Do Trade Unions Promote Age Diversity and Intergenerational Solidarity in the Workplace? A View from Canada and Israel

By Pnina Alon-Shenker, Lilach Lurie

In this Article, the authors explore – through a survey of collective agreements, case law, unions’ constitutions and websites – how trade unions in Canada and Israel balance and effectively support the interests of older and young workers. While unions in both countries promote age diversity to some extent (Canadian unions more than Israeli unions), they do not take sufficient action to promote intergenerational solidarity and sometimes even inhibit solidarity between generations. The authors conclude with some policy recommendations and emphasize the importance of viewing the interests of older and young workers as common and interrelated rather than competing or conflicting.

Source: SSRN

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