Labour negotiations can't be in 'good faith' without acknowledging the cruelties workers face

Facebook Twitter Email Reddit LinkedIn For so many, labour action is about whether they get to eat or stay in their home Ameil J. Joseph · for CBC Opinion · Posted: Nov 22, 2022 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: November 22 Vanessa Vella standing on the side of the road with a sign that reads "Protect Workers Rights." Supporters of education workers joined the CUPE picket line near Lime Ridge Mall in Hamilton on Nov. 4. CUPE and the Ontario government reached a tentative deal Nov. 20. (Aura Carreño Rosas/CBC) 98 comments This column is an opinion by Ameil J. Joseph, an associate professor with the School of Social Work at McMaster University. For more information about CBC's Opinion section, please see the FAQ. The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), representing education workers, and the Ontario government reached a tentative deal Sunday night that is keeping kids in classrooms this week. Meanwhile, nearly 3,000 teaching and research assistants at McMaster University in Hamilton are off the job after the university rejected to move any further on wages and other measures late last week. This won't be the last we hear about the labour and economic conditions of educators in this province, or across this country. When labour disputes arise, there is a term often relied upon to articulate a level of honesty within offers, positions, and negotiations for workers and their employers — it's the call from all sides to operate in "good faith." It is not a new maneuver, but I think it is an important one for everyone to reflect on. Public sector workers in education sectors across the province have been trying to articulate their honest, contemporary realities to their employers — that context frames what "good faith" means. Yet they have repeatedly been met with what could instead be called bad faith responses. All of us should be thinking about the material impacts of this. That requires honesty that is, in this very moment, an absolute necessity. The need to paint an honest picture I worry about the degradation of the meaning of honesty. I worry about how the goal posts for honesty are being moved, time and again. I worry about elected officials sharing misinformation and disinformation about the number of days children have been out of school due to strikes. I worry about McMaster University, where I teach, sending internal messages that limit what information can and should be shared across the university with specific respect to its own labour dispute. For instance, statements and media releases from university leadership have implied that teaching assistants and research assistants are asking for an hourly wage that is unreasonable, yet they choose to omit the fact that those student teaching assistants are limited in the amount of hours they can work in these roles while they pursue their education. These very students have to pay tuition out of their wages as well, and that leaves them taking home no more than about $5,000 per year from which to pay all their expenses, including groceries and rent. breaking news today bitcoin news bbc news ni bihar news by news 9 news channel 5 news channel 9 news channel 3 news channel 2 news channel 10 news channel 8 news chicago news conference delphi murders news center maine news channel 13 cbc news chelsea news ctv news chelsea transfer news cbs news covid news crypto news china news celebrity news news denver news delphi murders news definition newsdakota news dallas news diesel shortage news deserts news diesel news dc news desk dawn news daily news dogecoin news djokovic news daily mail news deshaun watson news detroit news duggar news dallas cowboys news