Abstract
Recent immigrants and refugees have higher rates of work-related injuries and illnesses compared to Canadian-born workers. As a result, they are often labelled as vulnerable workers. This study explored the factors that contribute to occupational health and safety (OHS) vulnerability of recent immigrants and refugees with a focus on modifiable factors such as exposure to hazards and access to workplace protections, awareness of OHS and worker rights, and empowerment to act on those rights. Eighteen focus groups were conducted with 110 recent immigrants and refugees about their experiences looking for work and in their first jobs in Canada. A thematic content analysis was used to organize the data and to identify and report themes. The jobs described by participants typically involved poor working conditions and exposure to hazards without adequate workplace protections. Most participants had limited knowledge of OHS and employment rights and tended to not voice safety concerns to employers. Understanding OHS vulnerability from the lens of workplace context can help identify modifiable conditions that affect the risk of injury and illness among recent immigrants and refugees. Safe work integration depends on providing these workers with information about their rights, adequate job training, and opportunities for participating in injury prevention.
Highlights
Immigration is a key driver of Canada’s labor market growth, yet newcomers often face challenges that restrict their access to quality employment, such as devaluation of foreign credentials and experience [1,2,3,4], employers’ prejudices [5,6,7], lack of professional networks [8,9] and language barriers [10,11,12]
This study examined the experiences of recent immigrants and refugees in looking for work and in their first jobs
The findings come from data collected as a part of a larger qualitative study examining the work-integration process of newcomers in Ontario, Canada and determine key training and resource needs and opportunities related to safely integrating into the labor market
Summary
Immigration is a key driver of Canada’s labor market growth, yet newcomers often face challenges that restrict their access to quality employment, such as devaluation of foreign credentials and experience [1,2,3,4], employers’ prejudices [5,6,7], lack of professional networks [8,9] and language barriers [10,11,12] In light of these challenges, compared to Canadian-born workers, immigrants are less likely to work in jobs that match their education level and professional experience [10,13,14,15] and typically earn lower wages [16,17,18]. They are less likely to receive formal job training and
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