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À partir d’un questionnement concernant le faible investissement des PME en formation, cet article tente de démontrer l’importance de l’environnement institutionnel par rapport aux seuls effets de taille. Par une analyse systémique de divers facteurs pouvant expliquer la formation dans une quarantaine de PME, l’article met en relief l’existence de trois configurations d’entreprises ayant des rapports différenciés à la formation; celles-ci vont de l’entreprise familiale qui offre peu de formation à l’entreprise indépendante offrant une formation structurée en passant par diverses formes d’entreprises qui, sur la base de leur insertion sous des bannières ou franchises ou encore de l’action des comités sectoriels ou d’organismes régionaux, accordent une importance de plus en plus grande à la formation et la structurent en conséquence. L’article conclut sur la nécessité d’une prise en compte « systémique » des dispositifs institutionnels pour la mise en place de politiques publiques adéquates.

The courier industry in Canada is rapidly expanding. This is due to a number of factors including greater international trade in goods; more use of just-in-time inventory strategies; and the rapid development of internet commerce. Significant technological and organizational developments within the industry have led to greater segmentation of markets. As a result, large national and international parcel delivery firms dominate the international and intercity markets, while there has been a proliferation of smaller firms in the same-city, same-day markets. The research findings from a case study conducted in Winnipeg reveal that couriers in certain parts of the industry are relatively well paid, with benefits and employment conditions negotiated by their union, while others are independent contractors with low incomes, no benefits and insecure tenure. The article compares the experience of these two types of couriers and examines what is being done to improve the terms and conditions of work for same-day couriers. It is concluded that nature of the same day courier industry means that union organizing will be very difficult and there is no guarantee of success. Unionization, however, is a necessary prerequisite for the improvement of conditions and wages in this growing industry.

Focuses on considering community unionism as a strategy for labor organizing with emphasis on autonomous community-based labor group organizational model. Background on the concept of community unionism; Information on the two examples of community unionism, the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty and the National Mobilization Against Sweatshops; Limitation of community unionism in making the type of economic gains for their members that a trade union can through collective bargaining.

The article reviews the book, "La gestion environnementale et la norme ISO 14 001," by Corinne Gendron.

The article reviews the book, "Le malaise des soignants : le travail sous pression à l’hôpital," by Yvan Sainsaulieu.

The article reviews the book,"Les cadres : grandeur et incertitudes," by Olivier Cousin.

The study aimed to determine whether the incidence and duration of certified sick leave (CSL) among nurses had increased during major restructuring of the health care system in the province of Quebec, and to determine whether nurses exposed to adverse psychosocial factors at work showed an increased incidence of CSL. It involved nurses working in 13 health facilities. Sickness absence data were retrieved from administrative files (n = 1454). Incidence of CSL for all diagnoses and for mental health problems was examined. Telephone interviews were conducted to measure psychosocial factors at work with validated instruments. There was an increase in CSL among nurses during the restructuring, particularly for mental health problems. Modifiable adverse psychosocial work factors were identified and provide basis for interventions. Since human resources are the mainstay and primary resource of the health network, it is essential that people be able to perform their work under optimal conditions.

Si la gestion des compétences est encore un sujet d’actualité à la fois pour les gestionnaires de ressources humaines et pour bon nombre de responsables d’entreprise, c’est que l’objet même de cette gestion ne cesse de prendre de l’importante au sein des nouveaux systèmes productifs et face aux nouvelles contraintes de l’environnement. Pourtant, ces nouvelles approches, dont on parle beaucoup, sont peu et mal connues, et ne sont que très rarement mises en perspective au plan international. Il peut donc être intéressant, partant d’un enjeu « théoriquement » similaire — la compétence — de voir de quelle façon ces logiques et ces modes de gestion ont été conceptualisés, instrumentés et implantés de chaque côté de l’Atlantique. L’analyse conduit à observer que si les deux systèmes se sont constitués de façon contingente, et que certains facteurs lourds leur sont encore associés aujourd’hui, d’autres forces poussent vers une certaine standardisation, pour ne pas dire universalisation des approches dans ce domaine désormais central de la gestion des ressources humaines.

Abundantly illustrated update of "A Miner's Chronicle" from 1998 to 2004, that emphasizes union-related activities and events. Also includes a list of mining fatalities.

The article reviews the book, "Masters, Servants, and Magistrates in Britain and the Empire, 1562-1955," edited by Douglas Hay and Paul Craven.

The article reviews the book, "Emmeline Pankhurst: A Biography," by June Purvis.

The article reviews the book, "Florence Nightingale and the Health of the Raj," by Jharna Gourlay.

The book Handbook of Work Stress, by Julian Barling, E. Kevin Kelloway, and Michael R. Frone, is reviewed.

A major demand of public sector unions in recent years has been for greater control over their members’ pension plans. Recently, several provincial governments, most notably British Columbia, have agreed to joint trusteeship, a development which gives union trustees a voice in investment policy. This article focuses on the implications for union trustees of investments in Public Private Partnerships (P-3s) and related privatization initiatives. Examples of such investments include: transportation infrastructure projects, hospitals and health services, schools, municipal water and sewer systems, electrical utilities, and other projects that, historically, have been within the public sector. It argues that trustees should be wary of such investments. Public sector unions have criticized privatization initiatives as a threat to public sector jobs and services. P-3 investments are problematic because they may threaten the jobs of their union’s members, undermine the credibility of their union’s public policy objections to privatization and, in the end, may prove far more risky than P-3 promoters contend.

The article reviews the book, "Multitude: War and Democracy in the Age of Empire," by Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri.

A renewal of the study of public sector unionism in Canada is long overdue. This article explains why public sector unions deserve more attention from researchers than they have received of late and proposes that studies of public sector unions would benefit from adopting a new theoretical framework that conceptualizes contemporary unions as not only labour relations institutions but also as particular kinds of working-class movement organizations within a historically-specific class formation. It also identifies two obstacles to the production of accounts of contemporary public sector unions from this perspective.

The article reviews the book, "What's Class Got to Do with It? American Society in the Twenty-First Century," edited by Michael Zweig.

Established in 1940 in response to the Great Depression, the original goal of Canada’s system of unemployment insurance was to ensure the protection of income to the unemployed. Joblessness was viewed as a social problem and the jobless as its unfortunate victims. If governments could not create the right conditions for full employment, they were obligated to compensate people who could not find work. While unemployment insurance expanded over several decades to the benefit of the rights of the unemployed, the mid-1970s saw the first stirrings of a counterattack as the federal government’s Keynesian strategy came under siege. Neo-liberalists denounced unemployment insurance and other aspects of the welfare state as inflationary and unproductive. Employment was increasingly thought to be a personal responsibility and the handling of the unemployed was to reflect a free-market approach. This regressive movement culminated in the 1990s counter-reforms, heralding a major policy shift. The number of unemployed with access to benefits was halved during that time. From UI to EI examines the history of Canada’s unemployment insurance system and the rights it grants to the unemployed. The development of the system, its legislation, and related jurisprudence are viewed through a historical perspective that accounts for the social, political, and economic context. Campeau critically examines the system with emphasis upon its more recent transformations. This book will interest professors and students of law, political science, and social work, and anyone concerned about the right of the unemployed to adequate protection. --Publisher's description. Contents: Why UI? -- The British Act of 1911 -- Developing a Canadian system -- The UI Act of 1940 -- UI expansion, 1940-75 -- Vision under siege, 1975-88 -- Rights enshrined in case law, 1940-90 -- The system hijacked, 1989-96 -- Onward to EI -- Case law in the neoliberal riptide of the 1990s. Translation of: De l'assurance-chômage à l'assurance-emploi.

Le présent article interroge l'action syndicale en France dans un contexte caractérisé par une remise en cause de la loi relative à la réduction de la durée du travail. En prenant appui sur le cas d'un établissement qui s'engage dans un processus d'allongement de la durée du travail, l'auteur retrace le cheminement parcouru par les acteurs en présence qui débute par la renégociation de la règle sur les 35 heures pour aboutir à l'invention d'une nouvelle régulation entre salariés et direction. Loin d'abroger les lois Aubry, ce mouvement d'allongement de la durée du travail questionne la capacité des acteurs à mener des négociations collectives. // This paper questions the way French trade unions have dealt with the effects of the legislation purporting to limit maximum working time to 35 hours per week. The research is based on a case study of a manufacturing firm. The author examines the ways in which local actors evolved from the negotiation over the implementation of the 35 hour work week to the development of new relationships between the employees and their employer. In this specific case study, the negotiation actually ended up lengthening working time. This result does not deny the importance of working time legislation but it does call into question the capacity of local unions to achieve in collective bargaining the objectives set out legislatively.

The article reviews the book, "Workplace Equality: International Perspectives on Legislation, Policy, and Practice," edited by Carol Agocs.