Precarious Employment in Peterborough: More Survey Results
Written by Communications, June 11, 2018
Second and Third in Series of InfoBriefs Released Today
In the fall of 2016, 800 residents were contacted by phone and asked a series of questions related to their employment. The survey on the status of employment and working condition in the Peterborough area included the City and County of Peterborough and Curve Lake and Hiawatha First Nations.
The Precarious Employment Research Initiative (PERI) has been creating eight InfoBriefs on a variety of topics. InfoBrief #1: Overview was released in May and today, PERI is releasing InfoBrief #2: Employment Security and InfoBrief #3: The Employment Relationship: Working Conditions which can be found at: www.peterboroughpublichealth.ca/PERI.
Major takeaways from these latest reports include:
- Union membership appears to be a protective factor for more secure employment.
- The level of education attained by workers aligns reasonably well with the educational requirements of their work.
- Income instability and unpredictable work schedules are features of vulnerable and precarious work.
- Vulnerable and precarious employment can impact long-term financial stability.
This work is supported by the Precarious Employment Research Initiative (PERI). The goal is to identify how employment and working conditions are impacting the economic, social, physical and mental health of workers and their communities in the Peterborough Area. The InfoBriefs are meant to be used to start conversations in our community, to help inform planning and development of programs and services, and to help shape public policies.
PERI is a collaborative project among many community partners interested in better understanding the employment and working conditions of workers in our community. This project was initiated by Peterborough Public Health and expanded to include City of Peterborough, Peterborough and District Labour Council, Literacy Ontario Central South, Peterborough Workers’ Action Centre, Trent Community Research Centre, United Way of Peterborough, Workforce Development Board and Trent University psychology professor and researcher, Dr. Fergal O’Hagan with support from the Poverty and Employment Precarity in Southern Ontario (PEPSO) research project.
For further information, contact either:
Monique Beneteau, Health Promoter, PPH
705-743-1003 ext. 309
mbeneteau@peterboroughpublichealth.ca
Dr. Fergal O’Hagan, Trent University
705-748-1011 ext. 7086
fergalohagan@trentu.ca