Home Research Projects The Vulnerable Worker Publications Is Work Working - Discussion Paper Chapter 3

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The Vulnerable Worker

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Is Work Working? Work Laws that Do a Better Job

PART I — WORK AND VULNERABILITY TODAY

Chapter Three— Low-paid and Marginalized Workers

There are certain characteristics and circumstances that make some workers more likely to be marginalized within the labour force than others. Marginalized workers are more likely to experience low pay, poor or dangerous work conditions, insufficient hours, limited career mobility, little job security and few or no benefits than others. Workers most likely to be marginalized are young, from visible minority groups, single mothers, poorly educated and those with a disability. Many are in standard employment relationships and, in theory, should have access to statutory benefits, rights and protections. In reality, this is often not the case.

Kuc and Samuel Yaul — Young Refugee Workers

Samuel and Kuc Yaul, aged 20 and 17 respectively, are from Sudan. In 1999, their father, mother and sister were killed by government troops. Samuel, Kuc and their younger brother and sister fled to a refugee camp in Kenya. Samuel and Kuc were given the opportunity to come to Lethbridge, Alberta as refugees in 2002, but their brother and sister remained in Kenya.

Because of the extent of the conflict and poverty in Sudan, neither had extensive formal education. However, the brothers are both hardworking and extremely interested in advancing their education. They would like to receive education and training in computer technology. They began by attending English as a second language classes.

At present, both Samuel and Kuc have two jobs. During the day, they work as shelf stockers at a maj or retail chain in Lethbridge. They earn $5.90/hour, the minimum wage. During the evening, they work as office cleaners where they earn $6.90/hour.

Although their jobs are demanding and physically exhausting, the men feel lucky to have employment. A year ago, Samuel was nearly fired for agreeing to meet with a union representative to discuss an organizing campaign. At the time, he thought it would be a good idea to have someone who could speak up for the workers. He knows in Canada it's illegal to work overtime and not be paid for it, yet the stock associates regularly stay late to compact boxes and work on special requests for management without being paid. So, when someone stopped him outside the store last year to talk about his work and the possibility of getting help, he agreed to talk. For that incident, he was called into his supervisor's office and told that if he took the matter any further both he and his brother would be fired. For several weeks after the encounter, Kuc and Samuel's shift hours were reduced.

After a year and a half of working all sorts of shifts and long hours, Samuel and Kuc finally managed to secure regular work hours during the day. This permitted them to take part-time jobs with an office-cleaning company. Although the jobs pay only a dollar per hour more than the retail jobs, Kuc and Samuel consider it a great stride forward to be able to accommodate the two jobs within their schedules, as now they are sometimes able to send money to their brother and sister in Kenya.

The cleaning work is sporadic. Kuc and Samuel only work when a regular worker is sick or can't make it to work for some reason. They receive very little notice and are expected to respond immediately to a call to come to work. As a result, Kuc and Samuel never plan to do anything in the evenings so they can be free to work if called.

Like the work at the store, cleaning is physically demanding. The two men work at a blistering pace for five hours, arriving home to their one-bedroom apartment after having put in a 13 to 15 hour day. Lately, the owner of the company has been making life more difficult for them and this has Kuc were Samuel worried. On several occasions, he has said their work is not good enough. Last month he docked $100 from each of their pay cheques saying they didn't complete their work properly.

Samuel has been having trouble with his back and wonders if he can continue with the heavy physical work. He and Kuc have discussed the possibility of sharing one cleaning position so they can each have every other night off work. However, this would mean less money. So, for the time being, they continue to work both jobs, but are increasingly anxious to get an education and find alternative employment.

DISCUSSION

Kuc and Samuel face the same challenges many other youth experience in entering the labour force. However, added to this are the challenges of the language barrier, their membership in a racial minority, Samuel's back problem and their lack of education. Samuel and Kuc were also prevented from becoming involved in a union drive. All these factors marginalize their position in the labour force.

One key characteristic of marginalized work is low pay. By law, employers must pay employees minimum wage, which varies from province to province. At any given time, about 4.6 percent of Canadian employees work for minimum wage. Most (60 percent) minimum wage earners work part time. But 2.4 percent of Canadian employees are full-time minimum wage workers. Although this is a small percentage, it represents almost a quarter of a million workers. Whether full-time wage earnings indicate hardship depends on the other income sources of the individual, along with the income of other family members. About 15 percent of minimum wage earners are unattached or lone family heads (i.e., about 126,000 Canadians).²¹

The number of workers earning minimum wage is small compared to the number of workers classified as low-wage workers. An estimated two million adult Canadian workers earn less than $10 an hour.²² Almost two thirds of low-wage earners are women. About one third are the only wage earner in their family. This would mean that about 667,000 workers, most of whom are women, are attempting to support their families on less than $10 an hour.²³ These people likely live in extremely impoverished circumstances.

Making Work Pay

Incentives to continue struggling in low-wage and marginal work instead of seeking social assistance are weak. Individuals receiving social assistance are eligible for supplementary health insurance, which provides assistance with dental and prescription drug costs. With the exception of Quebec, this is not the case for most low-wage and marginalized workers. As has been noted, in many ways the policy cards are stacked against an exit from low-wage work. For example, increases in earnings are taxed back in ways that discourage the extra effort. Moreover, when a second wage earner in the family enters the labour market, costs are incurred for necessities like child care, which may well absorb all the income earned by the second wage earner.²⁴

Questions:

· Are the supports provided to low-income workers (with and without children) adequate?

· If not, what else is needed?

· What other options could be considered?

· Are there adequate supports to help low-wage workers train for, find and remain in decent employment?

· If not, what else is needed?

Poor Work Conditions

Poor work conditions range from non-payment of overtime and statutory holidays, to harassment and abuse on the job. Marginalized workers are distinguished by their powerlessness to effect changes with respect to poor work conditions. Although many are in standard employment relationships and should, therefore, have access to a range of labour and employment protections and benefits, many lack de facto access as a result of a lack of control in the workplace, lack of awareness of their rights, and models and practices of enforcement and compliance that may be outdated and ineffective.

The effectiveness of complaint-driven enforcement mechanisms depends on the ability of individual workers or their bargaining agent to take action. Unrepresented workers have a very limited ability to take action against violations of labour standards. Moreover, many workers are unaware of the protections they do have. Most complaints are made once the employee leaves the workplace, a fact that demonstrates the real and perceived threat of reprisal against employees who complain about their employment while on the job. As in the case of Samuel Yaul, it is not uncommon for workers to be told that any kind of resistance to or complaint about work conditions will be met with dismissal. Few workers are willing to take the risk. Many also find the complaint procedure confusing and intimidating.

Added to this is the problem of reduced spending on enforcement and compliance. Budget cuts at all levels of government mean that even where there is a willingness and desire to assist vulnerable workers, the resources are insufficient for timely investigation and resolution of complaints. The result is inconsistent and sporadic enforcement practises which effectively penalize those conscientious employers who voluntarily conform to legal requirements.

Excerpt from the work diary of a young worker:

Initialy I thought that having a part-time job would be an excellent learning experience.

To my surprise, it was nothing like I expected. By the age of 16, I was working two jobs to make enough money for school, bills, pets, etc. I was working every day, sometimes up to 12-hour shifts with no breaks. I was only being paid $6.40 with no raise in sight. Many part-time jobs today are no longer part-time. Teenagers are losing their prime socialization years, becoming ill, stressed and in many cases, seriously injured. I believe that the time has come to enforce youth and human rights more thoroughly. Why is it that because we're young we are stripped of being human? We are not slaves, we are people and it's time we start being treated with some respect. 25

Questions:

· How can we ensure current labour laws are fully enforced?

· Are there other systems of compliance and enforcement that might be more efective with marginalized workers?

Young Workers

Young workers express a high degree of anxiety over their work situations. Many feel exploited and powerless to speak out against abuses of their rights and pressures from employers. They feel unsafe on the job and many have had workplace accidents or know someone who has. They are often unaware of their rights and when they are aware, they feel unable to ensure these rights are enforced.

Human rights legislation in some provinces does not protect workers under 18. In some provinces, minimum-wage laws permit student workers to receive lower wages than non-student workers. There are arguments for and against a lower wage for youth. However, as Samuel and Kuc experienced, it is not uncommon that young workers will not be paid at all for the work they have done. Many youth also face long working hours, lack of paid and unpaid time off and other violations of basic employment standards. Even though they may be covered by protective legislation, many young workers lack the knowledge and power to do anything when faced with the kind of discriminatory and illegal behaviour demonstrated by Kuc and Samuel's employer. These issues are particularly acute for youth with multiple forms of disadvantage such as poverty, lack of family support, language barriers or a disability.

Some provinces have launched extensive campaigns to educate young workers about their right to safe work. However, as one young worker noted, the solution to the problem is not just the education of young workers; extensive outreach to employers is also required as well as more rigorous enforcement of occupational health and safety standards.²⁶

”Last year a friend of mine, Jen was threatened on the job. She worked at a grocery store as a cashier and was only sixteen years old. During one of her regular shifts, about eight o'clock at night a man came in, of course to buy some food. He came to her cash isle, put his hand in his pocket and told Jen that he had a gun and would shoot her if she did not give him the money from the cash register. Jen of course obeyed and emptied all the money from the register into grocery bags and gave it to him. He then just walked out. The grocery store called the police, but the man was never found. […] What made me really confused about this was that Jen had to return to work two days later. Yes she had people ask her if she was all right, but it didn't make sense that she returned to work so early. Jen should have been given a few weeks off. If it were me, I would still be so freaked out. Who knows that this couldn't happen again? The guy might have come back because he got away with it before. You would at least think there could have been more security around the store. I have always wondered why there was nothing done about Jen's safety and why she was not given some help or someone to talk to after this horrifying experience. “ 27

Questions:

· What can be done to address the poor and dangerous working conditions that young workers face?

· What are the best ways of preventing accidents and worker injuries?

· What would need to change to improve the work world for youth?

Visible Minority Immigrants/Refugees

Samuel and Kuc are members of another group that often experiences a high degree of vulnerability in the workforce — immigrants and refugees from visible-minority groups. Studies have shown that, over the 1980s and 1990s, immigrant workers of colour faced increasing difficulties closing the employment gap with native-born Canadians compared to earlier generations of immigrants.²⁸

One issue is likely the language barrier. Another issue may be discrimination on the basis of ethnic origin or race. Human rights statutes prohibit discrimination generally, whereas pay and employment equity legislation provide specific rights and obligations only with respect to employment. Federal and provincial human rights legislation require workers like Samuel and Kuc to lay complaints against their employers when they believe they have been victims of discrimination. This kind of complaints-driven system has been criticized for its ineffectiveness. The obstacles to making complaints are particularly felt by workers in Samuel and Kuc's position.

In 1996, the average income from employment for immigrants coming to Canada between 1986 and 1990 was 18 percent lower than the earnings of non-immigrants. For those arriving after 1990, earnings were 36 percent lower. 29

The poverty rate among recent immigrants and refugees was more than twice the rate among Canadian-born residents. 30

According to Statistics Canada, in 2000, new immigrants had a low-income rate of 35 percent, nearly twice the average rate for metropolitan areas overall. 31

Full-time, full-year visible minority workers earned 14 percent less on average than all other workers. 32

Visible minority immigrants to Canada in the 1990s earned much less, averaging just over $15,000. 33

Employment equity was designed to address the issue of systemic discrimination and the representation of four historically disadvantaged groups in the workforce: Aboriginal people, women, those with disabilities and members of visible minority groups. It requires the employer to identify and eliminate employment barriers and to take steps to ensure the adequate representation of qualified members of the designated groups in the workforce. The only employment equity statute in Canada is in the federal jurisdiction and it applies only to Crown corporations and federally regulated firms employing 100 people or more. Therefore, the Employment Equity Act would not apply to either of the companies for which the Yaul brothers work.

“From a broad, socio-economic perspective, there can be no doubt that it is better for the Canadian economy as a whole to help people off social security and into gainful employment[…]. Both experience and research suggest that a diverse workforce in which qualified individuals with various experience, skills and cultural backgrounds interact, often outperforms a homogenous workforce (Canadian Bankers' Association). ” 34

Questions:

· Do current programs, laws and policies assist immigrants and refugees to train for and obtain decent work?

· What changes might be needed?

Workers with a Disability

During the working-age years of 15 to 64, persons with disabilities are almost twice as likely as other workers to experience low income (26.6 versus 13.9 percent).³⁵ Obtaining and remaining in employment is also a great challenge, with employment rates ranging from 45.7 percent for youth with disabilities to 51.2 percent among the core working ages, to 27.3 percent among older workers with disabilities. These rates are all substantially lower than those of persons without disabilities.³⁶

Once they have secured employment, people with disabilities often face an uphill battle to ensure that the appropriate accommodations are made to allow them to work properly. While all human rights statutes require that employers take steps to provide reasonable accommodations for workers with disabilities, in reality, there is still a long way to go to ensure that all workplaces are truly accessible.

Questions:

· Are there adequate supports to help people with disabilities train for, find and remain in decent employment?

· Should ongoing training be linked with employment opportunities?

Poorly Educated Workers

Samuel and Kuc are justified in their determination to further their education and gain specific skills in an area like computer technology. Someone with a high school education or less is three times more likely to be low paid than someone with a university education.³⁷ The problem for Samuel and Kuc will be to obtain the education and training they need, and then make the transition to work in this area. They will need a very high level of social support if they are to move out of the low-income trap.

According to a 2004 study by Statistics Canada, less than one half of Canadian workers who had a low-wage job in 1996 had managed to climb out of it by 2001. 38

One of the deciding factors in escaping the low-income trap is education. Those with a university degree are almost twice as likely to move up (69 percent) as those with high school or less (38 percent). 39

Policy shifts and the withdrawal of funding for skills-development programs throughout the 1990s resulted in a significant decrease in the support available to low-wage workers who wish to train for better-paying work. There have been similar reductions in language-training opportunities. Most training and support for education is tied to unemployment. Some bursaries are available for post-secondary training, but most people must take out loans to undertake training of the kind Samuel and Kuc want. In an uncertain labour market, the prospect of repaying a substantial loan for education is daunting.

Questions:

· What can be done to assist poorly educated workers to train for decent work?

· How are schools, colleges and universities responding to the needs of immigrants and refugees?

Non-Unionized Workers

Samuel's suspicion that the workers in the store would be better off if they were unionized is borne out by research. Unionized jobs are associated with higher wages, better benefits coverage and more career mobility.⁴⁰ Unionized employees are also typically better protected from employer reprisal when they complain about violations of their rights on the job.

Research demonstrates that only 20 percent of unionized workers are low paid compared to 38 percent of those who are not unionized.⁴¹ Furthermore, unionized workers in 1996 were significantly more likely to move up than their non-unionized counterparts (62 versus 41 percent). Workers who became unionized between 1996 and 2001, had a 64 percent probability of moving out of low-paid work.⁴² As well, workers in unionized jobs are almost twice as likely as their non-unionized counterparts to be covered by extended benefits packages.⁴³

Yet, in spite of the apparent advantages, unionization levels have declined in Canada and the United States in the past 20 years. Reasons include the decline in the manufacturing sector (where trade unionism has been traditionally strong), the concomitant expansion of the services sector (where unionization is low) and changes in attitudes toward unions. Some employers complain that unions elevate the cost of labour and make the decision-making process more cumbersome and inefficient while some workers complain that unions do not do enough for them in return for the dues they demand. New personnel management techniques and increased global competition are other factors. There have also been accounts of the anti-union activities of certain retail giants and fast food companies that are of a more aggressive nature than that experienced by Samuel Yaul.

Questions:

· Are unions or some kind of employee participation scheme essential to the improvement of the work conditions of vulnerable workers?

· If so, what needs to change? What are the implications of such changes?

Samuel and Kuc Yaul are examples of workers who experience multiple dimensions of vulnerability. As young workers, they face a higher-than-average likelihood of poor and dangerous work conditions, low wages, and abusive and discriminatory treatment on the job. The likelihood of these unfavourable conditions is further increased by their status as refugees and as members of a visible minority group. When the language barrier, their low educational achievements and the lack of unionization in the sectors where they work are factored in, the Yaul brothers are in a very weak position in the labour market.