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Les principales conclusions de cet article sont qu'un niveau élevé du salaire minimum, sans poser d'obstacle insurmontable quant à la stabilité des prix dans une économie aussi exposée à la concurrence extérieure que l'économie du Québec, risque de soutenir un niveau de chômage plus important qu'on a pu le croire jusqu'à ce jour, et tout spécialement parmi les jeunes; et que le salaire minimum élevé est un moyen très inefficace de mieux répartir les revenus qu'il vaudrait mieux remplacer par des outils d'intervention mieux appropriés comme un régime de revenu familial garanti ou même des plans de soutien du revenu un peu plus modestes.

Coal mining in nineteenth century British Columbia was confined almost exclusively to the tidewater coal measures of Vancouver Island where it was expanded rapidly from 1871 to 1891. This dissertation's purposes are to describe the coal industry's rise, account for its fast growth in the seventies and eighties, and assess the coal trade's general impact upon the region's economy. The approach is thematic, focusing in turn upon coal lands, capital, management, labour, technology, markets, production, and productivity. Standard research, organization, and interpretation methods for economic history are followed, including thorough descriptive use of statistical data. Comparisons are intensive and far-reaching, resulting in a close-knit framework upon which important conclusions are based. No effort has been made, however, to offer extensive biographical information on the coal trade's leading personalities. These studies confirm the coal industry's rapid expansion, and determine that all factors of production can explain that phenomenon with a high degree of certainty, though market demand and management technique do so more readily than other agents. It is shown that management methods and styles evolved quickly, the most effective being the owner-manager type as practiced by Robert Dunsmuir, the industry's most successful proprietor. Risk capital was drawn from various sources, including mainly British direct investments, local savings, partnerships (often involving foreign investors), and ploughed-back profits. Entrepreneurs and promoters were active in attempting to develop coal properties from 1864 on, though only those highly experienced in mining and management succeeded. Chronic worker shortages, coupled with the physical problems associated with coal mining in mountainous terrain, forced coal operators to opt early for labour saving technology imported almost exclusively from Britain. The introduction of large numbers of Oriental colliers by Dunsmuir after 1870, (who were willing to work at half the wages whites would), slowed the technological advance of the industry, but not annual rates of production increases. Considerable friction between white workers and management resulted from the latter's initiatives with Oriental labour, while the owners' policy of severely restricting wage-rates caused further serious labour problems, including a high number of work stoppages. Mine safety, job security, and general working conditions also were contentious issues. B.C.'s early collieries relied heavily upon the California market which often was unsteady, but which accounted for approximately seventy-five percent of all sales during the years 1849-91. Domestic users were mainly shipping companies, light industry, and households. Much of the local market was handled at the pithead. The major coal companies streamlined their channels of distribution by opening their own sales offices in Victoria and San Francisco, and. in the case of Dunsmuir, by also building a collier fleet and a railway of his own. The coal industry had a major influence upon southern Vancouver Island's economy, but not a large impact upon the remainder of the province. No determined "attempts were made by coal proprietors or other capitalists to create secondary industries linked to coal production, though colliery owners did invest in land, transport, and retail-wholesale ventures designed either to service their mining activities or to diversify their personal holdings. Such moves occurred later-on, however, as the main thrust of their initial efforts was to establish and maintain the coal trade with California.

The Author puts Walton and McKersie's behavioural theory of labour negotiations to test in a study of a non-random sample of 118 bargaining units.

Dans une perspective d'ajustement des programmes de formation aux exigences professionnelles du marché du travail en relations industrielles, cet article analyse les résultats d'une enquête faite par questionnaire en mai 1978 auprès de la population des diplômés en relations industrielles de l'Université de Montréal.

The authors attempt, by means of « jurisprudence » to determine the conditions and circumstances which render picketing legal or illegal. Within this context, picketing will be examined from the point of view of object, form and occasion. In addition, the sanction of picketing will be presented, followed by a critique of the subject.

The experiences of certain successful West European practices in employee's participation within undertaking recommend the establishment of complementary institutional arrangements in the existing system of labour-management relations in Canada which, at the present, is based only on the institution of collective bargaining.

This article reviews the book, "Collective Bargaining and Conflict Resolution in Education : The Evolution of Public Policy in Ontario," by Bryan M. Downie.

This article reviews the book, "Gestion des ressources humaines. Une approche systémique," by Laurent Bélanger.

This paper estimates the effect of different minimum wage to average wage ratios among provinces on differences in provincial unemployment rates. The effect is found to be statistically significant, but small in magnitude.

Along with J.S. Woodsworth, William Irvine was one of the pioneers of socialism in Canada, a member of the radical Ginger Group, progenitor of the C.C.F. and N.D.P. In the wake of the First World War Irvine struggled relentlessly to organize Alberta farmers for political action. Elected to Parliament in 1921, he along with close friend Woodsworth were the sole labour representatives in the House: they worked incessantly against the monopoly power of large corporations and financial institutions. Together they laid the basis for a socialist challenge to the Eastern-dominated, two-party system in Canada. William Irvine: The Life of a Prairie Radical chronicles his immense contribution to the search for political alternatives in this country, a contribution that can still be felt in Canadian politics today. --Publisher's description

Les auteurs analysent l’effet de la taille des établissements sur les taux de rémunération pour 5 551 établissements du Québec. Ils concluent que ces effets sont importants pour les salariés du secteur de la production, mais sont limités pour les cols blancs.

This article reviews the book, "Une analyse des gains au Canada," by Peter Kuch et Walter Haessel.

The authors seek to build on the work of Bail and St. Cyr, Smith and Ireland, Solow, and others, in order to estimate the assessment of labour hoarding and test the relationship between labour hoarding and the wage share.

The trade unions elections of 1977 in Spain conferred a formal end of four decades of labour authoritarianism and marked the second major electoral process that has been established for the re-establishment of democratic institutions. According to the author, the outcome has important implications for the emerging national political configuration, the restructuring of the labour-management relationship, and the political strategies of the major political parties.

Le Conseil a accueilli une requête en révision présentée par le Syndicat canadien des télécommunications transmarines (SCTT) en vertu de l'article 119 du Code qui demandait d'ajouter à l'unité de négociation existante un groupe considérable d'employés exerçant des fonctions comparables à celles du premier groupe mais dont les qualifications techniques étaient plus exigeantes. Constatant que la requête ne modifiait pas la nature, l'essence et la portée inten- tionnelle de l'unité de négociation existante et d'autre part, que le syndicat requérant a pu démontrer qu 'il était désiré par une majorité globale des employés dans l'unité, le Conseil a décidé d'ajouter les employés visés par ladite requête, sauf une restric- tion à l'égard des professionnels, sans tenir compte de leur dési

This article reviews the book, "Die Polnishe Diskussion [um] die Arbeiterräte = Polish Discussion on the Works Councils [The Polish Debate on Workers' Councils]," by Viktoria Grevemeyer-Korb.

This article reviews the book, "Industrial Democracy in Western Europe, A North American Perspective," by John Crispo.