Precariousness : The New Standard of Work?

The Social Affairs Committee
of the Assemblée des évêques catholiques du Québec
1st May 1998 | Version française

This message is the result of a collective effort of persons actively involved in a network of base communities, in collaboration with the Social Affairs Committee of the Assemblée des évêques catholiques du Québec.

Some fifty such Justice-Solidarité communities, which stem from grassroots initiatives, are active in Quebec. Attentive to the reality of those persons who experience the precarious conditions of work on a daily basis, the bishops have called on this "Street Church" in order to provide a voice for these women and these men. Thus the precairous nature of work is the topic of the May 1st Message.

We will first take the time to listen to some people who are experiencing or have experienced this precariousness.

Then, we will recommend a few tools for analysis.

Finally, we will read again certain biblical passages and offer a few avenues of hope.

We have included, along with this letter, some animation guidelines (French only) which can be used to further one's reflexion. These guidelines are similar to the tools used by the Justice-Solidarité Base Communities during their meetings.

LET'S SHARE SOME FACTS...

The prosperous years are over. Workers may no longer choose where they work and what kind of work they do. These days, it is work that chooses the worker.

Chibougamau 1957. Simon is 15 years old, has successfully completed grade 7 and is entering the work force. During this period of great economic developments, jobs abound and employers must open their pocketbooks. Simon takes advantage of the manna and goes from one job to the next, acquiring valuable experience with each new job and thereby improving his lot. In 1988, the mine where he has been working is forced to close. He is 46… He is too young to benefit from early-retirement programs and too old to be hired at another mine. Unemployment insurance comes knocking at his door, then social welfare. To add insult to injury, Simon has been married twice — the first marriage provided him with a son — and divorced twice. Both times, he lost everything. Today, his life as a welfare recipient frustrates him, discourages him and humiliates him. Employers consider him as one of society's outcasts and offer him less than minimum wage. He has no alternative but to work under the table, earn next to nothing and live in fear of being exposed. What little money he manages to save goes to his son's education. Simon shows courage in all that he does, but worries a great deal about growing old in sickness and loneliness. At 55, illiterate, in our society where only the strongest survive, Simon feels worthless.

Watching the evening news one night, Marie hears that poverty and the employment crisis mainly affect women, single mothers, welfare recipients and immigrants… She sees herself in every one of these categories.

Originally from Haiti, Marie came to Quebec to visit her sister . A coup d'état occurred in her native country during her visit here. She was forced to stay in Quebec even though she had only one year to go before completing her studies in agronomy and taking up the job that she was guaranteed. Unable to find a job here, she starts doing volunteer work. Marie then decides to finish her studies in agronomy at Université Laval in Quebec City. After two years of university, she is pregnant and is forced to leave Quebec City with an unborn child who is unwanted by its father. She goes to Montreal.

Redgina is now 2 ½ years old and Marie is still actively looking for work, supported by her neighbourhood community centre. A hundred résumés later, ineligible for programs aimed at youths 18 to 30 — because she is 32 — and lacking experience, she feels a big emptiness. "Sometimes I tell myself I should look for work anywhere, in any field! The thing is, if I spend more than 2 years outside of my field of study, my 5 years of university will be lost forever! Furthermore, working for minimum wage is unrealistic when you have a child to care for, no alimony and a student loan to pay back.

Should I go back to Haiti as an agronomist with a guaranteed job — an international degree is highly praised — to the detriment of those who currently work there? When some friends returned to Haiti, they made people jealous and they were mistreated for it. One of them was even killed"

She tries with all her might, surrounded by her good friends, not to let herself get overtaken with despair. "I am often embarrassed when agronomist friends in Haiti ask about my situation during telephone conversations. To be in such a wealthy country and to not be able to work… My self confidence suffers immensely!"

Well-meaning people say : "With the education and experience you have, if you are not working, it's because you are not seeking work." Let's see about that...

Gaspésie. Louise has a Bachelor's degree, has been unemployed for six years, has a student loan to pay back and has a 4-year-old child. Her husband has two Bachelor's degrees and is also unemployed. Why is it so difficult for her to re-enter the work force?

"Having a good education, I thought it would be easy. However, when I apply for jobs for which I am overqualified, employers turn me away because they fear if a job in my field comes up, I will leave. Furthermore, having been away from the job market for 6 years, I am not eligible for federal programs because candidates must have received employment-insurance benefits within the last 3 years. Since I am neither a recipient of employment-insurance or of welfare benefits, I am ineligible for the various programs which help people enter the work force. Also, since my name is not on record with the social welfare office, I am never called upon to work for organisations seeking temporary staff."

Conscious that her family's situation is not the worst there is, she still has the feeling that she is considered unwanted in society. Little by little, despair sets in, ... and money runs out.

Poverty's new victims. To go from an existence where stable work allows the fulfilment of one's dreams to total insecurity where any form of work becomes a blessing, an emergency exit...

Following a separation 13 years ago, Sonia stayed home for some time to care for her two infants. Later, she went from one temporary job to another and finally landed a permanent position at Canada Post with a very good salary. “I decided to buy a small house in order to provide my children with a more wholesome environment; everything was within reach since Canada Post had granted me a transfer to Joliette.” However, following a complicated administrative misunderstanding, she suddenly found herself unemployed in her little house with two charming boys going through their adolescence crises.

Social welfare took over. Trying to avoid a breakdown, Sonia got involved in a collective kitchen and in a base community. There, she met good people who helped her to not give in to deep distress. Last year, social welfare was offering classes so that welfare recipients could obtain their high school diploma. Sonia signed up and got very good marks. She then decided that the cycle of “misery - volunteer work - collective kitchen - thrift store - misery…" had to be broken. "Even if everything I was doing helped me immensely, inside I felt a strong need to move on to something else.”

After getting her diploma, Sonia found work in the sewing industry. "It did not pay much, but it was very good for my self-esteem." She holds on to her deepest wish of moving up in the world and having a better life, not only financially, but also spiritually and morally. "Today, I know these goals are attainable; I see David in college, Martin in grade 11, ‘mother' at work, (...) and I tell myself that, for today, my mission is accomplished."

How do we welcome these people
in our environments, in our homes?

LET'S DIG A LITTLE DEEPER...

Precarious : "Dependent on chance circumstances, unknown conditions, or uncertain developments; characterized by a lack of security or stability that threatens with danger." Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionnary, 1991.
Precarious work : a growing reality for many women and men. The lack of decent jobs, the proliferation of low-wage, dead-end jobs and the new fragility of well-paying jobs are forcing part of the population into insecurity and anxiety. As a result, social ills are surfacing and, sooner or later, attack a person's dignity.

Under the pretext of trying to remain competitive or in order to satisfy the greed of corporate shareholders, businesses are conducting massive layoffs, collective agreements are being eroded and full-time employment is being replaced by part-time work and subcontracting.

Thousands of people are thereby being excluded from a minimum of economic stability and are being denied the personal development that comes with employment.

Isn't it time we ask certain questions?

· In an economic system where only the most efficient people are entitled to decent work, what happens to Simon, Sonia and the others? What happens to the more vulnerable members of society : those who are sick, handicapped, immigrants, or seniors, ...?

· Some are overqualified and others cannot find a place in the system. Who will give a chance to those graduates who, like Louise, haven't been “actively” employed for a few years?

· We are told that thousands of jobs are being created across the country! Why aren't we also told that many of these jobs don't pay enough to enable workers, even those who work full time, to meet the needs of their families?

· In the ultra-competitive climate of neoliberalism, how are we expected to maintain a social fabric that reflects solidarity among all of us? Among workers? Among citizens? Among nations?

· Has labour become the main factor in our economy's collapse because our goods and services become too expensive due to high wages?

GOD'S WORD...

Who will hear Simon's cry? And Marie's?
Who will listen to Sonia's call? And Louise's?

Yahweh then said :
"I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt.
I have heard them crying for help to be free of their taskmasters.
Yes, I am well aware of their sufferings." Exodus 3;7

Refusing to see and to experience, with one's flesh and one's soul, the injustice and misery, is that not putting oneself in opposition to God? To experience the anguish that accompanies misery and injustice, is that not a way of appropriating misery and injustice so that all our being works with God to restore his Kingdom? How can we contribute to developping a land so that milk and honey might flow in abundance for women and men who are excluded from the goods of the earth?

Let ourselves be moved by the cries of Louise, Simon and the others… Is it illusory to believe that listening to their cries is the first step in freeing ourselves from economic slavery? A first step that is very disturbing to those who have an interest in maintaining such injustices? And what if their cries were heard and repeated by those who are favoured by the system? Wouldn't the impact be greater?

By not believing that we are entitled to decent work, we are caving in to the logic of a market economy.

The Israelites said to Moses :
"What was the point in bringing us out of Egypt?
Leave us alone, we said, we would rather work for the Egyptians!
We prefer to work for the Egyptians than to die in the desert!" Exodus 14;11b-12

Pharaoh's economic system is based on the enslavement of individuals for the profit of the market. When Moses demands that the Jews be permitted to leave their work so that they might go celebrate in the desert (Exodus 5;1-9), Pharaoh refuses outright and then actually accelerates the pace of work and increases production quotas. Nonetheless, the people prefer these poorly-paid tasks to the divine promise of a kingdom where peace, abundance and stability reign.

Like the Hebrews, are we prone to believe that the logic of the market economy is unchanging and eternal?

Have we reached the point where we have given up the vision of human solidarity which calls for work that is fairly-paid, decent and can offer some stability?

Are we in the process of accepting precariousness as the normal standard of work?

Who, among us, will have enough faith to refuse to give up? Who will have enough faith in this God who wants the best for each and everyone of us? Enough faith in this God who forces us to march through the desert to learn perseverance in solidarity? How will we build an economy based on solidarity?

LET'S TAKE ACTION...

We are capable of showing solidarity in times of crisis. However, it becomes more difficult for us to show solidarity when the enemy is not as visible as the damage done to our hydro-electric network by the ice storm. More difficult, yet essential. A growing solidarity emerging from kitchen meetings, from training sessions, from conversations between well-meaning people who refuse to give in to fate and despair.

A solidarity in action as well. We must combine our voices with the voices of those who are experiencing the consequences of the precarious nature of work and speak out against the line of reasoning exposed by neoliberal apostles. We must do so wherever a forum is available to us. Elected officials will hear public opinion... We must adamantly question any structure, any business and any one of us whose decisions might have an impact on employment.

· Are cuts in personnel and subcontracting the only way to make businesses profitable?

· Are today's union members negotiating a cosy retirement for themselves or are they working to establish viable conditions for those who will follow?

· Are small-time investors only interested in the best return or are they also looking at investments that create jobs?

· What conditions have to be met for jobs in the “social economy” to be acceptable to those who live on the fringe of decent work?

Together, we must identify what needs to be done in our neighbourhoods, in our villages, in our work environments and elsewhere, and we must take the necessary steps. Steps that will put us, together, on the road toward a kingdom to which we are entitled, a kingdom where milk and honey flow abundantly for those who are excluded.

Published by the Assemblée des évêques catholiques du Québec
Copyright, second quarter of 1998
Bibliothèque nationale du Québec
ISBN 2-89279-054-9

The Social Affairs Committee of the Assemblée des évêques catholiques du Québec

Members

Msgr. Martin Veillette, president Bishop of Trois-Rivières
Msgr. Raymond Dumais, Bishop of Gaspé
Msgr. Jean-Guy Hamelin, Bishop of Rouyn-Noranda
Msgr. Brendan O'Brien, Bishop of Pembroke

Collaborators

Mr. Pierre-André Fournier, Parish Priest of St-Pascal de Maizerets
Ms. Louise Gagné, Development agent Direction régionale Laval-Laurentides-Lanaudières Ministère des Relations avec les citoyens et de l'Immigration
Ms. Vivian Labrie, Staff person, Carrefour de pastorale en monde ouvrier, Quebec City
Mr. Florent Villeneuve, Retired Social Ethics Professor
Ms. Francine Cabana, Assistant to the secretary-general for the Committee of Social Affair