In the week leading up to the Labour Day weekend, COMPAS asked business leaders to reflect on the accomplishments and weaknesses of the labour movement..

Overall, respondents see the labour movement as having the greatest contribution to improving safety and working conditions, as opposed to helping to decrease child labour, restricting the number of working hours per day, and accelerating economic growth by raising labour costs and hence motivating employers to automate and modernize. With respect to the abolition of child labour, their second highest choice, respondents are divided as to whether this would have occurred with or without the labour movement.

Business leaders strongly believe that the greatest weakness of the labour movement has been its imposition of senseless workplace rules that have resulted in a reduction in economic productivity and effectiveness.

These are the key findings from the current web-survey of CEOs and other business leaders conducted by COMPAS on behalf of the National Post under sponsorship of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

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