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Instead of cutting services, we need to end sweetheart deals for corporations and the wealthy, says Better Way Alberta campaign

Edmonton – In response to comments from Premier Jim Prentice blaming Albertans for the province’s budget woes, a coalition of major unions is launching a $500,000 province-wide campaign aimed at saving public services from deep cuts by urging the provincial government to fix its broken revenue system.

“Who created the current budget mess? It’s time for Premier Prentice and the Tories to look in the mirror,” says Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan.

“We’re not facing a budget crunch because of anything individual Albertans did. The real problem is that successive PC governments have blown holes in the revenue base we need to fund education, health care and other services that Albertans rely on.

“The premier wants to impose a reckless nine-per-cent budget cut. Cuts of that magnitude will devastate public services that are already stretched to the breaking point…and they won’t address the root causes.  The real solution is to reverse years and years of irresponsible tax and royalty giveaways to profitable corporations and the wealthy.”

The Better Way Alberta campaign’s home is www.betterwayalberta.ca. On the site, Albertans can explore the various ways in which the provincial government has destroyed the revenue system, and given away billions of dollars to big corporations and to very wealthy individuals.

“The premier is trying to blame the looming deficit on nurses, teachers, janitors, secretaries—the people who work hard every day for the citizens of the province—when the problem was really caused by irresponsible tax and royalty giveaways.” McGowan said. “He’s trying to spin a tale that the province isn’t frugal enough, when the truth is that Alberta is in the middle of the pack when it comes to how much it spends on public services. We spend a little more per person than Nova Scotia, and a little less than New Brunswick.”

The province-wide campaign will consist of a central website and petition; a radio and online advertising campaign; a direct-mail campaign to every household in Alberta; and a door-to-door campaign in which canvassers will have face-to-face conversations with Albertans about the Better Way Alberta campaign. The coalition is also considering townhall meetings and rallies.

“Poll after poll shows that Albertans understand there is a better way to approach revenues,” McGowan said. “They’re willing to look at how this province pays for services. But successive premiers have done nothing but cut. To his credit, Premier Prentice has said he’s willing to talk about revenues and ‘put everything on the table.’ But if he’s serious about that, why has he ruled out increasing royalties and taxes on corporations and the wealthy? It sounds like the more of the same from an un-reformed Tory: perks for their friends and pain for everyone else.”

According to the government’s own numbers, Alberta could increase the amount it gets from taxes by $11.6 billion a year and still have the lowest taxes in Canada. Most of that $11.6 billion that is going uncollected by Alberta’s inequitable tax code is being left in the pockets of the province’s richest individuals and most profitable corporations.

“If we’re all in this together, as Premier Prentice says, why should corporations and the wealthy get a free pass?” McGowan said. “And why should ordinary Albertans pay for the mistakes of politicians again?”

If the Prentice government imposes a nine per cent cut, Alberta will end up spending less on public services than much poorer provinces, even as its population continues to boom. Albertans will have to deal with larger class sizes, more over-crowded hospitals and even longer waits for new infrastructure.  Economists also agree that government cuts will likely tip the whole economy into recession.

“Oil prices go up and down. Albertans know that, and their government should know that by now,” McGowan said. “But every time there’s a slight downturn, government takes aim at public servants, rather than planning for the long term, budgeting better, and fixing the holes in the province’s revenue system.”

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Olav Rokne, Communications Director, Alberta Federation of Labour at 780.218.4351 (cell) or via e-mail [email protected]

Better Way Alberta press conference scheduled for 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.

Edmonton – Because the government has scheduled a press conference at 1 p.m., and many reporters cannot make it to our press conference, we will host a second press conference at 2 p.m.

What:              Better Way Alberta press conference and launch

When:              1 p.m. and 2 p.m. March 5

Where:             United Nurses of Alberta offices, 6^th Floor, 11150 Jasper Ave. Edmonton

Who:                Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan
United Nurses of Alberta president Heather Smith
Health Sciences Association of Alberta president Elisabeth Ballermann
Canadian Union of Public Employees (Alberta Division) president Marle Roberts

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Olav Rokne, Communications Director, Alberta Federation of Labour at 780.218.4351 (cell) or via e-mail [email protected]

Reckless PC spending cuts will make oil downturn worse for Albertans

Edmonton – The nine per cent budget cuts proposed by finance minister Robin Campbell and Premier Jim Prentice will plunge Alberta into a downward economic spiral, harm Albertans who rely on public services, and further threaten to push Alberta toward recession.

On Wednesday, February 11, the finance minister joined Premier Jim Prentice in a press conference updating Albertans on their plan to tackle government deficits caused by low oil prices and an irresponsible tax system. In the conference, the premier cited the languishing price of oil as a pretext for austerity measures and spending cuts.

“Jim Prentice has an opportunity here to show some leadership and political courage. Today’s press conference is an indication that he isn’t going to take that opportunity. This is terrible news for all Albertans,” Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan said. “The premier knows that we’re facing a possible recessionary period – and every credible economist will tell you that slashing spending at this time will only deepen that recession.”

Despite the Premier saying he has heard that Albertans want a measured and reasoned response to the current fiscal reality, the PC government announced up to a nine per cent cut in government spending across the board. This will mean billions of dollars less each year for the front-line services on which Albertans rely, without addressing the underlying problem that the province’s budgets are too dependent on fluctuating resource revenues.

“When you cut spending this drastically, you put people out of work. When you put more people out of work, they stop spending. And when that many people stop spending, the economy grinds to a halt,” McGowan said. “Unless Premier Prentice can step up and provide leadership on royalties and taxes, Alberta could be heading for some very dark times.”

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Olav Rokne, Communications Director, Alberta Federation of Labour at 780.218.4351 (cell)
or via e-mail [email protected]

Examination of Alberta jobs data shows that labour shortage claims from groups like CFIB are nothing but hot air

Edmonton – The federal government should tell low-wage employers and the Alberta government to “quit their whining” about recent changes to the controversial Temporary Foreign Worker program, said AFL president Gil McGowan as he released a new study showing that there is no economy-wide labour shortage in Alberta.

The study, entitled “Truth or Scare: Are Claims of a Labour Shortage in Alberta Based on Evidence?” uses empirical, Alberta-specific jobs data to examine the issue — as opposed to the kind of studies released by the CFIB, which rely on surveys of employers who have an incentive to overstate the difficultly they’re having filling positions.

“The labour shortage is basically a myth created by employers who want to keep wages low in the face of economic conditions which suggest they should be going up,” McGowan said. “It’s a myth that’s been used to promote policies like the TFW program that are bad for Canadians.”

Using a test for labour shortage developed by the Federal government’s own economists, the AFL study found that that there is no labour shortage in most sectors of the Alberta economy, including lower-skill, lower-wage sectors like retail, accommodation and food services.

“Now that the federal government has finally put some limits on the ability of low-wage employers to use the TFW program to drive down wages, groups like the CFIB are whining and trying to resurrect the labour-shortage boogeyman,” McGowan said. “This report exposes these complaints for what they really are: empty rhetoric from a group of self-interested whiners who want to short-circuit the healthy operation of the Canadian labour market.”

Experts agree that there is a three-part test to see if a labour shortage really exists. First, employment levels have to go up significantly. Second, unemployment rates have to go down significantly. And third, wages have to go up significantly. By these measures, with the notable exception of a very small number of occupations related to the energy sector, there is no labour shortage in Alberta.

According to Employment Minister Jason Kenney, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Alberta has increased by 14 per cent, and overall wages have increased 31 per cent since 2006. But in Alberta’s food services industry, wages have only increased eight per cent over the same period.

“Employers can’t say Canadians are unwilling to fill the jobs on offer until they’ve actually increased wages in keeping with changing market conditions,” McGowan said “What our study shows is that Alberta’s labour market is booming – but we’re not dealing with any economy-wide shortages.”

Although the AFL’s report is the first comprehensive look at available data, this is not the first time that the labour shortage has been shown to be fake. Over the past year, the Parliamentary Budget Office, former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, the Institute for Research on Public Policy, the University of Calgary School of Public Policy, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the University of Alberta Economics Department and Fraser Institute Fellow Herb Emery have all released reports that debunk the labour shortage myth.

Key findings in the report:

• Retail Trade exhibits neither a shortage of workers nor rising wages.

• From 2010 to 2013, wages in wholesale trade fell

• From 2010 to 2013, wages in accommodation and food services stagnated

• Between 2007 and 2011, 23,100 Albertans enrolled in an apprenticeship program, but only 9,066 completed those programs

• The only occupational categories that saw rapidly rising wages as a result of shortages were in limited energy-related sub-categories.

• Manufacturing and Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services saw wages increase a third and a quarter below average.

Link:  “Truth or Scare”

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Olav Rokne, Communications Director, Alberta Federation of Labour at 780.218.4351 (cell)
or via e-mail [email protected]

“Smoke and mirrors” cleanup of the TFW program allowing good jobs to disappear like magic

Edmonton – Good Canadian jobs continue to vanish into thin air as if by magic due to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

Alberta’s largest labour organization released evidence today showing TFW welders can be paid less than half the going rate. This is a clear example of employers abusing the system, despite the Harper government’s claims of cracking down on the TFW program.

A Kijiji ad, posted by a recruiter on June 27, 2014, suggests approvals were granted to employers to fill jobs as Welders and Related Machine Operators (NOC 7265) in Alberta and Saskatchewan at wages of $13 to $20 per hour. At the low end, this is less than half the going rate for Canadian welders.

The average starting wage for a welder in Alberta is $28.49; the average overall wage is $33.79.

“It’s starting to look like Jason Kenney’s cleanup of the TFW program was smoke and mirrors,” Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan said. “While he was promising a crackdown, his department issued Labour Market Opinions for TFWs to work as welders and be paid less than half the wage being paid to Canadians.”

The Kijiji posting invites applicants to submit resumes and Skype IDs to Miles Andry of Canadian Shield Immigration. Mr. Andry does not appear to have any construction-related Human Resources experience. His LinkedIn profile lists him as a Canadian Shield recruitment specialist for the past two years and a professional magician for the past 12 years.

“These are some of the best jobs in the Alberta economy, and the Harper government has literally handed them over to a magician to make good wages disappear,” McGowan said. “All of this talk of cleaning up the program, cracking down on abuses, and making sure Canadians get first crack at jobs appears to be nothing more than sleight of hand.”

“Instead of a circus sideshow designed to trick the public, Mr. Kenney needs to get serious about cleaning up the mess he made,” McGowan said. “Mr. Kenney should wave his magic wand and cancel every LMO his department issued unlawfully, below the wages paid to Canadians for the same job”

MEDIA CONTACT:

Olav Rokne, Communications Director, Alberta Federation of Labour at 780.218.4351 (cell)
or via e-mail [email protected]

Screenshots  at July 2, 2014

Kijiji ad for Welders, where an LMO is available for between $13.00/hour and $20.00/hour

Ad is posted at: http://www.kijiji.ca/v-construction-trades-jobs/calgary/welders-needed-lmo-available/1000543369?siteLocale=en_CA

LinkedIn Profile for Miles Andry, Canadian Shield LMO Recruitment Specialist: http://ca.linkedin.com/pub/miles-andrey/86/97b/937

Wage Profile from Government of Alberta WageInfo, for Welders and Related Machine Operators

http://www.jobbank.gc.ca/LMI_report_bynoc.do?&noc=7265&reportOption=wage

Backgrounder_Alberta Employers with LMOs allowing them to pay less than “prevailing market wage”_2014Apr25

AFL reveals hundreds of unlawful TFW permits issued by Minister Kenney

 EDMONTON – Problems with the Temporary Foreign Worker program are not limited to the food service industry.

An Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) audit of Temporary Foreign Worker permits (Labour Market Opinions (LMOs) uncovered hundreds of instances where the Harper government broke its own rules and allowed TFWs to be paid less than Albertans. This undermines all Canadian workers.

“Minister Kenney has now banned the use of TFWs in food services. But while the food service industry may be the worst offender, it is by no means the only industry that has been using the TFW program to displace Canadians and drive down wages. So targeting food services is not enough,” Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan said. “The government needs to immediately scrap all low-wage streams of the TFW program and put a moratorium on medium and high-skilled streams pending an open and transparent investigation.”

Piecing together hundreds of pages of records obtained through Access to Information, the AFL investigation found hundreds of cases where the Minister for Employment and Social Development, Jason Kenney, issued permits to employers that allowed those employers to pay TFWs less than Albertans.

“There is a clear pattern to this government’s handling of the Temporary Foreign Worker program,” McGowan said. “They’re bending, breaking, circumventing and ignoring the rules they set up to prevent abuse. And because of that, employers in all kinds of sectors are using the program to drive down wages across the country and throughout the economy.”

An employer must – according to Ministry guidelines, pay the prevailing wage rate for the region and the occupation. The permits issued are therefore unlawful. The documents show a pattern of abuse of the program far beyond fast food outlets.

“The abuse of the Temporary Foreign Worker program has only gotten worse since Jason Kenney took over Employment and Social Development Canada,” McGowan said. “Ultimately, he’s the one responsible for these permits. If ministerial responsibility means anything, Jason Kenney has to resign.”

In 2012-13, unlawful permits were found for hotels, gas stations, truck stops, casinos, ski lift operations, convenience stores, greenhouses, industrial farming operations, feedlots, nurseries, and various occupations in restaurants.

The AFL is writing to the federal Auditor General to conduct a full investigation. Given the seriousness of the allegations and the pattern of abuse of the program within Jason Kenney’s ministry, the AFL is examining other avenues for investigation, such as the federal Ethics and Accountability Commissioner.

Notes on the Data

The AFL obtained the prevailing wage rates used to issue Labour Market Opinions to employers who wish to hire a Temporary Foreign Worker. This data is broken down by occupational classification and by region of the province.

We also obtained a list of LMOs given to employers for $0.50 above Alberta’s minimum wage.  Several Temporary Foreign Workers may be admitted under one LMO.

Under the regulations, employers may not pay TFWs less than the prevailing wage rate for a specific occupation in a specific region.

For most of the lower-skilled occupations where we find thousands of Temporary Foreign Workers, the prevailing wage rate paid to Albertans is more than $0.50 above minimum wage. In many cases, such as farm workers, the prevailing wage rate paid to Albertans is up to 50 per cent higher than the minimum wage. And yet, employers were given permits to hire TFWs for far less than what they have to pay Alberta workers.

The fact that this is not confined to a few isolated incidents in one industry sector points to a pattern of using TFWs to drive down Canadian wages and an intensification of the pattern since Jason Kenney took over responsibility for the permits.

To date, Canadians have never seen so much evidence of the program being used across the economy to undercut Canadian wages. All previous evidence that this was the case was presented as one bad employer or anecdotal. The AFL’s investigation – by examining thousands of TFW permit records and matching them to prevailing wage rates at the regional level – shows that the Harper government has been complicit in the undermining of Canadian wages.

AFL Backgrounder: Alberta Employers with LMOs allowing them to pay less than “prevailing market wage”

MEDIA CONTACT:

Olav Rokne, Communications Director, Alberta Federation of Labour at 780.289.6528 (cell)
or via e-mail [email protected]

Exposes bogus rationale for TFW program

Edmonton – There is no significant shortage of workers or skills in Canada, according to a new report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO).

In a report released on Tuesday, March 25, the independent officer of parliament showed that employment rates and job vacancy rates were still lower than they had been before the recession of 2008-09. “There is little evidence to suggest a national labour shortage exists in Canada,” the report concludes.

“Lies and exaggerations about the existence of a labour shortage have been used to justify the massive expansion of the Temporary Foreign Worker program (TFWP),” Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan said. “Public policy should be based on facts. If you ignore the facts, you get bad policy that hurts the public interest. That’s what we have with the Harper Government’s Temporary Foreign Worker program.”

The PBO’s report is just the latest report to debunk the notion of a shortage of workers or skills in Canada. Over the past year, former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, the Institute for Research on Public Policy, the University of Calgary School of Public Policy, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the University of Alberta Economics Department and Fraser Institute Fellow Herb Emery have all released reports that debunk the labour shortage myth.

“Every year, Canadian employers bring in hundreds of thousands of Temporary Foreign Workers to fill a nonexistent labour shortage,” McGowan said. “And when these marginalized workers get here, they’re paid less than they should be, their rights are ignored, they have little hope of attaining citizenship – and Canadians are put out of work.” 

The current Public Budget Officer, Jean-Denis Fréchette, was appointed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in September 2013 to replace Kevin Paige. The mandate of the PBO is to provide independent analysis to Parliament on the state of the nation’s finances, the government’s estimates and trends in the Canadian economy.

“This is the PM’s own guy offering a report that repudiates the justification for this government’s policies,” McGowan said. “Academics, right-wing analysts, progressive economists, government bureaucrats, statisticians – the entire fact-based community agrees that the justification for the Temporary Foreign Worker program is bunk. Even the PM himself has expressed concerns about the program. So why does it still exist?”

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Olav Rokne, Communications Director, Alberta Federation of Labour at 780.289.6528 (cell)
or via e-mail [email protected]