Issues faced by vulnerable workers in Canada.

• Author: McKay-Panos, Linda

The Law Commission of Ontario defines vulnerable workers as "those engaged in precarious work". "Precarious work" includes:

* those jobs where one has low wages and at least two of these other features;

* no pension;

* no union; and/or

* small firm size.

Precarious work includes temporary foreign labour, service industry jobs, food services and accommodation jobs, temporary agency work and self-employment (Law Commission of Ontario, Quick Facts About Vulnerable Workers and Precarious Work). It seems that part-time, casual and temporary work have become quite common in Canada. And, the LCCO notes that women, racialized persons, immigrants, Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, older adults and youth are disproportionately represented in the category of vulnerable workers. Other scholars add undocumented workers and refugees to the category of temporary foreign labour as precarious workers [1].

The Law Commission study identified the following problems. Precarious work can have significant negative physical and mental health outcomes for people. Recent immigrants are more likely to be engaged in physically demanding work. Health and safety risks also arise from lack of experience or training, lack of knowledge about health and safety rights, and fear of losing the job or being deported. Precarious work can cause stress because of job insecurity, the pressure of holding more than one job, the irregular or long hours, lack of legal protections and insecure visa status. Low income experienced by precarious workers can also have health consequences. In addition to susceptibility to illness and injury, precarious workers may not have access to safe transportation or to nutritious food. Lack of benefits and low wages may preclude purchase of prescription drugs and other medicines. Pregnant women may not be covered by statutory emergency leave provisions and may not be able to get sufficient time off for medical care. Limited training or education opportunities of precarious workers also limits their ability to upgrade skills that are needed to obtain more stable and better paid work.

In Alberta, waged agricultural workers are often considered precarious workers. In addition to facing hazardous working conditions and below-average wages, they also are excluded from many of the statutes that would protect workers.

In 2008, the Alberta Federation of Labour estimated that there are approximately 12,000 waged agricultural workers in Alberta...