Presentation Notes Final Conference Session Wayne Samuelson

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IDEAS FOR AN ONTARIO JOBS STRATEGY

The key goal of a manufacturing jobs strategy is to create and maintain well-paid, sustainable and rewarding jobs in safe workplaces.

We need to expand manufacturing and public services and rollback privatization and commercialization to create good sustainable jobs and to ensure quality services for all citizens. 

What are the Key Challenges to Implementing a Jobs Strategy?

For this to occur in Ontario and Canada there needs to be dramatic changes in government policy and the economy.  Governments, for example, need to promote productive capacity, take responsibility to maintain a strong manufacturing sector, a strong public sector and implement macro-economic policies (taxation, promote productive capacity and spending and monetary policies) that ensure Ontario and the rest of Canada move toward full employment.

As well, governments have to ensure that the private sector takes responsibility for contributing to well paying safe jobs and an environmentally sustainable economy.

Increasingly, we live in a global market economy wherein most of the key decisions on employment, hiring and firing, investment and training are made in the boardrooms of private transnational corporations and, therefore, in the interests of corporate elites and shareholders.  Much of this power needs to be brought under public control through government action and legislation. 

As a first step the OFL will convene a meeting within a week to ten days with the key organizers of this conference to decide on future actions and the formation of a working group on a jobs strategy in line with the comments from panelists and contributions from the floor.