Zak Vescera, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter THE TYEE

A growing number of British Columbians are working odd hours for poor pay and no benefits, according to a new report that suggests B次元官网网址減recariousB次元官网网址� work has become the norm in the province.

A first-of-its kind study conducted by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and researchers at Simon Fraser University found roughly half of surveyed British Columbian workers did not have benefits, steady pay or other hallmarks of what used to be a typical job.

And a further 37 per cent of workers, the studyB次元官网网址檚 authors suggested, were in some kind of B次元官网网址減recariousB次元官网网址� work.

Kendra Strauss, a labour studies professor at Simon Fraser University and one of the reportB次元官网网址檚 authors, says that points to a growing polarization in B.C.B次元官网网址檚 labour market, where even though jobs are abundant many workers are struggling to make ends meet.

B次元官网网址淭his idea that people have their choice of job isnB次元官网网址檛 true,B次元官网网址� Strauss said. B次元官网网址淲e have people who get stuck at the bottom end of the labour market.B次元官网网址�

Strauss and the other researchers surveyed 3,000 British Columbian workers aged 24 to 65 in late 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic upended the worldB次元官网网址檚 economy.

Iglika Ivanova, a senior economist with the CCPA, said their goal was to learn if the low unemployment rate and strong job numbers of the day were actually translating into wins for workers.

They also wanted to understand more about the prevalence of B次元官网网址減recariousB次元官网网址� work, a term typically used to describe jobs with uncertain hours, pay, protections and security.

B次元官网网址淲e were trying to see what the labour market really looks like for people, beyond just the number of jobs,B次元官网网址� said Ivanova.

The results were striking. Thirty per cent of respondents said they had been required to work two jobs at the same time in the previous three months. Roughly four in 10 respondents said they did not have benefits associated with their work. One in 10 were working jobs that were explicitly short-term or casual, and 17 per cent said their income could vary significantly week to week.

Researchers analyzed how many workers had a B次元官网网址渟tandardB次元官网网址� job B次元官网网址� a single, steady job with at least 30 hours of work a week and benefits.

Only about half of workers surveyed reported having such work, Ivanova said, a percentage that shrank among marginalized groups. About 60 per cent of racialized women, recent immigrants and Indigenous people worked non-standard jobs, the survey found, and such work was more common outside Metro Vancouver.

Strauss cautions the survey data on its own canB次元官网网址檛 draw conclusions about why those gaps exist, but suggests it points to deeply entrenched inequalities in the quality of existing jobs.

B次元官网网址淭he idea is that the job is a path to economic security and to having a good life, and I think thatB次元官网网址檚 no longer holding true,B次元官网网址� Ivanova said.

Ivanova and her colleagues then further classified 37 per cent of respondents as working B次元官网网址減recariousB次元官网网址� jobs, a term that refers to a high level of instability and uncertainty in day-to-day work. In comparison, just 18 per cent of jobs were considered B次元官网网址渟ecure.B次元官网网址�

There is no universal definition for precarious jobs, and not all workers in precarious jobs are low-income. Researchers for this project classified jobs as B次元官网网址減recariousB次元官网网址� based on an index that incorporated whether they had regular hours, steady pay, a guarantee of long-term employment and protection under provincial labour laws.

B次元官网网址淭his study shows that precarious work is more widespread than previously thought and extends beyond gig work,B次元官网网址� said BC Federation of Labour president Sussanne Skidmore.

The study found those bad jobs meant bad health outcomes, too. More than a quarter of workers in jobs that researchers considered precarious reported poor mental and physical health, considerably more than other surveyed workers.

Precarious workers also reported way higher rates of stress and said the demands of work were more likely to interfere with their family life or duties. Nearly 40 per cent of parents with precarious jobs said a lack of child care impacted their ability to work, for example, compared to 10 per cent of people in secure jobs.

B次元官网网址淲ithout continuous employment and without full-time hours, many people find it very difficult to plan for their future or afford some of the basics of life,B次元官网网址� Strauss said. She believes thatB次元官网网址檚 because many key benefits B次元官网网址� like dental care B次元官网网址� are linked to steady employment.

B次元官网网址淲hen you make our social safety net and link it to employment, you actually end up with the most secure and the best-paid workers having the best benefits,B次元官网网址� Strauss said.

Ivanova said itB次元官网网址檚 unclear how and if the labour market has changed since they conducted their survey in 2019. The pandemic, Strauss noted, may have worsened labour conditions for many workers because of the rising prevalence of B次元官网网址済igB次元官网网址� jobs and temporary contracts.

On the other hand, Strauss said, the provincial government had passed new laws protecting workers, most notably a guarantee of at least five paid sick days for every employee. And the most recent federal budget includes billions for a new dental care program that could lead to hundreds of thousands of British Columbians receiving insurance.

Strauss and Ivanova say they plan to conduct a second survey this year to measure the pandemicB次元官网网址檚 effects and to collect data on other specific groups, including people with disabilities and LGBTQ2S+ British Columbians.

Strauss believes the studyB次元官网网址檚 findings are still relevant today. B.C.B次元官网网址檚 unemployment rate was just 4.6 per cent in February.

B次元官网网址淎lthough employment overall has rebounded the patterns of employment remain uneven,B次元官网网址� Strauss said.

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