Tuesday, May 31, 2005

[IWS] CANADA: Weekly Work Report, 30 May 2005

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 May 30, 2005

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.

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AMENDMENTS TO SASKATCHEWAN TRADE UNION ACT RECEIVE ROYAL ASSENT:  Amendments to Saskatchewan’s Trade Union Act passed third reading in the legislature on May 25th and received royal assent on May 27th. The amendments, intended to ensure that first collective agreements are settled in a reasonable time, require that within 20 days of certification the union and employer begin bargaining and that after 90 days either party may apply to the Labour Relations Board for assistance in reaching a settlement. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

LINKS:

Bill 87, An Act to amend the Trade Union Act (8 pages, PDF) at <http://www.legassembly.sk.ca/bills/PDFs/bill-87.pdf>

Press release of <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />November 19, 2004, announcing the changes at <http://www.gov.sk.ca/newsrel/releases/2004/11/19-729.html> and  Backgrounder at <http://www.gov.sk.ca/newsrel/releases/2004/11/19-729-attachment.pdf>

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LEGISLATION INTRODUCED TO RESTRUCTURE HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES IN PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND:  The Liberal government of Prince Edward Island has moved to restructure health and social services in the province with 8 new bills introduced in PEI legislature in the third week of May.  In eliminating the 5 regional health authorities and creating a new Department of Health, the legislation will result in the loss of 180 administrative jobs and the transfer of employees to the new Department and to the civil service.  Some of the unions involved fear that it may result in a single union to represent everyone who delivers health care.

LINKS:

Province brings in health reform bills at CBC PEI website at <http://pei.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=pe_health_20050520>

Bill 44 Health Authorities' Employees Act (13 pages, PDF) at <http://www.assembly.pe.ca/bills/onebill.php?session=2&generalassembly=62&number=44>

Bill 49 Health and Social Services Reorganization Act (11 pages, PDF) at <http://www.assembly.pe.ca/bills/pdf_first/62/2/bill-49.pdf>

Bill 56 Health and Community Services Reorganization Act (11 pages, PDF) at <http://www.assembly.pe.ca/bills/onebill.php?session=2&generalassembly=62&number=56>

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BC TEACHERS FEDERATION SUES GORDON CAMPBELL: The British Columbia Federation of Teachers (BCTF) announced on May 26 that it has filed suit in B.C. Supreme Court against Premier Gordon Campbell because of “defamatory statements” he made in a news conference on May 12.  Five days before the B.C. provincial election,  Mr. Campbell announced a “secret” and “duplicitous plan” by the BCTF “to engineer a school strike … that would throw our school system into chaos.”  He went on to say that the BCTF   “want an NDP government that will eliminate education as an essential service and allow students to be used as political pawns to advance the BCTF’s union interests.”

In the election on May 18, the Campbell Liberals were returned to power with 46 seats and 46.03% of the popular vote (down from 77 seats in the previous legislature).  The NDP were elected to 33 seats with 41.27% of the popular vote.   Labour Minister Graham Bruce was one of seven cabinet ministers defeated in their own ridings.

LINKS:

Press release at the BCTF website at <http://www.bctf.bc.ca/newsreleases/archive/2005/2005-05-26.html>

BCTF letter to Gordon Campbell  (2 pages, PDF) at <http://www.bctf.bc.ca/CounselLtrToCampbell2005-05-12.pdf>

Premier Campbell's Statement: The BC Teachers Federation’s Proposed Strike Vote at the B.C. Liberal Party website at <http://www.bcliberals.com/news_&_issues/premier_campbell's_statement_on_the_bc_teachers_federation's_proposed_strike_vote/?&PHPSESSID=21129e77d281590ed23ac65bd323c243>
Campbell wins second majority  at the CBC website at <http://vancouver.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=bcv_majority20050517>

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COMPENSATING AND RETAINING SENIOR CIVIL SERVANTS IN ALBERTA: A report made public on May 26 states that Alberta's top government officials, on average, are paid 51 %  less than their counterparts in the federal government, 36 % less than those in the broader public service in Alberta, and 14 % less than those in comparable provincial governments.  The report recommends increases in base salary and vehicle allowances for deputy ministers, and changes to the Bonus Plan design and amounts. The report also recommends that an external compensation committee be struck to review senior compensation periodically, and that compensation of other senior government employees be reviewed.

LINKS:

Press release at <http://www.gov.ab.ca/acn/200505/18099ADA3415F-3136-4E1F-88427B68DE7EDBEF.html>

Compensation for Alberta government senior officials (12 pages, PDF) at <http://www.gov.ab.ca/acn/images/2005/505/18099.pdf>

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CANADIANS SUPPORT THE RIGHT OF NON-SMOKERS TO WORK IN SMOKE-FREE ENVIRONMENTS:  A telephone poll conducted by Environics Research Group for  Health Canada shows overwhelming support for the right of non-smokers to work in a smoke-free environment.  In Ontario, 95% of all residents agreed that people who don’t smoke should have the right to a smoke-free environment in any workplace ; in Saskatchewan, 94% and in Quebec, 93%, agreed with the statement.  The results were released by Health Canada on May 3,  to mark World No Tobacco Day.

LINKS:

Press release <http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/media/releases/2005/2005_51.html>

Fact Sheet: Smoking in Public Places: Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan at <http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/media/releases/2005/2005_51bk2.html>

Fact sheet: Smoking in Public Places: Manitoba and New Brunswick at <http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/media/releases/2005/2005_51bk1.html>

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WORK AND FAMILY POLICIES IN OECD COUNTRIES: A report released on May 27 by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reviews family-friendly policies in Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.  In this fourth volume in the series of Babies and Bosses, the OECD makes 5 recommendations for change in Canadian public policy to create more, and more affordable, childcare spaces.  Finland is urged to restrict the use of long leave periods, and Sweden is warned to control costs.  Other countries profiled in earlier volumes in the Babies and Bosses series are Australia, Denmark and the Netherlands in volume 1 (2002), Austria, Ireland and Japan in volume 2 (2003), and New Zealand, Portugal and Switzerland in volume 3 (2004).

LINKS:

Summary and links related to Bosses and babies at the OECD website <http://www.oecd.org/document/10/0,2340,en_2649_201185_34930826_1_1_1_1,00.html>

Canada Country Note ( 3 pages, HTML)  at <http://www.oecd.org/document/35/0,2340,en_2649_201185_34916387_1_1_1_1,00.html>

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IVEY BUSINESS JOURNAL:  The May/June 2005 issue of the Ivey Business Journal Online contains an article by Brad McRae titled “The Seven Strategies of Master Negotiators”. The issue is otherwise devoted to articles dealing with doing business in China.  The Richard Ivey School of Business will launch a new China Business Stream within their MBA program in the fall of 2005, with classes at the London Ontario campus and at Ivey’s Asian campus, the Cheng Yu Tung Management Institute in  Hong Kong.

LINK:

Ivey Business Journal  at <http://www.iveybusinessjournal.com/>

Ivey China Business Stream website at <http://www.ivey.uwo.ca/mba/chinastream/default.htm>

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 Book of the Week from the Jean & Dorothy Newman Industrial Relations Library

The Future of Human Resource Management: 64 Thought Leaders Explore the Critical HR Issues of Today and Tomorrow

Edited by:  Mike Losey, Sue Meisinger and Dave Ulrich

Publisher:  John Wiley & Sons

ISBN:  0-471-67791-4

This book brings together a panel of sixty-four experts in the field of human resource management. Each one contributes an article on the state of HR today and changes to expect in the coming years. These academics, consultants, and practitioners examine a wide range of issues in HR—including HR as a decision science; understanding and managing people; organizational culture; the impact of HR on business results; the requirements of an HR professional; globalization and its effects; and collaborative ventures.

About the Editors:

MICHAEL R. LOSEY is President of MikeLosey.com, as well as a former president of the Society for Human Resource Management and of the World Federation of Personnel Management Associations.

SUSAN MEISINGER is President and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management, current Secretary General of the World Federation of Personnel Management Associations, and former Deputy Undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Labor.
DAVE ULRICH, PhD is a professor at the University of Michigan and is the author of twelve books, including Why the Bottom Line Isn't.

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121 St. George St., Toronto Canada <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.

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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                *
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