Canada – Precarious work has become the “new normal”

precarious work has become so entrenched it spans all age groups, gender, level of education and economic sectors, as recent research from the Poverty and Employment Precarity in Southern Ontario (PEPSO) project demonstrates. Far from a temporary situation, PEPSO shows how precarious work has become the “new normal.”

While just about half of workers younger than 24 are part-timers, the majority of workers in precarious work in Canada are now over 25. Precarious work is no longer for those with fewer credentials and in low-paying jobs.

It is now found in every sector of the economy, and it is all too common even among those who provide key public services such as health care and education.

In Canadian universities and colleges, one out of three professors is forced to bounce from contract to contract, or work only part time, for many years on end. They don’t know whether, or what, they will teach in a given semester. Few receive any compensation when their contracts are cancelled at the last minute. Many are not even given library cards so they can prepare properly before classes start. Many don’t have access to a phone or an office to adequately support students. Without a pension or health benefits, they are paid significantly less than their full-time, permanent colleagues. Many cannot access employment insurance benefits while unemployed, even though they pay into the program.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at Ivory tower or wage-slave salt mine? – Winnipeg Free Press.