LABOUR BRIEFS
2
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Photo:
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(Reuters)
Unifor
occupies
taxi service
OTTAWA — Taxi drivers oc-
cupied the offices of Coven-
try Connections in Ottawa on
Nov. 13 to protest proposed
pay cuts.
The drivers — represented by
Unifor Local 1688 — have been
locked in a labour dispute since
early August, when Coventry
Connections and the Ottawa
International Airport Authority
agreed to change the drivers' dis-
patch fees from a monthly rate to
a per-fare rate.
According to Unifor, this
change drastically affects driv-
ers' pay. The union protested the
change, leading the employer to
effectively lock out the drivers.
"We have been forced into this
action by a company and an air-
port authority that have refused
to engage in real dialogue on this
issue," said Unifor national presi-
dent Jerry Dias.
"It should never have had to
come to this, but we are here un-
til there is a deal. Until then, Cov-
entry will not be able to dispatch
taxis in the city of Ottawa."
Unifor is calling on the em-
ployer to return to the bargain-
ing table to negotiate a new deal.
The union represents more
than 2,500 drivers in the Ontario
taxi industry.
4 in 5
Canadians
believe
employers
responsible for
health: Study
TORONTO — A new report
suggests the majority of Ca-
nadians believe their bosses
are responsible for supporting
their physical and psychologi-
cal health.
On Nov. 12, Sun Life Finan-
cial Canada released its annual
Canadian Health Index — a re-
port that measures attitudes on
health and well-being — which
determined 84 per cent of those
surveyed felt employers should
bear the physical health care
responsibility, while 86 per cent
said the same about psychologi-
cal health.
Kevin Dougherty, president
of Sun Life Financial Canada,
called the result "striking."
When compared by age,
younger workers felt the stron-
gest that their employer should
bear the physical and psycho-
logical health burden, with two
out of five generation Y (aged
18 to 30) respondents agree-
ing — higher than any other
group.
The study also found a
clear relationship between
health and employee pro-
ductivity. Of those sur-
veyed, more than one-third
said their productivity at work
had been negatively impacted by
their physical or mental health in
the six months leading up to the
release.
Again, generation Y respon-
dents were most likely to report
such an experience.
When weighted against older
counterparts, 47 per cent of
younger workers reported a dip
in productivity, compared to 30
per cent of "late boomers" (aged
48 to 57) and 26 per cent of "early
boomers" (aged 58 to 66).
Sun Life's Canadian Health
Index is basd on findings of an
Ipsos Reid poll conducted over
one week in June and deals with a
sample of 2,404 Canadians aged
18 to 80.
Fast-food workers in more than 270 cities across the U.S. rallied in a protest for higher wages and union
representation — in the hopes of catching attention from candidates running in the 2016 election.
LABOUR LENS
