B.C. EXPANDS DEFINITION OF FAMILY FOR COMPASSIONATE CARE LEAVE: Only one day after a similar announcement in Ontario, the British Columbia Minister of Labour and Citizen's Services announced on October 31 an expanded definition of "family" when qualifying for compassionate care leave in B.C. Like Ontario, B.C. expanded the coverage to an individual "who considers the employee to be, or whom the employee considers to be, like a close relative". In addition, the B.C. changes explicitly name "an employee's step-sibling, aunt or uncle, niece or nephew, current or former foster parent or foster child, current or former ward or guardian, as well as the spouse of those individuals and the spouse of those included in the definition of immediate family."

LINKS: Press release; and Backgrounder.

PENSION PROVISIONS THE KEY TO NOVA SCOTIA HEALTH CARE TENTATIVE AGREEMENT: The province of Nova Scotia reached tentative agreements with five unions representing hospital workers just before a November 6th strike date. According to the Nova Scotia Nurses Union, the tentative agreements between CUPE, CAW, NSNU, NSGEU and SEIU and the Nova Scotia Association of Health Organizations (NSAHO) "marks an historic turning point for hospital workers' and long-term care workers' retirement income security." Following a labour relations board decision in September, pensions were subject to collective bargaining for the first time; the resulting tentative agreement ends the practice of employer contribution holidays and requires employers to contribute an additional 1.4% to the plan. It also prevents the practice of applying pension surplus against employer contributions, and allows labour unions to have equal representation on a joint labour-management committee to review the plan's governance structure. The five unions bargained jointly; full details of the agreements are not being released pending ratification votes by CUPE and CAW.

LINKS: "Pension deal may cost $70 million" in The Halifax Chronicle Herald; Archive of documents at the Nova Scotia Nurses' Union website; CAW press release; "Nova Scotia hospital workers reach tentative agreement" at the CUPE website; Pension information at the Nova Scotia Association of Health Organizations (NSAHO) website.

NO FAULT FOUND IN BC MINE TRAGEDY: British Columbia's Chief Inspector of Mines has released his report investigating four fatalities at a water sampling shed in May 2006. Two mine workers and two paramedics who went to rescue them all died at the decommissioned Sullivan Mine, located near Kimberley B.C. and owned by Teck Cominco. The report, released on October 30, concludes that the tragic accident was unprecedented and could not have been predicted. It was caused by the accumulation of oxygen-depleted air in a small water shed, with the air entering the shed through a water drainage pipe. 

LINKS: Families reject report on mine tragedy at the CBC website; Archive of Sullivan Mine documents at the B.C. Ministry of Labour website; Report of the Chief Inspector of Mines (168 pages, PDF).

WORKERS COMPENSATION REFORM: Following a meeting on October 26 to 28 in Barrie Ontario, unions representing approximately 10,000 compensation board employees across Canada have launched a national campaign calling for the reform of workers' compensation systems in all jurisdictions. The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE), Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), and the Compensation Employees' Union endorsed Principles of a Fair and Comprehensive Workers' Compensation System. Also known as the Stanhope Manifesto, the Principles were originally established in a meeting in 2002 in Stanhope Prince Edward Island;  they call for a comprehensive public system, including universal coverage, programs to prevent injury and illness, education programs for young workers, indexed pensions and benefits, and coverage of all workplace injuries and illnesses.

LINKS: Workers compensation unions meet to demand reform at the NUPGE website; Principles of a Fair and Comprehensive Workers' Compensation System (2 pages, PDF); Stanhope Manifesto at the CUPE website.

BRIEFLY NOTED: LABOUR CONVENTIONS: Other labour groups meeting in Convention this week: British Columbia Government Employees Union (BCGEU) Policy Convention (Nov. 3 - 5); Manitoba Federation of Labour 50th Anniversary Convention (Nov. 2 - 4); Manitoba Government Employees Union convention (Nov. 2 - 5) ; Prince Edward Island Federation convention (Nov. 3-4).

LINKS: BCGEU Convention; Manitoba Federation of Labour 50th Convention; Manitoba Government Employees Union; Prince Edward Island Federation of Labour .

HEALTHIEST WORKPLACE AWARDS: Canada's 6th annual Healthy Workplace Week occurred from October 23 to 29, promoting healthier workplaces and increasing awareness of the issue. Awards of Excellence for Healthy Workplaces went to Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, CALIAN Technologies, and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia. The program is governed by the Canadian Healthy Workplace Council, and is administered by National Quality Institute (NQI), Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety (CCOHS) and Health, Work & Wellness (HWW Conference Inc.).

LINKS: Health Workplace Week website; Awards Press release (3 pages, PDF) at the Healthy Workplace Week website.

ONTARIO LAUNCHES GATEWAY TO EMPLOYMENT SERVICES: On November 6, the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities announced the launch of Employment Ontario, "an integrated gateway to training and employment services in the province." A website provides information and links for job seekers, students, apprentices, employers, and employees. Some sections of the site are available in 23 languages. There is also a toll-free information hotline at 1-800-387-5656.  

LINKS: Press release and backgrounder; Employment Ontario Website.

DO YOU LIKE YOUR COMMUTE?: A study by Statistics Canada found that more Canadians enjoy commuting to work (38%) than dislike it (30%). Sixteen per cent said that they liked it a great deal. Those who rode a bicycle reported enjoying their commute the most; those who took public transportation the least.

LINK: "Like commuting? Workers perceptions of their daily commute" (7 pages, PDF) in Canadian Social Trends, Vol. 82 (Nov. 2006) (Catalogue #11-008-XWE) at the Statistics Canada website.  

UNEMPLOYMENT REACHES RECORD LOWS IN ALBERTA: On November 3, Statistics Canada released good news from the labour market; October brought a decline of .2% in the national unemployment rate, to 6.2%. Record low rates were recorded for adult women (4.9% nationally) and for Alberta (3.0%, the lowest rate in 30 years). For adult men in Alberta, the unemployment rate of 1.8% is also the lowest since July 1976. The bad news: manufacturing continues to lose jobs, with 83,000 fewer factory workers across Canada so far in 2006. The Canadian Labour Congress reacted by stating  that "growing regional and sectoral differences should be cause for concern and government action." On October 24, the CLC released a policy paper which argues that Canada's manufacturing sector is in a state of deepening crisis.

LINKS: Latest release from the Labour Force Survey at the Statistics Canada website; West's job boom powers Canadian hiring (2 pages, PDF) at the CIBC World Markets website; CLC press release; and The Manufacturing Crisis (20 pages, PDF).

NAFTA RECONSIDERED: Two recent reports look at the effects of free trade on the Canadian economy. A report by the RBC Financial Group titled Canada's free ( r ) trade: lessons for the world, argues that since the adoption of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement in 1989 and the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994, the Canadian economy has thrived and that the fears expressed at the time the agreements were negotiated have not materialized.

A report by the Conference Board of Canada titled The NAFTA Effect: Multinational Enterprises in Canada, surveyed senior management at 62 MNE's operating in Canada. According to those surveyed, economic integration has had an effect on how MNE's manage their operations, but the impact has been positive or neutral.

LINKS: Canada's free ( r ) trade: lessons for the world (8 pages, PDF) at the RBC Financial Group website;The NAFTA Effect: Multinational Enterprises in Canada (36 pages, PDF) at the  Conference Board website at (no charge, registration required).

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Book of the Week Jean & Dorothy Newman Industrial Relations Library The Centre for Industrial Relations, Jean & Dorothy Newman Industrial Relations Library selects a current book in HR/IR and gives you a preview of the contents. For inquiries or comments, please contact bruce.pearce@utoronto.ca. Demanding Work: The Paradox of Job Quality in the Affluent Economy  by Francis Green Publisher: Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2006. 225 p. ISBN: 0-691-11712-8 (hc) In most affluent countries average pay levels have risen along with economic growth, a major exception being the United States. Skill requirements have increased, potentially meaning a more fulfilling time at work. Set against these beneficial trends, however, are increases in inequality, a strong intensification of work effort, diminished job satisfaction, and less employee influence over daily work tasks. The author shows how changes in the quality of work life stem from technological change and transformations in the politico-economic environment. He concludes by discussing what individuals, firms, unions, and governments can do to counter declining job quality. About the Authors: Francis Green is Professor of Economics at the University of Kent, Canterbury.