Canadian Mining Industry Employment and Hiring Forecasts - MiHR

Unionization
Unionization rates among labour force participants are a factor in wage and pension coverage and partly responsible
for wage gaps in the labour force. 12 Changes in unionization rates have contributed to closing the wage gap for women
(unionization rates between men and women have converged over the past few decades) and a widening of the gap
for young men (unionization rates for younger workers have diverged from older workers over the decades).
Unionization rates across Canada declined between 1984 and 2004, falling from 38 per cent to 31 per cent. Since that
period, unionization rates in the labour force have remained steady at 31 per cent. 13 Decreasing rates of unionization
have affected some groups in the labour force more than others. For example, the decline was twice as large among
men younger than 45 years of age (with a drop of 15 per cent).
Figure 9 shows that, in mining and related resource sectors, unionization rates have dropped over the past 25 years
from 48 per cent in 1984 to 24 per cent in 2009, 14 with the largest declines occurring prior to 1998. These reductions
may be partly due to the emergence of alternative opportunities for employee participation in decision making (e.g., joint
labour-management initiatives) or changes in employment composition in the sector. 15
Figure 9
Unionization Rates: Forestry, Fishing, Mining, and Oil and Gas, 1997 to 2008
34%
32%
30%
28%
26%
24%
22%
20%
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Source: Mining Industry Human Resources Council; Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey.
12 Statistics Canada, Perspectives on Labour and Income, 2005, Volume 6, Number 4.
13 Statistics Canada, 2009 Labour Force Historical Review.
14 ibid.
15 Statistics Canada, Perspectives on Labour and Income, 2005, Volume 6, Number 4.
2010 Employment and Hiring Forecasts
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