Printer-friendly versionWebinar presented by the CIHR on the gender, the environment and the health team
Friday, April 5 2013 – from 1:15 to 2:15 (Montreal time)
In Sickness and In Health: A Critical Literature Review of Canadian Home Care Workers’ Health Issues
Kathy Fitzpatrick, PhD Candidate, Sociology Department, Memorial University
Home care work is one of the fastest growing occupations in Canada's healthcare system and enables individuals to reside within their homes instead of residing within hospitals or long-term care facilities. Predominantly performed by women, paid paraprofessional home care work includes cooking, cleaning and caring for individuals within their homes. Like many female-dominated occupations there is limited research on the occupational health and safety of home care workers. Using a gendered lens, this presentation begins with a critical literature review of Canadian home care workers’ occupational health and safety research from the period 1996 to 2012. It then explores how policies may affect the working conditions and OHS of Newfoundland home care workers based on a preliminary analysis of state policies and union contracts as well as semi-structured interviews with government representatives, home care agency representatives, and home care workers.
A gendered analysis of the OHS of fishery workers: A comparative case study of aquaculture and capture fishery workers in British Columbia
Christine Knott, PhD Candidate, Sociology Department, Memorial University
Despite the highly contentious nature of aquaculture in BC, the number of farm sites continues to grow at a steady rate. In contrast, the capture fishery in BC continues to decline just as steadily. As aquaculture products become a significant, if not dominant product in BC, as well as globally, what impact does this have on the occupational health and safety (OHS) of those who process the fish? And what, if any, are the gendered implications of this new processing industry? This paper explores how aquaculture processing plants differ from the capture fishery plants in rural BC, and how this may impact the fish processing industry, its workers and their OHS. It is based on preliminary research done in both capture and aquaculture processing plants in rural BC in the summer of 2010, which included in-depth, semi-structured interviews with plant managers, as well as two city mayors and the executive director of the BC Salmon Farming and Aquaculture organization.
These two presentations provide needed discussion on two groups of vulnerable and neglected workers who are involved in precarious work. Both presentations talked about the need for future research to examine the varied types of employment related geographical mobility that may affect the precariousness of work and OHS. Also highlighted by these presentations is the need for future research on these two groups of workers to use an intersectional approach that pays attention to the interactive ways that workers’ gender and/or sex, race/ethnicity, and age inform their work experience and OHS.
Please confirm your attendance at: rioux-pelletier.marie_eve@uqam.ca