The hangover of inflation: Whats behind all the recent labour disputes? – National [Video]

Even as the trains start to chug again along Canadian railways, there are fears of another labour dispute among pilots at Air Canada grounding jets across the country in just a few weeks’ time.

It hasn’t just been a summer of strikes and stoppages in Canada: a wave of job actions in recent years has swept across ports in British Columbia, government offices in Ottawa and hospitals in Quebec.

Whether they work on tarmacs, behind desks or in classrooms, Canadians have been taking to the picket lines as negotiations between unions and employers seem to increasingly fall through at the table.

Experts who spoke to Global News say that even as the rising cost of living shows signs of cooling, inflation is still to blame, as workers see their purchasing power eroded and push for better wages in response.

“This is the hangover of inflation,” says David Macdonald, senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. “This is workers …