Enduring Work
Experiences with Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program
An organizational behaviour and human resources management perspective on Canada’s controversial migrant labour program.
If you believed most of what’s said about the Canadian Temporary Foreign Worker program, you might naturally assume that there is a trade-off between workers’ poor experiences with the program and employers’ significant benefits. In reality, the experiences of workers are far worse than is commonly acknowledged, while employers are not reaping as much benefit as the public might suppose.
In Enduring Work Catherine Connelly draws on over one hundred interviews with people connected to different aspects of this program, analyzing their experiences from the perspective of organizational behaviour and human resources management. She compares the lived reality of agricultural workers, in-home caregivers, and low- and high-wage workers, showing how and why each group is vulnerable to mistreatment, albeit in different ways. She further explores how employment agencies and immigration consultants contribute to program abuses. Critically, Enduring Work provides the perspectives of employers, distinguishing between the reluctant users of the program who follow the rules and the reckless users who do not.
Groundbreaking in its analysis of an issue very much in the news, Enduring Work unpacks the harms within Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker program and offers nuanced strategies to improve it.
“Informative and accessible, Enduring Work offers useful reading to students of labour studies, sociology, migration, and geography, as well as anyone interested in Canadian issues.” Alison Braley-Rattai, Brock University and co-author of *Canadian Labour Relations: Law, Policy, and Practice *
“Enduring Work is well-grounded empirically, clearly written, and engaging – a valuable addition to the literature. The book closely examines the lives of Temporary Foreign Workers, using a clear human resources perspective, and enhances our understanding of the program and workers’ experiences with it.” Jason Foster, Athabasca University and co-author of Health and Safety in Canadian Workplaces
"This work takes the myth that there are any winners in Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) regimes head-on. Connelly compares the Canadian experience with that of other countries. Her findings conclude that Temporary Labor Migration programs are not the panacea everyone hopes for. Highly recommended." Choice