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Precarious Employment (PE) is characterized by job, income, and benefit insecurities. Studies surrounding PE and well-being have been predominantly quantitative, leaving a gap in rich descriptions of employment experiences. We recruited a sample of 40 adults aged 25-55 who were involved in PE during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic or lost employment due to the pandemic. Semi-structured interviews were administered. Employment and income insecurities were common and had negative impacts on the well-being of participants and their families. Uncertainty about future employment prospects and job and income loss resulted in chronic distress. Other insecurities—access to benefits, violation of worker rights, worker safety—was also reported as impacting well-being. The COVID-19 pandemic deepened insecurities, hardships, and distress among workers with PE conditions. Given the myriad insecurities experienced by those engaged in PE, the focus of precarious work research should also include working conditions, violation of worker rights, and managerial domination.

The Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, Tomoya Obokata, visited Canada from 23 August to 6 September 2023. During his visit, he travelled to Ottawa, Moncton, Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver.

The article reviews the book, "Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times: Living the British Empire in Jamaica, 1756," by Sheryllynne Heggerty.

In December 2021, the Ontario government passed into law Bill 88, the Working for Workers Act, 2022. Among other developments, the Working for Workers Act, 2022 introduced the Digital Platform Workers’ Rights Act, 2022, establishing a number of rights for platform workers. This Article is a brief, non-exhaustive evaluation of the provisions of the Act, with particular emphasis on how it impacts the salient issues associated with the regulation of platform work. The article concludes that, notwithstanding its limitations, the Act is a major step in the right direction towards effective regulation of the working conditions for platform workers.

As discourse on transnational labor migration continues to highlight the influence of structures on the experiences and existence of caregivers, Canada’s economic immigration and status regularization programs are not excluded from the discussions. Particularly, the Canada (Live-in) Caregiver Program (henceforth LCP) introduced in 1992 has gained attention from popular and scholarly cycles despite being the only economic immigration program that guarantees permanent residency status to applicants after fulfilling the mandatory program requirements. Drawing from 19 empirical studies, this systematic literature review discussed some emerging themes from the LCP. From the studies reviewed, it was found that both current and former caregivers continue to bear the direct brunt of caregiving given their positionality as mostly racialized women from low-income countries. Moreover, among the range of issues discussed, homelessness, food insecurity, and the deteriorating health conditions of care workers are some pressing issues that need urgent scholarly and policy attention. These findings underscore the need for periodic reassessments of the LCP to understand the intersectionality of current and emerging issues—as the program has greater potential to meet rising care needs in Canada, but only if the living conditions of caregivers are addressed.

L’analyse des besoins est une étape considérée comme cruciale lors de la planification d’une formation. Il existe diverses méthodes pour identifier les besoins, sans qu’il y ait d’études pour les comparer au regard des informations obtenues et des coûts associés. C’est dans cette perspective qu’un projet a été réalisé dans le secteur des télécommunications pour vérifier l’apport de différentes méthodes de collecte de données dans un contexte de prévention des accidents lors du transport et de la manipulation d’échelles par des techniciens. Les méthodes comparées sont les rencontres individuelles avec des acteurs de la SST et de la formation (n : 13), les groupes de discussion avec des techniciens (3 groupes, n : 28), l’administration d’un questionnaire en ligne auprès de techniciens et l’analyse de l’activité de travail de cinq techniciens. Cette dernière méthode est souvent ignorée en formation en raison des coûts associés à sa réalisation. Une analyse comparative des méthodes a été effectuée relativement à la nature des informations obtenues. Les résultats montrent que les entrevues avec les acteurs en SST permettent de bien cerner la problématique à l’origine de la demande de formation. Les rencontres de groupe ainsi que le questionnaire ont surtout permis d’identifier les besoins de formation perçus et d’obtenir des informations sur les facteurs qui entrainent des difficultés dans le travail. Quant à l’analyse de l’activité de travail, elle est la méthode qui a fourni une plus grande compréhension du travail à réaliser et des facteurs sur lesquels il faudrait agir pour prévenir les accidents de travail. Elle a aussi mené à l’identification de situations de travail « critiques » et à la mise en mots de savoirs développés avec l’expérience qui pourraient être intégrés à la formation pour favoriser le transfert des apprentissages et la prévention.

In the past decade Canadian history has become a hotly contested subject. Iconic figures, notably Sir John A. Macdonald, are no longer unquestioned nation-builders. The narrative of two founding peoples has been set aside in favour of recognition of Indigenous nations whose lands were taken up by the incoming settlers. An authoritative and widely-respected Truth and Reconciliation Commission, together with an honoured Chief Justice of the Supreme Court have both described long-standing government policies and practices as "cultural genocide." Historians have researched and published a wide range of new research documenting the many complex threads comprising the Canadian experience. As a leading historian of labour and social movements, Bryan Palmer has been a major contributor to this literature. In this first volume of a major new survey history of Canada, he offers a narrative which is based on the recent and often specialized research and writing of his historian colleagues. One major theme in this book is the colonial practices of the authorities as they pushed aside the original peoples of this country. While the methods varied, the result was opening up Canada's rich resources for exploitation by the incoming European settlers. The second major theme is the role of capitalism in determining how those resources were exploited, and who would reap the enormous power and wealth that accrued. The first volume of this challenging and illuminating new survey history covers the period that concludes in the 1890s after the creation out of Britain's northern colonies of the semi-autonomous federal Canadian state. ----------------------- Capitalism and Colonialism: The Making of Modern Canada 1890–1960 continues the examination of our nation’s past through a new lens, incorporating the scholarship of Canadian historians to portray a richly endowed and wealthy but very unequal first-world country. This second volume of Bryan Palmer’s history of Canada covers 1890 to 1960. Weaving together themes that include business, labour, politics, and social history, this account brings the experiences of Indigenous peoples into the centre of the narrative. Canada experienced extraordinary growth during these decades, notably after the Second World War when many Canadians quickly became far better off Yet vast inequalities persisted, Indigenous peoples experienced ongoing and often worsening deprivation, and ordinary people saw little or no real improvement in their lives. These realities set the stage for the interplay of reform, resistance and reaction that followed after 1960. Palmer examines the continuing role of capitalism and colonialism in structuring Canada in the period between 1890 and 1960 from capital’s conflicts and fragile ententes with labour, to the struggles of Indigenous Peoples and francophone Canada, and the changing role of Canadian capital internationally. Relying on the work of scholars who have produced a vast academic literature on a wide range of topics in Canadian history, Bryan Palmer offers a new history of Canada which reflects the knowledge and values of 21st-century Canadians. -- Publisher's description

Responds to hagwil hayetsk/Charles Menzie's paper, "Capitalism and Colonialism," published in the same issue.

At the "Challenging Labour" / «Le défi du travail» conference held at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta, in October 2022, two plenary sessions invited scholars to engage in a dialogue on important historical and theoretical issues in the field of labour and working-class history/studies. One of these, on the entanglement of capitalism and colonialism, featured a paper delivered by Bryan D. Palmer and a response from hagwil hayetsk (Charles Menzies). These presentations are revised for publication here along with a rejoinder from Palmer in what is Labour/Le Travail's first "Forum" section. The aim of this section is to foster conversation, with scholars meaningfully engaging with each other's work across disciplinary, methodological, theoretical, or other kinds of differences in approach and understanding. The merit of this kind of dialogue is well demonstrated here by Palmer and hayetsk, and the editors would invite more such conversations for publication in this section in future issues. --Editors' introduction

En raison de leur statut prééminent, les droits fondamentaux se sont introduits dans le droit du travail. Les regards se sont vite tournés vers la confrontation normative qui résulte de l'assemblage de ces deux domaines du droit aux logiques distinctes. Les droits de la personne ont alors été appréhendés davantage dans un rapport de confrontation plutôt que de complémentarité avec le corpus du droit du travail. Cette étude historico-juridique cherche à démontrer que le construit du droit du travail recoupe pourtant les trois traits structurants des droits de la personne, soit la fondamentalité, l'universalité et l'inaliénabilité. Cette complémentarité devrait être prise en compte dans l'interprétation des droits fondamentaux au sein de la relation d'emploi, ce qui devrait accentuer le degré de protection de la personne au travail.

Advertising tools used by sex workers for solicitation and client screening have been identified as supporting occupational health and safety (OHS); however, sex work legislation continues to criminalize advertising by third parties. We explored how the criminalization of third-party advertising and online censorship shapes indoor sex workers’ access to OHS measures such as client screening, and negotiation of prices and services, in addition to income security.

Precarious employment (PE) is non-standard employment with uncertain and unstable contract duration, low wages, and limited labour protections and rights. Research has associated PE with workers’ poor mental health and well-being; however, this association has been studied primarily using quantitative methods. This qualitative study seeks to examine the mechanisms between PE and mental health in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, Canada. Specifically, it aims to address: (Benach J, Muntaner C. Precarious employment and health: developing a research agenda. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2007;61(4):276.) How do PE and working conditions impact the mental well-being of workers and members of their close families or households?; and (Kreshpaj B, Orellana C, Burström B, Davis L, Hemmingsson T, Johansson G, et al. What is precarious employment? A systematic review of definitions and operationalizations from quantitative and qualitative studies. Scand J Work Environ Health. 2020;46(3):235–47.) How has the COVID-19 pandemic shaped these relationships? Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of 40 individuals aged 25–55 engaged in PE during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic or whose employment was terminated due to the pandemic. Results showed that PE amplified mental health symptoms and illnesses for workers and their families. These experiences were described as chronic, where impacts were exerted on precariously employed workers through systemic discrimination and racism, colonialism, workplace hierarchies, and gendered ideologies. PE negatively impacted mental health through emotional stress about employment and income instability, insecurity, and loss; added pressure for households where both partners are engaged in PE; impacted ability to maintain or improve overall health and well-being; and barriers to social connectedness. Overall, this study characterizes multiple dimensions of PE and the consequences they have on the mental health of workers and their families.

We discuss the everyday work of sporting goods salespeople in France, stressing the importance of informal and relational skills in the service relationship, which draws on the seller and buyer’s shared interest in sports. Salespeople do far more than just perform predefined tasks. Their effectiveness depends largely on being able to develop personal relationships with customers. We collected quantitative and qualitative data through four methods: 1) a questionnaire sent in 2019 to all sports and recreational retail managers in the Grand Est region of France (n=61); 2) an analysis of job listings posted in the press, online and in stores in 2019 and 2020 (n=152), which we used to draw up a list of skills and qualifications for the advertised positions; 3) semi-structured interviews with salespeople and store managers (n=20) on their everyday work, their relationships to sporting goods and their perceptions of customer relationships; and 4) ethnographic observation of everyday sales work in ten stores (January-February 2020). In service work, a sense of selflessness is valued, as reflected in the practice of adaptive selling. Salespeople develop a sense of the customers’ lifestyle and approach to sports and create verbal, cognitive and emotional closeness. The personal relationships that develop through such adjustments ultimately facilitate sales transactions, whose meaning is socially constructed by both parties.

L’exercice de la responsabilité individuelle du salarié représente un défi pour toute organisation de travail qui a besoin de comportements prévisibles et d’individus capables de répondre de leurs actes pour assurer une bonne efficience de ses activités. Dans le cadre de la théorie des rôles, le comportement prévisible d’un salarié résulte d’un processus d’influences mutuelles avec son manager. Cet article explore les marges de manoeuvre dont dispose le manager qui favorisent l’exercice de la responsabilité par le collaborateur, un sujet qui fait l’objet de peu de travaux empiriques. Notre recherche prend appui sur le modèle triangulaire de responsabilité de Schlenker et al. (1994), pour le proposer comme un modèle opérationnel dans le cadre des pratiques managériales. Une étude de cas multiple est présentée, constituée de 14 situations décrites par des managers et dans lesquelles des salariés exercent leurs responsabilités. Le canevas d’analyse intra-cas permet d’effectuer une analyse des éléments constitutifs d’une situation de responsabilité, pour assurer une lecture rétrospective de situations dans lesquelles la responsabilité a été effectivement exercée (situations « abouties »). Les processus, ascendant de généralisation et descendant de spécification, révèlent des stratégies d’action et des modes opératoires qui viennent installer ou conforter les prérequis d’une situation de responsabilité aboutie. Nous proposons une visée instrumentale et un enrichissement conceptuel du modèle triangulaire de responsabilité. Si nos résultats montrent que les managers jouent un rôle actif pour soutenir le processus de responsabilisation au travail, ils n’ont pas cherché à appréhender le rôle actif du salarié, ouvrant la voie à des travaux à poursuivre.

This article explores the effects of generative AI software like ChatGPT on academic labour. Beginning with an account of the commodification of knowledge work and higher education under neoliberalism, it argues that the class position of both academics and students has become muddied. In order to properly understand how ChatGPT can and will affect the academy, including academic libraries, we need to get clearer on the class position of knowledge workers (including students) and the role technology plays in the capitalist mode of production. Only then can we engage in labour activism and forge links of solidarity in full awareness of the class composition and technological structures of knowledge work.

This thesis investigates the role of Kelowna’s public transit union (the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1722 – ATU 1722) and a youth-led environmental group (Fridays for Future Kelowna) in the formation of the Okanagan Transit Alliance (OTA). The OTA is a grassroots movement for better public transit in the Central Okanagan. The central research question is, "how can transit unions engage in climate activism?". A participatory activist methodology is employed to study the joint campaign for more accessible, publicly managed, and community-driven transit. The findings are organized into three themes. The first theme is ecosocialism – a political ideology which centers ecological concerns in socialist thought – because the campaign advocates for an ecosocialist goal of ending the private management of Kelowna’s transit. The findings in this area highlight the importance of organizing around people’s basic needs, uncertainty about the role of the government in the campaign, and that engaging in collective struggle is important for developing working-class power. The campaign was co-led by the ATU 1722, and so the second theme, unions, examines their role in the campaign. Under this theme are the findings that the two leading organizations developed a mutually beneficial collaboration, and that the public facing role of bus drivers helped the union build connections with the community. At the same time, contemporary union challenges impacted the ATU 1722’s ability to engage in effective advocacy. Finally, under the third theme of organizing, the research broadly explores organizing tactics to develop the climate justice movement. We found that a welcoming environment and co-creation led to high participation levels, and that relationships were fundamental to the campaign. This thesis highlights the potential of unions to play a pivotal role in climate activism, bridging the gap between labor and environmental concerns. The case of ATU 1722, Fridays for Future Kelowna, and the OTA serves as an inspiring example of how labor organizations can actively contribute to the broader movement for environmental justice and ecosocialist transformation. This study not only informs the ongoing discourse on the intersection of labor and climate activism but also inspires future collaborations for anti-capitalist climate justice.

Discusses the efforts of the Sudbury local of the Mine-Mill union in the post-World War II era to develop a distinct political-cultural community including through a multi-purpose union hall, dance school, and theatre company. Concludes that Mine-Mill's social and cultural programming was eclipsed by Cold War anti-Communism and the bitter battle with the United Steelworkers of America to represent the workers.

The article reviews the book, "Désobéir : le choix de Chantale Daigle," by Daniel Thibault et Isabelle Pelletier.

Objectif : Cette revue systématique vise à définir de manière exhaustive les pratiques GRH à haut engagement et à analyser leur corrélation avec les indicateurs clés de l’échange social. Elle propose une définition unifiée, établit les pratiques spécifiques et leurs instruments de mesure, et explore leurs effets sur les résultats individuels et organisationnels...

Despite new immigrants having higher educational attainment and an immigrant selection policy that admits “the best and the brightest,” one of Canada’s major social policy concerns is the continued deterioration of immigrants’ economic outcomes. This paradox is illustrated by data showing immigrants suffer from higher unemployment, earn less than similarly educated Canadian-born workers, face skill underutilization, and are relegated to the secondary labour market made up of low-wage, unstable jobs, lacking protections such as unemployment benefits. The underutilization of immigrant skills is economically disastrous; it costs the Canadian economy $50 billion yearly. While many studies discuss immigrants' poor labour market integration, offering explanations such as immigrant human capital factors or macroeconomic condition factors, few explore the role of meso-level organizational social actors who decide which immigrants are recruited, shortlisted, and ultimately hired. This dissertation seeks to fill this gap by exploring the role of Human Resource Management (HRM) professionals in immigrant labour market integration in Alberta. Using interviews and critical discourse analysis of HRM textbooks and course outlines, I examine HRM professional's decision-making policies, processes, considerations and constraints when evaluating immigrant applications for jobs. The study reveals that immigrants, particularly racialized immigrants, face barriers to employment in the primary labour market because of the professional and institutional logic of strategic human resource management (SHRM). SHRM promoted in HRM professional education recommends that HRM professionals prioritize business objectives over equal treatment, consideration, and fairness in hiring. SHRM enables unequal power relations between hiring managers (team supervisors) and HRM professionals, which enables cultural racism to go unchecked in hiring. SHRM justifies organizational discriminatory and social closure practices as well as enables the denial of immigrant claims for employment. This is based on the perception that immigrants pose administrative burdens and financial risks stemming from the misidentification of immigrants as temporary migrants and possessing human capital and cultural deficiencies. Hiring decision-makers often do not rely on objective assessments like work sampling tests when making hiring decisions. Instead, when evaluating immigrant job applicants, they rely on racial cultural stereotypes and signals of White Canadian cultural competency as the basis for callbacks and selection.