Tuesday, December 14, 2004
[IWS] CANADA: Weekly Work Report 13 December 2004
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
(The following is courtesy of the Centre for Industrial Relations, University of Toronto).
Weekly Work Report for the Week of December 13, 2004
These highlights of the week's HR/IR news are prepared by the Librarians at the Centre for Industrial Relations for our subscribers, alumni, faculty and students, and are intended for their individual use only. Please visit the CIR website for terms of use and information about organizational subscriptions. This message is composed in MS Outlook Express and contains hyperlinks that require an HTML-enabled email program.
The WWR is protected by Canadian copyright law and should not be reproduced or forwarded without permission. For inquiries or comments, please contact the Editor, elizabeth.perry@utoronto.ca.
----------
ONTARIO AMENDS LEGISLATION GOVERNING OVERTIME: On December 9th, the Ontario government introduced and passed Bill 63, the Employment Standards Amendment Act (Hours of Work and Other Matters), 2004. The legislation comes into effect on March 1, 2005. After that date, an employer who wants employees to work more than 48 hours in a week will be required to provide employees an information sheet published by the Ministry of Labour , detailing employee rights and responsibilities about hours of work and overtime pay. In addition, the employer must obtain written agreement from the employee, or from the union if the workplace is unionized, and receive approval from the Ministry of Labour. The Ministry has already made available online the information sheet, forms, and an employers guide.
LINKS:
Ontario Ministry of Labour press release <http://www.gov.on.ca/LAB/english/news/2004/04-128.html>
Employers guide to the application process at <http://www.gov.on.ca/LAB/english/es/hours/guide_toc.html>
Bill 63, an Act to amend the Employment Standards Act 2000 (15 pages, HTML) at <http://www.ontla.on.ca/documents/Bills/38_Parliament/Session1/b063_e.htm>
----------
MORE FLEXIBILITY FOR MANITOBA PENSIONS : The Manitoba government introduced amendments to the Pension Benefit Act on December 6, focusing on four key areas: clarification of pensions as Âfamily assetsÂ, protection of the Âpension promise of an income for life, provision of increased flexibility and updated requirements for the governance and management of pension plans. Among the changes: allowing phased-in retirement so that older workers (with employer agreement) could choose to work part-time and receive pension benefits. The amendments follow recommendations made by a provincial Pension Commission review committee in March 2003.
LINKS:
Bill 10, Pension Benefits Amendment Act (29 pages, HTML) at <http://web2.gov.mb.ca/bills/sess/b010e.php>
Manitoba government press release at <http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/press/top/2004/12/2004-12-06-03.html>
Manitoba Pension Commission at <http://www.gov.mb.ca/labour/pension/index.html>http://www.gov.mb.ca/labour/pension/index.html
----------
CANADA POST LAUNCHES ROTATING STRIKES: Postal workers represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada began a series of rotating strikes on December 9, targetting Fredericton, Antigonish, Ottawa, Edmonton, and most recently, Halifax , St. John's , Scarborough and Vancouver. According to the union, the current contract proposals from the employer contain unacceptable rollbacks on health benefits, severance pay, and leaves, but the dispute is also being characterized as a battle for equality because two-thirds of the workers are women. The employer reports that it has offered a forty-two month contract with wage increases of 2.25%, 2.25%, 2.4% and 2.4%, job security for all regular employees, and has accepted the union's proposal to allow part-time employees to accrue pension benefits based on actual hours worked.
LINKS:
<http://www.psac.com/news/releases/2004/111-091204-e.shtml>
PSAC poster (1 page, PDF) <http://www.psac.com/bargaining/others/CanadaPost/documents/leaflet-1204-e.pdf>
Canada Post press release at <http://www.canadapost.ca/business/corporate/about/newsroom/pr/default-e.asp?prid=1035>
----------
ONTARIO TEACHERS BARGAINING : The Ontario Minister of Education, Gerard Kennedy, has offered teachers incentives to sign four-year contracts, instead of the two-year contracts they are currently negotiating. Those who agree to four-year contracts will receive a 2.5 % increase in year three and 3.0 % in year four. The negotiations could be reopened after year two. There will be additional funding for out-of-pocket training for teachers covered by the four-year contracts. The Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF) has accused the minister of interfering in the bargaining process.
LINKS:
Press release by the Ministry of Education (Dec. 7) at http://ogov.newswire.ca/ontario/GPOE/2004/12/07/c2487.html?lmatch=&lang=_e.html
Press release by OSSTF at <http://www.osstf.on.ca/www/pub/pressrel/sept04_aug05/dec07-104.htm>
ÂTeachers offered richer deal to sign long-term in the Globe and Mail (Dec. 8) at: <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20041208/ONTTEACHERS08/TPNational/?query=teachers+offered>
ÂTeachers are running out of friends in the Toronto Star (Dec. 11 ) at <http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1102632616015>
----------
PAY FREEZE TO LIFT FOR B.C. GOVERNMENT WORKERS: British ColumbiaÂs Minister of Finance announced on December 8th that he will lift the public-sector wage freeze for the fiscal year 2005-2006. Many public sector agreements expire in 2006. On December 3, the minister had released an optimistic forecast of 3.3% growth for 2005, based on the work of the provincial Economic Forecast Council.
LINKS:
ÂB.C. finance minister says heÂs ready to end public sector wage freeze at Canada.com website: <http://www.canada.com/search/story.html?id=1775edf3-67b5-458e-a2aa-b4b1758b10ff>
Economic Forecast at <http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/nrm_news_releases/2004FIN0040-001030.htm>
Press release by the British Columbia Government and Service Employees Union at <http://www.bcgeu.ca/2602>
----------
B.C. WOMEN LOSING JOBS AND SERVICES: On December 9th, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released a study of the effects on women of recent government downsizing and policy changes in British Columbia. Nearly three quarters of the public sector jobs lost since 2001 were held by women. Cuts to child care, long-term care, the weakening of employment standards and other policy changes have also had a disproportionate impact on women.
LINKS:
Press release at the CCPA website at <http://www.policyalternatives.ca/index.cfm?act=news&call=977&pa=BB736455&do=Article>
WomenÂs employment in B.C.: Effects of government downsizing and employment policy changes 2001 Â 2004 (48 pages, PDF) at <http://www.policyalternatives.ca/documents/BC_Office_Pubs/women_employment_bc.pdf>
----------
CANADIAN CAPITAL INVESTMENT NEEDED: A recent report by the C.D. Howe Institute compares the investment in physical capital in the Canadian provinces to that of the United States and other OECD countries. The report, titled Tools for Workers: How Canada is Faring in the Competition for Capital Investment, notes that spending on physical capital in Canada has not kept pace with that of many other OECD countries and fallen notably behind that of the United States. With greater capital mobility and the increase in economic development in Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America, competition for investment has increased. The report suggests some policy reforms to close the gap.
LINK:
Tools for Workers: How Canada is Faring in the Competition for Capital Investment (15 pages, PDF ) at <http://www.cdhowe.org/pdf/backgrounder_87.pdf>
----------
GRAPHICS COMMUNICATIONS UNION MERGES WITH TEAMSTERS: Results of voting were announced on December 8th, showing that 7000 members of the Graphics Communications International Union in Ontario and Quebec have voted to merge with the Teamsters in Canada. Effective January 1, 2005, the GCIU will become a conference within the Teamsters union structure; the GCIU and its locals will maintain their autonomy and authority over their contracts. GCIU President George Tedeschi and the other executive officers will continue in their existing positions.
LINKS:
Press release at Teamsters website at <http://news.teamsters-canada.org/news.php?id=341>
Press release at the GCIU website at <http://www.gciu.org/highlights/mergervote041207.shtml>
----------
WHEN DO PEOPLE WANT TO RETIRE? An article released on Dec. 7 builds on the results of the Statistics CanadaÂs 2002 General Social Survey to examine the match between retirement preferences and experiences. The survey asked approximately 25,000 people 45 years of age and older if they would have preferred to retire or to continue to work  about one quarter wanted to work. The survey also asked under what circumstances people would have chosen to continue working  for example, if their health had been better, if mandatory retirement policies had not existed, or if they could have worked part-time without affecting their pensions.
LINKS:
ÂYou canÂt always get what you wantÂ(6 pages, PDF) in Winter 2004 issue of Canadian Social Trends at <http://www.statcan.ca/english/studies/11-008/feature/11-008-XIE20040037731.pdf>
----------
U.S. HEALTH, HEALTH INSURANCE, AND PRESCRIPTION DRUGS: The U.S. National Center on Health Statistics has published the 2004 edition of its annual review of health statistics, covering a wide range of health conditions and the expenditures related to them. Prescription drugs are prominent in the report; between 1995 and 2002, the average annual rate of increase for prescription drug expenditures was 15%, higher than any other type of health expenditure. In 2002, 48% of these costs were paid by private health insurance. Table 124 of the Highlights report states that private employers health insurance costs per employee-hour worked were $1.41 in 2003, and the share of total compensation devoted to health insurance was 5.9% in 2001 and 6.3% in 2003.
LINKS:
Overview of Health, United States introductory webpage at <http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus.htm>
Highlights (427 pages, PDF) at <http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus04trend.pdf#hi>
----------
RETIREE BENEFITS COSTS IN THE U.S.: On December 13, the Kaiser Family Foundation and Hewitt Associates released the results of a survey of employer-sponsored retiree health plans in the U.S.. The survey documents the increasing costs of retiree benefits for large private-sector employers and their retirees in the U.S., projects changes for 2005, and considers how employers will respond in January 2006 when the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act (MMA) takes effect.
LINKS:
Current Trends and Future Outlook for Retiree Health Benefits at the Kaiser Family Foundation website at <http://www.kff.org/medicare/7194/index.cfm>
----------
MANITOBAÂS LABOUR SPONSORED INVESTMENT FUND UNDER REVIEW: Crocus, the Manitoba labour-sponsored investment fund, announced on December 10th that it has initiated an organizational review and comprehensive assessment of the value of its portfolio. In the meantime, trading of shares has been halted and the price frozen at $10.45 per share. Established in 1992, the goals of the Crocus fund included, Âto be the pre-eminent private sector economic development organization in Manitoba , by maintaining continuity of local ownership, bolstering job growth, and modeling and fostering social responsibility in Manitoba businesses and fostering economic democracy .
LINKS:
Press release at Crocus website at <http://www.crocusfund.com/about/news.asp>
ÂCrocus investors wait, worry at the Winnipeg CBC website at <http://winnipeg.cbc.ca/regionalnews/caches/mb_crocus-fund20041214.html>
----------
IMMIGRATION AND SKILLS SHORTAGES: A new handbook released on December 14 by the Canadian Labour and Business Centre summarizes Statistics Canada data to provide a general overview of the trends in immigration in Canada and the challenges for new immigrants who are trying to integrate into the Canadian labour market.
LINK:
Handbook  Immigration and Skills shortages (36 pages, PDF or in 4 sections, PDF ) at the Canadian Labour and Business Centre <http://www.clbc.ca/Research_and_Reports/Archive/report11230401.asp>
----------
ILO REPORTS ON GLOBAL POVERTY: The 2004-2005 edition of the annual World Employment Report, was released by the International Labor Organization on December 7. According to the report, nearly 1.4 billion people are living on less than the equivalent of US$2 a day. The report provides statistical tables, analysis of the linkages between employment, productivity and poverty reduction, and makes recommendations for policy improvements, especially for the agricultural sector.
LINK:
Press release at the ILO website at <http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/pr/2004/54.htm>
Links to the text of the full 2004 World Employment Report and past issues at <http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/strat/wer2004.htm>
----------
121 St. George St., Toronto Canada M5S 2E8 <http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/cir>
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky *
Director, IWS News Bureau *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor *
New York, NY 10016 *
*
Telephone: (607) 255-2703 *
Fax: (607) 255-9641 *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu *
****************************************
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
New York, NY 10016
________________________________________________________________________
(The following is courtesy of the Centre for Industrial Relations, University of Toronto).
Weekly Work Report for the Week of December 13, 2004
These highlights of the week's HR/IR news are prepared by the Librarians at the Centre for Industrial Relations for our subscribers, alumni, faculty and students, and are intended for their individual use only. Please visit the CIR website for terms of use and information about organizational subscriptions. This message is composed in MS Outlook Express and contains hyperlinks that require an HTML-enabled email program.
The WWR is protected by Canadian copyright law and should not be reproduced or forwarded without permission. For inquiries or comments, please contact the Editor, elizabeth.perry@utoronto.ca.
----------
ONTARIO AMENDS LEGISLATION GOVERNING OVERTIME: On December 9th, the Ontario government introduced and passed Bill 63, the Employment Standards Amendment Act (Hours of Work and Other Matters), 2004. The legislation comes into effect on March 1, 2005. After that date, an employer who wants employees to work more than 48 hours in a week will be required to provide employees an information sheet published by the Ministry of Labour , detailing employee rights and responsibilities about hours of work and overtime pay. In addition, the employer must obtain written agreement from the employee, or from the union if the workplace is unionized, and receive approval from the Ministry of Labour. The Ministry has already made available online the information sheet, forms, and an employers guide.
LINKS:
Ontario Ministry of Labour press release <http://www.gov.on.ca/LAB/english/news/2004/04-128.html>
Employers guide to the application process at <http://www.gov.on.ca/LAB/english/es/hours/guide_toc.html>
Bill 63, an Act to amend the Employment Standards Act 2000 (15 pages, HTML) at <http://www.ontla.on.ca/documents/Bills/38_Parliament/Session1/b063_e.htm>
----------
MORE FLEXIBILITY FOR MANITOBA PENSIONS : The Manitoba government introduced amendments to the Pension Benefit Act on December 6, focusing on four key areas: clarification of pensions as Âfamily assetsÂ, protection of the Âpension promise of an income for life, provision of increased flexibility and updated requirements for the governance and management of pension plans. Among the changes: allowing phased-in retirement so that older workers (with employer agreement) could choose to work part-time and receive pension benefits. The amendments follow recommendations made by a provincial Pension Commission review committee in March 2003.
LINKS:
Bill 10, Pension Benefits Amendment Act (29 pages, HTML) at <http://web2.gov.mb.ca/bills/sess/b010e.php>
Manitoba government press release at <http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/press/top/2004/12/2004-12-06-03.html>
Manitoba Pension Commission at <http://www.gov.mb.ca/labour/pension/index.html>http://www.gov.mb.ca/labour/pension/index.html
----------
CANADA POST LAUNCHES ROTATING STRIKES: Postal workers represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada began a series of rotating strikes on December 9, targetting Fredericton, Antigonish, Ottawa, Edmonton, and most recently, Halifax , St. John's , Scarborough and Vancouver. According to the union, the current contract proposals from the employer contain unacceptable rollbacks on health benefits, severance pay, and leaves, but the dispute is also being characterized as a battle for equality because two-thirds of the workers are women. The employer reports that it has offered a forty-two month contract with wage increases of 2.25%, 2.25%, 2.4% and 2.4%, job security for all regular employees, and has accepted the union's proposal to allow part-time employees to accrue pension benefits based on actual hours worked.
LINKS:
<http://www.psac.com/news/releases/2004/111-091204-e.shtml>
PSAC poster (1 page, PDF) <http://www.psac.com/bargaining/others/CanadaPost/documents/leaflet-1204-e.pdf>
Canada Post press release at <http://www.canadapost.ca/business/corporate/about/newsroom/pr/default-e.asp?prid=1035>
----------
ONTARIO TEACHERS BARGAINING : The Ontario Minister of Education, Gerard Kennedy, has offered teachers incentives to sign four-year contracts, instead of the two-year contracts they are currently negotiating. Those who agree to four-year contracts will receive a 2.5 % increase in year three and 3.0 % in year four. The negotiations could be reopened after year two. There will be additional funding for out-of-pocket training for teachers covered by the four-year contracts. The Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF) has accused the minister of interfering in the bargaining process.
LINKS:
Press release by the Ministry of Education (Dec. 7) at http://ogov.newswire.ca/ontario/GPOE/2004/12/07/c2487.html?lmatch=&lang=_e.html
Press release by OSSTF at <http://www.osstf.on.ca/www/pub/pressrel/sept04_aug05/dec07-104.htm>
ÂTeachers offered richer deal to sign long-term in the Globe and Mail (Dec. 8) at: <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20041208/ONTTEACHERS08/TPNational/?query=teachers+offered>
ÂTeachers are running out of friends in the Toronto Star (Dec. 11 ) at <http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1102632616015>
----------
PAY FREEZE TO LIFT FOR B.C. GOVERNMENT WORKERS: British ColumbiaÂs Minister of Finance announced on December 8th that he will lift the public-sector wage freeze for the fiscal year 2005-2006. Many public sector agreements expire in 2006. On December 3, the minister had released an optimistic forecast of 3.3% growth for 2005, based on the work of the provincial Economic Forecast Council.
LINKS:
ÂB.C. finance minister says heÂs ready to end public sector wage freeze at Canada.com website: <http://www.canada.com/search/story.html?id=1775edf3-67b5-458e-a2aa-b4b1758b10ff>
Economic Forecast at <http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/nrm_news_releases/2004FIN0040-001030.htm>
Press release by the British Columbia Government and Service Employees Union at <http://www.bcgeu.ca/2602>
----------
B.C. WOMEN LOSING JOBS AND SERVICES: On December 9th, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released a study of the effects on women of recent government downsizing and policy changes in British Columbia. Nearly three quarters of the public sector jobs lost since 2001 were held by women. Cuts to child care, long-term care, the weakening of employment standards and other policy changes have also had a disproportionate impact on women.
LINKS:
Press release at the CCPA website at <http://www.policyalternatives.ca/index.cfm?act=news&call=977&pa=BB736455&do=Article>
WomenÂs employment in B.C.: Effects of government downsizing and employment policy changes 2001 Â 2004 (48 pages, PDF) at <http://www.policyalternatives.ca/documents/BC_Office_Pubs/women_employment_bc.pdf>
----------
CANADIAN CAPITAL INVESTMENT NEEDED: A recent report by the C.D. Howe Institute compares the investment in physical capital in the Canadian provinces to that of the United States and other OECD countries. The report, titled Tools for Workers: How Canada is Faring in the Competition for Capital Investment, notes that spending on physical capital in Canada has not kept pace with that of many other OECD countries and fallen notably behind that of the United States. With greater capital mobility and the increase in economic development in Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America, competition for investment has increased. The report suggests some policy reforms to close the gap.
LINK:
Tools for Workers: How Canada is Faring in the Competition for Capital Investment (15 pages, PDF ) at <http://www.cdhowe.org/pdf/backgrounder_87.pdf>
----------
GRAPHICS COMMUNICATIONS UNION MERGES WITH TEAMSTERS: Results of voting were announced on December 8th, showing that 7000 members of the Graphics Communications International Union in Ontario and Quebec have voted to merge with the Teamsters in Canada. Effective January 1, 2005, the GCIU will become a conference within the Teamsters union structure; the GCIU and its locals will maintain their autonomy and authority over their contracts. GCIU President George Tedeschi and the other executive officers will continue in their existing positions.
LINKS:
Press release at Teamsters website at <http://news.teamsters-canada.org/news.php?id=341>
Press release at the GCIU website at <http://www.gciu.org/highlights/mergervote041207.shtml>
----------
WHEN DO PEOPLE WANT TO RETIRE? An article released on Dec. 7 builds on the results of the Statistics CanadaÂs 2002 General Social Survey to examine the match between retirement preferences and experiences. The survey asked approximately 25,000 people 45 years of age and older if they would have preferred to retire or to continue to work  about one quarter wanted to work. The survey also asked under what circumstances people would have chosen to continue working  for example, if their health had been better, if mandatory retirement policies had not existed, or if they could have worked part-time without affecting their pensions.
LINKS:
ÂYou canÂt always get what you wantÂ(6 pages, PDF) in Winter 2004 issue of Canadian Social Trends at <http://www.statcan.ca/english/studies/11-008/feature/11-008-XIE20040037731.pdf>
----------
U.S. HEALTH, HEALTH INSURANCE, AND PRESCRIPTION DRUGS: The U.S. National Center on Health Statistics has published the 2004 edition of its annual review of health statistics, covering a wide range of health conditions and the expenditures related to them. Prescription drugs are prominent in the report; between 1995 and 2002, the average annual rate of increase for prescription drug expenditures was 15%, higher than any other type of health expenditure. In 2002, 48% of these costs were paid by private health insurance. Table 124 of the Highlights report states that private employers health insurance costs per employee-hour worked were $1.41 in 2003, and the share of total compensation devoted to health insurance was 5.9% in 2001 and 6.3% in 2003.
LINKS:
Overview of Health, United States introductory webpage at <http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus.htm>
Highlights (427 pages, PDF) at <http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus04trend.pdf#hi>
----------
RETIREE BENEFITS COSTS IN THE U.S.: On December 13, the Kaiser Family Foundation and Hewitt Associates released the results of a survey of employer-sponsored retiree health plans in the U.S.. The survey documents the increasing costs of retiree benefits for large private-sector employers and their retirees in the U.S., projects changes for 2005, and considers how employers will respond in January 2006 when the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act (MMA) takes effect.
LINKS:
Current Trends and Future Outlook for Retiree Health Benefits at the Kaiser Family Foundation website at <http://www.kff.org/medicare/7194/index.cfm>
----------
MANITOBAÂS LABOUR SPONSORED INVESTMENT FUND UNDER REVIEW: Crocus, the Manitoba labour-sponsored investment fund, announced on December 10th that it has initiated an organizational review and comprehensive assessment of the value of its portfolio. In the meantime, trading of shares has been halted and the price frozen at $10.45 per share. Established in 1992, the goals of the Crocus fund included, Âto be the pre-eminent private sector economic development organization in Manitoba , by maintaining continuity of local ownership, bolstering job growth, and modeling and fostering social responsibility in Manitoba businesses and fostering economic democracy .
LINKS:
Press release at Crocus website at <http://www.crocusfund.com/about/news.asp>
ÂCrocus investors wait, worry at the Winnipeg CBC website at <http://winnipeg.cbc.ca/regionalnews/caches/mb_crocus-fund20041214.html>
----------
IMMIGRATION AND SKILLS SHORTAGES: A new handbook released on December 14 by the Canadian Labour and Business Centre summarizes Statistics Canada data to provide a general overview of the trends in immigration in Canada and the challenges for new immigrants who are trying to integrate into the Canadian labour market.
LINK:
Handbook  Immigration and Skills shortages (36 pages, PDF or in 4 sections, PDF ) at the Canadian Labour and Business Centre <http://www.clbc.ca/Research_and_Reports/Archive/report11230401.asp>
----------
ILO REPORTS ON GLOBAL POVERTY: The 2004-2005 edition of the annual World Employment Report, was released by the International Labor Organization on December 7. According to the report, nearly 1.4 billion people are living on less than the equivalent of US$2 a day. The report provides statistical tables, analysis of the linkages between employment, productivity and poverty reduction, and makes recommendations for policy improvements, especially for the agricultural sector.
LINK:
Press release at the ILO website at <http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/pr/2004/54.htm>
Links to the text of the full 2004 World Employment Report and past issues at <http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/strat/wer2004.htm>
----------
121 St. George St., Toronto Canada M5S 2E8 <http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/cir>
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
# posted by SBasefsky : 1:40 PM
