Rise of the 'precariat,' the global scourge of precarious jobs

[inanna]

Jun 01, 2015 5:00 AM ET

Barely one in four of the global workforce has a stable job, UN reports

With relatively little notice, the world passed a modern milestone recently, one that makes any yearning for more stable times seem very farfetched — the global jobless total passed 200 million.

To help put that in perspective, that's 30 million more without work than at the height of the global recession in 2008, according to the UN report that crunched the numbers.

This is a shocker on its own. But even more ominous is the growing precariousness of the job situation for those that have them, according to the UN study, "The changing nature of jobs."

It warns of "widespread insecurity" spreading as momentum shifts from societies with full-time jobs to shaky short-term employment across much of the globe.

Another scary fact the study unearths is how many people these days have stable work contracts of any kind. That's barely one in four of the globe's workforce.

...

Link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/rise-of-the-precariat-the-global-scourge-of-precarious-jobs-1.3093319

[inanna]

1. Precarious Work

Companies worldwide are shirking their legal obligations to workers by replacing permanent jobs with contract and temporary work.

This is known as "precarious work."

Precarious workers are those who fill permanent job needs but are denied permanent employee rights. Globally, these workers are subject to unstable employment, lower wages and more dangerous working conditions. They rarely receive social benefits and are often denied the right to join a union. Even when they have the right to unionize, workers are scared to organize if they know they are easily replaceable. Women, minorities and migrant workers are much more likely to fill these kinds of jobs. Permanent employment across a number of sectors has shifted to precarious jobs through outsourcing, use of employment agencies, and inappropriate classification of workers as “short-term” or “independent contractors.”

http://www.laborrights.org/issues/precarious-work

[CrispyQ]

2. I read an article this week titled, "I have 15 streams of income & why you should too." -nt

[dembotoz]

3. work til i die seems the most realistic way for me