LBST 310: Politics of Labour

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Contact info

If you need assistance with library research, please email Moninder Lalli moninder_lalli@sfu.ca, Librarian for Labour Studies, or use the Ask a Librarian link.

Research process

Start Your Research Here - This page gives you an overview of the research process, or in other words how to find materials for your essay.

Selected encyclopedias and handbooks

Use encyclopedias, dictionaries and handbooks to obtain definitions and overviews of a topic and also to identify key authors.

Find journal articles

Databases let you easily to search for articles from within scholarly journals for a discipline.

If the full-text of the article is not available within the database then use the "Get@SFU" link to find it or to initiate an inter-library loan request.

ProQuest Sociology Collection  International literature in sociology and social services, and related fields. Searches multiple databases including: Applied Social Science Index, ProQuest Sociology Database, Social Services Abstracts, and Sociological Abstracts.

Social Sciences Full Text  Provides access to a wide assortment of the most important English-language social science journals. Social Sciences Full Text includes full-text articles from hundreds of journals, covering the latest concepts, theories and methods from both applied and theoretical aspects of the social sciences.

Business Source Complete
This database offers information in virtually every area of business including accounting & tax, banking, finance & insurance, economics, labour, human relations, and much more.

Political Science Complete
Indexes full-text articles from over 480 journals, and indexing and abstracts for nearly 2,100 additional titles. PSC has a worldwide focus, reflecting the globalization of contemporary political discourse. PSC offers literature on general topics in labour studies as well as geographically-specific literature.

CBCA Complete  Comprehensive Canadian periodical collection for reference and current events. Publications include scholarly journal articles, trade publications, dissertations, books, newspapers and magazines.

CANLII
Largest free web resource providing access to legal documents from Canada's federal, provincial and territorial governments, including laws & legislation, and cases.

Selected journals

Find books in the Library

How to use the Library Catalogue  [guide]

Do a Library Catalogue search to see if the Library owns or provides access to the sources that you've identified. 

For known items it is best to check using "Browse by title" icon.

Search by topic, using Basic or Advanced Search

Note: In the searches below,  you can limited results to "Online Resources only" and "Resource type" of "Books" and "Subjects"

Combine different concepts using AND
Combine same concepts using OR
Use quotation marks to search for a phrase
Use brackets for synonyms
Use asterisk (*) for different endings of words

Use pull-down menu and select, "Source Types" as "Books"

Note:  For Catalogue Search, when combining concepts, use CAPITAL letters ( "OR", "AND")

If you have found one book that is particularly relevant to your research, but need more, search that book in the library catalogue and use the subject headings associated with that book!

 

Selected books

Browse Books in the Library Catalogue Using Subject Headings

Catalogue Search / Browse then change "Title" to "Subject" and enter your subject term

Government documents

Codes and laws

Labour in Canada is regulated by federal or provincial legislation. The jurisdiction depends on the specific business or industry.

Federally regulated businesses and industries include banks, marine shipping, air transportation, railway and road transportation, telephone, telegraph and cable systems, radio and television broadcasting, businesses dealing with many First Nation activities, private businesses necessary to the operation of a federal act, and most federal Crown corporations. For a full list, click here.

Provincial law sets out the minimum standards that apply to most workplaces in each province. For British Columbia, click here for guidelines to evaluate whether the business or industry that you are examining is covered by provincial jurisdiction.

Note: Certain professions and occupations are not covered by these acts. In British Columbia, chartered accountants, foresters, health professionals, legal professionals, licensed real estate workers, registered security workers, and veterinarians are regulated through separate provincial laws. See the regulations for specific industries in British Columbia.

Links for Canadian labour law

British Columbia Employment Standards Act
The provincial legislation that ensures that employees in British Columbia receive at least basic standards of compensation and conditions of employment. The British Columbia Employment Standards Act and Regulation sets out minimum working conditions for all employees covered under provincial labour laws. A number of sectors or industries in British Columbia are subject to specific regulations that only apply to them. Click here to see the regulations for specific industries.

British Columbia Labour Relations Code
The provincial legislation that protects the right of employees in British Columbia to be a member of a trade union and to participate in its lawful activities. The Code further delineates the rights of employees and employers.

Canada Labour Code
Consolidates federal statues that relate to labour, facilitating production by controlling strikes & lockouts, occupational safety and health, and some employment standards. The Code only applies to the industries which are under federal legislation.

Canada Labour Standards Regulation
Federally consolidated regulations related to respecting hours of work, wages, annual vacations, general holidays, reassignment, maternity leave and parental leave, bereavement leave, group and individual termination of employment and severance pay, work-related illness and injury in federal works, undertakings and businesses

Statistics

  • BC STATS - collects and publishes reports of statistics from Statistics Canada, provincial government ministries and agencies and from administrative files.
  • Statistics Canada - the major statistical gathering agency of the federal government. It publishes the "whole range of statistics on the economic and social activities of the Canadian people". There are daily, weekly, quarterly, annual and irregular publications. They also publish the Census of Canada at five-year intervals.
    • Labour
      • how many people are employed or unemployed; the unemployment rate; which industries or occupations people work in; the hours they work; commuting patterns; wage and non-wage benefits; job training; labour mobility;
      • work absences; unionization; unpaid work; and other topics. Also includes geographic and demographic characteristics.
    • Labour Force Survey - a monthly survey which measures the current state of the Canadian labour market and is used, among other things, to calculate the national, provincial, territorial and regional employment.
    • Labour Market Overview

Presentation skills and writing help

See the Student Learning Commons for expert and friendly help with academic writing, learning, and study strategies.

Library guides