Canada : Young workers face grim future, warns labour group

Updated: Mon Sep. 05 2011 11:30:19
CTVNews.ca Staff
Low wages, sparse benefits and meagre pensions may become the new norm for Canada's young workers, union leaders are warning this Labour Day.
Employers increasingly offer new hires thinner contracts as baby boomers across the nation retire, Ontario Federation of Labour president Sid Ryan said in a statement issued Sunday.
"The kids today cannot look forward to full-time, decent paying jobs where you can afford a mortgage, a car," he told The Canadian Press.
As Generation Y workers -- those aged 18 to 30 -- begin to enter the workforce, Ryan said bosses will look to cut costs by offering new employees lower wages and less comprehensive pension plans.
With the spectre of fewer jobs and two tier wages looming overhead, Ryan said the new generation of workers may find themselves less well off than their parents.
"We are fearful for young workers getting in right now. The future does look very bleak," he told CP.
Adding to the grim outlook, a shift towards fewer benefits for new hires may cause labour turmoil.
Pensions and pay were at the heart of recent strikes at Canada Post, Vale Inc. in Sudbury and US Steel in Hamilton. Wages are also a factor in a current strike at Ontario's 24 colleges.
Amid the tumult, Canada's Parliamentary Budget Officer has said he expects about 6,000 public service jobs to disappear across the country.
Ken Georgetti, Canadian Labour Congress head, attributes the losses to the federal government's plan to balance the budget by 2014. Other union leaders, however, say the growing trend of employers creating casual positions without benefits should shoulder some of the blame as well.
The part-time shift
But not all new workers want to be locked into a full-time salaried job anyway, argues Dan Kelly with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
"A lot of younger workers want to earn an income, but sell their services to a variety of companies especially in creative fields," Kelly told The Canadian Press.
Ryan said more young people are becoming entrepreneurs.
It's unclear, however, whether young workers are actively choosing entrepreneurship or turning to it as a last resort.
A Harris-Decima Labour Day poll of 1,000 Gen Y and baby boomers for Monster.ca found 40 per cent of Gen Y workers surveyed weren't working in their preferred field, and 16 per cent had changed jobs five or more times.
More than one in three twenty-somethings polled also said they felt companies didn't mentor young employees properly or use them to their full potential.
Robert Waghorn of the online career resources portal Monster.ca said bosses would be wise to mentor and listen to their employees.
"If they don't take notice what the Gen Y-ers and the boomers are saying about job security, work-life balance, then these guys are going to be walking out the door themselves," he told CP.
With files from The Canadian Press
Please Add Comments
Mac Calgary
Well, why not add a national birth incentive program to help offset the aging of this nation a little bit? Or any immigrants who come here, only allow ones who are much younger so that way there can be a working population higher than retiree's like things have and are but won't be in 15 years?
This is something I worry of with my age of 20 and "looking forward" to having my taxes explode, and not being able to do the things my parents did such as buy a house, have a family, because I will be taking care of many many old people.
So a birth incentive program for the time being to even it out would be very beneficial
George V.
That a lot of young people have no jobs or have only part time jobs with inadequate wages has been in most part their own fault. If they had stayed in school, got a decent education learned a scond language espcially french, or developed skills needed in the business or construction trades, doors would be opened, opportunities will come their way. Ambitiuous and creative work ethics will carry you a long way. Quit blaming governments or putting your trust in unions with their unreasonable demands,they will put you out of a job, back on the street before you know it.. To get a good job, good pay, good benefits it starts with YOU.
Francesco in Pennsylvania
Not so sure about all the doom and gloom...at 25 and with a freshly minted Masters degree, I found a full-time job in my field, with decent pay and benefits to boot. Oh, did I mention I had to move to the United States for this job?
Don
It's not the unions who "ensure that uneducated and incompetent people can get and hang on to jobs where they are paid far, far beyond what their education or skills warrant." It's the bosses who don't want to hear footsteps coming up behind them, so they won't hire anyone with more skills, talent, or education than they have. Fire the bosses, especially the mid-level managers who aren't good at anything except kissing butt.
Shep
They should blame their parents and grandparents for being short-term greedy.
Art in Alberta
I for one, have never worked for a company that was unionized; nor would I want to. I graduated University with a $48G debt and got a job to start paying it off. The entry position I got paid next to nothing, but with hard work and perserverance I got promoted and started making more money. Do I have a pension? No, but I am saving for my own retirement. That's all it takes. Get a job, work hard, prove yourself, and stop whining. You don't need anyone to take care of you but yourself.
Fraser
As usual the comments of anti- union sentiment expound about the 'poor companies' that had to leave Canada and the U.S. for sweat shops in other parts of the world in order to make the bottom line profits and paying absolute mind blowing salaries and bonuses to their CEO's and executives. The financial orgy that the CEO's and executives around the world as well as the banks and wall street is sickening. I am not saying that the unions are the end all be all but when all the unions are gone who will help the worker who will be at the mercy of slave labour and BTW we are not far off that now. The minimum wage in Alberta has now been raised to a whopping $9.00 something per hour. At the rates of inflation in the past 30 years which does not cover fuel in the computation (of which is a farce).
The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Owning a home will never be a 'dream' even paying bills of everyday living will be a 'dream'. If you do not think that this is your problem think again we are paying by the overcrowding of the jails and the court system and the social programs.
ontario taxpayer
and it will be even harder for natural born young Canadians to find a job in Ontario if Dolton gets elected and follow through with his 10K tax credit to hire immigrants!
John
The problem is simply that our economy depends too much on multi national corporations. These corporations have suffered big losses since the recession and simply can't afford the packages our parents got.
Jaid in Toronto
The tough part in life for young workers is actually landing and staying in a occupation in which they got themselves educated while they were young. It can be up to 3 years to get a chance at it, up to 6 years to practice, and with education nowadays, no practice for a good 4 years renders your marketability a near zero.
Kirby
Greedy corporations running our country into the ground. Less pay means less revenue and less spending which spells the complete destruction of our country.
T
@Harold B There is the reason. Construction is hard work. Lot's of opportunity for a person young or old with good work ethics. Such as the person you mentioned. Students now a days want, and expect to much when they get out of school and are to afraid of a little hard work or getting their hands dirty. They want a desk job with all the perks. If students start looking towards the trades & health care, display good work ethics, be on time, and do your job, they will have no problems.
Jackie Barrett
Hard to understand why there would be a shift towards part time work despite the looming labour shortage occuring now, especially with the trades sector?
Jackie Barrett
Its strange that the article states about lack of available full time jobs for generation Y Canadians despite calls of a possible labour shortage within the next five to ten years, especially in the skilled trades, Information Technology, and tourism sectors as baby boomers start to retire.
AGN
when we enter the work force we start at the bottom of the ladder, and climb that ladder one rung at a time. you apply yourself to that job you will advance when you show enthusiasm and pride in your work.
Jose Sanchez
Well those super wealthy CEOs and corporations can trade us up for their "Made in China" adventure and shouts that "globalization is good!" and we can all just go on welfare, sit on our bums and drain their wallets to pay for the lives they stole from us when they shipped jobs overseas. And we sure as hell won't be shopping for the crap they ship from their Chinese factories to our stores. We won't be able to afford it anymore without a job and a credit card company cutting us off for non payment or bankruptcy! Ha ha ha..the jokes on you Mr. Corporate Exec!!!
Richard L. Provencher
Unions may have helped in the past, but are now raising the wage bar so high it has affected the ability of folks to be happy with less anywhere else. Each year the unions have bargained for more, more, more until now the bubble has burst.People who only make $12-$15 per hour, no pension plan, and little benefits are fed up with those who have so much more. Union strikes, company layoffs and downsizing, as well as the Chinese products which affect the market all contribute to the challenges of getting a decent job.One detriment is the high cost of housing and it eats heavily into a paycheck, whether you rent or buy. In any case, the ones who want to work will always find a job or two to make ends meet. I also believe the unions have outlived their usefulness. Thanks for the memory.i
KC-bby
Sounds like a vision of present-day Mexico. No benifits or workers rights. Pay that is so small that the government collects so little in taxes which translates into sparce pay cheques for police who in turn are as corrupt as the criminals they are entrusted to arrest. Anyway, with our present course, the new vocation of tommorow will be kidnappings and murders. I know this first hand as I live part time in Mexico City. One friend was kidnapped and returned after $2 million was paid. Usually they kill the victim after receiving the money. Everyone who has money is a target. They come onto your property, they also box you in traffic as was the case with my friend. You simply survive every passing day.
22 year old
I graduated a year ago with a Ontario advanced diploma in engineering. I had top grades and had no problem finding a job (hired 4 months before i graduated). I turned down 5 other job offers before i graduated and now i make more then both my parents combined. The problem is that most students are taking general arts, or other programs that are "fun" / "easy" but serve no real benefit to the over all economy therefore there is no real demand for there "skills" when they graduate.
mikel
Come to Calgary - there will be plenty of jobs for those willing to work hard and start at the bottom....oh wait, that just voided 75% of those looking for work....
James
It is a dog eat dog world unfortunately. Whatever happened to Maslow's hierarchy??
Marlin
Stop blaming unions for all the problems in the job market. Inequality exists everywhere. Non union jobs bosses openly favor individuals who slack off as well. Numerous industries have an old boys network where who you know is more important than what you know. We have seen a widening income gap which has accelerated recently and the main reason is the inability of the working class to create any leverage.
@ future_is_dark
Hey future_is_dark, I am a baby boomer and I just retired. Want my job? O, I forgot thanks to the union I was in my emploier just changed my position to part time so they do not have to fill it with union workers, sorry about that. I hated being in the union as I lost more money when a strike was called then I ever made back once we got our wage increase. 99% of the time I did not feel we needed to go on strike (2 times in 12 years after the union got in) Now look, the full time position I held for over 20 years both when I started when there was no union and later when the union got in Now my position is no longer a full time position for the person who takes over from me. This has been happening in this company I have retired from for the past 3 or 4 years now, full time jobs chaged to part time jobs and I do not blame the company. This was a great company to work for before the unions got in but not anymore.
KJ in Kingston Ontario
The days of avove minimum wage pay, benefits, pensions, dental coverage and job security are quickly vanishing... In addition the so-called "golden years" of retirement without any added pension beyond CPP are likely to be a very very unhappy period of life for most.
Brian
Of course unions would say that the time for them is up.Time for them to go they did what they needed to do, but begone now you just suck money out of people.
Mike
And you can blame these greedy unions with their high wage and other demands for driving good jobs off shore.
Union leaders are simple minded
There are less young people than boombers - how can there not be any jobs available when boomers retire? The unions are the ones who created an inflation mess to make it difficult for a young person to own a home now a days.Unions have caused such a mess in this country, a loser with barely a highschool degree makes more money than an engineer.In the end the union leaders are just worried about their bottom line here - less union dues to line their pockets.
Tara
Young workers, in general, most certainly do face a grim future, UNLESS they develop a work ethic that will make employers want to hire rather than fire them. Working with those in their young twenties is quite something - they make their own rules, disregard the advice of those who have been there done that for far longer than them, and have a blatant disregard for the expectations set out by their employer. Our 15 year old babysitter has a stronger work ethic than 5 of the 20-something staff I work with, combined. I know this is not true of ALL people in their early 20's, but sadly it is true of the majority.
Donaldbain
Can't get the job you want? Oh, you poor dears! C'mon, Mommy will make it all better and that bad company will give you what you want. You don't need any perseverance or education or training or any kind of work ethic. You can bring your electronic gizmos and spend 1/2 your work day on the internet or taking care of your personal life. The work doesn't matter and your cheque will be huge so you can afford everything the minute you start.
J Kent, Lethbridge
I can't speak to the situation in every community, but I know for a fact that the job situation where I live offers very few opportunities for young people. While the demand for workers may be high, the majority of jobs are low-paying and part-time. I'd like to know how anyone can afford to feed and clothe themselves on a job that only pays $10 an hour for 20 hours a week, let alone have any aspirations to own a home or a car.
CalgarySandy
We have had a few decent economic runs in the last 70 ish years out of the thousands of years of human history. People talk as if there was a golden time before unions and boomers. There was not. When I started to work in the mid-60s people were still expected to work Saturday or, if you were lucky, only half of Saturday. The only benefits that existed was vacation time and sick time. The only truly stable and "good" time was in the late 40's and 50's after the war.
Unions played a vital role in getting better conditions and pay for working men regardless of whether they were union men or not. And they are likely the bulwark against a complete dismantling of all benefits for many workers. Keep up the whining about how bad done by you are and how you deserve more because of some idiot view that once upon a time there was perfection and wealth for all and there will be more jobs off-shored. People today demand benefits that were unheard of until recently. As for boomers, their parents did WW2. WW1 was the grandparents and the snotty little punks who refuse to start at the bottom as did most boomers are the grandchildren of boomers not the children. You are all so busy blaming others and demanding wealth without earning it that you are unable to see how bad that is for our economy. Learn some relevant history, grow up, take a bottom of the barrel job and work your way up and thank your lucky stars things are not like they were 100 years ago for workers. You did NOT make these strides forward and you will lose them out of arrogance.
TEA from SK
The self-serving unions are way past their time...
freeatlast
As in the early comment by (Cliff Scott) We want this and we want that but no one really thinks how you are going to pay for it.Tha saying goes like this. The More you want the less you will have.And those thinking of going out west to BC region i wish you all the luck. Companys are willing to pay you more only cause they are going to make more money on your services that you will need to live ther.Rent/house are expensive and every product you can think of is more expensive ther then in other provinces, so you really are not benfitting a great amount by going west, only thing youl have a job but you wont become rich unless you get free room/board by employer.
Janna
Oh people stop blowing smoke up everyone's hind ends! We all know that globalization and a world "Made in China" have eroded our economic prosperity. Trickle down economics have resulted in poverty. A few rich have made masses poor.
B.J.
Unions you have to take some ownership in this. Demanding higher wages , benefits etc cant be sustained. You are not that important. There are jobs if you want to make the effort, but some want to sit and watch TV and hope the job comes looking for them. H.S. drop outs you have yourselves to blame stay in school if you want a decent job, otherwise take what you get. E.I is given out too freely. Years ago you had to prove you had been job searching before getting handouts. Governments should stop bringing in immigrants when they know there is no work for them adding to the crisis is no help. You may need 2 jobs to get the money, so what, what else are you doing. It amazes me how unemployed people can still afford cell phones yet they plead poverty. McDonalds and Tims are always hiring, so get off the couch.
Truth
The future is bleak for those who wish to be attached to their smart phones socializing rather than performing their assigned duties.Those who actually care about the role they play for their employer will have great futures! This is the stuff of promotions, wage increases and bonuses. Entrepreneurship is not for the union minded faint of heart as it requires 24/7 attention. Long hours, complaining employees attached to smart phones providing inferior work all the while asking for more money. Entrepreneurship comes with tremendous risk, a job comes with little risk. No risk, no reward. Little risk...Defined contribution is the ONLY way for the pension to move forward and ensure pensions will be available for golden years. Relying the taxpayer and corporations to take care of your future/pension is fraught with risk.
Jonathan from Saskatoon.
First, they're conclusions are not entirely correct. The job market is like any other, bound by the laws of supply and demand. When there are too many workers trying to fill too few postions, only the best get hired on assuming they are willing to work for the going rate. A shortage, on the other hand, will make employers compete, and salaries adjust accordingly. As far as pensions go, did big labour learn nothing from Chrysler & GM? The days of expecting the employer to assume responsibility for your well being for the rest of your natural life are done. And the longer they try to hold on to the 1930's -70's the less relevant they become.
Sean in Ottawa
I blame Unions. For many of the same reasons as people have identified below, but I also blame them for this environment of entitlement that "Generation Y" comes equipped with. As militant and unyielding unions demanded more and more from businesses without providing more service (usually less is how it worked out in the end), they created a disparity between wages and job skills/experience. There is NO WAY that someone walking into a job off the street should be earning the same as someone who's been working at the company for 20 years. Bring back entry level wage scales and create incentive for people to work hard to earn more and move up the earning scale. And NO ONE is "entitled" to benefits. They're a perk, a bonus, and incentive: hence the name "benefit". Unions have been pushing this entitlement mentality everywhere they go under the premise of being "Fair". How is it fair that when I've been working at a job for 13 years and have demonstrated my loyalty and continued good work to a company to have earned my higher salary and then to have some person with no experience, no track record and no proof of loyalty come in and suddenly make the same as me? Where is MY incentive to keep working harder and develop my skills and do a good job. Unions are nothing but advocacy groups for mediocrity and only serve to weaken an already fragile system.
Nurse Jiim from Alberta
I agree with Melanie Saundercook's comments about health care. There is growing demand for all workers. I'm a male in nursing and I love it. The pay is great, I got 3 weeks paid holidays starting my first year, and you are making a difference in peoples lives every day! I am able to buy newer vehicles, go for vacations and almost have my house paid for. I thank the Alberta Union of Public Employees (AUPE) for fighting for my rights.
Prof. Pye Chartt
Unionists like Syd Ryan have been singing this tiresome left-wing song for the last 20 years. Yet, young people have been going to college or university, getting a job, forging a career, and managing to buy a condo or house (townhome, semi, or "starter" detached) in singlehood or couplehood. Smack-dab in the middle of this past 14-year real estate boom has been aspiring young people. Any real estate economist, realtor, homebuilder, or residential land developer will tell you that it is a myth that immigrants and baby-boomers have singlehandedly fueled a decade of unprecedented housing sales in major Canadian urban centers. Ask auto dealers if young people have been buying cars in solid number over the years, and whether they anticipate this to continue. Oh, yes, the future looks "bleak," Syd, and everybody needs to vote NDP to change the job-market equation, right? (As if global economics and industrial dynamics can turn with a strong socialistic arm.) Once upon a time, unions were about rights and protections. Today, they're almost exclusively about greed and self-preservation. The good ol' days of overvalued, underemployed unionized assembly workers in a branch plant are in sharp decline. The kids are, by and large, alright. Their struggles are NOT profoundly unique or special. (Indeed, young folk need to consider careers commonly regarded as beneath them, which, in fact, pay extremely well and harbor great opportunity -- ie. tradework/contracting.) Time to get with the future program, and cease living in the past. The world is changing/evolving, and only fools think that they can stop it. Intelligently ADAPT or suffer.
Mike from SWO
People who think Alberta is the answer, you are fooling yourselves. If you plan to go there, then make your money and get out. I've done the Alberta thing twice now and it's not all it's cracked up to be. Oil controls Alberta plain and simple. I barely sold a house there in 2003 for $9150 before the sheriff took it. Alberta was facing drought, mad cow and a oil price of under $30, Jobs were sparse and paying very low, $12 for a local trucking job. $2005 we went back for family reasons and landed in the Klondike. Jobs galore but no housing. Sellers weren't listing they were auctioning. Landlords were upping rents in excess of hundreds per month almost overnight due to no rent control. Bad affect on non oil related businesses too. Timmys had to start people at $12 with bonuses of $500-750 if you stayed 6 months and more if you brought a friend. My house resold for $185,000 in two years! That was just a mobile home in a bedroom town. Average in Red Deer spiked to $400,000 Mortgages had to be packaged at zero down over 35 and 40 years! I wonder how many Albertans from other provinces are now upside down on their mortgages and stuck there. I'm sure the markets dropped at least 5% since. On a $500K that's not chump change. When "Oil" is done with Alberta, or Alberta no longer plays by the rules, Oil will dump Alberta and many people will hurt very badly. Mark my words.I Love Ontario.
Justin
The problem is too much "MADE IN CHINA". Wake-up for God's sake people! Ignoring the cancer does not cure the problem.
Bryan From Lethbridge
The problem has less to do with jobs and low wages and more to do with expenses. Housing being the biggest problem by far. decades or the real estate market unjustifiably driving up prices for homes and in turn rentals is driving down the quality of life for most young people. You can't afford a home in any of the larger centers unless you are doing it with 2 incomes and wait to have one kid until you are in your mid 30's. Something wrong with that picture in my mind.
TLC
As has been already stated, young folks, don't listen to this pile of crap. Most of what I would say has already been said, so I won't repeat it.
However, on a side note, I think that both our Labour Board & Employment Insurance systems need an overhaul. For instance, with respect to the Labour laws, do you know that if you hire a guy, and he shows up drunk, and you send him home, you still have to pay him for the 8 hours he WASN'T there? Even if his job requires him to work "dangerous" equipment? Did you know you can't fire him? The Labour Board is bleeding employers (and I know this first hand!). Even as the Labour Board was reading me the laws, he, himself, was struck by the stupidity of it.
As for EI, it should go back to being Unemployment Insurance (UI), because that's what it's for. Also, the times that we have hired folks that just don't show up! I think that if you are offered a position, and accept it, and then don't show up, that you, the employer, should be able to report that to UI. With all the brilliant programs out there, surely someone could design a program where, when on UI, employers have the right to say, "Hey, I offered the guy a job and he refused." or "Hey, I offered a job but he never showed up." Why should they be entitled to more UI benefits? They are riding the system, and costing us money.
LOL ... okay, there's my rant for the day. Thanks for listening! :D
Maury
The death of the American/Canadian dream and yet universities/colleges still lure people to do into heavy debt for an education supposedly leading to a dream job that is a pipe dream. So the debt begins!
Robyn
As a young worker, and a Human Resources professional, I can assure you this is very much the case already. Unless you work in a union, or for the government, benefits and a pension are merely legends we hear about from our parent's generation.
Jim - North Saanich, BC
If a young person has REAL job skills and above all is willing to work, then they will be well paid. I see young people in engineering, the sciences and technologies that pull down salaries better than I was drawing when I essentially retired six years ago after a forty-year professional career in engineering and the earth sciences. Those who chose some esoteric education or who are not interested in applying themselves and advancing through learning and hard work are not going to be well rewarded nor should they be and that has always been the case. I have heard this same sorry song sung by labour leaders since my early teens so my advice is to ignore it and get on with your lives. You, not the union labour leaders, are masters of your own lives and you get out of life what you put in to it.
Adrian from Hamilton
After WW II North America was the factory for the world. The unions had the clout to force wages higher. To the point where companies have to move production away. Now the unions are crying. Too late. If the government had not spent billions of taxpayers dollars to rescue GM and Chrysler the auto jobs would be gone. And the pensions with them. Just like the poor workers at Nortel who lost their pensions when the company went belly up.
KP
Oh no....our poor students will actually have to work for something...face some challenges...and hardship (mmmm, what is that?). I am only interested in working with top quality people who are creative, take risks, and work hard.
Are you kidding me....
Dave- are you for real- wake the hell up. A more ridiculous comment I have never heard. Things are getting really bad in the job sector and it has been for years. Part of the reason is the unbelievable GREED shown by business all over the world. Soon and hopefully real soon- all this selfishness is going to blow up in their faces.. That is exactly the direction it is headed in. I hope the world gets turned upside down-disaster is the only way self-centered greedy people learnYour statement was totally moronic.
Karen
Is everyone on holiday because the comments seem to be dragging out. I've been reading the same thing for the last 2 hours and I'm sure more than 16 people have commented today.
Liz
The unions protect the sluggard but penialize the worker by telling them to slow down.They'll protect the sluggard right through to arbitration, wasting copious amounts of time and money!
Keeder
Good. The poor quality of University graduates does not bode well for Canada. Too many students have had their education handed to them from RESPs, etc. One needs more than knowledge stuffed into your head. You need character and experience obtained by actually having to work and struggle for something.
Martin
@ harold BLovely story Harold however what is the rest of the country supposed to do? We all can offload our population to West to seek a similar result that your nephew got. Too simplistic and generalizing that everyone moving there will end up successful. Meanwhile how about some solutions for creating employment at home - instead of sending more jobs overseas or near the tar-sands of Alberta. Solutions are needed quickly ..not quick feel good claims from those with self congratulating stories.
Gord from Ottawa
@Len - what could governments (sorry - the "powers on high") have done to stop companies from moving overseas? The last time I checked, Canada had a free market economy. Short of nationalizing these industries, the government can do nothing except encourage companies to stay. Hence the argument for lower corporate taxes. The real reason companies move away is to lower their labour costs. This is because of the consumer's demands for lower cost goods. But Canada has to understand that our labour costs are lower than some other places in the world, most notably Europe. This is where we have to put emphasis on job creation.
Angry Wes
I want to work to live not live to work. Being a union member I can work to live. Yes unions are not perfect but without them EVERYBODY would be worst off. Keep bashing those unions until they collapse. Then you will be able to enjoy a 70 hour a work week with no benefits. I feel most of the bitching about unions can be equated to jealousy. People working less than you for more money. If you don't like it start or join a union. That's what they're there for people. To give you a better way of life and not become a slave.
Gorg
That's an unfortunate prediction by Sid Ryan, but I'm afraid that's not far off the mark. There is no easy solution. I agree the Gen Y group is going to have a tougher time than we did. Heck, I'm one of the baby boomers who lost my job four years ago. I worked in the same industry for 35 years, two different companies. The second company I went to work for paid me 25% less, benefits were comparable but holidays went from 5 weeks down to 2 weeks. The hours of work were anywhere from 10 to 14 hours per day, no overtime after 8 hours. Talk about it raising hell with family life at home or try arranging time with family that are away from home. I'm very positive that others have experienced the same as me or worse. Quality of life doesn't exist. Community activities such as Kinsmen or Lions for example, practically grinds to a halt for some. Simply no time. Now how are communities within an urban centre supposed to benefit or the rural communities for that matter? If the younger people of tomorrow cannot afford a house or a car, I think that's going to have some serious spin-off consequences. The fact of high job change or turnover is a cost to any employer when they have to train and re-train. How is that being competitive? It's going to have a rippling effect throughoutn the economy. Yes, I understand that business has to be competitive and profit, but we in the labour force also must have diligence as to where our purchases originate from. I know we are not an island, but business and labour also have to give some thought to the communities we all exist in.
Prof. Pye Chartt
Blah, blah, blah. Unionist drama queens like Syd Ryan have been singing this tiresome left-wing song for the last 20 years. Yet, young people have been going to college or university, getting a job, forging a career, and managing to buy a condo or house (townhome, semi, or "starter" detached) in singlehood or couplehood. Smack-dab in the middle of this past 14-year real estate boom has been aspiring young people. Any professional real estate economist, realtor, homebuilder, or residential land developer will tell you that it is a myth that solely immigrants and baby-boomers (by natural implication) fueled a decade of unprecedented housing sales in major Canadian urban centers. Ask auto dealers if young people have been buying cars in solid number over the years, and whether they anticipate this to continue. Oh, yes, the future looks "bleak," Syd, and everybody needs to vote NDP to change the job-market equation, right? (As if global economics and industrial dynamics can turn with a strong socialistic arm. Sure, Syd.) Once upon a time, unions were about rights and protections. Today, they're almost exclusively about greed and self-preservation. The good ol' days of overvalued, underemployed unionized assembly workers in a branch plant are in sharp decline. The kids, by and large, are alright. Their struggles aren't profoundly unique or special. (Indeed, young folk need to consider careers commonly regarded as beneath them, which, in fact, pay extremely well and harbor great opportunity -- ie. tradework/contracting.) Time to turn your broken record off, get with the future program, and cease living in the past, Syd. The world is changing/evolving, and only fools think that they can stop it. Intelligently ADAPT or suffer.
mike
So the provincial liberal party is going to give $10,000.00 to an employer who hires an new immigrant who has probably paid no taxes into the economy and will take away a job from my children whom I have paid taxes for all my life to support so they could get a good job.I am furious that he would even think of giving my hard earned tax dollars to fund this stupid idea.This is nothing but vote getting and this will backfire. Do not vote liberal on October 6th.This is against all Ontario tax payors and we should all revolt and send Mcguintys liberals a message that he better find a new job. Maybe he would like to compete with a new immigrant. McGuinty you have just lost 9 votes and when I am finsihed spreading the word on what your stupid plan is you will be losing many more.Vote anything but liberal.
chrian
i see fear mongering hear, this y gens are smarter than you so watch out , xgens should take care of them now or they will dell you short. they are our future.
j.eloquence
There are lots of decent jobs for people who get off the couch and apply themselves. Lots of people think things should be handed to them on a silver platter. That's not how it works. You have to put some effort into things you want. Everyone is coasting through high school in this age and they don't understand that they may have to work for something they want instead of getting another free pass in life. Society is getting lazier by the day.
tc
i am so fed up with these unions now becoming more increasingly political. The demands of unions over the years, especially in government and certain industries are one of the main causes for companies to have to lower wages for new workers and slash benefits. THis erosion has been happening far longer than just the time of the current government yet these unions, that are left wing ndp supporters, try and lay the blame on the current government. Unions are long past their expiry date and do not benefit the average worker. they are just a political tool for parties like the ndp. Look at who is leading the ndp now. A union lackey.
Ian McGaughey
This kind of doom-and-gloom talk is nothing new. When I was in school we were warned that Japan would own all of North America and we'd all be lucky to find even menial work. Then I graduated -- and it was the booming 90s.
schroep
Stop blaming the BOOMERS for all the young people's job problems. As a BOOMER we went through 12%+ unemployment rates in the early 1980's combined with high double digit mortgage/loan rates. I paid for my college education on my own and then had to completely switch career paths 3 years later due to lack of work. Take an education that is relevant to the job market and you will get a job.My current employer has 22 job openings on their Website. Put down the Cell phone at work and maybe you will keep your job.
tony k
Regarding the article "Young workers face grim future, warns labour group." Hasn't it been that way for the last 20 to 30 years or longer? In my opinion it has been and thanks to some provinces non-existent labour laws that slant things in favor of the employer, the middle class is getting squeezed out of existence. Couple that with exporting jobs out of the country (stupid stupid move!) we're going to have some big problems down the road!
from the Kootenays
I don't agree that there are no jobs for the younger workers. I work in the Private heavy Industry in this Province. I do agree that the baby boomers are retiring faster than these companies can train them. The problem is .. there is no school to teach these younger workers .. in the Production end of heavy industry were the demand and dollars are right now. I'm also see most younger workers need to leave their i-pods and cell phones at home .. rather than bringing them to work and are using and on the cell phone constantly ,, " this is a safety issue " and I don't see Work-safe or these companies doing anything about it ...The government needs to put more attention to Production and Trades Jobs in this province rather than the high teck and office jobs ...my 2 bits
J.C.
The problem today is that everyone is expected to get a high education and when they do they expect high wages when they finish school. The government needs to learn that there are some people that are what I call "book people" and others who are not "physical people" We need both types to fulfill the job requirements otherwise you have all these university educated people when jobs in trades and labour may be required instead. I do understand the governments wanting everyone to have a high school education but it is not feasible for all to attend university. There is such a thing as learning through living and working!! Many university grads are wise in their field of education but lack general everyday knowledge for other fields.
Baldjode
This isn't anything new. Most of us that are from Gen X have known this since we were in college. We've lived through this since the early 1990's. Boom and bust. Been there, done that.What is failing to be mentioned is the insane cost the baby boomers will be on society in the next 30 years. As that generation retires and begins to pass away there will be a giant shift in the tax payer base, it will be the gen x and gen y labor force paying the taxes. What will happen when the majority of the work force makes 20% less money and has to pay for a higher cost of living? Through in higher taxes to cover the short fall from no more babyboomer taxes and it's a bloody mess!
Pragmatic Peter
If the future is grim, you have unions to blame. They are the ones who ensure that uneducated and incompetent people can get and hang on to jobs where they are paid far, far beyond what their education or skills warrant. Unions are the ones who ensure that we cannot thin the workforce and eliminate the lazy and the useless. Unions have never, ever been about bringing in someone new or talented or eager - "scabs", they call them. So if there is a grim future, we can combat it by taking a first and critical step of eliminating unions.
MARG MM
It is union demands that have pushed some manufacturing jobs offshore. They had their usefullness in the beginning, but have become more greedy and demanding,and are too protective of those that don't do a good job, are lazy, and take advantage of their very good benefits. It is evident that the union leaders who are very well paid (for what ?), are worried they may lose their cushy jobs, and they probably aren't as concerned about the workers themselves.
Deirdra
People are living pay-cheque to pay-cheque and credit card debt financed by China just to continue the false consumerism to shore up made in China stuff is a vicious cycle and a huge globalization lie.
Jennifer
Fear mongering unions or those with stocks/shares investments or very close to big corporations milking huge profits from Made in China? Those usually attacking unions are the same types that send jobs overseas and they get rich parading around in yachts in cottage country while the rest of the world around them struggle. The writing is on the wall and history of revolt will repeat itself as the greed is revealed more and more and the people have had enough.
Helga Laval
You cannot expect people to work for minimum wage and subsidize their salary via credit card debt all to continue the "Made in China" globalization scam. This cannot continue - changes had better come and very soon!
Sudbury Dawn
This is not exactly news. I hate to break it to most people, but us folks at the hind end of Gen X saw this coming back in the 90's. We're in our early 30's and have had to change career paths 3 times already! This isn't because we want to, but because we have to. I can answer that entrepreneur question easily: it is because a) we can't find respectable work with benefits rival to our parents that don't leave us laid-off within 3 months and b) being an entrepreneur is probably a lot easier these days with the whole new fangled internet thing that allows us a better feel for markets AND we may even outshine the failed employers who neglect our potentials in favour of the good-old-boys. Yes. I am bitter. Can't say I wanted to spend my 20's and 30's fighting off student debts for jobs we can't get.
Andy
To Sergys comment. The union is not at all the cause of employers acting this way! They act this way because they can afford to treat people this way. Its play by our rules of squeezing water from A stone or they move there operations to a third world country. (take your pick on which one) Your comment on resistance to shift work? I would say 75% of union jobs are shift workers. We live in a world of corporate greed and they get away with it because of people like yourself, and there negative comments. The union did not make these comments for people to join a union they made them to let you know that our children are in for a bleak future in the job world. I tend to agree with there views on this topic.
JR
I think companies had better take a look at the younger workers coming up, they will have to take over the companies eventually, and if you haven't trained them your company could go belly up.Young worker will be the future, so don't sell them short.
Gumpy
Maybe the reason there is no money left anymore for Generation Y is because Generation X and the years of the Union greed have taken so much that there is very little left out of there and companies are using consultants so that they can get a break from paying out the huge benefits and pensions to the current generation.
future_is_dark
Get rid of the greedy baby boomers. Their parents saved the World in World War 1 and 2 for them to destroy it with their corruption and greed. Unemployed will be the new norm as the greedy boomers suck the system dry.
harold B
Our 20 year nephew moved fromj Ottawa to Calgary and had a constuction job at $22/hour plus lots of ovvertime...after being here 45 minutes! He was offered all types of othe jobs. hint: Go West young man
Dave
Another scare tattic by unions, there are lots of jobs out there, you just got to get off your behind and apply yourself. Unions were needed in the past, but they are now outdated. There are to many government laws that protect the honest worker.
Chris
"Young workers face grim future, warns labour group"....move to Saskatchewan! Here labourers wages are and benefits are incredible.
Spike
Fear mongering unions!
Cliff Scott
The problem is notwith governments or unios--it s with us! We have developed expectations that cannot be met in today's economy. At the end of World War 2, a man was delirious to have a job at $75 a week. Even with inflation since then that works out to about $600 a week today. But few people had cars, rodios were the only electronic device, except for a very few televisions. Everyone ate at home,and wives didn't work. Kids didn't have cell phones and expensive wardrobes! We have no one to blame except our own cupidity for today's problems!
Optimistic Pessimist
What the Unions fail to understand is that what is happening is a correction of wages and benefits. For decades Unions have forced wages up, so that labourers with little more than a high school degree (if that) are paid the same if not more than highly skilled and trained professionals. It is these low skilled positions that are seeing their wages and benefits dropped. The reality here is if you want your kids to have good paying jobs, make sure they go to college, university, or take up a skilled trade. Our ecomony is screaming for these type of people, and paying them well. If they choose not to get a post secondary education, then they can expect low paying part time jobs, as the norm.
JB in Ontario
The job situation is going to hell in a hand basket. The job situation is bleak to say the least. Most people want to have some "hope" in their future, which means they want a full-time job where they can save to buy a car, house and have a pension without the worry of living on the street when they lose their job or retire. This situation now is terrible. I've read about the dirty thirties and it does not seem like we are not in a similar situation. Let's pray it doesn't get worse.
Ryan from Victoria
Young workers, please don't read this and believe any of it. You live in Canada, it's a 1st world country, you'll be fine.
Sergy
Do these unions not understand they're playing a major role in the move to part-time, no benefits jobs? They can and should fight for good pay. But their insistance that companies keep useless employees, their resistance to change of any kind, their demands for idiotic benefits, their resistance to shift or Sunday work, etc. all mean that companies hire temporary and part-time staff to get around unions.
gisele
a big part of the problem is so called " casual" positions-- where they want to own your time 24-7, but give only minimal hours-- if jobs of less than 20 hours per week had to be flexible to the workers schedule, people could build full time jobs for themselves ( by mixing & matching 2 or 3 together ) ...casual hours = enslavement!!
Melanie Saundercook
A bright star in all of this is the new employer will certainly be in the health care field.. unlimited possibilities in all sectors, as our population ages.
Mark in Newmarket
I would like to advise many of todays youth to consider taking up a trade instead of a degree from University. Kids coming into the workforce today are a dime a dozen, but kids seeking out a trade (which will pay more) are hard to find. Plumbers, electricians etc. are in demand and as those who are in the trades begin to retire, their services will be in higher demand.
River
How is it that this country used to be very productive. Leadership was strong, jobs for everyone who wanted to work, education was there for anyone who wanted it. Everyone could afford a house/mortage. Now we have nothing, and nothing to look forward to. Where is the leadership?
Len
I feel sorry for the young people of today. Times are tough economically and could get tougher. Much has been written about the jobs that have been created but these jobs are low paying, often temporary and part time. The young worker finds it very difficult to put aside for retirement or a rainy day. Our governments feel that they are doing what they can. This is not true. The powers on high have allowed companies to exit and produce goods overseas, all the while not reaping the tax benefits of the workers, or companies. All the while, the powers above tout lower corporate taxes in order to create jobs. The companies are not creating jobs here. They reap profits but send the work overseas. How can the young survive and how can the young have hope for the future?
Mike on the Right
It is truly a race to the bottom in wages, while the top people get king's ransoms in bonuses. You cannot support the retired class when you are paying low wages to the next generation of workers.
Raj
I didnt work in my preferred field, but then I left home and worked several jobs.I kept on that way as I had a family. They will survive I am sure
View the original article here