Viewing the TPP as a trade agreement masks its significance as a tool that will, like NAFTA, be used to challenge government regulation in the public interest. Investors from across the TPP will be able to appeal regulatory decisions before secret tribunals, giving them rights that do not exist for domestic companies under Canadian law.
The biggest gap in our current labour market policy is the lack of opportunities for life-long learning.
Government obsessions with keeping inflation low resulted in the relatively high unemployment rates of the 1980s and 1990s. And when unemployment is high, worker bargaining power is reduced.
The right-wing have a strong tendency to attack teacher unions, claiming that they stand in the way of good educational performance. The truth is that a high quality educational system demands highly skilled and committed teachers.
We’ve seen effective campaigns around minimum wages and precarious work in the United States, sponsored in part by various unions.
