When viewing the video, I found it hard to believe that we were talking about Canada, a country that is rich with employers and employees who engage in rewarding work because of the collective bargaining process. As Friend and Foe provides a window into the labour movement in Canada and its turbulent struggles since its inception. This struggle resulted in the protections and rights that workers in Canada continue to enjoy today. The labour movement was born in Canada as industrialization began. With the help of the Canadian government, influential business owners were provided with huge incentives to bolster their business ventures. Along with this came jobs for many in Canada and abroad, but the workers did not reap the same benefits as
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Two major labour disruptions in Canada, The Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 and a coal mine strike in Cape Breton would again see violence on the streets between union activists and the military. The government’s take on worker’s fighting for their rights was to regard them as subversive. The fall of the stock market in 1929 added additional unrest for the country as unemployment rates skyrocketed. In response, demonstrations were held around the county and King responded with unemployment insurance as means for people to survive while not employed. Luckily, the labour movement stood firm and when the depression ended more organized unions were created and one of the first negotiated agreements with General Motors came to fruition, but not without the government’s usual violent …show more content…
The government finally recognized via legislation that unions were here to stay and collective bargaining was the best way to negotiate a fair settlement. Eventually the governments of Canada and the Provinces would become employers. The need for collective bargaining became even more evident when comparing the salaries of men and women for the same work. Pay equity would become a huge issue for the government employer. However, this took years to resolve and is still a barrier for many workers. When Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, in reaction to a skyrocketing inflation rate, imposed price controls in the 1970s, the unions fought back with widespread demonstrations. The controls were short lived. Although the government was successful in winning the right to prohibit some government employees from striking, they were not successful in holding down or diminishing the impact of unions throughout Canada. The labour movement in Canada as in the rest of the world has been fraught with negative attitudes and rhetoric. If not for those brave workers a century ago, we would not continue to have access to safe working conditions, fair wages and benefits through the collective bargaining process. I would say that the government and big business began as a foe, but in most cases today are a
Two major labour disruptions in Canada, The Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 and a coal mine strike in Cape Breton would again see violence on the streets between union activists and the military. The government’s take on worker’s fighting for their rights was to regard them as subversive. The fall of the stock market in 1929 added additional unrest for the country as unemployment rates skyrocketed. In response, demonstrations were held around the county and King responded with unemployment insurance as means for people to survive while not employed. Luckily, the labour movement stood firm and when the depression ended more organized unions were created and one of the first negotiated agreements with General Motors came to fruition, but not without the government’s usual violent …show more content…
The government finally recognized via legislation that unions were here to stay and collective bargaining was the best way to negotiate a fair settlement. Eventually the governments of Canada and the Provinces would become employers. The need for collective bargaining became even more evident when comparing the salaries of men and women for the same work. Pay equity would become a huge issue for the government employer. However, this took years to resolve and is still a barrier for many workers. When Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, in reaction to a skyrocketing inflation rate, imposed price controls in the 1970s, the unions fought back with widespread demonstrations. The controls were short lived. Although the government was successful in winning the right to prohibit some government employees from striking, they were not successful in holding down or diminishing the impact of unions throughout Canada. The labour movement in Canada as in the rest of the world has been fraught with negative attitudes and rhetoric. If not for those brave workers a century ago, we would not continue to have access to safe working conditions, fair wages and benefits through the collective bargaining process. I would say that the government and big business began as a foe, but in most cases today are a