Labour Matters Project
Promoting a positive vision for unions in Canada
Labour Matters is a product of the Trade Union Research Collective. The collective’s goal is to promote greater understanding of the positive role that unions play in the workplace, in the labour market, in the community, and in wider society.
- The union advantage
- Fairness in the workplace
- The right to strike
- Decent pay
Our publications are available to all at no cost. Please support the CCPA and help make important research and ideas available to everyone. Make a donation today.
Changing the Face of Labour Law in Nova Scotia
Download 1.15 MB26 pages Since the Nova Scotia Liberal government was elected in October 2013, it has brought down a breathtaking barrage on labour, restricting the right to strike, curtailing…
Hennessy’s Index: June 2015
Ontario’s Precariat Hennessy’s Index is a listing of numbers, written by the CCPA’s Trish Hennessy, about Canada and its place in the world. For other editions, visit: www.policyalternatives.ca/index 695,000 That’s…
Low-wage work skyrocketing: Ontario study
READ THE FULL REPORT HERE. TORONTO –The low-wage workforce in Ontario grew by 94 per cent over the past 17 years, vastly outstripping the growth in total employment which grew…
Work Life: Parables of Privatization
A cautionary tale of two telcos At a time when the Ontario Liberal government is planning to privatize Hydro One and other provincial governments are also planning significant privatizations, it’s…
Unionization key to Canadian middle class economics: study
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL REPORT OTTAWA—The share of unionized workers in Canada has dropped by only two percent over the past generation, but union representation dramatically affects workers’…
Infographic: The Middle Class Squeeze
The link between unionization and the middle class Did you know that the loss of private sector union jobs in Canada is putting a squeeze on the middle class? Unionization…
Making the Case for a Labour Market Intermediary
The Experience of Build Download 1.17 MB 20 pages This report weaves together findings from data gathered through two other research reports published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives…
Work Life: Temporary foreign workers face unjust crackdown
As part of an ongoing overhaul of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) the federal government imposed what is referred to as the “four and four” rule, the results of…
Stagnant wages for over 80 percent of Canadian workers
Download 1006.5 KB3 pages Are wages in Canada stagnant or growing? The short answer is another question: do you live in an oil boom province? There’s a fairly common meme…
Bucking the Trend: Manitoba Defends Workers’ Pensions
Each day Canadian newspapers carry a version of the same story: working Canadians are not prepared for retirement. Statisticians and economists who look at the problem conclude that about half…
Work Life: Supreme Court Rulings on Labour Legislation
An Affirmation of Workers’ Constitutional Rights The January 30, 2015 decision by the Supreme Court of Canada was a very significant one for the labour movement, and in fact for…
Best Practices
Manitoba’s Worker Recruitment and Protection Act Download 318.72 KB4 pages Recent attention to the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP) has raised questions about how these workers are treated and how…
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