My name is Christina Lambropoulos, I am a second year student studying at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario. My major is sociology.
The main reason I took Workplace and Employment Relations in Canada (EMPR200) is because I believe it is useful knowing how to interact in a professional environment. Throughout the many years we spend in school growing up, these lessons about basic rights and responsibilities of employees/employers are not discussed. Also, it will be interesting to learn about different economies and how they work to interest and benefit employees as well as themselves.
I currently run a small business working as an eyelash and nail technician, and gaining knowledge on employee success can help benefit me in the future if I so choose to pursue this full time and make a career out of it.
I am very excited to be participating in this course, I look forward to learning about workplace success and have a better understanding of an employee’s rights and laws.
Workers at the Concentrix Call Centre in Glace Bay are fearful for their health as their employers mandate they show up to work during the COVID-19 crisis. Shawn Boone, and employee of the Concentrix Call Centre spoke to The Chronicle Herald about his concerns of working during the global pandemic. He stated that his girlfriend, who also works with him faces an immunodeficiency was still on the schedule. The workplace usually has about 700 employees per floor, but split them up and lowered it to 50. In Nova Scotia, the precautions taken by the government allow telecommunications offices to continue operating during this time. However, the government also stated that “Nova Scotia has declared the following businesses as essential and exempt from provincial gathering limits (5 persons maximum), but still must maintain social distancing: IT, telecommunications and critical infrastructure,” (Canadian Federation of Independent Business, 2020).
Shawn Boone, Protesting outside of Concentrix Call Centre
Of course the economy needs to continue, however, companies like the Concentrix Call Centre need to find other ways of doing business to protect their employees. All of the employees who go there every day during this crisis are not only possibly exposing themselves to the virus, but to their children, elderly parents, and others in their workplace. This is an issue that concerns employment relations because the company is violating the province’s statements enforcing that all non-essential businesses need to follow specific social distancing guidelines, or allow employees to work from home. Concentrix Call Centre is a company that helps businesses strive by helping with social media and building a brand, (Concentrix).
In addition to this, employees stated that the company is requiring a doctors note for sick leave, even though the government said it is not necessary during these times. It is clear that the company is not only violating government standards for health and safety during this time, but they are violating basic human resource standards.
There is an easy way to go about this; the company needs to find a way for employees to work from home. It is a telecommunications company, it is very possible for it to be done remotely. Most adults own home computers, but for those who do not, the company has to find a way to supply them with computers for a period of time until this pandemic is over. The company has computers, it would be much easier, cheaper and better for their reputation if they let employees borrow their computers and work from home, like many other workplaces have done. The main issue the company is facing is that they are not considering the wellbeing of their employees or their families. These workers are non-unionized and do not have protection from their company, and are fearful of losing their jobs if they choose to not go into work during this time.
The company is experiencing conflict between its management and union sectors because of their changing industry and financial obstacles.
Recession caused the company to become close to bankruptcy and in order to keep their company in Canada they had to cut wages and convert retirement plans to RRSP’s
Employees hired after 2010 are stuck paying for older employees retirement funds
Women in the workplace had their wages cut for eight years
Precision Alloy Management clearly has many financial obstacles that they are struggling with currently. The automation industry has unfortunately moved primarily to countries abroad for cheaper labour costs and higher profit. PAM was able to keep their company in Canada, but that resulted in financial difficulties. The company almost went bankrupt a few times, and in order to stay running they had to make cuts to employees benefits such as their RSP’s and insurance benefits.
Employees hired after 2010 receive less benefits than employees who had been hired previously, causing the newer employees to be forced into paying for the older employees retirement plans. They claim that it is unfair to them. Also, one woman claimed that it is an industry originally dominated by men, and these women would have their wages cut for eight years.
It is difficult to determine a solution to this problem as the company is still experiencing financial troubles due to the competition in countries such as Mexico where they are able to offer better prices. It is important for the company to come to some sort of resolution and agreement between their union and management sectors.
I believe that it would be beneficial to abolish the idea of a pay scale for employees hired after 2010. It would be a more attractive strategy for the employees to have the opportunity to receive pay increases based on the efficiency of their work. If this is implemented then newer employees will be inspired to work harder and more efficiently and productively in hopes of receiving their pay increases sooner and thus causing less tension.
It is also important to give HR a strong voice because they are the ones who communicate with the employees more often and have an inside voice as well. If employees feel like they have more of a voice and their concerns are being heard they will also feel less disgruntled.
Staying in a union is important as well, because employees need the feeling of security within their jobs since it is an industry that can quickly move overseas. There needs to be better agreement between the different parts of the union and they need to come to one solid agreement throughout the whole company.
There are still many obstacles this business will need to overcome to thrive in the changing industry. The pay scale idea needs to be changed and further based on merit. Also, HR will need a stronger voice in the matter so employees can be heard, and the union needs to come to one solid agreement from all sectors.
The gig-based economy is a growing platform that is both beneficial to the economy, but is also extremely exploitative to workers.
The idea of these companies seems very liberating for those interested in being a part of them; employees are able to set their own hours for what works with their lifestyle, and it is meant to seem like an easier option compared to freelancing or starting their own businesses. However, these workers are constantly being exploited by the owners of gig-based companies, and there are very few unions, or rules in place to protect their rights.
A company that strives to make a difference in that field is CoopCycle, a European federation of bike delivery co-ops in 16 cities, who are pooling their resources to develop shared software and coordinate advocacy efforts, (Hayes, 2019).
The objective of this company was to create a successful anti-capitalist platform for bicycle delivery drivers to make a fair amount of money while also supporting local food stores, and contributing to the growing trend of ordering food to the home. CoopCycle has a democratic governance, meaning they let the couriers meet to decide how the pay should be divided, and what is fair for them. This style of management enforces an inclusive working environment and allows for employees to feel important and in control of their jobs and pay.
Unfortunately, many other delivery sites and apps take a very large cut of the profit, and expect their employees to rely mainly on tips and government standards such as minimum wage. These employees also do not have a lot of insurance for their jobs such as unions because there is a lot more turn-over and no set schedules. Therefore these workers are not protected if these apps and sites are to go out of business overnight.
It is difficult in areas that are monopolized by companies such as Uber or Postmates to have thriving smaller companies such as CoopCycle, because many consumers choose to use what is most commonly advertised and easily accessible. The main solution to this problem is for consumers to become more aware of the smaller companies who are pushing to make a difference in the gig-based economy, and to use them instead. If the large corporations realize they are being outdone by smaller ones, they may also choose to establish anti-capitalist regulations within their company. Another solution for the gig-based companies is to seek protection for their employees and establish some sort of union. This would encourage more people to want to be a part of it and help grow their companies and the economy. More companies need to follow in the footsteps of CoopCycle and allow for workers to have a say in how much they feel is an adequate amount of pay for the work they do. Companies need to vouch for inclusivity and fairness.
References:
Hayes, R. (2019). Worker-Owned Apps Are Trying to Fix the Gig Economy’s Exploitation. Retrieved 9 February 2020 https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pa75a8/worker-owned- apps-are-trying-to-fix-the-gig-economys-exploitation?utm_campaign=sharebutton
Christina Lambropoulos' Blog 