Working-time practices across the developed world have exploded with diversity during the past few decades. The once standard 8-hour day and 40-hour workweek that emerged and reigned throughout much of the 20th century have given way to an increasing variety of working-time arrangements. flexible schedules, in which hours can vary daily or weekly, and nonstandard work arrangements, such as fixed term, on-call, temporary, or part-time, are widely used at the workplace. In addition, we have witnessed the growth of zero-hour contracts that make no guarantee to provide workers with weekly working hours or a reliable income, while requiring employees to work on very short notice with very unpredictable schedules; annualized hours contracts that allow for work hours to vary over a year; and working-time accounts that allow employees to bank hours worked over a set weekly standard and to then draw on these accounts for paid time off. as a vital element of the employment relationship, working time is deeply linked to changes in the labor market and intertwined with pay and rewards (Rubery 2010). as such, the duration and scheduling of work hours are closely connected to some of the most pressing economic issues, including wage inequality. In the United states, zero-hour contracts with unpredictable schedules foster unpredictable incomes. nonstandard work arrangements restrict hours of work and often pay lower per hour rates than full-time jobs pay, contributing to the low-wage sector of the economy. nonstandard work arrangements also restrict access to full-time employment and benefits such as paid vacations, sick leave, and premium pay for working at unsocial hours (harvey 1999). These alternative arrangements make it difficult for individuals to move up the economic ladder and thereby further inequality within the labor market. moreover, stagnating or declining

RésuméPartant de la thèse des entrepreneurs institutionnels, cet article propose d'étudier la coexistence de différentes formes de gouvernance dans un espace économique donné. Puisque l'approche des modèles de capitalisme rend difficilement compte de cette diversité institutionnelle sur un même territoire, nous privilégions une perspective théorique centrée sur l'action innovante des acteurs sociaux pour expliquer un tel phénomène. À l'appui de notre démonstration, sont confrontés à l'analyse deux cas récents de transformation de politiques publiques du travail au Québec (la sous‐traitance et la formation de la main‐d'œuvre). Deux problématiques majeures de relations d'emploi contemporaines, inscrites dans un même environnement, ayant mis en scène les mêmes acteurs sociaux dans des cadres institutionnels très semblables et qui ont pourtant conduit à des dynamiques et des résultats contrastés. L'autonomie de l'acteur, plus qu'un modèle, permet de comprendre les différentes trajectoires institutionnelles qui ont alors été adoptées.

This chapter is part of a book that provides a detailed comparative analysis of the vocational training systems in 10 different countries, based on the results of a research project undertaken between 2005 and 2007. The analytical perspective adopted investigated the organising principles of each national vocational training system, its links with general education, further training and the labour market, and the strengths and weaknesses of each system. Innovations introduced over the past decade were given particular attention. Vocational training is an imprecise term in the Canadian context, as the country has no national or federal department of education. The provincial and territorial governments have jurisdiction over education, resulting in a complex collection of systems of initial and further vocational education and training (VET). In this chapter, the authors look at the structures, progression processes and outcomes of initial and further VET systems in Canada. The book from which this chapter is taken is indexed at TD/TNC 97.765. Individual chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 97.804 to TD/TNC 97.814.

Based on the theory of institutional entrepreneurs, this article examines the coexistence of different forms of governance within a given economic space. Since the approach based on models of capitalism does not make it possible to account for this institutional diversity on the same territory, a theoretical perspective centred on the innovative action of social actors has been used to explain such a phenomenon. Our demonstration is based on a comparative analysis of two recent cases of transformation of public labour policies in Quebec: outsourcing and labour force training. These two major contemporary employment relations issues which are part of the same environment, have brought into play the same social actors in very similar institutional frameworks and have nevertheless led to contrasting dynamics and results. The actor's autonomy, more than a model, allows us to understand the different institutional trajectories that have thus been adopted.

À l'automne 1995, le Service de recherche de la CSN a publié un document intitulé Développer l'économie solidaire. Éléments d'orientation. Comme l'explique Pierre Paquette, Secrétaire général de la CSN, dans l'entrevue publiée dans ce numéro, le document sur l'économie sociale et l'économie solidaire a suscité beaucoup de remous dans l'organisation syndicale. Ici, les deux auteurs du document de travail font le point brièvement sur les débats qui ont suivi la publication de leur document. En tenant compte d'un certain nombre d'objections formulées par des composantes du mouvement syndical portées à insister sur les dangers de l'économie sociale, les auteurs, tout en reconnaissant les possibilités de récupération, font valoir les avantages d'une stratégie offensive par rapport à une stratégie défensive.

L’industrie de la construction connaît une mobilité de la main-d’oeuvre particulièrement élevée en regard de la moyenne des autres secteurs de l’économie. En effet, le taux annuel des cessations d’emploi est pratiquement le double dans la construction par rapport à l’ensemble des secteurs d’activité économique. Cela s’explique par diverses caractéristiques de l’activité productive de cette industrie. Par ailleurs, cette mobilité doit être distinguée selon que l’on considère les déplacements de la main-d’oeuvre au sein même de l’industrie ou les départs permanents de cette industrie. Recourant à des données originales de Statistique Canada, nous présentons une analyse de certains facteurs explicatifs de cette double réalité. Nous nous intéressons notamment au cas du Québec qui offre un profil institutionnel particulier en matière de régulation du marché du travail.

In recent decades, the differences between the education and training systems in the liberal and coordinated market economies have increased. It is not possible to understand such different developments by focusing exclusively on the internal dynamics of vocational and general education systems. Vocational education and training (VET), and particularly apprenticeship systems rather than school-based VET, are deeply embedded in the different national production, labour market, industrial relations and status systems. In order to contribute to a better understanding of the dynamics of VET, we examine recent developments in general and vocational training and its links to the labour and product market in five contrasting countries, namely, Denmark, Canada, Germany, Korea and the USA. In particular, differences in industrial relations, welfare states, income distribution and product markets are the main reason for the persistent high level of diversity in vocational training systems. The difference can perhaps be summarized as follows: in the coordinated market economies, the modernisation of vocational training is seen as a contribution to innovation in the economy, while in liberal market economies, it is seen as a siding into which weaker pupils can conveniently be shunted.

Since the 1980s, numerous studies in Canada have shown weaknesses in the level of involvement by firms in training and have thus raised the question of the role of public policy. In 1995, the Quebec government adopted a unique law in North America in this regard: An Act to Foster the Development of Manpower Training. The "1% Wage Bill Law" was intended to improve the qualifications, skills and performance of workers through training. This article investigates three impacts of this law: the level of investment by firms; the distributional aspect of the law in terms of its capacity to ensure a more equitable investment in training for the different categories of workers in firms; and, finally, the structural aspect in terms of establishing partnerships. From a theoretical perspective, the Quebec experience illustrates that, between the liberal approach and the institutionalist approach (market versus institutions), it is possible to observe a compromise being made by social actors with respect to the regulation process, which at the same time respects the decisional space of firms. Another observation relates to the complementary aspect of institutional forms in labour-market regulation and to the fundamental role of. unions in partnership-building.

Le travail en chantier par Marcelle Duc, Toulouse : Octares Éditions, 2002, 202 p., ISBN 2-906769-87-8.. Un article de la revue Relations industrielles / Industrial Relations (Volume 59, numéro 3, été 2004, p. 459-643) diffusée par la plateforme Érudit.

Le système québécois de formation professionnelle a connu des transformations importantes au cours des années 90. La nouvelle articulation institutionnelle de ce système a été traversée par diverses influences politiques et économiques, dont une caractéristique majeure est la participation soutenue des principaux acteurs des relations industrielles. Nous proposons ici une analyse de ce que nous nommons la modernisation du système de formation professionnelle au Québec en retraçant les orientations de départ et leur logique sous-jacente, en identifiant les influences extérieures permettant de spécifier l’expérience québécoise et en concluant sur les principaux enjeux qui confrontent les acteurs.