After campaigning on a pledge to create thousands of jobs, internships, and apprenticeships for young people as part of their youth jobs strategy, the federal Liberals are now considering regulations that would permit federally regulated workplaces to hire unpaid interns for up to a year.
As part of its just-released 2016 budget, the Ontario government is taking bold action to make college and university more affordable for students from lower and middle income families. Under the new Ontario Student Grant (OSG) program, 90 percent of college students from low-income families will receive more than $2,768 for their education, the average amount of college tuition in Ontario. As well, 70 per cent of university students will get grants in excess of the average university tuition, which currently stands at $6,160 per year.
The notion that working longer and harder is essential to achieving success in your career is so ingrained in the North American psyche that it can fairly be considered a quasi-religious belief among workers and employers alike. This idea persists even though longer working hours are linked to heart disease, stroke, and depression, and despite the fact that overworking has been shown to reduce productivity.
Canada's national newspaper, The Globe and Mail, reports that job quality fell last year, news that won't surprise any Canadian who is either working or looking for a job in today's labour market. The decline was due to an increase in self-employed jobs, coupled with rising unemployment among adults between the ages of 25 and 54.
Two years ago, a groundbreaking study revealed that more than half of all workers in Hamilton and Toronto – two of Canada's most populous cities – are precariously employed, meaning they work in temporary, contract, or part-time jobs that are poorly paid, insecure, and cannot support a household.
It's been a month since the full text of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) was released, and it's clear that this sweeping and historic trade pact between Canada, the United States, and ten other countries will not serve Canadians' interest, and must be stopped dead in its tracks.
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United Food and Commercial Workers Union
Canada's private sector union
