No Safe Harbour

Precarious Work and Economic Insecurity Among Skilled Professionals in Canada
August 21, 2018
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Based on a national survey of professionals about precarious working conditions, the first of its kind, No Safe Harbour: Precarious Work and Economic Insecurity Among Skilled Professionals in Canada shows professionals across the country are not immune to the hallmarks of precarious work: no steady income, no pension, no benefits, no sick pay.

Even full-time work isn’t a buffer against precarity: 26 per cent of precarious professionals work full-time, though most go contract-to-contract (37 per cent) or work part-time (34 per cent). The majority (60 per cent) of precarious professionals don’t have a pension plan or RRSP, nor do they get sick pay.

The report finds precarious professionals in both the private (40 per cent) and public (30 per cent) sector. Precarious professionals are in all professions, but they’re concentrated in three occupational categories: education (28 per cent), health care (18 per cent), and business, finance and administration (19 per cent). The majority of precarious professionals are women (60 per cent) and there is a higher incidence among professionals aged 55 and up.

 

ISBN: 
978-1-77125-419-9