Answer

The official national data on occupational fatalities is compiled based on the Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada annual fatality numbers (Lecture 3, slide 23). The fatality must have resulted from a work-related incident which was later accepted for compensation. Unfortunately, this data is considered to be inaccurate because it has been generated through a system that was not intended for tracking workplace deaths (Lecture 3, slide 24). This system was supposed to only report the compensable workplace fatalities. Therefore, it does not take into consideration the number of occupational fatalities that were never compensated. The resulting amount is expected to be significantly higher than what has already been reported. That is why it is so important to understand this inaccuracy which may impact the kind of policies that are developed (Lecture 3, slide 25). There are many instances where employers and organizations refuse to compensate certain accidents and fatalities. Therefore, when new laws are being generated, it is imperative to consider the gap in reported numbers. The more accurate the data is, the more likely it will be that the right laws and policies are developed.

Question 2: Temporary Foreign Worker Program

            The Temporary Foreign Worker Program has turned out to be a highly controversial topic over the past decade. It highlights essential case studies relating to workers, employers and the state, and even raises essential issues such as labour and immigration policy, exploitative economic relationships, economic restructuring and even permanent residency issues. This program enables Canadian employers to hire foreign nationals so as to fill in the labor and skill shortage gap that exists when the skilled Canadian citizens are unavailable (Lecture 8, slide 7). Unfortunately, it has promoted the imbalance in the power relationship between workers and employers. Since immigrants are often vulnerable, some employers take advantage of their undocumented situation to exploit them. The lack of labour mobility among this specific population tends to create structural vulnerabilities for them.

            Outside of the standard labour relations framework, there are various ways through which workers have fought back against exploitation. For example, from the live-in caregiver program, workers have filed for compensation claims and even parental benefits (Lecture 8, slide 33). That is because of the low payment and exploitation from their employers. Also, in the Seasonal Agricultural worker Program, the workers resorted to stealing farm products so that they could exchange with other goods or services (Lecture 8, slide 33).

Question 3: Fundamental Rights of Workers

            The occupational health and safety legislation in all jurisdiction across Canada feature three fundamental rights for every worker. All workers have the right to know about any dangers that they may come across in the workplace (Lecture 3, slide 15). That is why there are systems which provide workers with information about hazardous materials in the workplace, and how to handle them safely. The right to participate ensures that all workers in the workplace get to take part in the health and safety activities, as well as the day-to-day detection, evaluation and elimination of workplace hazards (Lecture 3, slide 16). Lastly, the right to refuse unsafe work is also granted. It is one of the rare instances where employees can legally disobey their employer’s authority (Lecture 3, slide 17).

            The main philosophy in Canada for occupational health and safety is known as the Internal Responsibility System (IRS). It requires that the government, employers, and workers should come together to ensure improvement in the workplace health and safety. Before the IRS, the profit imperative to capitalism was the main reason as to why employers and the state were reluctant to improve workplace health and safety (Lecture 3, slide 14). Therefore, the workers’ rights needed to be expanded to also expand to the work organization and job design.

Question 4: Systemic Racism

            Systemic racism features organizational culture, policies, practices or procedures that work by excluding or marginalizing specific racialized groups or create unfair barriers such that the people cannot access opportunities (Lecture 5, slide 5). This is often because of the institutional biases in organizational culture, policies and practices that may seem unbiased by will end up privileging some groups.

            The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) originated from the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) in 2008. It is a commission which was created for the main purpose of redressing the legacy of residential schools while also advancing the Canadian reconciliation process (Lecture 5, slide 14). The work of this commission relates to systemic racism in the sense that it focused on levelling the field for children who had suffered physical and sexual abuse at residential schools.

            According to the TRC, poor education is the reason why there is chronic unemployment, underemployment, poor housing, substance abuse, family violence and many other problems among the former students of the residential schools. Although education success rates are slowly improving, the Aboriginal Canadians generally tend to have lower educational levels and economic achievements than other citizens. Therefore, to try and reconcile this factor, it is fundamental that Education is given significant attention in international law and even the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Lecture 5, slide 15).

Question 5: Basic Income Guarantee

            The basic income guarantee refers to the unconditional basic income that the government provides to all working age citizens whether or not they are employed (Lecture 6, slide 21). The proposed amount is to be set at an amount that is near the poverty line. The purpose of this guarantee is to ensure that the separation of work and wages is formal. It is a policy suggestion meant to mitigate the worst effects of job losses that may result as a result of automation. That is because there is argument that automation will lead to unemployment or underemployment, thereby meaning that people will no longer be able to purchase goods and services (Lecture 6, slide 19).

            The application of new and improved technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and other sophisticated algorithms is expected to have certain consequences for the future of work (Lecture 6, slide 4). Some argue that the automation will lead to a dystopian nightmare that is almost similar to a science film. When the workers are replaced by robots, the rate of poverty will increase as the gap between the wealthy and poor is expanded. However, there are other optimistic views which argue that the automation will free the human workforce since they will have to work less (Lecture 6, slide 6).

Question 6: Collective Bargaining

            A certified bargaining agent is a union which has been voted for by majority of workers (Lecture 2, slide 24). A collective bargaining agreement is a contract that is established when a certified bargaining agent, the union, and the employer finalize on collective bargaining. It is finalized when they all come to an agreement.

            Before a collective work stoppage is considered to be legal in Manitoba, the collective agreement contract needs to have expired (lecture 2, slide 34). That is because it is illegal to strike when under a union and no permission was granted. Second, if there is a need for the collective work stoppage, the members must get a strike vote so that majority support is shown. If a majority are not in agreement, then the strike will be considered illegal. Lastly, a notice to bargain needs to have been given beforehand to ensure that they are given permission to bargain terms.

Part 2: Declining Unionization Rates

            In Canada, the Unionization rates started to decline in the 1980s while economic inequality has been on the rise. This trend has occurred as a result of various factors. In the years before that period, the employment industry was dominated by men. They were working in various industrial sectors such as construction and manufacturing (Lecture 2, Slide 46). These are the sectors which had the majority of unions as the workers at the time were struggling to get recognized and be able to work despite being undocumented immigrants. These job positions featured the people who were skilled, but could not be protected by the Canadian laws just like it did with its citizens. They were struggling to maintain their positions and in return, the employers would exploit them by offering little pay yet they were overworked (Lecture 7, Slide 22). They were essentially cheap labour options for organizations which were not willing to pay more.

            The occurrence of unions provided an opportunity for these undocumented workers to be protected from exploitation. Once they were in a union, the union was responsible for negotiating favourable terms of employment for these employees. As the years went by, the workers shifted careers and occupation to the retail sector and professional services. Most of these factors do not feature unions. Hence, the declining number of unions is partially due to the fact that more workers are now working in the retail sector where unions are limited.

            Another reason behind this trend is the fact that unions are now being dominated by older women who have now concentrated in industries where high unionization rates are experienced. These industries include the health care and social assistance, education services, and even the public administration sector. Therefore, rather than the unions being composed of a majority of men, they now feature older women who are migrating to work in these sectors.

            As a result of these changes in unionization, the outcome is that income inequality is constantly increasing. That is because the current workforce in the retail sector does not feature many unions. The employees negotiate their terms individually. The result is often more beneficial to the employers who try as much as possible to exploit the employees. Although there are various laws meant to benefit and protect the interests of the employees, many employers still go against them. To reverse these trends, it is important to reconsider the introduction of unions in various sectors. It does not need to be big industries, such as manufacturing industries. It should be expanded to also cover the retail and service sectors.