Employment and labour

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(Vancouver) A new study calls on major public and private sector employers to pay a living wage that would lift low-income families out of poverty and severe financial stress. A living wage allows lower-income families to avoid having to make impossible choices, such as whether to buy food or heat the house, feed the children or pay the rent.
OTTAWA—Today the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) released The Harper Record, the most comprehensive analysis of the Conservative minority government’s record to date. “Scheduled for broad release in early October, we are releasing the electronic version of this book today, to help Canadians make informed choices about the future of their country,” says CCPA Executive Director Bruce Campbell.
Please note: The updated 2019 Living Wage report is now available.
Inside this issue: Harvest of Shame: Cultivating Farmworker Rights Living on Welfare Denying Income Inequality Won’t Make It Go Away Perspectives on BC’s Carbon Tax Selling Out the Public Interest on Vancouver Island Forestlands
Many experts are puzzling over a paradox in BC’s economy — why have years of solid growth and low unemployment failed to translate into improved earnings for those in lower end jobs? One piece of the puzzle can be found in the growth in casual work. “Casual” means you have a job but no job security — working without a contract or with one that lasts a very short time (whereas people with permanent jobs expect ongoing employment, barring unforeseen circumstances like layoffs).
The recent steep pay hikes for BC’s senior bureaucrats triggered quite a controversy. Handing out raises in the 20 to 43% range at the top end does seem a bit rich coming from a government that refuses to increase the minimum wage even by a few cents.
In Canada, about 2.5 million people (approximately 15 per cent of the labour force) are classified as "self-employed." Nova Scotia has about 31,000 (12 per cent.) Trend lines show the proportion of such workers has risen steadily in the past three decades, with some spikes in bad economic times.
VANCOUVER — Despite solid economic growth and low unemployment rates, BC is home to a growing number of casual workers who struggle to achieve economic security, according to a new study by two University of Northern BC professors.