Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

This is the official call for nominations for the position of Regional Executive Vice-President and Alternate Regional Executive Vice-President for the BC Region. Elections for these positions will be held at the BC Regional Convention in Vancouver, April 18-20, 2008.

As a result of a decision by delegates at the 2003 PSAC Convention, Regional Executive Vice-Presidents and their Alternates are elected in the regions, at their respective Regional Conventions. Any PSAC member in good standing in BC is entitled to run for these two positions. The nominator and the seconder must be delegates to the BC Convention.

As Regional Coordinator, I have been assigned the responsibility for sending out the call for nominations, receiving the nominations in advance of the Regional Convention, and working with the Nominations Committee at the Convention itself.

Here’s how the procedure will work, and what to do if you want to run for office.

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SIKLAB-CANADA READIES FOR THE INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS’ ALLIANCE; ENCOURAGES MIGRANTS IN CANADA TO JOIN

Filipino migrants in Canada are set to bring their fight for their rights to a new level.

SIKLAB-Canada, a national formation representing migrant Filipino workers, is readying for the historic launching of the International Migrants’ Alliance (IMA) in June 2008 in Hong Kong.

“There is an urgent need to form the IMA,” explains Roderrick Carreon, Chairperson of SIKLAB-Canada, “The issue of migration has become a global phenomenon and the focal point for much intense debate and discussion among academics and politicians on how to administer and manage international migration. It is now also time for those of us organizing around migrant rights to join together internationally to focus on the real lived experience and exploitation of migrant workers, the structures behind global migration, and the impacts of imperialist globalization,” continues Carreon.

There are over half a million Filipinos across Canada, the majority of whom are women who have entered the country as live-in domestic workers under the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP). SIKLAB is actively campaigning for the scrapping of the LCP calling the immigration program “anti-woman and racist”.

Under the LCP, migrant workers are required to live-in their employers’ home for 24 months, hold only temporary immigration status, and are tied to their employers because of the required employer-specific contracts under the program — conditions, which SIKLAB argues breed exploitation, abuse and oppression of Filipino migrant workers in Canada.

“We know that our community’s migration to Canada as cheap and expendable labour is shared by many other migrant and immigrant communities,” says Glecy Duran, Vice-Chairperson of SIKLAB-Canada, “Because we are here and legislated to perform low-wage and dangerous jobs that no other Canadians will perform, migrants of all nationalities, especially those of colour, share a common experience of exploitation. We need to unite,” adds Duran.

The objectives of the IMA are:

• To promote the rights, livelihood and welfare of migrants, refugees and displaced persons all over the world;
• To defend the interests of migrants, refugees and displaced persons from attacks of imperialist globalization and its lackeys;
• To forge coordinated and joint actions and plans in advancing the rights and well-being of im/migrants and refugees.
• To intensify campaigns for just wage, job security, against commodification and against criminalization of undocumented migrants and immigrants.
• Extend support and cooperation among the members.
• To further promote international solidarity and cooperation with progressive and genuine anti-imperialist organizations and alliances.

The IMA was initiated by the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) Study Commission on Migrants and Immigrants, and aims to be a broad international formation of progressive and anti-imperialist migrant organizations of various nationalities.

As a convenor of the launching the IMA, SIKLAB-Canada is also inviting other like-minded organizations of migrants and immigrants in Canada to join the significant founding of the IMA.

For more information: SIKLAB-B.C.: Glecy Duran, siklab@kalayaancentre.net; 604-215-1103
–
SIKLAB-British Columbia
Advance the Rights and Welfare of Overseas Filipino Workers and Their Families
Member of SIKLAB-Canada
c/o Kalayaan Centre, 451 Powell Street, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V6A 1G7
Phone: 604.215.1103 | Fax: 604.215.1905 | http://www.kalayaancentre.net

There is one part-time (50%) position available in BC for a Regional Political Communications Officer. This person will provide political and communications advice, assistance and support to the Regional Executive Vice-President (REVP) in her role as the political voice for the PSAC in this region and in her role as a member of the National Board of Directors (NBoD) and the Alliance Executive Committee (AEC).   See Job Poster for complete details.

Ontario turned over Ipperwash Provincial Park to a First Nation on Thursday, settling a long-standing aboriginal grievance in the province.

Read full article

In October, the PSAC postponed negotiations with Treasury Board that had been scheduled for December. We had to postpone the sessions because various departments are not meeting their legal obligations to provide the most basic information required to negotiate Essential Services Agreements (ESAs).

FB Complaint

PSAC filed a complaint on behalf of our Frontière/Border Services(FB) unit with the Public Service Staff Relations Board (PSLRB) against one of those departments, the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA). As a first step to address our complaint against the CBSA, the PSLRB proposed mediation between the parties. The mediation hearing resulted in an agreement that CBSA would begin to provide the necessary information needed so the parties can enter into the negotiation of the ESA. The union is expecting the employer to provide the type and proportion of duties that the employer considers essential. From there, the parties are expected to determine the number of employees necessary to remain on the job in the event of a strike.

The Customs Excise Union Douanes Accise (CEUDA) and the CBSA met for the first time on December 10 and 11. Further meetings are scheduled for December 20 and 21 and January 9 and 10, 2008. CEUDA Branches have been or will be contacted for additional information in support of these negotiations.

ESAs for PA and SV units

PSAC will next focus on ESAs for the Program and Administrative Services (PA) and Operational Services (SV) bargaining units that need to be negotiated with some 45 different Departments. In most cases, Components and Departments have met and begun the ESA discussion and several ESAs have been signed. However, the union continues to experience difficulty receiving basic information from some Departments. Progress reports will be provided as we move forward with the negotiation of these agreements.

BC’s labour movement backs up support for locked-out Sears workers with $20,000 contribution to strike fund

BC’s unions are contributing $20,000 to locked-out Sears Canada workers today, says B.C. Federation of Labour Jim Sinclair, to underline labour’s determination to help them win a fair collective agreement.

“This contribution is intended to underline our call to consumers to refrain from shopping at Sears until this company negotiates a fair collective agreement with these members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 213,” Sinclair said. “Seventy-seven (77) workers who repair appliances for Sears have been locked out since October 1st, ordered to take pay cuts and face concessions on overtime and time off.”

Sinclair and other representatives of the Federation made the contribution during a lunchtime leafleting blitz outside the Vancouver store at Robson and Howe.

Sinclair said Sears, which had profits of $150 million last year, is taking a hard line with its workers that amounts to union-busting.  “This is unacceptable in this province and our boycott indicates labour’s rejection of this approach.”

Sinclair said the $20,000, collected from Federation affiliates in the last week, will help the union support its members during the Christmas season. During the past few days, IBEW has distributed flyers about the boycott to hundreds of thousands of homes in the province.

The labour movement in BC says shoppers have a choice to make during this busy holiday season.

“They’ve told them if they want to come back to work, they have to take less money in real terms than what they had before.” He says the company also took away their right to two days off in a row, and eliminated overtime when it imposed a contract.  “It’s completely unfair, and it’s just a question of deciding if you support these workers and their families, or Sears, which made $150 million last year in Canada.”

Sinclair claims Sears has a notoriously anti-union attitude, and believes the lock-out is an effort to break this union local.
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For more information, please call Geoff Meggs 604 220-3095.

Date:
Tuesday, January 22, 2008.
Time:
Dinner at 5:30, Meeting to Start at 6 pm
Location:
Vancouver RO Boardroom, #200 – 5238 Joyce Street, Vancouver, (1 ½ blocks south of the Joyce Street Skytrain Station)
Agenda:
- election of VAC delegate to the BC Regional Convention
- discussion on resolutions to be submitted to BC Regional Convention

If your local/branch has not yet paid its 2008 dues, please ensure it does so at this meeting, in order to have full voice and vote during the election and discussions on resolutions. Dues are .50 per member, per year, and calculated only for the number of members who are in the area of Vancouver & District catchment area.

For more information: www.psacbc.com or call 604-430-5631. Please RSVP to urrutim@psac-afpc.com as a light dinner will be served!

See Meeting Notice.

Locked out workers take boycott of Sears to holiday shoppers

Vancouver – Locked out service technicians employed by Sears Canada, will be taking their boycott of Sears straight to holiday shoppers this weekend.

The 77 workers, members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) 213, have been locked out since October 1, 2007, when Sears Canada imposed a collective agreement, with no negotiated wage increases, cuts to holiday time, and a longer work week with no overtime.

The workers will be joined by Jim Sinclair, President, B.C. Federation of Labour, and Rick Dowling, International Executive Council Member, Business-Manager, IBEW 213.

WHAT: SEARS CANADA BOYCOTT
WHEN: 10:30 am, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2007
WHERE: OUTSIDE METROTOWN SEARS (4750 Kingsway, Burnaby, B.C.)

For more information, please contact Jessie Uppal at 604-220-0739

OTTAWA – Canadian workers have finally won new legal protection for their wages and their pension contributions when their employer goes bankrupt. Bill C-12, a series of amendments to existing insolvency and wage protection laws, was approved by the Senate last night and received Royal Assent today. This was accomplished after an intensive three-year campaign by the Canadian Labour Congress and its affiliated unions to change bankruptcy laws that unfairly put workers last line to get paid.

To print the English PDF version, please click here.

By JENNIFER LASH and BILL WAREHAM

Jennifer Lash is the Executive Director of Living Oceans Society and Bill Wareham is Senior Conservation Specialist, Marine Conservation Program, at David Suzuki Foundation.

VANCOUVER, B.C. - The ocean touches the lives of all Canadians every day.
It produces close to half of the oxygen in the world’s atmosphere. Canadians eat six kilograms of Canadian-caught seafood per capita each year. And our oceans’ resources contribute $23-billion annually to Canada’s economy.
Canadians from Calgary to Toronto benefit from a healthy ocean as much as the residents of Sointula, B.C., and Petty Harbour, Nfld./Lab.
So why, at a time of record surpluses, is the federal government letting the health of our oceans slip away?

Destructive fishing practices such as bottom trawling continue to destroy critical habitat, overfishing threatens the future of our fish stocks, and less than 0.1 per cent of our coastal and ocean environments are protected.

Canada took a progressive step towards caring for our coasts in 1997 when the Oceans Act was passed, enabling the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to manage not just the fish we harvest, but the ocean ecosystem as a whole. Further action in 2002 established the Oceans Strategy, a blueprint for sustainable use of the ocean.
And when Canada’s Oceans Action Plan was ratified in 2005, funds began to flow to Canada’s marine regions, empowering progressive changes in ocean management in the Maritimes, the Arctic, and the Pacific Coast of Canada.

However, this wave of change has slowed to a trickle. The federal government’s approach has significantly slowed progress on realizing an action plan that will ensure conservation of our marine resources.
The federal government’s proposal to establish nine marine protected areas across our three oceans is a good start.
However, the federal government failed to make a commitment to marine management planning processes that could lead to integrated oceans management and ensure all ocean-related activities are conducted in a manner that does not compromise the health of our ocean ecosystems. In short, their approach is the equivalent of setting up nine parks in Canada’s vast forest landscape and allowing the rest to be clear-cut.

Our oceans need a network of marine protected areas designed to conserve the full range and function of Canada’s marine ecosystems. Their choice and location should be based on the knowledge and needs of the people who work and live on our coasts. Our oceans need an ecosystem-based management approach—one that will allow us to harvest resources and realize the benefits provided by our oceans for generations to come. Canada has an Oceans Strategy that could make all this happen if it is actually implemented.

Right now, Canada’s oceans need some leadeship. The federal government failed to show leadership in the 2007 budget when it allocated a meagre $19-million over five years towards ocean conservation and clean water, and surveillance.
Additional funding provided this year gave priority to other issues. Funding for the Oceans Strategy was reduced to a trickle. Without sufficient funding, our oceans cannot be effectively managed. Canadians on every coast have voiced grave concern that the 2007 budget failed our oceans and along with them some of the most abundant and diverse webs of marine life on earth. It also failed the millions of Canadians whose livelihoods depend on healthy oceans.

Over the next few months, the federal government will set its fiscal priorities for the 2008 budget. This is a golden opportunity to invest the necessary funds initiatives that improve the management of our oceans.
To start, a $300 million investment over five years would ensure that Canada’s Oceans Strategy planning initiatives, management reforms and conservation goals can be achieved. The strategy is a good one, but it has languished because of a serious lack of funding and prioritization by government.
In 1997 Canada built an international reputation as a world leader in oceans management. Unfortunately, our reputation is quickly being tarnished as other countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the United States surpass us in implementing their own ocean legislation, policies and management reforms.
A healthy Canada includes healthy oceans. Let’s hope the Prime Minister and his government take corrective action soon. The federal government failed to show leadership in the 2007 budget when it allocated a meagre $19-million over five years towards ocean conservation and clean water, and surveillance. Additional funding provided this year gave priority to other issues. Funding for the Oceans Strategy was reduced to a trickle.

The Minister of Fisheries and many of his colleagues support the Oceans Strategy.
With a record federal surplus of $9-billion in the first six months of 2007, the government has the capacity to do the right thing. All that is lacking is the political will.

The Hill Times

Tell Harper to Stop Blocking a Climate Agremeent In Bali

Right now, a major UN summit in Bali has just a few days left to hammer out an agreement on stopping catastrophic climate change. But instead of helping out, Canada is actually sabotaging the talks! On Saturday, experts gave us the global “fossil” award for being the worst country in the world on climate change.

There’s still a few days left to save Canada’s reputation — and the climate — but we need a massive democratic roar to remind our Prime Minister what Canada is all about, and stop him from blocking the world at Bali.
Click below to sign the petition, which will be advertised with the number of signatures in an ad campaign across Canada this week. The goal is to get 25,000 people to sign in the next 3 days — before the ads run.
After you sign, forward this
information to all your friends and family right away.
Click here to sign petition.

Prime Minister Harper’s short-sighted, undemocratic and big oil-driven policy on climate change is damaging the world and destroying our image as a good country. We’re supposed to be the nice guys, who try to do the right thing in the world.
The vast majority of Canadians are hopping mad on this issue — we can win this. We just need to show Harper how serious we are that he change course. Sign up now and forward this
information to everyone you know - we’ve got just 3 days to hit 25,000 signatures!

Thanks for you help!

PS - Here are links to some more info on this:

David Suzuki (the Nature of Things) calls the government’s spin on climate change “humiliating” and “ludicrous”:
click here to access link

The former editor-in-chief of CBC news discusses the damage done by Canada’s climate policy to our international reputation:
click here to access link

Good news!

The Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations - part XIX (Prevention Program) was finally amended to include additional requirements regarding the employer’s obligation to consider ergonomics considerations when developing their prevention program.

See amendments to the regulations.

In the News: Fatigue - The Foe You Don’t Want to Know at Work

Did you know that exhaustion is one of the most common health complaints
for Canadian workers, especially women? Working hard may be admirable, but
when our efforts start to affect our productivity and our safety, it’s time
to stop, regroup, and relax.

Read More

Hazard Alerts: Seafarer Safety

Lifesaving tips for commercial fishermen The lure of the sea makes fishing
an appealing profession in many ways, but safe work practices are as
important on the water as on land. A few simple precautions could have
saved these two fishermen’s lives.

Read More

OSH Answers: MSDS - A Safe Read

A Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) is one of the most important ways that
health and safety information about a chemical product is communicated from
the manufacturer to the workplace. In Canada, an MSDS must be provided for
every material that is controlled by WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Materials
Information System) and anyone who works with the product must have access
to the information in that potentially life-saving document. So - read up!

Read More

Partner News: Pushing, Pulling, Lifting and Lowering

Almost all work requires the use of the arms and hands and or, the legs, so
it is no surprise that overusing and over exerting these limbs can lead to
painful or disabling injuries known as musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).
Find out who is teaming up to offer a one-day workshop - “Pushing, Pulling,
Lifting, and Lowering” - to discuss manual materials handling from a
variety of perspectives and what can be done to reduce MSDs. Save the date:
March 4, 2008!

Read More

CCOHS News: Health and Safety Committees

New e-course tailored to the Canadian federal jurisdiction If you work for
a federally regulated employer, a new e-course from CCOHS can teach you the
purpose and duties of a health and safety committee, how to respond to
concerns about workplace hazards, how to conduct workplace inspections, and
more. Find out more about Health and Safety Committees in the Canadian
Federal Jurisdiction.

Read More

Upcoming Events:

Formation en mati re de santŽ et de sŽcuritŽ pour les gestionnaires et les superviseurs
Vancouver, BC
Les 6 et 7 fŽvrier

Hamilton, ON
Les 11 et 12 fŽvrier
Les 14 et 15 avril

SantŽ et sŽcuritŽ pour les gestionnaires et les superviseurs de compŽtence fŽdŽrale
Vancouver, BC
fŽvrier 5
Ottawa
mars 10
Edmonton, AB
mars 11

Pousser, tirer, lever, abaisser : Un atelier sur la manutention manuelle des matŽriaux dans le lieu de travail
Mississauga, ON
mars 4

Full Event Calendar

About the Health and Safety Report:

The Health and Safety Report, distributed by the Canadian Centre for
Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) is a free, monthly service providing
the latest information and resources to those with an interest in workplace
health and safety.

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Privacy Policy

CCOHS welcomes your comments and concerns. You can contact us at: CCOHS,
135 Hunter Street East, Hamilton ON Canada, L8N 1M5 1-800-668-4284 or
clientservices@ccohs.ca

Anytime a child dies is a tragedy. When a child who has serious medical condition, and is unnecessarily separated from their family and community and then dies, it is both tragic and a grave injustice.

This was the case for Jordan.

Jordan was a young First Nations boy who was born with severe medical complications. Jordan spent the first two years of his life in hospital care before his condition stabilized and doctors determined he could go home. What should have been a time of celebration turned into a time of sorrow and frustration as Jordan remained hospitalized unnecessarily for an additional two years while provincial and federal agencies became entrenched in a jurisdictional dispute over the cost of his home care. The dispute was finally settled, but not before Jordan’s unfortunate death.

Separating children from their family and community is a fundamental violation of a human rights principle which advocates that whenever possible, it is best to ensure children’s welfare within their family and community.

Jordan’s short life should never have been the stage for a jurisdictional dispute about which level of government would ensure a child received the care needed. Yet situations like this happen too often. A recent research report exposed jurisdictional disputes involving the costs of caring for First Nations children are prevalent with 393 of these disputes occurring in 12 sample First Nations child and family service agencies this past year alone. The vast majority of these disputes were between two federal government departments or between the federal government and the provincial/territorial government (for more information please see the Wen:de report (2005)

It’s time for governments to remember that their first priority is the welfare of children – including First Nations children. The Canadian Labour Congress has lent its support to an initiative that will require governments to adopt a child-first principle to resolve jurisdictional disputes involving the care of First Nations children.

The initiative is called the Jordan Principle and is being advanced in the House of Parliament by Jean Crowder, NDP Aboriginal Affairs Critic and via a petition action organized by the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society.

The Canadian Labour Congress encourages its affiliates and allies to support the Jordan Principle by signing on to the declaration to support the Jordan Principle.

Click here to lend your support to the Jordan Principle

Karl Flecker
National Director
Anti - Racism and Human Rights Dept.
Canadian Labour Congress
613.526.7406 Direct line

2008 PSAC NATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR RACIALLY VISIBLE MEMBERS
Be the Change: Create a Better World!

We are pleased to announce the call out for PSAC racially visible members in good standing to apply to participate in the PSAC National Conference for Racially Visible Members, which will be held March 7 to 9, 2008 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, under the theme “Be the Change: Create a Better World!”

DEADLINE TO APPLY FOR BOTH DELEGATES AND OBSERVERS
JANUARY 16th, 2008 at 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)

CONFERENCE OBJECTIVES

The objectives of our 2008 PSAC National Conference for Racially Visible Members are to:

• Educate, politicize and mobilize racialized members by making links between the union, the workplace, the community and equality rights.
• Create and/or strengthen networks within our union and our communities.
• Enhance and support leadership development of racialized members in our union, workplace and beyond.
• Develop an analysis on what is racism, the impact of racism and how to fight against racism.

Resolution, Application and other
Forms (English)
Forms (French)

Call Letter: 4th Triennial British Columbia Regional Convention, April 18-20 2008

The British Columbia Regional Convention of the Public Service Alliance of Canada will be held at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver at 655 Burrard Street, Vancouver, from Friday, April 18 to Sunday, April 20.

Delegates to the B.C. Regional Convention will be elected based on Section 9 of the B.C. Regional Council By-Laws and Regulation 1 (below).

Information on funding available to delegates will be provided under separate cover.

The following positions will be elected at the B.C. Regional Convention (subject to any by-law changes)

• The Regional Executive Vice-President (REVP)
• The Alternate REVP

Geographic Coordinators to be elected:

• North Vancouver Island 1 (one)
• South Vancouver Island 2 (two)
• Northern B.C. 2 (two)
• Okanagan/Kootenay 2 (two)
• Fraser Valley 2 (two)
• Metro Vancouver 3 (three)

Constituency coordinators to be elected:

• Women 1 (one)
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered 1 (one)
• Racially Visible 1 (one)
• Aboriginal 1 (one)
• Members with Disabilities 1 (one)
• Directly Chartered Locals/small Separate Employer Units 1 (one)
• National Officers 1 (one)
• Youth (under 30 years of age)
  1 (one)
• Health and Safety 1 (one)

Delegate s/election:

• Equity delegates: One delegate will be elected from each of the following equity groups: Racially visible; aboriginal; lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual; and members with a disability.
• Youth delegates: Three delegates will be elected amongst youth members.
• Directly chartered locals/small separate employers: One delegate will be elected from amongst the applicable locals. (We will contact the affected locals.)
• Mail-out ballots will be sent out once the nominations have been closed.
  To nominate or be nominated you must be a member in good standing.

Timelines:

• Nomination forms for above-mentioned delegates must be received by the REVP Office by January 14th, 2008.
• Ballots for Delegate elections will take place in January/February 2008
• Please note that Local and Component delegates will be s/elected within the Locals and Components, and therefore the nomination forms do not apply. We will be contacting Locals directly to confirm their delegate entitlements.
• Please also note that Area Council, Regional Women’s Committee, and B.C. Human Rights Committee delegates will be s/elected within their respective constituencies.
• We ask that names of delegates be provided to our office by February 15th, 2008.
• Resolutions to the B.C. Regional Convention must be received by the REVP Office by February 15th, 2008. We welcome resolutions written in clear language format.

Attachments:

• Section 9 of the By-laws
• Regulation 1
• Nomination Form

For further information or assistance contact:

Kay Sinclair, BC REVP or Dellie Lidyard, Assistant to the REVP

302 – 5238 Joyce St. 604-430-0191 (phone)
Vancouver, B.C. V5R 6C9 604-430-0194 (fax)
email : revp-bc@psac.com 1-866-811-7700 (toll free)

We look forward to our 4th Triennial B.C. Convention - we see it as a forum for advocating for quality public services, advancing the rights of PSAC members, advocating for and with allies in the community, and perhaps even having some fun.

Via makepovertyhistory.ca …

I am writing to you today to ask for your help in stopping a dangerous trade deal that you have probably never heard of. The government of Canada is negotiating a trade deal with Colombia, a country that Human Rights Watch calls the “worst human rights and humanitarian disaster” in the Americas.

This controversial deal will make many poor in Colombia worse off and help support a government involved in serious human rights abuses. The US Congress refused to approve a similar deal earlier this year, citing human rights abuses. If Canadians don’t speak up, this deal can be passed without parliamentary approval or public debate.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Write to your Member of Parliament and insist that this deal not go through without a full debate in Parliament and the explicit approval of our elected representatives.

There is not much time - negotiations are underway, and are set to be completed before the end of the year. Millions of people in Colombia have been displaced through a violent conflict over land and resources. Transnational companies have become complicit in this violence. Many people living in poverty in Colombia are concerned that this deal increases the power of corporations at the expense of the poor.

Act in solidarity with Colombian social justice activists. Tell others that trade is a matter that affects poverty and human rights, and that you care. Speak out now!

Dennis Howlett
Coordinator
Make Poverty History

They have been dubbed “the Millennials,” the most socially conscious generation since the sixties, the most tech savvy, and a force to be reckoned with in the work place.

Generation Y are the youths of today born anytime between 1978 and 1998 and provide a significant chunk of the global workforce.

However, a common disconnect is felt between Generation Y and the three other generations which make up the workforce — the veterans, the boomers and Generation X — which is resulting in the inability for employers to both understand and retain their young employees.

In a reaction to a report released on these issues in 2005 called The Skilled Force Initiative, groups across the province have been encouraged to create workshops for employers and Generation Y potential employees, to help bridge the gap between them and create an understanding that will benefit both groups.

Community Futures in Nelson will be hosting a two-day workshop that will run on November 16 and 26 between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., specifically for employers who feel they are having similar problems and would like to learn more about this upcoming generation and how to understand and work with it.

The workshops are being sponsored by the federal government and so will be free to those that register.
“The workshops are not meant to reflect negatively on the youths of today — that’s not what it is about. We are simply trying to explain some of the misconceptions and the misperceptions that employers have of Generation Y and how to work with them,” said Pamela Clausen, a self-employment counsellor at Community Futures.

The 2005 report highlighted the issues faced by today’s employers by Generation Y. For example employers felt that the workers attitude towards work is not appropriate for the workplace, they don’t dress appropriately or have respect, they lack pride in their work, and they lack people skills.

“They are raised in an era where they were given lots of things to do on timely schedules. They are offered a lot of choices and are allowed to negotiate; they are encouraged to talk about their feelings and voice their opinions; and so now they are going into the workplace and some managers and owners are having difficulty dealing with these kind of things,” Clausen said.

At a time when the unemployment rate is at a 30 year low, employers are turning to Generation Y for numbers, but with the lack of understanding between past and present generations, employers are finding it increasingly difficult to retain young employees.

“It is such a high cost to deal with employee turnover. When an employer loses an employee, they have to go through the process of hiring again which cost money — it is much better and cheaper to retain staff,” said Clausen.

“The workshops will explain where the youths are coming from, and why they are the way they are. We will also be working to help employers in attracting youths, hiring them, retaining them, working with them, and managing them.”

Clausen commented that Generation Y would have witnessed their parents in recession and resultantly are less likely to be loyal to a company or business and more likely to be loyal to a person like a manager who gets on well with them and understands them.

“In previous generations we did what we were told to, it was hierarchical, it was commander control, and you did your job. Kids today see work as something to do between weekends off, whereas in previous generations you lived to work,” she said.

The workshops will contain a number of presentations by Clausen, who is the sole facilitator of the event, and there will also be a number of problem solving activities and opportunities to get in groups and come up with ideas to help each other out.

“Any manager or business owner who is working with Generation Y staff can benefit from the two upcoming workshops - they’ll be interactive, fun and they’ll take away a lot of tools and resources to help their business,” she said.

A further work shop will be organized before the end of the year that will be aimed at generation Y and helping them understand some of the issues that older generations have and how to deal with them.

Source: Nelson Daily News, Nov 16 2007

Canadian Labour Congress to Ministers Solberg and Finley: Where are the Filipino 11?
Temporary Foreign Worker Program Should Be Suspended

OTTAWA – The Canadian Labour Congress calls for an immediate moratorium of the government’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program until a comprehensive investigation of identified abuse and exploitation cases takes place. Full suspension of this program is necessary as the government officially acknowledges that it cannot “monitor the working conditions offered by the employer following entry into Canada” – that it cannot protect these workers.

To print the English PDF version, please click the link below

http://canadianlabour.ca/index.php/november/1290

PAKISTAN UNDER THE GUN
Perspectives on Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law
Public Forum, Film Screening and Discussion

Tuesday, December 11th, 2007, 6:30 pm
Alma Van Dusen Room, Vancouver Public Library
350 West Georgia - between Homer and Hamilton(lower level -take elevator/stairs by main library entrance)
From Granville Skytrain Station: 2 blocks east on Dunsmuir, 1 block south on Homer

FREE EVENT:

Join us for a public forum and interactive discussion on human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Pakistan. Support the resistance of the Pakistani people!

Co-sponsored by the Vancouver and District Labour Council, India Pakistan Peace Network (IPPN), South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD), Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada. Endorsed by the PSAC International Solidarity Committee.

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