Final Report of the Precarious Work Group

Sam Coghlan sent me this link. It’s useful to help understand the underemployed and to think about how libraries can assist.

“A group called “Peace & Justice Grey Bruce” has published a report entitled, “Final Report of the Precarious Work Group” which I have found very illuminating (it’s at http://tiffanyweb.bmts.com/~gbpeace/FinalReportPrecWrkGrP&J-Append.pdf).  Precarious work is “any work that does not pay well enough to meet basic expenses”.  The report eloquently explains how precarious work is becoming an increasing reality in the Ontario counties of Bruce and Grey and, indeed, throughout Ontario.   I [Sam and me too]recommend reading it, wherever you live.

On page 6, the Report says:

Research in Canada and other developed countries identify a number of things, besides income, that contribute to health status and outcome.17 Here is a partial (annotated) list:

 Employment (precarious work, especially in jobs that degrade a person or are unsafe)

 Education (the more accessible higher education is, the better)

 Early childhood development (including education and socialization at day care)

 Food security (people working in poverty rely on food banks and grocery store sales of food low in nutritional value)

 Housing (draughty, mouldy houses are not healthy)

 Social exclusion (the very fact of being poor is isolating and working irregular hours doesn’t help)

 Gender (most single parent households are led by a mother in a precarious job).

I believe that at least three of these bullets suggest ways in which public libraries, including rural libraries, can help communities deal with the impacts of precarious work (and maybe even help work towards counter measures, such as by assisting in developing & supporting the creative economy – Report, page 13).  I do believe that the community-led approach provides the best way for libraries to make themselves most useful.”

Stephen

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