tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/workplace-rights-16840/articlesWorkplace rights – The Conversation2023-08-25T00:19:56Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2121072023-08-25T00:19:56Z2023-08-25T00:19:56ZGender-based violence is a big concern in hospitality – and women bear the brunt of managing it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544472/original/file-20230824-29-ks6aer.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3855%2C2577&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Gender-based violence, particularly sexual harassment, is a serious and persistent problem across the workforce.</p>
<p>But our <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1483454">new research</a> paints a concerning picture of the extent of the problem in the hospitality industry.</p>
<p>We interviewed 124 hospitality workers in Melbourne and Newcastle from a range of different bars, restaurants and cafes.</p>
<p>We found <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/gwao.12844">young women, queer and gender diverse workers</a> are on the front line in responding to and managing the threat of gender-based violence in their venues. </p>
<p>Women bar workers were also routinely seen as “<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gwao.13006">better suited</a>” to manage the threat of violence.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/welcome-to-your-first-job-expect-to-be-underpaid-bullied-harassed-or-exploited-in-some-way-110438">Welcome to your first job: expect to be underpaid, bullied, harassed or exploited in some way</a>
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<h2>‘The line is clear’</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0278431918305061">Gendered dynamics</a> are particularly stark in service labour.</p>
<p>Enduring sexual harassment was described as a routine “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1360780418780059">part of the job</a>” for young people, particularly in women in bar work.</p>
<p>Workers insisted the line between friendliness and harassment from patrons in bar work is “very clear”. Karen*, a bar worker from Melbourne, said</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The line is very clear. I think it’s as soon as you feel unsafe in a situation, it’s like ‘don’t say to me, anything explicit about what you want to do with me’. That’s obviously, deeply inappropriate. I’m serving you a drink.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/72-of-australians-have-been-sexually-harassed-the-system-we-have-to-fix-this-problem-is-set-up-to-fail-141368">72% of Australians have been sexually harassed. The system we have to fix this problem is set up to fail</a>
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<p>Ben, a barista in Newcastle, wanted management to clearly designate “the line” for what is “acceptable” or “unacceptable” behaviour, rather than placing responsibility on the individual to “speak out”.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Why is it not standardised across venues? I feel like that line [calling out bad behaviour] is dictated by your superiors.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Workers like Ben, whose managers didn’t have processes for protecting staff, meant risks had to be assessed and navigated by workers on their own. Learning how to manage harassing or abusive customers was considered a normal and essential part of the job, particularly impacting women, gender diverse and queer workers.</p>
<h2>Women routinely expected to manage violence</h2>
<p>In our study, women bar workers were regularly called upon to defuse violent or aggressive patrons. Women were expected to be “calmer” and “kinder”, creating significant risk of harm for them.</p>
<p>Felicity, a Melbourne bar worker, said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If a guy is in for a bit of argie [looking to fight], the absolute worst thing you can do is send a male bar member to deal with it […] Women can deescalate that situation far better, nine times out of ten. </p>
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<p>A pub worker from Newcastle, Stan, said:</p>
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<p>Some guys just want to kick off and will start a fight over anything […] It doesn’t matter what you do in those situations, you’re pretty much fucked. Unless you’re a female [staff member], to be honest.</p>
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<p>This expectation to manage violence is an unrecognised extra form of gendered labour which women are primarily expected to undertake.</p>
<p>Women, queer and gender diverse workers also described instances of being spat at, followed home, and threats of physical and sexual violence.</p>
<p>Given the scale and breadth of gendered <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/recorded-crime-victims/latest-release">violence against women</a>, the normalised position that women are “better suited” to manage violence is risky and exploitative.</p>
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<h2>Five recommendations to change the industry</h2>
<p>We suggest five recommendations targeting employers, policy and resourcing to create change in the industry. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>new policies for addressing sexual harassment in front-of-house service labour are needed. This includes processes for registering and resolving complaints, investigations and outcomes, which should be developed by government and industry in consultation with workers</p></li>
<li><p>the hospitality industry should develop tailored approaches, in line with <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/sex-discrimination/projects/positive-duty-under-sex-discrimination-act#XliB5">the new positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act</a>, to support businesses and venues to prevent and respond to sexual harassment. This should address key areas such as <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/factsheet_-_effective_education_and_training_0.pdf">effective education and training</a>. It should also focus on recording all instances of gender-based violence so the true scale of the problem can be better understood and monitored over time</p></li>
<li><p>hospitality management strategies should implement a “zero tolerance” approach to account for, and reduce the risk of, sexual and gender-based harassment. Behavioural expectations between workers, and workers and employers, should be discussed and agreed upon</p></li>
<li><p>hospitality venues must continue to improve gender equity across all staffing positions to support developing skills and the value of diverse experience in hospitality</p></li>
<li><p>increased state and federal funding is needed for local organisations to deliver training, resources and campaigning tailored for hospitality workers based on their experiences. This will lead to better outcomes in the industry.</p></li>
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<p>These changes can create safer and more respectful workplaces for all. </p>
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<p><em>*All names attributed to quotes from participants in this study are pseudonyms.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212107/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julia Coffey receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Farrugia receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lena Molnar works for Women with Disabilities Victoria. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steven Threadgold received funding from the Australian Research Council for this project. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Megan Sharp does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Our research with 124 Australian hospitality staff found women bar workers were routinely seen as ‘better suited’ to manage the threat of violence - which is both risky and exploitative.Julia Coffey, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University of NewcastleDavid Farrugia, ARC Future Fellow, School of Education, Deakin UniversityLena Molnar, Research Fellow, Newcastle Youth Studies Centre, University of NewcastleMegan Sharp, Lecturer in Sociology, The University of MelbourneSteven Threadgold, Associate Professor, Sociology, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2082062023-07-24T20:10:01Z2023-07-24T20:10:01ZEvery worker is entitled to be safe at work, but casual workers can fall through the cracks<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538216/original/file-20230719-19-drknta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=318%2C86%2C5930%2C2433&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/search/barista-making-coffee?image_type=photo">Shuttterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On Monday, Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke flagged the government’s plan to legislate to enable casuals who work regular shifts to convert to permanent work.</p>
<p>The move, which has been criticised by business groups who said it would add to costs and red tape, is the latest step by the federal government, as promised during Labor’s election campaign, to empower the so-called insecure workforce.</p>
<p>While laws to protect workers from mistreatment already exist in Australia, last month the government signed a United Nations convention that recognises a broad definition of work and an expansive definition of violence and harassment.</p>
<p>The convention is significant because it effectively covers the growing number of casual and gig workers who may not be covered by existing laws.</p>
<p>According to the convention, everyone has the right to work free of violence and harassment. But the increasing casualisation of work over the past two decades have exposed some workers to greater risk of harm.</p>
<p>These changes include a shift away from full-time permanent roles to increasing numbers of contractual and self-employed and those with ambiguous contractual status including gig and platform workers.</p>
<p>In Australia there are about <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/earnings-and-working-conditions/characteristics-employment-australia/latest-release">2.7 million casual workers and 1.1 million</a> contractual workers.</p>
<p>It is harder for these workers, who are more vulnerable to the risk of violence and harassment, to report these incidents than it is for permanent workers.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538219/original/file-20230719-547-yu20ct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Pizza delivery person driving motor scooter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538219/original/file-20230719-547-yu20ct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538219/original/file-20230719-547-yu20ct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538219/original/file-20230719-547-yu20ct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538219/original/file-20230719-547-yu20ct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538219/original/file-20230719-547-yu20ct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538219/original/file-20230719-547-yu20ct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538219/original/file-20230719-547-yu20ct.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">It is difficult for casual and gig workers to report workplace violence and harassment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/search/pizza-delivery-scooter?image_type=photo">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>A review of Australian law and practices to assess gaps in protections for these new forms of work needs urgent attention.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/albanese-government-to-make-it-easier-for-casuals-to-become-permanent-employees-210259">Albanese government to make it easier for casuals to become permanent employees</a>
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<p>Recent changes to the Sex Discrimination Act and Fair Work Act mean they provide some of the necessary protections, in line with the new convention, but <a href="https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/violence-harassment/lang--en/index.htm">our research</a> has found they don’t address all the obligations and don’t reflect some of the convention’s key principles.</p>
<p>Instead of a narrow approach, the convention calls for all forms of violence and harassment to be dealt with. The current focus in Australia is on sexual harassment, but this is part of the larger phenomenon of gender-based violence. Regulation of all its forms is necessary. </p>
<p>The C190 convention which Australia has now signed requires signatories to adopt an <a href="https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C190">inclusive, integrated and gender-responsive approach</a> to eliminating and preventing violence and harassment in the workplace.</p>
<p>Emphasising the need for regulation to be inclusive, it adopts a broad definition of violence and harassment, acknowledging a <a href="https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C190">range of unacceptable behaviours and practices</a> that can cause harm including physical, psychological, sexual or economic harm.</p>
<p>As well as the rise in short-term positions, the concept of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/oct/15/backpackers-sexually-harassed-and-underpaid-government-report-finds">workplace is also changing</a>.</p>
<p>Fly-in-fly-out workers in remote locations and gig delivery workers or carers who work at multiple sites are isolated and have <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-23/former-fifo-worker-alleged-harassment-mining-industry-women/100485236">little or no direct</a> support from their employer or in the community.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538875/original/file-20230724-203543-8jb0lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Man mopping floor" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538875/original/file-20230724-203543-8jb0lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538875/original/file-20230724-203543-8jb0lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538875/original/file-20230724-203543-8jb0lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538875/original/file-20230724-203543-8jb0lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538875/original/file-20230724-203543-8jb0lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538875/original/file-20230724-203543-8jb0lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/538875/original/file-20230724-203543-8jb0lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Gig workers often have less access to employer support.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/search/cleaner?age=50s&age=30s&mreleased=true&image_type=photo">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>The rise of online working through the COVID pandemic, has also led to increases in <a href="https://www.actu.org.au/media/1449319/au_workingfromhome_p1.pdf">online harassment and intimidation</a>.</p>
<p>The convention outlines an expansive view of the circumstances, locations and sectors within the labour market that constitute the “<a href="https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C190">world of work</a>”. This is another concept that needs to be incorporated into relevant laws and regulation.</p>
<p>An integrated approach requires coordination between different areas of law dealing with violence and harassment. A joint effort between governments, employers, unions and interest groups is also needed.</p>
<p>The call for an integrated approach is in response to the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Legal_and_Constitutional_Affairs/RespectatWork2022/Submissions">complexity and gaps</a> in regulatory approaches.</p>
<p>Australia’s regulation of sexual harassment at work has been characterised by the siloing of the issue within anti-discrimination law, with little attention given to it within workplace rights legislation.</p>
<p>This is changing, given amendments to the <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/newsroom/news/secure-jobs-better-pay/new-workplace-sexual-harassment-laws#:%7E:text=The%20Fair%20Work%20Act%20has,sexual%20harassment%20in%20the%20workplace.">Fair Work Act</a> and the priority being given to eliminating sexual harassment as a work <a href="https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/safety-topic/hazards/workplace-sexual-harassment">health and safety hazard</a>. <a href="https://www.dmirs.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/atoms/files/overview_wa_whs_act_0_0.pdf">Recent changes to state-based</a> work health and safety regulations provide for wider worker coverage.</p>
<p>While Australia is making progress, there is a fair way to go to say Australia has an integrated regulatory approach to workplace violence and harassment. </p>
<p>We recommend that the federal government adopt a national strategy on the prevention and elimination of violence and harassment in the workplace, as required by the convention.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-insecure-work-is-finally-being-recognised-as-a-health-hazard-for-some-australians-177153">Why insecure work is finally being recognised as a health hazard for some Australians</a>
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<p>A focal point could be giving one regulator responsibility for ensuring the strategy is implemented and the laws, regulations and practices are integrated.</p>
<p>Power relations, gender, cultural and social norms, discrimination and economic inequalities also need to be considered in Australia’s management of violence and harassment in the workplace.</p>
<p>This is part of the gender responsive approach demanded by the convention. Laws and regulation that require those who have suffered violence and harassment to initiate claims for redress and wear the burden of costs of litigation are not in line with this gender-responsive approach.</p>
<p>Making employers responsible for helping prevent violence and harassment are part of this solution.</p>
<p>However, these responsibilities also need to be accompanied by effective and extensive compliance and enforcement powers for regulators and also the resources and capacity within these regulators to deal with issues such as the impact of gender on the violence and harassment at work.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208206/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kantha Dayaram received external funding for projects relating to workplace violence, harassment and discrimination .</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Heap receives funding from RMIT University and the Commonwealth Government. </span></em></p>Casual and gig workers make up a big part of the workforce and the federal government is taking steps to provide them with greater protections.Kantha Dayaram, Professor, School of Management, Curtin UniversityLisa Heap, Doctoral Researcher, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1955372022-12-11T13:32:47Z2022-12-11T13:32:47ZWhat do workers want? 5 key takeaways from the first citizens’ assembly on workplace democracy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499354/original/file-20221206-8459-g702oy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=22%2C33%2C7293%2C4715&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Ontario Assembly on Workplace Democracy examined how everyday people experience work and what they want done to make work better and their voices heard.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Imagine receiving a letter informing you that your job is relocating to another province. Your employment is contingent upon you moving and your employer refuses to discuss it with you. </p>
<p>Or imagine developing an innovative plan for more flexible at-home work options that will reduce your company’s carbon emissions and save your employer money. Your manager, instead of praising your efforts, admonishes you and tells you to focus on your core work — not to “rock the boat.”</p>
<p>Workers around the world face dilemmas like these on a regular basis. At their core, they touch on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12528">the notion of worker voice</a>: workers’ capacities and opportunities to speak up and effect change at work. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/quiet-quitting-and-the-great-resignation-have-a-common-cause-dissatisfied-workers-feel-they-cant-speak-up-in-the-workplace-190390">Quiet quitting and the great resignation have a common cause – dissatisfied workers feel they can't speak up in the workplace</a>
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<p>In light of the impacts of the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnnywarstrom/2021/04/08/the-effects-of-the-pandemic-mean-that-employee-voice-has-never-been-more-important/?sh=a32624068925">COVID-19 pandemic</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/labour-talks-in-good-faith-1.6659193">recent labour disputes</a>, concerns about <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesnonprofitcouncil/2021/11/30/the-labor-shortage-is-a-quality-jobs-shortage/?sh=38c25b8429b2">worker shortages</a> and <a href="https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/duke-fuqua-insights/hemant-kakkar-value-employee-voice-firms-address-racism-inequality">racism and inequality</a>, a growing chorus of people are asking: how can all workers have the opportunity to meaningfully influence workplace decisions and have their voices heard?</p>
<h2>Worker voice</h2>
<p>Worker voice doesn’t just empower workers. It also has <a href="https://www.broadbentinstitute.ca/workplace_democracy_for_the_21st_century">wide-ranging benefits for employers and broader society as well</a>. It can help protect workers’ interests, improve workplace performance and contribute to societal democratization.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, unless Canadian workers are covered by a collective agreement, opportunities to shape decisions at work are largely at the whim of their employer. This leads to situations in which <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0019793918806250">some workers have ample opportunities</a> to speak up at work, while others — often those more marginalized — have almost none.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A crowd of people holding CUPE signs and flags marching down a sidewalk" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499095/original/file-20221205-5837-c9nhld.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499095/original/file-20221205-5837-c9nhld.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499095/original/file-20221205-5837-c9nhld.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499095/original/file-20221205-5837-c9nhld.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499095/original/file-20221205-5837-c9nhld.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499095/original/file-20221205-5837-c9nhld.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499095/original/file-20221205-5837-c9nhld.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Canadian Union of Public Employees education workers strike on the picket line in Kingston, Ont., on Nov. 4, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg</span></span>
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<p>Even our most robust channels, like collective bargaining and grievance procedures, have been <a href="https://doi.org/10.7202/014764ar">criticized by some as being too adversarial</a> or not protective enough of individual rights and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3526-2">interests of their diverse membership</a>.</p>
<p>Clearly, our practices and systems need an upgrade. The question is: what kind of upgrade would best serve workers and our economy as a whole?</p>
<h2>Building a democratic assembly</h2>
<p>To tackle this issue, we gathered a group of 32 Ontarians to serve in the <a href="https://www.cirhr.utoronto.ca/news-events/ontario-assembly-workplace-democracy">Ontario Assembly on Workplace Democracy</a> (OAWD). This was a first-of-its-kind effort that used a democratic innovation known as a “<a href="https://participedia.net/method/4258">citizens’ assembly</a>.”</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499347/original/file-20221206-2849-ashu5x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An infographic showing that 25 lottery participants came from southern Ontario, 5 came from eastern Ontario and 2 came from northern Ontario" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499347/original/file-20221206-2849-ashu5x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499347/original/file-20221206-2849-ashu5x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499347/original/file-20221206-2849-ashu5x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499347/original/file-20221206-2849-ashu5x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499347/original/file-20221206-2849-ashu5x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=735&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499347/original/file-20221206-2849-ashu5x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=735&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499347/original/file-20221206-2849-ashu5x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=735&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A map showing a geographical breakdown of where participants were from.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://freevectormaps.com/canada/ontario/CA-ON-EPS-01-0001?ref=atr">(FreeVectorMaps.com)</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The process involved selecting individuals through a <a href="https://www.masslbp.com/s/civiclotteryguide.pdf">democratic lottery</a>, which generated a group of participants representative of the diversity of the province in their union status, sector, gender, income level and age. They were far from the usual suspects typically involved in policy discussions about this topic.</p>
<p>Over five intensive working sessions spanning the summer and fall of 2022, OAWD members re-imagined how workers shape organizational decision-making in Ontario. </p>
<p>They had frank conversations with each other about their experiences speaking up at work, developed principles that should underpin any robust system of worker voice, and brainstormed recommendations for employers, unions and governments to improve worker voice. These discussions were aided by a dedicated team of facilitators and a diverse group of expert and stakeholder witnesses. </p>
<h2>Barriers to worker voice</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://www.cirhr.utoronto.ca/sites/www.cirhr.utoronto.ca/files/OAWD%20Final%20Report%20-%20Dec%202022.pdf">final report compiling the participants’ main conclusions</a> has just been published through the University of Toronto’s Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources, which sponsored the project.</p>
<p>Insights from the final report have much to offer to workers, managers, labour advocates and policymakers. First, they pointed to numerous challenges and barriers people face when speaking up at work that need to be addressed.</p>
<p>Some of these barriers included fearing retaliation and negative repercussions from employers and a lack of structured opportunities for having their voices heard at work. Participants also highlighted that many people lacked basic information and knowledge about worker voice, <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/rights-workplace.html">government protections under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms</a> and <a href="https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/check/art2d.html">their right to unionize</a>.</p>
<p>Participants also highlighted how traditionally marginalized groups of workers, like migrant workers or those with disabilities, face systematic barriers to voice, especially when they brought up concerns about discrimination at work. </p>
<h2>Report recommendations</h2>
<p>After identifying these barriers, assembly participants produced a set of 14 comprehensive recommendations for improving worker voice. These recommendations were grounded in a common set of values, including the financial success and sustainability of the participants’ employers, a greater balance of power between workers and their employers, and accountability. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man, wearing wireless ear buds and sitting at a desk, speaks on a video call" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499355/original/file-20221206-7109-ashu5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499355/original/file-20221206-7109-ashu5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499355/original/file-20221206-7109-ashu5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499355/original/file-20221206-7109-ashu5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499355/original/file-20221206-7109-ashu5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499355/original/file-20221206-7109-ashu5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499355/original/file-20221206-7109-ashu5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Meeting virtually via Zoom over five sessions, assembly members came up with ways for workers to have more of a say in decision-making and imagine a better future for their workplaces.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Managers, labour advocates and policymakers interested in worker voice can get started on five of these recommendations right now. Firstly, all of these groups can — and should — do a better job of educating workers about their rights and responsibilities when it comes to voicing ideas and concerns at work.</p>
<p>Secondly, employers can implement best practices to encourage worker voice at work, through things like worker councils and self-managed teams. Thirdly, employers should also ensure workers are both incentivized and protected to use these tools and resources. Fourthly, employers should measure their progress toward improving worker voice, and benchmark it against their competitors.</p>
<p>And lastly, labour unions can open themselves up to more involvement from their diverse membership and provide greater transparency about their finances and decision-making processes.</p>
<h2>Worker perspectives are critical</h2>
<p>While worker voice is important, it often flies under our collective radar. To date, much of the void has been filled by academics, think tanks and organizations like chambers of commerce and labour unions. But the perspective of everyday people is just as important.</p>
<p>The OAWD put a spotlight on how everyday people experience work and what they want done to make work better and their voices heard. Participants embraced their responsibility and worked hard to deliver on the assembly’s mandate. </p>
<p>To improve the ability of workers to have a say in workplace decision-making, these recommendations should be read and considered widely by policymakers, politicians, the media and the broader public. It is up to these leaders to listen to workers and take the necessary steps to create fairer, safer, more inclusive and sustainable workplaces.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195537/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Pek served as the Steering Committee Lead for the Ontario Assembly on Workplace Democracy. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rafael Gomez is Director of The Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources (CIRHR) at the University of Toronto, which sponsored OAWD. Rafael Gomez also Chaired the steering committee of the OAWD.</span></em></p>Improving the ability for worker’s voices and perspectives to be heard in the workplace could have wide ranging benefits for employers and broader society at large.Simon Pek, Associate Professor of Business and Society, Gustavson School of Business, University of VictoriaRafael Gomez, Professor of Employment Relations, Director of Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1302752020-01-27T10:56:16Z2020-01-27T10:56:16ZCompanies target toilet breaks to improve productivity – it’s wrong and it won’t work<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311652/original/file-20200123-162190-1tpur7l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Don't take too long.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/toilet-sign-direction-on-wood-wall-97036877">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Productivity growth in the UK has <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49971853">stalled since 2008</a>. The puzzle has become so tricky that toilet makers are getting in on the act of suggesting solutions. The company StandardToilet has designed a tilted toilet, whose seat slopes downward at a 13 degree angle. Its goal is to stop users lingering too long on the lav. After about five minutes, sitting on a tilted toilet will put a strain on users’ legs, said to be similar to a “low level squat thrust”. </p>
<p>The idea is it would <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/battle-toilet-workplace">save employers money</a> because, according to <a href="http://www.btaloos.co.uk/?p=2134">the company’s press release</a>, “extended employee breaks cost industry and commerce an estimated £4 billion per annum” in the UK.</p>
<p>An uncharitable commentator might question where the company pulled this (unsubstantiated) figure from. But a steady stream of news articles suggests that employers around the world are indeed clamping down on toilet breaks in a bid to improve productivity. A <a href="https://money.cnn.com/2014/07/15/smallbusiness/bathroom-time-penalty/index.html">Chicago-based firm hit the news</a> when a union filed a complaint against it for “bathroom harassment”. The firm, which had introduced swipe cards to monitor toilet use, advised that employees should spend no more than six minutes on the loo per day and even gave gift cards to workers who didn’t use the toilet at all during work time. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, in Scotland, <a href="https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/peed-call-centre-workers-slam-13851914">call centre staff were asked to sign a new contract</a> limiting toilet breaks to 1% of their shift – just two minutes for those working a four-hour part-time day. In Norway one company required female employees to <a href="https://ic.steadyhealth.com/red-bracelet-for-menstruating-employees">wear red bracelets while menstruating</a>, to show they were allowed to visit the toilet more often.</p>
<h2>Toilet talk</h2>
<p>Time away from the desk or production line may not be an employer’s only concern when it comes to toilet use. As studies on workplaces as diverse as <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-2338.1996.tb00763.x">Japanese-owned car firms in the UK</a> and <a href="https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/5464980">textile factories in Kenya</a> have found, toilets are also places where workers express anti-company sentiment, share advice and even covertly organise.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0023656X.2019.1624699">study of Italian factories in the post-war period</a> – an era of union suppression – found that toilets became a focal point for resistance. As one of the few places in a factory that wasn’t monitored, toilets were used as a meeting point as well as a place where anti-company feelings could be more freely expressed and union literature shared. </p>
<p>In one case, a female worker found graffiti accusing the factory boss of being an “idiot and a buffoon” inscribed on a toilet door. Perhaps scared that she would be accused of writing it, she reported the infraction to management. The door was removed and, to root out the culprit, all workers were forced to write out the phrase in front of a handwriting expert. The guilty party was found and relieved of their position – but, as researcher Ilaria Favretto points out, at least they got to see every worker in the factory repeat the insult.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311815/original/file-20200124-81357-1oiojj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311815/original/file-20200124-81357-1oiojj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311815/original/file-20200124-81357-1oiojj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311815/original/file-20200124-81357-1oiojj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311815/original/file-20200124-81357-1oiojj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311815/original/file-20200124-81357-1oiojj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311815/original/file-20200124-81357-1oiojj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Toilets are one of the few places people aren’t monitored at work.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cctv-system-security-warehouse-factory-chemical-310270736">By jtairat/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One thing stands out in all these examples: it’s lower paid, more precarious workers who are more likely to have their workplace activities – and toilet breaks – more tightly controlled and monitored. Writing about workplace surveillance technologies, economist Joelle Gamble points out that as employers collect more data on their workers, <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/worker-surveillance-big-data/">they increase their power over them</a>. In some cases, workers’ wages are directly affected. Companies using <a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/8/just-in-time-schedulingshiftswalmartlowwage.html">just-in-time scheduling technologies</a> have been cancelling workers’ shifts at short notice when sales are down.</p>
<h2>Critically panned</h2>
<p>But is this drive for ever more rigid control of workers’ (bowel) movements actually good for productivity? A <a href="https://www.thersa.org/globalassets/reports/2020/can-good-work-solve-the-productivity-puzzle.pdf">new collection of essays published by Carnegie Trust and the RSA think tank</a> suggests not. Instead, it makes a strong case that good quality work is the key to improving productivity, especially at the bottom end of the labour market, where job quality is poorest. Instead of trying to optimise every minute of their workforce’s time, employers might be better off improving working life.</p>
<p>Rather than punitive measures, several of the essays argue that giving workers voice and agency is crucial in increasing productivity. New workplace technologies are more likely to be successful when workers feel involved in decision making. A report by the Living Wage Foundation makes similar points. Focusing on the retail sector, it argues that <a href="https://www.livingwage.org.uk/sites/default/files/Living%20Wage%20Foundation%20-%20Good%20Jobs%20ToolKit_1_0.pdf">standardising tasks while empowering staff to use their discretion</a> is important in improving productivity and profits. This helps improve staff retention and motivation, among other benefits. </p>
<p>As colleagues’ and my own work at Nesta argues, in a knowledge-driven economy, <a href="https://www.nesta.org.uk/report/imagination-unleashed/">the most successful firms are constantly innovating</a>. We need to spread the practices that these firms use – collaboration, decentralisation, autonomous teams – if we want a step-change in productivity.</p>
<p>So the next time someone tries to sell you a productivity-enhancing toilet, don’t just take it sitting down.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130275/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Madeleine Gabriel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Tilting toilets are the latest suggestion to limit time spent on the loo at work.Madeleine Gabriel, Head of Inclusive Innovation, NestaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1258012019-10-24T04:53:31Z2019-10-24T04:53:31ZNew house rules: landmark ruling could trigger other workers’ compensation claims from reality TV stars<p>This week, the Seven Network was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/oct/22/house-rules-channel-seven-ordered-to-pay-compensation-to-reality-show-contestant">found liable</a> to pay a workers’ compensation claim brought by Nicole Prince, one of the contestants on its renovation reality television show, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2931524/?ref_=ttep_ep_tt">House Rules</a>. </p>
<p>Prince suffered a major depressive episode, and symptoms consistent with post traumatic stress disorder after she and her partner were cast as the “mean girls” in the 2017 season of the series. </p>
<p>She provided convincing evidence program directors manipulated series content to ensure the pair appeared to be hypercritical of other contestants, drawing not only their hostility, but also an avalanche of hateful social media comment. (Channel Seven <a href="https://www.wcc.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/563048/2558-19-Prince-COD-SOR.pdf">refused</a> to remove the offensive and often violent posts.) </p>
<p>The case before the <a href="https://www.wcc.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/563048/2558-19-Prince-COD-SOR.pdf">New South Wales Compensation Commission</a> concerned a statutory claim under the <a href="https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/act/1987/70/whole">Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW)</a> for medical expenses. </p>
<p>However it raises the prospect of potential common law claims by other reality TV “stars” who have been treated badly. In the wake of the ruling, fellow reality TV contestants including <a href="https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/reality-tv/mafs-stars-are-considering-legal-action-following-landmark-seven-ruling/news-story/4c547bacaf2195a45ebafb6118da15b9">Tracey Jewel</a> from Married at First Sight have floated the possibility of legal action. </p>
<h2>On the books</h2>
<p>Prince’s success depended upon a finding she was an employee according to the <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/how-we-will-help/templates-and-guides/fact-sheets/rights-and-obligations/independent-contractors-and-employees">common law test</a> that defines employment. The difference between an employee and independent contractor is based on multiple factors and has developed with court decisions over time. To make a determination, courts look at each case and the overall “vibe” of the relationship between the parties.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298456/original/file-20191024-119423-u7eksu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298456/original/file-20191024-119423-u7eksu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298456/original/file-20191024-119423-u7eksu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298456/original/file-20191024-119423-u7eksu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298456/original/file-20191024-119423-u7eksu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298456/original/file-20191024-119423-u7eksu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=733&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298456/original/file-20191024-119423-u7eksu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=733&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298456/original/file-20191024-119423-u7eksu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=733&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Contestants Fiona Taylor and Nicole Prince (right) were portrayed as villains on the renovation reality show.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Channel 7</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Employees are also owed duties of care under <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tort">tort law</a> (which determines civil liability) and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contract">contract</a> law (which governs agreements). </p>
<p>An employer who exposes an employee to unnecessary risk of foreseeable harm can also be held liable at common law for damages that can extend to lost earnings. In this case, Prince gave evidence she had been unable to find employment following her disastrous experience on the show.</p>
<p>The prospect for these kinds of claims has long been <a href="https://scholarship.shu.edu/sports_entertainment/vol23/iss1/5/">recognised</a> in the United States, where claims by contestants (or their surviving family members) have been brought against television production companies, although rarely successfully. </p>
<p>In 2017, the US reality dating show Bachelor in Paradise was <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2017/07/bachelor-in-paradise-timeline-of-allegations.html">suspended</a> for nine days pending allegations of sexual misconduct (later dismissed). Two contestants on the show had engaged in sexual activity under the influence of alcohol. </p>
<p>The scandal <a href="http://www.cardozoaelj.com/2019/02/10/corporate-responsibility-reality-show-participants/">raised the question</a> of when reality TV producers should intervene to protect contestants. </p>
<p>The sticking point in the US cases has been the ability of networks to disclaim employer status in their written contracts with contestants. In Australia, however, employment status cannot be avoided by contractual disclaimers if the court decides the relationship bears the hallmarks of employment, established in a number of <a href="http://eresources.hcourt.gov.au/showCase/2001/HCA/44">High Court cases</a>. </p>
<h2>House Rules</h2>
<p>The Workers Compensation Commission found Prince was engaged for remuneration ($500 a week plus $500 in allowances) to serve Seven’s business. Seven exerted control over when she worked, what she wore, and which tools she used.</p>
<p>As a featured personality, Prince was an integral part of their business. She was required to provide exclusive service, and give up her normal occupation, during filming.</p>
<p>Finally, Prince bore none of the entrepreneurial risks that would be involved were she engaged in her own business.</p>
<p>These factors were said to “overwhelmingly” indicate she was employed by Seven.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298457/original/file-20191024-119405-1h3nnal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298457/original/file-20191024-119405-1h3nnal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298457/original/file-20191024-119405-1h3nnal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298457/original/file-20191024-119405-1h3nnal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298457/original/file-20191024-119405-1h3nnal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298457/original/file-20191024-119405-1h3nnal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298457/original/file-20191024-119405-1h3nnal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298457/original/file-20191024-119405-1h3nnal.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The original House Rules cast.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">IMDB</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Once it was established she was an employee it was a straightforward matter to find her psychiatric illness was a consequence of her employment. While the Commission made no findings as to fault (statutory Workers Compensation claims are not fault-based), certain observations made in the reasons suggest Prince may well be able to demonstrate the harm she suffered was foreseeable. </p>
<p>The commission <a href="https://www.wcc.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/563048/2558-19-Prince-COD-SOR.pdf">concluded</a> Seven deliberately manipulated her on-screen portrayal as a nasty person, and was made aware of the torrent of abuse she was receiving as a consequence. It refused to take any steps to ameliorate the harm, no doubt because this kind of conflict and outrage is a calculated part of such shows’ audience appeal.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/BUoXRj1hkLS","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<h2>A legal landmark</h2>
<p>This appears to be the first successful claim of this nature in Australia. </p>
<p>It’s possible claims brought by contestants who are physically harmed could be settled by the insurers.</p>
<p>This one, involving the infliction of psychological harm, opens a wide door to more potential claims from contestants who naively expect to be able to present themselves as their usual loveable selves on the television, and end up as social pariahs. </p>
<p>The amount Prince is to be compensated has not yet been determined. But in 2011, a NSW woman who suffered psychiatric illness and was unable work after she had been subjected to workplace bullying and harassment was <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/theres-more-to-reveal-says-orkopoulos-whistleblower-20110602-1fizc.html">awarded $438,000</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298458/original/file-20191024-119477-q71bwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298458/original/file-20191024-119477-q71bwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298458/original/file-20191024-119477-q71bwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298458/original/file-20191024-119477-q71bwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298458/original/file-20191024-119477-q71bwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298458/original/file-20191024-119477-q71bwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298458/original/file-20191024-119477-q71bwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298458/original/file-20191024-119477-q71bwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Reality television stars are frequently subject to online abuse.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.shutterstock.com%2Fgatekeeper%2FW3siZSI6MTU3MTkxMjgyMywiYyI6Il9waG90b19zZXNzaW9uX2lkIiwiZGMiOiJpZGxfNjExNDE4ODMzIiwiayI6InBob3RvLzYxMTQxODgzMy9odWdlLmpwZyIsIm0iOjEsImQiOiJzaHV0dGVyc3RvY2stbWVkaWEifSwicVB5SEpQWXJNSGRveEwwQUdYUVFqVEZ6MDZVIl0%2Fshutterstock_611418833.jpg&pi=41133566&m=611418833">www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
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<p>This case also raises some very interesting questions about whether reality TV contestants might bring other claims related to employment. Minimum wages, perhaps? Or superannuation entitlements? </p>
<p>Prior to the Prince decision, the Law Society of NSW published a <a href="https://lsj.com.au/articles/the-legal-implications-of-reality-television/">tongue-in-cheek piece</a> that flagged a shopping list of potential legal claims reality stars might pursue. </p>
<p>Those claims may be far-fetched, but the <a href="https://www.wcc.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/563048/2558-19-Prince-COD-SOR.pdf">refusal</a> of Seven’s insurer to pay Prince’s compensation claim – which set this legal precedent in motion – has opened up a proverbial can of worms for reality television producers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/125801/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joellen Riley Munton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A landmark ruling that ordered the Seven Network pay a reality TV star compensation could have far-reaching implications for other productions and workplaces.Joellen Riley Munton, Professor of Law, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1219202019-09-25T12:12:31Z2019-09-25T12:12:31ZWhat Amazon, Walmart employees risk when they use the workplace for activism<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293846/original/file-20190924-51457-1ksz51c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Amazon workers in Seattle walked off the job on Sept. 20 in a climate strike. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It has somehow become sort of normal to use the workplace to protest social issues unrelated to the job itself. This was something almost unheard of even five years ago.</p>
<p>The latest example came on Sept. 20 as more than 1,000 Amazon employees <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/09/20/tech/amazon-climate-strike-global-tech/index.html">staged a walkout</a> over the retailer’s “inaction” on climate change. In recent months, there has also been <a href="https://www.wlbt.com/2019/08/08/few-walmart-employees-heed-call-walkout-over-gun-sales/">unrest</a> among Walmart employees over gun sales and protests by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/technology/google-letter-ceo-pentagon-project.html">Google</a> and <a href="https://gizmodo.com/employees-protest-microsoft-bid-for-huge-military-contr-1829740921">Microsoft</a> workers over military use of their software. And of course, there’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/15/sports/nfl-colin-kaepernick-protests-timeline.html">Colin Kaepernick</a> and other professional athletes who used the field – a football player’s office – to protest racialized police violence.</p>
<p>The workplace used to be the very last place you would want to bring attention to social issues, however important. That’s because the office or factory isn’t a democracy where activism is protected. To a <a href="https://law.uoregon.edu/explore/elizabeth-tippett">workplace scholar</a> like me, what’s really interesting is how employees are increasingly willing to undertake this risky form of protest – and how employers are adapting.</p>
<h2>The risks of workplace activism</h2>
<p>As a legal matter, there is a big difference between marching in the street – for example, as part of a climate protest – and walking off the job as part of that same protest.</p>
<p>Let’s say you have the day off, and you decide to join a march through the streets. The government can’t just arrest you or banish you to another country. Your <a href="https://www.loc.gov/law/help/peaceful-assembly/us.php">activism is protected</a> under the First Amendment.</p>
<p>Those rights fall away the minute you cross the threshold into your job. Unless the government’s your boss, you stop being a citizen and become a worker subject to your employer’s rule. There, you live in something of a “dictatorship, in which bosses govern in ways that are largely unaccountable to those who are governed,” as philosopher Elizabeth Anderson <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/titles/10938.html">puts it</a>. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Philosopher Elizabeth Anderson explains why the workplace is like a dictatorship.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>You may think calling the office a dictatorship is an exaggeration, but in reality it’s not. Like a real dictatorship, you can be exiled at any moment for virtually any infraction. The <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/union2.nr0.htm">vast majority</a> of workers in the United States are employed “at-will,” which literally means you can be terminated at any time, without notice, for any reason or no reason at all. </p>
<p>As a lawyer, I have written countless “at-will” provisions into contracts, and it’s not even strictly necessary. Courts will presume that you are “at-will” unless you <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=9927157615128210379&q=employment-at-will&hl=en&as_sdt=2006">present</a> a mountain of evidence showing the employer intended to offer real job security. </p>
<p>If companies can fire you for any reason, that reason might include stirring the pot. And employers tend to respond to social activism the way the “Seinfeld” character George Costanza reacted when his friend Elaine tried to invite his fiance to the opera: by freaking out. </p>
<p>“Everybody knows,” he shouts, “that you gotta keep the worlds apart!” </p>
<p>Work is for work. Save your activism for evenings and weekends.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">In ‘Seinfeld,’ Costanza panics when his social spheres converge, threatening his independence.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Weak workplace protections</h2>
<p>Lawmakers and courts have long known that employers can abuse their power to fire workers. Over many decades, the law has developed to specify certain circumstances in which employers cannot retaliate against workers. </p>
<p>But the key here is that those exceptions are limited, and the law generally lags several years – or sometimes decades – behind what is happening in the workplace.</p>
<p>The law prohibits employers from firing workers where they are trying to advance or protect other key employment rights – like trying to <a href="https://www.nlrb.gov/rights-we-protect/whats-law/employees/i-am-not-represented-union/your-rights-during-union-organizing">organize a union</a> or filing a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/08/sports/womens-soccer-team-lawsuit-gender-discrimination.html">gender discrimination lawsuit</a>. Courts will also protect workers who really had no choice but to act against their employer’s preferences – like when they are summoned for <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=13046597298312614812">jury duty</a>, or when their boss asks them to engage in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=6106113470135055631">illegal conduct</a>.</p>
<p>Even whistleblowers who unearth illegal conduct have to walk a tightrope if they want to keep their jobs. For example, the anonymous national security whistleblower who complained about Trump’s alleged call with the Ukrainian president would have lost legal protection – and faced potential <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2017/05/17/chelsea-manning-prison-release/101783186/">criminal prosecution</a> – if he or she went straight to the press. The whistleblower could <a href="https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1152&context=lawfacpub">maintain protection</a> only by complaining confidentially within authorized government channels.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HAAjZyJWsc0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Law professor Richard Moberly discusses national security whistleblowers.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Activists out on a limb</h2>
<p>Today’s social activists don’t really qualify as whistleblowers, though. </p>
<p>Whistleblower protections are designed to protect those who disclose important information about misconduct to corporate heads or government authorities. Like a sports referee, true whistleblowers are pointing out a violation that others overlooked. Social activists in the workplace, by contrast, lend their voice to a known cause.</p>
<p>In that sense, social activists are perhaps most closely analogous to employees who object to work assignments on religious grounds – a pharmacist who <a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca7/06-2831/06-2831-2007-05-02-nonprecedential-disposition-2011-02-25.html">refuses to fill</a> prescriptions for religious reasons, for example. But those workers are on much firmer legal ground, because Title VII of the Civil Rights Act <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=10710673220333405680&q=eeoc+v+abercrombie+%26+fitch+stores+inc&hl=en&as_sdt=2006">requires</a> employers to provide some accommodation for workers’ religious beliefs. </p>
<p>By contrast, employers can and do punish workers for activism they consider <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=750170895929306990">too disruptive</a> or <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=9748700253424262526">distracting</a>.</p>
<p>That’s why Walmart <a href="https://gizmodo.com/walmart-retaliates-against-worker-who-urged-walk-out-ov-1837012050">apparently shut down</a> network access for the worker who called for the gun-related walkout. It’s why Google issued a new policy, <a href="https://about.google/community-guidelines/">essentially telling</a> workers to focus on their jobs; why <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/us-soccer-bans-kneeling-during-anthem-donald-trump-wants-nfl-671291">U.S. Soccer</a> imposed a ban on kneeling during the national anthem; and why Colin Kaepernick still has <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/yes-its-strange-that-colin-kaepernick-doesnt-have-a-deal-yet/">no contract</a>. </p>
<p>Perhaps more surprising, though, is the ways in which companies have proved responsive to employee activism. Amazon let workers take <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-walkout-climate-change/">vacation time</a> to walk off the job and issued a <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/09/19/tech/amazon-climate-pledge/index.html">carbon pledge</a>. Google declined to <a href="https://thenextweb.com/artificial-intelligence/2018/06/01/google-announces-it-wont-renew-military-ai-contract/">renew</a> a contract providing artificial intelligence to the military. Even Walmart <a href="https://corporate.walmart.com/newsroom/2019/09/03/mcmillon-to-associates-our-next-steps-in-response-to-the-tragedies-in-el-paso-and-southaven">discontinued</a> some of its ammunition sales and is urging lawmakers to pass gun control legislation.</p>
<p>In a competitive labor market, it’s almost as if allowing employee protest has become a workplace perk of sorts, a special privilege companies selectively dispense for workers – software programmers in particular – who are hard to replace. Tellingly, far fewer store workers at Walmart walked off the job than salaried workers at Amazon’s headquarters. They may have sensed that Walmart would call their bluff.</p>
<p>But like all privileges dispensed by authoritarian rulers, the freedom to protest can be retracted at will. I would not expect it to survive the next downturn. </p>
<p>[ <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=expertise">Expertise in your inbox. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter and get a digest of academic takes on today’s news, every day.</a></em> ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121920/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth C. Tippett previously worked as a employment lawyer at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where she represented technology companies.</span></em></p>There’s no First Amendment in the workplace, which leaves worker activists at the whim of their employers.Elizabeth C. Tippett, Associate Professor, School of Law, University of OregonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1171782019-05-15T20:22:02Z2019-05-15T20:22:02ZCutting penalty rates was supposed to create jobs. It hasn’t, and here’s why not<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/274544/original/file-20190515-60545-supgif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Using a variety of statistical analyses, the authors have found no evidence of more employment in hospitality and retail because of reduced penalty rates.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>After three years of submissions, hearings and deliberations, Australia’s workplace relations umpire, the Fair Work Commission, decided in 2017 to decrease the penalty rates paid to retail and hospitality workers on the safety-net award for working on Sundays and public holidays. </p>
<p>For years employer groups had argued that high penalty rates (up to double standard pay) were an unaffordable anachronism in the modern economy, and the commission essentially agreed. </p>
<p>In particular, it concluded the evidence was that cutting penalty rates (by between a quarter and a half) would lead to more trading hours and services on offer on Sundays and public holidays, “<a href="https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/sites/awardsmodernfouryr/2017fwcfb3001.pdf">and an increase in overall hours worked</a>”. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/labor-wants-to-restore-penalty-rates-within-100-days-but-what-about-the-independent-umpire-116154">Labor wants to restore penalty rates within 100 days. But what about the independent umpire?</a>
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<p>In other words, reducing penalty rates would create more jobs.</p>
<p>Two years on, with cuts to public holiday penalty rates fully implemented and Sundays partially implemented (being introduced over three to four years) how many extra jobs have been created?</p>
<p>Our research suggests basically none.</p>
<h2>What the data tells us</h2>
<p>The publicly available data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics doesn’t really help determine the effect of the penalty rate cut. The following graph shows ABS employment date covering the retail and hospitality sectors since 2015. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/274569/original/file-20190515-60529-32hewg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/274569/original/file-20190515-60529-32hewg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/274569/original/file-20190515-60529-32hewg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274569/original/file-20190515-60529-32hewg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274569/original/file-20190515-60529-32hewg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274569/original/file-20190515-60529-32hewg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274569/original/file-20190515-60529-32hewg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/274569/original/file-20190515-60529-32hewg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>The key dates are when penalty rate cuts occurred, on July 1, 2017 (full reduction in the public holiday rate and part reduction of the Sunday rate) and July 1, 2018 (further reduction of the Sunday rate). </p>
<p>There is no obvious increase in employment after those two dates, but this doesn’t really tell us the full story. Because the ABS doesn’t collect employment data for Sundays and public holidays specifically. Also the group affected (those on modern award pay and conditions) comprise about a third of employees in these sectors, and they are buried in the stats alongside those on enterprise agreements and individual contracts, whose wages were unaffected by the commission’s decision. </p>
<p>In short, one needs to collect some custom data to do a proper study. </p>
<p>Which is what my colleague Ray Markey at Macquarie University and I did.</p>
<p>In late 2018 we commissioned a survey using a third-party data collection agency. We surveyed more than 1,800 employees and 200 owner-managers in retail and hospitality. We collected data on Sunday, public holiday and weekly employment patterns for modern award employees, as well as those covered by enterprise agreements and individual contracts.</p>
<p>Using a variety of statistical analyses, we were unable to establish any evidence of a relative increase in the prevalence of Sunday, public holiday or weekly employment for modern award employees or employers. Nor could we establish a decrease to the number of hours that owner-managers worked Sunday and public holidays, something else the Fair Work Commission also predicted. </p>
<p>In fact, some of the analysis suggested the Sunday and public holiday employment outcomes were worse for those affected by the penalty cuts compared to those on enterprise agreements and individual contracts. </p>
<h2>Flawed evidence</h2>
<p>So, why the dud result?</p>
<p>The inescapable conclusion is that the evidence presented to the commission was flawed.</p>
<p>What came from employer groups, trade unions, the Productivity Commission, and expert witnesses (including myself) was indirect and tangential at best, and biased at worst. </p>
<p>No reliable statistical evidence of the effect of penalty rates on employment was presented, either by employers or unions, because no such data had ever been collected. </p>
<p>Of the 151 academic papers the commission referred to in its decision, not one contained sound empirical analysis of the employment impact of penalty rates. It was instead mostly inferred from minimum wage cases. </p>
<p>The evidence in support of penalty rate cuts consisted of employer intentions surveys. One such survey, by an employer group, indicated more than half of its members would employ extra staff if they could cut penalty rates. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/are-sunday-penalty-rates-a-job-killer-a-real-world-experiment-refutes-employers-claim-59962">Are Sunday penalty rates a job killer? A real-world experiment refutes employers' claim</a>
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<p>One high-profile professor of economics often consulted by employers calculated that reducing penalty rates by 1% would increase employment by 3%. This relied on sources including an unpublished conference paper from 1971 using Danish consumer data and a US study from 1966. </p>
<p>Ultimately, the Fair Work Commission decision was swayed by the Productivity Commission and blind faith in high-school economics – that if the price of labour goes down, the quantity of labour demanded will go up. </p>
<p>But by how much? Don’t ask the Productivity Commission, which admitted it was “<a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/workplace-relations/report">difficult to quantify the precise effect</a>”.</p>
<h2>Increased minimum wage</h2>
<p>At least two factors may have undone the Fair Work Commission’s prediction.</p>
<p>First, some of the savings employers might have made from the penalty rate cuts were nullified by increases in base minimum wage rates. </p>
<p>For example, a retail worker on the <a href="http://awardviewer.fwo.gov.au/award/show/MA000004">General Retail Modern Award</a>paid A$50.55 an hour on a public holiday in 2016-17 would get only A$46.98 in 2017-18. But they would have gained 3.3% minimum wage increase. So a full-time employee would be earning A$793.60 a week compared with A$768.20 the previous year.</p>
<p>The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has argued <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6079574/fewer-workers-get-sunday-shifts-following-penalty-rate-cut-research-shows/">it will take time</a> to see a positive employment impact due to the gradual, phased reduction in Sunday rate cuts. However, the public holiday penalty-rate cut was implemented in full in 2017 and there has been no significant change to public holiday employment.</p>
<h2>Yet low-wage growth across the economy</h2>
<p>Second, despite relatively generous increases in minimum wages, there has been record low income growth across the economy, while costs associated with housing, energy and food have risen at a rapid rate. </p>
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<p>The above graph shows the wage price index, which measures the annual percentage growth of wages across the economy (CPI for the labour market). </p>
<p>The retail and hospitality sectors depend upon discretionary household spending. It is likely the expected employment stimulus has been affected by a lack of demand and spending in these sectors. Less spare cash after paying important bills means less spending on extra goodies like restaurant meals, holidays, recreational goods – all the things that retail and hospitality rely on. </p>
<p>It doesn’t matter how much you try and reduce business costs via penalty rate cuts, if people aren’t spending money then employers are not going to put extra people on for Sundays and public holidays. </p>
<p>In fact, decreasing the Sunday and public holiday pay for a decent chunk of the labour force may be adding to this lack of consumer demand and confidence.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117178/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martin O'Brien and Ray Markey received funding from a Partnership Matching Grant from the Faculty of Business, University of Wollongong and ACTU, SDA and United Voice in order to fund the survey used in this research. The survey was conducted by independent data collector Research Now SSI. </span></em></p>Australia’s Fair Work Commission concluded that cutting penalty rates would create more jobs. Our research suggests it was wrong.Martin O'Brien, Lecturer in Economics, University of WollongongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1104382019-02-12T19:16:08Z2019-02-12T19:16:08ZWelcome to your first job: expect to be underpaid, bullied, harassed or exploited in some way<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/258150/original/file-20190211-174861-50parr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Young people working in the hospitality industry – covering restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs – are particularly prone to exploitative practices, according to the Fair Work Ombudsman.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A teenager’s first job can be deeply rewarding, a step towards independence and building skills. But that job may also involve an early taste of exploitative workplace behaviours, including abuse, bullying and harassment. </p>
<p>There are numerous cases of exploitation in workplaces that offer jobs to young people. Think of the systematic underpayment of <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/763/7-eleven-inquiry-report.pdf.aspx">7-Eleven</a> workers, for instance, or of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australi-news/2018/sep/07/fair-work-audit-finds-just-four-out-of-23-dominos-stores-comply-with-workplace-law">Domino’s </a> workers. </p>
<p>Young people working in hospitality – covering restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs – are particularly at risk of exploitative practices, according to the <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/annual-reports/annual-report-2017-18/02-fwo-performance-report/proactive-activities/hospitality">Fair Work Ombudsman</a>. </p>
<p>We wanted to get a more complete picture of the different types of exploitative behaviours that young workers might encounter. To do so we surveyed 330 undergraduate university students about their experiences in the workplace. </p>
<p>Overall, almost three-quarters (74.2%) of respondents reported experiencing some form of exploitative, abusive or harassing behaviour in their first job. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-stop-businesses-stealing-from-their-employees-83363">How to stop businesses stealing from their employees</a>
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<h2>Researching workplace exploitation</h2>
<p>Our <a href="https://research-methodology.net/sampling-in-primary-data-collection/convenience-sampling/">convenience sample</a> of university students that anonymously volunteered to participate were surveyed about their workplace experiences while aged under 18 years old. While the results may not be representative of all young peoples’ work experiences, they provide a good indication of the pattern and relative frequency of different forms of exploitative behaviour. </p>
<p>Importantly for prevention, the study also indicates who is most likely to be a perpetrator and who is most at risk. The results of this exploratory study show that workplace exploitation is common enough to warrant future research on a national level to understand the extent and consequences. </p>
<p>In our study we defined exploitation as the following behaviours:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>economic exploitation, such as not receiving the correct pay, superannuation, breaks, holidays, or being unfairly dismissed </p></li>
<li><p>exposure to unsafe work conditions, including not being properly trained or supervised, or being required to carry out tasks breaching workplace health and safety rules</p></li>
<li><p>bullying, involving repeated behaviour that humiliates and intimidates the victim </p></li>
<li><p>sexual harassment, involving all unwelcomed sexual behaviour such as touching, as well as jokes or unwanted communication</p></li>
<li><p>verbal harassment, such as being sworn at, insulted and berated</p></li>
<li><p>physical violence, including threats of a physical attack.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>The age at which our respondents were first employed in Queensland ranged as low as 11 years old to 17 years old. The majority of respondents (84.0%) were first employed in retail or hospitality. </p>
<p>Just over half (51.5%) of our participants reported some kind of economic exploitation in their first job, including incorrect pay and not being allowed proper breaks.</p>
<p>Verbal harassment was also a common experience (49.1%), followed by exposure to unsafe work conditions (32.1%), sexual harassment (14.5%), and violence (6.4%) in their first job.</p>
<p>Nearly a third (29.4%) experienced ongoing incidents of workplace bullying in their first job.</p>
<p>About a quarter (25.8%) of respondents reported no form of workplace exploitation in their first job. </p>
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<h2>Victims and perpetrators</h2>
<p>Our results indicate there is a statistically significant association between (1) the age respondents are first employed and exploitation and (2) gender and exploitation.</p>
<p>Those who started their first job when aged under 16 were significantly more likely to report verbal harassment (55.3%) and bullying (35.2%) than older respondents aged 16-17 (39.7% and 20.6%, respectively).</p>
<p>This is consistent with other research showing younger teenagers are more <a href="https://search.informit.com.au/fullText;dn=200811609;res=IELAPA">vulnerable</a> to being exploited, because they may not understand workplace agreements and laws, and be more frightened to report incorrect pay or incidents.</p>
<p>Females were significantly more likely to report economic exploitation (49.1%) and sexual harassment (16.6%) compared to their male counterparts (34.5% and 5.2%, respectively).</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/are-you-a-bully-without-even-knowing-it-heres-how-to-tell-105874">Are you a bully without even knowing it? Here's how to tell</a>
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<p>Co-workers, supervisors and employers were largely responsible for bullying and exposing teenagers to unsafe work conditions. </p>
<p>Customers were largely responsible for harassment and physical abuse.</p>
<p>Respondents also reported many instances where other workers or managers (including owners) witnessed exploitative behaviour but failed to intervene.</p>
<h2>Reducing workplace exploitation</h2>
<p>Our analysis of survey data indicates workplaces can do much more to protect young people from victimisation.</p>
<p>Low management supervision in retail and hospitality settings, for example, puts females under 16 at high risk of harassment and economic exploitation. </p>
<p>To improve the situation, governments and workplace regulators should more actively monitor, investigate and enforce the laws and regulations. Specifically those surrounding child employment, fair work, pay and superannuation, and workplace health and safety.</p>
<p>Governments and industry groups also need to more effectively engage with employers to make them more aware of their legal obligations.</p>
<p>There is also a role for technology that can help young people monitor their working conditions. The Fair Work Ombudsman’s <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/how-we-will-help/how-we-help-you/record-my-hours-app">“Record My Hours”</a> smartphone app, for example.</p>
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<p>Apps like this can help young staff track their hours and pay. They could also be modified to enable the reporting of incidents of abuse or incorrect pay.</p>
<p>In recent years we have lurched from one worker underpayment and exploitation scandal to another. Our research indicates this problem may be more grave and pervasive than we have imagined. If that is the case, we must do better.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110438/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Three-quarters of teenagers in our survey experienced exploitation, bullying, harassment or some other form of abuse in their first job.Carley Ruiz, Research Assistant, Griffith Criminology Institute, Griffith UniversityDavid Bartlett, Research Fellow, Griffith UniversityEmily Moir, Lecturer in Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1072212018-11-22T11:20:42Z2018-11-22T11:20:42ZMicrochip implants are threatening workers’ rights<p>It’s not often trades unions and employers are equally worried about an issue threatening workers’ rights. But recently, the UK’s Trades Union Congress and the main body that represents British businesses, the CBI, have both <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/nov/11/alarm-over-talks-to-implant-uk-employees-with-microchips">voiced concerns</a> about the budding practice of implanting employees with microchips.</p>
<p>Initially, the chips are being used in place of ID cards as a way of opening secure doors. But there’s good reason to think the use of implants could expand to more sinister purposes, giving employers much greater control over their workers and raising serious concerns over issues related to human dignity, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10676-006-9124-0">ethics</a> and health.</p>
<p>Businesses often do need some way to monitor employees to be sure they are completing their work and how much they should be paid. But in recent years, we’ve seen some more extreme monitoring methods that push at the boundaries of personal privacy. These include <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/02/18/firms-step-monitoring-employee-activities-work/2l5hoCjsEZWA0bp10BzPrN/story.html">surveillance of employee emails</a>, wearable technology that can <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/tesco-accused-of-using-electronic-armbands-to-monitor-its-staff-8493952.html">track employee movements</a>, and <a href="https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/working-papers/every-stitch-you-make-divergent-effects-monitoring-technology">radio tags</a> on factory products that allow bosses to monitor how fast workers on an assembly line are operating. But implanting microchips in employees creates a new level of monitoring and control simply because workers can’t easily remove them or turn them off. </p>
<p>Microchip implants are typically the size of a <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/07/25/technology-company-microchips-staff-can-clock-without-ids/">grain of rice</a> inserted under the skin between the thumb and the forefinger. They can allow people to enter buildings or use vending machines with just the swipe of their hand. Proponents say this makes life <a href="https://theconversation.com/thousands-of-swedes-are-inserting-microchips-into-themselves-heres-why-97741">more convenient</a> as employees don’t have to carry ID badges or key fobs. Organisations that deal with sensitive information also say that such chips allow them to <a href="https://medium.com/cxo-magazine/microchipping-workers-is-a-thing-should-it-be-e74ea1de7cb9">set restrictions</a> on who can access this information.</p>
<h2>Not so innocuous</h2>
<p>Most companies using these chips present them in this fairly innocuous way and think the fear surrounding their use arises from <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/09/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-microchip/570946/">misplaced suspicions</a>. But too much monitoring can make employees feel spied on, damaging their <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00236561003654776">productivity, creativity and motivation</a> as well as their personal well-being.</p>
<p>Some <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-journal-of-technology-assessment-in-health-care/article/implanting-inequality-empirical-evidence-of-social-and-ethical-risks-of-implantable-radiofrequency-identification-rfid-devices/49E51218E1788D79B5F209C045FE56CB">research also suggests</a> that implanted chips are susceptible to security risks and increase the potential for identity theft given that it is relatively easy to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/microchips-privacy-implants-biohacking/">hack a microchip implant</a>. So employees could be subjected to something that actually threatens their personal security.</p>
<p>What’s more, employers’ motivations for introducing chip implants are unlikely to be entirely altruistic. There is nothing to stop them from using the technology to track employees’ whereabouts or activities outside work. The chips can be reprogrammed <a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2018/614209/IPOL_STU(2018)614209_EN.pdf">while inside the body</a>, modifying their use and purpose from what might have initially been agreed between the employer and the employee. And this ability to track an employee’s location without their knowledge raises serious ethical concerns regarding their right to privacy. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246831/original/file-20181122-182071-hcoxgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246831/original/file-20181122-182071-hcoxgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246831/original/file-20181122-182071-hcoxgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246831/original/file-20181122-182071-hcoxgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246831/original/file-20181122-182071-hcoxgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246831/original/file-20181122-182071-hcoxgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246831/original/file-20181122-182071-hcoxgo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Workers are increasingly monitored, tracked and surveilled.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cctv-surveillance-operating-office-building-214426324?src=PnL3Uzb7Ys4R7Wbu5t6N1w-1-1">Vasin Lee/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>We’ve already seen how employers can use data ostensibly gathered for benign purposes to discriminate against workers. For example, personality tests designed to assess what job someone is most suited to have come under scrutiny for discriminating against people with <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/are-workplace-personality-tests-fair-1412044257">mental health issues</a>. Microchip implant data recording where employees go outside of work could be used to discriminate in similar ways.</p>
<p>Even if implants are technically voluntary, it’s not hard to imagine situations where employees might feel pressured to accept the chips by their managers or warned of unfavourable consequences if they don’t agree. Other increasingly intrusive forms of monitoring are already seen as an inescapable reality within many workplaces. For example, remote access to emails means some workers are expected to be on call at any time. This increases pressure on employees to work longer hours at the expense of their private lives, as well as creating another way for employers to track their activities.</p>
<p>Employees who choose to opt-out of company monitoring programs can also suffer real financial costs. In 2013, a pharmacy company launched a controversial health-screening program that <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/cvs-workers-insurance_n_2915006">allegedly required employees</a> to disclose personal information to their insurance provider and threatened to charge them US$600 a year if they refused. This kind of pressure can mentally condition workers to think that constant monitoring is the way forward.</p>
<h2>Health risks</h2>
<p>There is also limited information about the safety and health risks associated with the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18802863">use of chip implants</a>. As well as potential physical health risks, it is equally important for employers to understand the risks that microchip implants might pose to mental health. Employees receiving an implant might feel coerced to modify their usual behaviours because they know they are always being monitored and so experience high levels of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/000368709290005G">stress and anxiety</a>. Plus we don’t know very much about what kind of surgical intervention might be required to safely remove a chip, especially if it moves away from its initial implant site. </p>
<p>The good news is that in many developed countries, companies are expected to afford employees some level of privacy. In the EU, <a href="https://theconversation.com/gdpr-ground-zero-for-a-more-trusted-secure-internet-95951">new data protection legislation (GDPR)</a> means employers are expected to conduct privacy impact assessments when they engage in processes that represent a high risk to the rights of data subjects. Covert monitoring should only be carried out in exceptional cases when there is no other reasonable way to monitor employees. </p>
<p>This means that due to the concerns about the risks to privacy as well as health and security posed by chip implants any attempt to introduce them on a larger scale would likely face strong legal challenges. But that probably won’t stop some employers seeing what they can get away with at a time when it’s increasingly common to let private companies know almost everything about us.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107221/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shainaz Firfiray does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Seemingly innocuous security chips could enable companies to monitor employees in more sinister ways.Shainaz Firfiray, Associate Professor of Organisation and Human Resource Management, Warwick Business School, University of WarwickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1051842018-10-21T18:41:38Z2018-10-21T18:41:38ZThe evolutions of religion in the workplace in France<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241515/original/file-20181021-105751-1im5al5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C7%2C985%2C552&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/fr/image-photo/soft-focus-praying-praise-together-church-1072186610?src=nHeIfL6tEVO3moqixIpbVw-1-24">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In France, the principle of laicity is a <a href="https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/coming-to-france/france-facts/secularism-and-religious-freedom-in-france/article/secularism-and-religious-freedom-in-france">pillar of society</a>, and it is unusual to display one’s spirituality and religiosity in the workplace. However, since the early 2010s, the succession of cases leading to court decisions both on a <a href="https://europeanlawblog.eu/tag/bougnaoui-v-micropole/">national</a> <a href="http://en.rfi.fr/20180825-un-condemns-france-creches-hijab-ban/">international</a> levels has contributed to the perceived complexity and conflict of this issue.</p>
<p>In 2012, I established an observatory of religious issues at work with the aim of providing reliable data on these issues and in particular on the impact of religion on work and the management of such situations. To this end, we conduct an annual survey of French corporate managers (<a href="http://www.grouperandstad.fr/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/grf-ofre-180925.pdf">1,110 questionnaires 2018</a>). The main questions we are trying to answer are: How important is this phenomenon? What are the religion and related behaviours at work? Is this an issue for management? What are the impacts on the organisations?</p>
<h2>Religion at work: a real issue for managers in France?</h2>
<p>The proportion of managers who encounter issues related to religion at work rose sharply between 2013 and 2016, from 40% to 64%. From 2016 to 2018 it remained stable. In 2018:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>29.5% of managers encountered religious issues regularly (every day, week or month)</p></li>
<li><p>35.5% occasionally (every quarter)</p></li>
<li><p>35% rarely or never (once a year or less).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Thus two-thirds of managers encounter issues related to religion in their work environment. But what are the facts and what is their impact on the organisation?</p>
<p>The most common facts are requests for absence and changes in work schedules (36%), the wearing of visible religious symbols (19.5%) or prayers during breaks (10.5%). These facts correspond to personal demands and behaviours that do not in themselves call the organisation into question. They form a first category that includes two thirds of the situations. The second category, which represents one third of the situations, includes facts that call into question the functioning of the organisation. For instance, refusal to perform certain tasks (4.5%), to work with specific individuals (8.3%), especially women (7.4%), stigmatisation (7.4%), proselytism (5.3%) or prayers during working hours (6.5%).</p>
<p>More than one out of two facts (51% in 2018, a steady increase since 2013) gives rise to management intervention. And when management intervenes, 17.5% of cases are marked by tensions and/or conflicts. The proportion of conflict cases is also increasing steadily. It was 6% in 2013, 12% in 2015 and 16% in 2017.</p>
<p>Thus, one manager in two in France encounters the question of religion at work. The phenomenon is therefore widespread. It has become common in recent years. It has also become a management issue. Indeed, more than one case out of two requires management intervention (to respond to a request, reframe a behaviour, authorise a behaviour, plan absences, etc.), which results in conflicts and tensions in just under one case out of five.</p>
<h2>From one manager to another: what types of situation and problems?</h2>
<p>To further the analysis we have constructed an indicator of the religious density of the workplace. For this purpose, we have combined five variables strongly correlated between each other: the frequency of religious facts and its evolution, the importance given to the religious fact in the workplace by managers, the diversity of facts and of the types of facts, either dysfunctional or not. This allowed us to distinguish three situations marked by high (19.1%), moderate (25.6%) and low (55.3%) density levels.</p>
<p>This density of the religious fact in the workplace is a determining factor in the frequency of managerial intervention and the emergence of conflicts and tensions. Density of the religious fact in the workplace leads to more management intervention, which leads to more frequent occurrences of conflicts.</p>
<p>Density is also correlated with individual’s behaviour. Managers who are in high-density environment are also those who report the most demanding behaviours on the part of employees considered to have a negative attitude, those who make unreasonable demands and frequently refuse to adapt their religious practice to the constraints of corporate procedure.</p>
<p>In the same way, we have constructed an indicator for the disruption of the management situation generated by the religious fact. The objective is to refine the analysis by going beyond the notions of blockage and conflict to measure the impact of the religious fact on the complexity of managerial action. This indicator summarises four measures: the frequency of conflicts and blockages related to religious events, the evolution of this frequency, the frequency of challenges to managerial decisions concerning religious events and, finally, the frequency of sanctions related to religious events. This allowed us to identify three types of situations according to their low (65%), moderate (24%) and high (11%) degree of disruption.</p>
<p>Four main disturbance factors are identified:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Density is the main factor: The more the frequency of religious events and their diversity increase, the more blockages, conflicts, sanctions, challenges to decisions appear…</p></li>
<li><p>Managerial action: The ability of managers to balance respect for rules and religious freedom is crucial.</p></li>
<li><p>The behaviours of individuals: The more they question the functioning, the more disrupted the situations are.</p></li>
<li><p>Organisational arrangements: The company rules and discourses that govern religious expression in the workplace play an important role. They allow employees to adapt their behaviour, and managers to define their action.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Two realities and a paradox</h2>
<p>There is a strong link between the religious density of the situation and its degree of disruption. The 19.1% of situations with high density have the highest degrees of disruption and concentrate cases of blockages and conflicts. When the density is low or moderate, the rate of conflict is greatly reduced as well as the rate of dysfunctions. Two realities are emerging for managers and companies. In the first case, which is the vast majority, the religious fact is not very disruptive. In the second, a minority, it is much more so. Paradoxically, our results also show that it is in the second case that managers receive the least support from their organisation, must more often manage cases alone, and companies implement tools to manage religion at work the least often.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/105184/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lionel Honoré a reçu des financements de l'Observatoire du Fait Religieux en Entreprise (Université de la Polynésie Française - institut Randstad). </span></em></p>In France, expressions of spirituality are rare in workplace, but the situation has evolved since the 2010s. How important is this phenomenon and what are the impacts on the organisations?Lionel Honoré, Professeur des Universités, Université de la Polynésie FrançaiseLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/996612018-07-11T00:04:24Z2018-07-11T00:04:24ZWhen is #MeToo coming to my workplace? Eight things you can do now<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227008/original/file-20180710-70057-djx0e6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In this Nov. 12, 2017 file photo, participants march against sexual assault and harassment at the #MeToo March in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. Lawmakers are expected to take up bills to crack down on sexual harassment when they return from their summer recess in August 2018. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes,file)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As a sociologist who studies feminist activism, I often get asked when and how the #MeToo movement is going to trickle down. This is a fair question, and not one easy to answer. </p>
<p>We know social movement ideas often become part of the <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/titles/6309.html">cultural fabric of the everyday</a>, but how they get there, and how long they percolate as they make their way, varies. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/metoo-campaign-brings-conversation-of-rape-to-the-mainstream-85875">#MeToo movement has rocked many workplaces</a>: Actors, artists, journalists, politicians, chefs, corporate executives have all been felled for poor behaviour. </p>
<p>Women globally have experienced vicarious justice learning about the courage of the women who have come forward, and the innovativeness of Tarana Burke, the New York community organizer who coined the term #MeToo. </p>
<p>Each month, new revelations roll out, almost timed, featuring another high-profile man with abusive tendencies. These revelations are often based on expensive and expert reporting, and can be deeply educational and cathartic. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/metoo-campaign-brings-conversation-of-rape-to-the-mainstream-85875">#MeToo campaign brings conversation of rape to the mainstream</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<p>But it’s eerie for many women to continue in their familiar work-a-day capacities, <a href="http://angusreid.org/me-too/">where the justice has not yet trickled sideways, or down</a>. Many have worked at their organizations for decades and have witnessed casual and concerted sexual harassment, and in some cases assault. </p>
<p>Others have been subject to less direct aggression, but still must contend with a toxic workplace of sexual insult and innuendo, riven with bad feelings.</p>
<h2>Covert resistance</h2>
<p>Most women are not heartened by the idea of trickle-down justice, and they feel, rightly, that it is not going to come to them. They are the sociologists of their own lives, recounting for me in unionized and non-unionized settings, that speaking out against harassment doesn’t serve a victim well. These have been informal admissions made to me as a public feminist. </p>
<p>From these informal stories, I understand everyday people to be master strategists, opting for schedule shifts that enable them to steer clear of known harassers, trying not to be in the elevator or alone with or next to the same, keeping their heads down and not making eye contact, knowing when to be direct and when to say nothing, laughing insults off, holding their breaths when leering, expectant men walk by their offices, pulling out file drawers to prevent harassers from coming into their personal space, eating lunch at their desks, never going for drinks on Thursdays with the rest of the crew, exiting the building to a back alley to avoid a co-worker waiting at the front door to walk with them to the subway. </p>
<p>I believe women share these tactics with me because #MeToo has made them conscious and proud of their own survival skills. I admire these strategies and through listening to them, have realized that for many women, work is often video game-like, as they tiptoe, run, duck and hide, to avoid harm. </p>
<h2>Fear reprisals</h2>
<p>The #MeToo movement has changed the air in some places of work, but led to recourse in far fewer. Most women workers cannot afford a trial, and don’t want a soul-killing mandatory training module on sexual harassment in their divisions.</p>
<p>Many have confessed to me that a meeting with higher-ups would ensure that within days HR would be coming with a box and a five-minute timer to evacuate the complaint-maker from her desk. </p>
<p>How do the great majority of working women reckon with #MeToo when there will be no confrontation, revelation or watershed moment for them? </p>
<p>Academics, journalists, teachers, social workers and psychologists have experienced a notable outpouring of questions and concerns, but this is not a professional moment, this is a people’s moment to decide what is no longer OK, partly because it’s illegal, partly because it violates workplace policy and mostly because harassment is soul-killing. </p>
<p>While researchers have shown formal reporting mechanisms to be often disappointing, other scholars show that <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1163/156916307X210973">everyday referencing of social movements, and allying with them, makes women feel stronger and more capable of refusing sexism</a></p>
<p>The #MeToo movement won’t make a tsunami level wave in every place of work. But with small gestures, we can remove the sandbags from the thresholds of our doors, open the windows and invite something of the force of that water to trickle in. Inviting the water in while small may feel more energizing than wondering whether, and when, it might come.</p>
<h2>Eight things you can do about a toxic work environment</h2>
<p>We have to commit to ending this toxic culture. Here are eight suggestions for how to do it.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If you have sexually harassed or belittled people you work with, meditate on what you have done or are doing, and stop. If you can’t control your own toxic impulses, get professional help or quit.</p></li>
<li><p>Everyone should search on the Internet: “What is professional workplace behaviour?” Read the top 10 sites that come up. Other helpful sites will pop up including, “<a href="https://www.thebalancecareers.com/top-things-you-should-never-do-at-work-4016248">Top ten things not to do at work.</a>” Print them out. Follow them.</p></li>
<li><p>Read <a href="http://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/bill/C-65/first-reading">federal law</a> on harassment and safety in the workplace.</p></li>
<li><p>Read your employer’s guidelines on harassment and safety in the workplace.</p></li>
<li><p>If you see harassment, <a href="https://moneyish.com/ish/heres-how-to-help-if-you-witness-sexual-harassment-at-work/">intervene</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>If you are experiencing harassment, do your research. Educate yourself <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/3798481/workplace-sexual-harassment/">on the help you can access</a>: Non-profit, governmental, private sector and popular advice is available, which will give you options and make you feel less alone. </p></li>
<li><p>Ask management for an <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanwestwood/2018/02/23/why-equality-matters-and-4-ways-to-develop-an-authentic-workplace/">equality audit of your workplace</a>. Questions to ask include: How are we doing with homophobia, racism and sexism as these relate to mentoring, advancement, leadership and decision-making? </p></li>
<li><p>Gather together colleagues you trust to write a concise letter stating that in your place of work, harassment has happened, and that you’d like everyone to commit to a new awareness of gender dynamics in the workplace. You can circulate the letter, tack it to the bulletin board, leave it in the mailroom. This is subversive, and there might be blowback, so folks have to think about whether they want to be so direct and deal with the consequences. On the other hand, colleagues may be grateful for your leadership. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Let’s assume going forward that those among us who have been toxic want to let that go. Those among us who are easy targets are going to start reading up on rights and recording bad behaviour. </p>
<p>The rest of us are going to try our best to create a new normal and pay attention so we don’t look like we have better things to do when people get hurt, other than to help them. It might be awkward while some people adjust. Awkward is a small price.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99661/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Judith Taylor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While the #MeToo movement has been revolutionary, some workplaces will be slow to change. Here are seven things we can all do to help stop toxic work environments.Judith Taylor, Professor of Sociology, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/995182018-07-10T03:48:58Z2018-07-10T03:48:58ZWhy the Human Rights Commission was right to rule employment discrimination in child pornography conviction case<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226647/original/file-20180709-122271-1q5e42b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A man convicted of child pornography access and possession has won an employment discrimination case against Suncorp</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/en/law-books-legal-court-lawyer-1991004/">Pixabay</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A man twice convicted of child pornography charges was discriminated against by an employer due to his offending past, the Australian Human Rights Commission has found. </p>
<p>The employment candidate, known as BE in the <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/document/publication/2018_AusHRC_121_FINAL_0.pdf">case proceedings</a>, was convicted of accessing and possessing child pornography in 2008. He was further convicted of breaching a reporting requirement. </p>
<p>Insurance giant Suncorp revoked his employment offer, prompting BE to lodge a case with the Australian Human Rights Commission. The commission ruled in favour of BE, recommending Suncorp <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/questions-over-child-porn-law-after-man-rejected-for-job/news-story/33d7a4a6517316e892b49122270c94da">compensate him $2500</a>. </p>
<p>The case has raised questions about the adequacy of Australia’s discrimination laws, and drawn criticism of the Australian Human Rights Commission.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/for-women-fighting-the-gender-pay-gap-discrimination-law-is-limited-89918">For women fighting the gender pay gap discrimination law is limited</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Employer Discrimination</h2>
<p>BE applied for a job with Suncorp as a home-based consultant in 2015. He was qualified for the job, having worked in a similar role previously. BE successfully passed the first two stages of the Suncorp recruitment process, and received a conditional offer based on the outcome of a criminal records check. </p>
<p>In 2008, BE was convicted of accessing and storing child pornography on his computer. He was sentenced to 12 months in jail, which was suspended for two years with $20,000 in bonds and charity payments. He was again convicted of not complying with reporting obligations in 2015. Initially, BE did’t fully disclose the details of his conviction in his application form. He later elaborated during a telephone interview with recruiters. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226650/original/file-20180709-122265-17396kh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226650/original/file-20180709-122265-17396kh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226650/original/file-20180709-122265-17396kh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226650/original/file-20180709-122265-17396kh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226650/original/file-20180709-122265-17396kh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226650/original/file-20180709-122265-17396kh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226650/original/file-20180709-122265-17396kh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Discrimination occurs when a distinction, exclusion, or preference restricts an employment opportunity when the inherent requirements of a job are met.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/141761303@N08/26931177139">Amtec Staffing/Flickr</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>After his employment offer was revoked, BE lodged a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission. Suncorp listed two reasons for its decision to revoke BE’s offer: first, that an internal candidate had been chosen. Second, that due to BE’s criminal conviction, he could not meet the inherent requirements of the job. </p>
<p>The case sparked debate on discrimination law and societal responsibilities to convicted offenders. While employers may not want to hire someone with a criminal record, this goes against the principle that a person who has been convicted and punished has paid their debt to society. </p>
<h2>Australia’s workplace discrimination laws</h2>
<p>Not hiring someone due to their criminal record isn’t illegal in Australia, except in the Northern Territory and Tasmania. In every state, situations exist where an employer is legally required to refuse employment based on criminal records, such as when working with children. </p>
<p>Australia has declared a criminal conviction as grounds for discrimination “for the purposes of” the <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/legal/publications/be-v-suncorp-group-ltd-2018">1986 Australian Human Rights Commission Act</a>. In Section 3 (1), discrimination is defined as a “distinction, exclusion or preference” that restricts an employment opportunity, unless necessitated by the “ <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2017C00143">inherent requirements of the job</a>”. Complaints of discrimination are investigated by the Australian Human Rights Commission. </p>
<p>This definition of discrimination is broader than other federal and state legislation, which explains why BE took his complaint to the commission.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226649/original/file-20180709-122259-vczjhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226649/original/file-20180709-122259-vczjhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226649/original/file-20180709-122259-vczjhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226649/original/file-20180709-122259-vczjhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226649/original/file-20180709-122259-vczjhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226649/original/file-20180709-122259-vczjhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226649/original/file-20180709-122259-vczjhu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">BE had twice been convicted of charges relating to child pornography.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/en/handcuffs-trouble-police-arrest-2102488/">Pixabay</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Criminal conviction discrimination is not illegal under the act. The commission can resolve complaints by conciliation, or dispute resolution. When the commission finds discrimination has occurred and conciliation is not possible, the commission is required to lodge a report with the federal Attorney-General to be tabled in parliament. </p>
<h2>Australian Human Rights Commission case findings</h2>
<p>A resolution couldn’t be reached between BE and Suncorp, so a report was submitted to the Attorney-General. The report recommended BE receive $2500 for <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/questions-over-child-porn-law-after-man-rejected-for-job/news-story/33d7a4a6517316e892b49122270c94da">“hurt, humiliation and distress”</a>. Suncorp was asked to revise its recruitment policies to conform with the <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/rights-and-freedoms/publications/human-rights-record">comission’s guidelines</a>, and train its recruitment staff on these guidelines. </p>
<p>Suncorp argued BE didn’t meet the inherent requirements of the position due to the role’s “additional requirements”. Suncorp requires employees to “<a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/legal/publications/be-v-suncorp-group-ltd-2018">actively demonstrate Suncorp values</a> — Courage, Honesty, Respect, Caring, Trust”. They argued that by not fully disclosing his convictions in the initial application, BE didn’t demonstrate honesty. They also expressed concern for his trustworthiness and the risk of him working unsupervised with internet access. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/three-charts-on-disability-discrimination-in-the-workplace-85183">Three charts on: disability discrimination in the workplace</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Suncorp’s concerns were thrown out by Australian Human Rights Commission president Professor Rosalind Croucher. She found that BE met the “inherent requirments”, which were “essential features” of the job and not something <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/legal/publications/be-v-suncorp-group-ltd-2018">“peripheral”</a>, such as trust and honesty. Croucher’s legal reasoning has been overlooked by critics of this Australian Human Rights Comission’s decision. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226659/original/file-20180709-122265-5sz96w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226659/original/file-20180709-122265-5sz96w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226659/original/file-20180709-122265-5sz96w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226659/original/file-20180709-122265-5sz96w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226659/original/file-20180709-122265-5sz96w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226659/original/file-20180709-122265-5sz96w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/226659/original/file-20180709-122265-5sz96w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australian Human Rights Commission President Rosalind Croucher said Suncorp discriminated against BE for his prior convictions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/23930202@N06/38984330062/">Australian Human Rights Commission/Flickr</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Criticism of the Australian Human Rights Commission</h2>
<p>The Australian Human Rights Commission has come under attack for its decision by the media and politicians. Andrew Bolt has called the human rights commission <a href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/blogs/andrew-bolt/human-rights-commission-goes-nuts/news-story/959db014739ad66da0092fb9d3154e58">“nuts”</a>, while The Australian quoted former senator Eric Abetz saying “why the Human Rights Commission constantly feels the need to go in to bat for murderers and <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/questions-over-child-porn-law-after-man-rejected-for-job/news-story/33d7a4a6517316e892b49122270c94da">paedophiles really is baffling</a>”. </p>
<p>Attorney-General Christian Porter also expressed criticism at the case, vowing to look into it. Porter said </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“<a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/questions-over-child-porn-law-after-man-rejected-for-job/news-story/33d7a4a6517316e892b49122270c94da">A legal overhaul</a> may be required to prevent … being told to hire people convicted of serious sex offences or face discrimination proceedings”.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It is rare for an independent statutory body to be subject to sustained criticism. It is concerning, as it has the potential to undermine the importance of independent statutory bodies. </p>
<p>Whether the government has plans to amend the Australian Human Rights Commission Act to broaden the grounds for permissible discrimination remains to be seen. The review should consider whether the “inherent requirements” provisions of the act impose too great a restriction on the hiring decisions of employers.</p>
<p>Lawmakers should also consider whether the extent of criminal conviction discrimination is sufficiently widespread to justify amending the law to better protect those who suffer this form of employment discrimination.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99518/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julian Teicher does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Insurance company Suncorp refused to hire a man due to his prior convictions relating to child pornography. The Australian Human Rights Commission the employer discriminated against the man.Julian Teicher, Professor of Human Resources and Employment and Deputy Dean (Research), School of Business and Law, CQUniversity AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/951862018-04-23T22:33:18Z2018-04-23T22:33:18ZThe National Day of Mourning is a reminder workplaces should be safe<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/215941/original/file-20180423-133859-4v87wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The railway at the centre of the 2013 Lac-Megantic explosion, Montreal Maine and Atlantic, was recently ordered to pay fines totalling $1.25 million after being convicted of violating the Fisheries Act due to crude oil leaking into nearby bodies of water. Employers and companies are increasingly being held responsible for workplace accidents.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Have you ever had a loved one killed or maimed on the job? What about a co-worker or someone you knew? It happened to me in the mid-1970s, when one of my bosses at a smelter where I worked in northern Ontario was killed on the job. Six months from retirement and a careless mistake cost him his life. </p>
<p>This April 28th — National Day of Mourning — it’s worth remembering that every day in Canada and other countries, thousands of employees go to work expecting to return home safely to their families. But the reality is that too many workers will never return to their loved ones, and multiple others’ lives will be changed forever, maimed by inexplicable unsafe workplace incidents that, for the most part, could have been prevented. </p>
<p>Consider these incidents. </p>
<p>In 1992, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/westray-remembered-explosion-killed-26-n-s-coal-miners-in-1992-1.1240122">26 miners were killed at Westray Mines</a>, a coal mine in Plymouth, N.S. . No one was charged despite known infractions by the owners. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/215832/original/file-20180423-119528-1u3j7hv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/215832/original/file-20180423-119528-1u3j7hv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/215832/original/file-20180423-119528-1u3j7hv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/215832/original/file-20180423-119528-1u3j7hv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/215832/original/file-20180423-119528-1u3j7hv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=638&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/215832/original/file-20180423-119528-1u3j7hv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=638&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/215832/original/file-20180423-119528-1u3j7hv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=638&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Relatives of trapped miners console each other in Plymouth, N.S., in May 1992. Twenty-six miners died in the Westray coal mine after an explosion.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(CP PHOTO/Ryan Remiorz)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But public outcry and petitions <a href="http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1288&context=scholarly_works">brought about changes to Canada’s Criminal Code</a> in 2004. Employers and others could finally be sent to jail for negligence causing serious injury or death in the workplace. </p>
<p><a href="https://kgss.ca/2014/06/05/on-march-31-2014-bill-c-45-celebrated-its-10th-anniversary/">Canada has among the toughest workplace laws</a> in the Western world, and over the past several years, negligent managers and supervisors <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2016/01/11/construction-manager-gets-prison-in-scaffold-deaths.html">have been receiving jail sentences</a> or fined heavily.</p>
<p>Recently, the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team’s bus <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/rcmp-humboldt-broncos-crash-update-press-conference-1.4625017">collided with a semi-trailer in Saskatchewan</a>, where 16 members of the team, mostly teenagers, as well as the bus driver, were killed. While it was a devastating and tragic traffic accident, it was also a workplace incident as both the bus and truck driver were on the job.</p>
<p>In 1979, <a href="https://www.thestar.com/yourtoronto/once-upon-a-city-archives/2017/11/16/1979-train-derailment-became-known-as-the-mississauga-miracle.html">a train derailment in Mississauga, Ont.,</a> caused an entire city to be evacuated for a week. No one was hurt, but workers were exposed to unknown dangerous chemicals that were being hauled. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/216015/original/file-20180423-94132-1kv049e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/216015/original/file-20180423-94132-1kv049e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216015/original/file-20180423-94132-1kv049e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216015/original/file-20180423-94132-1kv049e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216015/original/file-20180423-94132-1kv049e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216015/original/file-20180423-94132-1kv049e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/216015/original/file-20180423-94132-1kv049e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The scene in Mississauga, Ont., on the night of a major train derailment in 1979.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Deborah McPhee</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Public safety was front and centre. This incident brought about increased emergency procedures, detailed chemical cleanup and improved safety of rail cars. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, the major train derailment at <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2018/01/19/lac-megantic-disaster-trial-jury-to-deliberate-for-ninth-consecutive-day.html">Lac-Mégantic, Que., that resulted in 47 deaths</a> and decimated half the downtown some 34 years later show there’s still <a href="https://www.mississauga.com/news-story/7051732--culture-of-secrecy-surrounds-transportation-of-hazardous-materials/">so much more work to do on workplace safety.</a></p>
<h2>Daily occurrences</h2>
<p>Other workplace incidents may not be at the top of the newscasts. </p>
<p>The fisherman who slips and hits his head working on a trawler who faces a lifetime of disability. The manufacturing employee working on a machine without proper guards whose limb gets caught and is now facing life with only one arm. The young temp worker <a href="https://www.thespec.com/news-story/8381418-this-temp-worker-was-being-strangled-by-a-machine-her-co-worker-didn-t-know-how-to-help/">whose hijab gets caught in a machine</a> and strangles her to death. Unfortunately, many of these sorts of incidents are daily occurrences somewhere in the world. </p>
<p>A number of them have had a major impact on how the public views employers, employees and the legislative responsibility to keep employees safe at work. </p>
<p>Health and safety is everybody’s responsibility, and it’s this mantra that forms <a href="https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/legisl/irs.html">the Internal Responsibility System (IRS)</a>. IRS means that everyone in the workplace has a role to play in keeping workplaces safe and healthy. </p>
<p>Not only has Canada led the way on the legislative front, we commemorate the workers who have faced death on the job or life-altering events because of workplace incidents. April 28 is known as the Day of Mourning.</p>
<p>In 1984, labour unions in Sudbury, Ont., known as the Nickel Capital of the World, <a href="http://threadsoflife.ca/get-involved/national-day-of-mourning-april-28th/">adopted this day to publicly acknowledge workplace injuries, illnesses and deaths.</a></p>
<h2>Flags at half-mast</h2>
<p>On April 28, 1991, Canada as a nation officially marked its first National Day of Mourning for persons killed or injured in the workplace. Flags now fly at half-mast and ceremonies are held in recognition of senseless workplace deaths, illnesses that go undetected for years and injuries that change the lives of individuals and their families forever.</p>
<p>Since 1991, 100 other countries have also adopted the observance known widely as Workers’ Memorial Day and as International Workers’ Memorial Day by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/215833/original/file-20180423-75126-167ki22.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/215833/original/file-20180423-75126-167ki22.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/215833/original/file-20180423-75126-167ki22.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/215833/original/file-20180423-75126-167ki22.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/215833/original/file-20180423-75126-167ki22.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/215833/original/file-20180423-75126-167ki22.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/215833/original/file-20180423-75126-167ki22.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In this April 28, 2016 photo, construction workers listen on International Workers Memorial Day as the names of the 16 victims of construction accidents in New York City over the previous year are read during a memorial mass in New York.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Have we done enough? Clearly we have not. </p>
<p>The Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada (AWCBC) <a href="http://awcbc.org/?page_id=14">most recent statistics</a>, for the year 2016, recorded 905 workplace deaths. Among those dead were six young workers aged 15 to 19 and another 20 workers aged 20 to 24. </p>
<p>Add to these fatalities the 241,508 claims accepted for lost time due to a work-related injury or disease, including 29,588 from workers aged 15 to 24 — and the fact that these statistics only include what’s reported to and accepted by compensation boards — and it’s safe to say that the total number of workers impacted is even higher. </p>
<p>What these numbers don’t show is just how many people are directly affected by workplace tragedies. </p>
<p>Each worker death has a profound impact on the loved ones, families, friends and co-workers they leave behind, changing all of their lives forever.</p>
<p>So on April 28 when you go to work or drive down the street and see the flags at half-mast, take a moment to remember those who have lost their lives on the job. </p>
<p>Health and safety is everybody’s responsibility and we still have a very long road ahead of us.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/95186/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Deborah McPhee is affiliated with Minerva Canada, where she sits as a Board Member. The goal of Minerva Canada is for all business schools and engineering schools to teach health and safety at the post secondary level. </span></em></p>Every day people around the world go to work expecting to return home safely to their families. But the reality is that many never return due to workplace accidents that could have been prevented.Deborah McPhee, Associate Professor, Human Resources Management and Occupational Health and Safety at The Goodman School of Business, Brock UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/917262018-02-21T12:16:57Z2018-02-21T12:16:57ZFive young women in porn have died within a few months – it’s time for a change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/207265/original/file-20180221-132677-1u3ntnb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/silhouette-woman-666721072?src=Ark1HiO9tXLhXTtYt1tbeQ-1-11">Billion Photos/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The pornography industry is no stranger to misconceptions. But the recent deaths of <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/7xe5mq/sex-death-and-social-media-at-the-annual-porn-awards">five young women</a> in recent months – August Ames, Olivia Lua, Olivia Nova, Yuri Luv and Shyla Stylez – have served to reignite debates regarding working conditions and the treatment of performers.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/7xe5mq/sex-death-and-social-media-at-the-annual-porn-awards">At the recent AVN Awards</a>, often referred to as the Oscars of the adult video industry, performer and husband to Ames, Kevin Moore, declared: “There can never be another AVN Awards show that has a memorial full of young women ever again.” Not all of the causes of death have been made public, though questions have been raised <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/01/22/fifth-young-porn-star-dies-drugs-despair-suicide-factors-in-deaths/">about some of the women’s mental health</a>.</p>
<p>Given the narratives that surround the industry, it would be easy to fall into the trap of suggesting that these women suffered as a result of the cruel and degrading conditions working in porn involves, as suggested by some commentators, <a href="http://www.feministcurrent.com/2015/02/23/the-porn-oscars-celebrate-an-industry-built-on-cruelty-abuse-and-vicious-misogyny/">such as Julie Bindel</a>. But to do so is to ignore the realities of the industry as told by the workers themselves and to talk about porn in a manner removed from wider discussions on workplace rights, gender and culture. This tendency also prevents us from engaging in a wider conversation about mental health, sex work and stigma. And this is key to understanding the circumstances surrounding each death.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"954140233062170624"}"></div></p>
<p>You don’t need to look far into discussions on the pornography industry to see it being decried as a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jul/02/gail-dines-pornography">hellhole of torture and abuse</a>, particularly for its female performers. But rarely are such claims backed up by industry workers themselves. This is not to say that the industry is a utopia free of sexual harassment, but that such behaviour is an exception rather than the rule. Meanwhile, recent <a href="https://theconversation.com/harvey-weinstein-showbusiness-voices-signal-the-sad-ubiquity-of-sexual-abuse-in-industry-85693">reports from Hollywood</a> have shown that work-related sexual assault is hardly limited to sex work alone.</p>
<h2>Mental health</h2>
<p>At the same time, more than <a href="https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/statistics-and-facts-about-mental-health/#.WoxMrqhl-Uk">one in four</a> of us will experience mental health difficulties over the course of each year. We see stories regarding mental health in relation to other professions frequently, from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jun/28/nhs-staff-taking-more-sick-days-than-ever">NHS staff</a> to <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/academics-face-higher-mental-health-risk-than-other-professions">university academics</a>. When workers in other professions raise concerns about their mental health, they tend to be greeted with empathy and support. Unlike workers within porn, they are rarely shut down by being told they shouldn’t be working in that industry in the first place.</p>
<p>Where the pornography industry differs from these other sectors of work is in the <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23268743.2015.1065202">stigma</a> faced by those working within it. As with any other form of sex work, pornography is considered to be an “other” in society, and it is industry workers who bear the brunt of this stigmatisation.</p>
<p>They are seen as “damaged goods”, “dirty”, or responsible for the denigration of society – though there is no evidence to suggest that any of this is true, and <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00224499.2012.719168">some suggesting the opposite</a>. They must fight against the idea that pornography labour is not “real work”. In recent years, the increasing accessibility of their online selves through social media has provided ample opportunities for connecting with fans and promoting their work – as well as for online abuse, harassment and trolling. This creates even more opportunities for this stigma to flourish, as well as for it to be confronted.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"938511527740628993"}"></div></p>
<p>It is not the working conditions in the industry that are most likely to cause damage. Instead, it is the stigma and lack of support that workers in the pornography industry face – something that isn’t a problem for those working in other sectors. By applying the label of “porn star” to each of the women who have died, we close down a conversation about mental health, under the idea that porn is different, a scapegoat. In doing so, we avoid the difficult task of allowing the industry to be part of an equally difficult discussion on a wider societal level.</p>
<h2>So what can we do?</h2>
<p>We must consider porn like any other industry and work to reduce the stigma surrounding it, alongside other forms of sex work. Workers in the pornography industry are just as entitled to employment rights and protections as those in all other forms of labour, and to consider pornography professionals as less deserving or less capable of having these demands met is therefore “the worst kind of abuse”, as performer Jiz Lee and media studies expert Rebecca Sullivan <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23268743.2016.1184474">show</a>.</p>
<p>We also need to engage with performers and other professionals in the industry by supporting their work and listening to their voices with regards to industry conditions and how we can work to make it better.</p>
<p>And finally, we must accept that porn is porn, but also look beyond the baggage of that label towards the social dynamics at play when discussing mental health, workplace rights and sex work. In doing so, we can build an environment where pornography professionals are not dismissed and their valid contributions towards wider social issues can be recognised. That would certainly be a fitting tribute for the women whose lives have been lost.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91726/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rosie Hodsdon does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Recent deaths within the pornography industry in the US have reignited debates on labour conditions and mental health.Rosie Hodsdon, PhD Candidate in Law and Sexuality, Northumbria University, NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/891792017-12-26T19:55:30Z2017-12-26T19:55:30ZThe key to a vibrant democracy may well lie in your workplace<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199345/original/file-20171215-26031-l9fpul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Giving workers a 'voice' is easy, and has already been proven effective as a management technique.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When you go to work, does your employer <a href="http://fortune.com/2011/05/06/5-ways-to-manage-your-autocratic-boss/">tell you what to do</a> and expect you to do it? Or do they instead <a href="https://theconversation.com/theyre-the-voice-how-workers-can-be-heard-when-unions-are-on-the-wane-57209">ask you what you think</a> the company should be doing to improve its operations and become more efficient? </p>
<p>It turns out that bosses who take the time to listen to their employees and involve them in organisational decisions may be inadvertently strengthening their country’s democracy.</p>
<p>In a new <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0019793917746619">paper</a>, my colleagues and I show that the key to a vibrant democracy may be as simple as giving employees a “voice” in the workplace. </p>
<p>When workers feel empowered over the decisions that affect them at work, they are more likely to engage in politics outside of work. So, employees can potentially learn about the merits of democracy in the workplace and carry those skills and positive attitudes with them into civil society.</p>
<p>Using a sample of more than 14,000 workers across 27 countries, we found that employees whose bosses give them some discretion over their work tasks are significantly more likely to vote in elections, belong to a political party, sign petitions, boycott products, and contact politicians, among other political behaviours.</p>
<p>In contrast, employees who have no control over their work are much more likely to be politically apathetic outside the workplace.</p>
<h2>Silenced employees can damage the community</h2>
<p>Now more than ever before, democratic societies need to take action to safeguard our political freedoms.</p>
<p>Our research shows that a simple and effective way to instil a love of democracy is to practice what we preach in the workplace. This means a dramatic change in the way the workforce is managed.</p>
<p>Our research’s findings suggest that treating workers like soldiers whose only job is to execute management’s orders without questioning them can have dangerous consequences on the societies and communities in which we live. </p>
<p>Authoritarian managers often stifle debate, silence critics, and devalue the views and opinions of their subordinates. Employees who dare to speak up are silenced quickly and learn not to speak up at all, but rather just to do what they’re told.</p>
<p>Outside work, they feel demoralised and are much less likely to become involved in local, regional or national politics. Such employees, while perhaps easier to manage than engaged ones, do not make good citizens.</p>
<h2>Related benefits of giving workers a ‘voice’</h2>
<p>Giving workers a “voice” is easy and has already been proven effective as a management technique. This might involve, for example, <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0969160X.2015.1022196">sharing strategic information with employees</a> and asking for their input or ideas. Or it may mean consulting with employees (or their representatives) about the company’s strategic direction and giving them an opportunity to make suggestions or recommendations. </p>
<p>This may be as simple as allowing them to decide where to hold the staff Christmas party, or perhaps something more complicated like organising production around self-managed teams. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.smh.com.au/money/investing/does-employee-ownership-make-companies-more-successful-20170217-gufro2.html">Employee ownership</a> is another innovative organisational form that encourages worker participation in management decision-making.</p>
<p>Initiatives like these empower workers and make them feel listened to at work. Our research shows they will take this appreciation for the political process and bring it into their communities, resulting in a renewed enthusiasm for electoral politics.</p>
<p>Employee voice can have benefits not only at home, but also abroad. Previous attempts to spread democracy through war have been <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-war-anniversary/iraq-war-costs-u-s-more-than-2-trillion-study-idUSBRE92D0PG20130314">expensive</a> and of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jul/07/iraq-war-still-casts-a-long-shadow-over-a-dangerous-and-deeply-unstable-region">questionable success</a>. </p>
<p>Perhaps a more efficient way to spread democracy is not from the top-down, but rather through the bottom-up. By promoting participative management practices abroad, we could be sowing the seeds for non-violent change toward freer and more democratic societies.</p>
<p>So, if you’re an employee, share this article with your co-workers and your boss. Your country’s political future might depend on it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89179/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Timming has received funding from FINRA, the British Academy and the Scottish Universities Insight Institute.</span></em></p>Employees whose bosses give them some discretion over their work tasks are significantly more likely to engage in political behaviours outside work.Andrew Timming, Associate Professor of Human Resource Management, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/825432017-09-06T11:31:54Z2017-09-06T11:31:54ZThree reasons employers need to recognise the menopause at work<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184549/original/file-20170904-10777-zlc6mq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">shutterstock</span> </figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/menopause-563">Menopause</a>, when periods stop for good, is a normal stage in every woman’s reproductive life. The symptoms usually begin in a woman’s forties, with the average age of menopause itself being 51. Experiences differ from woman to woman. Some report sailing through transition, others are pleased to no longer menstruate or be able to fall pregnant, or just embrace getting older. </p>
<p>Symptoms also vary. Some are probably familiar – like unpredictable periods or heavy bleeding, hot flushes, night sweats, poor sleep and emotional outbursts. Others are less well known, including growth or loss of body hair, clumsiness, pins and needles and moments of forgetfulness or poor concentration. About 25% of women have very debilitating symptoms.</p>
<p>When we consider that most women in the UK now work outside of the home, and that employment rates among women over 50 have increased dramatically over the last three decades, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/menopause-transition-effects-on-womens-economic-participation">it is obvious menopause is an important workplace issue</a>. This is for three main reasons. </p>
<p>The first is corporate social responsibility – the need to ensure that mid-life women have the highest possible quality of working life, and are able to work for as long as they choose, unimpeded by menopause-related difficulties. The second is the law – workplace discrimination based on gender or age is illegal under the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equality-act-2010-guidance">Equality Act</a> and BT were the subject of <a href="https://www.pureemploymentlaw.co.uk/dismissal-without-taking-account-of-menopause-symptoms-discriminatory-and-unfair/">the first successful employment tribunal in 2012</a>. Here direct sex discrimination and unfair dismissal were proven after the plaintiff was dismissed for under-performance, despite providing a medical note documenting that her poor concentration was due to menopause transition. </p>
<p>The third reason is economic. As demonstrated in the BT tribunal, menopause symptoms can affect performance at work. They can also contribute to higher sickness absence. If a woman has to leave work because of her symptoms, replacing her <a href="https://menopauseintheworkplace.co.uk/the-benefits/">costs an average of £30,000</a>. So there are important cost savings to be made here, as well as retaining expertise and experience.</p>
<h2>Different treatment</h2>
<p>And yet, as many women experience, menopause <a href="http://healthtalk.org/peoples-experiences/later-life/menopause/work">is not on most employers’ agendas</a>. In fact, very few menopause-specific health and well-being policies exist in UK organisations. Little training or information about the menopause is provided for managers or any other employees. There is also <a href="http://healthtalk.org/peoples-experiences/later-life/menopause/work">evidence that</a> mid-life women feel they are treated differently – perhaps even harassed or ridiculed – by others at work, whether they are actually menopausal or not.</p>
<p>The analogy we draw is to pregnancy and maternity. Imagine a woman in her early 30s telling her manager she is pregnant, and saying she wants to take maternity leave at a certain point and return to work when the baby is three months old. Nothing unusual there.</p>
<p>Now imagine the same woman, 15 years later, telling the same manager she is experiencing severe menopausal hot flushes and night sweats and wants to work from home when these symptoms are especially bothersome. <a href="http://www.bawp.org/Resources/Documents/Ageing%20Police%20Officers.pdf">The evidence suggests that</a>, even if this woman felt able to disclose her symptoms (and many, many mid-life women workers do not), she is likely to meet with bafflement, at best.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184560/original/file-20170904-9750-1u0ry46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/184560/original/file-20170904-9750-1u0ry46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184560/original/file-20170904-9750-1u0ry46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184560/original/file-20170904-9750-1u0ry46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184560/original/file-20170904-9750-1u0ry46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184560/original/file-20170904-9750-1u0ry46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/184560/original/file-20170904-9750-1u0ry46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Double standard.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There is a range of advice available for employers on menopause as a workplace issue. Some of the best guidance we have found is provided by <a href="https://age.bitc.org.uk/all-resources/toolkits/women-menopause-and-workplace">Business in the Community</a>, a responsible business network run by the Prince of Wales. There are also pioneers like retailer <a href="http://www.personneltoday.com/hr/menopause-at-work-how-employers-can-help-staff-manage-the-change/">Marks and Spencer</a> and the <a href="https://www.nottinghamshire.police.uk/document/menopause-managers-guide-pg50">Nottinghamshire Police Service</a>, who have provision in place already. Others, like the water company <a href="https://www.stwater.co.uk/news/news-releases/severntrentleadsthewayinraisingawarenessofmenopauseintheworkplace/">Severn Trent</a> and the University of Leicester (where three of us work), are developing this provision, supported by consultants from <a href="https://menopauseintheworkplace.co.uk/">Henpicked</a>, a social network for women over the age of 40. </p>
<p>It is important to emphasise that support mechanisms can cost very little – like allowing women to wear uniforms made of natural fibres or to work in an office with natural light, providing USB fans or supplies of cold drinking water and sanitary protection. </p>
<p>Other approaches, including specialist occupational health support, may cost more, but individual women will only need them for a short period of time. Flexible working, which can as we suggest above help women to cope during menopause transition, is something every UK worker <a href="https://www.gov.uk/flexible-working/overview">has the right to request anyway</a>.</p>
<p>To be clear, we are not advocating for “special treatment” for mid-life women workers. That is, not unless risk assessments during pregnancy and maternity leave represent special treatment. Neither are we suggesting that men don’t have mid-life experiences which could prove equally challenging to manage at work.</p>
<p>Instead, we think it’s important to normalise women’s experiences of the menopause so mid-life women can raise it at work without worrying about being judged or stereotyped; and to impress on employers how important it is that this demographically pressing phenomenon is no longer ignored.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/82543/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jo Brewis has received funding from the Department of Education.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrea Davies received funding from the Department of Education.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vanessa Beck received funding from the Department of Education. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jesse Matheson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s something that affects all women – but few companies have menopause-specific health and well-being policies.Jo Brewis, Professor of Organisation and Consumption, University of LeicesterAndrea Davies, Associate Professor in Marketing and Consumer Research, University of LeicesterJesse Matheson, Associate Professor in Economics, University of LeicesterVanessa Beck, Senior Lecturer in Work and Organisation, University of BristolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/761962017-04-20T23:20:40Z2017-04-20T23:20:40ZWhat Gorsuch’s conservative Supreme Court means for workers<p>As Neil Gorsuch takes his seat on the Supreme Court, the 4-4 ideological stalemate that plagued the institution after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia has been broken, reestablishing its conservative tilt. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-supreme-court-matters-for-workers-67498">In an article I wrote last year</a> on the implications of Donald Trump getting the chance to fill Scalia’s seat, I described how the conservative members of the court have long held a 5-4 majority that routinely ruled for businesses over workers. </p>
<p>So now that they have their majority back, what does this portend for the court and cases involving worker rights? A careful look at Gorsuch’s record demonstrates, I believe, how this will be bad news for American workers and anyone who cares about economic justice.</p>
<h2>Religion in the workplace</h2>
<p>As an appellate judge on the 10th Circuit, <a href="https://www.ca10.uscourts.gov/opinions/12/12-6294.pdf">Gorsuch joined the majority</a> in June 2013 granting Hobby Lobby, a chain of craft stores, the right to deny legally mandated contraception to its workers on religious grounds. The <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/13-354_olp1.pdf">Supreme Court affirmed that opinion</a> a year later.</p>
<p>The key context here is that limiting women’s access to birth control has been shown to <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-limiting-womens-access-to-birth-control-and-abortions-hurts-the-economy-57546">increase economic inequality</a>. Without control over the timing and size of their families, women struggle to complete their educations and advance in the workplace. In turn, this depresses their family’s income. </p>
<p>Yet Gorsuch and the Supreme Court majority have ranked the religious beliefs of business owners over the health care needs of workers. Indeed, in a subsequent case, Gorsuch <a href="https://www.ca10.uscourts.gov/opinions/13/13-1540.pdf">joined a dissent</a> that argued that asking a religious organization to simply fill out a form to opt out of the contraception requirement is too great a burden. </p>
<p>This issue is likely to return to the court, where Gorsuch will certainly break a 2016 impasse <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/15pdf/14-1418_8758.pdf">that sent a similar case</a> back to lower courts for resolution. Future cases are also likely to raise more conflicts over religion in the workplace. </p>
<p>As Justice Ginsburg warned in <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/13-354_olp1.pdf">her Hobby Lobby dissent</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Suppose an employer’s sincerely held religious belief is offended by health coverage of vaccines, or paying the minimum wage … or according women equal pay for substantially similar work?” </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Worker safety and the ‘frozen trucker’</h2>
<p>So what about his record on worker rights? His opinion in what has become known as the “frozen trucker” case illustrates Justice Gorsuch’s <a href="https://www.ca10.uscourts.gov/opinions/15/15-9504.pdf">lack of empathy</a> for blue-collar workers. </p>
<p>In 2009, a truck driver was trapped in his cab after the brakes on his trailer froze in subzero temperatures. Before long, the driver was losing sensation in his limbs and having trouble breathing. After calling his employer and waiting for over three hours for a repair vehicle, he unhitched his truck and drove to a nearby gas station. He was fired for abandoning his haul. </p>
<p>The majority of the three-judge appellate court upheld the Department of Labor’s decision that the trucker’s termination violated a law permitting drivers to “refuse to operate” trucks in unsafe conditions. Gorsuch dissented, however, arguing the statute did not protect the trucker but instead directed him to “sit and wait for help to arrive (a legal if unpleasant option).” </p>
<p>Gorsuch’s narrow and selective reading of ambiguous statutory terms led the majority to quote his own words from the oral argument back to him: “Our job isn’t to legislate and add new words that aren’t present in the statute.”</p>
<p>Gorsuch’s dissent makes clear that he is a textualist, meaning he looks solely to the plain meaning of a statute without regard to its context or congressional intent in enacting it. It also suggests that Gorsuch is out of touch with the realities of life in the modern day workforce outside a judge’s rarefied chambers. </p>
<h2>A boon for arbitrators</h2>
<p>Gorsuch also appears likely to continue the court’s embrace of mandatory arbitration, which Scalia spearheaded in a <a href="http://www.minnesotalawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Schwartz.pdf">series</a> of 5-4 decisions that limited the rights of consumers and employees to have their day in court. </p>
<p>In the employment context, mandatory arbitration means that disputes on issues such as discrimination, unpaid wages and sexual harassment are heard in a private forum that has no right of appeal and <a href="http://scholars.law.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1959&context=facpub">favors businesses</a>. Arbitration agreements <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2775437">are usually buried</a> in the fine print in one-sided contracts, and most employees have no option but to sign if they want the job. </p>
<p>In his own jurisprudence, Gorsuch <a href="http://www.scotusblog.com/2017/03/judge-gorsuchs-arbitration-jurisprudence/">generally enforced the presumption in favor</a> of arbitration, even where the contractual terms were contradictory or ambiguous. His views on arbitration <a href="https://www.law360.com/articles/887293/gorsuch-and-the-future-of-class-action-waivers">will become clearer</a> when the Supreme Court hears a pivotal case in October that will decide whether employers can evade class actions by forcing workers into individual arbitrations. </p>
<p>These class action waivers <a href="http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2019&context=articles">are increasingly popular</a> among employers, yet they destroy the ability of employees to bring cases together that would individually not attract a lawyer due to small dollar amounts. </p>
<h2>Furthering unions’ decline</h2>
<p>Finally, Justice Gorsuch <a href="https://www.bna.com/gorsuch-bring-conservative-n73014450227/">is expected</a> to align himself with Justice Scalia’s critical views on organized labor. </p>
<p>Justice Scalia’s death in February 2016 granted unions a reprieve in a case involving the constitutionality of requiring public workers to pay their fair share of union dues, even if they aren’t members. That case <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/15pdf/14-915_1bn2.pdf">was decided just a few weeks later</a> in a 4-4 split that left a lower court’s decision upholding such fees intact. </p>
<p>The issue is certain to return to the court in the future – with Gorsuch a likely fifth vote to rule against the unions.</p>
<p>Union membership <a href="http://www.epi.org/publication/benefits-of-collective-bargaining/">is associated</a> with a wage premium of 13.6 percent as compared with nonunionized workers, according to the progressive think tank Economic Policy Institute. At the same time, the decline in union membership <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-us-labor-unions-and-why-they-still-matter-38263">is a factor in growing economic inequality</a> due to the wage depression suffered by union and nonunion members alike. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2017/02/24/donald-trump-claims-remake-gop-party-american-worker/PeF6IjybU9C77idKYgIshK/story.html">President Trump claims</a> to be a champion for America’s forgotten workers. Yet his main accomplishment in his first 100 days is the appointment of Gorsuch.</p>
<p>For all the reasons I’ve outlined, I expect the appointment of Gorsuch to undermine the rights of workers, including Trump’s supporters, and further weaken the middle class.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/76196/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michele Gilman is affiliated with the ACLU of Maryland and the Women's Law Center of Maryland.</span></em></p>With Neil Gorsuch’s appointment to the high court, conservatives regain their 5-4 majority, which will likely benefit employers over workers.Michele Gilman, Venable Professor of Law, University of BaltimoreLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/737382017-03-14T00:21:31Z2017-03-14T00:21:31ZHow unaccompanied youth become exploited workers in the US<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160615/original/image-20170313-9600-eld6r0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An unaccompanied minor from Guatemala, in Hamilton, Ohio.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/John Minchillo</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Trump administration has released a series of executive orders targeting immigration at the U.S. southern border. Central American families and children traveling alone <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.cbp.gov_newsroom_stats_southwest-2Dborder-2Dunaccompanied-2Dchildren_fy-2D2016&d=DwMFAg&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=rVAinUTJntj020hapSs8-g&m=LV8HtwVZw7B-ODBDmEqceNRFo_THA">represent</a> nearly half of all unauthorized migrants apprehended by Customs and Border Protection. The criminalization of immigrants at the U.S. southern border disproportionately affects Central American children and youth. </p>
<p>Nearly 153,000 unaccompanied Mexican and Central American <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/usbp-sw-border-apprehensions">children</a> have been apprehended at the U.S. southern border since 2014. Of those detained by Customs and Border Protection and processed by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, 60 percent have been reunited with a sponsor, typically a parent. The other 40 percent are placed with a nonparent sponsor. </p>
<p>With the guidance of a parent or guardian, these youths might obtain financial, legal, health and social support. Others who enter without detection and remain unaccompanied when they arrive in the U.S. are financially independent and may never gain access to formal resettlement services. Recent <a href="https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/pages/attachments/2017/01/31/caseprocessingpriorities.pdf">orders</a> by the Trump administration that prioritize unaccompanied child migrants for deportation heighten the vulnerability of immigrant children in the U.S.</p>
<p>Since 2012, I have conducted in-depth observations and interviews with undocumented immigrant youth who arrived in Los Angeles, California as unaccompanied minors and have remained without a parent throughout their settlement in the U.S. I use pseudonyms for confidentiality as research participants are migrant youth living and working in the U.S. without authorization.</p>
<p>Pundits and scholars tend to frame immigrant youth as students and adult migrants as workers. However, being unaccompanied at settlement requires youth to become <a href="http://poverty.ucdavis.edu/policy-brief/exploitation-poverty-and-marginality-among-unaccompanied-migrant-youth">financially independent</a> and take up low-wage occupations to make ends meet.</p>
<p>My ongoing research shows that unaccompanied migrant youth face labor exploitation and suggests that Trump’s orders exacerbate the precarious work conditions of unaccompanied immigrant youth workers in the U.S. </p>
<h2>Workplace violence</h2>
<p>Undocumented working youth migrate to Los Angeles in hopes of working to support their families who remain in their home countries. They come to the U.S. with low levels of education and English language fluency.</p>
<p>Romero arrived in Los Angeles from Guatemala at the age of 15 and immediately began looking for work in downtown LA garment factories. In an interview, he recalled: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“The bosses would tell me, ‘do you have experience?’ I would say yes. And they would say, ‘you are a child still. Go to school.’ But I thought, ‘yes I would like to go to school but no one is going to [financially] support me. Just me. Who else? It’s me by myself.‘”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Unaccompanied minors like him enter industries such as garment production, service, construction and domestic work. Youth working in the garment industry often <a href="http://poverty.ucdavis.edu/policy-brief/exploitation-poverty-and-marginality-among-unaccompanied-migrant-youth">make</a> a median of US$350 in wages per week for more than 60 hours of work.</p>
<p>Undocumented youth garment workers spend hours in dimly lit factories where shop owners often leave doors and windows locked throughout the work day to remain discreet and avoid workplace inspection. The <a href="http://www.labor.ucla.edu/publication/dirty-threads-dangerous-factories-health-and-safety-in-los-angeles-fashion-industry/">lack of ventilation</a>, heat and loud noises from factory machines, and strenuous work schedules physically and mentally exhaust youth who are then unable to attend school due to <a href="http://www.youthcirculations.com/blog/2015/9/9/fast-fashion-slow-integration-guatemalan-youth-navigate-life-and-labor-in-los-angeles">headaches, eye tension and back pain</a>.</p>
<p>Much like with their <a href="http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520288782">adult coworkers</a>, economic necessity and fear of removal from the workplace and the country keep undocumented migrant youth workers quiet in cases of exploitation, and docile and efficient on the job. For example, three young workers at the same factory told me the story of a young Salvadoran woman who was pushed to the shop floor by the factory manager for incorrectly sewing the seams on a batch of dresses. They sorrowfully recalled their inability to help her out of fear of losing their jobs.</p>
<p>In early February 2017, the <a href="https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/statement-secretary-kelly-recent-ice-enforcement-actions">Department of Homeland Security</a> conducted “a series of targeted enforcement operations” in workplaces and neighborhoods across 12 states that led to the arrest of 680 immigrants. Raids in today’s immigrant destinations, including Los Angeles, increase the hostility that workers must navigate in already precarious occupations. Research shows that deportation can have <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10826-013-9848-5">detrimental mental health effects</a> on children and lead to <a href="http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520283404">financial hardship</a> among families. In 2008, the largest workplace immigration raid <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/17/AR2008051702474.html">in U.S. history</a> impacted hundreds of Central American workers, including minors. These actions can further mental health and financial instability in the lives of child migrants.</p>
<h2>Overcoming and giving back</h2>
<p>In the last four years, I have encountered youth who have been entangled with drug and alcohol addictions, experienced bouts of homelessness or toiled in depression and anxiety as they searched for ways to cope. Far from being the “bad hombres” Trump describes, youths’ desires to overcome these circumstances permeated our conversations and organized their daily lives.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160617/original/image-20170313-9641-143va8s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160617/original/image-20170313-9641-143va8s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160617/original/image-20170313-9641-143va8s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160617/original/image-20170313-9641-143va8s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160617/original/image-20170313-9641-143va8s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160617/original/image-20170313-9641-143va8s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160617/original/image-20170313-9641-143va8s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160617/original/image-20170313-9641-143va8s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An unaccompanied minor from Honduras at a youth league soccer game in the Bronx, New York.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Mark Lennihan</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In fact, many see their tenacity in enduring workplace violence as a marker of their commitment to their families and communities. “I didn’t come here with a bad intention. I didn’t come here to be a burden,” says 22-year-old Berenice who arrived from El Salvador at the age of 17. A 19-year-old Salvadoran man explained,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“People say Central Americans are gang bangers but we all come here with a dream. We want to help our families. There aren’t jobs over there and we come here to work. We are not selfish. We want to help.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>These young people participate in various community organizations such as <a href="http://cmsny.org/publications/canizales-support-and-setback/">churches</a>, book clubs, <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01419870.2015.1021263#abstract">support groups</a> and recreational sports teams. </p>
<p>A 25-year-old Guatemalan man who has lived in the U.S. for nine years said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“What is important here is that we stay united and we support each other. We all want to be helped and to also help. Like in my case, the way someone lent me a hand, I want to lend it to others. That’s how I overcame [my trauma].”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Young people construct moral identities based on work, participating in the local economy, giving back to their local community via organizational involvement and community service. They also demonstrate a commitment to their transnational community. A 24-year-old man who arrived in Los Angeles at age 16 gave up attending English classes at an adult language school to remit a few extra dollars to his family abroad after his youngest brother expressed a desire to migrate to the U.S. to attend school. “No quiero que venga a sufrir aca,” he said, “I do not want him to come here to suffer.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73738/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephanie L. Canizales receives funding from the National Science Foundation, the John Randolph Haynes Foundation, and the American Sociological Association. </span></em></p>Many children who cross the U.S. Mexico border illegally remain undetected and must fend for themselves on the other side.Stephanie L. Canizales, Ph.D. Candidate, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and SciencesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/597292016-05-20T05:18:37Z2016-05-20T05:18:37ZCoalition and Labor moving on worker exploitation, but potential loopholes remain<p>Both the Coalition and Labor have now pitched their proposals on how to better tackle worker exploitation in this country. While neither party’s policy is perfect, strengthening laws in this area is a big win for workers, no matter who ultimately wins government. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.liberal.org.au/coalitions-policy-protect-vulnerable-workers">Coalition’s policy</a>, much like <a href="http://www.alp.org.au/rightsatwork">Labor’s policy</a>, recognises the need to enhance the enforcement provisions of the Fair Work Act. Both parties have now also promised to bolster the powers and resources of the Fair Work Ombudsman. These proposals represent important steps in the right direction, but some lingering loopholes remain.</p>
<p>For instance, the Coalition, in contrast to Labor’s current position, proposes to extend liability to franchisors and parent companies for contraventions committed by their franchisees and subsidiaries respectively. This is crucial because it provides the regulator with the power to strategically target those firms which may be driving employers to act unlawfully. However, it is not without some weak spots.</p>
<p>For a start, this proposal is confined to two specific sets of commercial arrangements – franchises and corporate groups. In limiting liability in this way, it fails to deal with employment contraventions which routinely arise in other work configurations, including supply chains and labour hire. </p>
<p>Under the Coalition’s proposal, supply chain heads, principal contractors and host firms may remain untouched. This omission is concerning because the <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Education_and_Employment/temporary_work_visa/Report">Senate</a>, along with others, has found that the procurement policies and sourcing practices of major companies, such as Coles and Myer, may have perpetuated employer non-compliance among smaller contractors in their supply chain. This includes in the <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/workplace-investigation-finds-myer-store-cleaners-underpaid-by-thousands-20150729-gin480.html">cleaning</a>, <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media-releases/2016-media-releases/march-2016/20160310-trolley-trifecta-presser">trolley-collecting</a>, <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media-releases/2015-media-releases/june-2015/20150618-baiada-group-statement-of-findings">poultry processing</a> and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2015/05/04/4227055.htm">horticulture</a> sectors. </p>
<p>Under its newly minted policy, the Coalition also proposes to pierce the corporate veil only where the relevant firm, “should reasonably have been aware of the breaches and could reasonably have taken action to prevent them from occurring”. My forthcoming research into alternative liability models in Australia and overseas broadly supports this type of approach.</p>
<p>Forms of duty-based liability, premised on standards of reasonableness, are often best placed to deliver the type of proactive and diligent behaviour that the Fair Work Ombudsman <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media-releases/2016-media-releases/march-2016/20160310-compliant-supply-chain-op-ed">increasingly expects and demands from lead firms</a>. In comparison, strict liability regimes – such as that <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace-relations/7eleven-scandal-greens-introduce-franchise-wages-bill-20151011-gk6mdr.html">previously introduced by the Greens</a> – are more easy to administer, but are less able to account for the diversity of contractual relationships, the circumstances in which workplace contraventions have taken place and the vulnerability (or otherwise) of the employees.</p>
<p>However, the Coalition’s policy also suggests that franchisors will not be caught by these provisions where they “have taken reasonable steps to educate their franchisees…about their workplace obligations and have assurance processes in place.” This exclusion is not only too broad, it is misdirected. </p>
<p>For example, the employment contraventions committed by 7-Eleven franchisees were generally deliberate. Enhanced education would do little to curb calculated non-compliance of this type.</p>
<p>It’s also possible that, notwithstanding its <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media-releases/2016-media-releases/april-2016/20160409-7-eleven-presser">evident failings</a>, 7-Eleven head office may have escaped liability under these provisions. It already had various training, support and oversight mechanisms in place (and yet these measures were clearly ineffective in preventing or deterring the franchisees’ illegal conduct).</p>
<p>Further,the proposed exclusion appears to overlook one of the key problems raised in the 7-Eleven case – under the relevant business model, the financial viability of many franchisees hinged on the adoption of illegitimate, cost-cutting measures, namely systematic exploitation of migrant workers. </p>
<p>While it is crucial to ensure that any extension of liability remains workable in practice, it is equally important to guard against so-called “cosmetic compliance.” That is, where firms are seen to be doing something to combat exploitation, but are not really changing much at all. </p>
<p>By comparison, Labor’s policy – which was released well before 7-Eleven’s latest change in position – tends to focus less on the responsibilities of lead firms and more on ensuring that the employer entity, and key individuals sitting behind the corporation, are held accountable. For instance, Labor promises to tighten up provisions relating to “sham contracting” where employees are disguised as self-employed contractors to avoid protective labour laws. It also intends to crack down on “phoenix” behaviour where the assets of one company are shifted to a new company in a bid to escape employment-related liabilities. </p>
<p>To achieve this, Labor proposes to make directors personally liable to rectify underpaid wages and superannuation. It also intends to arm the Fair Work Ombudsman with the power to seek disqualification orders against directors who deliberately do the wrong thing. </p>
<p>While there are a number of issues which need to be worked over and ironed out, it is pleasing that parties across the political spectrum are now set to move on a problem which has been neglected for far too long.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/59729/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tess Hardy has previously received funding from the Australian Research Council (LP099990298) to conduct research on the enforcement of employment standards.</span></em></p>Both the Coalition and Labor are aiming to combat worker exploitation with new policies and while this may be good news for workers, there are still some gaps.Tess Hardy, Lecturer in Law, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/593022016-05-12T23:55:39Z2016-05-12T23:55:39ZCan 7-Eleven be trusted to clean up its own mess?<p>The head office of the 7-Eleven franchise is dismantling an independent claims panel headed by Professor Allan Fels, established in the immediate wake of the underpayments scandal. In its place, 7-Eleven Stores Pty Ltd (7-Eleven) intends to process any outstanding wage claims in-house.</p>
<p><audio preload="metadata" controls="controls" data-duration="336" data-image="" data-title="Allan Fels speaks about sacking from 7-Eleven panel with Jenni Henderson" data-size="8083104" data-source="The Conversation" data-source-url="" data-license="CC BY-SA" data-license-url="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">
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Allan Fels speaks about sacking from 7-Eleven panel with Jenni Henderson.
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<p>In response, Professor Fels is calling for the Senate to reopen the original inquiry into the scandal now that the compensation process has been railroaded by head office:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“They wanted to curb our independence as much as possible without losing our names …and now they’ve decided to be judge and jury.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This latest development is troubling in a number of respects. While 7-Eleven has stated that the internal unit will apply <a href="http://www.7eleven.com.au/media-centre/article/media-statement-11052016">‘enhanced investigative protocols and evidentiary standards’</a>, it seems that a stricter standard may be applied to determine whether a wage claim is ‘legitimate’ and should be paid out. A higher standard of proof is likely to make it more difficult (if not impossible) for underpaid workers to claim their full entitlements because employment records are often absent or inaccurate. </p>
<p>The integrity and independence of this process may also be compromised. Many of the affected workers, particularly those who continue to work under the 7-Eleven banner, may be more reluctant to proceed with their claims now there is an increased risk of being personally identified. This magnifies their precarious employment and immigration status and exposes them to further intimidation on the part of franchisees. </p>
<p>Whether or not this shift in approach is deliberately designed to minimise the mounting costs associated with paying out these claims, it seems that this will be the likely result. Professor Fels observes that 7-Eleven’s decision represents a ‘massive triumph’ for franchisees - who may not only reduce costs associated with past contraventions, but may continue to employ workers in flagrant breach of the law.</p>
<p>However, this latest change in position raises a more fundamental question about the role and responsibilities of head office and the effectiveness (or otherwise) of self-regulatory measures in tackling systemic non-compliance with employment laws. In an increasingly consumer-savvy age, it is not uncommon for leading companies to promote their commitment to <a href="http://www.7eleven.com.au/media-centre/article/7-eleven-stores-pty-ltd-has-welcomed-the-report-of-the-fair-work-ombudsman-into-its-franchisee-network">best practice</a> or to publicly acknowledge their <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media-releases/2014-media-releases/october-2014/20141007-coles-eu-presser">ethical and moral responsibility</a> to end worker exploitation throughout their franchise network, supply chain or business undertaking. </p>
<p>While voluntary mechanisms, such as ethical sourcing policies, codes of conduct and independent panels, are commendable, it is questionable as to whether these initiatives are sufficiently rigorous to achieve substantive and sustainable changes in compliance culture. <a href="https://www.dol.gov/whd/resources/strategicenforcement.pdf">Research undertaken in the United States</a> suggests that when a firm experiences a regulatory crisis, where they are faced with severe reputational damage or the threat of legal sanction, they may initially agree to far-reaching compliance measures. </p>
<p>Since at least 2010, the Fair Work Ombudsman has had growing concerns about franchisee behaviour within 7-Eleven (including the falsification of employment and payroll records). While the regulator conveyed these concerns to head office, 7-Eleven only took proactive steps to prevent further non-compliance once the media story broke and the brand faced a significant public bruising. </p>
<p>Research from the US also shows that the strength of self-regulatory mechanisms tends to fade as reputational concerns ease or enforcement pressure weakens. It’s unlikely to be a mere coincidence that when the Fair Work Ombudsman confirmed that they would not be bringing enforcement litigation against the 7-Eleven head office last month, the firm has subsequently decided to step away from some of its earlier and more promising commitments. </p>
<p>In response to questions about 7-Eleven, Prime Minister Turnbull replied that the government would <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace-relations/7eleven-scandal-takes-disturbing-twist-says-labors-bill-shorten-20160511-got5m4.html">‘make sure the law is enforced’</a>. But if there is anything to learn from the 7-Eleven case, it’s that the law – at least in its existing form – may not be enough to ensure that employers duly comply with the minimum wage, employees are properly paid and lead firms adopt the necessary measures to make certain this occurs. </p>
<p>Indeed, while the Fair Work Ombudsman recently found that 7-Eleven Stores <a href="https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/news-and-media-releases/2016-media-releases/april-2016/20160409-7-eleven-presser">“could have acted earlier and done more”</a> in terms of curbing non-compliance within its franchise business, the regulator ultimately concluded that it did not have sufficient evidence to pursue 7-Eleven under the Fair Work Act 2009. </p>
<p>One major difficulty was that a number of key individuals employed or engaged by 7-Eleven were unwilling to go on the record about what they (or others) knew about franchisee non-compliance. This meant that the Fair Work Ombudsman was not in a position to meet the relevant statutory test and prove that 7-Eleven had been
‘knowingly concerned’ in the contraventions of its franchisees and should be held liable as a consequence. </p>
<p>In order to better address these evidentiary obstacles, the Ombudsman has called for enhanced investigative powers. While this may resolve part of the problem, it does not necessarily address a more profound issue presented by the 7-Eleven case. That is, whether the existing enforcement regime of the Fair Work Act 2009 is able to effectively prevent firms, such as 7-Eleven, from having it both ways – where they are able to exercise high levels of control over the performance of work, but remain legally insulated from the problems this creates. </p>
<p>The 7-Eleven case suggests that we cannot trust companies with clear economic interests to act on ethics alone. If we believe that lead firms should do more, not less, to combat employment non-compliance within their franchise, supply chain or business, we must ensure that such firms are held legally accountable. To achieve this, the law must change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/59302/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tess Hardy has previously received funding from the Australian Research Council (LP099990298) to conduct research on the enforcement of employment standards.</span></em></p>7-Eleven’s decision to take charge of the compensation process for underpaid workers highlights the problems with voluntary commitments and underlines the need for increased legal accountability.Tess Hardy, Lecturer in Law, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/557102016-03-03T06:35:35Z2016-03-03T06:35:35ZDoes gender equality suffer when women get menstrual leave?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113689/original/image-20160303-9490-1o465l1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Menstruation can cause unique health challenges, but does that mean we need special sick days?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Clara Alim</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There’s nothing like a whiff of taboo to make news media outlets and social media erupt with vitriolic debate. Mention menstruation in popular culture and – just like sex-related topics – it proves to be irresistible “click-bait”.</p>
<p>But for those of us interested in gender equality, the real issue is whether this is helping or hindering the feminist cause.</p>
<p>The latest mention of menstruation to hit the mainstream comes from the United Kingdom, where a not-for-profit organisation called Coexist has introduced a “<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/period-leave-menstruation-work-employment-uk-women-a6905426.html">period policy</a>”.</p>
<p>It offers female employees the option of taking leave from work if they are suffering from menstrual pain, or dysmenorrhea. </p>
<p>International sportswear company Nike introduced similar menstrual leave for employees in 2007. <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-provinces-offer-women-menstrual-leave-day-off-during-their-period-a6876646.html">Around the world</a>, leave is available to women suffering menstrual pain in China, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia and Japan. </p>
<p>But such open acknowledgement of menstruation and its impact upon the female body is rare in western countries.</p>
<p>Coexist’s period policy has provoked some wonderful <a href="http://nypost.com/2016/03/02/paid-period-leave-for-women-is-brilliant-but-dont-stop-there/">satire</a> and divided public opinion as to whether this constitutes “<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3472914/Male-radio-caller-risks-wrath-women-slamming-period-leave-playing-girly-card-female-guest-puts-firmly-place.html">playing the girly card</a>”. </p>
<p>My feelings about the move are mixed. This policy could be seen either as a positive recognition of the realities of everyday life as a menstruating woman, or as a regressive return to the dark days when women were discriminated against on the basis of biology. </p>
<p>In this sense, the debate around period policies or menstrual leave references the wider history of feminist thought and the battle for women’s rights.</p>
<p>Late 19th century doctors were in furious agreement that menstruation rendered girls and women <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/3826408?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">less capable</a> than men. </p>
<p>Many agreed with Harvard medical professor <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18504/18504-h/18504-h.htm">Edward Clarke</a> that this “monthly sickness” meant females were not mentally or physically fit for public roles such as paid employment or university study. Biology was used as an excuse to lock women out of the public sphere.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113678/original/image-20160303-9493-2nu5hs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113678/original/image-20160303-9493-2nu5hs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113678/original/image-20160303-9493-2nu5hs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=2617&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113678/original/image-20160303-9493-2nu5hs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=2617&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113678/original/image-20160303-9493-2nu5hs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=2617&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113678/original/image-20160303-9493-2nu5hs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=3289&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113678/original/image-20160303-9493-2nu5hs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=3289&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/113678/original/image-20160303-9493-2nu5hs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=3289&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Midol ad, circa 1961.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Classic Film</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This history explains the 20th century movement for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equality_feminism">equality feminism</a>: the claim that women are exactly the same as men. </p>
<p>The curious things that women’s bodies can do, such as menstruate, lactate and bear children, were downplayed in an effort to minimise any sense of female incapacity.
<a href="http://www.mum.org/guli44c.htm">Sex education books</a> for girls from the mid-20th century insisted that menstruation “doesn’t make you any ‘different’ than you are on any other day”.</p>
<p>These days opinions on menstruation are divided. Some, like menstruation educators <a href="http://redschoolonline.net/">Red School</a>, want to recognise and celebrate female cycles.</p>
<p>Some “<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/oct/02/menstruation-feminist-activists">menstrual activists</a>” look for ways for women to reclaim control of their cycles, through such steps as the use of re-usable menstrual products. </p>
<p>Others want to <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/is-menstruation-obsolete-9780195130218?cc=us&lang=en&">get rid of menstruation</a> altogether through the use of hormonal treatments, arguing that it is linked to heightened risks of breast, endometrial and ovarian cancers (<a href="https://www.nwhn.org/menstrual-suppression/">an unproven claim</a>)).</p>
<p>The problem with deciding whether menstrual leave is a good idea is that women’s experiences of menstruation are as varied as our fingerprints. Research is contradictory, claiming variously that half of <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3380425">New Zealand women</a>, 84 per cent of <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3392715/">Italian women</a> or 90 per cent of <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21208343">Iranian women</a> experience some form of dysmenorrhea.</p>
<p>Enshrining menstrual leave as a normal part of organisational policy creates the impression that all women experience period pain so crippling that ordinary work functioning is impossible. </p>
<p>But menstrual experiences are not uniform. Some women feel like sex during their periods, some don’t. Some feel creative and stimulated, some would rather avoid social interaction. Some feel like going for a 10km run and some would rather curl up on the couch with a block of chocolate.</p>
<p>I’d rather not instigate a workplace policy that mandates a particular way of experiencing menstruation: that it necessarily requires time off work and a retreat from the world. </p>
<p>Instead, I’d rather teach girls and women to pay attention to their unique experience of menstruation, to listen to how it makes them think, feel and act.</p>
<p>That may require some adjustment to their lives at different times of the month (when sick leave is always an option). </p>
<p>That may mean explaining to people around them that they feel grumpy when PMS strikes. </p>
<p>But let’s not create a blanket expectation that all women are crippled by periods or we risk a return to the bad old days when a woman’s intelligence was thought to drip out of her body along with her uterus lining.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/55710/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carla Pascoe Leahy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A British company has just introduced menstrual leave for female employees. But such a policy risks creating a blanket expectation that all women are crippled by their periods.Carla Pascoe Leahy, ARC Discovery Early Career Research Fellow, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/546512016-03-02T19:06:11Z2016-03-02T19:06:11ZThree things unions can learn from Uber drivers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111754/original/image-20160217-24635-pbdlum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Uber drivers gather outside Uber San Diego to protest against a 30% driver fee cut.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wayne S. Grazio/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Unions are in a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/drive/actu-holds-crisis-talks-on-its-future/7141712">self-described crisis</a>. The well-known tale of union decline in Australia continues with the <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/6333.0Main%20Features1August%202014?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=6333.0&issue=August%202014&num=&view=">latest figures</a> revealing less than 15% of workers are members of unions, with that dropping to 11% in the private sector. </p>
<p>But that’s not to say workers are not interested in protecting their rights, with even those <a href="https://theconversation.com/protecting-the-rights-of-the-digital-workforce-in-the-gig-economy-45838">“gigging” in the new economy</a> showing signs they are prepared to organise themselves to do so. Non-union workers in the “new economy” are campaigning for better working conditions despite not being formally represented, as recent protests demonstrate. So why are unions missing the boat and what can they learn from these emerging informal labour movements? </p>
<p>In his address to a union leadership summit last month, Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) Secretary Dave Oliver acknowledged that unions have struggled to organise workers in the “new economy”. Online forums were <a href="http://services.thomsonreuters.com.au/cpdnews/docs/workforce/DaveOliverspeechtotheACTU2016LeadershipForum.pdf">identified by Oliver</a> as a possible union growth strategy.</p>
<p>But unions struggle to convert online activism into paying members. One barrier is skepticism within the movement itself about cyber-activism or “clicktivism”, seen as being an ineffective substitute for “feet in the street”. The sceptics want to see that it can work and it’s hard to point to a clear success story.</p>
<p>Yet it is being done successfully, by amateur activists. Workers in non-union companies are already using the internet to self-organise. Even more significantly this online worker organisation has taken place in exactly the context that unions are finding so challenging – among a geographically dispersed workforce with no direct employment relationship and indeed no recognised “employer”.</p>
<p>Just in the last fortnight Uber has provided some particularly visible examples. Despite the legal status that Uber has now attained in NSW and the ACT and a smattering of jurisdictions across the globe, resistance to Uber’s business model of “driver-partners” who are independent contractors, continues across the globe. </p>
<p>After seeing their commission rate lowered by the company, Uber drivers have spontaneously organised protests in multiple cities around the world. About 200 disgruntled Uber drivers <a href="https://youtu.be/2DLg2QaU5AU">noisily descended on San Francisco Town Hall</a> and 50 drivers <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/an-uber-labor-movement-born-in-a-laguardia-parking-lot">went on strike at New York’s La Guardia airport</a>, logging out of the Uber app and staging a noisy protest. Hundreds more <a href="https://youtu.be/HJhdK6-z2Z0">demonstrated at the company’s New York offices</a>. These protests were not organised by established unions but by drivers themselves using online platforms and social media as a means to co-ordinate, publicise and amplify acts of protest against the company. </p>
<h2>Working with unions</h2>
<p>This is not to say that unions aren’t trying or indeed that they are not supporting the activities of “new economy” workers to organise. The protest by 300 Uber drivers in London <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/nov/12/uber-drivers-protest-at-fee-hike-in-first-london-demo">last December</a> was coordinated by the GMB union, and over the past few years the Teamsters in the US have been trying to get traction in the “gig” economy through establishing the <a href="http://www.teamstertnc.org">App Based Drivers Association</a>. Uber drivers are not averse to the idea of joining an organisation to represent their rights. In one <a href="http://therideshareguy.com/how-to-organize-a-group-of-uber-drivers/">online poll</a> 90% of Uber drivers indicated they would join a collective or organisation that advanced their rights. So clearly there is an unmet need unions could fill. </p>
<p>However, some major hurdles for unions remain. First, few unions have recent experience in effectively organising and representing contingent workers – those who are independent or quasi-independent contractors, casual or “gigging”. Second, unions have generally inflexible membership structures that have been slow to adjust to the changing composition of the labour market. Third, as noted in a <a href="https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/cdn.workplaceexpress.com.au/files/2016/10WaltonLocke.pdf">discussion paper</a> released this week by Professionals Australia (the union representing Engineers, Scientists, Pharmacists and other professional workers), unions do not currently possess the skills required to harness the potential of technology, not just through the use of social media but also through better “database management, data analytics and web analytics”.</p>
<p>So what do the actions of Uber drivers teach unions about addressing these issues?</p>
<p>1 <strong>Re-tool for a post-employment workplace.</strong> </p>
<p>Unions have built up an elaborate system to protect the interests of employees. Uber is just one of many companies that have side-stepped these protections by engaging workers in ways other than traditional employment. To represent these workers, unions need deeper expertise in other areas of law such as contract-of-supply, franchising and migration.</p>
<p>2 <strong>Tune into scale.</strong> </p>
<p>A factor that has worked in favour of Uber drivers is their vast number. There are 400,000 registered Uber drivers in the United States. Only a percentage will join an online forum and give it life; of that number only a percentage will join and/or promote a protest action. A small percentage of 400,000 is still a large number. Several Uber chat forums and Facebook groups have more than 15,000 members each.</p>
<p>3 <strong>Coexistence not competition.</strong> </p>
<p>Unions are not the presumptive option in this space. They will need to develop relationships and work with the online groups and advocates who are also working for the same goal.</p>
<p>Unions have preferred to conduct business face to face for a century and a half, so a radical change of approach will be required. They too are being “disrupted” in the new economy and, like old economy businesses, will have to adapt to survive.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/54651/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Kaine is a member of the NTEU.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Walker is an official of the Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees' Association.</span></em></p>Unions are in a self-described crisis. The well-known tale of union decline in Australia continues with the latest figures revealing less than 15% of workers are members of unions, with that dropping to…Sarah Kaine, Associate professor in Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations, University of Technology SydneyMichael Walker, PhD student researching employee voice, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/532102016-01-28T19:20:25Z2016-01-28T19:20:25ZHow to stop the sexual harassment of women in science: reboot the system<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109421/original/image-20160127-26778-uqozu0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Enough! There is a way to end the harassment of women in science.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Dean Drobot</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The culture in astronomy, and in science more broadly, needs a major reboot following revelations early this year of another case of harassment against women by a senior male academic.</p>
<p>The journal Science <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/01/caltech-suspends-professor-harassment-0">revealed earlier this month</a> that the latest case involved Christian Ott, a professor of theoretical astrophysics at Caltech university, in the United States.</p>
<p>Frustrated that Ott was not fired and only <a href="http://us11.campaign-archive1.com/?u=0657df8937aa6f6a60b025e79&id=7a115853f8">placed on unpaid leave</a> for a year, the two female students who raised the allegations took their story to the popular online news outlet <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/azeenghorayshi/ott-harassment-investigation">Buzzfeed</a>. </p>
<p>Also this month, US Congresswoman Jackie Speier <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2681332-2016-01-11-Speier-Letter-to-USED-Re-Sexual.html">raised the case</a> of Professor Tim Slater, who <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2655517-U-AZ-EOAAO-Investigative-Report-Timothy-Slater.html">had been investigated for various sexual harassment incidents</a> that began after he was hired by the University of Arizona in August 2001. Slater went on to the University of Wyoming.</p>
<p>Slater spoke to the news website <a href="http://mashable.com/2016/01/12/astronomy-professor-sexual-harassment-university-of-arizona/#L141NyaMtiqM">Mashable</a> and said he had received sexual harassment training as an outcome of the investigation.</p>
<p>But Congresswoman Speier questioned why the investigation into <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyWeNycz1mA">Slater’s sexual harassment was sealed</a> “while he went on with his career”, even though women who were victims lost years of study and career progress due to his conduct.</p>
<h2>A familiar pattern</h2>
<p>In these two cases, a pattern emerges: so-called rising stars in academic astronomy engage in routine harassment of students early in their careers, receiving tenure and accolades, all the while engaging in abuse of power.</p>
<p>Remember last year’s case of the Professor of Astronomy, Geoff Marcy, who in early October wrote <a href="http://w.astro.berkeley.edu/%7Egmarcy/MarcyLetter_October7.pdf">an open letter of apology</a> acknowledging his history of sexual harassment at University of California, Berkeley.</p>
<p>Two days later <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/azeenghorayshi/famous-astronomer-allegedly-sexually-harassed-students">Buzzfeed broke the news</a> of a six-month investigation into Marcy, which covered incidents from 2001 to 2010. A few days later Marcy’s resignation was <a href="http://news.berkeley.edu/2015/10/14/a-message-about-professor-marcys-resignation/">announced by the university</a>.</p>
<p>But later that month, <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/azeenghorayshi/geoff-marcy-at-sfsu">Buzzfeed reported</a> three more women shared their experiences of harassment by Marcy while he was at San Francisco State University. In December, the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/berkeley-releases-report-on-astronomer-sexual-harassment-case-1.19068">Nature reported</a> more incidents in 2011, 2013 and 2014.</p>
<p>A few days ago, it was revealed that UC Berkley has <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/azeenghorayshi/professor-emeritus-marcy">granted Marcy an honorific Emeritus Professorship</a>, despite these events.</p>
<h2>How big is the problem?</h2>
<p>The current incidents are not isolated. A <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/astronomers-struggle-to-translate-anger-into-action-on-sexual-harassment/">recent survey</a> by the American Astronomical Society’s Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy included 426 astronomers, 82% of whom had heard sexist remarks from peers; 57% had experienced verbal sexual harassment; and 9% had been physically harassed.</p>
<p>These recent high-profile cases are notable because the victims of harassment have pursued alternative routes to raise awareness and chosen to speak out. Still, going to a politician or the media should be a last resort.</p>
<p>The pattern in these cases is clear: women attempt to manage the harassment directly with their abusers, who hold power over them. They are afraid to launch a formal report due to fear of retaliation. </p>
<p>After prolonged harassment, sometimes years later, they make a formal complaint. In all cases, harassers are not immediately suspended. They are given some one-off training and then allowed to move on with their careers.</p>
<p>The same is not true of victims, who struggle to put their progress back on track and who live with the anxiety of having their harassers back on campus.</p>
<p>Institutions appear reticent to take strong disciplinary action, focusing on mentoring rather than tackling sexual harassment as a systemic problem requiring an institutional solution.</p>
<h2>The system is failing women</h2>
<p>Science careers depend heavily on recommendations from supervisors, and this is in an environment where many senior researchers collaborate. This leaves victims vulnerable, fearful of the consequences of speaking up. This anxiety is not unfounded.</p>
<p>In mid-2015, prominent scientists <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3132413/Eight-Nobel-prize-winners-attack-lynch-mob-forced-sexism-row-professor-Sir-Tim-Hunt-job.html">jumped to the defence</a> of Sir Tim Hunt after he <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-33077107">made a sexist “joke”</a> during the World Conference of Science Journalists in South Korea.</p>
<p>The women scientists who spoke out against this, and other incidents of sexism, <a href="http://www.stemwomen.net/summer-of-sexism/">are routinely faced with a torrent of abuse</a>.</p>
<p>Senior leaders’ kneejerk reaction is to publicly defend sexual harassers, such as by <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/azeenghorayshi/berkeley-astronomy-dept-calls-for-professor-to-leave-in-wake">emphasising a friendship with Marcy</a> even after he was found guilty of sexual harassment, without adequate consideration for his victims.</p>
<p>But as of this week, more than 500 astronomers and physicists from across the world have <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/14c77S8HVshiEUXvuZD93vzw1Xg9TIMtxc5oZpaGB-wI/edit">signed a letter of support</a> for both of Ott’s victims, which reads:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A career in astronomy is a joy and a privilege, and one that we firmly believe should be open to all. Harassment and bullying force talent out of our field, and as such have no place in it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Too few institutions are proactive about sexual harassment. MIT took action <a href="http://news.mit.edu/2014/lewin-courses-removed-1208">in December 2014</a>, but then again Dr Walter Lewin was already retired when he carried out online sexual harassment. The online course he ran was cancelled.</p>
<p>Administrator of NASA, Charles Bolden, <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/bolden_letter_20160115.pdf">recently issued a strong statement</a> warning institutions to be compliant with civil rights laws against sexual harassment in order to remain qualified for grants.</p>
<p>The National Science Foundation similarly warned it may <a href="http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=137466">terminate funding to institutions</a> found to be non-compliant with anti-sexual harassment regulation. Still, the onus largely remains on institutions to police compliance. Recent history shows this is not always effective.</p>
<p>The situation we are seeing within astronomy is perhaps more public than in other areas of science, but the machinations are by no means unique. A <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0102172">Survey of Academic Field Experiences</a> by the University of Illinois’ Professor Kate Clancy and colleagues included responses from almost 700 scientists from various disciplines.</p>
<p>Almost three-quarters of the sample (72%) had observed or been told about sexual harassment at their most recent research field site. Two-thirds (64%) of researchers had experienced sexual harassment, mostly at the hands of a senior researcher. </p>
<p>Women were 3.5 times more likely than men to report being subject to sexual harassment.</p>
<h2>Beyond sexism</h2>
<p>Beyond sexual harassment, science has problems with other forms of harassment, and it’s not confined to just the US.</p>
<p>Astronomer Dr Jessica Kirkpatrick founded the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/astro.physics.women/">Equity and Inclusion in Physics and Astronomy</a> group on Facebook, which she manages with fellow astronomer Adam Jacobs and me, a sociologist.</p>
<p>At its peak, late in 2015, we had more than 4,000 members from around the world. Our group was expressly formed to support underrepresented groups in astronomy and physics. This included white women; racial and ethnic minorities; people with disabilities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people; and others.</p>
<p>Our group was regularly inundated by astronomers and physicists who were angry at <a href="http://bit.ly/1EpszI8">our group’s aims</a> to improve inclusion of underrepresented groups. </p>
<p>During the “<a href="http://www.stemwomen.net/astronomy-sexism-rosetta-shirtstorm/">shirtstorm</a>” incident, where a prominent scientist wore a shirt with naked women during an interview about an international space mission, our group was descended upon by astronomers trying to derail discussions of sexism.</p>
<p>In various other incidents, especially in discussions of racism, very senior researchers attacked junior scholars for their activism, both within our group and in other, more high-profile professional astronomy networks.</p>
<p>All of this harassment and abuse happens in front of a potential international audience of thousands astronomers and physicists.</p>
<p>But senior astronomers rarely speak up, simply watching from the sidelines as our most vulnerable members, women of different race or ethnic backgrounds, people with disabilities and other minority students and early career researchers, are lambasted, sometimes by hundreds of disparaging comments and abuse over a weekly period.</p>
<p>After trying different approaches to reform the group, we took drastic measures. We decided to reboot the group. We ejected everyone and asked them to re-join after filling out a form where members explicitly vow to uphold our mission to create an inclusive culture in astronomy and physics.</p>
<p>Our group is currently close to 900 members who made this commitment, and the environment is much improved (though we occasionally experience individual issues). The culture has shifted because everyone who belongs to our community has signed on to take responsibility for their education on issues of inclusion and equity. We are striving towards proactive action.</p>
<p>In a similar way, astronomy at large needs a reboot. The culture of harassment, abuse and resistance to equity and diversity needs to be stamped out through direct intervention.</p>
<h2>Rebooting the culture of harassment</h2>
<p>At the individual level, we need more astronomers speaking out against sexual harassment and related forms of discrimination. The current system relies heavily on victims coming forward in a climate where this is professionally and personally costly.</p>
<p>It is therefore up to the rest of us to pick up the slack, so here are a few ideas on what to do.</p>
<h3>We need to speak up</h3>
<p>When you hear or see a colleague being made to feel uncomfortable due to gender and sexual issues, a few simple words calling out this behaviour can make a big difference.</p>
<p>Inappropriate sexual and gender-based jokes or sexual comments are not benign. They plant a seed for sexual harassment, making women uncomfortable and unwelcome, and setting the tone for future abuse.</p>
<h3>Lead by example</h3>
<p>Leaders who take an active approach to equity and diversity foster stronger, more productive teams. Be sure to find regular opportunities to discuss issues of sexual harassment (and racism and other forms of discrimination). Invite an expert on discrimination to give talks, or discuss useful anti-harassment resources.</p>
<h3>Make it easier to report abuse and harassment</h3>
<p>Equity and diversity officers are often an underutilised resource. Institutions that are serious about stamping out harassment should empower these officers to pursue action that is effective.</p>
<p><a href="http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com.au/2014/09/fed-up-with-sexual-harassment-ii_9.html">Information escrows</a> can be one way to manage confidential sexual harassment claims, where a third-party agent holds onto anonymised reports until a second complaint is made. When two independent claims are made, an investigation can be launched.</p>
<p>Alternatively, host regular confidential discussions with students and staff that allow institutions to gather confidential feedback about incidents that individuals are otherwise too afraid to report. This is more about creating an environment where faculty, staff and students have an opportunity to tell you about departmental or managerial issues before they spiral out of control. </p>
<h3>Make sure the policies work</h3>
<p>Listing anti-harassment policies on your website and campus manual is not enough. Administrators might ask themselves these two questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Does my institution have evidence that the policies are working for the people they’re meant to protect? Absence of complaints does not necessarily mean your faculty, staff and students feel safe and supported.</p></li>
<li><p>How do you know if reporting mechanisms are working? Scientists who experience harassment don’t always know the options available to them, and those who do report are often unhappy with the outcome.</p></li>
</ol>
<h3>Make safety a day-to-day priority</h3>
<p>Much of academia is a baptism of fire. We are not taught how to teach; we are not taught how to supervise students effectively; we are not taught how to manage sexual harassment and other issues of discrimination. (<a href="http://knowyourix.org/i-want-to/support-survivor/">These guidelines</a> can help you make a start.)</p>
<p>Relevant and ongoing anti-sexual harassment training should be part of managerial responsibilities. All staff should get the same basic training, but it should be tweaked at the individual level.</p>
<p>Managers and decision-makers (anyone who sits on a funding or recruitment panel, for example) should attend training on physical sexual harassment. They should also attend training on other forms of harassment that make workplace culture untenable for many women and underrepresented scientists.</p>
<p>Unconscious gender bias training can help managers see how the behaviour they take for granted may be a problem for those with less power. </p>
<p>Diversity training encourages managers to effectively manage different groups and be more aware of potential exclusion. It can show them the benefits of having a diverse team finding innovative solutions to research problems</p>
<h3>Strategic planning</h3>
<p>What would it take to overhaul and radically improve your institution so that women are not demotivated through a hostile work environment? How can you actively protect staff from harassment, bullying and discrimination? </p>
<p>University strategic plans nowadays often have equity and diversity statements, with anti-harassment and anti-bullying sometimes highlighted, but how will your university reach its goals if harassment underpins organisational culture?</p>
<p>Given that surveys find sexual harassment is a common experience, a strategic vision for a healthy, successful science organisation needs to formulate clear targets and key performance indicators that directly address the elimination of harassment, gender bias, racial discrimination, and other forms of abuse</p>
<h3>A collective stand against harassment</h3>
<p>National efforts <a href="http://www.ecu.ac.uk/equality-charters/athena-swan/">in the UK</a> and <a href="http://www.sciencegenderequity.org.au/">Australia</a> as well as <a href="http://www.gender-net.eu/">regional programs in Europe</a> are working towards the elimination of gender bias. Sexual harassment is one important piece of the puzzle.</p>
<p>Joining the global movement to make gender equity and diversity policies and outcomes more explicit is the best way to commit to a more inclusive culture within science.</p>
<p>In order for institutions to make a clear commitment against harassment, discrimination and bias, they should publish data and analysis about their policies and practices. This makes institutions more publicly accountable.</p>
<h2>Act now, before it’s too late</h2>
<p>There is no denying that astronomy has a problem with sexual harassment, along with other forms of discrimination and abuse of power.</p>
<p>But we don’t need to wait for journalists and politicians to shine a spotlight on more individual cases of harassment. It’s time individual researchers, science managers, departments and institutions made the commitment to reboot science and wipe out harassment.</p>
<p>Science faces many complex problems that require the type of innovation that can only be fully realised with gender equity and diversity. Astronomy, like other sciences, simply cannot afford to miss out on the talents of different groups of women if they feel forced to leave the professions because of sexual harassment.</p>
<p>Similarly, science cannot reach its full potential without diversity, and diversity cannot flourish in a culture of racism, discrimination and fear. Research excellence cannot happen without rebooting science culture. The rest of us are ready for change. Are you?</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Dr Zuleyka Zevallos will be online between 12.30pm and 1.30pm <a href="http://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/aedt">AEDT</a> today, Friday January 29, 2016, to answer any questions or comments you may post (below) on how to deal with any harassment of women in science. Please be aware of our <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/community-standards">Community Standards</a> on comments.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53210/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zuleyka Zevallos is affiliated with Equity and Inclusion in Astronomy and Physics, a volunteer-run, private Facebook group that receives no funding, resources or external support for our activities. </span></em></p>The public outing of a number of high profile scientists in sexual harassment cases shows the current system of protecting women isn’t working. But there is a solution.Zuleyka Zevallos, Adjunct Research Fellow, Sociology, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/512512015-11-26T02:48:10Z2015-11-26T02:48:10ZDomestic violence leave gains support, but let’s do it right<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/103254/original/image-20151125-23847-143dlcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The vast majority of women who report having experienced domestic violence are in the workforce.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image sourced from Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Australian Labor Party has committed to five days paid domestic violence leave in the National Employment Standards for all working Australians, a move the federal government says is <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-25/paid-domestic-violence-leave-law-worth-considering-government/6972652">“absolutely worth considering”</a>.</p>
<p>The proposal is the latest development in a five-year campaign by domestic violence advocates and the trade union movement to standardise workplace support. The shift has been from an optional policy of support if you are lucky enough to have a good employer, to the understanding of domestic violence as an industrial issue affecting worker safety and productivity, which requires industrial solutions.</p>
<p>A recent <a href="http://readnow.isentia.com/ArticlePresenter.aspx?GUID=dfb65e64-f08a-4fab-adec-b53f2481e358&serID=101349&ArticleID=501289755&prospectid=439151409&output=txt">survey of employers</a> who have negotiated domestic violence clauses into their agreements found paid leave taken averaged two or three days, to make the critical and necessary steps at this time of crisis. Employers reported the clauses demonstrated support for their staff and a more positive work environment. </p>
<p>In <a href="http://malechampionsofchange.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Playing-Our-Part-Male-Champions-of-Change-Letter.pdf">another report</a> prepared by KPMG, big businesses such as Telstra, Woolworths and Qantas came out in support of paid domestic violence leave. More recently there have been <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-25/extra-leave-for-domestic-violence-victims-in-public-sector/6971514">announcements</a> of dedicated paid leave for public sector employees by a number of state governments. </p>
<p>In Geneva the International Labour Organisation has moved a step closer to an international labour standard that will include domestic violence with a commitment to an Experts Group meeting in 2016. </p>
<p>By June 2015, less than five years after the first domestic violence clause was negotiated, 860 workplace agreements had a domestic violence clause. With the inclusion of awards and public service directives and guidelines, it is estimated that over two million Australians now have access to rights at work if they are affected by domestic violence. </p>
<p>But while the momentum is strong, Australia is in real danger of only getting half the job done because good rights at work require good implementation into well supported workplaces. Bedding down a new industrial concept such as domestic violence leave needs more than a few years work (the Labor government funded a national project <a href="https://theconversation.com/domestic-violence-now-at-home-in-the-fair-work-act-11411">Safe at Home, Safe at Work</a> from 2010-2013).</p>
<h2>Let’s do it well</h2>
<p>The headline grabbing provision of paid leave can cloud the fact that the model domestic violence clause is a package, carefully crafted to provide a range of support measures besides paid leave. These include confidentiality of employee details; workplace safety planning strategies: referral of employees to appropriate domestic violence support services; training for contact people in the workplace; flexible work arrangements; and no adverse action or discrimination on the victims of domestic violence. </p>
<p>Good implementation needs monitoring to ensure good model clauses are being negotiated; a national training and resource program to ensure workplaces have the skills to introduce the clauses well; and further research into emerging issues such as the impacts of the abusive employee. Australia now has none of these, and others are learning from our mistakes, the Canadians in particular. If we don’t finish the job properly to ensure good implementation then we risk losing our world leader status in the near future. </p>
<p>In a prosperous country like Australia, with 40 years experience of responding to domestic violence, we should be able to support those experiencing violence to stay safely in their homes and in their jobs. The vast majority of women who report having experienced domestic violence are in the workforce. Staying employed is critical to staying economically independent and surviving this crisis. </p>
<p>The expectation on employers is that they refer employees to experts for the advice and support they need. This means giving employees a clear message that they will be supported with a range of practical steps, that their jobs are safe, and that trained people at work can confidentially deal with their workplace issues. </p>
<p>The ALP proposal lifts the bar on this debate, and any good government should match it, but remember that good implementation is as necessary as good national employment standards. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>The National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51251/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ludo McFerran received funding from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations 2010-2013 and is currently a research affiliate at the Women and Work Research Group, University of Sydney Business School </span></em></p>Paid leave for victims of domestic violence is becoming the norm in Australia, but it needs to be part of a broader package of support measures.Ludo McFerran, Research Affiliate, Women and Work Research Group, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/424832015-06-09T19:58:30Z2015-06-09T19:58:30ZUber ‘micropreneurs’ signal the end of work as we know it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84278/original/image-20150608-8732-v8up3x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The sharing economy is moving rapidly but we haven't yet figured out how it will impact traditional workplace norms.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image sourced from Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you are a driver for Uber or ride-sharing platform Lyft, a host on AirBnB, or a “tasker” doing odd jobs on TaskRabbit, you may consider yourself what has been recently labelled a “<a href="http://www.fastcoexist.com/1679903/the-rise-of-the-micro-entrepreneurship-economy">micropreneur</a>”.</p>
<p>Making money from your idle capacity – be that time and skills, or assets such as your spare room, car, or driveway – is made easy by firms offering platforms to connect supply and demand in the <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobmorgan/2014/10/16/why-the-collaborative-economy-is-changing-everything">collaborative economy</a>. </p>
<p>Such platforms, many initially based on connecting neighbours and communities, and/or driven by a social purpose (hence the earlier label of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharing_economy">sharing economy</a>), have also led to the emergence of global giants, some with capital valuations of over US$<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-12-04/uber-valued-at-40-billion-with-1-2-billion-equity-fundraising">40 billion</a>. Their profit-driven business models are also disruptive for traditional industries, such as transport, <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/joeharpaz/2014/05/07/airbnb-disrupts-hotel-economy-sends-regulators-scrambling">accommodation</a>, and <a href="http://pwc.blogs.com/industry_perspectives/2015/02/">logistics</a>. </p>
<p>Suppliers are often referred to as “hosts”, members of a “community”, or “partners”; even their logos are co-created and “<a href="http://blogs.ft.com/tech-blog/2014/07/airbnb-new-logo-belo">belong to everyone</a>”. The main attraction for suppliers, or rather “workers”, on these platforms, is – unsurprisingly – the <a href="http://www.requestsforstartups.com/survey">flexibility</a> they offer in earning extra income. And it’s not just basic services that are supplied. Recent <a href="http://www.afr.com/brand/boss/how-online-marketplaces-will-replace-the-big-services-firms-20150312-13ht9v">reports</a> suggest these types of platforms have the capacity to enter more specialised industries such as professional services, for instance, online marketplaces for <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/12/09/upcounsel-2-4m/">legal services</a>. Here, the average supplier is highly qualified, often providing niche legal services. Interestingly, anecdotal reports suggest that large firms may be using this flexible supply option to scale up and down their internal legal services as needed. </p>
<p>So, working in the collaborative economy offers significant flexibility and the opportunity for almost everyone to become entrepreneurial. This is especially the case for students, stay-at-home parents, and retirees (according to a recent <a href="http://www.requestsforstartups.com/survey">survey</a>). </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83754/original/image-20150603-19255-tjzoxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83754/original/image-20150603-19255-tjzoxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83754/original/image-20150603-19255-tjzoxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83754/original/image-20150603-19255-tjzoxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83754/original/image-20150603-19255-tjzoxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83754/original/image-20150603-19255-tjzoxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83754/original/image-20150603-19255-tjzoxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Not everyone is happy about the sharing economy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Scott L/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But on the <a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/3027355/pixel-and-dimed-on-not-getting-by-in-the-gig-economy">down side</a>, a lot of uncertainty comes with such work. This wouldn’t surprise those who are already freelancers, moving from gig to gig. Newcomers, however, have to come to grips with having less security and no guaranteed income, fixed benefits, or other standard worker protections. They also have to deal with platforms that are often run via algorithms that demand potential suppliers rapidly respond to customer enquires - or they risk reduced performance ratings, potentially putting off new clients. Seen that way, not much self-determination remains, and traditional <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_management">scientific management</a> reigns. But perhaps this is just the high-speed, tech version of existing independent contracting. </p>
<p>There are some interesting developments in the relationship between workers and online platforms, though. For example, in a <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/can-the-sharing-economy-provide-good-jobs-1431288393">report in the Wall Street Journal</a> on whether the sharing economy can provide “good jobs”, collaborative economy thought leader <a href="http://rachelbotsman.com">Rachel Botsman</a> says organisations such as <a href="http://www.peers.org">Peers.org</a> and <a href="https://www.freelancersunion.org">Freelancers Union</a> “are creating ways for independent contractors to pool bargaining power to access discounted health insurance and telecom plans. Some platforms are looking at how they can give providers equity, to share value with the people creating the value”. Does that mean, in turn, we will see the collective spirit of the “community” of workers crafted and managed by these platforms <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/1919fc24-c5b0-11e4-bd6b-00144feab7de.html#axzz3bFVAH8Lu">rise up against a platform itself</a>?</p>
<p>Adding to the complexity is the question of whether the suppliers of work are contractors - or essentially employees. The jury is out. Actually, it really is: <a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/08/16/sharing-economy-are-workers-employees-independent-contractors/6GTpn1a735kNiM7T7k2vtO/story.html">Class action law suits</a> against Uber and Lyft, as a start, are challenging the classifications of freelancer or contractor versus employee (a legal classification that demands benefits and protections). These issues are also drawing attention in <a href="http://www.afr.com/news/economy/labor-stakes-a-claim-on-the-sharing-economy-for-workers-20150323-1m5okn">Australia</a> and elsewhere. </p>
<p>It is a rapidly evolving space. In the past five years, this social movement has already been relabelled several times – from “sharing”, to “collaborative”, to - more recently – the “gig” or “peer economy”. It is no longer about <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-everyone-gets-the-sharing-economy-wrong-1432495921?KEYWORDS=sharing+economy">criticising</a> the sharing economy for not only being about sharing, but about the broader questions and important <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/09/the-future-of-work-in-the-sharing-economy-with-esther-dyson-ron-conway-and-john-hennessy/">debates</a> we need to have on the <a href="http://www.aspeninstitute.org/about/blog/future-work-sharing-economy">future of work</a>, <a href="https://agenda.weforum.org/2015/05/what-is-the-future-of-work-travel-mobility/">skills development</a>, and issues of inclusion when it comes to sharing the created value. </p>
<p><a href="http://webuser.bus.umich.edu/gfdavis/Presentations/Davis%20CES%20talk%203-15-15.pdf">Evidence</a> has been mounting about the coming <a href="https://michiganross.umich.edu/faculty-research/faculty/jerry-davis">collapse of the traditional corporation</a>, and the end of the “<a href="https://www.freelancersunion.org/blog/dispatches/2015/05/21/need-more-proof-era-big-work-over-here-it/">Era of Big Work</a>”. As we shift from jobs to tasks and projects, how can we avoid the possible deterioration of social standards due to lower income and reduced worker protection, as raised in recent <a href="http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/sites/default/files/ef_publication/field_ef_document/ef1461en_3.pdf">reports</a> by the European Union? </p>
<p>At the <a href="http://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/programmes/degrees/mba">University of Oxford</a>, and in the first MBA course dedicated to the collaborative economy, an important question is being asked: Can decentralised and distributed networks of labour actually contribute to the redistribution of wealth? As rising inequality is recognised not only as a local but a global socio-economic concern, what role will micro-entrepreneurship play? This isn’t just about more informal employment relationships, we think, but about the bigger questions of social contract, rights, duties, and responsibilities in this emerging ecosystem of work and community.</p>
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<p><em>The lead author thanks Rachel Botsman and Pamela Hartigan, Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, University of Oxford, for the opportunity to discuss these issues and recent developments.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/42483/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Danielle Logue is Visiting Fellow at The Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, Said Business School, University of Oxford.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Markus A. Höllerer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With the momentum of the sharing economy growing, we’re only just starting to come to grips with what it means for the future of work.Danielle Logue, Senior Lecturer in Strategy, Innovation & Organisation, University of Technology SydneyMarkus A. Höllerer, Senior Scholar, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.