OPSEU aims to
unionize college
support staff
TORONTO — The Ontario Public Ser-
vice Employees Union (OPSEU) recently
launched a campaign to unionize part-time
support staff at the province's 24 colleges of
applied arts and technology.
The effort aims to bring thousands of
part-time workers under the union's um-
brella.
According to OPSEU, part-time college
support staff lack the types of supports af-
forded to full-time workers. Part-time sup-
port employees are not entitled to paid sick
days, paid vacation days or health benefits.
Part-time support staff have no job secu-
rity, OPSEU reported, and have no control
over how many hours they work or when
they will work them. Generally, part-time
employees are also paid less than full-time
staff performing the same work.
"The part-time staff are treated like dis-
posable workers," said OPSEU president
Warren (Smokey) Thomas.
"Once again, they have turned to us for
help, because they have no protections, no
benefits, no job security. It's appalling that
workers in the postsecondary education
sector are subjected to such shoddy treat-
ment."
Jobs added
in August, but
unemployment
on the rise
OTTAWA (Reuters) — Canada's economy
unexpectedly added jobs in August, though
the unemployment rate rose to its highest
level in a year as more people were look-
ing for work, data from Statistics Canada
showed on Friday.
Canada added 12,000 jobs last month,
surpassing economists' expectations for a
decline of 4,500 jobs. The unemployment
rate rose to seven per cent after sitting at 6.8
per cent for six consecutive months.
That was the highest level since it was at
seven per cent in August 2014. The partici-
pation rate edged up to 65.9 per cent from
65.7 per cent.
The job gains came entirely from full-
time employment, with 54,400 positions
added, while 42,400 part-time jobs were
lost. The increases were led by the educa-
tional services and public administration
sectors.
The natural resources sector, which has
been hurt by the downturn in oil prices,
added a modest 2,300 jobs. In Alberta,
where the country's vast oil sands are locat-
ed, 4,700 jobs were created, while the un-
employment rate remained at six per cent.
Canada fell into a modest recession in
the first half of the year as it has been hit by
cheaper oil, but many economists, and the
Bank of Canada, expect growth will perk up
in the latter half of the year.
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