Outsourcing & Implications for Canadians with Few Job Skills

Canadian, eh? Trying to buy made-in-Canada souvenir items . . . and guess what? Read how many jobs have disappeared in the last year alone. Kerry Diotte, Aug. 19, 05

This reminds me of the Copps flag flap -- Canadian flags made in China.

What will those who have minimal education do in future when the factory or other jobs requiring few skills/education are gone? Service jobs aren't worth much as jobs leave and people can afford less.

Poverty used to be a tremendous spur to the individual's desire to better him/herself through education and/or working diligently. Today, minimal welfare payments, along with the added benefits for those who know what to ask for /demand, IMHO curb that ambition to rise above one's situation. Please tell me what is wrong with workfare to get the young into the work force and to develop work skills? Oh, yes, and at the same time, let's preserve some of those factory jobs by which many gained self-respect, an income, and a legitimate place in society -- the ones who bear children and will want better for them than what the parents had -- the ones who will trumpet education and hard work as a means of rising from poverty.

For those in knowledge industries who may be able to rationalize that the grunt work has gone offshore, remember that those left behind as the business goes beyond our borders have to live somehow. We might as well encourage their employment and discourage the dole and/or crime.

Who is it who buys the costly cocaine, anyway? I would guess that the group hovering in or near unemployment see crystal meth as more affordable.

When we render the most ill-prepared for work unable to work at anything which would contribute to their dignity because there are no jobs--even low-end ones, in that the jobs require few skills, we also render ourselves vulnerable to the crimes they may feel justified in committing in despair or in envy. Of course, that is not the only nor a sufficient reason, but I think it is worth considering. Perhaps we should pay a little more for goods made or food grown here to support all of our society by promoting a healthy society. Then make them work! An able-bodied person should be forced to work, not paid to do nothing. Pay me to write and I'll write, for example.

I am not a bleeding heart, obviously. I just do not think the present situation is contributing to a healthy society. NJC




Trend toward contracts over full-time jobs Sandra Cordon, Aug. 18, 05

OTTAWA (CP) - The labour dispute at the CBC is focusing attention on the use of contract workers, a concept becoming more popular with business - to the horror of organized labour and many workers.

Short-term contract workers save firms millions of dollars on salaries and health care and pension benefits - normal employee perks that are rarely extended to contract staff. [. . . . ]

This is an area that needs plenty of open debate. Contract workers cannot feel the comfort level that full-time employees have. Still, unions are not always positive for workers. The contractor knows the joy of being free to do a good--even great--job and be rewarded for it with a good reputation and another contract. Governments and union leadership intervene in this process, not always to the advantage of the employee.

Example: The worker who does not fit what government wants is going to be eased out anyway. Once government enters the equation, as it does with education and business, then control is exerted. Think what is acceptable to express, charter schools, regulations for day care. Can parental regulation be far behind? Of course, with social services and the ability to remove a child from the home, to a degree, it is here now. Think of how much clout the government exercises through grants and "loans" where they can apply pressure upon the recipient to comply with the government's wishes, or else . . . use your imagination. Think the push to fund Kyoto projects and the concomitant pressure to not allow scientists who disagree to be heard. So much for funding for them! The whole process is tainted when government and unions are involved.

The alternative is worker uncertainty, of course, but the self-employed businessman faces that all the time and many survive. A plumber or a high-pressure welder works for more per hour than several professionals who come to mind. NJC




CBC is being lauded by those who love the music and hate the politics, deservedly so! Continue that strike.

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