You may have heard about the labour shortage in Nova Scotia — but not everyone agrees there actually is a shortage of labour.
Danny Cavanagh, the president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour (NSFL), says the idea that there aren’t enough people to work is a myth.
“I don’t think there’s a labour shortage at all,” says Cavanagh. “I think there’s a shortage of people who want to go to work at a job for minimum wage… that doesn’t provide them any benefits. They’re not very good jobs.”
There are companies offering more competitive pay, benefits and job security that aren’t seeing the same shortage of workers as industries like tourism and hospitality and healthcare — particularly long-term care, Cavanagh says.
He notes that during the pandemic a lot of people in front-line jobs were labelled as heroes, but treated like zeroes.
“If people are going to call people heroes, they need to live up to that; they need to respect them and treat them with the kind of respect they deserve and expect as workers on the front lines.”
The pandemic has made a lot of people think about work, and the kind of work they do, he says.
The NSFL has been fighting for a $15 minimum wage, paid sick leave and benefits in the province for years, and Cavanagh says they’ll continue to do so with Premier Tim Houston’s government.
