The Conservatives are showing their big-government bias...
The Conservative government in Ottawa is showing it's bias towards big government, in two stories in the National Post this morning.
First, there is the story about how the Labour Minister, Jean-Pierre Blackburn, is proposing that the federal government enforce pay equity in federally regulated businesses. This is essentially the government deciding who should get paid what and what the value of a job is, rather than the market deciding. Do you want a bureaucrat in Ottawa deciding how much you should get paid, or if you own a business, deciding how much you should pay your employees? This is further complicated because the current pay-equity rules speak of "equal pay for work of equal value". The problem is who gets to decide the value of the work? If the bureaucrat decides that the tellers in a bank provide the same "value" as the investment bankers, we have a serious problem...
The second story is about how the Canada Labour Code is recommending a national minimum wage, and that the NDP is pushing at $10/hr. This would be $2.00 higher than the highest provincially mandated minimum wage, found in B.C. While this would only apply to federally regulated businesses. The CLC also indicated that the government should enforce more strictly laws about overtime and vacation. The market handles this very effectively. If you don't like the terms of a job, you can quit and find another one. Of course, if the welfare state has caused structural unemployment to site around 10%, this is more difficult, but then you can always choose the dole.
These proposals from Ottawa are detrimental to the interests of the people and of the country. They should die a quick death.
First, there is the story about how the Labour Minister, Jean-Pierre Blackburn, is proposing that the federal government enforce pay equity in federally regulated businesses. This is essentially the government deciding who should get paid what and what the value of a job is, rather than the market deciding. Do you want a bureaucrat in Ottawa deciding how much you should get paid, or if you own a business, deciding how much you should pay your employees? This is further complicated because the current pay-equity rules speak of "equal pay for work of equal value". The problem is who gets to decide the value of the work? If the bureaucrat decides that the tellers in a bank provide the same "value" as the investment bankers, we have a serious problem...
The second story is about how the Canada Labour Code is recommending a national minimum wage, and that the NDP is pushing at $10/hr. This would be $2.00 higher than the highest provincially mandated minimum wage, found in B.C. While this would only apply to federally regulated businesses. The CLC also indicated that the government should enforce more strictly laws about overtime and vacation. The market handles this very effectively. If you don't like the terms of a job, you can quit and find another one. Of course, if the welfare state has caused structural unemployment to site around 10%, this is more difficult, but then you can always choose the dole.
These proposals from Ottawa are detrimental to the interests of the people and of the country. They should die a quick death.
posted by Technical Bard | 12:16
3 Comments:
I recall when the NDP in Saskatchewan proposed very similar labour regulation reforms they were dubbed the "Job Killing Monster".
It's a shame there's no one in Ottawa willing to produce a similarly evocative description.
how seriously are they actually considering these proposals?
how can the second proposal be laid at the Tories' feet?
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