Philippines lifts ban on sending workers to Saudi Arabia
Mon, November 7, 2022 at 5:21 AM·2 min read
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines lifted a ban on the deployment of workers, including maids and construction workers, to Saudi Arabia on Monday after steps were taken to reduce frequent abuses, officials said.
Labor officials stopped sending workers to the oil-rich kingdom a year ago due to the abuses, including the non-payment of wages to thousands of Filipino construction workers, and the coronavirus threat.
Susan Ople, who heads the country’s newly established Department of Migrant Workers, said months of negotiations with Saudi Arabian officials have led to an agreement on additional safeguards, including the adoption of a standard employment contract that provides insurance coverage for workers for non-payment of salaries and allows workers to change employers in the case of abuse.
“Under a new employment contract that ensures greater workers’ protection, our workers would now be able to find gainful employment in one of the world’s biggest labor markets,” Ople said in a statement.
More than 189,000 Filipino workers were deployed to Saudi Arabia in 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic hit. Other top destinations of Filipino workers include the United States, Singapore, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
A more transparent and fair arrangement for settling disputes between workers and employers will be adopted in Saudi Arabia and human trafficking complaints will be handled directly by Saudi officials who focus on the problem for a better response, Filipino officials said.
Ople said Saudi Arabian officials will visit the Philippines this month for a joint review of salaries of Filipino workers and resume discussions on complaints over the unpaid salaries of thousands of Filipino construction workers dating back to 2016.
About a tenth of the Philippines’ 109 million people work and live overseas and the large amounts of money they send home have helped keep the country's consumption-driven economy afloat for decades. Last year, a record $31 billion was sent home, bolstering the recovery of the Philippine economy, which slumped in its worst post-World War II recession in 2020 due to prolonged coronavirus lockdowns.
The downside of the largely poverty-driven diaspora has been continuing reports of abuses and exploitation, especially of maids, that have sometimes led to serious injuries or deaths and sparked uproars in the Philippines.
Philippine officials are under increasing pressure to do more to monitor the safety of Filipino workers worldwide. There have also been calls for the government to boost employment and living standards at home, where millions live in poverty, so that fewer people need to abandon their families and find work abroad.
Monday, November 07, 2022
Illinois Amendment 1: right to collective bargaining measure
Amendment 1 would alter the state's constitution to add a right to collective bargaining.
Proponents say that the amendment will protect anti-union opposition.
Opponents argue that the law gives unions too much power.
A "yes" on Amendment 1 would alter the state's constitution to give people the right to collective bargaining.
Ballot measure details
Amendment 1 would add language to the state's constitution that gives employees the fundamental right to organize and collectively bargain at their workplaces to negotiate "wages, hours, and working conditions."
It also prohibits any law that would interfere with unionization efforts at workplaces, including right-to-work laws that allow workers to avoid paying union fees and prohibits union requirements at jobs.
The measure needs 60% of voters' approval to alter the state constitution.
Support and opposition
Vote Yes For Workers Rights is leading the support for Amendment 1. Supporters include the Illinois Federation of Teachers, other local unions, and Democratic lawmakers.
Supporters argue that this will enshrine the right to unionize and protect employees from anti-union initiatives and laws that would make collective bargaining more difficult.
Opposition to this measure includes the Illinois Policy Institute and the Illinois Republican Party, which argues that the amendment will give union organizations too much power and make it more difficult for business owners to operate in the state.
The money race
According to Illinois State Board of Elections filings, $13.6 million has been raised in support of Amendment 1. So far, there has been no committee registered to collect contributions to oppose the measure.
Amendment 1: Voters in Tennessee will decide if mandatory union membership and fees should be legal
Hannah Getahun
Sun, November 6, 2022
Getty Images; Insider
Amendment 1 would alter the state's constitution to prohibit mandatory union participation at workplaces.
Proponents say that the amendment will give workers more options in the workplace.
Opponents argue that the law strives to kill union power in Tennessee.
A "yes" on Amendment 1 would alter the state's constitution to prohibit mandatory union participation and fees at workplaces.
Ballot measure details
Amendment 1 would add language to the state's constitution that gives employees the fundamental right to refuse to join a labor union and/or pay union fees at their workplace.
The measure would make it illegal for workplaces to add union membership as a requirement to work at their company.
Support and opposition
Vote Yes on 1 is leading the support for Amendment 1. Supporters include the Republican Gov. Bill Lee, most Republican lawmakers, and the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce.
Supporters argue that Amendment 1 will protect workers rights by allowing them to be employed anywhere without being forced into a union or to pay union dues that they don't want to pay. They also argue that this is good for the state's economy.
Vote No on 1 is the committee registered in opposition for this measure. Opponents include most state Democrats and union groups such as the AFL-CIO.
These groups argue that the amendment will weaken union organizations that rely on mandatory fees to stay afloat while legally representing everyone in the company.
Without mandatory fees, they argue, workers will be able to "freeload" the benefits of union representation without paying.
The money race
According to Ballotpedia, $198,100 has been raised in support of Amendment 1 while $43,133 has been raised to oppose it.
Nobel laureate Paul Krugman says 'true' US inflation may have cooled to below 4% - and points to falling rental prices and slowing wage growth as proof
Theron Mohamed
Mon, November 7, 2022
Paul Krugman
The rampant inflation that has roiled the US economy this year may be fading, Paul Krugman said.
The Nobel Prize-winning economist pointed to a cooling rental market and slowing wage growth.
Underlying inflation may have dropped as low as 3%, Krugman said.
Sliding rental prices and slowing wage growth suggest red-hot US inflation may be waning, Paul Krugman has said.
"More evidence of a rapidly cooling rental market," Krugman tweeted on Saturday. He was referring to Zumper's October National Rent Report, which found that national median rents for one- and two-bedroom units fell in 61 of the 100 largest US cities between September and October.
The Nobel Prize-winning economist proposed that core Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, might be overestimating how quickly the cost of shelter is rising. While the index rose by 6% on an annualized basis over the past three months, its "true" level could be around 4%, he said.
"Combined with slowing wage growth, there's a good case that substantial disinflation is happening, but not captured (yet) by the standard measures," he added.
Headline US inflation surged to a 40-year high of 9.1% in June, and remained above 8% in September. Soaring prices have spurred the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates from near zero in March to a range of 3.75% to 4%, in an effort to drag inflation down to its 2% target. However, higher rates have driven down asset prices and raised the prospect of a painful recession.
Krugman flagged other evidence of a softening rental market at the end of October. He pointed to Apartment List's national rent index dropping 0.7% in October - the gauge's largest monthly drop since it launched in 2017. The index also dipped in September, marking only its second monthly decline since the start of 2021.
"More evidence that rental rates are rolling over," Krugman tweeted. "Latest data are consistent with market rent inflation back down to historical norms of ~3 percent, maybe lower.
"With a lag, this will translate into much lower core inflation as measured by the BLS," he added, referring to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The veteran economist and columnist has also suggested that US wage growth is slowing, reducing upward pressure on prices. For example, he highlighted the nonfarm-payroll data released on Friday, which showed average hourly earnings growth declined over the past three months.
"Smoothed wage growth is only a bit above pre pandemic level," he tweeted, adding that worker productivity also improved.
"Given what's happening to wages and productivity, I don't see any way to make the case, as some have, for underlying inflation of 6 or even 7 percent," he said. "This looks <4, possibly even as low as 3."
Krugman has previously warned the strong US dollar and higher rates will weigh on exports and housing demand, causing the US economy to contract. He's also cautioned the Fed may have gone too far with its hikes and put the economy in unnecessary danger.
Theron Mohamed
Mon, November 7, 2022
Paul Krugman
The rampant inflation that has roiled the US economy this year may be fading, Paul Krugman said.
The Nobel Prize-winning economist pointed to a cooling rental market and slowing wage growth.
Underlying inflation may have dropped as low as 3%, Krugman said.
Sliding rental prices and slowing wage growth suggest red-hot US inflation may be waning, Paul Krugman has said.
"More evidence of a rapidly cooling rental market," Krugman tweeted on Saturday. He was referring to Zumper's October National Rent Report, which found that national median rents for one- and two-bedroom units fell in 61 of the 100 largest US cities between September and October.
The Nobel Prize-winning economist proposed that core Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, might be overestimating how quickly the cost of shelter is rising. While the index rose by 6% on an annualized basis over the past three months, its "true" level could be around 4%, he said.
"Combined with slowing wage growth, there's a good case that substantial disinflation is happening, but not captured (yet) by the standard measures," he added.
Headline US inflation surged to a 40-year high of 9.1% in June, and remained above 8% in September. Soaring prices have spurred the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates from near zero in March to a range of 3.75% to 4%, in an effort to drag inflation down to its 2% target. However, higher rates have driven down asset prices and raised the prospect of a painful recession.
Krugman flagged other evidence of a softening rental market at the end of October. He pointed to Apartment List's national rent index dropping 0.7% in October - the gauge's largest monthly drop since it launched in 2017. The index also dipped in September, marking only its second monthly decline since the start of 2021.
"More evidence that rental rates are rolling over," Krugman tweeted. "Latest data are consistent with market rent inflation back down to historical norms of ~3 percent, maybe lower.
"With a lag, this will translate into much lower core inflation as measured by the BLS," he added, referring to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The veteran economist and columnist has also suggested that US wage growth is slowing, reducing upward pressure on prices. For example, he highlighted the nonfarm-payroll data released on Friday, which showed average hourly earnings growth declined over the past three months.
"Smoothed wage growth is only a bit above pre pandemic level," he tweeted, adding that worker productivity also improved.
"Given what's happening to wages and productivity, I don't see any way to make the case, as some have, for underlying inflation of 6 or even 7 percent," he said. "This looks <4, possibly even as low as 3."
Krugman has previously warned the strong US dollar and higher rates will weigh on exports and housing demand, causing the US economy to contract. He's also cautioned the Fed may have gone too far with its hikes and put the economy in unnecessary danger.
Canadian support for climate change initiatives lags ahead of COP27: Ipsos
Irelyne Lavery - Yesterday
Ahead of the COP27 forum, Canada appears to rank near the bottom of 34 countries when it comes to public support for measures to help tackle climate change, a new poll suggests.
The American continent is seen on a revolving globe in a booth at the convention center hosting the COP27 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. The city will host the COP27 U.N. Climate Summit starting on Nov. 6, and scheduled to end on Nov. 18.© (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
When asked about support for a range of initiatives governments could propose, such as subsidies for clean technology and providing incentives to invest in green financial products, Ipsos polling of citizens from 34 countries indicates support among Canadians ranks between the 27th and 31st spots.
“These results are shocking,” Sanyam Sethi, vice president of Ipsos Public Affairs, told Global News. “Canadians are not as engaged as they should be in the climate debate.”
“While there is support in many counties on a lot of these initiatives, what we’re seeing in Canada is very, very different,” she added.
The results come ahead of the 27th annual Conference of the 198 Parties of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change — better known as COP27 — in Egypt.
The summit begins Sunday in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
On Thursday, four days before the start of the conference, U.N. Security General Antonio Guterres warned that the planet is headed toward irreversible “climate chaos.”
He said COP27 “must be the place to rebuild trust and re-establish the ambition needed to avoid driving our planet over the climate cliff,” noting that the most important outcome of the summit is to have “a clear political will to reduce emissions faster.”
Video: Alberta’s oil and gas industry prepares for COP27
Ipsos surveyed about 1,000 Canadians, of which, 55 per cent said they would approve the subsidizing of green technologies by the government, Ipsos's research found.
Only 51 per cent supported modifying pricing to make environmentally-friendly products cheaper.
Most other policy suggestions only showed support from less than one-third of Canada.
Support among citizens in the United States, Germany, France and Brazil also ranked low when it came to the policies proposed, Sethi said.
Countries such as Mexico, Chile and Columbia were at the top.
Although support among the total number of Canadians surveyed was low, the data also indicates younger age groups and women were more likely to back the proposals, according to Sethi.
With so many other concerns on the table for Canadians, including fears of a looming recession, climate change just doesn’t seem to be at the top of the agenda, she said.
“It’s a matter of what’s more important right now and important enough to overshadow everything else,” said Sethi.
“Inflation is a concern in many other countries and they are still taking action and they are forging ahead on climate action."
To bring more engagement to the matter, Canada needs to see a “rigorous communication and education campaign,” according to Sethi.
The research shows that 59 per cent of Canadians believe the government is responsible for educating the public on climate change.
This falls largely in line with trends observed in other nations. However, Canadians also said scientists have an important role to play in educating the country on the issue.
“(Scientists) are the second-most-looked-upon authority to lead climate change,” said Sethi.
More than 120 world leaders will attend this year’s U.N. climate talks that begin Sunday and go until Nov. 18. Over 40,000 have registered to attend.
The U.N.'s Guterres has warned the stakes are high: "COP27 must lay the foundations for much faster, bolder climate action now and in this crucial decade, when the global climate fight will be won or lost."
These are the results of a 34-country survey conducted by Ipsos on its Global Advisor online platform. Ipsos interviewed an international sample of 22,528 adults aged 18-74 in the US, Canada, Republic of Ireland, Israel, Malaysia, South Africa, and Turkey, 20-74 in Thailand, 21-74 in Indonesia and Singapore and 16-74 in all other countries between 26th August and 9th September 2022.
The sample consists of approximately 1,000 individuals in each of Australia, Brazil, Canada, mainland China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Spain, and the U.S., and 500 individuals in each of Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Columbia, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Romania, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
The precision of Ipsos online polls are calculated using a credibility interval with a poll of 1,000 accurate to +/- 3.5 percentage points and of 500 accurate to +/- 5.0 percentage points. For more information on Ipsos’ use of credibility intervals, please visit the Ipsos website.
--With files from the Associated Press
Video: COP27: Drone shows climate activists’ huge protest poster near German castle
Irelyne Lavery - Yesterday
Ahead of the COP27 forum, Canada appears to rank near the bottom of 34 countries when it comes to public support for measures to help tackle climate change, a new poll suggests.
The American continent is seen on a revolving globe in a booth at the convention center hosting the COP27 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. The city will host the COP27 U.N. Climate Summit starting on Nov. 6, and scheduled to end on Nov. 18.© (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
When asked about support for a range of initiatives governments could propose, such as subsidies for clean technology and providing incentives to invest in green financial products, Ipsos polling of citizens from 34 countries indicates support among Canadians ranks between the 27th and 31st spots.
Read more:
“These results are shocking,” Sanyam Sethi, vice president of Ipsos Public Affairs, told Global News. “Canadians are not as engaged as they should be in the climate debate.”
“While there is support in many counties on a lot of these initiatives, what we’re seeing in Canada is very, very different,” she added.
The results come ahead of the 27th annual Conference of the 198 Parties of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change — better known as COP27 — in Egypt.
The summit begins Sunday in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
On Thursday, four days before the start of the conference, U.N. Security General Antonio Guterres warned that the planet is headed toward irreversible “climate chaos.”
He said COP27 “must be the place to rebuild trust and re-establish the ambition needed to avoid driving our planet over the climate cliff,” noting that the most important outcome of the summit is to have “a clear political will to reduce emissions faster.”
Video: Alberta’s oil and gas industry prepares for COP27
Ipsos surveyed about 1,000 Canadians, of which, 55 per cent said they would approve the subsidizing of green technologies by the government, Ipsos's research found.
Only 51 per cent supported modifying pricing to make environmentally-friendly products cheaper.
Most other policy suggestions only showed support from less than one-third of Canada.
Support among citizens in the United States, Germany, France and Brazil also ranked low when it came to the policies proposed, Sethi said.
Countries such as Mexico, Chile and Columbia were at the top.
Although support among the total number of Canadians surveyed was low, the data also indicates younger age groups and women were more likely to back the proposals, according to Sethi.
With so many other concerns on the table for Canadians, including fears of a looming recession, climate change just doesn’t seem to be at the top of the agenda, she said.
“It’s a matter of what’s more important right now and important enough to overshadow everything else,” said Sethi.
“Inflation is a concern in many other countries and they are still taking action and they are forging ahead on climate action."
To bring more engagement to the matter, Canada needs to see a “rigorous communication and education campaign,” according to Sethi.
The research shows that 59 per cent of Canadians believe the government is responsible for educating the public on climate change.
Read more:
This falls largely in line with trends observed in other nations. However, Canadians also said scientists have an important role to play in educating the country on the issue.
“(Scientists) are the second-most-looked-upon authority to lead climate change,” said Sethi.
More than 120 world leaders will attend this year’s U.N. climate talks that begin Sunday and go until Nov. 18. Over 40,000 have registered to attend.
The U.N.'s Guterres has warned the stakes are high: "COP27 must lay the foundations for much faster, bolder climate action now and in this crucial decade, when the global climate fight will be won or lost."
These are the results of a 34-country survey conducted by Ipsos on its Global Advisor online platform. Ipsos interviewed an international sample of 22,528 adults aged 18-74 in the US, Canada, Republic of Ireland, Israel, Malaysia, South Africa, and Turkey, 20-74 in Thailand, 21-74 in Indonesia and Singapore and 16-74 in all other countries between 26th August and 9th September 2022.
The sample consists of approximately 1,000 individuals in each of Australia, Brazil, Canada, mainland China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Spain, and the U.S., and 500 individuals in each of Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Columbia, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Romania, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
The precision of Ipsos online polls are calculated using a credibility interval with a poll of 1,000 accurate to +/- 3.5 percentage points and of 500 accurate to +/- 5.0 percentage points. For more information on Ipsos’ use of credibility intervals, please visit the Ipsos website.
--With files from the Associated Press
Video: COP27: Drone shows climate activists’ huge protest poster near German castle
BC
Susan Lazaruk - Yesterday - Vancouver Sun
A provincewide teacher shortage may be putting B.C.’s most vulnerable students at risk as specialist teachers are often being reassigned to fill in for absent teachers, says a union for one of B.C.’s largest school districts.
Lizanne Foster, president of the Surrey Teachers Association.
The Surrey Teachers Association says specialist teachers, including those who provide extra teaching help for children with learning or physical disabilities, behavioural problems, autism or dyslexia, are regularly asked to fill in when a substitute teacher isn’t available.
That leaves the students who rely on the specialist teachers without their usual help, said the association’s vice-president, Lizanne Foster.
“It’s quite cruel in one sense, what’s happening in our classrooms,” she said. “When the kids have big emotions,” they need the specialist teacher they are familiar with and who know how to calm them down.
Without that support, “that’s when you have students throwing things and flipping things and biting,” incidents that sometimes require a “room clear,” she said.
Re-assigning specialist teachers to fill in for absent teachers is “absolutely happening elsewhere” and has for years, said Clint Johnston, president of the B.C. Teachers Federation.
“It affects lots of students and lots of teachers,” he said. But, “I would be very cautious about drawing any direct link” between violence in the classrooms and the teacher shortage.
Teachers and the Education Ministry agree that the solution is more teachers.
“We know some long-standing hiring pressures remain in areas, including for specialist positions,” B.C.’s education minister, Jennifer Whiteside, said in an emailed statement.
She also said the province has acted on “all the recommendations” from a 2017 report from a task force on recruitment and retention of teachers after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in favour of the BCTF in a court battle over class size and composition.
“For example, our government invested $3.5 million in 2018-19 to create new seats in teacher education programs, adding close to 250 new spaces to bring in more teachers in high demand positions and we’ll continue to invest” in education, she said.
The ministry also said it created an education program that mixes online and in-person learning for students who may not live near universities, changed certification standards to allow internationally trained teachers to work while training and reduced processing times for certification.
In Prince George, “We have had a shortage for about six years and every year it gets worse,” said Daryl Beauregard, president of the Prince George District Teachers Association.
He said there has been a “significant increase in violence especially over the last year and there are a lot of things going on in society and that comes in to schools. But it’s hard to conclude a cause and effect” to a teacher shortage.
He said it is clear students aren’t getting the support they need when a specialist teacher is reassigned.
In Surrey, “We are getting calls to our office from teachers in utter and complete distress,” said Foster. The calls have been coming from new teachers and veterans. “They’re saying, ‘I cannot cope.’ What shocked us was it was happening at the beginning of the (school) year. That usually happens in May or June.”
According to one of those specialist teachers who works in Surrey, student “behaviour can sometimes be violent because these students don’t have a lot of words to express their wants and needs and they can get quite physical to express their upset.”
The teacher requested anonymity because she wasn’t sure how employer would react to her speaking publicly and she didn’t want to risk identifying individual students with her comments.
She and Foster also said the district has a policy of not replacing the specialist teachers unless they are absent for more than three days, which they said further imperils the students that depend on them.
Surrey school district depends upon 1,500 names in the teachers on-call list and when none are available, teachers or sometimes principals are asked to fill in because continuity of care for students is paramount, spokeswoman Ritinder Matthew said in an email.
The district intends to increase the number of on-call teachers and has created 40 new specialty teacher positions to add to the 1,650 on staff, a difficult task because of the lack of qualified candidates.
Foster said in Surrey there have been 58 violence on the job claims filed with WorkSafeBC since the beginning of this school year, twice the average.
But the district said there has been seven such claims this school year, which are “time lost and/or health care claims,” and said it is only slightly higher than previous years. Matthew said the higher number refers to incidents reported to the district, which could include witnessing two students fighting.
Beauregard said the Education Ministry needs a provincewide strategy to tackle the shortage because B.C. teachers are being lost to Alberta. He said he knows of one B.C. teacher got a raise of $17,000 a year by moving to Medicine Hat.
Johnston said the recently negotiated settlement members will be asked to ratify this month is part of the solution to attract and keep teachers in B.C. The terms haven’t been disclosed but he said the wage increase is a “decent start. It certainly helps, it closes a large chasm” in pay compared to other provinces.
He said the province has to come up with other creative solutions to attract and keep teachers because the 250 extra positions for teacher training it created years about five years ago aren’t being filled anymore.
He said there has to be improvements to help for teachers living in B.C., an expensive province, and reduce “untenable” workloads. The province should consider loan forgiveness and housing subsidies for teachers, he said.
slazaruk@postmedia.com
Re-assigning specialist teachers causing stress, may lead to violence in classrooms: union
Susan Lazaruk - Yesterday - Vancouver Sun
A provincewide teacher shortage may be putting B.C.’s most vulnerable students at risk as specialist teachers are often being reassigned to fill in for absent teachers, says a union for one of B.C.’s largest school districts.
Lizanne Foster, president of the Surrey Teachers Association.
The Surrey Teachers Association says specialist teachers, including those who provide extra teaching help for children with learning or physical disabilities, behavioural problems, autism or dyslexia, are regularly asked to fill in when a substitute teacher isn’t available.
That leaves the students who rely on the specialist teachers without their usual help, said the association’s vice-president, Lizanne Foster.
“It’s quite cruel in one sense, what’s happening in our classrooms,” she said. “When the kids have big emotions,” they need the specialist teacher they are familiar with and who know how to calm them down.
Without that support, “that’s when you have students throwing things and flipping things and biting,” incidents that sometimes require a “room clear,” she said.
Re-assigning specialist teachers to fill in for absent teachers is “absolutely happening elsewhere” and has for years, said Clint Johnston, president of the B.C. Teachers Federation.
“It affects lots of students and lots of teachers,” he said. But, “I would be very cautious about drawing any direct link” between violence in the classrooms and the teacher shortage.
Teachers and the Education Ministry agree that the solution is more teachers.
“We know some long-standing hiring pressures remain in areas, including for specialist positions,” B.C.’s education minister, Jennifer Whiteside, said in an emailed statement.
She also said the province has acted on “all the recommendations” from a 2017 report from a task force on recruitment and retention of teachers after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in favour of the BCTF in a court battle over class size and composition.
“For example, our government invested $3.5 million in 2018-19 to create new seats in teacher education programs, adding close to 250 new spaces to bring in more teachers in high demand positions and we’ll continue to invest” in education, she said.
The ministry also said it created an education program that mixes online and in-person learning for students who may not live near universities, changed certification standards to allow internationally trained teachers to work while training and reduced processing times for certification.
In Prince George, “We have had a shortage for about six years and every year it gets worse,” said Daryl Beauregard, president of the Prince George District Teachers Association.
He said there has been a “significant increase in violence especially over the last year and there are a lot of things going on in society and that comes in to schools. But it’s hard to conclude a cause and effect” to a teacher shortage.
He said it is clear students aren’t getting the support they need when a specialist teacher is reassigned.
In Surrey, “We are getting calls to our office from teachers in utter and complete distress,” said Foster. The calls have been coming from new teachers and veterans. “They’re saying, ‘I cannot cope.’ What shocked us was it was happening at the beginning of the (school) year. That usually happens in May or June.”
According to one of those specialist teachers who works in Surrey, student “behaviour can sometimes be violent because these students don’t have a lot of words to express their wants and needs and they can get quite physical to express their upset.”
The teacher requested anonymity because she wasn’t sure how employer would react to her speaking publicly and she didn’t want to risk identifying individual students with her comments.
She and Foster also said the district has a policy of not replacing the specialist teachers unless they are absent for more than three days, which they said further imperils the students that depend on them.
Surrey school district depends upon 1,500 names in the teachers on-call list and when none are available, teachers or sometimes principals are asked to fill in because continuity of care for students is paramount, spokeswoman Ritinder Matthew said in an email.
The district intends to increase the number of on-call teachers and has created 40 new specialty teacher positions to add to the 1,650 on staff, a difficult task because of the lack of qualified candidates.
Foster said in Surrey there have been 58 violence on the job claims filed with WorkSafeBC since the beginning of this school year, twice the average.
But the district said there has been seven such claims this school year, which are “time lost and/or health care claims,” and said it is only slightly higher than previous years. Matthew said the higher number refers to incidents reported to the district, which could include witnessing two students fighting.
Beauregard said the Education Ministry needs a provincewide strategy to tackle the shortage because B.C. teachers are being lost to Alberta. He said he knows of one B.C. teacher got a raise of $17,000 a year by moving to Medicine Hat.
Johnston said the recently negotiated settlement members will be asked to ratify this month is part of the solution to attract and keep teachers in B.C. The terms haven’t been disclosed but he said the wage increase is a “decent start. It certainly helps, it closes a large chasm” in pay compared to other provinces.
He said the province has to come up with other creative solutions to attract and keep teachers because the 250 extra positions for teacher training it created years about five years ago aren’t being filled anymore.
He said there has to be improvements to help for teachers living in B.C., an expensive province, and reduce “untenable” workloads. The province should consider loan forgiveness and housing subsidies for teachers, he said.
slazaruk@postmedia.com
Sask reverts to former health-care payroll, scheduling system after new program faulty
CBC/Radio-Canada - 41m ago
ReactComments|
A new administrative system for managing payroll, scheduling, finance and the supply chain for Saskatchwan's health-care system has been taken down after complaints it's bug-ridden.
The Administrative Information Management System (AIMS) was meant to replace 80 existing systems and improve "data accuracy [and] reliability" while benefiting employees, clients, patients, residents and families, according to a website about the system.
In an email, Jennifer Arends, executive director of communications at 3sHealth, which provides human resource services to the Saskatchewan health-care system among other things, says the system was meant to provide a standardized system that would "support payroll, staff scheduling, human resources, finance and supply chain functions across the health sector."
That wasn't the case when it went live in late October.
On Friday, the province paused AIMS and reverted to the system process in place before its launch because of "challenges" with the program, according to the emailed statement, though it noted it anticipated some challenges "as with any large-scale system implementation."
The Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) posted to its website on Nov. 2 that prior to the program launch it anticipated issues with the system and informed members of them.
"Since our initial communication, SUN has become aware that hundreds of members are experiencing significant issues with AIMS that are in breach of the application of many articles and practices outlined in the collective agreement," a post on the website dated Nov. 2 says.
It says members had issues with scheduling, leave requests and hours worked among other aspects of the systems.
The post says SUN also filed a provincial grievance.
Tracy Zambory, president of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses, says nurses were concerned of payroll and scheduling errors following the implementation of the AIMS program.© Matt Duguid/CBC
"Registered nurses are very fearful of payroll errors, and our members are not clear who they can reach out to for help (and) … are also worried about issues with scheduling, which could create gaps in patient care. AIMS is a stressful and costly endeavour," Tracy Zambory, SUN president, said in an emailed statement.
Arends's emailed statement says the pause to the program's implementation was "disappointing but necessary," but AIMS will return when they're confident its issues have been addressed.
On Twitter, opposition critic for health Vicki Mowat tweeted that the government failed to implement the program, which solved "a problem that didn't seem to exist."
"Very expensive software system for health-care employees has tanked within one week of launching," she wrote. mer health-care payroll, scheduling system after new program faulty
CBC/Radio-Canada - 41m ago
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A new administrative system for managing payroll, scheduling, finance and the supply chain for Saskatchwan's health-care system has been taken down after complaints it's bug-ridden.
The Administrative Information Management System (AIMS) was meant to replace 80 existing systems and improve "data accuracy [and] reliability" while benefiting employees, clients, patients, residents and families, according to a website about the system.
In an email, Jennifer Arends, executive director of communications at 3sHealth, which provides human resource services to the Saskatchewan health-care system among other things, says the system was meant to provide a standardized system that would "support payroll, staff scheduling, human resources, finance and supply chain functions across the health sector."
That wasn't the case when it went live in late October.
On Friday, the province paused AIMS and reverted to the system process in place before its launch because of "challenges" with the program, according to the emailed statement, though it noted it anticipated some challenges "as with any large-scale system implementation."
The Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) posted to its website on Nov. 2 that prior to the program launch it anticipated issues with the system and informed members of them.
"Since our initial communication, SUN has become aware that hundreds of members are experiencing significant issues with AIMS that are in breach of the application of many articles and practices outlined in the collective agreement," a post on the website dated Nov. 2 says.
It says members had issues with scheduling, leave requests and hours worked among other aspects of the systems.
The post says SUN also filed a provincial grievance.
Tracy Zambory, president of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses, says nurses were concerned of payroll and scheduling errors following the implementation of the AIMS program.© Matt Duguid/CBC
"Registered nurses are very fearful of payroll errors, and our members are not clear who they can reach out to for help (and) … are also worried about issues with scheduling, which could create gaps in patient care. AIMS is a stressful and costly endeavour," Tracy Zambory, SUN president, said in an emailed statement.
Arends's emailed statement says the pause to the program's implementation was "disappointing but necessary," but AIMS will return when they're confident its issues have been addressed.
On Twitter, opposition critic for health Vicki Mowat tweeted that the government failed to implement the program, which solved "a problem that didn't seem to exist."
"Very expensive software system for health-care employees has tanked within one week of launching," she wrote. mer health-care payroll, scheduling system after new program faulty
Labour board to rule on legality of Ontario education strike
TORONTO — A daylong demonstration is planned for Queen's Park Monday, as members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) continue to protest government legislation that imposed a contract on 55,000 provincial education workers and took away their right to strike.
Labour board to rule on legality of Ontario education strike© Provided by The Canadian Press
The protest comes as CUPE, the provincial government, parents and students await a decision by the Ontario Labour Relations Board on the legality of the strike that began Friday, when thousands of workers walked off the job.
The government is seeking a ruling that their walkout is illegal, while CUPE contends the job action is a form of legitimate political protest.
Board Chair Brian O'Byrne heard arguments over the course of 16 hours on Saturday and another eight hours on Sunday, before promising to come to a decision as quickly as possible.
CUPE has scheduled a news conference for Monday morning, where the union's national president will be joined by national and provincial labour leaders to discuss the pushback to Bill 28.
The strike closed numerous schools across the province Friday, with even more set to shut on Monday should the work stoppage continue.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2022.
The Canadian Press
TORONTO — A daylong demonstration is planned for Queen's Park Monday, as members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) continue to protest government legislation that imposed a contract on 55,000 provincial education workers and took away their right to strike.
Labour board to rule on legality of Ontario education strike© Provided by The Canadian Press
The protest comes as CUPE, the provincial government, parents and students await a decision by the Ontario Labour Relations Board on the legality of the strike that began Friday, when thousands of workers walked off the job.
The government is seeking a ruling that their walkout is illegal, while CUPE contends the job action is a form of legitimate political protest.
Related video: Ontario education workers launch strike in defiance of province's ban
Duration 2:56
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Board Chair Brian O'Byrne heard arguments over the course of 16 hours on Saturday and another eight hours on Sunday, before promising to come to a decision as quickly as possible.
CUPE has scheduled a news conference for Monday morning, where the union's national president will be joined by national and provincial labour leaders to discuss the pushback to Bill 28.
The strike closed numerous schools across the province Friday, with even more set to shut on Monday should the work stoppage continue.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2022.
The Canadian Press
Quebec's highest court to begin hearing appeals on provincial secularism law
MONTREAL — Quebec's highest court is set to begin hearing appeals on the constitutionality of the province's secularism law, known as Bill 21.
Quebec's highest court to begin hearing appeals on provincial secularism law© Provided by The Canadian Press
Both the Quebec government and groups opposing the law are challenging an April 2021 court decision that largely upheld the controversial religious symbols law, while striking down provisions that related to English-language school boards and a ban on members of the provincial legislature wearing face coverings
The law prohibits public sector workers who are deemed to be in positions of authority, including teachers, police officers and judges, from wearing symbols such as hijabs, kippas or turbans at work.
A Superior Court justice ruled last year that the law has "serious and negative'' impacts on people who wear religious symbols, but is largely legal and does not violate the constitution.
Efforts to challenge the law are complicated by the Quebec government's pre-emptive use of the charter's notwithstanding clause, which shields legislation from most court challenges over violations of fundamental rights.
The groups opposing the law filed arguments in December saying the bill goes against Canada's constitutional architecture and it infringes on federal jurisdiction.
"By thus excluding a group of people from several spheres of society because of their religion in an attempt to 'protect' a certain vision of social peace or fundamental social values, Law 21 contradicts the principle of religious inclusion stemming from our Constitution, and it represents an invalid attempt to legislate in an area of jurisdiction reserved for the federal legislator," read the legal arguments filed to the Court of Appeal in Dec. 2021.
Representatives from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the National Council of Canadian Muslims will address the media Monday morning ahead of the start of the hearings, which are expected to take place this week and next at the Court of Appeal in Montreal.
The Quebec government passed Bill 21 in 2019 and has repeatedly argued the law is moderate and supported by a majority of Quebecers.
Critics, on the other hand, have argued it targets racialized minorities who choose to practice their religion, especially Muslim women.
In his 2021 decision, Justice Marc-André Blanchard acknowledged that the law has "cruel" and "dehumanizing" consequences for those who wear religious symbols, many of whom would no longer be able to seek out new jobs in the public service without compromising their beliefs.
He noted the law "negatively impacts Muslim women first and foremost," and violates their freedom of expression and religion.
But he ruled the law was allowed to stand due to the government's invocation of the notwithstanding clause, which shields the legislation from most charter challenges.
Blanchard did strike down a portion of the law that applies to English school boards, as well as a section that banned members of the provincial legislature from wearing face coverings.
The Quebec government is appealing that ruling.
The federal government has said it is prepared to join the legal challenge to the law if it eventually ends up in the Supreme Court of Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2022.
The Canadian Press
MONTREAL — Quebec's highest court is set to begin hearing appeals on the constitutionality of the province's secularism law, known as Bill 21.
Quebec's highest court to begin hearing appeals on provincial secularism law© Provided by The Canadian Press
Both the Quebec government and groups opposing the law are challenging an April 2021 court decision that largely upheld the controversial religious symbols law, while striking down provisions that related to English-language school boards and a ban on members of the provincial legislature wearing face coverings
The law prohibits public sector workers who are deemed to be in positions of authority, including teachers, police officers and judges, from wearing symbols such as hijabs, kippas or turbans at work.
A Superior Court justice ruled last year that the law has "serious and negative'' impacts on people who wear religious symbols, but is largely legal and does not violate the constitution.
Efforts to challenge the law are complicated by the Quebec government's pre-emptive use of the charter's notwithstanding clause, which shields legislation from most court challenges over violations of fundamental rights.
The groups opposing the law filed arguments in December saying the bill goes against Canada's constitutional architecture and it infringes on federal jurisdiction.
"By thus excluding a group of people from several spheres of society because of their religion in an attempt to 'protect' a certain vision of social peace or fundamental social values, Law 21 contradicts the principle of religious inclusion stemming from our Constitution, and it represents an invalid attempt to legislate in an area of jurisdiction reserved for the federal legislator," read the legal arguments filed to the Court of Appeal in Dec. 2021.
Representatives from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the National Council of Canadian Muslims will address the media Monday morning ahead of the start of the hearings, which are expected to take place this week and next at the Court of Appeal in Montreal.
The Quebec government passed Bill 21 in 2019 and has repeatedly argued the law is moderate and supported by a majority of Quebecers.
Critics, on the other hand, have argued it targets racialized minorities who choose to practice their religion, especially Muslim women.
In his 2021 decision, Justice Marc-André Blanchard acknowledged that the law has "cruel" and "dehumanizing" consequences for those who wear religious symbols, many of whom would no longer be able to seek out new jobs in the public service without compromising their beliefs.
He noted the law "negatively impacts Muslim women first and foremost," and violates their freedom of expression and religion.
But he ruled the law was allowed to stand due to the government's invocation of the notwithstanding clause, which shields the legislation from most charter challenges.
Blanchard did strike down a portion of the law that applies to English school boards, as well as a section that banned members of the provincial legislature from wearing face coverings.
The Quebec government is appealing that ruling.
The federal government has said it is prepared to join the legal challenge to the law if it eventually ends up in the Supreme Court of Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2022.
The Canadian Press
A fired Twitter employee who's 6 months pregnant tells the company 'see you in court'
stabahriti@insider.com (Sam Tabahriti) - Yesterday
Elon Musk has cut thousands of jobs at Twitter. Carina Johansen/Getty Images© Carina Johansen/Getty Images
A fired Twitter employee who's 6 months pregnant said there's "definitely discrimination here."
Shennan Lu, a data science manager, worked at Meta before joining Twitter in January.
A Twitter employee who's six months pregnant said she was among the thousands laid off and believes "discrimination" was involved in the decision to fire her.
Shennan Lu worked as a data science manager at Meta before joining Twitter in the same role in January.
She tweeted on Friday: "My Twitter journey has come to an end, I got laid off while I'm 6-month pregnant. It has been a pleasure to work with all of you. I'm very thankful to lead such an amazing DS team, it's been a fun ride. #LoveWhereYouWorked."
Lu isn't the only pregnant woman affected by Elon Musk's decision to cut up to half of Twitter's workforce. An eight-months-pregnant woman realized she was also let go after getting locked out her work laptop on Thursday night.
Five former employees have filed a class-action lawsuit claiming that the proposed staff layoffs violated California and federal law.
The lawsuit is asking the court to make Twitter adhere to the WARN Act and stop it from asking staff to waive their right to take part in the litigation.
Twitter didn't respond to Insider's request for comment.
stabahriti@insider.com (Sam Tabahriti) - Yesterday
Elon Musk has cut thousands of jobs at Twitter. Carina Johansen/Getty Images© Carina Johansen/Getty Images
A fired Twitter employee who's 6 months pregnant said there's "definitely discrimination here."
Shennan Lu, a data science manager, worked at Meta before joining Twitter in January.
A Twitter employee who's six months pregnant said she was among the thousands laid off and believes "discrimination" was involved in the decision to fire her.
Shennan Lu worked as a data science manager at Meta before joining Twitter in the same role in January.
She tweeted on Friday: "My Twitter journey has come to an end, I got laid off while I'm 6-month pregnant. It has been a pleasure to work with all of you. I'm very thankful to lead such an amazing DS team, it's been a fun ride. #LoveWhereYouWorked."
"There is definitely discrimination here. So I will fight. My performance has been tracking ahead (top 30%) for the last quarters, and I know for a fact that other male managers don't have this rating got stayed," Lu added, before signing off: "See you in the court."—shennan Lu (@lu_shennan) November 4, 2022
Lu isn't the only pregnant woman affected by Elon Musk's decision to cut up to half of Twitter's workforce. An eight-months-pregnant woman realized she was also let go after getting locked out her work laptop on Thursday night.
Five former employees have filed a class-action lawsuit claiming that the proposed staff layoffs violated California and federal law.
The lawsuit is asking the court to make Twitter adhere to the WARN Act and stop it from asking staff to waive their right to take part in the litigation.
Twitter didn't respond to Insider's request for comment.
'I had a really like sickening feeling': A woman said she complained about how Air Canada treated her, then the airline penalized her mother, who works for the company
rhogg@insider.com (Ryan Hogg) - Yesterday
An Air Canada Boeing 787. Taylor Rains/Insider© Provided by Business Insider
Air Canada revoked an employee's flying privileges after her daughter complained about a flight.
The daughter was upset her mother seemed to get punished over an issue between her and Air Canada.
The airline said the employee broke its code by allowing a family member to file a grievance.
A woman who complained about her treatment trying to board an Air Canada flight said the airline revoked her mother's employee-flying privileges afterward.
The woman, who asked not to be named citing concerns for her mother's job, told Insider she filed a complaint with the airline after what she deemed to be poor customer service by the gate staff. She had bought a ticket using flying privileges her mother gave her.
The woman emailed senior officials at the airline and copied in media outlets, which appeared to prompt the airline to retaliate by revoking her flying privileges for two years.
An email sent to the employee suggested her daughter had misrepresented herself as a revenue-generating customer.
The airline then disciplined her 62-year-old mother, who is an administrator, and issued her the same punishment.
An email seen by Insider shows a senior official telling the employee that she would not be allowed to fly standby for two years.
"I had a really like sickening feeling when my mother told me what they did to her," the woman said. "It's one thing for me to be reprimanded, but it's totally different for my actions impacting my mom."
Standby tickets allow airline employees to fly anywhere for a fraction of the normal cost and are one attraction of working for a long-established carrier such as Air Canada.
The woman told Insider that standby privileges were the main reason her mother, who is close to retirement, took the job. She is now worried she will lose her job if the situation escalates.
THE UNION HAS A 'DUTY' TO REPRESENT
The woman said her mother went to her union about the issue, but was told there was nothing it could do, and union representatives suggested she apologize to try to reduce her penalty.
In a statement to Insider, Air Canada said: "We deal with our employees directly on internal matters. However, we can confirm employee travel is a special privilege and a unique and generous perk of working for an airline that comes with responsibilities which the overwhelming majority of employees and families understand and value.
"We take feedback about our services seriously. In fact, we undertook an investigation into the complaint lodged, and subsequently found facts which did not align with what was presented." The airline did not elaborate further.
rhogg@insider.com (Ryan Hogg) - Yesterday
An Air Canada Boeing 787. Taylor Rains/Insider© Provided by Business Insider
Air Canada revoked an employee's flying privileges after her daughter complained about a flight.
The daughter was upset her mother seemed to get punished over an issue between her and Air Canada.
The airline said the employee broke its code by allowing a family member to file a grievance.
A woman who complained about her treatment trying to board an Air Canada flight said the airline revoked her mother's employee-flying privileges afterward.
The woman, who asked not to be named citing concerns for her mother's job, told Insider she filed a complaint with the airline after what she deemed to be poor customer service by the gate staff. She had bought a ticket using flying privileges her mother gave her.
The woman emailed senior officials at the airline and copied in media outlets, which appeared to prompt the airline to retaliate by revoking her flying privileges for two years.
An email sent to the employee suggested her daughter had misrepresented herself as a revenue-generating customer.
The airline then disciplined her 62-year-old mother, who is an administrator, and issued her the same punishment.
An email seen by Insider shows a senior official telling the employee that she would not be allowed to fly standby for two years.
"I had a really like sickening feeling when my mother told me what they did to her," the woman said. "It's one thing for me to be reprimanded, but it's totally different for my actions impacting my mom."
Standby tickets allow airline employees to fly anywhere for a fraction of the normal cost and are one attraction of working for a long-established carrier such as Air Canada.
The woman told Insider that standby privileges were the main reason her mother, who is close to retirement, took the job. She is now worried she will lose her job if the situation escalates.
THE UNION HAS A 'DUTY' TO REPRESENT
The woman said her mother went to her union about the issue, but was told there was nothing it could do, and union representatives suggested she apologize to try to reduce her penalty.
In a statement to Insider, Air Canada said: "We deal with our employees directly on internal matters. However, we can confirm employee travel is a special privilege and a unique and generous perk of working for an airline that comes with responsibilities which the overwhelming majority of employees and families understand and value.
"We take feedback about our services seriously. In fact, we undertook an investigation into the complaint lodged, and subsequently found facts which did not align with what was presented." The airline did not elaborate further.
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