WorkShoppers Online

Narrowing the income gap

According to a survey released earlier this week by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 86 per cent of Canadians declare that the government should do more to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor. What's so beautifully Canadian about that response is that we want the government to do something -- ignoring the fact that none of us has to wait for the government to take action because there is nothing stopping us from donating a proportion of our assets to the poor that is commensurate with how important we think the issue is.

The only way to truly help the poor is through strong economic growth and an education structure that helps everyone take advantage of it. Just this week, StatsCan released numbers showing that Alberta's strong growth and the related labour shortage has forced average hourly wages to over $21 an hour. Anyone able to work can get work in both B.C. and Alberta, which will raise standards of living well beyond any increase in government hand-outs.  Full article here.

Rim shot

The emancipation of women in Communist China has been accompanied by the chant "Women hold up half the sky." Well, not quite. According to a survey made by the Hong Kong accounting firm Grant Thornton to mark International Women's Day last week, only the Philippines can claim that. Women in Asia-Pacific have made great headway in winning senior management positions, but for the most part they remain a minority. The following is the proportion of companies in selected Asia-Pacific jurisdictions with women in senior management positions and the percentage they represent of total senior managers:

Jurisdiction

Companies with senior women managers / Women as a percentage of senior managers

Philippines 97% 50%

China 91% 32%

Malaysia 85% 23%

Hong Kong 83% 35%

Thailand 81% 39%

Taiwan 80% 29%

United States 69% 23%

Singapore 67% 21%

Canada 66% 19%

Australia 64% 22%

New Zealand 63% 24%

India 56% 14%

Japan 25% 7%

Prevalence of violence unchanged in workplace

Little has changed from three years ago with respect to the prevalence of violence in the workplace, according to a survey of business leaders across Canada.  The most prevalent form of violence since a poll was held on the subject in May 2004, continues to be verbal aggression, according to a weekly business Web-survey conducted by COMPAS Inc. for the Financial Post under sponsorship of BDO Dunwoody LLP.  The study found that most business leaders had witnessed some form of violence or aggression while at work. Respondents were asked to what extent they had experienced various acts of hostility using a seven-point scale, where seven signified they had definitely experienced an act and one signifying the opposite.  Full story here.

Seniors homelessness soars

The number of homeless seniors has gone up dramatically in the past five years, according to a survey by the Greater Vancouver Regional District.  The GVRD statistics show the number of older homeless people went up 276 per cent between 2002 and 2005. As of the latest GVRD homelessness report in 2005, there were 171 seniors who were living in shelters or out on the street. A CBC News investigation also found the number of B.C. seniors seeking social housing rose 30 per cent during the same time period.  Full article here.

Feeling Canadian can take some time for immigrants

For immigrants, a strong feeling of being Canadian can take a while to develop -- more than a generation in fact, according to an Ipsos Reid survey released today.  The online study, commissioned by Toronto's Dominion Institute, reveals that the Canadian-born children of immigrants are much more likely than their parents to feel a strong sense of belonging to Canada.  What is surprising is that not only do children of immigrants feel more Canadian than their parents, they also tend to feel more Canadian than non-immigrants in the general population.  This is an endorsement of Canada's official policy of multiculturalism, according to Rudyard Griffiths, the Dominion Institute's executive director.  Full story here.

Forfeiting vacation days? It's bad for your health.

The average number of vacation days allocated to Canadian workers in 2005 was 21. In 2006, it dropped to 19 days. That number earned us third place in the vacation deprivation world championships behind the Australians (17 days) and the Americans (14 days).  Canadians, the study found, also forfeit an average of two vacation days per year, to the tune of 32 million unused vacation days and a $5.1-billion windfall in wages back into employers' pockets.  Vancouver Sun.

Older workers prefer male bosses

I have two job options: one with a male manager, the second with a female. Will gender make a difference in my satisfaction and success? What do you think? Do you prefer male or female bosses?  A recent survey by the Gallup Organization found that North Americans would rather have men than women as bosses if they were accepting new jobs. The following perceptions of male and female superiors are based on opinions from varied surveys. What's your experience?  Vancouver Sun.

Forestry

Deaths in B.C.'s notoriously dangerous forest industry plummeted last year to their lowest level ever, the B.C. Forest Safety Council reported Tuesday.  There were 12 fatalities in 2006 compared to 43 in 2005 -- a whopping 72-per-cent decline. And there were no faller deaths last year, compared to seven the year before.  The most dramatic improvement was in harvesting, both manual tree falling and mechanical harvesting, which claimed two lives in 2006 compared to 19 in 2005. Serious injuries were down to 32 from 43.  Deaths in log hauling were down to five last year compared to eight in 2005. However, there was an increase in serious injuries, with 20 last year over the previous year's total of five.  Vancouver Sun.

Boomer phenom even hits charities

An overwhelming 72 per cent of baby boomers in B.C. want to know exactly where their charitable dollars are going before they hand over their cash, according an Ipsos Reid survey for BMO Harris private banking released Wednesday.  Full article here.

Manufacturing

UPS's 2006 survey of China's consumers shows there is a hot demand for electronic goods and apparel among the growing middle class and young consumers that is being mostly met by European and U.S. companies, while Canadian companies are lagging behind.  Forty-five per cent [of consumers polled] have a high demand for western-type beauty products. Forty-five per cent of Chinese Internet users have tried on-line shopping -- that's a significant finding for Canadian businesses because it gives the small to medium-sized businesses the opportunity to open up their products to that market," she said.  The leading products being sought were electronics, digital cameras, laptops and apparel.  And, while some of those products were manufactured in China, what attracts Chinese consumers was "the western-style packaging."  Source.