Murray, Janice

Ontario, Etobicoke - Lakeshore, Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada

A feature of the continuing and escalating anti-social offensive and annexation of the Canadian economy to the U.S., in particular since the signing of the free trade agreements, has been the large-scale restructuring of industries and public services. This includes the closure of large sections of industrial manufacturing, whether you speak of the steel industry, forestry, auto or any other sector. The plight of the many thousands of workers who have lost jobs in these sectors -- as well as the many others who have been "restructured" into part-time, casual and contingent employment and "self-employment" who now form part of the working poor -- is a central issue in the federal election.

Not only has the proportion of low-waged workers not decreased in Canada over the past 20 years, but real wages have fallen for the bottom half of the workforce. Statistics indicate that among low-wage workers, two-thirds of women and half of the men will remain as part of the working poor. Recent research by Statistics Canada characterizes those workers increasingly likely to be among the working poor; it said that in 2000 "individuals with less than a high school diploma, recent immigrants, unattached individuals, lone mothers and persons living alone accounted for 71 per cent of all full-time workers in low-paid jobs and in low-income, but only 37 per cent of all full-time workers. The corresponding proportions for 1980 are 79 per cent and 49 per cent, respectively."

The same report indicated that the incidence of temporary work rose from 14 per cent in 1989 to 25 per cent in 2004. The study also noted downward trends in the wages of new hires -- which would include both those youth coming into the workforce and those forced by shutdowns and restructuring to change jobs or to become "self-employed." This data is confirmed by the workers' own experience where they are increasingly fighting companies' demands for concessions in wages for new hires and reduction or elimination of pensions and other benefits.

Most estimates put the number of workers employed in "non-standard" jobs or "precarious" work -- which comes with low wages, unstable income, shift work, lack of benefits, limited access to labour rights and low rate of unionization -- at 33 to 37 per cent of the workforce. This category includes workers forced to become "self-employed contractors" with recent figures indicating that the average annual income for self-employed women is around $15,500 and for men of national minority origin $19,900.

As an example of the plight facing many such workers, the Workers Action Centre in Toronto reports that there are about 500 temp agencies in Toronto which charge a flat fee or mark up for placement. The workers are misclassified as "independent contractors." It is therefore not clear who the employer is and who is responsible for meeting employment standards regulations. When disputes arise regarding payment of wages it is not clear who the worker can appeal to -- the temp agency or the sub-contractor for whom they are working. Approximately 115,000 Toronto workers are in these precarious, low-wage jobs experiencing harassment, on-the-job injuries, overtime and pay under $10 an hour. The majority of these workers are women, young people and new immigrants.

Workers in seasonal industries such as fish processing, agriculture and some aspects of the forest industry, as well as sections of service sector workers, are further impoverished by the changes to Employment Insurance which mean only a minority of unemployed workers qualify to receive insurance.

The plight of "lone mothers" is so marked that they are included as a distinct category of those most likely to be among the working poor. This is in part due to some 40 per cent in cuts, through the restructuring of the last 10 years, to the number of people on social assistance. This has denied mothers of small children even that meagre support and left them to try to support their families working part-time while caring for their families.

It is increasingly the case that those living in poverty in Canada face this plight despite being employed full-time. Recent information from Project 2000 and the 2004 report of the Daily Bread food bank in Toronto attests to this situation. The Campaign 2000 report for 2005 on child poverty showed that almost half of children living in poverty belong to working poor families, defined as families in which at least one parent worked all year. In its submission to the federal government's review on labour standards, Campaign 2000 stated: "Until the mid-1990s, child poverty generally rose and fell with the unemployment rate. Starting in 1995, however, the child poverty rate continued to go up even after the unemployment rate went down. A full-time job stopped being a guaranteed escape from poverty." The submission went on to point out that Canada stands out as a low-wage country, second only to the U.S. among industrialized countries. In Canada almost one in four workers, or 2 million adults, is in low-wage employment.

Daily Bread reported in 2004 that annual surveys of food bank use in the Toronto area show that the working poor have gone from some 10,000 plus users of the food banks in 1996 to well over 30,000 in 2004 and from 15 per cent in 1996 to 33 per cent in 2004 of the total users of the banks. Of this 33 per cent, at least 11 per cent reported that one member of their household is employed full-time. Daily Bread said: "Despite the priority placed on employment as the route out of poverty, work has paid less in constant dollars since 1995. From 1995-2003, the Ontario minimum wage lost $1.56 an hour or 18.5 per cent of its value."

Not only is the situation of the working poor becoming increasingly onerous, but among the workers, youth, women and recent immigrants are most politically marginalized by the present party-dominated political process and also face the brunt of this impoverishment. The impoverishment of these most vulnerable sections of the working class is a serious problem for the entire working class and people and the future of the nation and must be addressed. Forestry workers facing the closure of their plant had salt rubbed in the wound by the callous statements of Paul Martin and the party in power that even in good economic times some sections of the workers will face "difficulties" and they should know that Canadians are with them. Such statements should be rejected with utter contempt.

Workers do not want lectures but deeds based on the recognition that all workers have the right to decent working and living conditions. They will never accept that a country like Canada, in which so much wealth is being produced, cannot afford to provide this. They certainly are not willing to accept that the increase of the ranks of the working poor is acceptable "collateral damage" of an economy that has to compete on the global markets and that any improvement in their situation is made conditional on which party they will vote for or gets elected.

The working poor need immediate relief. Any government which does not take up this task is unfit to rule. The working poor have to be assisted by guaranteeing an adequate wage and humane working conditions. All workers should automatically be members of trade unions and many other required measures must be taken. Organized labour also has to step up its work to defend the working poor, on the basis that An Injury to One Is an Injury to All, not who can afford to pay dues.

Most importantly, it is the political marginalization of this most impoverished section of the working class that has to be ended which is the main project of the Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada. It calls on the workers, women, youth and all the most vulnerable sections of the people to join the MLPC so as to take up this problem for solution. Ending their marginalization from the decision-making process by taking up politics in defence of their own interests and selecting their own representatives to run for office can only be done on an organized political basis. Unless the people are an organized force, they will remain on the receiving end of laws designed to keep them out of the equation.

majority seats = 155