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Precarious work: Economic, sociological and political perspectives

Author

Listed:
  • Shaun Wilson

    (Macquarie University, Australia; The University of New South Wales, Australia)

  • Norbert Ebert

    (Macquarie University, Australia)

Abstract

This article brings together labour relations, sociological and political perspectives on precarious employment in Australia, identifying local contexts of insecurity and setting them within the economics of regional supply chains involving the use of migrant labour. In developing the concept of precarious work-societies, it argues that precarity is a source of individual and social vulnerability and distress, affecting family, housing and communal security. The concept of depoliticisation is used to describe the processes of displacement, whereby the social consequences of precarious work come to be seen as beyond the reach of agency. Using evidence from social attitudes surveys, we explore links between the resulting sense of political marginalisation and hostility to immigrants. Re-politicisation strategies will need to lay bare the common basis of shared experiences of insecurity and explore ways of integrating precarious workers into new community and global alliances.

Suggested Citation

  • Shaun Wilson & Norbert Ebert, 2013. "Precarious work: Economic, sociological and political perspectives," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 24(3), pages 263-278, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecolab:v:24:y:2013:i:3:p:263-278
    DOI: 10.1177/1035304613500434
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. George Morgan & Julian Wood & Pariece Nelligan, 2013. "Beyond the vocational fragments: Creative work, precarious labour and the idea of ‘Flexploitation’," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 24(3), pages 397-415, September.
    2. Dan Woodman, 2013. "Young people’s friendships in the context of non-standard work patterns," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 24(3), pages 416-432, September.
    3. Michael Quinlan, 2012. "The ‘Pre-Invention’ of Precarious Employment: The Changing World of Work in Context," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 23(4), pages 3-24, November.
    4. Williamson, Oliver E, 1981. "The Modern Corporation: Origins, Evolution, Attributes," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 19(4), pages 1537-1568, December.
    5. Sharon Bolton & Maeve Houlihan & Knut Laaser, 2012. "Contingent Work and Its Contradictions: Towards a Moral Economy Framework," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 111(1), pages 121-132, November.
    6. Dale Tweedie, 2013. "Precarious work and Australian labour norms," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 24(3), pages 297-315, September.
    7. Martina Boese & Iain Campbell & Winsome Roberts & Joo-Cheong Tham, 2013. "Temporary migrant nurses in Australia: Sites and sources of precariousness," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 24(3), pages 316-339, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Patrick O’Keeffe & Angelika Papadopoulos, 2021. "The Australian Government’s business-friendly employment response to COVID-19: A critical discourse analysis," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 32(3), pages 453-471, September.
    2. Min Zhou & Shih-Diing Liu, 2021. "Becoming precarious playbour: Chinese migrant youth on the Kuaishou video-sharing platform," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 32(3), pages 322-340, September.
    3. Constantine Manolchev & Richard Saundry & Duncan Lewis, 2021. "Breaking up the ‘precariat’: Personalisation, differentiation and deindividuation in precarious work groups," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 42(3), pages 828-851, August.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • M54 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Labor Management

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