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.

May 20, 2026

Manitoba Government Increases Funding for Adult Learning Centres and Literacy Programs
Province of Manitoba
The Manitoba government is investing an additional $2.5 million to strengthen and expand adult education programming, including $1 million dedicated to First Nations and Northern communities, bringing the total funding for adult learning and literacy to $24.9 million, Advanced Education and Training Minister Renée Cable announced today.

Funding boost for adult education evokes emotional response
Winnipeg Free Press
Tears of joy were shed on Tuesday as mature students, teachers and government leaders gathered to celebrate a multimillion-dollar boost for adult education in Manitoba.

Teachers give Kinew failing grade over proposal to ban YouTube in classrooms
Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba teachers are decrying the premier’s proposal to keep YouTube out of their classrooms as part of his government’s social media ban.

Comment: UVic’s AI crackdown threatens academic freedom and student rights
Times Colonist
On May 8, the University of Victoria Senate approved a sweeping overhaul of its Student Academic Misconduct Policy.

Former University of Regina student union employee awarded $77,000 for wrongful termination
CBC
A King's Bench judge has ordered the dissolved University of Regina Students' Union to pay former employee Haris Khan over $77,000 in damages for wrongful termination.

UNB launches new program to address looming shortage of nurse researchers, advisers
CBC
The University of New Brunswick is launching a new PhD program in nursing.

Parents are paying consultants thousands to help get their kids into top universities
Globe and Mail
Luisa Cabral’s teenage son was determined to get into one of Canada’s top engineering programs. But juggling interviews, essays and other supplementals proved to be a challenge, and Ms. Cabral felt he needed support beyond what his school guidance counsellor could provide.

As Universities Become Political Battlegrounds, They Cannot Afford to Remain Neutral
The Walrus
In the weeks after Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, universities worldwide came under close scrutiny. Several issued statements in condemnation and expressing sympathy for the victims of violence in Israel and (less frequently) Gaza. Many of them were soon accused of failing to take a strong enough stand, either in support of Israel or denouncing it.

University staff boycott could prevent graduations
BBC
University staff have begun a boycott of marking and assessments ahead of manning a picket line for a full strike on Friday in protest over job losses.

Only unions consulted about jobs deal for provincial builds: industry
Winnipeg Free Press
The Manitoba government is being accused of consulting only with a union collective before adopting a jobs policy that governs contracts involving the construction of public projects, including four new schools.

Manitoba jobs deal framework for big projects needs 'complete renegotiation': industry group
CBC
A Manitoba cabinet minister is standing by the process that led to a jobs agreement framework for publicly funded projects after industry associations accused the government of only consulting unions.

Union calls out understaffing after weekend O-Train shutdowns
CBC
The head of the union representing Ottawa's transit operators is warning about workplace pressures after service on Lines 1 and 4 was interrupted on the weekend due to staffing issues.

Global Affairs is cutting overseas jobs at three times the rate of those based in Canada, data show
Globe and Mail
Canada’s foreign service cuts are disproportionately affecting positions based abroad, with those rotational positions being eliminated at three times the rate of those for Global Affairs staff based in Canada.

Union ‘disappointed’ as feds fund outside staff to guard immigration holding centres
CityNews
The union representing Canada Border Services Agency workers says it’s disappointed by the federal government’s decision to provide funding for the agency to hire private sector guards on contract for immigration holding centres, arguing the work should be done by federal staff.

US employers spend more than $1.5bn a year to fight labor unions, report finds
The Guardian
US employers spend more than $1.5bn a year on labor union opposition efforts, according to a report published on Wednesday by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).

UK should set maximum working temperature rules, advisers say
BBC
The UK should introduce a maximum temperature for workplaces to protect people as heatwaves intensify due to climate change, the government's adviser has said.

Everything You Need to Know About Australia’s Hidden System of Migrant Worker Exploitation
Nepal News
Australia has a serious problem with how it treats workers on temporary visas. A landmark 2026 report by the Migrant Justice Institute, based on nearly 10,000 survey responses collected in 2024, reveals that two thirds of migrant workers are paid less than they are legally owed.

May 15, 2026

Manitoba Government Invests in Westman Health-Care Workforce with New Paramedic Training Seats, New Child-Care Spaces at the Brandon Regional Health-Care Centre
Province of Manitoba
The Manitoba government is investing in the health-care workforce in the Westman region with new paramedic training seats and new child-care spaces for health-care workers, Premier Kinew announced here today at the Brandon Chamber of Commerce’s State of the Province address.

Premier’s speech highlights rural paramedic training, Port of Churchill jobs
Winnipeg Free Press
A college in the Westman region is moving to bolster emergency medical care for rural Manitobans, with a plan to add 32 seats to a primary care paramedic program early next year.

Thousands of union activists rally in Winnipeg to protect Canadian workers and jobs
CityNews
Hundreds of labour delegates took to the streets in Winnipeg, calling for stronger protections for workers and Canadian jobs.

SEIU Local 2: Cleaners across Canada to hold public rallies against Dexterra Group after rampant anti-worker allegations
SEIU 2
Unionized cleaners across Canada with SEIU Local 2 are rallying against Dexterra Group's ongoing mistreatment of workers, unsafe working conditions, and unjustified layoffs. Multiple unsafe labour practice complaints have been filed with provincial Labour Boards. On Wednesday, May 13, workers in four major Canadian cities are taking a unified stance against the company.

Two strikes break out at Hydro-Québec; overtime affected
CityNews
With two strikes having begun Thursday morning at Hydro-Québec, the state-owned utility expects that the refusal by the affected workers to work overtime could “have an impact on more complex projects.”

Algoma Steel union filing grievance with company over reassigned welfare rooms
CBC
One of the unions representing Algoma Steel workers in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., is filing a grievance with the company this week.

Union representing B.C. 911 workers votes 95% in favour of job action
CBC
The union that represents most 911 operators, dispatchers and support workers in British Columbia has voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action.

Starbucks to lay off 300 US corporate workers and close regional offices
Globe and Mail
Starbucks said Friday it’s laying off 300 corporate employees and closing some U.S. offices as part of its ongoing turnaround.

New science curriculum draws concerns from some teachers across the province
CTV News
Manitoba tutors say students across the province need more help than ever—especially in science.

Fired Calgary professor fights to be reinstated at Mount Royal University
CTV News
A political scientist who was fired from her position at Calgary’s Mount Royal University is fighting to get her job back, CTV News has learned.

AI causing ‘moral injury’ to lecturers trying to police its use, Trent University research shows
Globe and Mail
The ubiquitous use of artificial intelligence by university and college students is forcing academics to rapidly adapt, with some making students use pen and paper instead of laptops with access to AI tools.

Alberta government using class size and complexity funding to pay for 1,400 more teachers next year
CBC
The Alberta government will spend $200 million to pay for 1,400 more teaching positions next year, the premier and education minister announced Wednesday.

University of Regina opens new virtual reality lab for nursing students
CBC
Nursing students at the University of Regina now have access to realistic on-the-job scenarios using virtual reality.

Halifax school social workers 'very concerned' by change to roles, funding: union
CBC
The union representing some school social workers in Halifax says its members are facing stress and uncertainty after being told their jobs will change this fall.

May 14, 2026

Manitoba Government Expands French-Language Nursing Education
Province of Manitoba
The Manitoba government is strengthening its commitment to health-care staffing and bilingual health-care delivery by creating 30 additional seats, bringing the total to 75 seats in the French‑language bachelor of nursing program at the Université de Saint‑Boniface (USB), Advanced Education and Training Minister Renée Cable and Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Uzoma Asagwara announced today.

Université de Saint‑Boniface adds nursing spots thanks to provincial funding boost
Winnipeg Free Press
Université de Saint‑Boniface is expanding its nursing training program — the only one of its kind delivered entirely in French in Western Canada — by 30 seats this fall.

Province plans to have AI curriculum for schools this fall, but opposition has concerns
CBC
A curriculum for the use of artificial intelligence in schools is scheduled to come out this fall, Education Minister Claire Johnson told the legislature Wednesday.

Universities must steer AI in the public interest
University Affairs
In my first month as a university provost, a colleague said something that has stayed with me: artificial intelligence isn’t a technology story, it’s a humanity story. From that day, the power of such a distinction has only amplified. It reframes AI not as a tool to be optimized, but as a force that will shape how we think, work, learn and understand one another.

AFSCME members prepare for historic open-ended strike against University of California system
AFSCME
About 42,000 service and patient care workers represented by AFSCME Local 3299, who have been working two years without a contract, are preparing to go on an unfair labor practice (ULP) strike at multiple facilities across the University of California system.

Major strike averted at UC hospitals and campuses as deal reached on pay, affordability
San Francisco Chronicle
The union representing thousands of University of California medical and service workers reached a tentative labor agreement with UC early Thursday, narrowly averting an open-ended strike that had threatened to disrupt care at five medical centers and 10 campuses across the state.

Senate kills bill protecting university faculty for academic speech
AOL
A bill to protect university faculty academic speech died in a Senate committee Tuesday.

University of Chicago to offer free tuition to students from families making under $250,000 a year
CBS News
In a potentially life-changing announcement for families in Chicago and beyond, the University of Chicago said it will offer free tuition for students from families making less than $250,000 a year.

UCLA medical school illegally used race in admissions, justice department finds
The Guardian
The US Department of Justice found on Wednesday that the medical school at the University of California, Los Angeles illegally considered race in admissions as the Trump administration ramps up scrutiny of colleges’ processes for selecting students.

Professors sue Atlanta’s Emory University over handling of Israel-Gaza protests
The Guardian
Atlanta’s Emory University is facing a lawsuit from three tenured professors over its handling of 2024 protests against Israel’s assault on Gaza, capping off a tumultuous end to the spring semester.

I knew my writing students were using AI. Their confessions led to a powerful teaching moment
The Guardian
I have been teaching fiction writing at MIT since 2017. Many of my students last wrote fiction in middle school, and very few have experienced a proper workshop, so at the start of every semester I offer these directions for writer and reader alike:

BC Nurses Can Now Legally Walk Off the Job
The Tyee
Members of the BC Nurses’ Union have overwhelmingly voted in support of a strike vote, meaning they can now legally take job action.

Workers locked out at Canadian Forces Base Moose Jaw: union says
CTV News
Workers at Canadian Forces Base Moose Jaw say they were locked out Wednesday morning without the required notice.

‘Tragic and devastating:’ Kanata auto shop remembers young employee killed by tire rupture
CTV News
A Kanata auto shop is remembering an employee who died in a tragic workplace incident last weekend as a passionate hard worker who loved what he did.

P.E.I. business ordered to pay $75,000 after employee's legs severed in workplace accident
The Guardian
A Charlottetown business has been ordered to pay $75,000 for a workplace accident that resulted in an employee having both legs cut off in a hydraulic cardboard baler.

Five years of data shows Ontario safety program is cutting injuries, but most businesses aren't in it
Canadian Occupational Safety
Five years after its launch, WSIB's Health and Safety Excellence Program is producing measurable reductions in workplace injuries, according to the most comprehensive evaluation of the program to date. But the researchers behind that finding say the harder work is still ahead: getting the program into the hands of the small businesses that need it most.

TTC, union look to strike deal as clock ticks on FIFA World Cup
CBC
The Toronto Transit Commission and the union representing its maintenance workers say they’re hoping to come to a deal on a new collective agreement, but the clock is ticking as the FIFA World Cup is just weeks away.

Bolivia’s Social Movements Mobilize Against Privatization
Jacobin
“For a colonized people the most essential value, because the most concrete, is first and foremost the land,” Frantz Fanon wrote in The Wretched of the Earth: “the land which will bring them bread and, above all, dignity.”

Historic rise in foreign workers sees Spain reach new milestone as female employment climbs
EuroWeekly
Spain has recorded a new historic high in foreign affiliation to the Social Security system this April, with the number of foreign women registered surpassing 1.4 million for the first time, according to new figures released by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration. The figures highlight the increasingly important role migrant workers play within Spain’s economy at a time when many industries continue to face labour shortages and demographic pressures linked to an ageing population and low birth rates.

May 13, 2026

Cardiac-testing staff at clinic issue strike notice over wages
Winnipeg Free Press
The union representing cardiology technicians and technologists warn a looming strike at a private clinic could impact a system already facing job vacancies.

Rural employers competing harder than ever for talent
Winnipeg Free Press
Across Manitoba and much of Canada, rural employers are facing a hiring challenge that goes well beyond having open positions.

Canada’s Unions Take Aim at Corporate Greed and the Cost-of-Living Crisis at the 31st Constitutional Convention
Canadian Labour Congress
Canadians are working harder than ever, but too many still can’t afford the basics. Rising grocery bills, rent, gas, and prescription costs are putting enormous pressure on workers and their families while corporate profits continue to climb.

Unions press Ottawa to make companies consult employees before adopting AI
Globe and Mail
Labour leaders are calling on the federal government to enact legislation that would mandate employers to consult with employees and unions before they introduce artificial intelligence systems in the workplace.

Government extends contracts of 750 pay centre workers to manage job cuts
CityNews
The federal government is extending the contracts of about 750 term workers at its pay centre to manage a surge in expected job cuts.

Report finds Siemens illegally using replacement workers
United Steelworkers
After locking out 105 workers at its facility in Trois-Rivières on April 15, Siemens Energy is adding insult to injury by illegally using replacement workers, or “scabs” in common language, to do their jobs. The company’s use of replacement workers has been revealed in a report by investigators from Quebec’s Ministry of Labour.

One in three Canadian workers carries high mental health risk
Benefits and Pensions Monitor
More than one in three carries high mental health risk, and the bill — measured in lost productivity — keeps climbing.

New Express White Paper: Canada’s Shrinking Entry-Level Job Market Raises Long-Term Economic Concerns
Globe and Mail
Entry-level work has long been the first rung on Canada’s economic ladder, but new research from an Express Employment Professionals–Harris Poll survey suggests that rung is slipping away, creating ripple effects that extend beyond today’s job seekers to the workforce of the future.

Walmart Cuts Hundreds Of Corporate Jobs As AI-Driven Efficiency Push Accelerates: Report
Yahoo
Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) will eliminate or relocate 1,000 corporate workers as part of its plan to combine its global technology and product teams to boost efficiency.

Meta workers storm their own offices over AI surveillance
HRD
Meta Platforms employees at multiple United States offices staged an extraordinary workplace protest on Tuesday, distributing anonymous flyers urging colleagues to sign a petition against the company's recent installation of mouse-tracking software on their work computers – a technology many staff believe is being used to train the very AI systems intended to replace them.

Samsung Electronics fails to reach deal with union; PM says strike must be averted
Reuters
Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), opens new tab and its union failed to reach a pay deal on Wednesday, heightening the risk of a long strike that threatens not only chip production and the semiconductor giant's standing, but also the health of the export-reliant South ‌Korean economy.

Tens of Thousands of Tech Workers Are Being Laid Off in 2026. The $725 Billion That Replaced Them Is Going to Four Companies.
Yahoo
You are being shown one number. Mark Zuckerberg told 8,000 Meta employees in early May that their jobs were a casualty of the company's AI infrastructure budget. Amazon has cut roughly 30,000 roles in the last five months. Microsoft has shed about 125,000 through "voluntary" departures. Alphabet is in the middle of an ongoing 1,500.

Red Deer Polytechnic cutting 47 positions
The Advocate
Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) is cutting 47 positions as it tries to balance its budget.

Education funding isn’t keeping up with soaring number of students with special needs, Ontario A-G says
Globe and Mail
The number of students in Ontario with special education needs is growing, and school boards are spending hundreds of millions of dollars more than they get from the province to support them, according to a new report from Ontario’s Auditor-General.

Here's where Canada ranks in higher education | Explained (video)
CTV News
A recent analysis ranks Canada high in a list of 100 countries when it comes to research and higher education – but not as high as the United States.

Tens of thousands protest in Argentina over Milei university cuts
AlJazeera
Tens of thousands of Argentines have taken to the streets in cities across the country to protest funding cuts by Javier Milei’s government to the public university system.

University puts 2,700 staff at risk of redundancy
BBC
Nearly 2,700 staff at the University of Nottingham have been placed at risk of redundancy amid "significant financial challenges".

University staff to 'escalate' strike action
BBC
Nearly 600 University of Cambridge staff are expected to stage 10 more days of strikes this month.

Budget misses chance to scrap a damaging university funding model
NTEU
The federal Budget has delivered needed tax reforms but has missed an opportunity to fix Australia's universities, with the government failing to take the urgent action needed to fix a disastrous funding model.

May 12, 2026

Employers receive another windfall from WCB even though workplace health and safety trends are going in the wrong direction
Manitoba Federation of Labour
The Manitoba Federation of Labour (MFL) is calling on the provincial government to legislate an end to the Workers Compensation Board’s (WCB) annual surplus payouts to employers until several concerning workplace health and safety trends are reversed, MFL president Kevin Rebeck said today.

WCB returns $90M in surplus rebates
Winnipeg Free Press
The Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba has returned $90 million in premiums after a “positive 2025 year-end financial performance.”

Saskatoon delivery drivers walk off the job alleging unsafe working conditions, repeated pay cuts
CBC
When a dog bit Dhrumit Desai while he was out delivering a package, he said he called his supervisor.

Ontario nurses launch constitutional challenge over lack of right to strike
Sudbury.com
The Ontario Nurses' Association is launching a constitutional challenge of a law that prevents them from taking any form of job action during the bargaining process, a move hospitals are calling deeply troubling.

Union heads to Quebec labour tribunal after investigation shows Metro broke anti-scab rules
The Gazette
A union representing 550 striking Metro workers is taking their employer to Quebec’s labour tribunal after investigators found the grocer hired illegal replacement workers.

BC Nurses’ Union strike vote results expected Tuesday morning
CityNews
The province is set to find out Tuesday morning whether nearly 55,000 B.C. nurses will begin job action.

Dragonfly drivers in Saskatoon say dozens fired after walkout
CTV News
Dozens of delivery drivers for Dragonfly in Saskatoon say they were laid off after walking off the job Friday over concerns about falling pay and working conditions.

More than a third of CRA offices don't have space for four-day return to office: union
Ottawa Citizen
The Canada Revenue Agency will not be ready to implement a four-day return to office come July 6 alongside many other federal departments and agencies, according to the union that represents tax workers.

Workers Have a Secret Weapon Against the AI Build-Out
Jacobin
“We’re really going into what we believe is the early chapters of an investment supercycle in the US for electricity growth,” Scott Strazik, CEO of GE Vernova, told Barron’s during an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year. “If you take a step back, we probably haven’t seen an analogous period of time like this since 1945.”

US workers overwhelmingly support union-backed policies on AI, poll says
The Guardian
US workers overwhelmingly support pro-worker policies on artificial intelligence (AI) and view labor unions as the most reliable protectors of workers from the effects of AI, according to a new poll released by the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of labor unions in the US.

40,000 people took part in national union demonstration in Brussels
Belga News Agency
Around 40,000 people took part in the national trade union demonstration in Brussels on Tuesday. The protest passed off without any major incidents. The trade unions criticised the fact that the federal government is implementing reforms without social consultation and denounced what they call “social dismantling”.

New teacher conduct czar critic of registry
Winnipeg Free Press
A high-profile leader in the child protection sector who has been an outspoken critic of Manitoba’s teacher registry has been tapped to run it.

Boys are falling behind in school, and some experts say it starts in kindergarten
CBC
Jessica Sabatini is worried about her six-year-old’s success in school.

TDSB lays off more than 200 admin workers, cuts 91 other vacant positions
Toronto Today
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) is laying off 218 staff and cutting 91 vacant positions in what it calls a move to “modernize and right-size” central administration.

Deal reached with hackers after Canadian universities hit by security breach
Global News
The company that operates Canvas, a popular online learning system, has struck a deal with hackers to delete the data stolen in a cyberattack last week.

‘It’s Getting Unfriendlier’: International Students Race to Find Jobs
New York Times
For decades, international students hoping to stay in the United States after graduation faced relatively few barriers. Temporary employment programs designed to attract skilled talent made it easy to transition from studying to working. And employers were eager to hire these students, especially those with STEM degrees.

May 11, 2026

Job-site policy cited in cost of Brandon school construction
Winnipeg Free Press
The Construction Association of Rural Manitoba has said it will cost as much as 20 per cent more to build a school in Brandon because of the labour policy introduced by the provincial government in 2025.

Siloam Mission lays off 16, plans to reduce hours
CTV News
Siloam Mission announced a layoff of 16 people after a reduction in donations and an increase in demand for its services.

Ontario doctor claims recruiters misled him about western Manitoba hospital job in lawsuit
CBC
An Ontario doctor who was recruited to work in a western Manitoba hospital has filed a lawsuit against his recruiters and others, claiming they misled him about the position and pay, while not disclosing they were being paid to enlist doctors at the rural health centre.

B.C. daycare worker dismayed by changes to provincial nominee program, warns of worker shortages
CBC
A daycare worker in Nanaimo, B.C., is speaking out against recent changes made to B.C.'s provincial nominee program that now exclude her job from a possible pathway to permanent residency.

Morale low among paramedics as union's 3-year contract dispute continues in Quebec
CBC
Morale is low among Quebec paramedics in the Laurentians and Lanaudière region as a contract dispute over compensation and staff work overload, continues into its third year.

Rogers offering voluntary buyouts to thousands of employees: 3 key severance rights
Global News
As part of a major restructuring, Rogers Communications is looking to significantly scale back its staffing levels—offering voluntary buyouts to thousands of employees.

Saskatoon Amazon delivery drivers strike over falling pay, working conditions
CTV News
Dozens of drivers responsible for delivering packages on behalf of Amazon walked off the job Friday to protest decreasing pay and challenging working conditions.

N.S. government, long-term care union remain in a stalemate as strike drags on
Canadian Press
The union representing long-term care workers in Nova Scotia and the provincial government remain in a stalemate as a strike extended into the 27th day.

Red Deer nurse practitioners file to unionize
Alberta Worker
Last week, the Alberta Labour Relations Board published their final new applications report of April 2026. It covered all the applications they received between the 21st and 26th of April.

NFL and referees agree on a 7-year collective bargaining agreement, avoiding potential work stoppage
AP
The NFL and the NFL Referees Association agreed Friday on a new seven-year collective bargaining agreement that avoids a potential work stoppage and use of replacement officials.

Writers Guild staff union reaches deal, ending strike after nearly three months
Los Angeles Times
The union representing workers employed by the Writers Guild of America has reached an agreement on its first contract, ending a strike that lasted nearly three months.

Qantas union clash is a warning shot for every HR leader deploying AI
HRD
The Australian Services Union (ASU) has put Qantas on notice. In a letter to chief executive Vanessa Hudson, the union representing thousands of the airline's clerical and call centre workers demanded urgent consultation after Hudson publicly committed to accelerating artificial intelligence adoption across the group – comments the ASU says amount to an open declaration of workforce change.

‘Working with heads, hearts, and hands’
Winnipeg Free Press
More than 700 students will be able to hop between high schools for different courses and extracurriculars next year as part of a new inner-city initiative.

Spending cuts close organic research program, sparking concern for farming sustainability
Globe and Mail
Allison Squires spends her day working in fields of lentils, wheat and chickpeas on her organic farm in Wood Mountain, Sask. But with the recent closing of a one-of-a-kind federal research program, she worries the knowledge that helped grow her crops will be lost in the weeds.

Humber Polytechnic axes theatre, performance programs in latest blow to Ontario arts education
Globe and Mail
In the latest blow to postsecondary performing arts education in Ontario, Humber Polytechnic announced that it will cancel a number of programs in its faculty of media, creative arts and design.

Unions call for transparency and to suspend layoffs following audit of Conestoga College
CTV News
The board of governors has been ousted and a provincially appointed administrator will be working at Conestoga College.

Recognition is not power: the battle for the soul of McGill
Canadian Dimension
On a cold, grey April afternoon, faculty from across McGill departments gathered on the steps of the Arts Building to issue an ultimatum. Under the banner of the Confederation of Faculty Associations of McGill (COFAM)—an alliance uniting the university’s newly unionized faculty associations—they set a deadline: after nine months of stalled first-contract negotiations, they wanted a full counter-offer by April 10, rather than the incremental, article by article responses which have left bargaining at a standstill.