Another year done. Time to sign off for 2013. Next year should be a very interesting one for labour and employment law (then again, what year isn’t these days?). A number of notable labour law Charter cases are heading to the Supreme Court of Canada. The Conservatives at provincial and federal levels will continue their mission to undermine labour rights at every turn, which is certain to spark a whole new wave of litigation. Will the common law courts continue
2013: The Year of the Tory Attack on Labour
a trend towards developing greater protections for workers in contract law, to fill the void being left by the decline of private sector collective bargaining? These are great times to be a labour lawyer, or in the top 10 percent of income earners. Not so much if you’re an employee, since real wages are falling behind and the middle class is being hammered. These are problems for work law. How governments respond is among the most pressing issues of our time. We’ll continue to follow the developments on this blog in the new year.
On a personal note, 2014 will mark the launch of Parts I (Theories, Perspectives, Frameworks in Work Law) and II (The Common Law of Employment) of my new book The Law of Work (Emond Montgomery). Parts III (The Regulatory Standards Regime) and IV (Collective Bargaining Regime) will be rolled out later. That book will be available in electronic format, which will link to this blog for regular updates, as well as regular paper version. We will also reach the 1 millionth hit on this little Law of Work blog early next year. And with that, I sign off for 2013 with the usual list of the Top 10 Most Read Entries of the Year. A definite trend in 2013 were the sustained attack on labour rights by Conservative politicians. We knew once the Harper Conservatives won a majority that they would try to undermine collective bargaining rights, and that has happened.
Most Read Entries from 2013:
10. Eliminating the Rand Formula Might Weaken Unions, But it Won’t Create New Jobs
9. Conservative MP (Poilievre) Supports Rand Formula as He Argues to Abolish it
8. Why Do Workers Support Policies to Weaken Labour Rights?
7. On ‘Bullshit’ in Labour Policy Debates
6. Terminating Employee on 3 Month Sick Leave is Discriminatory
5. Reflecting on the Rand Formula as Ontario’s Tories Target Their Union Foes
4. Most Highly Unionized Countries are the Top “Happiest” Countries, Again. Why?
3. Canadian Laws on Union Dues and Union Membership
2. Can an Employer Prohibit Tattoos and Piercings?
Drumroll please: The most read blog entry from 2013 is…
1. Senior Tory Senator Lambasts Conservatives for Politically Motivated Attacks on Unions
Salutations.