The book by Heron Craig, “The Canadian Labour Movement: A Short History: Second Edition." published by James Lorimer & Company Ltd., Publishers in 2012, talks about the world of labour and how the Canadian labour movement influenced. The author, Craig Heron, narrates about the journey of the Canadian workers from the mid-nineteenth century to the present times, the experienced developments, and problems faced in the early twenty-first century. According to Heron, some plants and unions were closed and curtailed respectively, and this resulted to the suffering of workers through losing their employment, getting a minimal salary, and increased poverty (Heron, 83). Based on the information covered in the book about the basis, accomplishments, and problems of social justice and labour movements in Canada, it is possible to predict the future of work.
In the book, Craig Heron states that the rise of globalization negatively affected the private sector. The political and intellectual state of labour history in Canada is said to be at risk because of the implementation of broader processes of experience, struggle, and class formation. Heron asserts that as the development continues Canada will continue suffering from more problems, which will directly hit the workers (Heron, 115). The book is clear that the economic and political leadership of labour was necessary although the changing environment exerts pressure for there to be some changes in the workplaces.
Heron in the book offers some lessons regarding the importance of unions in the Canadian society in the adaptation of the collective and organizing bargaining strategies to the different organizational, demographic, labour market, human resource management, and economic trends experienced today. By reading the book, one gains the insights about the current changing nature of work, which threatens the survival of the unions. The book helps one to understand that because of the Canadian labour movement; there has been an improvement in feminized, service-based, and white collar workforce. It is clear that the future of work is endangered, as membership gains resulting from the public sector were minimized with the intention of reducing deficits.
In this book, I have learned that the history in the Canadian work sector is repeating itself, therefore it is possible for the Canadian workers to experience more problems related with being fired, poor payment, and delegation of duties, as the technology continues changing similarly with the economy, the composition and growth of the workforce also changes (Heron, 143). Consequently, I understand that the public policy, labour market, and economic environment within which labour unions in Canada also operate changes.
In the book, I have identified that because of the rising challenges affecting the Canadian unions, in the future, they will not be able to function, as they will be weaker than they are today, thus a great decline in the union membership destiny and levels (Heron, 149). Also, the fate that befell the American unions might cause the Canadian labour unions to diverge, as they are destined to be dynamic. I have realized that the current state of the labour movement is characterized by more challenges to the Canadian workers and based on the trend; more problems would be experienced in the future. Besides, by reading this book, I noted that the skill gap contributes to the challenges faced by the Canadian workers and the difficulties might increase, as the skill gap will tend to become wider in the future (Standing, 116). I have gained more insights that because of changes in technology, older workers are losing value, therefore suffering from the rising rate of unemployment and this leads to their state of poverty.
This book effectively describes the problem of the future of work in Canada based on the nature of the Canadian labour movement. The author effectively connects the decline of the Canadian labour union with changes in the public policy, labour market, and economic environment (Heron, 128). This book also helps the reader to understand that the more the workers are emerging, the more they are likely to face lives of insecurity, as they would be moving in and out of jobs that do not effectively influence their lives. The book is relevant in understanding the process of the declining Canadian labour union, the reasons why labour union declined, the forms of work organization followed and the new nature of human resource management and unionism in Canada.
Although the author describes the specific problem in details and focuses on predicting about the future of work in Canada, Heron failed to suggest strategies that would be effective in solving the specific problem (Standing, 118). It is not possible to understand how the labour movement in Canada is preparing itself for the future and if it is possible to experience some transformation in the industrial relations in Canada.
Indeed, in his book, “The Canadian Labour Movement: A Short History", Heron Craig effectively discusses the changes experienced in the Canadian labour movement. He effectively relates the problems faced by the Canadian labour unions by changes in the labour market, public policy, and economic environment. The book is relevant to gain an understanding concerning the future of work in Canada.
Work Cited
Heron, Craig. The Canadian Labour Movement: A Short History: Second Edition. James Lorimer & Company Ltd., Publishers, 2012. https://www.amazon.ca/Canadian-Labout-Movement-Short-History/dp/1459400569
Standing, Guy. "The Precariat-The new dangerous class." Amalgam 6.6-7 (2014): 115-119.
