Corporate Bullies: Looks Good On Them

The Corporate Tide has Ebbed Out

From coast to coast, workers are slowly getting back a sense of justice in the workplace. Companies are now in a huge jam and they have to change their tactics in order to retain or even have a chance of getting a worker.

From Railways to Home Depots in Canada, hundreds of companies now fear a severe worker shortage.

So, what exactly does this mean for you and I, the common worker or the unemployed worker or the layed off worker, or our children's futures?

Lets look at the job scene out there today. Headlines are glowing with loud reports such as Alberta's "non-stop expansion in the oilsands have oil and gas companies trying to determine whether they'll have enough staff to take advantage of the upcoming work...". And in northern Ontario we find that "Skilled trades people are scarce in Sudbury" and that they are already talking of either "begging" people to work there, or they are going to consider "outsourcing abroad" for workers to come to Sudbury and work. Already thousands of retail stores cannot get people to work (students cover the evening shifts) during the daytime hours.

One interesting concept is with Home Depot who support the Canadian Association of Retired Persons and claim that "We all know it's tough out there," said Susan Riduy, an assistant manager for Home Depot. "If we attract seniors we will. And we'll do whatever we have to retain them, because they are very valuable." No kidding Susan, since there are more than 33,000 seniors now working in Alberta and the numbers are expected to rocket.

In fact, housing projects and major construction work is looking at a stalemate in the construction sector with companies such as Deltera and Tridel Builder's Inc. who say "There are lots of red flags on the horizon." Building plans are being put on hold in fear of not being able to complete a job due to the lack of workers.

The ironic thing about all this is that these mega corporations have known for years there would be a shortage of workers once the 21st. century took off - the baby boomers are retiring in record numbers and the companies have failed to hire workers, bleeding the older workers for every ounce of their daily blood. In fact, CANAC warned the two major Canadian Railways, eight years ago, they would be facing an extreme worker-shortage.

Is this Payback time for some? Will the "double-dippers", the returning retired workers to the workforce return with a different attitude - You bet! Companies have their tails between their legs and are now forced to treat people like humans and in fact, they may even have to think about putting their proverbial "Straw Bosses" in the closet for the next decade or so...how about laying these meenies off and give them a taste of what it is like to devastate and ravage a family by removing a regular paychegue? Torchure them for a change, "an eye for an eye" you might wish...

But not all companies are or have been meenies. There is an old labour relations saying: "The only reason a company has a union is due to its own poor management". This is good food for thought.

A common goal must be to get everyone working, a highly set aim it is, but a great one whereas accomplishment can be, if everyone works in towards this goal in unity and fairness to all, including the meenies!