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The Global Disappearance of Decent Work? Precarity, Exploitation, and Work‐Based Harms in the Neoliberal Era

Author

Listed:
  • Adam Formby

    (School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Lincoln, UK)

  • Mustapha Sheikh

    (School of Languages, Cultures and Societies, University of Leeds, UK)

  • Bob Jeffery

    (Psychology, Sociology and Politics, Sheffield Hallam University, UK)

Abstract

This thematic issue offers an international perspective on precarious work and the social harms generated by such work. In the following introduction, we contextualise these trends in relation to entrenched neoliberal policy, rising contractual insecurity, the proliferation of borders, and other forms of institutional discrimination and inequality. We distinguish between formal contractual insecurity and the subjective experiences of precarity, interrogate the types of harms that accompany precarious work, and set out a social justice perspective for an engaged critique of precarious work. The collection is truly global in its scope, encompassing case studies from Bangladesh, China, Czechia, Ecuador, Finland, Italy, India, Jordan, Latvia, and Spain. These case studies draw out the diverse contexts for rising precarity, ranging from post‐soviet, post‐socialist, and neoliberal transitions to post‐colonial and neocolonial contexts, examining how precarity is shaped by and interacts with divisions of ethnicity, migration status, gender, sexuality, and class. This thematic issue arises out of the work of the (In)Justice International Collective and is dedicated to the organization’s founder, Dr. Simon Prideaux, who passed away in 2023.

Suggested Citation

  • Adam Formby & Mustapha Sheikh & Bob Jeffery, 2024. "The Global Disappearance of Decent Work? Precarity, Exploitation, and Work‐Based Harms in the Neoliberal Era," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 12.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v12:y:2024:a:8755
    DOI: 10.17645/si.8755
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alexandra Tomaselli, 2024. "An Intersectional Analysis of Precarity and Exploitation: Women and LGBTQIA+ Workers in Substate Neoliberal Systems," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 12.
    2. Hosna J. Shewly & Ellen Bal & Runa Laila, 2024. "Hyper‐Precarious Lives: Understanding Migration, Global Supply Chain, and Gender Dynamics in Bangladesh," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 12.
    3. Rajesh Kalarivayil & Balaka Chattaraj & Smitha Sasidharan Nair, 2024. "Precarity of Place in the Global South: The Case of Tea Garden Workers in Assam," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 12.
    4. Ronaldo Munck, 2013. "The Precariat: a view from the South," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(5), pages 747-762.
    5. Brigit Ronde, 2024. "“The Brains Are Frozen”: Precarious Subjectivities in the Humanitarian Aid Sector in Jordan," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 12.
    6. Jing Wang & Quan Meng, 2024. "Unregulated Flexibility and the Multiplication of Labour: Work in the Chinese Platform Economy," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 12.
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