FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 22, 1999
Year-end Message EDMONTON - It won’t be difficult to say good-bye to the 1990s, says Audrey Cormack, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour. That’s because the past ten years have been difficult ones for many working people in Alberta and across the country. "The 90s has been a decade marked by hard times," says Cormack. "First there was the unemployment crisis that swept across the country between 1990 and 1996. Then there were the problems caused by stagnant wages and job insecurity. For most of the decade, full-time, permanent jobs were disappearing – and many new jobs were only temporary or part-time. All in all, it was not the best of times for working people." Cormack says the 90s will probably be remembered as the decade that brought a halt to the forty-year trend towards rising living standards in Canada. In every decade since the end of the Second World War real wages earned by working Canadians rose – sometimes substantially. But throughout the 90s, wages stagnated for all but a lucky few. The income picture has improved somewhat over the past two years, says Cormack. Working people in Alberta are finally starting to see wage increases that are greater than the rate of inflation. But even once these increases are factored in, average weekly wages in Alberta are only 2 percent higher today than they were in 1990. "The bottom line is that many Albertans are not earning any more in real terms than they were ten years ago – and many are earning less," she says. "This is particularly galling because our province is richer than ever. Despite our overall prosperity, most workers are taking home a smaller and smaller piece of the economic pie. In fact, only about 45 percent of our provincial income – the GDP – is going back to working people in the form of wages. That’s down from 47 per cent in 1990 and lower than B.C. and Ontario where wages and salaries account for well over 50 percent of the provincial GDP." Unfortunately, the problems faced by working people in the 90s have not been restricted to wages and salaries, says Cormack. She says the decade has also been characterized by the erosion of important public services and programs – services and programs that many working people rely upon. For example, it was during the 90s that the federal government savagely cut and re-structured the Unemployment Insurance program. As a result of these cuts, fewer than one in three unemployed Albertans currently qualify for benefits – down from 80 percent at the beginning of the decade. At the same time, the 90s was also a decade of deep cuts to public services like health care and education. Between 1992 and 1995, the Alberta government cut the amount it spends on health care from $1,712 per person to $1,458 per person – the most dramatic reduction in the entire country. "In three short years, we went from having the second highest level of spending on health care in the country to the second lowest – even lower than poor provinces like Newfoundland," says Cormack. "These deep and poorly planned cuts led to the closure of thousands of hospital beds and the dismissal of thousands of health care workers. It created a crisis that we’re still trying to deal with today." Cormack says the 90s will also be remembered as the decade when government stepped back from its role as "police officer" in the workplace. Both the federal and provincial governments have been conducting fewer and fewer inspections to ensure compliance with health and safety rules, environmental protection laws and basic employment standards. Instead of vigorous inspection and enforcement, governments have said businesses can be trusted to regulate themselves. Cormack says the results of this "do-nothing" policy were predictable – a growing number of businesses have simply been ignoring the rules. "De-regulation and self-regulation may sound like good ideas to the boys sitting around the corporate board table," she says. "But in the real world, these policies have led to rising numbers of employment standards complaints; increased rates of workplace injuries and a rise in the number of companies ignoring environmental regulations. It’s clear that the government needs to be much more aggressive in terms of inspections and enforcement if they hope to reverse these trends." Of course the 90s haven’t been all bad news, admits Cormack. On some levels, the closing years of the decade have brought improvements for workers in Alberta. For example, unemployment is lower than it has been in more than 15 years; the growth of part-time and temporary employment has slowed; and wages have finally started to rebound. Even in the public sector – long the target of budget-cutting governments – there has some good news. Unions like the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) have won long-overdue wage increases for their members. And the threat of job loss in the public sector has lessened as more and more people begin to appreciate the value of public services like health care and education. But Cormack warns that working people should not become complacent. Many of the problems that plagued the Canadian workplace in the 1990s still exist today. And she predicts that the new millennium will bring a whole new set of challenges. "The unemployment insurance system is still woefully inadequate; important public services like health care and education are still being under-funded; and governments are still refusing to live up to their responsibilities when it comes to things like the environment, health and safety and workers’ rights," says Cormack. "Those of us who are concerned about upholding the rights of workers still have a big job ahead of us." At the same time, Cormack says that new threats to the security of workers are presenting themselves. For example, she points out that new international agreements on trade and investment are pitting workers in western countries like Canada against low-wage workers in the developing world. The shift towards increased liberalization and deregulation in the world economy also threatens Canadian social programs and regulations aimed at protecting working people and the environment, she says. "Corporations have already successful used NAFTA to challenge and defeat a number of federal environmental laws," says Cormack. "We can expect that similar methods will be used to whittle away at Canadian labour laws and to undermine our publicly-funded programs and services." Cormack says that Albertans need to look no further than Calgary for an example of what may be in store for working people in the 21st century. More than 200 workers have been on strike at the Calgary Herald since early November. The strikers are facing an employer with deep pockets who seems committed to breaking the union and limiting the collective power of workers. "There’s a good chance that we’re going to see more employers like Conrad Black in the new millennium," predicts Cormack. "As the power of corporations grows in the new global economy and governments become more and more timid, many employers will take the opportunity to put the squeeze on workers. There will be more attempts to crush unions and make employees work for less." Here in Alberta, Cormack says the 21 century is already bringing new attacks on working people and public services. Just one month ago, the Klein government announced plans to introduce legislation that will pave the way for private, for-profit hospitals. The Tories have also promised to introduce a flat tax sometime early in the New Year that will shift the tax burden even more firmly onto the shoulders of middle-income workers while lightening the load on the wealthy. "Clearly, these are not positive developments for working people," says Cormack. "In this new and potentially harsh environment, workers are going to need all the help they can get. In most cases, employers won’t be on their side; neither will hostile conservative governments or timid liberal governments. One of the only organizations that will really be there for working people are unions. That’s why I think unions will be more important in the 21st century than every." Despite all the forces arrayed against unions and the working people they represent, Cormack thinks that organized labour will be up to the challenge. She points out that the Canadian labour movement successfully weathered the storm of the early 90s – and she predicts it will also withstand the challenges of the new millennium. "The truth is that the Alberta labour movement is stronger and more dynamic than ever," she says. "Union membership in Alberta has grown by 20,000 over the past two years alone – from about 253,000 in 1997 to more than 270,000 today. We are bigger; we stronger; and we are ready to fight for the rights of our members." As the labour movement enters the new millennium, Cormack says the AFL will continue to provide support to unions across the provinces as they negotiate contracts with employers in both the public and private sectors. The AFL will also continue its activism on a wide range of social and economic issues that have implications for working people. For example, the Federation will be front and centre in the fight against private health care and the flat tax. "I am confident that the AFL will continue to play a leading role on the economic, social and political stage," says Cormack. "We will continue our fight to ensure that working people get the best deal possible – from their employers and from their governments."
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