La mobilité de la main-d’oeuvre dans l’industrie de la construction au Québec : une double réalité

L’industrie de la construction connaît une mobilité de la main-d’oeuvre particulièrement élevée en regard de la moyenne des autres secteurs de l’économie. En effet, le taux annuel des cessations d’emploi est pratiquement le double dans la construction par rapport à l’ensemble des secteurs d’activité économique. Cela s’explique par diverses caractéristiques de l’activité productive de cette industrie. Par ailleurs, cette mobilité doit être distinguée selon que l’on considère les déplacements de la main-d’oeuvre au sein même de l’industrie ou les départs permanents de cette industrie. Recourant à des données originales de Statistique Canada, nous présentons une analyse de certains facteurs explicatifs de cette double réalité. Nous nous intéressons notamment au cas du Québec qui offre un profil institutionnel particulier en matière de régulation du marché du travail.The construction industry has often been described in terms of its distinctive features, that is, its industrial organization, the specificity of its workforce, the nature of its work processes or its labour relations system. An important feature of the industry is unstable employment and the resulting high level of workforce mobility. Empirically, this industrial mobility is reflected in a rate of workforce mobility in the industry that is practically twice higher than in the economy as a whole. This is based on the mobility indicator of terminations of “permanent” employment during the course of one year as used by Statistics Canada. However, the usual statistical measure of workforce mobility expresses a break in the employment relationship for a given employer. This measure therefore does not necessarily describe adequately the reality of an industry with characteristics such as those found in the construction industry, since the Statistics Canada data do not indicate if the workers find other employment in the same or another sector. These important distinctions are rarely considered in either official statistics or the literature. For an industry whose labour market tends to be regulated on a sectoral basis, which is the case in Quebec, workforce mobility within the industry or sector itself does not have the same significance as permanent departures from the industry. The latter would represent a net loss of human capital.Considering the possible impacts on the workforce, employers and the industry in general, it is important to examine this phenomenon of high workforce mobility, to measure it, and to try to evaluate its causes and effects. This article thus seeks to understand, in particular, whether workforce mobility in the construction industry is truly exceptional. We will examine original comparative data for Quebec and Canada. More particularly, we have sought to distinguish between workforce mobility within the construction industry and mobility expressed through workforce departures to other sectors.The main results of our research indicate that construction workers’ movement to other sectors in Quebec is a real and significant phenomenon, although it is among the lowest when compared to other Canadian provinces. The proportions of construction industry workers who move to other economic sectors are similar to those observed for other industries. Thus, our data on this mobility correspond to certain explanatory factors found in the literature to explain workforce mobility, such as age and income level. In fact, in line with most studies identified in the literature on workforce mobility, the workers who leave the industry are younger than those in the industry as a whole. Moreover, it can also be suggested that they are more inclined to leave the industry if, in addition to being among the youngest, they are not highly skilled. In terms of income, our results are in line with the literature. On the one hand, mobility is more often correlated with low initial gains for workers, and on the other, a logical consequence is that mobility reflects the workers’ desire to improve their economic situation. It can also be hypothesized that changing sector will tend to also correspond to workers’ changing their occupations. This hypothesis is supported by two facts. First, most construction trades are very specific to the industry and as such, are not easily exported to other sectors. Second, the sectors to which workers who have left construction tend to move often have little to do with the latter (e.g., transportation, commerce, public services or manufacturing industries).Workforce mobility in the construction industry is an ongoing challenge for an industry with characteristics of production activity that often result in employment instability. Thus, how can workers be attracted to and retained by the industry which, year after year, has twice as many employment terminations as in other sectors? Our data suggest an initial conclusion regarding the conditions that should be put in place to minimize permanent departures from the industry. The workers recruited should be guaranteed a satisfactory number of working hours, which will provide them with an income level that is at least comparable to other sectors. The recruitment of workers who hold a diploma, as compared with workers without experience or specific knowledge of the industry, also seems to have a positive effect on their retention. Our data also suggest that sectoral regulation of the workforce, and particularly the centralized management of benefits, are organizational features that mitigate certain disadvantages of employment instability for workers. In other words, it is argued that this model of sectoral regulation results in workforce management that reconciles the imperatives of the high mobility specific to this sector while at the same time ensuring a degree of economic security for workers.La industria de la construcción conoce une movilidad de la mano de obra particularmente elevada comparativamente a otros sectores de le economía. En efecto, la tasa anual de cesación de empleo es prácticamente el doble en la construcción comparativamente al conjunto de sectores de actividad económica. Esto se explica en razón de las diversas características de la actividad productiva de esta industria. Es más, esta movilidad debe ser distinguida según que se considere los desplazamientos de mano de obra dentro de la misma industria o los alejamiento permanente de esta industria. Utilizando datos originales de Estadísticas Canadá, presentamos un análisis de ciertos factores explicativos de esta doble realidad. Nos interesamos en especial al caso de Quebec que presenta un perfil institucional particular en materia de regulación del mercado de trabajo

Articulation institutionnelle et orientations du système de formation professionnelle au Québec

Le système québécois de formation professionnelle a connu des transformations importantes au cours des années 90. La nouvelle articulation institutionnelle de ce système a été traversée par diverses influences politiques et économiques, dont une caractéristique majeure est la participation soutenue des principaux acteurs des relations industrielles. Nous proposons ici une analyse de ce que nous nommons la modernisation du système de formation professionnelle au Québec en retraçant les orientations de départ et leur logique sous-jacente, en identifiant les influences extérieures permettant de spécifier l’expérience québécoise et en concluant sur les principaux enjeux qui confrontent les acteurs.In the early 1990s, Quebec undertook to modernize its occupational training system through a new institutional linkage which entalled a significant and sustained commitment from the principal actors in industrial relations. In so doing, the govemment was responding to two factors : the strategy of its federal counterpart which, by the late 1980s, had already adopted strategic initiatives in the field of labour force development ; a more generalized trend towards making labour force training and development a key factor in economic development. Thus, the Quebec strategy was both a political and economic response to changes in the competitive environment.Analysis of the state of the training System at the time largely informed this new policy direction. On the whole, Quebec's occupational training system was weak at all levels. There was no linkage both between public policies either within the govemment or between different levels of govemment ; the institutional structure revealed unproductive tensions over the powers and cultures of the various actors ; the legislative framework for occupational training had not been modernized since 1969 ; employer and labour force behaviour (preferences, habits) often demonstrated little commitment to continuous manpower training ; joint initiatives on the part of labour market actors were not very widespread, either at the level of the firm or beyond. Thus, as revealed by prevalling actor practices and institutional linkages, a "training culture" did not really exist in Quebec. Drawing on the observation of experiences abroad, the 1991 Policy Statement on Labour Force Development led to an important conclusion : a common training culture is not something that can be decreed or imported, it is an evolutionary social construction which requires active participation and commitment from all the actors. This strategy of developing a "training culture" in Quebec attached great importance to the commitment of union and management actors within new regional, sectoral and national structures. As training was a societal issue, public policy required a form of partnership between union and management actors. Apart from this form of joint regulation, one of the characteristics of the new institutional linkage was the adoption of an act that forces employers to devote a minimum of one percent of their annual wage bill to training. This legislative provision was similar to the practice carried out in France since 1971 as well as in Australia between 1990 and 1994. The Quebec act is still very recent (gradually coming into effect since 1996), and there has not yet been any overall assessment of it. Such an assessment is, however, planned for the year 2000 and will undoubtedly be a crucial moment for the continuation of Quebec's strategy of training management. Our analysis of the 1990s suggests four trends which have influenced the Quebec occupational training System. A first trend towards joint regulation, derived from neo-corporatism, has led to the establishment of new institutions linking the principal industrial relations actors to the management of public policy. However, the Quebec state has been variable in its support for this form of power sharing, and has, in recent years, reverted to traditional state control, giving rise to criticisms from industrial relations actors. The second trend is characterized by a decentralization which relates to an economic logic of bringing together actors in intermediary structures in order to respond to the issue of training, which is considered a public good.This decentralization, part of a common trend within different industrialized economics, is carried out through regional and sectoral committees for labour force development. The third trend is the legislative guidance which reflects the state's attempt to use the law as a lever to stimulate the development of training in Quebec, while leaving a wide margin of manoeuvre for business actors. The fourth trend relates to the respect for business actors' autonomy in decision-making. Our analysis shows that, while supporting a more coercive intervention, the Quebec state basically sought to convey the message that actors should take charge of continuous manpower training, by recognizing their strategic role in the methods and decisions which are most appropriate to the context of each of the sectors and businesses. In this respect, what mattered most for the state was not the 1 % threshold nor its method of distribution. The act was simply a way to convey the message to the actors that training was henceforth an issue that could not be ignored by business actors and the state considered that these actors were in the best position to make decisions about what actions should be taken. In this sense, the aim of the act is to influence the behaviour of actors and not to supersede their own internai decision-making processes (whether they are employers, workers or their representatives). In our view, it is precisely the actors' autonomy or maturity in developing a "training culture" which will, in a way, be tested during the forthcoming public debates on training in Quebec. One thing is certain, the present economic environment does not in any way suggest that labour force training is no longer an economic development issue. It will be impossible for the actors to ignore this fact in future assessments of Quebec public policy on occupational training.El sistema quebequense de formaciòn profesional ha conocido cambios importantes durante los anos noventa. La nueva articulaciòn institucional de este sistema a sido traveseada de multiples influencias politicas y econòmicas, de las que una de las caracteristicas mayores es la participaciòn sostenida de los actores principales de las relaciones industriales. Nosotros proponemos aquì un anàlisis de lo que nombramos como la modernizaciòn del sistema de formaciòn profesional en Québec al retrasar las orientaciones del comienzo y su lògica sobre entendida, al identificar las influencias exteriores que permitieron especificar la experiencia quebequense y al concluir sobre los principales desafìos que confrontaban los actores

A tagged parathyroid hormone derivative as a carrier of antibody cargoes transported by the G protein coupled PTH1 receptor

Based on the known fact that the parathyroid hormone (PTH) might be extended at its C-terminus with biotechnological protein cargoes, a vector directing the secretion of PTH1–84 C-terminally fused with the antigenic epitope myc (PTH-myc) was exploited. The functional properties and potential of this analog for imaging PTH1R-expressing cells were examined. The PTH-myc construct was recombinantly produced as a conditioned medium (CM) of transfected HEK 293a cells (typical concentrations of 187 nM estimated with ELISAs for PTH). PTH-myc CM induced cyclic AMP formations (10 min), with a minor loss of potency relative to authentic PTH1–84, and c-Fos expression (1–3 h). Treatment of recipient HEK 293a cells transiently expressing PTH1R with PTH-myc CM (supplemented with a fluorescent monoclonal anti-myc tag antibody, either 4A6 or 9E10) allowed the labeling of endosomal structures positive for Rab5 and/or for β-arrestin1 (microscopy, cytofluorometry). Authentic PTH was inactive in this respect, ruling out a non-specific form of endocytosis like pinocytosis. Using a horseradish peroxidase-conjugated secondary antibody, the endocytosis of the PTH-myc-based antibody complex by endogenous PTH1R was evidenced in MG-63 osteoblastoid cells. The secreted construct PTH-myc represents a bona fide agonist that supports the feasibility of transporting cargoes of considerable molecular weight inside cells using arrestin and Rab5-mediated PTH1R endocytosis. PTH-myc is also transported into cells that express PTH1R at a physiological level. Such tagged peptide hormones may be part of a cancer chemotherapy scheme exploiting a modular cytotoxic secondary antibody and the receptor repertoire expressed in a given tumor

Bifunctional ligands of the bradykinin B2 and B1 receptors : an exercise in peptide hormone plasticity

Kinins are the small and fragile hydrophilic peptides related to bradykinin (BK) and derived from circulating kininogens via the action of kallikreins. Kinins bind to the preformed and widely distributed B2 receptor (B2R) and to the inducible B1 receptor (B1R). B2Rs and B1Rs are related G protein coupled receptors that possess natural agonist ligands of nanomolar affinity (BK and Lys BK for B2Rs, Lys-des-Arg9-BK for B1R). Decades of structure-activity exploration have resulted in the production of peptide analogs that are antagonists, one of which is clinically used (the B2R antagonist icatibant), and also non-peptide ligands for both receptor subtypes. The modification of kinin receptor ligands has made them resistant to extracellular or endosomal peptidases and/or produced bifunctional ligands, defined as agonist or antagonist peptide ligands conjugated with a chemical fluorophore (emitting in the whole spectrum, from the infrared to the ultraviolet), a drug-like moiety, an epitope, an isotope chelator/carrier, a cleavable sequence (thus forming a pro-drug) and even a fused protein. Dual molecular targets for specific modified peptides may be a source of side effects or of medically exploitable benefits. Biotechnological protein ligands for either receptor subtype have been produced: they are enhanced green fluorescent protein or the engineered peroxidase APEX2 fused to an agonist kinin sequence at their C-terminal terminus. Antibodies endowed with pharmacological actions (agonist, antagonist) at B2R have been reported, though not monoclonal antibodies. These findings define classes of alternative ligands of the kinin receptor of potential therapeutic and diagnostic value