Is the sexual harassment of interns a hidden problem?

The Chicago Tribune ran a excellent article this week about how interns rarely report sexual harassment. This article highlights a significant problem that young people can face early in their careers in that there's a power dynamic that plays in favour of the harasser. There's been a fair amount of research done showing that interns are in a poor position to challenge harassment, see this Harvard Women's Law Journal article, this policy memorandum from the Economic Policy Institute and Ross Perlin's Intern Nation. This problem is being driven by poorly constructed laws, lax enforcement of employment standards and a lack of knowledge on the part of young people about their workplace rights.

Internships in Ontario (and in most jurisdictions in Canada) are covered under human rights laws that generally cover the range of employment, volunteer and service relationships that people can enter into. If a intern is sexually harassed they can file a complaint with the relevant tribunal and seek damages for the impugned behaviour. No one should put up with being harassed as it can wreck havoc psychologically, emotionally and physically. If you find yourself in such a position tell a parent, professor, supervisor or friend as people need support in these sorts of situations. Young people don't need any additional stress in the workplace beyond what they normally face. For my previous discussions about this legalities surrounding internships in Canada see: here, here and here.

Strategic Abandonment, Youth and the Precariat: a Interview with Guy Standing

Recently, I had the chance to interview Guy Standing, a former director at the ILO and current professor of economic security at the University of Bath. He's a global authority on precarious work and the impact from neoliberal policies on labour markets. Earlier this year Professor Standing published The Precariat: the New Dangerous Class which traces the emergence of the global precariat and what needs to be done to address the needs of this group. This is a very timely interview given the deep contradictions that are becoming apparent with capitalism and the development of widespread opposition by young people to economic and social injustice through phenomena like Occupy Wall Street in North America, the indignados in Spain and the London riots. The substance of the interview focuses on the deterioration of the economic prospects of young people and how youth form the vanguard of the precariat. The interview appears below:

Q: You've argued that the precariat is a class in development. Can you briefly explain the emergence of the precariat?

A: It is a class-in-the-making, not yet a class-for-itself. What this means, in brief, is that it consists of a growing number of people, in millions, who are experiencing a similar set of experiences – insecurity, providing what is called flexible, precarious labour without any secure rights or having a sense of occupational identity – without yet realising a common sense of collective interest in overcoming the insecurity around a common vision of what sort of Good Society they would want to see replacing the current circumstances.

Q: During the era of neoliberalism there has been a commodification of education, a retrenchment of the social welfare state and a general absence of effective ameliorative strategies that enhance the position of young people in labour markets. Overall, has there been a strategic abandonment of young people on the part of governments as a result of neoliberal policy? 

A: There has been a general abandonment of the need for social and economic security for ordinary people. The vast majority of us, as human beings, want and need basic security. Without it, we are at risk of impoverishment, and as a result we can easily lose our sense of empathy with other people. The commodification of education in those circumstances has given young people a false message. The view has been that if young people improve their “human capital”, they will gain higher incomes and have access to a fantastic career. But this is a false prospectus, if the market system is merely generating a small number of big winners alongside a growing number of jobs for the precariat. All the human capital agenda is doing is mass producing graduates with pieces of paper called degrees or diplomas, at horrifying cost in terms of payments made and debts incurred. There is an education bubble about to break. It will make the sub-prime housing bubble seem just one of several to hit our economies. Student debt in the United States has multiplied sevenfold in the past decade and is likely to continue to rise. Abandonment? You can say so.

Q: One of poignant arguments you've made is that the development of the precariat is associated with a lack of social memory, no reciprocity and no shadow of the future. What do you feel are the impacts stemming from the rise of the precariatized mind on the psychology of the current generation of young people?

A: The precariatised mind – and precariousness in general – creates fear and loss of hope. Youth who lose hope may easily lose interest in the political process, which would be wrong. We need to struggle for a much better type of society. Disengagement might be understandable, but it is the worst scenario. We must forge a new form of political engagement. This is one of the main messages the book tries to provide. Youth has always led society with its imagination and energy. If we want a better ecology, less inequality and a revival of the commons, youth must revive a conscious commitment to social and political action.   

Q: There appears to be a compelling narrative between labour market flexibility (e.g. wage system, functional and numerical), intergenerational equity and the deteriorating prospects for young people. Are young people facing a poverty trap in advanced economies? 

A: They face a huge poverty trap, combined with what the book calls a precarity trap. Young people on the edge of the labour market face what is in effect much, much higher marginal tax rates than people in the salariat or the elite would regard as tolerable. Youth should take the trouble to learn why that is happening and how it is happening.

Q: Over the past ten months there has been a lot of social unrest from youth (e.g. the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, anti-austerity riots in Greece, the London riots). Do you see a long-term movement emerging from these events that could bring about new redistributive strategies?

A: Yes and no. It is up to us all, young and old. The events of this year have been wonderful and they have been promising. They have been the actions of primitive rebels, which means they have brought together many people who see what they are against. But there is not yet a common vision of what is needed. That is the next stage. Those participating in the events this year must develop a coherent, feasible strategy and engage politically to put it into practice.

Q: What sort of redistributive strategies do you propose for addressing the social and economic inequities that presently exist? 

A: As I argue in the book, and as our network BIEN has been arguing, the first policy we should struggle to understand and to achieve is a basic income. We need to ensure that everybody in society has basic economic security as a human right. I urge your readers to look up the BIEN website and to join us as lifetime members. You will find that we are beginning to have real success in some unlikely places in the world. We need to make sure that translates into success inside the United States as well. It would not be a panacea. However, it must be an integral part of a redistributive strategy, as long as it was combined with other institutional changes and a revival of collective action. To be young is to have no baggage. In other words, it is the time of life to reject despair and cynicism. Join us. The journey is part of the fun. And being on it lifts the spirit and the chin.  

Ryerson's Eyeopener tackles unpaid internships

The Eyeopener, Ryerson's student newspaper, published an excellent article on internships this week as part of an ongoing series about students in the labour market; previously the paper has covered retail work, the hospitality industry and unsafe student jobs at Ryerson University. I'm quoted extensively in the article on internships and provide insight into the legal, demographic and intergenerational equity aspects surrounding this issue. I've been quite active about speaking out on internships as I think they are a concrete example of the problems that exist in the labour market for young people. I don't see the debate fading anytime soon in the face of government inaction on workplace law reform, a poor youth labour market and little enforcement of employment standards. For my previous articles on the topic of internships in Canada see: here, here and here.

Is Rob Ford the epitome of the malaise in Canada's political class?

Just a quick follow-up to my post last week on youth culture and the malaise in Canada's political class. Today Rob Ford, the Mayor of Toronto, came out swinging against Occupy Toronto barking that "We are going to be asking them to leave the park and take it from there." This underscores the point that I made about how there's been little discussion with Canada's political class about the prevailing social conditions that are driving the Occupy movement. Ford's comments are similar to those of Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney and Federal Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty who both acknowledged the protests as constructive; however, neither addressed the underlying factors behind the protests such as: surging income inequality, the anti-worker policies adopted over the last three decades as a result of neoliberalism or the rusting of the workplace laws that has left most workers in Canada without viable form of protection from employers. 

This lack of discourse on these profound problems is problematic and borders on demagoguery. Without a national debate about the implications of constructing a society predicated on haves and have-nots and how to stem this alarming development the country is going to be in for a rough ride as the very fabric of society to frays to an even larger degree. What's needed is action on addressing the changes that are occurring to Canada's economy, how public policy can be utilized to secure a sustainable future and the government's role in providing for the next generation of citizens. These are fundamental issues that go to the heart of the Canadian State; it's time that politicians drop the showboating and begin responding to the actual needs of the population.

Gabor Lukacs and the University of Manitoba reach settlement

Dr. Gabor Lukacs*

The Gabor Lukacs affair has ended with a confidential settlement between Dr. Lukacs and the University of Manitoba. A joint statement released on November 10, 2011 announced "The University has rescinded all disciplinary actions against Professor Lukacs (including reprimand, suspension and denial of increment). All outstanding legal proceedings between the parties are terminated. The parties have also agreed that it is to their mutual benefit to end the employment relationship." Having negotiated these sorts of agreements before they often come with large monetary payments for the party leaving their employment.

It would have been fascinating to see the final arbitration award given the intersection of the privacy, human rights and labour law present in this case; I'm of the opinion that this case would have broke new ground in labour law. The vast majority of workplace law disputes end in a settlement agreement long before a final determination is reached and it shows how differences of opinion can quickly spin out of control. I covered this case as I felt that it stood as a cautionary tale of what young workers experience in today's workplaces. Dr. Lukacs was lucky that beyond his own wiles he had the backing of a strong Union that had the resources to contest the disciplinary measures that were imposed. Most young people don't enjoy the same level of protection in the workplace and without having independent financial resources many aren't able to hire legal counsel to challenge their employer in the Courts.

For my previous thoughts on this case check out my article in the CBA's Labour and Employment Perspective and previous blog posts here, here and here.


(*Photo of Dr. Gabor Lukacs credited to Leif Larsen.)

Youth culture and the malaise in Canada's political class

It's not?

Youth culture in Canada is a vastly under-explored and as of late there has been a lot happening in this area. Some of the developments, such as the Occupy Canada movement and resurgence in youth involvement in politics, have been quite positive, while other incidents such as the Vancouver riots have been quite negative. This post is going to explore some of the underlying issues and contextualize them in wider trends occurring in society.

Underscoring all the recent developments is a deteriorating economic situation in advanced economies; this situation is being driven by the policies arising out of and predicated on a neoliberal orthodoxy which has been the dominant political ideology in advanced economies over the last four decades, this includes: the rise of financial capitalism, globalization, liberalization of trade policy, technological change, deregulation of workplace law and retrenchment of the social welfare state.

These policies have had a tremendous impact on the structure of Canadian society driving and creating problematic trends such as income inequality, structural unemployment, the hollowing out of the middle class, deindustrialization, precarious employment, a decline in class solidarity and anti-worker sentiment driving public policy. There's been a deep impact on youth as well with issues like underemployment, precarious jobs, high debt loads from student loans and a difficult transition from school into workforce characterizing the experience of young people entering the labour market.

Police in Montreal attacked McGill students on Thursday.

As of late the response from young people in Canada is one of outrage with recent memory seeing protests across the country on issues as varied as tuition fees to income inequality to attempts at voter nullification. The overwhelming response from the government has been one of repression through the deployment of police and utilizing the legal system to abrogate and silence dissent. From riot police attacking students at McGill this past week to the secret suspension of Charter rights at the G20 summit in Toronto to the illegal forced removal of Occupy encampments; behind the violent draconian response there's a worrying lack of dialogue from politicians about the underlying grievances raised by young people.

The questions that young people pose raise concerns about the deep contradictions that underpin our economic and social order in Canada; furthermore, the answers to these questions, predicated on a system rooted in social and economic justice, provide an incisive and compelling alternative to the accounts that pass for journalism in the mainstream. These questions highlight the ongoing failure of Canada's political class to address issues of social and economic justice in any meaningful way. The primacy of financial capitalism and corporate dominance of politics has simply gone unexamined, nor has progressive public policy that could address the underlying inequities. 

It's unreasonable that initiatives that could stem income inequality, political corruption, structural unemployment and poverty aren't in the discourse of the political class; what's desperately needed in Canada is changes to tax policy, workplace law reforms and reinvigoration of social welfare programs - these sorts ameliorative initiatives could possibly stem the damage that's occurred in neoliberal era and offer hope for the young generation that's inheriting a political and economic system that's utterly devoid of substance other than a gravy of train of hate filled invective that targets the weakest groups in society for austerity measures, criminalization and marginalization. 

Personally, I don't want to live in a country which has a political culture predicated simply on the division between haves and have-nots; I've seen places like that and the damage which lasts generations isn't easy to recover from.

What's the Ontario Government doing about the over-supply of teachers?

University Affairs, Canada's main trade magazine on the post-secondary education sector, recently published an insightful article about the over-supply of teachers in Ontario's labour market. It covers a lot of points that I've addressed before about how the government let this situation fester and left students holding the bag for this remarkable failure in labour market planning. Remember that direct government interventions into labour market planning are relatively rare these days, with education and medicine faculties being perpetual targets given the close linkages to the public sector spending that occurs these areas. Ontario's Liberals promised to double the length and cost of a B.Ed. degree if they were re-elected, but it remains to be seen what will come of this policy balloon. For more thoughts on the situation facing young teachers, see: here and here.

Waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Today's job numbers were disheartening with a surprising 72,000 full-time jobs being lost in October and the unemployment rate jumping to 7.3%; the heaviest job losses occurred in the manufacturing and construction sectors, while there continued to be gains in the service sector. These numbers would seem to reflect the uncertainty in the global economy with the continuing economic crisis that seems to lurch from one crisis to the next. Canada is being buffeted by headwinds that domestic political and corporate leaders have little control over. Let's explore some of the trends that are reflected in these numbers and the lack of response.

The heaviest job losses occurred in the manufacturing and construction sectors; the construction sector in Canada is cyclical, while the manufacture sector is in the midst of a long-term decline. The losses are mainly centred in Ontario and the Atlantic provinces, while the Western provinces generally registered a significant pick-up in jobs. Beyond this youth unemployment is on the rise with no relief in sight. There are a numbers of trends at play here, such as: the decline of the standard employment relationship as many of the job losses were full-time positions; the deindustrialization of the heartland as Ontario sheds manufacturing jobs; increased precarity as employers choose to hire part-time employees and the service sector continued to recruit into low-wage, low skill jobs.

These losses highlight the increasing precarious situation that exist in the labour trends and also lay bare the disturbing trend of politicians to engage in demagoguery rather than advance sustainable solutions that address the structural problems in Canada's labour markets. Prime Minister Stephen Harper blamed the losses on the European crisis, while Minister of Economic Development Brad Duguid blames the Japanese tsunami. Certainly these issues play a role in these disturbing numbers, but neither of these explanations address the deeper trends afoot in society or acknowledge that Canada risks entering another recession. Rising inequality, the impact from technology, stagnating wages, globalization a hollowing out of the middle-class, and a tepid civil society have left Canadians battered after four decades of economic growth that delivered little in the ways of gains for the average Canadian. There aren't easy fixes to any of these issues, yet even discussing them seems to be Kryptonite to politicians fixated on partisanship above all else. 

What's lost in the media, the commentaries and conversations about the economic crisis is the profound impact that the economic crisis has had on the very fabric of our existence. From the daily stress to the assault on the family to the uncertainty surrounding employment, a great many people's lives are up in the air. Neoliberalism brought us to the brink of collapse and then decided to charge us for its failings, citizens are paying the price for the criminal capers of an elite few. This episode has changed the way we think, communicate and interact with each other; what's troubling is that these vast changes within have gone largely unquestioned until recently. It would seem that the sheen surrounding the dogma of financial capitalism is waning as people wait for the other shoe to drop.