CAPITALISM AND GOOD JOBS ANDREW LANGILLE- IPAC PRESENTATION – OCT 15, 2014

OVERVIEW Focus of Presentation -Labour market, demographic, socio-economic, and cultural issues impacting young people. What am I going to cover? -The problems that young people are facing today. -Specific pressures that young people encounter in Ontario’s labour market. -Illustrate these pressures and problems with a case study on unpaid internships. -What public policy tools are available to address these pressures and problems.

THE PRESSURES FACING YOUNG ONTARIONS Increasing Amount of Pressures Bearing Down on Young People -Where are these pressure coming from? Economic, socio-cultural, political. -Economic: lack of good jobs; increased competition; rising wealth and income inequality; housing prices; poor rental stock; unaffordable childcare; cost of PSE tuition; outmigration to Western provinces; and, inability to save for retirement. -Socio-cultural: surging mental health problems; delaying major life events; reduced household formation; reduced birthrate; and, delayed adulthood. -Political: unresponsive public policy; lack of intergenerational equity; crumbling social safety net which is often inaccessible; prolonged focus on tax cuts limit possible responses; generational fracturing; and, perception that government is increasingly a gerontocracy for the benefit of older Canadians. -Examples: Quebec student protests; Idle No More; and, Occupy movement.

TRENDS IN THE YOUTH LABOUR MARKET What’s has been happening in the youth labour market in Ontario post-2008? -Surge in unemployment and underemployment post-2008 with the recovery still quite tepid for young people; particularly, this is a problem for the GTA/SwOnt. -Increased prevalence in non-standard and precarious work (i.e. contract, temp, part-time, self-employment) as employers shift risk and costs onto workers. -Precarious work appears to have become a structural, defining issue of Ontario. -Increase in discouraged workers and (NEET) not engaged in education or training. -The weak labour market post-2008 has inflicted generational scarring that will cause continuing economic damage to younger workers. -Young people find it increasingly hard to land a good job (i.e. security, decent/living wage, benefits, set hours of work).

CASE STUDY: UNPAID INTERNSHIPS Unpaid internships have become a structural feature of the youth labour market. -Internships have a long history in Ontario (100+ years) and can be beneficial s saw the creation of large government/corporate funded programs s saw an elimination of a lot of funding, but employers were already hooked. -Last fifteen years have seen the emergence of unpaid internships as a critical part of the school-to-labour market transition, but often illegal and exploitative. -Tied to: Harris-era ESA reforms; creation of flexible labour market; and, push by government and PSE institutions to offer work-integrated learning programs. -Now there’s a major problem. Internships are inequitable, drive down wages, lead employers to replace paid employees with unpaid interns, create the illusion of opportunity, eliminate entry-level jobs, and shift risks/costs onto young workers.

PUBLIC POLICY RESPONSES What are the possible public policy responses that are available? -Overall, we need a shift in our approach towards longer-term thinking which values a reinvigoration of the role of government, benchmarking outcomes, building partnerships between employers, PSE institutions, and unions, and a greater investment in low-skilled workers. -Regulatory policy: better, more responsive labour standards and greater enforcement; living wage regulation; and, ensure students and young workers are protected during the school-to-labour market transition. -Social policy: necessary to reconstitute and strengthen social welfare policy; expand workers’ compensation and employment insurance; examining implementation of a guaranteed annual income; affordable childcare; and, shift government spending to be more equitable to all generations and assist during critical life events. -Demand-side labour market policy: better labour market information; workforce development; linking active labour market programs (ALMPs) to employer demand; creating sector strategies and workforce planning boards; and, funding for research bodies that can analyze and explain what’s happening in the labour market.