LABR 1260:
WORKING FOR A
LIVING
MARCH 2, 2020
Precarious Work,
Precarious Workers

Notice
© 2020 Christopher Rigaux, all rights reserved.
Students of LABR1260 are granted a limited license to copy and
retain this document for study purposes. It may not be
redistributed. Produced with union labour.
LABR 1260 - Precarious Work, Precarious
Workers
2

Today’s 3
QuestionsHow is precarious work different than ‘traditional’ forms of work, and what is the difference?How does the idea of precarious work fit into the power relationship between workers and bosses?How can workers protect themselves (or fight back against) the dangers of precarity?
4
LABR 1260 - Precarious Work, Precarious
Workers

Defining the Issue (Part 1)
LABR 1260 - Precarious Work, Precarious
Workers
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What is precarious work?

Defining the Issue (Part 1)
LABR 1260 - Precarious Work, Precarious
Workers
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Stats Canada only considers two groups as having
precarious work:
•
Workers with fixed end date of employment (incl.
seasonal, casual, temp)
•
Self-employed (excluding employers)

Defining the Issue (Part 1)What might be missing from this definition of precarious work?

Defining the Issue (Part 1)
LABR 1260 - Precarious Work, Precarious
Workers
8
What’s missing:
1.
Workers in ‘regular’ jobs, yet who are
precariously employed
2.
Workers on the margins of what is ‘work’

Defining the Issue (Part 1)
LABR 1260 - Precarious Work, Precarious
Workers
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One way to help define it - what is it not?
Standard Employment Relationship
(SER)

Defining the Issue (Part 1)
LABR 1260 - Precarious Work, Precarious
Workers
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More importantly - what is a precarious
worker
?

Defining the Issue (Part 1)
LABR 1260 - Precarious Work, Precarious
Workers
11
Examples of what makes someone a precarious worker
•
Workers miscategorized as independent contractors
•
Workers performing illegal work
•
Workers without a formal employer
•
Workers with precarious legal status
•
Workers with precarious social status

Defining the Issue (Part 1)
LABR 1260 - Precarious Work, Precarious
Workers
12
PEPSO’s Employment Precarity Index –
assesses
precarity based on a collection of factors
Poverty and Employment Precarity in Southern Ontario. (2013, February).
It’s More Than Poverty
. Retrieved from .

Defining the Issue (Part 1)
LABR 1260 - Precarious Work, Precarious
Workers
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•
Not paid if miss
work
•
Not in ‘standard
employment
relationship’
•
Irregular weekly
Income
•
Irregular weekly
hours
•
Work on-call
Poverty and Employment Precarity in Southern Ontario. (2013, February).


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