HOT FEATURE AUGUST VIOLENCE IN THE WORKPLACE ILO Home Page Release: Violence on the Job - a Global Problem Taxi drivers, health care workers, teachers among those at highest risk Canada ranks high for reported workplace violence CLC says Workplace Violence may be even greater than poll shows US OH&S Study of Vilonence in the Workplace Workplace Violence Increasing Assaults on Alberta Social and Child Care Workers 'Unacceptable' says Union Assault on Glenrose Worker Avoidable and Unacceptable say Union Beware of violence, physicians told Jail nurses want protection says BC Nurses Union

VOLUNTEERS: THE NEW BILLION DOLLAR SOCIAL ECONOMY INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEER CONFERNCE AUGUST 23-28 Held for the first time in Canada, it attracted 2,700 delegates from 86 countries to Edmonton to discuss issues facing the non-profit sector. Volunteer conference ends with call for recruits As the power of governments decline on the world stage, volunteers must fill the void, says the head of a Canadian foreign aid agency. "Governments, no matter how democratic, are no longer able to shape change on their own," said Huguette Labelle, president of the Canadian International Development Agency in a keynote address Thursday at the World Volunteer Conference. Powerful new forces are leaping over borders and changing the equation of power: Market liberalization, the mobility of money and the communication revolution, she said. Edmonton Journal Special Feature on International Volunteer Conference Low-income earners donate most Low-income earners dig deeper when asked to give than more affluent Canadians, according to a national study. The National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating found Canadians who earn less than $20,000 a year give on average 1.4 per cent of their incomes to charities and non-profit organizations. Those who earn more than $60,000 give 0.4 per cent on average. (Surprize Surprize .EP) Gov't cuts put onus on volunteers The work of volunteers is becoming more important as governments do less and less in society, says one of the leaders of an international development network. Budget cuts and enforced-volunteerism strain charity groups More Canadians than ever are volunteering -- but budget cuts, court-ordered community service and work-for-welfare schemes have left agencies scrambling to give them something to do. 2,450 delegates from 85 countries converge on Edmonton for the 15th World Volunteer Conference this week. Growing number of young people do volunteer work Young people became increasingly involved in volunteer work for charities and non-profit institutions from 1987 to 1997. The volunteer rate among Canadians aged 15 to 24 almost doubled to 33 per cent in 1997 from 18 per cent in 1987, Statistics Canada reported Monday. National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (NSGVP) concludes that Canadians care and are involved. The results of the survey were presented to a conference of volunteers from around the world who are meeting this week in Edmonton. Dr. Michael Hall of the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy provided the International Association of Volunteer Effort (IAVE) Conference with new insight into how Canadians support one other through their volunteer time, charitable giving and civic participation. Canadians gave more than $4.5 billion in donations during the 12 months prior to October 31, 1997, the period covered by the survey. The average donation was $239. An additional $1.28 billion was spent last year supporting charitable and non-profit organizations on goods, raffle or lottery tickets, and charitable gaming. B.C. Credit Unions Pour More Than $4 Million Back Into Local Communities Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN) Canada’s Nonprofit Sector: What Is It Worth to Us as a Nation? This document is available as a pdf Adobe file for download Research commissioned by the Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN) states that nonprofit organizations could be a significant contributor to our economy, in addition to their humanitarian benefits. The Canadian Nonprofit Sector, a new working paper released today by CPRN also says that current statistical and descriptive data leaves much to be desired about a component of society that is essential to the well-being of Canadians. Working paper authors Kathleen Day and Rose Anne Devlin, both from the Department of Economics at the University of Ottawa, highlight the complex interaction between nonprofits, governments, and donors and users of nonprofit services. They also suggest that more and better information on the role and characteristics of nonprofit organizations is needed before we can determine if the nonprofit sector can fill the gaps that might be left by reduced government spending on health, educational, social and other services. Helping Canadians Help Canadians: Improving Governance and Accountability in the Voluntary Sector, May 1998. Panel on Accountability and Governance in the Voluntary Sector The Broadbent Report Helping Canadians Help Canadians: The Finishing Line or a Starting Gun? Fraser Institute Right Wing Think Tank Critique of Broadbent Report Estimating the Value of Volunteering From the Fraser Institute, a Right Wing Think Tank

Feature Site of the Month: JUNE 1998

Feature Site of the Month: MAY 1998 First National Survey of Child Care Workers Finds Unacceptable Working Conditions Burn out, low wages, plague child care industry, Toronto Star May 21 For an on line executive summary of Our Child Care Workforce: From Recognition to Remuneration,go to:More Than A Labour of Love "our society places little value on the work and skills of the more than 300,000 providers, overwhelmingly women, who care for children during their critical formative years. Caregivers receive little public support, few resources and unacceptably low wages. The important role they play in shaping our children's social, physical, emotional and cognitive development is not recognized or respected." Also Check Out the Statistics Canada site for Tuesday May 21, where they issued a report on the 25 top paying jobs in Canada and the 25 lowest paying jobs. Nannies, babysitters and parent assistants are the lowest paid workers in Canada.