The labour movement opposes most of the consequences of these changes in the employment relationship. And rightly so.

High unemployment and underemployment, increasing numbers of involuntary part-time and term or contract employment, declining wage and benefit levels, increased job insecurity, forced early retirements and inadequate pensions are all consequences of the "new economy".

Equally clearly, declining union membership is another result of the changes in work.

However, simply opposing the sweeping changes occurring in the workplace is not enough. If the labour movement is going to be effective in protecting and enhancing workers' rights and standards-of-living, we are going to have to deal with the future of work on a broad social, economic and political basis.

This policy paper represents the first step in building a united, effective response by Alberta unions to the changes in work in the late 20th century. It will attempt to analyse the causes of changing work relationships, to offer alternatives to the current trends, and lastly to examine strategies for realizing these alternatives.

Part I Assessing the Jobs Crisis

A) The Effects of the Globalization of the Economy

The manufacturing sector has suffered less job displacement from new technologies than other sectors of the economy. It is still 'labour intensive', and should have remained a mainstay of 'good' employment and a stronghold for the union movement.

However, the massive changes to world economic patterns brought about by increasingly free trade in goods and services under the World Trade Organizations arguments on trade and tariffs, and the even more radical changes contained in the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have undermined manufacturing employment.

Simply put, the trade deals allow companies to move labour intensive manufacturing plants out of high-wage, industrialized countries to low-wage, non-union "emerging economies" like Mexico, Indonesia and Pakistan.

In fact, the trade deals don't simply "allow" such transfer of manufacturing work — they actually force corporations to move in order to maintain market shares.

Canada's public sector has been another vital source of good unionized jobs. Since the 1950's, as public and social services expanded — public sector employment has become a more and more important source of employment. Jobs in health care, education and social services were "permanent" and, once unionized offered reasonably good wages and benefits.

But, free trade threatens those jobs as well — in a round about way. Our transition to a lower wage workforce with high permanent levels of unemployment has caused a decrease in government tax revenues and an increase in demand for social safety net expenditures. At the same time, corporations have extracted tax concessions from all levels of government under threat of relocation — a tactic made possible by the trade agreements.

As government revenues have shrunk, it has triggered an assault on public sector wages, benefits and jobs through contracting-out, privatization, legislated wage rollbacks and "sweating" of labour.

In summary, if there is no change in the current process of technological change or free market movement of goods, services and profits— then our current job crisis will continue to deteriorate. Employment will become "more flexible", traditional jobs will continue to disappear and we will face a new polarization of workers between the few with decent full-time jobs and decent wages and benefits — and the majority stuck in an endless series of temporary, low-wage, no benefit jobs. In such an economy, union density and influence will continue to fall.

B) The Effects of Technological Change

Although the globalization of the world economy has accelerated the process, the development of new techniques alone would inevitably have produced a jobs crisis in the industrialized world.

In resource extraction industries like forestry and mining, production has continued to rise over the past decades — while employment in those industries plummets. In Grande Cache, for example, these are less than half the coal miners now than there was 30 years ago — yet coal production is up.

The displacement of workers by 'labour saving' technologies has occurred in nearly every kind of workplace in Canada. In telecommunications, transportation and finances, micro-technologies have displaced tens of thousands of switchers, operators and tellers. In offices, computers have vastly increased the productivity of secretarial and clerical workers, and displaced even more jobs. Even primary production in farming and fishing has experienced massive drops in workers and owner-operators.

The rate of technological change has not slowed, nor can it be expected to in the future.

The inescapable conclusion is that it will take less and less people to produce more and more goods, services and resources.

That means more and more workers will face marginal employment on the fringes of the 'new economy' — away from the traditional occupations in our economy.

Part II The Future of Work

There are two different visions of the future of work in Alberta: an employers' vision and a workers' vision.

The employers vision is best typified by the Alberta government's 'Human Resources Strategy' which says:

• full-time permanent jobs are a thing of the past
• 'flexible' work arrangements like homework, term or contract work, part-time work, 'self employment' are desirable
• workers will be responsible for training themselves so that they remain 'employable'
• high levels of unemployment are inescapable
• wages and benefits will remain low because of competitive pressures
• multi-skilling and cross-trade training will replace traditional apprenticeship programs
• although employers will not fund education, they will control curriculum so that useful workers are produced
• workers will be treated as a disposable commodity —bought 'just in time' and let go whenever convenient

For working people, the current trends will, if unchecked, produce a very bleak future. What working people need in a job market:

• full employment
• full-time, permanent jobs
• decent wages and benefits
• skills training linked to employment
• portable skills
• a solid safety net during periods of unemployment or injury, or retraining
• a secure retirement
• a healthy and safety workplace
• adequate leisure time to enjoy life

There are two important changes we can demand that will change the future of work. We can demand reduced worktime, and we can demand a comprehensive economic development strategy aimed at full employment.

A) A Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy

There is only so many times existing full-time jobs can be stretched through reduced work-time. Clearly, the creation of new, permanent, full-time jobs is an absolute necessity if we are to address the looming jobs crisis.

We need national and provincial economic development strategies directed at creating stable full-time employment. This kind of strategy has, at various times, been seen as a core function of government. The U.S. Employment Act of 1946 and the MacKenzie-King employment policies in the late 1940's are good examples.

What are the key components of an effective jobs strategy?

1. Investment Capital
   There are several possible sources for creating pools of investment capital for economic development. The most obvious is a public fund created through a fair tax system. If Alberta corporate taxes were raised to the national average, and if all of the various corporate tax credits, preferences and allowances ended, such a capital fund could be quickly built.
   Secondly, a labour investment fund, like the Crocus Fund in Manitoba, could be established in Alberta. This would allow workers to invest in their own futures through local funding of industrial development.
   Thirdly, unions could be given control of their own pension funds so that some of the billions of dollars contained in such funds could be directed to economic development projects.

2. Labour
   A skilled workforce is an obvious requirement for an effective job creation strategy.
   For labour, a public training system is preferable — one that results in recognized portable skill "certificates".
   The German "dual system" is a good example of an effective training program. After high school, two-thirds of German youth pass through a three year program that grants certifications in 430 different occupations. Entry into the vocational system is triggered by employment —once employed, German youth attend vocational school, paid by the state, for one day each week. The rest of the week they are "apprenticed" at their chosen trade and paid by the employer.
   The advantage of this system is that the employer is paying a fair share of the training expense, the student already has a job upon completion of training, and training money is not spent on occupations where there is no work available.
   When skills become redundant, workers incomes must be protected while retraining takes place. UI funds should be made available to workers undergoing retraining.

3. Research and Development
   To be competitive, Alberta and Canada must spend far more money on research and development. We lag far behind the other industrialized countries in this area.
   Our universities, colleges and technical schools already have the infrastructure to support such research — we simply need to allocate more money for research. At the same time, we need to reduce the costs of advanced education to students so that access is based on ability, not economic position. If we are to complete as a society, it only makes sense to foster the best education system we can devise.
   A real advantage of public research is that it is available to everyone — not held exclusively by one developer.

4. Infrastructure
   A competitive economy needs first-class 'hard' infrastructure — transportation, power, water and telecommunications facilities. Alberta badly needs to upgrade its major highways — perhaps with the addition of eastern and western 'north-south' corridors and the upgrading of current east-west corridors. Our rail system requires investment for upgrading — as does the infrastructure in our major urban centres.
   This upgrading alone would create meaningful employment —but it should really be considered a means to an end.
   Equally important is investment in the rest of the public sector. Health care, social services, child care, education, and the whole range of other public services are not an "expense" to a modern industrial state — they are an investment in a very real competitive advantage. U.S. companies have already accused Canada of subsidizing production through public health care and public pensions. These do represent subsidies to business — and the corporate sector has no valid reason to avoid paying their share.
   Reinvestment in the public sector to restore services and employment is an important part of rebuilding our 'infrastructure'.

5. Creation of New Crown Corporations
   Despite some business groups claims to the contrary, public enterprises can be important jobs and wealth creating institutions. Air Canada created good jobs and needed revenues to the federal government before it was privatized. The ALCB provided more and better jobs than the rag-tag collection of private owners that replaced it. There should be room for new public enterprises in areas of the economy that the government considers vital to our future.

6. Marketing Analysis
   A role of government should be provision of a marketing analysis service.
   Testing the potential of new products and assisting in marketing strategies would be an invaluable asset to any economic development strategy.

7. Encourage Domestic Demand
   An effective economic development strategy can't only be based upon export strategies. A strong domestic market for goods and services is the surest way to a healthy labour market.
   There are two main tactics that can spur domestic demand:
   1. Public Procurement Policies
      Preference for local products in purchasing at the local and provincial government levels will produce a stable, healthy domestic economy.

   2. Raise Minimum Wage
      One of the obvious ways to increase domestic spending is to make sure working people have more money to spend.
      Raising the minimum wage, according to the latest studies, actually increases employment in local economies — and it accomplishes social justice objectives as well.
      Raising Alberta's minimum wage to $7.50/hour today would simply restore it to 1978 levels in real dollars.

8. Extension of Benefits to Part-time Workers
   Mandatory extension of full benefits to all part-time workers would definitely increase the number of full-time employees according to surveys of employers (who said they wouldn't use as many part-time workers if there was no wage savings involved). The extension of benefits to part-time workers would also increase domestic demand.

B) Reduced Work-Time

There are many ways to reduce work-time and, consequently, create jobs. The standard work week was reduced steadily before 1950 — from 72 hours to 64 hours to 44 hours and finally to 40 hours. It has remained stuck there despite huge increases in productivity per worker in the last 20 years.

1. A reduction to a four day, 32 hour week with no loss in pay is easily defended on a productivity argument alone. In Germany several major corporations like Volkswagen have already agreed to a 32 hour week — and it has resulted in more employment!
   In France, the government is debating legislating the four day, 32 hour week. Industrial relations specialists have predicted that western Europe will have a standard four day week within a decade. For labour in Alberta, it is not a difficult matter to put a reduced work week on the bargaining table, although winning it would obviously take a real fight. However, all historic reductions in work time were first won by unions and only then spread to the rest of the labour force.

2. A ban on overtime
   Several industrial unions — like the CEP and CAW have successfully negotiated severe restrictions on employer use of overtime. Overtime premiums were always intended to penalize employers' demands on workers personal time and thereby discourage forced overtime.
   A ban on overtime will, again create more employment — although exact numbers are difficult to produce.

3. Reduced work-year
   Again, the industrialized European countries are well ahead of us here. The average European work year is 25 days shorter than ours. Reduced work years can be reached through negotiation of increased paid vacation days and more generous paid leave provisions.

4. Reduced work years
   Early retirement is not an option for many workers simply because they cannot afford to retire without a full-pension. However, an earlier retirement age with full pension could be an option.

   Summary
   Reducing work time is the only effective way to deal with the new technologies that reduce employment through increased productivity. It is something the labour movement has fought for and won in the past — and it does create new jobs and a broad social demand among unorganized workers for the same benefit.

Summary

In Alberta, we have the capacity to create an effective economic development strategy to create new, permanent, full-time jobs. We can raise the capital, provide skilled labour, upgrade infrastructure and fund research of development and marketing.

However, the largest barrier obstructing a new jobs policy is the lack of government commitment to any such initiative.

Part III Strategies for Change

The labour movement must come to grips with its recent inability to effect public policy.

If labour does not intervene in the changing labour market, it will continue to change for the worse.

Of the two major initiatives outlined in this policy paper, only one — reduced work time — can be accomplished on our own.

The other — an effective industrial jobs creations strategy — will require a lot more public pressure than labour can exert on its own.

1. Reducing work-time
   The first strategy should be to put our demands for reduced work time on the bargaining tables. That means, first, convincing our own members that it is time to push this issue — that we've earned reduced worktime and that we can win it.
   The creation of a 32 hour league — the modern day equivalent of the 8 hour movement from the 1870's — could help popularize the idea. Unions could pledge financial support for any local striking for reduced work time, or concentrated joint actions in support of reduced work time could be planned.
   Arguments based upon productivity increases and the need for employment should be convincing, even to the general public. The fact that Europe is already acting on work time should strengthen our position.

2. Creating New Permanent, Full-time Jobs
   This is a more difficult project. First, a broad social demand for good jobs has to be mobilized.

   Strategy One: Educating Labour

   
   Again, reaching our own members should be a first priority. We need trade unionists on side in the demand for new jobs and an effective economic development strategy. Since our strategy involves the expansion of industrial, public sector and infrastructure jobs, it should be possible to unite the labour movement around this demand.

   Strategy Two: Recruiting Youth

   
   It is youth in Alberta who are paying the price of our current labour market strategies. They are the ones facing McJobs, a life of uncertain, casual employment, low wages and underemployment.
   Consequently, the labour movement should make youth mobilization a priority. A joint youth/labour conference on the future of work could lay the groundwork for future cooperation.

   Strategy Three: Force Public Debate

   
   One of the reasons governments have continued to let workers rights and standards-of-living decline is that there has been no sustained public debate or public demand for action on the jobs crisis.
   The Federation should call for a federal/provincial task force on jobs — and demand a working "white paper" on job creation.
   We should continue to call for government action and convince the New Democrats and our social partners to echo that demand. We should also be spreading our alternatives for the future of work as widely as possible.

Conclusion

Alberta workers, along with workers in the rest of Canada and across the globe, are confronting a crisis in employment. Unemployment, underemployment, and insecure low-wage employment are serious problems that will only get worse in the future if nothing changes.

While there are national and international dimensions to the problem that must be dealt with, here in Alberta we can at least try to deal with our local crisis.

The labour movement in Canada has, in the past, won both reduced time and government commitment to full employment strategies. It's time to renew our struggle on both fronts.