From unions to the return-to-office, here are six of the major developments in employment law this year
What have been the major developments in the field of employment law in 2022? Here’s a rundown of what I see as the six biggest:
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1. Union organizing
According to data from the U.S. National Labour Relations Board, unions south of the border won more elections this year than at any time in the last 20 years. The number of victories increased 80 per cent over the prior year and twice as many workers were represented.
More Americans approve of unions — 71 per cent according to Gallup — than at any time since 1965, when union membership rates were more than double what they are now. Although we do not have comparable data for Canada, my experience suggests a similar trend.
The reason is simple. With inflation near 10 per cent, the average wage increase in Canada at 3.4 per cent leaves employees dramatically behind where they were even a year ago. Couple that with working from home or hybrid work, there is less connection to their employer (even though that makes it harder for unions to reach the employee group). Smart employers, who have not had to worry about unions for the last number of years as union membership dropped continuously, are engaging firms like mine in sessions with their management groups as to how to remain union-free.
2. The case of Pohl vs. Hudson’s Bay
This Ontario Superior Court case reminded employers of the need to vigilantly adhere...
DAKAR. Ariel Gbaguidi, a journalist from Benin’s La Nation, won the award for fact-check of the year by a working journalist at the African Fact-Checking Awards ceremony held in Senegal on 2 Octob...