labour and law

LABOUR AND LAW

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Labour and Law

Canadian labor movement evolved from a family structured working people engaged in the basic industries like farming and fishing . The need for skilled workers arose when industries became complex . For lack of available workforce that is ready to fill-up the needs of rising industries , engagement of immigrant workers came about

The shift from simple organizational structures to a more complex organization of skilled and technical workers brought about conflicts which were not readily resolved by

employers . Government was not also responsive enough to lay down the basic laws and guidelines to ensure these workers ' rights are protected

Thus , in the midst of conflicting interests , unionism came about . Early wins for union activities were elusive . Sacrificial lambs , as in most cases , were union leaders who were either deported to their countries of origin or booted out of work . While union movement was not at all that successful in bringing about immediate changes in the workplace , its notable success was achieved when government was forced to legislate and enact laws to protect workers ' rights

In the 1800 's , immigration of skilled workers to Canada was encouraged by the Ministry of the Interior for the purpose of peopling the prairies . Immigration to the cities was discouraged . The immigrants were those from the United States , Britain , or other parts of Europe . Immigrants to cities were discouraged . This seemingly lax policy on entry of immigrants gave wide opportunities for different nationals to settle in Canada . These included Jews , Chinese , Russians , and others During that time , there was no law which regulated and managed the plight of immigrants . Those who were found undesirable were deported even with the absence of an express law to that effect

At the start of industrialization in Canada , there was an inevitable shift from family-oriented types of employment to more complex organizational structures . These new employer-employee relations gave rise to various conflicts which were not addressed by employers , the government , and by society in general

Hopeless of their seemingly unaddressed and oppressive plight , workers who were mostly immigrants from their countries of origins , created unions to protect themselves in these new impersonal labour markets Although the first unions were small organizations , they attracted hostile reactions from governments and most employers . In fact governments declared unions illegal . Union members and sympathizers confronted constant harassment , firings , blacklisting , and arrests Despite this very obvious need to uplift the plight of workers , poor wages , and dangerous working conditions were not abated . This led to an increasing number of strikes and protests

A revolutionary industrial union was slowly getting mass support among low-status migrant workers in Canada . This idea was seriously influenced by American labour ideology in 1905 . The Industrial Workers of the World , or the Wobblies ' was formed which was composed mostly of unskilled , low-status migrant workers like miners , loggers , navies and harvesters . They were recruited from the west and were exploited in the booming economy of Canada . The ideology is based on...