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| Bricks, mortar . . . and jobs |
| Source: TheChronicleHerald.ca, by J. Alberst |
| Date: 12-Apr-2011 |
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| Nova Scotia’s home-building industry is second only to tourism in job creation, says a new industry-funded report.
The Nova Scotia Home Builders’ Association recently released a study that says residential construction directly and indirectly employed 27,200 people in 2010. Only tourism employed more people, with 31,700 jobs, the study said. Fishing and other food manufacturing were third, with... (read more on TheChronicleHerald.ca) |
| Union’s refusal to discuss concessions irks Scanwood |
| Source: TheChronicleHerald.ca, by J. Alberstat |
| Date: 05-Apr-2011 |
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A Scanwood Canada Ltd. official said he hopes unionized workers will change their minds about a weekend decision not to talk to the court-protected company about concessions on wages and benefits.
Scanwood director Bo Thorn said Monday he was surprised and disappointed that employees voted overwhelmingly not to talk about the possibility of changes to their collective agreement to help the fi... (read more on TheChronicleHerald.ca) |
| Scanwood workers refuse to accept concessions |
| Source: TheChronicleHerald.ca, by P. Lee |
| Date: 04-Apr-2011 |
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Employees of court-protected Scanwood Canada Ltd. have overwhelmingly refused the company’s request for concessions on wages and benefits.
Of the 136 employees who showed up to vote Sunday morning, 135 voted no. One ballot was spoiled.
About 235 Scanwood workers are members of Local 4005 of the Canadian Auto Workers.
Carla Bryden, national representative of the CAW, said employees feel ... (read more on TheChronicleHerald.ca) |
| ‘Fukushima 50’ risking their lives to try to prevent meltdown |
| Source: TheGlobeAndMail.com |
| Date: 18-Mar-2011 |
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For three desperate days, Michiko Otsuki and her colleagues worked all-out to control the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. In the midst of the post-earthquake chaos, she watched her co-workers quietly put their lives on the line, doing all they could to stave off a meltdown with little thought for their own safety.
But when she was finally evacuated on Monday, leaving be... (read more on TheGlobeAndMail.com) |
| UK unemployment rate up to 8 per cent as number of jobless hits 17-year high over 2.5 million |
| Source: Truro Daily News |
| Date: 18-Mar-2011 |
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LONDON - Britain's unemployment rate has risen to 8 per cent as the number of people out of work reached a 17-year high of more than 2.5 million.
The Office for National Statistics said the rate for the November-January period rose from the 7.9 per cent rate reported last month for the October-December period.
Total pay was up 2.3 per cent compared with a year earlier, well below th... (read more on Truro Daily News) |
| Lincoln paper mill faces $212,000 in federal worker safety fines |
| Source: BangorDailyNews.com |
| Date: 17-Mar-2011 |
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| LINCOLN, Maine — Lincoln Paper and Tissue LLC faces $212,000 in fines for what a federal agency described Wednesday as nine “alleged repeat and serious” safety violations, including a September 2010 incident in which a mill employee suffered serious burns.
“The sizable fines proposed reflect not only the severity of the hazards found here, but also the fact that several of these conditions are ... (read more on BangorDailyNews.com) |
| Masters student studying demand for migrant workers in Island agriculture |
| Source: Island Farmer, by A. Walker |
| Date: 10-Mar-2011 |
| It is becoming an all too familiar story.
A farmer is forced to turn to the Migrant Worker Program because they are unable to hire any employees locally.
Prospective Island workers have been lured away by what they perceive as better opportunities in other sectors of the economy or in other parts of the country.
However, there has been little in the way of formal academic study on the is... (read more on Island Farmer) |
| Judge OKs legal action |
| Source: TheProvince.com, by S. Sullivan |
| Date: 07-Mar-2011 |
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A B.C. provincial court judge will allow the United Steelworkers to launch a legal action against forestry giant Weyerhaeuser in the 2004 death of a worker.
Lyle Hewer died on Nov. 17, 2005, after being trapped and asphyxiated by a machine at the company's New West Division sawmill.
Crown prosecutors decided not to prosecute Weyerhaeuser for criminal negligence causing death, though W... (read more on TheProvince.com) |
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| Cuban workers wait anxiously for axe to fall |
| Source: TheChronicleHerald.ca, by P. Haven |
| Date: 23-Feb-2011 |
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| HAVANA, Cuba — Yordan Rodriguez hasn’t showed up for work in four months, but he still has a job — for now at least.
The 25-year-old ironworker was told not to bother coming in anymore because the state-owned construction outfit he works for doesn’t have any iron. Since then he’s been doing odd jobs at home, drawing a salary, and waiting anxiously.
Rodriguez knows the state plans to lay off ... (read more on TheChronicleHerald.ca) |
| Part-timer stat pay possible: labour minister |
| Source: CBC.ca |
| Date: 21-Feb-2011 |
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| P.E.I.'s labour minister says she will examine whether the province's 13,000 part-time employees should be paid for statutory holidays like Monday's Islander Day.
While full-time employees get the day off on all seven of P.E.I.'s statutory holidays, part-time workers lose out.
"As a minister of labour, we do have employees but we also have employers," said minis... (read more on CBC.ca) |
| Terra Nova offshore workers reject agreement |
| Source: CBC.ca |
| Date: 18-Feb-2011 |
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Offshore workers at the Terra Nova oil platform east of Newfoundland have voted to reject a contract offer.
The tentative agreement was negotiated in mid-January between the employers and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada.
The vote took place at ratification meetings held Feb. 17 and Jan. 27 for the 180 employees working for several different employers.
The vot... (read more on CBC.ca) |
| Minimum wage increases hurt employment, reports CFIB |
| Source: dailybusinessbuzz.ca |
| Date: 14-Feb-2011 |
| A new report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is challenging the effectiveness of minimum wage policy in Canada.
CFIB says few small businesses pay minimum wage because wages are a key tool for attracting and retaining good staff, and those that do are in highly competitive sectors. However, large jumps in the minimum wage put upward pressure on all wages and increase p... (read more on dailybusinessbuzz.ca) |
| Private insurance considered |
| Source: AgriSuccessExpress, by A. Walker |
| Date: 11-Feb-2011 |
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A 21 per cent hike in premiums for coverage under the provincial Workers Compensation program prompted the Prince Edward Island Federation of Agriculture to investigate private insurance options for its members.
The increase came into effect Jan. 1 following a third party review of all of rate categories covered by the provincial Worker's Compensation Board. Unlike many industries, farme... (read more on AgriSuccessExpress) |
| NB unemployment rate holds |
| Source: gnb.ca |
| Date: 07-Feb-2011 |
| FREDERICTON – The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in New Brunswick stood at 9.1 per cent in January, down 0.3 of a percentage point compared to December and unchanged compared to the same month last year, according to figures reported by Statistics Canada.
"We will continue to monitor the situation," said Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour Minister Martine Coulombe. &... (read more on gnb.ca) |
| The real, less spectacular story behind Canada's 69,2000 jobs boost |
| Source: dailybusinessbuzz.ca |
| Date: 07-Feb-2011 |
| Friday's news that 69,200 jobs were created in January lifted the spirits of
government politicians, sent economists scurrying for answers, and jolted money markets to lay a few more chips down on Canada.
But was it real?
It was a number that certainly seemed to come out of thin air. The previous month saw a more realistic 22,000 pickup, the month before it was 15,000. Before than, 3,... (read more on dailybusinessbuzz.ca) |
| Quebecor boss defends two-year newspaper lockout as 'altogether legal' |
| Source: CBC.ca |
| Date: 02-Feb-2011 |
| QUEBEC - The head of the Quebecor media empire defended the two-year lockout Tuesday at one of his newspapers, dismissing the suggestion its flagship publication only survived by circumventing anti-scab laws.
Pierre Karl Peladeau, the chief executive of Quebecor Inc. (TSX:QBR.B), laid out his company's case during a parliamentary hearing looking at modernizing Quebec's labour laws.
... (read more on CBC.ca) |
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