Toronto Star
EDITORIAL, Monday, November 17, 2003, p. A22
Rich-poor gap is bad for all of us

The Canadian Policy Research Networks released a report Friday looking at
the impact of low wages on the Canadian economy. Here is an edited excerpt
from the forward of the report, Defining Vulnerability In The Labour
Market:

History tells us that societies are slow to recognize the point when
economic change requires a rethinking of policies and institutions. When
workers flocked to cities to work in the factories of the industrial
revolution, for example, governments did not observe the deterioration in
health and well-being until they needed to recruit armies for a military
campaign.

This happened first in Bismarck's Germany and later in Britain, when the
men who volunteered turned out to be undernourished and sickly. Suddenly,
the cost to society of poor nutrition, bad housing, and inadequate public
health services, such as clean water, air, and sanitation facilities became
a national problem, and it brought a revolutionary change in the way
governments conceived their responsibilities.

Over the past 25 years, labour markets in North America and other
industrial countries have been changing in response to important social and
economic forces. The image of the family with one wage earner (typically
male) working full-time in a permanent job with a single employer has been
replaced by a mix of two-earner or single parent families, with many
working part-time or in temporary employment, sometimes combining two jobs
in order to make ends meet. Self-employment has become much more prevalent.

Over the same period, disparities in earnings from employment have widened.
The well paid have experienced earnings gains, while market incomes at the
low end of the spectrum have stagnated or even declined. Almost 2 million
adult Canadians work for less than $10 an hour- about one in six employed
people.

These trends leave many Canadian workers in a vulnerable position, meaning
that their participation in the labour market leaves their well-being at
risk. A large part of the labour force finds it difficult to access work
that provides a decent income and working conditions that meet societal
norms.

It is important to better understand the circumstances of vulnerable
workers and to find ways to improve the inclusion of more workers in work
that provides decent pay and working conditions. In part, this is a matter
of ensuring that people are treated fairly.

However, evidence is emerging that providing people with quality jobs also
furthers economic goals, because it improves productivity. Our goal is to
provide Canadians and their leaders with the evidence base they need to
think through the way in which we will respond to this increase in
vulnerability.Worth Repeating


Category: Editorial and Opinions
Uniform subject(s): Economic conditions and economic policies
Edition: Ontario
Length: Medium, 353 words

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