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Access to labour relations legislation is generally seen as a prerequisite to unionization of agricultural workers in Canada. British Columbia is one of eight Canadian provinces that now include agricultural workers in provincial labour relations legislation. But agricultural workers were not always included. Although union organizing and strike activity were not unheard of in BC’s agricultural sector in the 1930s, the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act of 1937 excluded agricultural workers. This exclusion followed a larger pattern of excluding agricultural workers from employment-related legisla­tion. Agricultural workers continued to be excluded until the mid-1970s, when the efforts of NDP backbenchers persuaded their own government that agri­cultural workers ought to be included in provincial collective bargaining laws. As demonstrated in a brief overview of the two campaigns to unionize agri­cultural workers under BC’s labour relations legislation since 1975, although small numbers of workers have been able to form unions and achieve collec­tive agreements under the legislative protections of the Labour Code, those collective bargaining relationships have thus far proven unstable and often short-lived.

The article reviews the book, "Canadian Studies: Past, Present, Praxis," edited by Christl Verduyn and Jane Koustas.

This article reviews the book, "Black-Brown Coalition and the Fight for Economic Justice, 1960-1974," by Gordon K. Mantler.

This thesis interrogates social exclusion among migrant workers under the NOC C & D (“low skill”) occupational stream of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program, a relatively new, fast-growing, and highly diverse stream which brings migrant workers into industry sectors and social settings where they were never seen before. The author develops a framework for understanding law’s role in producing social exclusion, and applies it to ethnographic data collected through interviews with migrant justice advocates and migrant workers in Brandon, Manitoba. This thesis ultimately establishes that migrant workers need not face spatial separation, discrimination from the community, or a historically gendered and racialized labour context in order to experience social exclusion; the author argues that social exclusion is legally constructed and that the legal framework of this program itself presents barriers to migrants’ full participation in the life of the communities in which they live and work.

"[Examines] the role of collective bargaining with respect to improving terms and conditions of employment and the issues and challenges experienced by librarians as members of minority groups within faculty associations." -- Editors' introduction.

Argues that the Conservative government of Stephen Harper is rewriting Canadian history as a propaganda celebration of a "warrior state" while cutting funds for serious historical research.

Combining primary and secondary sources with original discussions, Gender History examines the full range of gender experiences - past and present - beyond typical conceptions of masculinity and femininity. Addressing both the chronology and crucial themes of gender in Canada, this combination text/reader is an essential resource for understanding the evolution of the Canadian gender system."--amazon.ca desc;

This study examines the relationship between internal labour markets (ILMs) and the transition from temporary to permanent employment, particularly following the legislative changes regarding the use of temporary workers in Korea. We test our research model based on data gathered during two different periods from 619 and 616 Korean companies respectively. The results show that ILMs help companies turn temporary employees into permanent ones. Furthermore, environmental dynamism increases the need for temporary workers, which prohibits the transition from temporary to permanent employment, particularly when seniority-based pay is tightly implemented within a firm. The effects of ILMs on the transition from temporary to permanent employment become pronounced as companies internalize institutional changes. The current study demonstrates that the features of the employment system shape and establish organizational norms and traditions and play a critical role in achieving the intended effects of institutional change.

This article reviews the book, "Land of 10,000 Loves: A History of Queer Minnesota," by Stewart Van Cleve.

Since the eruption of the European sovereign debt crisis, the bailout conditions imposed on Greece have gradually shifted their emphasis from "tidying up" public finances towards "improving the competitiveness" of the economy. The employment relations system has been targeted as one of the priority areas for reform, which resulted in its gradual dismantling. The article analyses this transformation in employment regulation, using insights from the varieties of capitalism literature. It is argued that the ongoing injection of liberal market elements is likely to transform Greece into a dysfunctional Liberal Market Economy. The changes ignore the specificities and idiosyncrasies of the Greek production model and are likely to leave the country with the "worst of both worlds": suboptimal economic performance and diluted social cohesion.

Since the time of the Arts and Crafts movement of the late nineteenth century, craft production and consumption has been politicized. Craft’s focus on hand making has been used to contrast intentional, individual labour with the division of labour involved in industrial mass production. Through its mission to build a more fulfilling world through ethical commerce, craftsmanship, and fun, the contemporary e-commerce site Etsy participates in the discourse of politicized craft that was articulated over a hundred years ago by William Morris, with his dream of “joy in labour.” While craft’s individualism can limit its political effectiveness, craft’s utopian impulse to build a better world through more fun and through labour that is more fair is a valuable ideal and one that has survived for more than a century.

Critiques Prime Minister Stephen Harper's June 11, 2008 apology for the abuse of students in Indian residential schools and his remarks about Canada's history at a 2009 press conference at the 2009 G20 meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Argues that rather than celebrating the War of 1812 and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, the federal government should commemorate the Royal Proclamation of 1763 and the Treaty of Niagara as pivotal shared events with Indigenous peoples.

For many years, Canadian governments have tried to legislate higher earnings for low-wage workers. With origins at the municipal level, living wage laws are a relatively new policy that gained prominence in American cities starting in the mid-1990s. Currently more than 140 American municipalities have a living wage law. In 2011, the City of New Westminster in British Columbia became the first and only Canadian city to adopt a living wage ordinance. This report reviews the scholarly research on living wage laws from the United States and concludes that the US experience should make us cautious about adopting this policy more widely in Canada. -- Publisher's description

Starting with this issue we have decided to set aside space in the journal for a forum and for ongoing debate on issues of major social and scientific importance in industrial relations practice and theory. / C’est pour cette raison que nous souhaitons aménager, à l’intérieur de nos pages, un espace de débats et de forums portant sur des problématiques d’une grande pertinence sociale et scientifique, tant pour le monde de la pratique que pour celui de la théorie des relations industrielles. --From editor's introduction /de l'introduction de l'éditeur.

Despite the international emphasis on care in private homes, the demand for long-term residential care is rising given the growing number of older persons and those living with severe disabilities. Rising acuity levels of residents have resulted in calls for more training for care providers and concerns have been raised about the supply of workers, drawing attention to the working conditions, pay, benefits and status attached to work in long-term residential care. This industry is a link in the international care chain, with wealthy countries seeking workers from poorer countries. Yet, cross-national data sources provide limited information on the long-term residential care labour force, reflecting the value attached to the sector and the level of concern about the well-being of the labour force. Data that are available indicate that care is prioritized, divided and measured in different ways in different contexts and that there are varying degrees of precariousness experienced by workers. The evidence from the data also suggests that the public not-for-profit sector and unionization are critical shelters for the mostly women providers. Using a feminist political economy approach, this thesis outlines data available from statistical sources in Europe and North America with a case examination of four countries: Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Sweden. It critically maps the comparative data on the supply of labour in this industry of health and social care, as well as on their locations and relations. It illustrates the extent to which the framing of care in conventional terms, influenced by both neoliberal and medical notions of care, limits the statistical infrastructure in terms of its capacity to adequately measure workforces involved in long-term residential care and to provide a basis for addressing the continuing supply of labour in this sector.

The interconnections of natural resources, empire and labour run through the most central and conflict-ridden crises of our times: war, environmental degradation, impoverishment and plutocracy. Crucial to understand and to change the conditions that give rise to these crises is the critical study of resource development and, more broadly, the resources question, which is the subject of this volume. --Publisher's description.

Informed by the disciplines of disability studies and interpretive sociology, and using the social model of disability and the collective identity model, this dissertation pursues an investigation of underemployment. Underemployment, conceptualized as the underutilized skills and knowledge of the employed and unemployed, occurs at higher levels amongst disabled persons than among non-disabled people (Canada, 2009). Semi-structured interviews with 14 underemployed disabled people conducted, to investigate the experiences of disabled persons who worked in the fields of education, computer, healthcare, fitness, environment, travel, social work, government and non-government agencies. In addition, Canadian social policies were analyzed to address the research questions: 1) How do disabled workers understand and address experiences of underemployment? 2) How do organizations and social policies account for underemployment amongst disabled persons? 3) How can practices which acknowledge and enhance collective identity be used to address underemployment and advance the disability movement? 4) How can underemployment amongst disabled persons be addressed at the organizational level? The texts of these narratives and Canadian social policies were analyzed using a critical interpretative textual analysis approach. The analysis demonstrates the depths of the negative consequences of high levels of underemployment resulting from structural, environmental and attitudinal barriers. Such consequences include lack of opportunities for recognition, compensation, promotion, accommodations, and career fulfillment, as well as poor mental, physical, emotional and social health. This research study is unique as it reveals the struggles that disabled persons experienced in work contexts, their narratives of resistance, and their recommendations for socio-political change to build more inclusive work environments

Cet article étudie les choix des concepteurs de jeux vidéo en matière de représentation de leurs intérêts à la lumière de la théorie de la mobilisation de Kelly (1998), cela dans le but de mesurer leur disposition à l’action collective. Ces travailleurs illustrent bien le cas des travailleurs du savoir dans des productions organisées par projets. Si le modèle de Kelly permet en principe d’asseoir des projections concernant la syndicalisation d’un secteur, tel n’est pas le cas ici. Notre étude nous amène plutôt à mesurer l’ampleur de la transformation du marché de l’emploi depuis l’élaboration du modèle et la distance qui sépare les besoins des travailleurs du savoir, d’une part, et les options que leur propose l’action syndicale traditionnelle telle que présentée par le modèle de Kelly, d’autre part.Ce groupe de travailleurs remplit deux conditions propices à l’action collective : il a identifié des problèmes communs dans les conditions de travail de l’industrie et il en attribue généralement la responsabilité à l’employeur.Cependant, trois conditions essentielles l’empêchent de s’unir en une coalition. D’abord, il est partagé entre une définition de son intérêt en termes collectifs et individuels; ensuite , il est aussi partagé quant à la conviction que la situation insatisfaisante est illégitime. Enfin, et surtout, lorsque les travailleurs analysent les coûts et les bénéfices de l’action collective, le projet de syndicalisation via le régime général d’accréditation fondé sur l’entreprise-employeur leur pose plusieurs problèmes concrets. Les concepteurs de jeux pratiquent une forme d’action collective qui contourne les contraintes que pose notre régime juridique actuel de rapports collectifs de travail. Or, la théorie de la mobilisation de Kelly assimile action collective et action syndicale traditionnelle, ce qui mérite d’être reconsidéré.

In Canada, youth apprenticeships have been promoted as an educational alternative that leads to the development of valuable skills, allows for the opportunity to earn an income while learning and helps youth to gain a head start into lucrative, creative and in-demand careers. Yet, these programmes have remained rather marginal and continue to be perceived as being of lower-status compared to traditional post-secondary educational pathways, such as those leading to university or community college. In this paper, we draw on interview data with former youth apprentices in the province of Ontario to explore their reasons for entering apprenticeships in high school, their experiences in them and their own perceptions about the status and social recognition of apprenticeships. We suggest that policies regarding apprenticeship programmes in Canada need to expand their focus. While emphasis is currently placed on recruiting students by highlighting relatively utilitarian benefits, we argue that more focus needs to be placed on the training offered to apprentices including the commitment of employers to provide quality training on the job, the integration of classroom and on-the-job training and the opportunity for apprentices to move from partial to full participation in communities of practice.

Notes that while Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper's efforts to fashion a new Canadian identity have caused a stir, the multiculturalism of the type espoused by the Liberal Party of Canada under Pierre Trudeau was becoming exhausted. Comments that Harper was rebuilding identity on the pillars of recognition of Indigenous and Quebec nations' contributions, revitalization of heritage and British roots, and valorization of Canadian autonomy and sovereignty, including military accomplishments. Concludes that time will tell whether this attempt to remake the past will have a future impact. An abridged version of the article was published in the Canada Day edition of the Globe and Mail in 2013.