivors to be built on property where school once stood
CBC
Construction has begun on a monument that will honour survivors of the Assiniboia Residential School in Winnipeg, a longtime dream of respected First Nations leader Ted Fontaine.
Terminated faculty call for a 'no' vote to Laurentian's plan of arrangement
CTV News
A committee representing some terminated faculty members at Laurentian University have issued an open letter, calling on creditors to vote against the school's plan of arrangement.
Replacing Santa Ono: Hiring a university president is exciting, but oh, so challenging
The Province
Whoever takes over as the next president of UBC after Santa Ono departs in October will be stepping into a rewarding and challenging role. That makes it one of the hardest jobs to recruit for, says a former university president and one-time adviser to a major search firm.
Slate
In early March, a 17-year-old high school senior I’ll call Ethan got a text message from Ursinus College, a small, private liberal arts school located about 45 minutes outside of Philadelphia. It said, “Great news, [Ethan]! Ursinus College has awarded you additional money! Log into your portal to view your updated financial aid award.”
August 4, 2022
University responds in policy fight with Alberta government, suggests not being heard
Global News
An Alberta online university facing a potential multimillion-dollar cut in a policy fight with the province says it will consider the government’s latest demand but has not committed to complying with it.
Pay gaps trigger strike vote at Queen’s University’s Donald Gordon Centre
Global News
A resounding vote to strike has been filed by Aramark Canada employees, at Queen’s University’s Donald Gordon Hotel & Conference Centre in Kingston, Ont.
Policy fight between Athabasca University, Alberta government intensifies
Globe and Mail
An Alberta online university facing a potential multimillion-dollar cut in a policy fight with the province says it will consider the government’s latest demand but has not committed to complying with it.
University of Toronto vax policy could boost uptake, but more needed to drive real increase: experts
Toronto Star
A Toronto university’s decision to require those living in student residences to have at least three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine could boost third-dose uptake among young adults, but it won’t drive a significant increase unless other schools follow suit, experts say.
B.C. government contributes $77.8 million for collaborative post secondary school campus on Vancouver Island
Meltwater
The B.C. government has announced it will contribute $77.8 million to help build a new collaborative post-secondary school campus in Langford on Vancouver Island.
U of S moves to stop false Indigenous identity claims
Meltwater
A new University of Saskatchewan policy may mark a sea change in how Canadian post-secondary institutions deal with the thorny issue of scholars falsely claiming to be Indigenous.
Canada offers work permit extension to former international students
The PIE News
As part of the move, those still in Canada will also be able to work in the interim period while they wait for their permit to be extended. It follows a similar announcement earlier in the year that recent international graduates would be offered the chance to stay and work in Canada for longer to address labour shortages.
Ontario arbitrator rules in university's favour on vaccine mandates
The Sault Star
An Ontario labour arbitrator has ruled that universities may continue to enforce vaccine mandates even if local health authorities don’t require them to, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.
Volunteer-powered rural clinic attempts to fill ER gap
Winnipeg Free Press
When more than one-third of Manitoba’s emergency rooms stayed closed over the August long weekend, Dr. Jacobi Elliott’s clinic in Grandview remained open.
Tentative Agreement reached at Bell clerical
Unifor
Unifor’s Bell Clerical and Associated Employees Bargaining Committee reached a tentative agreement with Bell Canada.
Major victory for WestJet workers at Toronto Pearson International Airport
Unifor
WestJet workers at Pearson International Airport have won a major victory in their right to representation as the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) certifies Unifor as their sole bargaining agent.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford vows to fast-track accreditation of foreign-trained nurses to ease hospital crisis
Globe and Mail
Ontario Premier Doug Ford broke his silence Wednesday on the health care crisis engulfing the province, saying the government will be issuing a directive to speed up the accreditation of international nurses as a way of addressing shortages of medical staff.
Hundreds of Amazon warehouse workers walk out over pay, U.K. union says
Globe and Mail
Hundreds of Amazon workers at a warehouse in Tilbury in southeast England have walked out in protest over pay, the trade union GMB said, the latest sign of labour force discontent as the rising cost-of-living sparks strikes across sectors.
August 3, 2022
Union representing Ontario education workers calls for 11.7% raise
CBC
A union representing Ontario education workers has asked the province for annual wage increases of 11.7 per cent — or $3.25 per hour — as the two sides hash out a new collective agreement.
Unifor members at Via Rail ratify new collective agreement on wages, benefits
Globe and Mail
Members of Unifor Local 100 and National Council 4000 have voted to accept a new three-year deal with Via Rail that will see workers get better wages and greater benefits.
Alberta flying schools trying to remain sustainable amid pilot shortage
CBC
Flight schools in Alberta are struggling to continue operating, even though there is a very high demand for trained commercial pilots in Canada, industry experts say.
Canada rolls out measures to help international students stay — and work — in this country
Toronto Star
|After weeks of delays, Canada is rolling out interim measures to allow international students who have been left in a kind of immigration limbo due to pandemic backlogs to stay and work legally in this country.
Alberta threatens funding cut to Athabasca University in ongoing battle
Global News
The Alberta government has upped the ante in its fight with Athabasca University, directing the online-oriented school to get busy making sure more staff work in the small northern town or risk losing millions of dollars in funding.
Students returning to campus want the ‘university experience’ missed during COVID-19
The Conversation
Universities are implementing COVID-19 safety plans to maintain safe and healthy environments — through protocols like enhanced cleaning or a focus on ventilation and air quality — for the imminent return of students to in-person learning on campuses.
Grant Thornton survey: More than half of higher education employees feel their voice isn’t heard at work
BusinessWire
Grant Thornton LLP, one of America’s largest consulting, audit and tax firms, has surveyed more than 550 employees at higher education institutions about topics ranging from compensation and benefits to stress and campus leadership. The findings are part of Grant Thornton’s second State of Work in America survey, which polled more than 5,000 employees from a cross-section of industries, and they arrive amid ongoing retention concerns in higher education.
Australian university union claims a sham “historic win”
World Socialist Web Site
If one were to believe Australia’s National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) and the corporate media, the trade union covering university workers has won an “historic” agreement at Western Sydney University (WSU) that sets a lead across the country.
Romanian unionists unite and take action to support Ukrainian educators and students
Education International
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Fédération des Syndicats Libres de l'Enseignement (FSLE) of Romania has been undertaking many activities in solidarity with Ukrainian colleagues and children. Romanian educators are working as volunteers making sure schools are ready to receive Ukrainian students and organising rapid training for teachers to learn how to work with students suffering from war trauma.
Shell gives employees 8% bonus after record profit
Globe and Mail
Shell will give its employees a one-off 8% bonus after the energy giant reported two consecutive quarters of record profit, the company said on Thursday.
What happened to the Apple store union campaign?
The Verge
Earlier this year, Apple seemed poised to join Starbucks in a nationwide unionizing blitz. Two stores filed paperwork with the National Labor Relations Board while dozens more began to organize. In June, the first Apple Store in the country, in Towson, Maryland, voted to unionize.
Actors & Athletes UNITE on Voting Rights
SAG-AFTRA
SAG-AFTRA has teamed up with the NFL Players Association for the launch of Actors & Athletes: Unions for Democracy, a partnership centered on protecting the right to vote in every state, as well as encouraging every American to register to vote. The inaugural brunch, held at Jean-Georges Beverly Hills at the Waldorf Astoria on July 17, featured remarks from SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher, NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland and NFLPA Vice President Michael Thomas. More than 100 actors, athletes and allies attended, expressing their support for protecting voting rights.
Arriva’s lack of a pay offer forces London bus workers to ballot for strike action
Unite
Bus passengers in North London face having their journey’s being severely affected later this year, as drivers ballot for industrial action.
Liz Truss U-turns on plan to cut public sector pay outside London
The Guardian
Liz Truss has been forced to U-turn on plans to cut civil service pay outside London after a furious outcry from Conservative MPs and the Conservative Tees Valley mayor.
Tube and London Overground staff announce fresh strikes on same day
The Guardian
London Underground and Overground staff will go on strike on 19 August, unions have confirmed, piling on transport misery for passengers in the middle of a national rail strike.
How A Labour Helpline Is Helping Informal Workers Recover Wages
IndiaSpend
Bengaluru: Yellapa, 35, was a relieved man. For nearly three months, he had struggled to recover Rs 4,000 worth of wages that a construction contractor owed him and his wife. As a migrant construction worker, Yellapa earns around Rs 700 a day in Bengaluru, a city he calls home for most of the year, save for a few months when he returns to his village 600 km away in north Karnataka's Kalaburagi district.
Over 42 200 civil servants vote 'yes' to strike
The Namibian
AN overwhelming number of government employees across the country last week voted in favour of a civil servant strike over salary increments.
August 2, 2022
Rural, northern Manitoba communities without emergency room or physician coverage
Winnipeg Free Press
Communities across rural and northern Manitoba are without emergency room or physician coverage over the August long weekend due to persistent shortages of doctors and nurses.
About 25 Ontario hospitals scaled back operations on weekend due to staff shortages, union says
CBC
About 25 hospitals in Ontario were forced to scale back sections of their facilities on the long weekend due to staff shortages, according to a provincial union that represents nurses.
TSSA safety inspectors #StrikeforSafety makes headlines across Ontario
OPSEU
OPSEU/SEFPO Local 546 TSSA safety inspectors made headlines across Ontario this week as the first week of the #StrikeForSafety kicked off!
The Growing Turmoil in Ontario Labour Relations: Can Ontario Unions Turn Things Around?
Socialist Project
Only halfway through 2022 and we already are soon going to set a new high for strike days lost for at least the last 13 years in Ontario, with over 800,000 strike days through the first half of the year.
If we have a recession, it will be one engineered on purpose
Canada's National Observer
So far, the story of how to cut inflation in Canada down to size has been a very simple one: higher interest rates.
Documents reveal RCMP targeted health care activists in 1960s Saskatchewan
Canadian Dimension
In early July, Ottawa-based author and former MP Dennis Gruending acquired a series of documents pertaining to the campaign for universal health care in 1960s Saskatchewan. The documents, which Gruending obtained through an access to information request, reveal that the RCMP considered supporters of the Saskatchewan Medical Care Insurance Act—“the first government-controlled, universal, comprehensive single-payer medical insurance plan in North America”—to be communist subversives and kept files on leading advocates of the bill, including former Premier Tommy Douglas.
A UPS worker says his boss reprimanded him for taking a sip of water, while others say they suffered heat exhaustion amid soaring temperatures
Insider
A UPS worker has accused his boss of telling him off for pausing to drink water, amid a searing heatwave, The City reported on Thursday.
Workers are being punished for inflation. The real culprit is corporate greed
The Guardian
The US Federal Reserve is aiming its powerful firehose at the living room but it’s the forest that’s ablaze. As a result, people may drown even as their house catches fire.
10 days paid Family and Domestic Violence leave introduced into parliament after years of union campaigning
Australian Council of Trade Unions
After a decade of campaigning for 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave by unions, the new Albanese Government will finally introduce legislation to enshrine the right into the parliament today.
Saying ‘Tansi’ to new school year
Winnipeg Free Press
A Winnipeg teacher wants her colleagues to welcome their students in Indigenous languages on the first day of school — and the following 185 days in the 2022-23 calendar.
Pandemic classroom coverage ‘feeding frenzy’ for substitute teachers
Winnipeg Free Press
A child has immediately burst into tears when Holly Harris walked into their classroom — on more than one occasion over the last two school years.
U of T requiring anyone living in campus residences to be triple-vaxxed against COVID-19
CBC
Students and staff planning to live in University of Toronto residences will need to have two shots of a COVID-19 vaccine and at least one booster dose before moving in this September.
‘We’ve had our fair share of living off of bread and butter': Nova Scotia, P.E.I. university students battling high costs, lack of vacancy to securing housing
SaltWire
Keiondra Chaulk feels lucky she’s been living in the same house she moved into when she first came to St. John’s three years ago.
International Students in Ontario Are Fighting Wage Theft—And Winning
Labor Notes
In Brampton, Ontario, a small team of young organizers has begun taking on the businesses that exploit them, one case at a time.
analysis: 'Grand compromise' at Western Sydney University hailed as answer to tertiary sector's reliance on insecure work
ABC News
After years of revelations about the university sector's "dirty secret" — casualisation rates as high as two-thirds of all staff, as well as wage theft — there could be a solution.
July 29, 2022
Hospital staffing levels among questions in wake of teen death
Winnipeg Free Press
The death of an otherwise healthy 14-year-old girl, days after being admitted to hospital, may have been avoided if the Manitoba health-care system was operating at full capacity, according to a source with knowledge of Talina Rampersad-Husack’s case.
Like other Canadians, Winnipeggers say they're feeling the crunch as cost of living rises
CBC
More Canadians feel they're in dire financial shape as the cost of living keeps rising, a new poll suggests — and people in Winnipeg say they're feeling that squeeze.
Public service unions say federal government's guidance on hybrid work flawed
CP24
Federal public service unions say the government's plan to get employees back to the office is confusing, disjointed and jeopardizing health and safety.
AHS employees represented by HSAA approve contract with 4.25% pay hike over 4 years
Global News
After a difficult bargaining process that included proposed wage rollbacks and years of delays actually getting to the table because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Health Sciences Association of Alberta announced this week its members employed by Alberta Health Services have accepted a new tentative agreement.
Paramedics across Canada are struggling to answer emergency calls and provide timely care
Globe and Mail
Paramedics across Canada are struggling to answer emergency calls and provide care because of staff shortages and overcrowded hospitals, with people who are calling 911 in many regions of Canada facing lengthy delays, sometimes hours long, for ambulances – and further delays once they arrive at hospitals.
Provinces leaving behind low-income families as inflation surges: study
Globe and Mail
Most provincial governments across Canada are failing to support low-income residents as inflation surges, according to a new University of Calgary study that warns homelessness rates will increase if more isn’t done.
Podcast: Rising Inflation Creates Tension in Collective Bargaining
Centre for Furture Work
With year-over-year inflation topping 8%, far in advance of nominal wage gains, workers in all parts of Canada’s economy are struggling to protect their real living standards. Real wages have declined by more than 3% in the last 12 months alone, with further erosion pegged in the months ahead.
UPS workers rally in New York to protest hot working conditions
CNBC
UPS workers rallied Thursday morning to demand that the company provide workers adequate relief during periods of extreme heat.
The Women In Zimbabwe Building Gender Equality, Brick By Brick
World Crunch
Last year, Charity Nyoni walked by a group of men who were painting a house and asked if she could help.
We shouldn't ask schools to do more with less
Winnipeg Free Press
We all want the best for our kids, and that’s why it’s so important that funding for our public education system keeps up with a growing province and the needs of dynamic classrooms. I’d like to share recent information that was released about the province’s approach. The Financial Reporting and Accounting in Manitoba Education report for the 2021-22 school year reveals a steady decline in the province’s contribution to public education.
Laurentian creditors to vote Sept. 14 on debt repayment plan
CTV News
Unsecured creditors of Laurentian University will vote Sept. 14 on a proposal to settle debts, following a ruling from the Superior Court of Justice on Thursday.
Bill 96 ignores students with 'invisible' disabilities trying to obtain higher education degrees
CTV News
Students with disabilities say they're worried about how Quebec's controversial language law could negatively impact their ability to pursue higher education and thrive later in life.
For all the cheerleading, science still has an equity problem
The Peterborough Examiner
A recent study found that nondisabled white male scientists receive greater pay, respect and access to career opportunities compared to all other scientists belonging to historically under-represented groups, including women.
Canada temporarily making distance learning eligible for Express Entry points
CIC News
Public health restrictions over the past two years have forced students out of the classroom and onto the internet. Now, Canada is relaxing rules for Express Entry candidates who studied online during the pandemic.
Post-secondary institutes working to make up for nursing shortfall
Discover Moose Jaw
While the province has a shortage of nurses, post-secondary institutes such as Saskatchewan Polytechnic are looking to replenish those positions.
July 28, 2022
Epidemiologists told us so, but we keep letting COVID rule our lives
Winnipeg Free Press
When governments around the world started to eliminate social and economic pandemic restrictions earlier this year, it was based on a common-held dream: with vaccinations and higher levels of natural immunity through infections, we could fight off COVID-19 and return to a more or less normal life.
As N.L. nurses leave full-time jobs, province calls in costly private agencies
CBC
Lauren Byrne's daughter cried with joy the day her mom came home and announced she was no longer a full-time, permanent nurse in rural Newfoundland.
TSSA safety inspectors launch new initiative to push negotiations: Union
Canadian Occupational Safety
The Ontario Public Sector Employees Union (OPSEU/SEFPO) has announced that safety inspectors on strike at the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) will be picketing outside of the Ministry of Public and Business Service on July 27. The group will be calling for Minister Kaleed Rasheed’s intervention in the negotiations.
Hospital unions call for action against a 'pandemic surge' in violence
TBnewswatch.com
Two hospital unions representing frontline staff in Northern Ontario hospitals are demanding that hospital administrators and the Ontario government do more to combat violence against workers.
Union vote to wrap up at Trader Joe’s store in Massachusetts
Winnipeg Free Press
Labor organizers at a Trader Joe’s store in Massachusetts will find out Thursday if there is enough support among employees to form the chain’s first union.
Fewer Americans applied for jobless benefits last week
Winnipeg Free Press
Fewer Americans applied for jobless benefits last week, but the previous week’s number was revised upward significantly, with claims breaching the 250,000 level in back-to-back weeks for the first time in more than eight months.
Amazon Joliet warehouse workers file complaints alleging unsafe, hostile working environment
ABC 7 Chicago
Some Amazon employees are making allegations against the company, including unsafe and hostile working environments at a suburban Joliet warehouse.
Employers’ Role In The Education-To-Employee Skills Gap
Forbes
As the economy tightens and both employers and job seekers adjust to the new normal of the pandemic, companies must prioritize evaluating entry-level employee skills and invest in building skills where needed. The employer's role in bridging the education-to-employment skills gap is more important now than ever before.
The Fallout From Apple’s Bizarre, Dogged Union-Busting Campaign
Wired
Apple workers in Towson, Maryland, made history last month when they became the first US retail store to vote to unionize, joining the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). A week and a half later, workers launched a petition on Change.org calling Apple’s union-busting campaign “nothing short of traumatic for many of us.” The petitioners called on the company to refrain from waging similar blitzes at other stores, where several mostly underground campaigns are underway. “We are deeply concerned about our fellow employees’ mental wellbeing because we are all too aware of what awaits them if they decide to organize a union,” they wrote.
10 days paid Family and Domestic Violence leave introduced into parliament after years of union campaigning
Australian Council of Trade Unions
After a decade of campaigning for 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave by unions, the new Albanese Government will finally introduce legislation to enshrine the right into the parliament today.
Australia Post wages to rise by 6.1% under landmark Union inflation-busting deal
CWUnion National
As members are well aware, off the back of a faster than expected economic rebound – inflation is soaring.
What has happened to the Labour party that it can’t stand up for labour?
The Guardian
It was 1977. I was in my mid-20s and had just moved down from the north to west London. A group of Asian women working at a film-developing factory in Brent had started a strike for better pay and working conditions. Trade union branches across London and my local constituency Labour party in Hayes were sending delegations to join the women in their saris on the picket lines. This was the historic Grunwick strike, led by the now famous, heroic Jayaben Desai.
London Underground workers to stage fresh strike in August
The Guardian
London Underground workers are to stage a fresh strike in a long-running dispute over jobs and pensions.
B'nai Brith backs lawsuit against McGill, student groups over 'anti-Israel referendums'
Montreal Gazette via MeltWater
Jewish organization B’nai Brith Canada announced on Wednesday it will fund a student’s lawsuit against McGill University and student groups for “repeated anti-Israel referendums.”
‘Should we have hope or just give up?’: U of G residence crunch has students considering other options
CTV News
With the start of the University of Guelph’s autumn semester just over a month away, some incoming students are still waiting to see if the university will be able to accommodate them in residence.
July 27, 2022
U of M opens pro bono legal rights clinic
Winnipeg Free Press
A new pro bono clinic at the University of Manitoba aims to help communities historically under-served by the justice system take on issues ranging from disability rights to Indigenous rights to environmental rights and everything in between.
New dashboard invites U of T community to engage with employment equity data
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto has made it easier to explore data on employment equity with the recent launch of an online Employment Equity Dashboard.
University of Calgary profs digitally preserve Edelweiss Village, a B.C. heritage site
CBC
Professors at the University of Calgary are digitally preserving an endangered heritage site, important to Canada's mountaineering history.
Brock University facilities workers vote unanimously to strike, which would be its first in 52-year history
Niagara Falls Review
Facility management workers at Brock University are putting the school on notice that they are willing to strike if they can’t reach a new contract.
Education union accuses Ford government of ‘fear-mongering’
Global News
The union representing Ontario’s elementary teachers is accusing the provincial government of “fear-mongering” as an early war of words breaks out between the Ford government and education unions.
Survey: Conflicting Views of Higher Education
Inside Higher Ed
While Americans continue to believe in the overall value of higher education, the share who say that colleges and universities are having a positive effect “on the way things are going in this country today” has declined by 14 percentage points since 2020, according to a new survey from New America.
Nigerian workers begin 3-day protest against university shutdowns
Al Jazeera
Hundreds of demonstrators marched towards the seat of government in Lagos on Tuesday, singing anti-government chants on the first day of a planned three-day nationwide demonstration against the continued closure of Nigerian universities.
Government of Canada invests in foundational skills training for workers in Manitoba
Government of Canada
Canada’s economic recovery is well underway. We have recovered 115% of the jobs lost during pandemic. In fact, our economic growth is beginning to outpace the ability of some employers to find workers. The country has faced shifting demographics, new technologies, and different practices, such as gig and part-time work. New sectors like green technology are growing rapidly. The ways we work, such as teleworking and digitalization, are creating more options for people. Now, more than ever, it’s critical that workers have the foundational and transferable skills they need to adapt, and thrive in the evolving workforce of today.
Tories seek to ‘accelerate’ use of private agency nurses: NDP
Winnipeg Free Press
The Progressive Conservative government has been accused of doubling-down on its use of agency nurses, after Shared Health last month surveyed the private health-care firms about their capacity to prop up the public health system.
Recognition, wages key to retaining workers: survey
Winnipeg Free Press
In the early days of the post-pandemic, the phrase the “Great Resignation” was coined to describe the phenomenon of a heightened pace of churn in the workplace with so many employers looking for talent.
Province asks Manitoba private nursing agencies for information on available workers
CBC
A request for information recently posted by Shared Health asked private nursing agencies in Manitoba to provide details on how they could help the province's health-care system — a move the Official Opposition party says proves the Progressive Conservative government will increasingly rely on private help to address chronic staffing shortages.
Death at Winnipeg asphalt plant under investigation by Workplace Safety and Health
CBC
Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health is investigating a death at an asphalt plant in Winnipeg, a spokesperson for the Manitoba government says.
Provinces demand more control over immigration to combat labour shortage
CBC
Citing a nationwide labour shortage, several provincial immigration ministers say they want more control over the immigration process, and have sent a letter to their federal counterpart calling for change.
US sees union boom despite big companies’ aggressive opposition
The Guardian
After years of decline, the American labor movement is experiencing a resurgence, with an increase in popularity of unions and of workers organizing.
AFGE move to ‘abolish’ labor union for ICE officers spurs call for probe
Netional Dastak
A key House lawmaker is demanding answers after a major labor union with ties to President Biden took steps to abolish the National ICE Council, which represents thousands of officers at Homeland Security’s deportation agency.
Victory! Peruvian construction workers win the right to retire at 55
BWI
After a long and hard-fought struggle, Peruvian workers with at least 15 years of contribution to the public pension system can now retire at the age of 55.
Malaysia: Whipped migrant worker acquitted, unions mull reparation
BWI
An Indonesian migrant worker in Malaysia who was caned after being wrongly convicted for being an illegal alien was acquitted by the Tawau High Court in Sabah on 22 July.
July 26, 2022
Getting the job done
Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba’s thumbprint will soon be on worksites across the country.
Inflation relief? Premier says stay tuned
Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson has promised relief from 40-year-high inflation is on the way.
‘I got this wrong:’ Shopify CEO announces plan to layoff 10 per cent of staff
Winnipeg Free Press
Shopify Inc. says it will layoff 10 per cent of its workforce because the company misjudged the growth of e-commerce.
Back to the basics for ‘COVID kids’
Winnipeg Free Press
“Sharing is caring” — a lesson many young children are grappling with because their introduction to school involved physical distancing, masking and an emphasis on independent study — is a fundamental principle in Justine Baxa’s classroom this summer.
Nursing students backstop Toronto ER in 'tight situation,' union concerned
National Post
An Ontario nurses union says it fears health-care staffing shortages may worsen in the Toronto area after a hospital network in the city had to use nursing students and medical residents to backstop an emergency department over the weekend.
Workers seize their moment to shift the balance of power
Financial Post
It should surprise no one that the first big pandemic-era display of worker power was in air travel, according to Sharan Burrow, head of the International Trade Union Confederation.
The best $180 I ever spent: My union fees
Vox
I grew up comfortable. Not rich, but with two loving public servants for parents, in stable jobs that could provide everything my two brothers and I would ever reasonably need. Our quarter-acre block was quiet and dense with trees, and even now when I return, it feels like a deep, calm breath, nestled on the green fringe of inner-city Sydney, just a little over four miles west of the opera house and the famous Harbour Bridge.
Students look for accommodation with University of Calgary residences already full
CBC
The president of the University of Calgary Students' Union is urging Calgarians to consider renting a room to a student this fall with places to rent on and off campus getting very scarce.
Pope Francis apologizes for forced assimilation of Indigenous children at residential schools
CBC
WARNING: This story contains distressing details. The first day of Pope Francis's "penitential pilgrimage" began with a heartfelt apology delivered at the site of one of Canada's largest residential schools and ended eight hours later with blessings and songs at an intimate service in the only designated Indigenous church in Canada.
University of Sask. passes new policy to verify Indigenous identity
CTV News
The University of Saskatchewan has approved a new policy on verifying a person's Indigenous membership.
Laurentian University needs to hire more faculty members, says association
CBC
Laurentian University's plan of arrangement is missing some key demands from the Sudbury, Ont., school's faculty association, said its vice-president.
Ontario aiming for voluntary agreement with education unions, Lecce says
Globe and Mail
Ontario’s Education Minister says parents have “little tolerance” for school disruptions and his government plans to reach negotiated agreements with education unions, whose contracts expire at the end of August.
UBC researchers find a lack of gender parity in neuroscience and psychology studies
University Affairs
Everyone knows there are major differences between male and female bodies. However, it may come as a surprise that there’s been a longstanding aversion to include women in clinical studies. Despite efforts by major granting agencies including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to correct for gaps, a recent study by Liisa Galea at the University of British Columbia showed that neuroscience and psychiatry studies are still not where they should be when it comes to gender parity in research subjects.
Ontario blurs the line by expanding degree-granting options for colleges
University Affairs
This April, the Ontario government made, with relatively little fanfare, one of the most substantial changes in a generation to province’s postsecondary sector. Following on an intention first signalled the previous fall, it raised the cap on degree-program offerings at public colleges from five per cent of programs to 10 per cent.
New AI lab in Alberta will help train students for a digital economy
University Affairs
At a new public-sector lab in Alberta, postsecondary students and graduates, government employees, and staff at an artificial intelligence (AI) company work together to solve real-world problems in the public realm.
A Teacher Triumphs Over the Woke Educational Establishment
Wall Street Journal
At last some good news from U.S. public education, thanks to one tough teacher who refused to accept the poisonous ideology now enforced in so many classrooms. Regular readers of this column will be especially cheered to read the latest dispatch from Ramona Bessinger via the Legal Insurrection website:
‘Instant PhDs’: head of China university fired for using US$27 million to rehire teachers after obtaining doctorates from ‘obscure’ school to lift status
South China Morning Post
Education authorities in central China fired the head of a university for spending over 180 million yuan (US$27 million) on one-off payments for teachers sent to a university in the Philippines who earned an “instant PhD” and were then rehired to boost the school’s ranking.
