Occupational Health and Safety of Migrant Workers: An International Concern

Boocock, Mark; Hannif, Zeenobiyah; Jamieson, Suzanne; Lamare, J. Ryan; Lamm, Felicity; Martin, Christophe; McDonnell, Nadine; Robertson, Cathy; Schweder, Peter; Shulruf, Boaz

doi:10.4324/9781315547831-6

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…It was clear that in some workplaces unsafe practices were common among supervisors and workers alike. There is a need to develop interventions to improve first-job safety for newcomers, especially in small businesses, as immigrant workers are increasingly more employed in the small business sector [ 61 ]. Safety commitment of management is an important predictor of safety performance [ 62 , 63 ], therefore providing training to business owners that hire newcomers on managing health and safety and implementing incentives to be more involved in prevention strategies can help employers creating safer workplaces.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occupational Health and Safety Vulnerability of Recent Immigrants and Refugees

Yanar

Kosny

Smith

2018

IJERPH

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Recent immigrants and refugees have higher rates of work-related injuries and illnesses compared to Canadian-born workers. As a result, they are often labelled as vulnerable workers. This study explored the factors that contribute to occupational health and safety (OHS) vulnerability of recent immigrants and refugees with a focus on modifiable factors such as exposure to hazards and access to workplace protections, awareness of OHS and worker rights, and empowerment to act on those rights. Eighteen focus groups were conducted with 110 recent immigrants and refugees about their experiences looking for work and in their first jobs in Canada. A thematic content analysis was used to organize the data and to identify and report themes. The jobs described by participants typically involved poor working conditions and exposure to hazards without adequate workplace protections. Most participants had limited knowledge of OHS and employment rights and tended to not voice safety concerns to employers. Understanding OHS vulnerability from the lens of workplace context can help identify modifiable conditions that affect the risk of injury and illness among recent immigrants and refugees. Safe work integration depends on providing these workers with information about their rights, adequate job training, and opportunities for participating in injury prevention.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occupational Health and Safety Vulnerability of Recent Immigrants and Refugees

Yanar

Kosny

Smith

2018

IJERPH

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“…There is also a substantial body of evidence that shows that the effects of insecure work, whether it is through subcontracting or not, are pervasive and overwhelmingly negative (Bohle et al., 2004; Burgess et al., 2008; Connelly and Gallagher, 2004; Dorman, 2000; Kalleberg, 2009; Lewchuk et al., 2008; McLaren et al., 2004; Probst and Ekore, 2010; Quinlan and Mayhew, 2001; Reisel et al., 2010; Seixas et al., 2013; Tucker, 2002; also see Australian Council of Trade Unions’ Independent Inquiry into Insecure Work in Australia , 2012. Like outsourcing, insecure work is at the centre of reframing full-time, permanent work into precarious employment such as temporary, seasonal, casual, labour hire (agency) and fixed-term employment (Boocock et al., 2011; Connelly and Gallagher, 2004; Quinlan, 2012; Vosko, 2008). And yet both forms of work are increasingly being adopted for cost-cutting reasons and shifting the risk from the principal employer to the subcontractor (Kalleberg, 2009).…”

Section: Vulnerability As a Dependent Contractormentioning

confidence: 99%

Independent, dependent, and employee: Contractors and New Zealand’s Pike River Coal Mine disaster

Lamare

Lamm

McDonnell

et al. 2014

Journal of Industrial Relations

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In this paper, we use the case study of the Pike River Coal Mine explosions, which occurred outside Greymouth, New Zealand, in November 2010 and killed 29 workers, to examine the vulnerability of contracted workers, particularly with regards to occupational health and safety, at times of disasters. We first consider how the literature defines 'employees' and 'contracted workers', and the notion that many contractors are in fact dependent, vulnerable individuals. We next explain that this group of workers has been overlooked within the disaster and occupational health and safety literatures. We use the Pike River mine explosion as a case study for exploring the health and safety consequences facing vulnerable contractors at a heavily subcontracted employer willing to disregard necessary protections for these workers. Our findings indicate that contractors were especially vulnerable when the Pike River mine exploded, relative to other employee types. In addition, we find that financial outlays to these workers' families following the explosion have been slow or nonexistent, largely due to a lack of legal guarantees granted to these individuals. This study highlights the need to

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Occupational Health and Safety of Migrant Workers: An International Concern

Cited by 2 publications

References 1 publication

Occupational Health and Safety Vulnerability of Recent Immigrants and Refugees

Occupational Health and Safety Vulnerability of Recent Immigrants and Refugees

Independent, dependent, and employee: Contractors and New Zealand’s Pike River Coal Mine disaster

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