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Published By AMERICAN INCOME LIFE & NATIONAL INCOME LIFE LETTER canada LABOUR ADVISORY BOARD FEBRUARY 2015 Vol. 15 No. 1 NEWS FROM THE A new survey sponsored by Other results found almost 40 per cent said the Canadian Labour Congress found that it kept them from getting to work, and for CLC & NATIONAL domestic violence follows people to work, almost 10 per cent it meant losing their job. UNIONS has a significant impact on job performance, More than half said the violence continued and in some cases results in job loss. The at or near the workplace in the form of ha- The Teamsters Canada Rail ground-breaking survey was conducted by rassing emails, calls and texts, or stalking and Conference (TCRC) said installation of Western University’s Centre for Research physical violence. “This research has identi- locomotive voice and video recorders (LV- and Education on Violence Against Wom- fied the scope and impact of domestic vio- VRs) should be used according to the Cana- en and Children (CREVAWC) in partner- lence on workers and workplaces, but is only dian Transportation Accident Investigation ship with the CLC. Of 8,429 workers who a first step. Immediate next steps include and Safety Board Act. “As is the case with were questioned, one-third reported they encouraging use of these results by govern- aircraft and marine, access to these devices had experienced domestic violence and ments, unions and employers to establish must be limited to cases involving acci- 82 per cent of them said the violence had proactive practices to address the impact of dents,” the union said. “The recorders must negatively affected their work performance. domestic violence at work,” the CLC said. not be used to put additional pressure on industry workers who are already subject to multiple procedures and regulations in their everyday work.” The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) recently called for the implementation of cab monitoring technology both for post-accident analysis and in-train operations to help prevent ac- cidents. TCRC officials said in a press re- lease, however, that the rail industry’s recent proposal to install LVVRs would create “a dangerous precedent” and that access to recordings should be limited to the TSB to avoid violating workers’ privacy rights. “[We] are committed to being involved in any implementation of this technology to ensure the protection of the general public and its members balances with enhancing safe rail operations,” TCRC officials said. Discussion about the LVVRs is taking place between the rail unions and CN, Canadian Pacific and VIA Rail Canada Inc. Domestic Violence in the Workplace Toolkit Launch. Flickr.com photo used under Creative Commons from Province of British Columbia. TERRY O'SULLIVAN, President - Laborers International Union of North America, Chairman - AIL Labour Advisory Board VICTOR KAMBER, Vice President - American Income Life Insurance Company, Executive Director - AIL Labour Advisory Board ROGER SMITH, President & Chief Executive Officer - American Income Life Insurance Company, President - AIL Labour Advisory Board DENISE BOWYER, Vice President - American Income Life Insurance Company, Secretary - AIL Labour Advisory Board DAVE BARRETT, Former Premier of Province of British Columbia, Honorary Member - AIL Labour Advisory Board Pg 2 LABOUR LETTER Canada’s unions launched a reform. “Our members who watch the ads membership about the future.” USW Na- new series of “Fairness Works” ads in De- say it makes them proud to be part of the tional Director Ken Neumann said, “This cember reminding middle class workers labour movement,” he said. “They’re saying merger is an example of a shared, positive that union gains also benefit them. The ads that for the first time, they feel like they can vision for the labour movement: global, were initiated to counter the conservatives’ talk to their friends about unions.” outward-looking and focused on concrete bashing of unions, said labour officials. “The action. We are optimistic about the future labour movement has been around for a The United Steelworkers and we’re honoured by the votes cast by so long time, and for the most part, it’s steeped (USW) and the National Executive Coun- many TWU members.” in its own history,” said Hassan Yussuff, who cil of the Telecommunications Workers was elected president of the Canadian La- Union (TWU) signed a historic merger bour Congress in May. “We always accepted which took effect January 1 joining the two INTERNATIONAL that the public knows what we do and that unions. The TWU represents 12,000 mem- LABOUR NEWS we don’t have to tell our story any differ- bers across Canada who work for telecom- ently. But everything’s changed and we need munications companies including TELUS New Zealand’s Unite union to catch up.” The multimedia campaign is and Shaw Communications, as well as em- opened a campaign against zero hours con- considered the most ambitious public-rela- ployers in related telecommunications sec- tracts which allow employers to hire staff tions program in the CLC’s 58-year history tors. USW represents 225,000 USW mem- with no guarantee of work. Employees work with ads showing up from media outlets bers in Canada. “This is a great result for our only when they are needed, often at short to transit stops and internet sites popular membership, our families and our commu- notice. First Union also has joined forces with young workers. The messages seeks to nities across Canada. This merger will help with Unite to campaign against zero hours remind Canadians of past labour victories us improve the working lives of our mem- contracts. Unite, which represents the food from maternity leave to the 40-hour work bers,” said TWU National President Lee service industry, casinos, call centre and week while also highlighting current strug- Riggs. “It is a great step forward and there is security staff, said zero hour contracts risk gles like youth unemployment and pension a real sense of unity and excitement in our workers’ jobs and financial security while "Fairness Works" Supporters Walking in the Toronto Labour Day Parade. Flickr.com photo used under Creative Commons from United Steelworkers. LABOUR LETTER Pg 3 affecting their personal lives and creating a climate of fear within the workplace. Unite national director Mike Treen said such con- tracts give companies power and control over staff. “Because you know that as a part- time worker that you’ve got to beg for those shifts, you’ve got to suck up to management, that’s the reality of life that they want to im- pose on those workers when there is abso- lutely, technically and otherwise, no reason for that. They can, and they should, give the vast majority of their staff secure hours,” he said. Some 174 workers with Otis Elevators in Australia claimed victory De- cember 17 when they voted to accept an agreement that ended an 8-week lockout. The workers won all but one of their de- mands after attempting to negotiate with the company since April. The workers be- gan industrial action at the end of Septem- ber with bans on overtime, shiftwork and the commissioning of lifts and escalators after the company insisted on a below-in- Protest Outside Conservative MP Blaine Calkins's office. Flickr.com photo used under Creative Commons from Leadnow Canada. flation 1 per cent wage increase. The com- pany responded by locking out the workers on October 21. The workers, members of raise, income protection for the first time, the CLC’s Yussuff. “It is an invitation to the Electrical Trades Union and the Aus- increases to daily fares and travel, construc- employers to interfere with workers’ demo- tralian Manufacturing Union, construct tion allowances increased to above industry cratic right to choose representation, and it and service lifts and escalators. The 3-1/2 standards and other benefits. will destabilize federal labour relations.” He year agreement provides a 14 per cent pay said no single employer or union identified a problem in current industrial relations NATIONAL & that required these legislative amendments. POLITICAL EVENTS The Canada Industrial Relations Board also released a study showing that the mandato- The Senate last month passed ry voting called for in Bill C 525 will result Bill C-525, the so-called “Employees’ Vot- in a 500 per cent increase in costs. ing Rights Act,” that will make it much more difficult for workers in federally regu- Canadians entered 2015 in a lated workplaces to join unions, and easier sour mood with low expectations for the for a minority of workers to disband them. economy, according to the Bloomberg Na- The measure was introduced by backbench nos Canadian Confidence Index which Conservative MP Blaine Calkins as a pri- fell to 55.1 in the final reading of the year. vate member’s bill which by-passed the With a plunge in crude oil prices, the na- traditional process of tripartite consultation tion’s largest export, and the currency at the with employers, labour and government to weakest level in more than five years, Ca- amend the Canadian Labour Code. Unions nadians’ pessimism about the economy is at immediately criticized the bill which threat- its lowest ebb since May 2013. “As we close ens to upset the balance in federal labour out 2014, the forward view on the economy relations. “This legislation is really about from a consumer standpoint is trending denying Canadian workers the right to col- negatively,” said Nik Nanos, Ottawa-based AMWU Rally 2005. Flickr.com photo used under lective bargaining with their employer,” said chairman of Nanos Research Group. “Roll Creative Commons from Jason Ilagan. Pg 4 LABOUR LETTER up a drop in the price of oil, a lower Ca- nadian dollar and softening view on the value of real estate, and an environment is emerging which could lead to a tumultuous 2015.” Lower crude prices has prompted companies to scale back investment plans and forced governments to trim their rev- enue estimates, creating another drag on the economy.