Ontario to require degree for CHRP
Toronto — After a contentious debate at their annual meeting, members of the Human Resources Professionals Association of Ontario voted to include a degree prerequisite for earning a Certified Human Resources Professional Designation. The change comes into effect in 2011. Members also approved a new “affiliate” category of membership for people who don’t work in HR such as front-line managers. (For an in-depth look at the new degree prerequisite watch for the April 7 issue of CHRR.)
Canada's highest minimum wage
Iqaluit — Nunavut’s minimum wage will be bumped up by 20 per cent to $8.50 per hour, the highest minimum wage in Canada. The new rate takes effect March 3, and applies to everyone regardless of age. (For a look at minimum wages across the country, click on the “Related Articles” link below.)
Wage freeze for B.C. public sector
Victoria — There’s no money for a wage increase for British Columbia’s public-sector workers for another three years, said provincial Finance Minister Gary Collins when he tabled his 2003 budget in February. The minister said the province is on track to eliminate the debt pegged at $4.4 billion last year, by 2004. The government chopped 11,800 jobs or one-third of its workforce in the last year.
Collective agreements tracked online
Vancouver — British Columbia’s Labour Relations Board has introduced a “Collective Agreements” Web page to post collective agreements in electronic format. The board currently has about 500 agreements posted at http://www.lrb.bc.ca/cas/.
Work-life balance gets mixed review
Montreal — Quebec workers are split on whether employers have done enough to promote work-life balance, a phone survey of 1,000 workers shows. Forty per cent of respondents said their employers haven’t been more open to measures that foster work-life balance in the past five years. Seven per cent thought their bosses were even less open than before to work-life balance policies and the rest were undecided. The survey was commissioned by Quebec’s HR association.
Health costs top U.S. business worries
New York — Rising health costs are cited as the top priority by employers for the fourth consecutive year, according to a survey of 3,000 benefits specialists conducted for the International Society of Certified Employee Benefits Specialists. Expanding the use of employee self-service technology for communications and/or administration comes in as a second-ranking concern for bosses.
An HR plan for the tech sector
Ottawa — The Canadian Technology Human Resources Board is drafting a plan for marketing career opportunities and removing barriers to skills upgrading. About 44.5 per cent of technicians and technologists in Canada will retire in the next few years, creating demands for thousands in at least 120 sectors, said Bob Cook, executive director of the board.
Toronto — After a contentious debate at their annual meeting, members of the Human Resources Professionals Association of Ontario voted to include a degree prerequisite for earning a Certified Human Resources Professional Designation. The change comes into effect in 2011. Members also approved a new “affiliate” category of membership for people who don’t work in HR such as front-line managers. (For an in-depth look at the new degree prerequisite watch for the April 7 issue of CHRR.)
Canada's highest minimum wage
Iqaluit — Nunavut’s minimum wage will be bumped up by 20 per cent to $8.50 per hour, the highest minimum wage in Canada. The new rate takes effect March 3, and applies to everyone regardless of age. (For a look at minimum wages across the country, click on the “Related Articles” link below.)
Wage freeze for B.C. public sector
Victoria — There’s no money for a wage increase for British Columbia’s public-sector workers for another three years, said provincial Finance Minister Gary Collins when he tabled his 2003 budget in February. The minister said the province is on track to eliminate the debt pegged at $4.4 billion last year, by 2004. The government chopped 11,800 jobs or one-third of its workforce in the last year.
Collective agreements tracked online
Vancouver — British Columbia’s Labour Relations Board has introduced a “Collective Agreements” Web page to post collective agreements in electronic format. The board currently has about 500 agreements posted at http://www.lrb.bc.ca/cas/.
Work-life balance gets mixed review
Montreal — Quebec workers are split on whether employers have done enough to promote work-life balance, a phone survey of 1,000 workers shows. Forty per cent of respondents said their employers haven’t been more open to measures that foster work-life balance in the past five years. Seven per cent thought their bosses were even less open than before to work-life balance policies and the rest were undecided. The survey was commissioned by Quebec’s HR association.
Health costs top U.S. business worries
New York — Rising health costs are cited as the top priority by employers for the fourth consecutive year, according to a survey of 3,000 benefits specialists conducted for the International Society of Certified Employee Benefits Specialists. Expanding the use of employee self-service technology for communications and/or administration comes in as a second-ranking concern for bosses.
An HR plan for the tech sector
Ottawa — The Canadian Technology Human Resources Board is drafting a plan for marketing career opportunities and removing barriers to skills upgrading. About 44.5 per cent of technicians and technologists in Canada will retire in the next few years, creating demands for thousands in at least 120 sectors, said Bob Cook, executive director of the board.
