@marnotom! wrote:
@sin-n-dex wrote:
I work in the private sector and we get 2-3% raise per year (if our performance is within tolerance). I think some of the demands being made are a little bit greedy.
Given that Canada's annual inflation rate has ranged from 3.40% to 6.80% in the years 2021 to 2023, you'd be effectively getting a pay cut, not a raise, for those years.
And let's not forget that we have those greedy unions to thank for employment provisions we now take for granted, such as sick leave, vacation pay, a defined work week and overtime.
What unions ask for and what employers request in contract talks are supposed to be their ideals. You don't negotiate from the minimum you're willing to accept.
Most people I work with are switching jobs within the company or other companies to get an increase in pay.
I know lots of people who do not get sick days or paid for being home sick. I also know people who get their vacation in pay as a percentage (as required by law) and not allowed to take time off. I also worked in a job where I stood for 8 hours a day and didn't get a single break all day. I tried complaining to the Labour Board (in Canada/Ontario), and was told if I want breaks I have to enforce that myself. They responded by shortening my shifts so that no break was required and I ended up quitting.
People sometimes ask me why I stay in a job with a 2-3% pay increase every year when inflation is higher than that and I could get more money going elsewhere. Since I have a disability and my employer is accomodating that, I'm not motivated to go some place where they won't accomodate that, and there's lots of jobs I can't do as a result of the disability (not being able to stand for more than 10-15 minutes at a time, puts all retail jobs out of reach).
So the things the unions are getting are not making their way into the private sector... My roommate works for a private machine shop who pays him very well in dollars, but he's not allowed time off. He gets his 4% as required by law as money at the end of the year (in lieu of vacation) which is actually legal here. I on the other hand do not get such a great pay where I work, but seniority has earned me more vacation time than the law requires and a flexible work schedule to accomodate medical appointments and such (with my roommate has been unable to do requiring physio relating to a workplace injury, he was told to do that "outside of work hours").
I'm not suggesting that what Canada Post management is offering is entirely fair, and that the workers don't deserve more, but their strike has caused a lot of people I know (customers at my work for instance, friends who run mail order businesses to pay their mortage and feed their families), a whole lot of grief. So I have little sympathy that they decided to do this right now.
If we didn't have EFT set up for our client's benefits needs, it would be a pretty awful situation. Right now it's only vendors who aren't getting paid. Our clients depend on their disability benefits to keep a roof over their head and eat, and not everyone who is a client of ours is able to accept an EFT transfer.
C.
