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.
July 18, 2025
Outstanding Manitobans Chosen to Receive the Order of Manitoba
Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
Twelve Manitobans whose contributions encompass a broad range of endeavours and accomplishments will soon receive the Order of Manitoba, the province’s highest honour. The formal investiture ceremony is scheduled to be held on Thursday, July 17, 2025, at the Manitoba Legislative Building.
Canadian Union of Postal Workers urges workers to reject contract offer
Winnipeg Free Press
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers is urging workers to reject Canada Post’s latest contract offer.
Unions blast Quebec, Montreal Economic Institute for false Quebec strike numbers
CTV News
The massive union confederation, CSN, is calling out the Montreal Economic Institute, the provincial labour minister and employer organizations for spreading false information about the number of strikes in Quebec in recent years.
Unions dominated Alberta political donations in past decade
CTV News
Between 2015 and 2024, Albertans, corporations and unions made 97,275 donations totalling $90.9 million to provincial political parties, candidates and third-party advertisers. Here’s a breakdown of the biggest spenders and beneficiaries.
Did federal workers cost Poilievre his job? Top union boss says it's more about Trump
CBC
A major union leader says Pierre Poilievre's claim that he lost his seat because of his pledge to cut the public service is "simplistic" and should also be attributed to voters linking the Conservative leader to U.S. President Donald Trump.
Via Rail says three-year collective agreement with union workers has been ratified
Globe and Mail
Via Rail says new collective agreements have been ratified with about 2,500 unionized workers.
Steelworkers claim key victory as the government responds to union demands
USW
The United Steelworkers union (USW) says today’s announcement from Prime Minister Mark Carney reflects major wins for workers – delivering on demands the union has made not only during the current crisis, but over the past decade.
Commonwealth Bank sacking Australian workers while hiring for the same role in India: Union commences Fair Work dispute
Finance Sector Union
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has been caught making its Australian workers redundant at the same time as they’re hiring workers for the same roles at its Indian subsidiary. This flagrant breach of the Enterprise Agreement has led the Finance Sector Union to commence action in the Fair Work Commission. It also highlights the long-term policy of the bank decreasing its Australian workforce as it hires offshore.
‘Whiplash’ over student immigration policy
Winnipeg Free Press
The provincial government is urging Ottawa to review its immigration policies, as Manitoba colleges face the brunt of changes made to Canada’s international student program.
Revisions to individual eligibility requirements to simplify and harmonize
NSERC
Following consultation with stakeholders (e.g. eligible institutions), NSERC has revised the eligibility requirements for grant holders. Please note that the new version of the Eligibility Requirements for Grant Holders will be effective August 1st, 2025. The changes will not be applied retroactively.
Western University launches program to capitalize on shrinking U.S. research funding
CBC
Western University is looking to capitalize on massive shifts in the academic landscape of the United States with a new initiative designed to turn a difficult situation into a brain gain for both the school, and the country.
After two turbulent years, McGill University eyes a rebrand
The Gazette
McGill wants a fresh start.
University of Michigan faces federal investigation after arrest of 2 Chinese scientists
CNN
The University of Michigan is under federal scrutiny after two Chinese scientists linked to the school were separately charged with smuggling biological materials into the United States.
July 17, 2025
Manitoba Government Training More Doctors in Westman, for Westman
Province of Manitoba
The Manitoba government is adding 10 new doctor training seats in Brandon and renovating the Brodie Science Centre to put more students on a career path to medicine in the Westman region, Premier Wab Kinew, Health, Seniors and Long-Term Care Minister Uzoma Asagwara, and Advanced Education and Training Minister Renée Cable announced here today.
Quebec adds $540M to education budget after criticism over spending restrictions
CBC
The Quebec government is adding hundreds of millions of dollars to the education budget for the upcoming school year after coming under fire for announcing cuts that would have amounted to $570 million less in funding.
GOP senators urge Trump administration to reverse $6 billion education funding freeze
ABC News
A total of 10 Republican senators are urging the Trump administration to reverse its decision to withhold more than $6 billion in federal funds for education programs already appropriated by Congress.
Trump administration investigating possible foreign influence at the University of Michigan
Detroit Free Press
The Trump administration is investigating potential foreign influence at the University of Michigan, claiming the school was indifferent to national security concerns raised by the FBI.
Columbia adopts controversial definition of antisemitism amid federal grants freeze
The Guardian
Columbia University has agreed to adopt a controversial definition of antisemitism as it pursues an agreement with the Trump aimed at restoring $400m in federal government grants frozen over its alleged failure to protect Jewish students.
Unionized Canada Post workers to vote on deal starting July 21
CTV News
Unionized Canada Post workers will get a chance to vote directly on the employers’ offer for a new collective agreement starting on Monday.
Several hundred people laid off after open pit mining abruptly stops at N.W.T.'s Ekati diamond mine
CBC
Burgundy Diamond Mines says it's laid off several hundred employees and contractors and has temporarily stopped open pit mining at Point Lake — one of its two active operations at the Ekati Diamond Mine.
‘Youth-cession’ sees young Canadians struggling most, poll data shows
Global News
The Canadian economy is facing challenges stemming from the current trade war with the United States, and younger Canadians in particular are experiencing severe financial strain, according to the latest study.
B.C. nurses union says 'toleration of violence' in health-care system must end
Vancouver Sun
The union representing B.C. nurses says the “toleration of violence” in the province’s health-care system needs to end after a nurse was repeatedly stabbed outside Vancouver General Hospital while walking to her car on Monday night.
Work American hours, earn European wages: Why Canada has the worst of both worlds
Globe and Mail
For a few years now, alarm bells have been sounding from Berlin to Canberra about how growth rates in per capita incomes around the developed world have stagnated relative to the United States. Ex-European Central Bank president Mario Draghi calls this an existential challenge for Europe, and it is why leaders such as U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz now emphasize growth as a key priority.
Women Are Driving the Rise in Union Member Support for Democrats
American Progress Action
Union members have historically been more likely than nonunion members to vote for Democratic Party candidates. However, the differences between union and nonunion voters have changed over the past several presidential elections. Union member support for Democrats reached a recent high during the 2024 election after falling to a low point during Donald Trump’s first presidential election in 2016. In 2016, union members, compared with nonunion members, preferred the Democratic candidate by a 4.4 percentage point margin—a far smaller difference than in 2012, when union members preferred the Democratic Party candidate by a 13.7 percentage point margin.1 But since 2016, union member support for Democratic Party candidates has increased each election cycle, hitting an 8.2 percentage point margin in 2024.2
Stop prosecuting protest, say Britain’s union leaders
The Morning Star
TWENTY-TWO union general secretaries raised “deep concern about the erosion of the right to peaceful protest” in an open letter today, urging the Metropolitan Police to drop charges against four Palestine march leaders.
A union Brotherhood pulls the plug on its Sisters
Northwest Labor Press
United Brotherhood of Carpenters is scrapping its two-decade-old women’s committee. That decision was made to avoid legal action by the Trump administration, Carpenters general president Douglas McCarron wrote in a May 5 memo to district vice presidents.
Umbrella labor group launches large-scale strike
Korea JoongAng Daily
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), one of the nation's largest umbrella labor groups, launched a large-scale strike on Wednesday, demanding that the government adopt a pro-labor act.
July 16, 2025
Violence 'becoming the norm' for Winnipeg firefighters on the job, legislative change needed: union
CBC
Firefighters being hit in the face with a metal pole, punched in the stomach and threatened with death by a person who woke up from a possible overdose and pulled a knife on them are among the latest violent incidents the head of the union for firefighters in Winnipeg says highlight the need for legislative change to protect first responders.
Canada’s income gap reaches record high, Statistics Canada finds
Global News
Statistics Canada says the income gap between the country’s highest and lowest income households reached a record high in the first quarter of 2025.
‘A game-changer’: Why this law firm revealed its workers’ salaries
The Sydney Morning Herald
Would you know how much your colleagues earn? For many of us, the answer is a resounding no, with many workplaces around the country actively discouraging their employees from talking about pay, especially in fields with high rates of pay disparity such as law and tech.
Trump’s War on Education Is Driving Academics Like Me to Europe
Time
On a recent flight back to the U.S., I wondered if I would be stopped at passport control. It was at this moment when I thought it may be time to consider leaving America.
Trump admin action could cost Harvard $1b annually, university president says
JNS
Alan Garber, president of Harvard University, stated on Monday that the Trump administration’s recent actions against the school could cost it up to $1 billion annually.
University students feel ‘anxious, confused and distrustful’ about AI in the classroom and among their peers
The Conversation
The advent of generative AI has elicited waves of frustration and worry across academia for all the reasons one might expect: Early studies are showing that artificial intelligence tools can dilute critical thinking and undermine problem-solving skills. And there are many reports that students are using chatbots to cheat on assignments.
How should higher education respond to calls to be relevant?
HEPI
In their examination of ten trends that will shape the future of the campus university, Edward Peck, Ben McCarthy and Jenny Shaw set out a compelling account of the factors that will shape English higher education. As a result of these factors, they argue that, in the future, ‘Academic awards will focus as much on the development of employment and generic skills as the acquisition and retention of specific knowledge’. Given that it is co-authored by a long-standing vice chancellor, who will shortly take on the role of the Chair of the higher education regulator, this can be read as an urgent call for higher education to be clear about how it produces graduates who will make important contributions to society.
Four CUNY Professors Say They Were Fired for Supporting Palestine
The Intercept
Four adjunct professors at the City University of New York say the university fired them because of their activism for Palestine. The administration’s decision to cut ties came as a surprise to both the faculty and their department heads, who had already recommended their reappointment and assigned them classes in fall — some of which had student waitlists. The affected professors, and faculty in support of them, said they remained in good standing with their academic departments and had great reviews from students.
Hong Kong opens probe into AI-generated porn scandal at university
CTV News
Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog said Tuesday it has launched a criminal investigation into an AI-generated porn scandal at the city’s oldest university, after a student was accused of creating lewd images of his female classmates and teachers.
July 15, 2025
Brace for more – and longer – strikes as ban on replacement workers takes effect
Globe and Mail
New federal legislation banning replacement workers during strikes and lockouts is now in effect. It brings with it a host of unintended consequences that threaten to disrupt employers, workers, consumers and the broader economy.
Why some Gen Z workers are saying ‘no’ to being the boss
Globe and Mail
Younger workers are shunning management roles and seeking ways to advance their careers without overseeing others. The trend, known as “conscious un-bossing,” could create future leadership gaps, experts say.
Understanding the Offers: Why You Shouldn’t Trust Canada Post
CUPW
Canada Post has launched a massive communications campaign to sell CUPW members on its “best and final offers.” But remember, Canada Post is only highlighting what it wants you to see. The devil is in the details.
BC Government Lawyers Call Foul over Stalled Union Drive
The Tyee
Two years after lawyers working for the British Columbia government went to court to win the right to choose their own union, the case is still stalled.
How Employers Have Become Part of a Persecution Campaign: The Katherine Grzejszczak case
The Bullet
There are many accounts and criticisms of public-private partnerships (PPP’s) which are created to attain a government’s goal. Governments have internalized a market notion that profit-seeking leads to more efficiency and better outcomes. All too often this is not true. One aspect of these PPP arrangements is that government is expected to hold its private partner responsible for any failure to meet the formally agreed-upon terms. Governments are seen to be responsible to the public for the way in which a PPP is operating and delivering.
Why zero-hours contracts could be here to stay in new blow to workers’ rights
The Independent
A proposed crack down on zero-hour contracts in the workplace have suffered a setback today.
Breaks forbidden, food instead of pay: one-third of young Australian workers exploited by employers, study shows
The Guardian
More than one-third of young workers are exploited by their employers, according to a new study, with many paid less than the minimum wage, forbidden to take entitled breaks, compelled to pay for work-related items or given food and products instead of money.
Some Acadia University staff working 4 days a week after successful pilot program
CBC
Some Acadia University staff are working four days a week instead of five this summer after a pilot program showed positive results.
US supreme court allows Trump to resume gutting education department
The Guardian
The US supreme court on Monday cleared the way for Donald Trump’s administration to resume dismantling the Department of Education as part of his bid to shrink the federal government’s role in education in favor of more control by the states.
Connecticut joins other states to sue Trump administration over education funding freeze
WFSB
Connecticut leaders joined those from 24 other states to sue the Trump administration over an education funding freeze.
College Antisemitism Hearing Live Updates: 3 University Presidents Testify
The New York Times
The heads of three universities are testifying in Congress, the latest batch of leaders Republicans have called to Washington over allegations of campus antisemitism.
'Positive review only': Researchers hide AI prompts in papers
Nikkei Asia
Research papers from 14 academic institutions in eight countries -- including Japan, South Korea and China -- contained hidden prompts directing artificial intelligence tools to give them good reviews, Nikkei has found.
July 14, 2025
School division goes full BLAST with child-care pilot
Winnipeg Free Press
A handful of schools in southeast Winnipeg will provide supervision before and after the bell rings for a flat rate of $15 per day, starting this fall.
Quebec fines LaSalle College $30M for having too many students in English programs
CTV News
LaSalle College has been fined $30 million by François Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government for enrolling too many students in its English-language programs over the past two academic years.
‘Western is making a bold investment,’ London’s university is expanding funding designed to attract researchers from US colleges
CTV News
A cloud of uncertainty for researchers at American colleges has prompted Western University to offer incentives that could bring them to London.
Federal report warns of rise in antisemitic incidents against children in schools
Globe and Mail
A six-year-old child’s teacher told her she was “half human” because one of her parents was Jewish - one of nearly 800 antisemitic incidents in the Ontario elementary and high school system since 2023 reported to a federally commissioned survey.
Columbia University on the cusp of a deal with Trump administration, paying millions to unlock federal funding
CP24
Columbia University is on the verge of striking an agreement with the Trump administration following months of negotiation to restore federal funding to the school, according to two sources familiar with the deal.
Trump targets university accreditation — a non-governmental designation
Axios
The Trump administration has taken aim at university accreditation in its battering of higher education.
Labor union says California university professor was taken during Camarillo immigration raid protest
KTLA5
The California Faculty Association says one of the people detained during a protest over a federal immigration raid in Camarillo this week is a local university professor.
Province to mandate asbestos standards
Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba expects to mandate standards for working with asbestos, the cause of the majority of workplace deaths in the province, this fall.
Why student unemployment is rising and what it could signal about a looming recession
CTV News
The unemployment rate for students looking for summer jobs is the highest it’s been in a non-pandemic year since 2009, when Canada was going through a recession — and some economists worry that the latest numbers could signal another one is just around the corner.
Public service cuts put worker mental health at risk
Rabble
Unions representing federal workers warn that pending cuts could lead to burnout and harm the services Canadians rely on.
Canadian unemployment rate unexpectedly drops in June to 6.9%
Globe and Mail
Canadian employers went on a hiring blitz to start the summer and the jobless rate unexpectedly dropped in June, despite challenges posed by the country’s trade war with the United States.
Labour unions are killing American jobs
Toronto Sun
Progressives love unions.
Trump administration defends immigration tactics after California worker death
Reuters
Federal officials on Sunday defended President Donald Trump's escalating campaign to deport immigrants in the U.S. illegally, including a California farm raid that left one worker dead, and said the administration would appeal a ruling to halt some of its more aggressive tactics.
'Reinstate the doctors!' Hundreds protest firing of 2 UH pediatricians
ABC News 5
While University Hospitals stands firm in its decision to fire two pediatricians, hundreds of people have made it clear they disagree. Doctors Lauren Beene and Valerie Fouts-Fowler were terminated from UH on June 24. They say it was because they were trying to unionize.
July 11, 2025
RRC getting real with artificial intelligence
Winnipeg Free Press
Red River College Polytechnic is offering crash courses in generative artificial intelligence to help classroom teachers get more comfortable with the technology.
Antarctic research is in decline, and the timing couldn’t be worse
The Conversation
Ice loss in Antarctica and its impact on the planet – sea level rise, changes to ocean currents and disturbance of wildlife and food webs – has been in the news a lot lately. All of these threats were likely on the minds of the delegates to the annual Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, which finishes up today in Milan, Italy.
Conestoga College, unions clash over insufficient A/C on campus
CityNews
Temperatures have soared amidst heat waves in Waterloo Region, and staff at a pair of Conestoga College campuses are alleging that the air conditioning in their building has been turned down.
On Harvard FAS Survey, 85% of Faculty See Government Pressure as Major Threat to Academic Freedom
The Harvard Crimson
One in two faculty members who responded to a survey of Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences said the Trump administration’s actions have discouraged them from expressing their political views.
‘The American system is being destroyed’: academics on leaving US for ‘scientific asylum’ in France
The Guardian
It was on a US-bound flight in March, as Brian Sandberg stressed about whether he would be stopped at security, that the American historian knew the time had come for him to leave his home country.
Trump administration yanks $15m in research into Pfas on US farms: ‘not just stupid, it’s evil’
The Guardian
The Trump administration has killed nearly $15m in research into Pfas contamination of US farmland, bringing to a close studies that public health advocates say are essential for understanding a worrying source of widespread food contamination.
Trump, Harvard fight escalates after president said deal was close
The Hill
The Trump administration is ramping up its war with Harvard University despite the president having previously hinted a deal was in the works.
Canada added 83,000 jobs in June, sending unemployment down slightly
CBC
The Canadian economy added 83,000 jobs in the month of June, while unemployment fell slightly by 0.1 percentage points, according to Statistics Canada.
Amazon workers win certification in Delta B.C.
Unifor
The B.C. Labour Relations Board (LRB) has sided with Unifor and awarded union certification to workers at the Amazon facility in Delta, B.C.
Tough Battles Ahead for BC Government Unions in ‘Crazy’ Times
The Tyee
Unions for B.C. public sector workers are expecting challenging negotiations as the province struggles with economic uncertainty and big budget deficits.
Canadian government tells employees they may face job cuts as Mark Carney looks to trim spending
Financial Post
The Canadian government told employees they may face job losses, as Prime Minister Mark Carney searches for spending cuts to keep the budget deficit in check.
U.S. State Department is laying off over 1,300 employees under Trump administration plan
Globe and Mail
The State Department is firing more than 1,300 employees on Friday in line with a dramatic reorganization plan initiated by the Trump administration earlier this year.
July 10, 2025
E-school budgets $200K a year to combat cheats in AI age
Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba’s largest online high school is budgeting $200,000 annually to proctor tests — $12 per student assessment — to discourage cheating.
Ontario college sector facing one of province’s largest mass layoffs, union says
Globe and Mail
Ontario colleges have been shedding thousands of jobs over the past year in what is being described as one of the largest mass layoffs in the province’s history by the union that represents most college faculty.
New numbers reveal 10,000-plus Ontario college layoffs, 600 programs cancelled or suspended over past year
Toronto Star
In what’s being described as one of the largest mass layoffs in Ontario’s history, more than 10,000 college faculty and staff have been let go and more than 600 college programs suspended or cancelled over the past year. The total figures, being made public for the first time, highlight the deep impact of an ongoing financial crisis fuelled by falling international student enrolment and allegations of institutional mismanagement.
Here’s what the endowment tax in Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ may mean for your college tuition
CNBC
The “one big beautiful” tax-and-spending package President Donald Trump signed on Friday included several significant changes for higher education — among them, an increased tax on the endowment income of the nation’s top colleges.
Student loans are about to get worse
Vox
University tuition in the United States is notoriously expensive — so much so that Americans currently have over $1.6 trillion in student loan debt. But now, the routine process of taking out student loans has been overhauled as a result of the One Big Beautiful Bill, which President Donald Trump signed into law last week.
Canada’s unions warn against austerity
Canadian Labour Congress
Prime Minister Carney’s instruction to cabinet to identify deep operational savings is a dangerous step in the wrong direction, one that puts critical public services and the workers who deliver them on the chopping block.
Sask. health care workers protest in downtown Regina over wages and working conditions
CTV News
Health care workers with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) gathered outside a downtown Regina hotel, voicing their frustrations over the ongoing contract negotiations between the Government of Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Association of Health Care Organizations (SAHO).
‘Trust is gone’ after lengthy Canadian Hearing Services strike, some deaf clients say
CTV News
In early June, Jessica Sergeant waited five and a half hours for a sign language interpreter to arrive at her Ottawa hospital room while she had a cardiac emergency.
Canada’s 2025 Shift: Rising Wages Amid Layoffs & Immigration Slowdowns
Immigration News Canada
Canada’s economy is at a pivotal moment. As wage growth accelerates, unemployment rates rise, and post-secondary institutions face unprecedented challenges, the nation grapples with the fallout of global trade tensions and domestic policy shifts.
What the Second World War can teach us about the value of DEI
Globe and Mail
What can Second World War teach us about today’s workplace? Everything – if we’re paying attention.
U.S. jobless claims unexpectedly decrease
Globe and Mail
The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits unexpectedly fell last week, suggesting employers may be holding on to workers despite other indications of a cooling labor market.
31 construction workers reach safety after partial collapse of Los Angeles industrial tunnel
ABC News
Thirty-one construction workers inside a huge industrial tunnel in Los Angeles made it to safety after a portion of it collapsed Wednesday evening, an outcome officials called a blessing after they initially feared much worse.
Federal agencies can resume mass layoffs, Supreme Court rules
Government Executive
Federal agencies across government can resume laying off their employees en masse after the Supreme Court reversed a court order that barred those reductions, with several agencies likely to move swiftly to start cutting staff.
