November 2007: Precarious work

The concept of precarity has emerged in recent years as a useful description of daily life under neo-liberal globalization, as well as a potential banner for uniting various movements in the fight against it. This issue of Briarpatch dives into the shallow end of the labour pool to investigate the increasingly precarious nature of work in Canada, and highlights a number of sites of struggle where workers are beginning to challenge this growing precarity.

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special focus on Canada’s invisible workforce

Building ‘the world’s most flexible workforce’
By Karl Flecker
A critical analysis of Canada’s Foreign Worker Program.

Voices from the Front Lines
by Don Kossick & Rosa Kouri
Profiling three sites of struggle against precarious work in Canada.

Free Trade’s Refugees
by Martha Robbins
Why the U.S. immigration debate and Canada’s Mexican workforce have everything to do with NAFTA.

Bikes Without Borders
by Carrie Sinkowski
What do Fred Eaglesmith, a rape crisis centre & an anti-poverty group have in common? Bike safety for migrant workers, that’s what!

Out of their Labours — a photo essay
by Adam Perry
An intimate glimpse into the lives of some of Canada’s migrant workers.

features

‘Each day of our lives is dedicated to surviving’
By Aaron Lakoff
The harsh realities of life on welfare in Quebec.

Enough to Live On
by Jim Mulvale
Why a guaranteed annual income system would benefit both people & the planet.

Working for a Ban
by Bob Sass
Canada continues to export asbestos to the Global South while insisting it can be handled safely. What gives?

departments

letter from the editor
When the proletariat meets the precariat: Precarity & the labour movement

reviews
Workplaces That Work: A guide to conflict management in union & non-union work environments
Reviewed by Patricia W. Elliott.

The Deserter’s Tale
Reviewed by Ken Sailor.

quotes from the underground

parting shots
Seizing the Advantage: Making the Supreme Court collective bargaining ruling work for working people
by Roger Couvrette

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