Submission to the 2024 BC Labour Relations Code Review
Understanding Precarity in BC
The 2024 review of the Labour Relations Code, only the second in more than two decades, comes at a critical juncture for labour relations in British Columbia. It is imperative that this review bring a comprehensive package of reforms to markedly improve workers’ abilities to meaningfully exercise their statutory rights to organize and engage in collective bargaining in the current context of fissured workplaces and increasingly insecure work arrangements in many sectors of the BC economy.
This brief addresses the specific discussion questions posed in the Ministry’s Paper and highlights several other priority areas for reform that are essential for ensuring that app-based workers have access to the full range of rights and protections afforded to other workers in our province, including the right to collectively bargain.
VANCOUVER — Amid the rapid surge of BC's gig or "platform-based" economy, 61 leading experts in labour law, policy and economics are urgently calling on the provincial government to enforce stronger protections for gig workers. They also insist on mandating platform-based companies to fulfill the same labour and fiscal responsibilities as traditional employers.
The rise of the “gig economy” and on-demand work through platforms like Uber has ignited public debate about precarious work and what makes a “good job.”
Policymakers have been slow to respond, partly because the lack of data on the scale and impacts of precarious work makes it easier to skate around the issues.
Understanding employment precarity in BC
The rise of the ‘gig economy’ and on-demand work using online platforms like Uber and Skip the Dishes has ignited public debate about precarious work and what makes a “good job.” Precarious work is not a new phenomenon, nor is it limited to the gig economy—but we don’t know just how widespread a problem it has become, mainly because Statistics Canada does not collect timely data on many of its dimensions.
This groundbreaking report shows precarious work in BC is far more pervasive than many assume.
(Vancouver) A six-year initiative to study the impacts of precarious work on the lives of British Columbians kicks off today, with the announcement of a $2.5 million Partnership Grant awarded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).