On the Move and Working Alone: Policy Implications of the Experiences of Unionised Newfoundland and Labrador Homecare Workers

Abstract

AbstractHomecare work is female-dominated, generally precarious, and takes place in transient and, sometimes, multiple workplaces. Homecare workers can engage in relatively complex employment-related geographical mobility to, from, and often between work locations that can change frequently and are remote from the location of their employer. Like other precarious workers, homecare workers may be more likely to experience work-related health and safety injuries and illnesses than non-precarious workers. Their complex patterns of employment-related geographical mobility may contribute to the risk of injury and illness. This paper explores patterns of employment-related geographical mobility and ways they influence the risk of injury and illness among unionised homecare workers living and working in two regions of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, on Canada’s east coast. It uses Quinlan & Bohle’s ‘pressure, disorganisation, and regulatory failure’ model to help make sense of the vulnerability of the...