Rise of Precarious Employment
One of the structural factors that prohibit employment success for newcomers is the rise of precarious employment (Wilson, Sakamoto, & Chin, 2017). The concept of precarious employment relates to people whose standard (e.g., full-time) or non-standard employment (e.g., part-time) is low paid and has no medical benefits or a pension plan (Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development, 2012-21).
Examples:
- Having multiple jobs with low wages
- Having great risk of injury and ill health
- Working part-time and temporarily, on term or contract
- Working full-time for low wages, with minimal or no benefits, such as no pension plan
- Being solo self-employed with no employees
We address precarious employment and support the standard employment relationship, which is characterized by full-time, secure employment, having access to good wages and benefits (Law Commission of Ontario, 2020).
References:
Law Commission of Ontario. (2020). Vulnerable Workers and Precarious Work. https://www.lco-cdo.org/en/our-current-projects/vulnerable-workers-and-precarious-work/
Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development. (2012-21). Chapter 4: Vulnerable workers in precarious jobs. https://www.ontario.ca/document/changing-workplaces-review-final-report/chapter-4-vulnerable-workers-precarious-jobs
Wilson, R. M., Sakamoto, I., & Chin, M. D. (2017). The labour market and immigrants. In M. C. Yan, & U. Anucha (Eds.), Working with immigrants and refugees (pp. 111-132). Oxford University Press.