Projects Under Theme 4: Reshaping Social Programs

1. Pension Policies for an Aging Population: Flexible Enough?
2. Migrant Labour, Citizenship, and Labour Rights in the New Economy
3. Benefit Coverage for Part-Time Workers in the Canadian Public Sector
4. Commercialization and Privatization in the Public Sector and Consequences for Worker Health: A Critical Review of the Literature
5. Contingent Workers, Labour Alliances and Social Policy in Saskatchewan
6. Varieties of Neoliberalism: Trajectories of Workfare in the Advanced Capitalist Countries
7. Fighting for the Right to Work, Fighting Against Discrimination: Forced Retirement and the New Economy

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Pension Policies for an Ageing Population: Flexible Enough?
Tom Klassen, York University

Canada’s aging population will significantly impact income security policies for persons retired from the labour force, including public and private pensions, need-based income supplement programs (Old Age Security, etc.) and other policies dealing with retirement. According to Statistics Canada, between 2001 and 2011, the number of persons 50-54 will increase by 24.7%, those between 55-59 by 42.6% and those 60-64 by 55.8%. In 1986, one tenth of Canadians were over 65; in 2036, one quarter of the population will be over 65.< The first component of the research project is to identify recent initiatives in making private pensions policies more flexible in Canada, and summarize these in a series of case studies. It is anticipated that four in-depth case studies will be undertaken across a range of industries in Canada (in both the public and private sectors).

The second component of the project is an analysis of the impact and implications of the case studies for labour unions, employers and government. The analysis will identify the replicable aspects of the case studies, the tensions and tradeoffs inherent in more flexible pensions schemes, and future policy directions.

Migrant Labour, Citizenship, and Labour Rights in the New Economy
Mark Thomas, York University

Migrant Labour has become an increasingly significant component of the ‘New Economy’ in Canada, as well as many other Western labour markets. A growing body of research indicates that migrant workers hold a wide range of occupations, from undocumented workers in informal economies to highly paid professionals. This project examines the regulation of migrant labour in the new (global) economy. The project situates Canadian regulatory processes in the context of the international political economy through a comparative analysis of the social policies that regulate migrant labour in the North American and the European Union trading blocs.

The project explores the complexities of these regulatory frameworks by examining practices that range from increased regulation, through state policies that restrict access to nationally-based labour markets, to deregulation, through systems of labour law that produce highly unregulated working conditions for specific categories of migrant workers. Using labour market data, an analysis of policy documents, and interviews with government and non-government organization representatives, the project examines the role of migrant labour in these trade areas, the segmented nature of the incorporation of migrant workers, and the ways in which national and transnational regulatory frameworks shape patters of mobility, forms of incorporation, and labour rights. More broadly, the project explores the political economy of citizenship rights and the potential for policy models that promote social inclusion for migrant workers.

Benefit Coverage for Part-Time Workers in the Canadian Public Sector
Rosemary Warskett, Carleton University Jane Stinson, CUPE

This project will analyze in more detail the trend to part-time and casual employment in the broad public sector. Key themes that will be explored through this research include the restructuring of employment relations; employment outcomes of public sector budget constraints; work intensification; the gender, age and immigrant status of changing work arrangements; and the extent to which worker rights and benefits can be protected as work becomes more precarious.
The project will attempt to answer questions such as:

What, generally, is the extent, type, and location of increases in precarious employment in the Canadian Union of Public Employees’ (CUPE) membership and the broader public sector?

1. How do the findings about CUPE compare to trends for the comparable broader public sector, based on labour force data from Statistics Canada?
2. Is there a regional dimension to part-time and casual work?
3. Is there a relationship between increasing casualization and the concomitant trend to increased contracting out and privatization of public sector work?
4. Are part-time and casual workers in the public sector more likely to be women, youth and/or people of colour?

The implications, constraints and opportunities for unions related to organizing part-time and casual workers as well as protecting their workplace rights will be canvassed through exploration of the project themes.

Commercialization and Privatization in the Public Sector and Consequences for Worker Health: A Critical Review of the Literature
Peggy McDonough, U of T
Jane Stinson, CUPE
Norene Pupo, York University

As globalization and rising neoliberalism feed efforts to "shrink" the state, all levels of government are redefining the scope and nature of their key activities. This transformation is heavily influenced by the "New Public Management" reform movement that brings private sector or commercialized management principles to the public sector workplace. The key objective of this research study is to conduct a systematic, critical review of international scholarly research on the privatization and commercialization of public sector work. We will focus primarily on studies documenting the effects of these restructuring efforts on the work, health, and home lives of public sector employees.

Contingent Workers, Labour Alliances and Social Policy in Saskatchewan
Dave Broad, University of Regina
Janice Foley, University of Regina

One of the less celebrated aspects of the so-called New Economy is the growth of contingent labour, with its lack of employment security and benefits. Some authors have argued that trade unions and governments should do more to improve the working and social welfare conditions of these workers through collective bargaining and labour legislation. The objective of this research project is to examine the needs of contingent workers in Saskatchewan and the possibilities for improving their working and welfare conditions, from the perspectives of trade unions, social activists and government. This research, in combination with similar projects conducted in other parts of the country, will generate useful recommendations about how the problems facing contingent workers can be overcome.

Varieties of Neoliberalism: Trajectories of Workfare in the Advanced Capitalist Countries
Gregory Albo, York University

Three overarching questions have been raised by the rise of neoliberal welfare policies over the last two decades of the "New Economy". First, how do we conceptualize the convergences and variations between national social formations within this distinctive phase of capitalism? Second, what are some of the constraints and imperatives of the contemporary period contributing to the reconfiguration of employment and welfare policies? Third, what have been the Îvarieties of neoliberalismâ within the New Economy? This study addresses the changed form of the welfare state and the increased dependency on the labour market for incomes for workers and the marginalized. In particular it will address the relationship between globalization, the New Economy, and state welfare policies within the new socioeconomic dynamic.

Fighting for the Right to Work, Fighting Against Discrimination: Forced Retirement and the New Economy
Tom Klassen, York University

The focus of this project is to analyze the tensions between the traditional workplace protections sought by unions and the human rights sought by individual workers. As such the project explores:

1. The challenges faced by the Canadian labour movement on complusory retirement, especially vis-à-vis women and low-paid workers.
   
2. The opportunities, based on experiences in other nations (Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S.), for organized labour in Canada to play a progressive role in the mandatory retirement debate.