Frank   May 21, 2017, in Waterloo, On, Ca.

 

May 21, 2017, I was shocked by some reports that the policymakers of Ontario are preparing to broadly promote the activities of the labour unions, such practice once destructed economy and people’s daily life of Britain in the 70's of last century .

 

Feb 27, 2017, the article Big changes considered for Ontario workplaces - Toronto - CBC News reports: 

"Kathleen Wynne government ordered a review of workplace law 'to improve security and opportunity for those made vulnerable by the structural economic pressures and changes being experienced by Ontarians.'" 

Follow are some of the options that the government's special advisers are considering:   

Banning or limiting the use of replacement workers during a strike.

Making it easier for the employees of franchises to form unions.   

Allowing domestic workers employed in private homes to form unions.

Making paid sick days mandatory.  

Boosting the minimum required paid vacation to three weeks per year from the current two weeks. 

Lowering the threshold at which overtime pay must kick in to 40 hours, down from the current 44 hours.  

Abolishing the lower minimum wage for students under 18 and people who serve alcohol.

Requiring employers to pay their part-time workers the same as full-time workers doing similar jobs.  

Compensating workers for last-minute schedule changes.

Limiting the proportion of an employer's workforce that can be from temp agencies.

Sep 27, 2016, the article Here's what Ontario's proposed labour relations changes could mean for employors reports: 

"If adopted, the proposals contained in the recently released interim report to amend Ontario’s Labour Relations Act, 1995, and Employment Standards Act, 2000, The Changing Workplaces Review, by Premier Kathleen Wynne, would make the province the most radical left-wing environment for businesses in the Western world, and would go a long way toward ensuring that no foreign business would ever again invest in it."

The article indicated some of these proposed options:

To the Labour Relations Act

— Almost everyone can get unionized — lawyers, architects, domestic workers in private homes, the list goes on.

— More ominously, one proposal would allow employees to unionize by just signing membership cards rather than voting. (This, a product of the years Bob Rae was in power as a New Democrat, was eliminated by the conservative government of Mike Harris.) The days when unions took employees to alcohol-fuelled functions and often intimidated them into signing union cards, which many barely understood, could return.

— To make it easier, they are proposing handing unions copies of employee lists. (So much for privacy rights.) History has shown unions are not likely to win votes but, if they can be certified based simply on signed cards, it is relatively easy to succeed. This legislation will change the rate of unionization.

— If there is an unfair labour practise in a workplace, the union can be certified without having to show it has “adequate support for collective bargaining.” Meaning, a 60 employee shop could potentially be certified with just one supporter. Precisely this occurred to Royal Shirt under the Bob Rae government.

— Employers with common ownership to unionized companies can also be automatically certified as a related employer without the union having to prove there is any “common control and direction between them.”

— Another proposal would prevent employers from bringing in replacement workers, taking away their ability to continue operating during a strike, and thus destroying their accordant bargaining power during negotiations. In strikes where the union cannot quickly get what it wants, another proposal provides the right to call in an interest arbitrator to settle the new collective agreements after 30 days. Such arbitrators have granted the generous wages and benefits of the province’s public sector employees.

— With all of the above changes it would be seamlessly simple for unions to obtain new certifications, particularly if they are insulated from votes, so that management never gets to tell its side of the story before the union is certified. They can also promise the employees the likelihood of significant wage and benefit increases in a way that they cannot now.

It is obvious; such policy will worsen extreme low productivity of Canada.

Those lawmakers should refer to the experience of other countries to seriously analyze how to carry out effective social governance, to avoid following the failed road dust of others. 

In comparison with the time that the origins of unions in 18th century Britain, nowadays, society has provided labors a comprehensive support of laws and welfares, and employers are legally enforced to pay variety of benefits, while business operation is more and more difficult, in such situation, the unions are still organize labors to strike for more by doing less, to make businesses closed or out-relocated, and thereby make people jobless, include union members themselves.

In 1897, German geographer Mr. Friedrich Ratzel who revealed that the natural expansion of strong states into areas controlled by weaker states was for expanding living space geographically. Now, in the Era of market economy, the living space has developed as market space; people compete for living space by competitive manufacturing.

For years, Canadians were in losing living space; due to the manufacturing were in disappearing. 

In Mar. 16, 2012, the article Fight Union Busting Through United International Class Struggle reveals: “Unemployment in cities like London and Windsor is around 10 percent.”  “Some 450,000 manufacturing jobs have been destroyed in Canada since 2006. Southwestern Ontario, long the country’s industrial heartland, increasingly resembles the adjacent U.S. Rust Belt with its abandoned, hollowed-out factories.”

Aug. 20, 2014, the article Canada losing steam in its push for an export boom reports: "It is now cheaper to make goods in once-high-cost countries such as Japan or Britain than in Canada, according to a new map of global manufacturing competitiveness."

In Aug. 2012, the article Future success of manufacturing will require government support said: manufacturing accounted for less than 13% of national GDP last year, down from 19% in 2000. From a balanced trade position in manufactures, we now incur a $90-billion annual deficit in international manufacturing exports and imports.

People argue the decline of Canada’s manufacturing reflects inevitable universal factors; however, the success of Germany shows that was not true.

November 2013, article How Does Germany Do It said that: Germany, especially its manufacturing sector, has done exceedingly well. The manufacturing accounts for nearly 21% of national GDP. The exports, primarily manufactured goods, rose 11% in 2010. While other industrialized nations have buckled under Asian competition, Germany has increased exports to China and the rest of Asia; and has been enjoying trade surplus again and again. Even there has been arguing that Germany's trade surplus is a problem.

Then, what were the good practices that promote Germany success?

In 2003, Germany legislated Agenda 2010 that cuts welfare in funding for lazy and loosen the restrictions on labor market with availability of the job in lower payment, which largely reduced rate of unemployment and made Germany from Sick Man of Europe to Economic Superstar.

The successful legislation of Agenda 2010 was former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder exchanged by own political career.

Now, the success of Germany has waked us that the decline of Canada’s manufacturing was not due to universal factors at all.

According to my experience and observation in past 16 years working in different businesses, the reason for businesses closure or out relocation was due to poor management, or even due to the troublemaking of some individuals under the organization of unions and unions’ culture, which is legally protected and encouraged.

Now, please follow me to review the facts that how some Canadians did in destructing own living space?

May 18, 2016, in article How to save Canada's manufacturing from disappearing I introduced a case that a union made a good manufacturer has to move to Mexico?

It was a branch of NCR Corporation that once located in the city of Waterloo Ontario with a labor union.

Dec. 21 2010, in article Canada’s Corporate Management & Reducing Psychological Pressure in Workplace, I discussed the poor management in this Company.

In 2006, I once worked there from a job agency in before two months of Christmas.

When I newly work there was with 6 people to assemble a cashier machine that is widely used at supermarket. My job is installation of electrical wires and switches on the empty case-frame of the machine, and then other people install the parts insides and make final testing for sending to customers.

The people are very friendly in the work team.

After about one hour of my first day’s work, a gentleman called Jim friendly told me that: “please do not work too hard like this; you may go to washroom to have a rest, or go to other work station to talk with friends. Any way, you should slow down the work.” Then, I noticed that other people were talking and joking with a slow working.

Compared with other Companies, the NCR Company has occupied the top of the food chain with welcomed end products; it certainly has greater profit margins supported by an enviable team of skilled technicians and operators. So that it should be running better and sustainable. However, it was being shut down earliest to move to Mexico before the Financial Crisis 2008, and made 1300 people jobless.

Now, looking back the overall production efficiency at that time, in my work team, only reached about 50% of total production capacity.

About half a year later after the NCR Company was shut down; in a supermarket, I met Jim who once advised me to work slowly. We were talks a while. At that time, he was looking for a new job after worked for a job agency a couple of months.

Now, from whatever point of view, in NCR Company, he asks others to lower down the work speed are no any reason for his own interests. His payment was over $ 20/h in NCR, but for Job Agency or any other job may less than $12/h.  I wonder that maybe was him to have made the Job Agency closed again, because that was his hobby.

You would never believe that in my work team of NCR, the supervisor dared not supervise in work.

Before NCR moved to Mexico, every year before Christmas, the company must recruit a lot of temporary workers to complete the backlog of the orders.

One day, the Supervisor told me that he will leave for vacation about two weeks. At first, I was very surprised and even doubted whether I misheard what he said, or he was joking.

Since that the production was so busy with so much new temporary workers, as a Supervisor who takes the main management responsibility, why, at this juncture to leave for vacation?

A few days later, I went to work, my team colleagues asked me that: did you watch the TV this morning, in other department, the night shift temporary workers collectively made trouble, even to have smashed some equipments after learnt that they was laid off.

Some people might doubt that how did this happen?

A few years later after the NCR out relocated; I talked with an acquaintance who once worked in NCR, and learnt that, in the NCR, the payment will be more than $14 per hour after hired as full-time employee, which is much higher than that of any other companies.

Now, we would realize the reason that Supervisor left for vacation in the busy juncture. He was to dodge for avoiding trouble. Also, we may easily imagine that the Supervisor leaving for vacation might become routine manner at the busy juncture in before Christmas every year.

It is really an incredible matter. A Supervisor as middle management in a legitimate multinational company, his work should be aboveboard and dignified; however, he had to act as that of criminal to dodge some time every year, but conversely, the criminal manners of those workplace troublemakers were acting as aboveboard and dignified, there no one dared inhibit them.

Indeed, the supervisor never says anything for that Jim slowed down the work. He seemed have never taken his supervising responsibility besides hard work as a general operator.

This might be the most absurd thing in the world. It is simply as that of the sky and the earth has been swapped the position.

Obviously, it was union helped Jim and other 1300 people jobless. The sad reality shows that the unions are in making the greatest injustice by the name of justice. But in the final analysis, it is the great contribution of the unions-protective law that made by democratic elected lawmakers.

Now, let look at Britain, the mother country where the unions were born firstly on Earth.

Feb 25 2010, the dailymail reported that Up to 1200 needless deaths patients abused staff bullied to meet targets… yet a secret inquiry into failing hospital says no one’s to blame:

“1. Patients were left unwashed in their own filth for up to a month as nurses ignored their requests to use the toilet or change their sheets;”

 “2. Four members of one family, including a new-born baby girl died within 18 months after of blunders at the hospital;”

“3. Medics discharged patients hastily out of fear they risked being sacked for delaying;”

“4. Wards were left filthy with blood, discarded needles and used dressings while bullying managers made whistleblowers too frightened to come forward.”

From the reports we may clear that, in Britain, the poor situation in health care system is not entirely due to the insufficiency in investment and manpower by comparison with other countries, but, there is simple reason that is the poor work ethic of some medical staff – irrational, even inhuman.

Is it the inevitable result of the progress of human civilization? Of course, the answer certainly is no. Then, who gave them the gut for dared doing so, no doubt, it was union that under the protecting and encouraging of law.

Government has a sound legal system under the enforcement of police and military, it can beat any irrational activities of individual and organizations, however, above incredible facts show that the British government has been not playing its governing role properly.

Ultimately, the root cause for the sadness happened in Britain is the electorate dominated democracy, which is not government governing electorate, but rather, it is that some electorate kidnapping government to boldly exert their abnormal instincts.

The populist driven democracy has trapped the governing function of government coupled with confused ideological that misinterpreted and misused freedom and human right, which has become umbrella for those mindless people who are in inhuman nature.

It is not limited in Britain, but, it is the common diseases in most democratic country.

Noted sociologist said that U.S. democracy is in Decay with NO WAY OUT

Francis Fukuyama who is an Ph.D.in sociology, a famous scholar in political economics and Senior Fellow at the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law at Stanford University.

In 1992, in view of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War, he published the book The End of History and the Last Man, in which he excitedly argued that the progression of human history as a struggle between ideologies is largely at an end, with the world settling on liberal democracy, he predicted the eventual global triumph of political and economic liberalism:”

“What we may be witnessing is not just the end of the Cold War, or the passing of a particular period of postwar history, but the end of history as such.... That is, the end point of mankind's ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government.”

However, in September 2009, Japan's famous political magazine The central public opinion  published  Fukuyama’s speech and interview, in which Fukuyama specifically affirmed the superiority of the China model, and he pointed out that objective facts have proved that Western liberal democracy may not be the end of human history evolution; with the rise of China, the conclusion of the end of the history is need to be further refined and perfected..”

And more, in 22 years later, after experienced the absurd American democracy, on the Foreignaffairs, he published other article that America in Decay - the Sources of Political Dysfunction to indicate that American democracy is “NO WAY OUT” and completely denied his faith in democracy and showed his sad despair for the democracy:

"NO WAY OUT" 

"The U.S. political system has decayed over time because its traditional system of checks and balances has deepened and become increasingly rigid. In an environment of sharp political polarization, this decentralized system is less and less able to represent majority interests and gives excessive representation to the views of interest groups and activist organizations that collectively do not add up to a sovereign American people."

In comparison with Francis Fukuyama who are with authoritative reputation in specially researching in the economics and politics, we have enough reason to question the rational of those people who are still advocating democracy.

Mar. 30, 2016, in article Authorize non-partisan Super leadership to assist social governance, I indicate that: "Though the social governance in the Britain and the US is incredible poor, but, Canada is even worse, such as, above I have mentioned that Canada’s productivity lags U.S. in ‘virtually every instance’ and it is cheaper to make goods in Britain or Japan than in Canada."

Here, I have to declare that I am not in hating democracy, but, in concerning how to perform rational social governance?

April 29, 2015, in article Canada's economy is faced at vital crossroads, I indicate that:

"Manufacturer (Company or Enterprise) is the basic cell and main driving force of the real economy by integrating the Intelligence, Capital, Knowledge, Technology, and Market together to play the role as protagonists of scientific and technological innovation."

"Manufacturer is the organizer of large-scale socialized production, it organizing and training social members to create material wealth with providing jobs for living making and tax revenue for social governing, thus to create a stable community, by which that people can work and live to enjoy a prosperous life."

From the social function of the enterprise, that who owns the enterprise is not important, it is important to ensure its healthy sustainable operation.

Jun 25 2013, in article My view on Entrepreneurs and Enterprises inspired by Peter Shoore, I indicate that:

 "Enterprises are the important organization of social production to create material wealth for human survival, and the entrepreneurs invest their money to run the enterprises with a frugal living and risk taking, to provide employment for public living and revenue for social governing. Thus, their enterprises are to be shared publicly in playing the role as social wealth."

"In some extent, in fact, the Enterprise is shared to make living by Employees & Employers together."

"In view of this way, we can draw a general conclusion: it is that the means of production is not personal consuming goods, no matter who owns it, the owner only possesses the power of disposal or organization of the production of social material wealth."

"To view in this practical way, the Poor are not poor as some people complained; and the Rich are not rich as some people fantasized at all."

"The entrepreneur is the best social servant and the communist in the reality."

 In Canada, the primary task is to reverse people's misconceptions about business and entrepreneurs, especially the hostilities towards them.

Wrongful social ideological is the big enemy for developing economy.

It is clear that those democratic elected policymakers of Ontario are with strong hostility towards business owners and eagerly preparing to fight against them without a mind that will kill economy by worsening productivity and pushing high cost in goods making.

Now, our neighbor, the United States, the new president Mr. Trump who is hardly introducing policies to attract manufacturing to return to the United States, especially, to reduce the corporate tax to half.

The local officials of the U.S. are also hardly struggling to attract foreign manufacturers with the strong desire of making job for own citizen. Inspired by their rational practice, in Jan. 16, 2017; I once wrote article 62 cities of the United States compete for the investment of one manufacturer of China.

In the article I made aharsh comment: “The US mayors lesson democratic players of the United States to rationalize the way of thinking, they must recognize that being elected is nothing to be proud of, but rather to be ashamed of, as it indicates that she or he was in low personal quality with deceptive trick to have successfully coaxed voters, unless to be verified by the achievements in the creation of job and revenue.”

Then, how a rational politician should be, the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has set a model.

Please see my Nov. 1, 2016 article to learn that why and how Margaret Thatcher to have changed The UK Forever and why the economy of Britain is stronger than that of Canada.

Margaret Thatcher Changed The UK Forever By Defeating Unions

           Frank   Nov. 1, 2016, in Waterloo, On, Ca.

http://frank-waterloo.blog.163.com/blog/static/2052390292016931105635635/

There were reports that Britain will soon be developed as fourth large economy in world, for such a achievement, the first contributor should be Ms. Margaret Thatcher, it was she defeated Unions under a rational sense that Unions were attempting to substitute the rule of the mob for the rule of law, they are using violence and intimidation to impose their will on others who do not want it; so that British government rationally beats Unions and thereby revived productivity in Britain.     

         

        Looking at those photos, you would think the British police are too cruel, but, the following photos will completely change your view.