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TORONTO — Two of Canada’s biggest private-sector labour unions are formally exploring the possibility of creating a new, merged organization, a move they believe could spark other unions to join them. The Canadian Auto Workers and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers, which have a total of more than 320,000 members, said Tuesday they have been holding preliminary discussions for weeks. CAW president Ken Lewenza said the move comes as a response to the “incredibly hostile economic environment” its members face and will give the unions a better stance against a “confident employer base” and Canada’s majority Conservative government. “We have…

Parmalat Canada Inc., a producer of milk and dairy products based in London, Ont., was fined $100,000 for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act after a worker was injured. On Dec. 18, 2009, at the company's facility in Mitchell, Ont., a worker was checking that a pipe system had been properly cleaned. The cleaning process involves running hot water through the pipes. While taking apart one of the valves in the pipe system, the worker was suddenly sprayed by hot water. The worker received first and second degree burns. A Ministry of Labour investigation found that there…

Shortages in the skilled trades are already having an impact on Canadian employers, issuing an early warning for the demographic crunch expected in the next decade. Construction, mining, energy, manufacturing and service sectors all report real and anticipated shortages that will pose a pan-Canadian challenge to the country’s economy. Addressing the challenge requires both awareness and commitment from stakeholders across Canada, including business, labour, educators and various levels of government. Apprenticeship contributes to solving skills shortages and provides opportunities for knowledge transfer from one generation to the next, while also engaging young people at a time when youth unemployment rates…

In February, the Ontario Ministry of Labour will be conducting a month-long blitz on musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the workplace. The MSD blitz will concentrate on manual material handling, especially in the industrial, construction, mining, and health care sectors. In a post on the Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium's website, they have provided basic guidelines on what to expect: If you have a visit from the ministry: The inspector will likley perform an administrative review including looking at how your workplace lives up to its roles under the Internal Responsibility System, your MSD injury statistics, your JHSC minutes, your written procedures…

The search has begun for exceptional Ontario employers who are helping to build tomorrow's skilled workforce by training new apprentices. Each year, the Minister's Awards for Apprenticeship Training honours employers for their commitment to training apprentices. The awards celebrate those that support the apprenticeship training system, show leadership in training apprentices, and promote careers in the skilled trades. Nominations are being accepted until Feb. 29, 2012. The announcement was made at automatic greasing systems specialist FLO Components' Mississauga, Ont., facility, with Glen Murray, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, and Mississauga-Brampton South MPP Amrit Mangat in attendance. FLO Components was…

Exporting and export-ready manufacturers in Southern Ontario can learn how to access up to $75,000 in financial support for product and process improvements at a series of regional workshops, hosted this February by Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME). These free workshops will connect companies with the information and resources necessary to take advantage of $18.9 million in new funding through CME's SMART Prosperity Now program. "The nature of business is now global and Canadian manufacturers must have the right tools to be competitive," explains Ian Howcroft, vice president, CME Ontario. "This initiative will allow small and medium-sized enterprises to commercialize…

Question: “We recently received a shipment of L10-rated bearings. Can you explain the meaning of the L10 designation?” Rotating-element bearing manufacturers measure reliability using a “load–life” calculation rating known as the L10 rating life. To achieve this rating, the manufacturer assumes the bearing will be run in a clean operating environment that provides an adequate lubricant film (adequate described as a film equal to, or greater than, the composite roughness of the two mating surfaces) of the correct viscosity for the designed maximum bearing speed and operating temperature ratings. The L10 rating is given to bearings manufactured with cleaner, degassed…

Lind Equipment has appointed Calgary-based ElectriXwest Agencies as its electrical sales agent in Alberta. ElectriXwest Agencies will continue to build Lind Equipment’s presence in Alberta and serve electrical distributors’ demands for high quality, fairly priced portable electrical equipment for the toughest workplaces. Using a combination of outside sales to demonstrate Lind’s products to end-users and distributors, and a strong background in technical specification to work with engineers, ElectriXwest is well poised to help Alberta to Work Confidently with Lind Equipment’s products.   “We are very excited to have the ElectriXwest Agencies team as our partner in Alberta,” said Brian Astl,…