Hiring bias for workers' kids ruled discrimination
Vancouver — The B.C. Human Rights Tribunal ordered pulp and paper firm West Fraser Timber Company in Kitimat to end its policy of reserving jobs for children of employees and pay Rachel Thomson $1,000 in damages. The tribunal ruled Thomson’s attempt to land a summer job was thwarted by a discriminatory policy, the Vancouver Province reports.
Union, non-union wage gap closing
Ottawa — Union members earned eight per cent more than non-union workers in 1999, Statistics Canada’s Workplace and Employee Survey states. That’s a closer gap than in 1998 when union workers averaged 12 per cent more, and 1986 when the difference stood at 20 per cent.
Report favours incentive pay for teachers
Kelowna, B.C. — Compensation for teachers should include incentive pay that rewards the achievement of teaching goals, the report Teacher Quality in Canada states. Susan Phillips, author of the study commissioned by the non-profit research group Society for the Advancement of Excellence in Education, said Canada’s school boards need to move away from out-dated pay systems that reward seniority. The report links the development of teaching skills with student achievement, and recommends more time and money for professional development, as well as career-long evaluations. CNN recently reported schools in the United States are starting to adopt incentive-based pay for teachers.
Match learning to body rhythm
Toronto — Teenagers are on internal clocks that don’t mesh with morning classes, researchers say. High school should begin at noon in recognition that morning learning is fighting against circadian rhythms that find students more alert in the afternoon when school is almost over, University of Toronto researchers state in the paper Children’s Time of Day Preference.
Martin critical of education cuts
Windsor, Ont. — Prime Ministerial hopeful Paul Martin said cutbacks in education funding in Ontario are counter-productive to building a strong society. Martin made the comments after meeting with Windsor parents worried about funding levels, the Toronto Star reports. Martin said education cutbacks work against the development of workers employable in a knowledge economy.
Who's on the tech hiring list?
Toronto — Help desk support is the most in-demand information technology specialty, according to a survey of 270 Canadian chief information officers by staffing firm Robert Half Technology states. Help desk/end-user support was cited by 18 per cent of respondents as the number one sought-after specialty, followed by networking (17 per cent), applications development (16 per cent), Internet/intranet development (12 per cent), project management (eight per cent), database management (eight per cent) and systems analysis (three per cent); 17 per cent predicted no growth or were unsure. In the manufacturing sector, networking staff are particularly in demand.
Vancouver — The B.C. Human Rights Tribunal ordered pulp and paper firm West Fraser Timber Company in Kitimat to end its policy of reserving jobs for children of employees and pay Rachel Thomson $1,000 in damages. The tribunal ruled Thomson’s attempt to land a summer job was thwarted by a discriminatory policy, the Vancouver Province reports.
Union, non-union wage gap closing
Ottawa — Union members earned eight per cent more than non-union workers in 1999, Statistics Canada’s Workplace and Employee Survey states. That’s a closer gap than in 1998 when union workers averaged 12 per cent more, and 1986 when the difference stood at 20 per cent.
Report favours incentive pay for teachers
Kelowna, B.C. — Compensation for teachers should include incentive pay that rewards the achievement of teaching goals, the report Teacher Quality in Canada states. Susan Phillips, author of the study commissioned by the non-profit research group Society for the Advancement of Excellence in Education, said Canada’s school boards need to move away from out-dated pay systems that reward seniority. The report links the development of teaching skills with student achievement, and recommends more time and money for professional development, as well as career-long evaluations. CNN recently reported schools in the United States are starting to adopt incentive-based pay for teachers.
Match learning to body rhythm
Toronto — Teenagers are on internal clocks that don’t mesh with morning classes, researchers say. High school should begin at noon in recognition that morning learning is fighting against circadian rhythms that find students more alert in the afternoon when school is almost over, University of Toronto researchers state in the paper Children’s Time of Day Preference.
Martin critical of education cuts
Windsor, Ont. — Prime Ministerial hopeful Paul Martin said cutbacks in education funding in Ontario are counter-productive to building a strong society. Martin made the comments after meeting with Windsor parents worried about funding levels, the Toronto Star reports. Martin said education cutbacks work against the development of workers employable in a knowledge economy.
Who's on the tech hiring list?
Toronto — Help desk support is the most in-demand information technology specialty, according to a survey of 270 Canadian chief information officers by staffing firm Robert Half Technology states. Help desk/end-user support was cited by 18 per cent of respondents as the number one sought-after specialty, followed by networking (17 per cent), applications development (16 per cent), Internet/intranet development (12 per cent), project management (eight per cent), database management (eight per cent) and systems analysis (three per cent); 17 per cent predicted no growth or were unsure. In the manufacturing sector, networking staff are particularly in demand.
