Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Precarious Employment and the Problem of SER-Centrism in Regulating for Decent Work

  • Chapter
Regulating for Decent Work

Part of the book series: Advances in Labour Studies ((AILS))

Abstract

There is a growing disjuncture between changing patterns of labour force participation in highly industrialized contexts and systems of labour regulation. Policy actors at various levels are attempting to deal with the insecurities associated with ‘new’ forms of employment such as parttime and temporary paid employment and solo self-employment, which have disproportionate effects on women, migrants, older, and younger workers. At the same time, most regulatory responses to precariousness continue to rest on assumptions from an earlier era.

The author gratefully acknowledges the Canada Research Chairs Program and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for funding the research required to prepare this chapter through its standard research grants programme. I also extend my sincere thanks to John Grundy and Melissa Sharpe-Harrigan for their able research assistance and to Gerald Kernerman, Sangheon Lee, and Deirdre McCann and the two anonymous reviewers for their critical reflections on early versions of the chapter.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Action AID et al. 2008. ‘Civil society key recommendations for the Doha draft outcome document’, prepared for Doha Preparatory Process on Financing for Development, 30 August (unpublished brief).

    Google Scholar 

  • Anxo, D.; Erhel, C.; Schippers, J. 2006. Labour Market Transitions and Time Adjustment over the Life Course (Amsterdam: Dutch University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Auer, P. 2006. ‘Protected mobility for employment and decent work: labour market security in a globalized world’, Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 48, no. 1, pp. 21–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Auer, P. 2007. In Search of Optimal Labour Market Institutions (Geneva: ILO). Online: http://www.oit.org/public/english/employment/download/elm/elm07–3.pdf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Avato, J.; Koettl, J.; Wheeler, R.S. 2009. ‘Definitions, good practices, and global estimates on the status of social protection for international migrants’, SP Discussion Paper no. 0909 (Washington, DC: Social Protection and Labor Division, World Bank).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bach, S. 2003. ‘International migration of health workers: labour and social issues’, Working Paper 209 (Geneva: ILO). Online: http://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/Media_and_public_information/Feature_stories/lang--en/WCMS_075617/index.htm.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beneria, L. 2008. ‘The crisis of care, international migration, and public policy’, Feminist Economics, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 1–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Björnberg, U. 2002. ‘Ideology and choice between work and care: Swedish family policy for working parents’, Critical Social Policy, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 33–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bosch, G. 2004. ‘Towards a new standard employment relationship in Western Europe’, British Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 617–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bosniak, L.S. 2002. The Citizen and the Alien: Dilemmas of Contemporary Membership (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Brodie, J. 2002. ‘Three stories of Canadian citizenship’, in Adamoski, R.; Chunn, D.E.; Menzies, R. (eds) Contesting Canadian Citizenship: Historical Readings (Toronto: Broadview Press), pp. 43–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, I. 1998. ‘Labour restructuring and the growth of casual employment in Australia, 1982–1996’, Doctoral Thesis, Melbourne, University of Melbourne, Australia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Canada. 2006. Fairness at Work: Federal Labour Standards for the 21st Century, prepared by Harry W. Arthurs, Ottawa, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • CBC. 2008. ‘Mexicans denied entry at Vancouver airport, returned home’, 25 June. Online: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/06/24/bc-migrants-turned-back.html.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cranford, C.J.; Fudge, J.; Tucker, E.; Vosko, L.F. 2005. Self-Employed Workers Organize: Law, Policy, and Unions (Montreal/Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Deakin, S. 2002. ‘The futures of the contract of employment’, in Conaghan, J.; Fischl, M.; Klare, K. (eds) Labour Law in an Era of Globalization: Transformative Practices (Oxford: Oxford University Press), pp. 117–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Delanty, G. 1997. ‘Models of citizenship: defining European identity and citizenship’, Citizenship Studies, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 285–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Lathouwer, L.; Debacker, M.; Bogaerts, K. 2007. ‘Care in modern welfare states and social policies: the case of Belgian time credit’, in Anxo, D.; Erhel, C.; Schippers, J. (eds) Labour Market Transitions and Time Adjustment Over the Life Course (Amsterdam: Dutch University Press), pp. 165–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of Labour and Employment, The Philippines and Government of Manitoba, Canada. Available online at http://www.dole.gov.ph/.

  • Devisscher, S.; Sanders, D. 2007. ‘Ageing and life-course issues: the case of the career break scheme (Belgium) and the life-course regulation (Netherlands)’, in D’Addio, C.; Whiteford, P. (eds) Modernizing Social Policy for the New Life Course (Paris: OECD Publishing), pp. 117–32.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Esping-Andersen, G. 2002. Why We Need a New Welfare State (Oxford: Oxford University Press).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • European Commission (EC). 2004. Second Career: Overcoming the Obstacles Faced by Dependent Employees Who Want to Become Self-employed and/or Start Their Own Business (Brussels: EC Enterprise-Directorate).

    Google Scholar 

  • EUROSTAT. 2006. European Union Labour Force Survey (EU LFS), 1983–2006 (Luxembourg).

    Google Scholar 

  • Fraser, N. 1997. Justice Interruptus: Critical Reflections on the ‘Postsocialist’ Condition (New York: Routledge).

    Google Scholar 

  • Fudge, J.; Tucker, E.; Vosko, L.F. 2002. The Legal Concept of Employment: Marginalizing Workers (Ottawa: Law Commission of Canada).

    Google Scholar 

  • Fudge, J.; Vosko, L.F. 2001. ‘Gender, segmentation and the standard employment relationship in Canadian labour law and policy’, Economic and Industrial Democracy, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 271–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuller, S.; Vosko, L.F. 2008. ‘Temporary employment and social inequality in Canada: exploring intersections of gender, race and migration’, Social Indicators Research, vol. 88, no. 1, August, pp. 31–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Girard, L.; Chambers, I. 2005. ‘Naples Italy: a spontaneous model for integration’, in Balbo, M. (ed.) International Migrants and the City (Venice: UN-Habitat), pp. 187–210.

    Google Scholar 

  • Global Horizons-UFW. 2006. Global Horizons-UFW Contract Summary (unpublished collective agreement).

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon, J. 2007. ‘Transnational labor citizenship’, Southern California Law Review, vol. 80, no. 3, pp. 503–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenhouse, S. 2006. ‘Farmworkers’ union is set to announce first national contract for guest workers’, New York Times, 11 April.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gregoire, D. (ed.) 2006. Newsletter of the Health and Safety Department of ETUIREHS, no. 30–1, October (Belgium: European Trade Union Institute — Research, Education, Health & Safety, HESA).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, S.; Held, D. 1990. ‘Citizens and citizenship’, in Hall, S.; Jacques, M. (eds) New Times: The Changing Face of Politics in the 1990s (London: Verso), pp. 173–88.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hammar, T. 1985. European Immigration Policy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hartlapp, M.; Schmid, G. 2008. ‘Labour market policy for “active ageing” in Europe: expanding the options for retirement transitions’, Journal of Social Policy, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 409–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hassim, S. 2008. ‘Global constraints on gender equality in care work’, Politics & Society, vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 388–402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heikkilä, M. 1999. ‘A brief introduction to the topic’, in European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, Linking Welfare and Work (Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hochschild, A. 2000. ‘Global care chains and emotional surplus value’, in Hutton, W.; Giddens, A. (eds) On the Edge: Living with Global Capitalism (London: Jonathan Cape), pp. 130–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holston, J. 2001. ‘Urban citizenship and globalization’, in: Scott, A. J. (ed) Global City-Regions: Trends, Theory, Policy (New York: Oxford University Press), pp. 325–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holzmann, R.; Koettl, J.; Chernetsky, T. 2005. Portability Regimes of Pension and Health Care Benefits for International Migrants: An Analysis of Issues and Good Practices, September (Washington, DC: Social Protection Human Development Network, World Bank).

    Google Scholar 

  • Howard, J. 2004. A Stronger Economy, A Stronger Australia: The Howard Government Election 2004 Policy. Protecting and Supporting Independent Contractors (Barton: The Liberal Party of Australia).

    Google Scholar 

  • International Labour Office (ILO). 1984a. Evaluation of the International Programme for the Improvement of Working Conditions and Environment, Report VII, International Labour Conference, 70th Session (Geneva).

    Google Scholar 

  • ILO. 1984b. Record of Proceedings, International Labour Conference, 70th Session (Geneva).

    Google Scholar 

  • ILO. 2010. Decent Work for Domestic Workers. Report IV(1), International Labour Conference, 99th Session (Geneva).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lin, Z.; Yates, J.; Picot, G. 1999. ‘Rising self-employment in the midst of high unemployment: an empirical analysis of recent development in Canada’, Ottawa, Statistics Canada Research Paper Series (Ottawa: Statistics Canada).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lister, R. 1997. Citizenship: Feminist Perspectives (Basingstoke: Macmillan).

    Google Scholar 

  • Lister, R. 2007. ‘Inclusive citizenship: realizing the potential’, Citizenship Studies, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 49–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald, M. 2009. ‘Income security for women: what about employment insurance?’, in Cohen, M.G.; Pulkingham, J. (eds) Public Policy for Women in Canada: The State, Income Security and Labour Market Issue (Toronto: University of Toronto Press), pp. 251–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacLaren, B.; Lapointe, L. 2009. ‘Making a case for reform: non-access to social security measure for migrant workers’, Policy Paper, FOCAL, Ottawa, October.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malkki, L.H. 1995. Purity and Exile: Violence, Memory, and National Cosmology Among Hutu Refugees in Tanzania (Chicago: University of Chicago Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Massey, D. 2004. ‘Geographies of responsibility’, Geografisca Annaler, vol. 86 B, no. 1, pp. 5–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCann, D. 2008. Regulating Flexible Work (Oxford: Oxford University Press).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Mückenberger, U. 1989. ‘Non-standard forms of employment in the Federal Republic of Germany: the role and effectiveness of the state’, in Rogers, G.; Rogers, J. (eds), Precarious Jobs in Labour Market Regulation: The Growth of Atypical Employment in Western Europe (Geneva: International Institute for Labour Studies/Free University of Brussels), pp. 167–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murray, J. 2001. Transnational Labour Regulation: The ILO and the EC Compared (The Hague: Kluwer).

    Google Scholar 

  • NGO Network of Integration Focal Points. 2007. ‘Policy briefing on the assessment of skills and recognition of qualifications of refugees and migrants in Europe’. Online: http://www.ecre.org/files/Policy%20Briefing_Assessment%20of%20skills%20&%20recongition%20of%20qualifications.pdf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nullis-Kapp, C. 2005. ‘Efforts under way to stem “brain drain” of doctors and nurses’, Bulletin of World Health Organization, vol. 83, no. 2, pp. 84–5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nyberg, A. 2004. ‘Parental leave, public childcare and the dual earner/dual carer-model in Sweden’. Discussion paper, Swedish National Institute for Working Life. Online: http://www.mutual-learning-employment.net/pdf/sweden04/disspapSWE04.pdf.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Donnell, A. 2004. ‘“Non-standard” workers in Australia: counts and controversies’, Australian Journal of Labour Law, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 1–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Reilly, J.; Spee, C. 1998. ‘The future regulation of work and welfare: time for a revised social and gender contract?’, European Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 259–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Owens, R. 2001. ‘The “long-term or permanent casual”: an oxymoron or a “well enough understood Australianism” in the law’, Australian Bulletin of Labour, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 118–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearson, R. 2004. ‘The social is political: towards the re-politicization of feminist analysis of the global economy’, International Feminist Journal of Politics, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 603–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pearson, R. 2003. ‘Feminist responses to economic globalisation: some examples of past and future practice’, Gender and Development, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 25–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillimore, J.; Goodsen, L.; Watts, J. 2007. ‘Recognising migrants’ skills and qualifications: a transnational perspective’. Final report of Working Group 1 of the MEET EQUAL Transnational Partnership, May, University of Birmingham.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pocock, B.; Buchanan, J.; Campbell, I. 2004. Securing Quality Employment: Policy Options for Casual and Part-time Workers in Australia (Adelaide: Chifley Research Centre).

    Google Scholar 

  • Raghuram, P.; Madge, C.; Noxolo, P. 2009. ‘Rethinking responsibility and care for a postcolonial world’, Geoforum, vol. 40, no. 1, pp. 5–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodgers, G. 1989. ‘Precarious work in Western Europe: the state of the debate’, in Rodgers, G.; Rodgers, J. (eds) Precarious Jobs in Labour Market Regulation: The Growth of Atypical Employment in Western Europe (Geneva: ILO), pp. 1–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubery, J. 1998. Women in the Labour Market: A Gender Equality Perspective (Paris: OECD Directorate for Education, Employment, Labor & Social Affairs).

    Google Scholar 

  • Sainsbury, D. 2006. ‘Immigrants’ social rights in comparative perspective: welfare regimes, forms of immigration and immigration policy regimes’, Journal of European Social Policy, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 229–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmid, G. 2002. ‘Employment insurance for managing critical transitions during the life cycle’, in Auer, P.; Gazier, B. (eds) The Future of Work, Employment and Social Protection, Proceedings of the France ILO Symposium 2002 (Geneva: ILO), pp. 63–82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmid, G. 2005. ‘Towards a European social model: managing social risks through transitional labour markets’, in Gijsel, P.; Schenk, H. (eds) Multidisciplinary Economics (The Netherlands: Springer), pp. 33–51.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Schmid, G. 2006. ‘Social risk management through transitional labour markets’, Socio-Economic Review, vol. 4, pp. 1–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmid, G. 2007. ‘Transitional labour markets: managing social risks over the life course’, WZB Discussion Paper, SPI 2007–111 (Berlin: Social Science Research Centre).

    Google Scholar 

  • Soysal, Y.N. 1994. Limits of Citizenship: Migrants and Postnational Membership in Europe (Chicago: Chicago University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Stasiulis, D.K.; Bakan, A.B. 2005. Negotiating Citizenship: Migrant Women in Canada and the Global System (Toronto: University of Toronto Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Statistics Canada. 2006. Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (Ottawa).

    Google Scholar 

  • Statistics Canada. 2008. Labour Force Survey (Ottawa).

    Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, A. 1992. ‘A typical employment and the failure of labour law’, Australian Bulletin of Labour, vol. 18, pp. 217–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Supiot, A. 2001. Beyond Employment: Changes in Work and the Future of Labour Law in Europe (Oxford: Oxford University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Ginneken, W. 2009. ‘Social security and the global socio-economic floor’, Global Social Policy, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 228–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vandeweyer, J.; Glorieux, I. 2008. ‘Men taking up career leave: an opportunity for a better work and family life balance?’, Journal of Social Policy, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 271–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vosko, L.F. 2008. ‘ILO action on “the scope of the employment relationship”: lessons from Canada on fostering social cohesion’, in O’Brien, R. (ed.) Solidarity First: Canadian Workers and Social Cohesion (Vancouver: UBC Press), pp. 169–89.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vosko, L.F. 2009. ‘Less than adequate: regulating temporary agency work in the EU in the face of an internal market in services’, Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy, and Society, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 1–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vosko, L.F. 2010. Managing the Margins: Gender, Citizenship, and the International Regulation of Precarious Employment (Oxford: Oxford University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Weir, A. 2005. ‘The global universal caregiver: imagining women’s liberation in the new millennium’, Constellations, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 308–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wikander, U.; Kessler-Harris, A.; Lewis, J. (eds) 1995. Protecting Women: Labor Legislation in Europe, United States and Australia, 1880–1920 (Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, F. 2008. ‘Theorising migration and home-based care in European welfare states’. Paper presented at the annual conference of the Canadian Political Science Association, 4–6 June, University of British Columbia in Vancouver; Session 5.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization (WHO) 2004. International Migration of Health Personnel: A Challenge for Health Systems in Developing Countries, World Health Assembly Fifty Seven, Resolution 19, May (Geneva).

    Google Scholar 

  • WHO. 2006. Working Together for Health: The World Health Report 2006 (Geneva).

    Google Scholar 

  • Yeates, N. 2005. ‘The general agreement on trade in services (GATS): what’s in it for social security?’, International Social Security Review, vol. 58, no. 1, pp. 3–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zedillo, E.; Al-Hamad, A.Y.; Bryer, D.; Chinery-Hesse, M.; Delors, J.; Grynspan, R.; Livshits, A.; Osman, A.M.; Rubin, R.; Singh, M.; Masayoshi, S. 2001. Recommendations of the High-level Panel on Financing for Development, UN General Assembly document A/55/1000 (New York: United Nations).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Leah F. Vosko
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Law, University of Manchester, UK

    Deirdre McCann (Senior Lecturer in the School of Law) (Senior Lecturer in the School of Law)

Copyright information

© 2011 International Labour Organization

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Vosko, L.F. (2011). Precarious Employment and the Problem of SER-Centrism in Regulating for Decent Work. In: Lee, S., McCann, D. (eds) Regulating for Decent Work. Advances in Labour Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230307834_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation