tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400574.post1222214327588529275..comments2024-03-28T04:04:03.006-07:00Comments on Paying attention: Nurses' union wins round in fight against two-tier careUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400574.post-4787171477416675022008-03-25T16:25:00.000-07:002008-03-25T16:25:00.000-07:00I'm pleased to see the nurses take time and their ...I'm pleased to see the nurses take time and their own money to go to court.Kelleher did the right thing as well. Why do working people have to go to court to resolve rights? if workers don't have money for the long haul certain governemtns would and will ride roughshod over them and us,<BR/><BR/>DLAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400574.post-70698528534583392632008-03-23T12:06:00.000-07:002008-03-23T12:06:00.000-07:00We're seeing a steady shift towards two-tier servi...We're seeing a steady shift towards two-tier services for kids across the board, not just in the hospitals.<BR/> <BR/>The drastic erosion of special education services in our schools over the past decade means that getting struggling kids the help they need to succeed depends largely on whether parents can afford to hire private tutors and/or place them in costly special private schools like Glen Eden or the Fraser Academy.<BR/><BR/>The shift to individualized funding for everything from early intervention to respite services for young children with developmental challenges allows governments to hand everyone a cheque that doesn't actually cover the service needed. So only those who can afford to top up privately get adequate service for their preschoolers.<BR/><BR/>Even the new early learning initiatives, like the one where the preschoolers need to be accompanied by a parent, discriminate against poorer working families.<BR/><BR/>And then at the federal level, we have the shift to tax credits vs. actual child care, which again provides inequitable benefits to those in higher tax brackets.<BR/><BR/>You're right, Paul. Many of these shifts did start under the NDP and were intensified under the Liberals. Shifting the social burden onto families and individuals is a natural response to our relentless pressure for tax cuts and containment of government costs. <BR/><BR/>As long as this is the key lens by which we evaluate the worth of political parties, the trend will continue, no matter whom we elect, and we can expect our society to continue down the road towards "every man for himself, and the devil take the hindmost."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400574.post-30330551954750978782008-03-23T10:57:00.000-07:002008-03-23T10:57:00.000-07:00Mr. Willcocks--Thanks for putting this into contex...Mr. Willcocks--<BR/><BR/>Thanks for putting this into context in a way that allows us to see the true import of the story.<BR/><BR/>.RossKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07677239332112652522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1400574.post-83849680808287109192008-03-23T01:03:00.000-07:002008-03-23T01:03:00.000-07:00Kelleher Got it RightPW wrote: "I'd argue that a u...<B>Kelleher Got it Right</B><BR/><BR/>PW wrote: <I>"I'd argue that a union's role is to represent the interest of its members."</I><BR/><BR/>I'd say that if the BCNU - or any other union - solely focussed on the immediate 'interests' before their members they would be abdicating their greater social interest policy advocacy to those whose interests may not be fully aligned with the union's members - Kelleher seems to agree: <I>"What the Union is doing in pursuing this position is well within what a democratic trade union normally does in our society. The courts have recognized that unions have a legitimate role to play in engaging in broader political and social processes of society."</I><BR/><BR/>A contentious subject for sure... It will be interesting to see how the BC Appeal Court and (perhaps) the Supreme Court of Canada deal with these questions of interest.<BR/><BR/>The Kelleher decision - 2008 BCSC 321: <A HREF="http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/Jdb-txt/SC/08/03/2008BCSC0321.htm" REL="nofollow">http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/Jdb-txt/SC/08/03/2008BCSC0321.htm</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com