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Throughout Canada, the need for care provision services is on the rise. The number of people willing and able to provide these care services is insufficient to address the growing need for care. Care work is provided by a mix of paid workers and unpaid family members. The majority of both these groups of care workers are women. Care work has long been undervalued as feminized labour, resulting in insufficient government support for family caregivers, and persistent labour issues within paid care sectors. In this thesis, I explore two distinct sets of Canadian federal policies related to care provision – Employment Insurance (EI) benefits for unpaid family caregivers, and the Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker Pilot Programs, which facilitate the immigration of private in-home caregivers to Canada – in order to discover whether they are underpinned by a shared set of similar assumptions about the nature of care work, who is best suited to perform it, and how it should be provided. In examining the assumptions about care that underpin and shape these policies related to care provision in Canada, I identify a number of consistent gendered themes about care and care providers and analyze their impact on policy outcomes.

Chinese Canadians are one of the largest ethnic groups in the country. In the 2021 census, more than 1.7 million people reported being of Chinese origin. Despite their importance to the Canadian economy, including the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), many European Canadians were historically hostile to Chinese immigration. A prohibitive head tax restricted Chinese immigration to Canada from 1885 to 1923. From 1923 to 1947, the Chinese were excluded altogether from immigrating to Canada. (See Chinese Immigration Act)....

The Chinese Immigration Act of 1923, known also as the Chinese Exclusion Act, banned the entry of virtually all Chinese immigrants for 24 years. Although migration into Canada from most countries was controlled or restricted in some way, only Chinese people were singled out completely from entering on the basis of race....

Après avoir vécu une séparation difficile avec son copain engagé dans des affaires louches, Ariane se retrouve sans le sou. Afin d'éviter la vente de son condo, elle trouve un emploi de traductrice dans une entreprise de transformation alimentaire de la grande région de Montréal. Là, en plus des tâches administratives diverses, elle est chargée de traduire en espagnol les directives de Stéphane, le patron, aux employés guatémaltèques embauchés pour la saison estivale. Elle découvre alors un milieu contraignant et parfois cruel, géré d'une main de fer par les propriétaires français de l'usine. Témoin de pratiques injustes, voire illégales, à répétition, Ariane finit par se ranger du côté des travailleurs, quitte à perdre son emploi et se retrouver dans une situation financière plus que difficile. --Website description

Studying collective action in the platform economy against the backdrop of the informal economy in India, I make two arguments that show how work organization in the platform economy enables collective action and distinguishes it from the informal sector. First, I argue that platform work organization through algorithmic work allocation, high employer visibility and algorithmic rather than direct managerial control makes collective action possible. In the informal economy, layers of middlemen often obscure the employment relationship by denying workers a clear contender and the opportunity to develop relationships of solidarity. Second, platform workers address their demands to two targets: the platform company and the state. Informal worker unions have no single, identifiable employer and traditionally confine their demands to the state.

Dans le cadre de la plateformisation du travail, l'article est consacré aux défis d’une construction de l'action collective de livreurs et de chauffeurs de centres urbains au Brésil. Le contexte socio-politique et économique de dépendance au sein du système capitaliste dans lequel agit ce groupe social, en interaction avec la rationalité néolibérale, contribue à expliquer les difficultés d'organisation syndicale de ces travailleurs. L’échantillon d’enquête réunit des dirigeants, des animateurs et des membres de collectifs en quête de meilleures rémunérations et conditions de travail, ainsi que d’alternatives aux plateformes marchandes. Ils intègrent deux associations, deux collectifs autogérés et un réseau autonome de travailleurs. En se fondant sur l'analyse des entretiens réunis, des hypothèses sont avancées concernant ces formes alternatives d'organisation, de représentation et de mobilisation, en tenant compte de la composition hétérogène de ces entités collectives.

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are one of the main causes of work disability (EU-OSHA, 2019; WHO, 2019). Several solutions, including the cobotic system (EUROGIP, 2017), have been put forward to improve unhealthy working conditions and prevent MSDs. We sought to identify the MSD risk factors of workers on a screen-printed glass production line prior to introduction of a cobot. We used a mixed data collection technique: video observations and assessment of MSD risk factors by expert ergonomists, and then self-confrontation interviews with six production-line operators and subjective perception of risk factors. The two types of assessment (by experts and by operators) showed that the most demanding risk factors were physical (e.g., work posture) and psychosocial (e.g., mental workload). Certain risk factors were viewed differently by the experts and the operators. One question remains: How can a cobot make work more meaningful for operators?

Despite the centrality of public sector trade unionism in Canada today, its history remains largely unknown. Our attention remains fixed on the classic male proletarians of the industrial revolution. It might surprise you that the history of public sector unionism spans the 20th century, reaching back to the 19th century. United in Action tells the fascinating story of the Union of Canadian Transportation Employees (UCTE), one of five founding components of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) in 1966. --Foreword

The article reviews the book, "Love’s Next Meeting: The Forgotten History of Homosexuality and the Left in American Culture," by Aaron S. Lecklider.

The mention of the Okanagan Valley conjures images of orchard fruits and golden yellow sunsets. Mainstream narratives of “the valley” construct the idea of the “family farmer” (read: white), who puts food on our table ensuring a plentiful farm-to-table bounty. These stories become so recycled, they do not even have to be mentioned in order to make invisible the experiences and struggles of the thousands of migrant farmworkers who exist on the margins of these mythical notions of “the valley.” In this chapter, we consider how the constructions of “valley” are enforced both formally and informally. We also consider the mechanisms of struggle and resistance undertaken at the margins, and why these subtle actions have the power to undo the construct of the Okanagan Valley.

If you believed most of what's said about the Canadian Temporary Foreign Worker program, you might naturally assume that there is a trade-off between workers' poor experiences with the program and employers' significant benefits. In fact, neither is quite true: the experiences of workers are, in reality, far worse than is commonly acknowledged, while employers are not reaping as much benefit as the public might suppose. In Enduring Work Catherine Connelly draws on over one hundred interviews with people connected to different aspects of this program, analyzing their experiences from the perspective of organizational behaviour and human resources management. She compares the lived reality of agricultural workers, in-home caregivers, and low- and high-wage workers, showing how and why each group is vulnerable to mistreatment, albeit in different ways. She further explores how employment agencies and immigration consultants contribute to program abuses. Critically, Enduring Work provides the perspectives of employers, distinguishing between the reluctant users of the program who follow the rules and the reckless users who do not. Groundbreaking in its analysis of an issue very much in the news, Enduring Work unpacks the harms within Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker program and offers nuanced strategies to improve it. -- Publisher's description

An in-depth look at the urgent struggle to protect animals from harm, cruelty, injustice, extinction, and their greatest threat—us. Beloved dogs and cats. Magnificent horses and mountain gorillas. Curious chickens. What do we actually do to protect animals from harm—and is it enough? This engaging book provides a unique and eye-opening exploration of the world of animal protection as people defend diverse animals from injustice and cruelty. From the streets of major US cities to remote farms and tropical forests, Defending Animals is a gritty and moving portrait of the real work of animal protection that takes place in communities, courtrooms, and boardrooms. Globally recognized expert Kendra Coulter takes readers across the different landscapes of animal protection to meet people and animals of all kinds, from cruelty investigators to forensic veterinarians, wildlife rehabilitators and conservation leaders to animal lawyers and entrepreneurs, each working in their own ways to defend animals. Bringing unparalleled research and a distinct and nuanced analytical viewpoint, Defending Animals shows that animal protection is not only physical, intellectual, and emotional work but also a labor so rooted in empathy and care that it just might bridge the vast divide between polarized people and help create a more humane future for us all. -- Publisher's description

The article reviews the book, "Les visages de l'État social, Assistantes sociales et familles populaires durant l'entre-deux-guerres," by Lola Zappi.

The article reviews the book, "Democracy at Work. Contract, Status and Post-Industrial Justice," by Ruth Dukes and Wolfgang Streeck.

Cet article explore les voies du renouvellement de l'étude des relations industrielles et du droit du travail. À travers un examen historique comparatif de ces deux domaines d’études, il examine leurs racines et héritages communs ainsi qu'une série d'initiatives de renouvellement. Il est soutenu que les deux domaines doivent se réapproprier des valeurs fondamentales : la reconnaissance de l'inégalité fondamentale des parties à la relation de travail et la reconnaissance de la nécessité de compenser cette inégalité par des processus collectifs. Les germes de ce renouveau sont identifiés à la fois dans le droit du travail et dans les relations industrielles. Leur avenir réside dans l'émergence d'un champ d’études intégré du travail et de l'emploi et dans le rôle et l'avenir du travail en tant que vecteur de démocratie.

This article explores paths for the renewal of the study of industrial relations and labour law. Through a comparative historical review of these two fields of study, it examines their common roots and legacies and a range of renewal initiatives. It is argued that both fields need to reappropriate core values: recognition of the fundamental inequality of the parties to the employment relationship; and recognition of the need to compensate for this inequality through collective processes. The seeds of this renewal are identified in both labour law and industrial relations. Their future lies in the emergence of an integrated field of study of work and employment and in the role and future of work as a vector of democracy.

The relationship between labour movements and the environment has been the subject of considerable debate but little empirical research. Using panel data for Canadian provinces between 2001 and 2019, this article investigates the relationship between unionization rates and two measures of environmental quality: greenhouse gas emissions and total particulate matter pollution. We find that higher unionization rates are associated with lower emissions for both these measures. This finding suggests that stronger labour organizations do not lead to detrimental environmental outcomes.

The article reviews and comments on two books by American author and historian Noel lgnatiev (1940-2019): "Treason to Whiteness is Loyalty to Humanity," edited by Geert Dhondt, Zhandarka Kurt, and Jarrod Shanahan, and "Acceptable Men: Life in the Largest Steel Mill in the World."

Contemporary North American work culture is characterized by experts as one of overwork. Throughout much of the previous century, many parents devoted themselves either to their careers, or to their families. These “competing devotions” served as a cultural model for making sense of the world and alleviated the tension between overwork and family life. Data from interviews with 84 IT workers are used to examine whether devotion to work and family is still experienced as oppositional for working parents. I find that interviewees report feeling devoted both to their families and their careers, which I refer to as dual devotion. Such espousals of dual devotion are facilitated by the use of flexible work policies—remote work and flextime—which enable those with dual devotions to accomplish work–life integration. However, whereas men perceive remote work as allowing them to dedicate more time to childcare, women perceive it as allowing them to dedicate more time to work. These findings advance our understanding of the relationship between gender inequality and the experiential dimensions of work and family time: the practices that enable dual devotions, in particular remote work, help parents maintain an orientation to time that makes overwork more palatable. In either case, workplaces win since women are working long hours and men are not sacrificing paid work hours to take on more childcare or housework.

Could “centralized” bodies of collective representation constitute a power resource for employees in contemporary fragmented work organizations? Referring to the particular features of the institutional framework in France, this article links the theory of power resources to the concept of institutional toying to show that the power resources of managers allow them to make use of institutional shortcomings that limit the scope of these bodies as power resources for employees. The article draws on the REPONSE 2017 (DARES) survey, which sought to quantify “fragmented” organizations and their collective representation bodies. Six case studies of fragmented companies are also used to illustrate the diversity of institutional toying strategies employed by managers.