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Queen's University IRC

Labour Relations

Union Organizing Activity in Ontario, 1970-1986

Labour Relations / By

The Canadian labour movement entered the 1980s in a state of great uncertainty. Following almost forty years of steady uninterrupted growth the union movement in Canada experienced in the early 1980s losses in the total number of union members. Although these losses in the absolute number of union members were recouped in the mid-1980s, the proportion of nonagricultural paid workers who are union members dropped from 1983 to 1986 to a level that had been achieved in the mid-1970s.

Immigrant Earnings Differentials and Cohort Effects in Canada

Labour Relations / By

The relationship between immigration flows and the labour market became very topical in both the United States and Canada in the mid-1980s. This paper reviews Canadian immigration policy and experience between World War II and the 1970's, and examines changing immigrant characteristics for this period. The 1973 Job Mobility Survey is used in the analysis to examine what has happened to immigrant earnings differentials in Canada leading up to the 1970's.

Industrial Relations in the 1980s: Issues and Implications

Labour Relations / By

The papers in this volume reflect these diverse and contradictory trends and patterns in Canadian industrial relations in the 1980s in the face of what some observers believe is "a fundamentally altered economic and public policy environment." The purpose of these papers was to assess the state of industrial relations in the 1980s and to determine whether recent developments signal a fundamental change in Canadian industrial relations, as some commentators have argued.

Organized Labour in Canada and the United States: Similarities and Differences

Labour Relations / By

This paper was presented at the 36th Annual Conference of the Association of Labor Relations Agencies, held in Albany, New York, July 26-31, 1987. Labour movements in Canada and the United States have much in common and close historical ties. They are bound together by a common continental heritage, interdependent product and labour markets, and a similar labour relations framework in the two countries.

Two Tier Wage Systems

Labour Relations / By

The purpose of this paper is to examine in more detail the nature and scope of two-tier wage systems in a Canadian context. The plan of the paper is as follows: first, it will examine the form which two-tier settlements have taken and provide some data on their prevalence. Second, it will examine possible legal implications of two-tier agreements, and in particular, whether a union which agrees to a lower wage rate for new hires risks violating its duty of fair representation. The final section assesses the long-term viability of two-tier wage systems.

Employee Benefits and The Part-time Worker: Legal and Economic Issues

Labour Relations / By

This paper attempts to examine part-time employment from both a legal and economic perspective, looking at the extent of part-time employment, the compensation arrangements for part-time employees with particular emphasis on benefits other than wages, and the apparent inequities in these arrangements. The treatment of part-time workers under existing employment standards and collective bargaining legislation is reviewed and the potential impact of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is examined.

Recent Wage Deceleration: Short-Run Response or Structural Change?

Labour Relations / By

Since 1982, wage inflation in Canada has shown a pronounced deceleration. Wage settlements and rates of increase in various measures of earnings have declined to their lowest level in the past 25 years. Wage cuts, wage freezes, de-indexing, and flexible compensation in the form of two-tier wage systems and lump-sum payments in lieu of wage increases have become a frequent occurrence in collective bargaining. This wage experience is somewhat of a novelty for Canada, and is also unique among OECD countries.

An Analysis of Dual-Earner Families in Canada

Labour Relations / By

The aim of this paper is to provide a general overview of dual-earner families in Canada. This paper is primarily a survey paper which provides an analysis of the existing literature and data on this topic. Unfortunately, little research has been done in Canada on dual-earner families specifically. However, much research has been undertaken with respect to the labour force behaviour of married women.

The Evolution of Sexual Harassment Case Law in Canada

Labour Relations / By

In this paper, Deborah Ann Campbell takes a look at the issue of sexual harassment in the Canadian workplace. Once considered to be an accepted part of a woman's job — something she just had to put up with — the author reflects on the changing legal and social attitudes towards sexual harassment. This report traces the evolution of sexual harassment case law in Canada, to illustrate how the fundamental issues were resolved. The emphasis is on Ontario human rights cases and Canadian arbitration cases.

Settlement Methods in Ontario Collective Bargaining 1970-1973

Labour Relations / By

This paper analyzes the methods by which settlements were arrived at in more than 1400 Ontario collective agreements during the years 1970-1973 and discusses some of the implications of these patterns. The analysis is based on information published jointly by the Federal and Ontario Departments of Labour, covering settlements involving more than 250 employees in industries other than construction.

The Road Ahead in Industrial Relations

Labour Relations / By

This is a reprint of the closing keynote address presented at the special one-week Industrial Relations Seminar of the Industrial Relations Centre, Queen's University on October 22-27, 1972. The author is Judge, District Court, District of Parry Sound and Chairman, Ontario Labour-Management Arbitration Commission. Judge Little is well known for his valuable contributions as chairman of arbitration boards and as a member of various public bodies in the field of Canadian industrial relations.

Long-Run Changes in the Labour Share of National Income in Canada, 1926-1966

Labour Relations / By

This monograph examines the long run behaviour of the labour share of national income in Canada. The unincorporated business income is divided into labour income and non-labour income, in order to examine the impact of such a division on the stability of the labour share. Since there have been significant inter-industry shifts in Canada over the past four decades, the monograph also analyzes the influence of these shifts on the secular movement of the share of labour in national income.

Gender Differences in Union Membership Status: The Role of Labour Market Segmentation

Labour Relations / By

The purpose of this paper is to study the key determinants of the union status of workers in Canada and to evaluate the relative significance of labour market segmentation by gender, in explaining the lower incidence of unionization among Canadian women. Using a unique micro data set, this study assesses the respective roles of demographic/human capital factors and the industry-occupation of employment in explaining gender differences in union membership in Canada.

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