Working in the Context of Austerity: Challenges and Struggles

Austerity was presented as the antidote to sluggish economies, but it has had far-reaching effects on jobs and employment conditions. With an international team of editors and authors from Europe, North America and Australia, this illuminating collection goes beyond a sole focus on public sector work and uniquely covers the impact of austerity on work across the private, public and voluntary spheres. Drawing on a range of perspectives, the book engages with the major debates surrounding austerity and neoliberalism, providing grounded analysis of the everyday experience of work and employment.

Table of Contents:
PART I: Introduction Understanding Austerity: Its Reach and Presence in the Changing Context of Work and Employment ~ Donna Baines and Ian Cunningham PART II: Trends and Themes The Age of Increased Precarious Employment: Origins and Implications ~ Wayne Lewchuk Stepping Stone or Dead End? The Ambiguities of Platform-Mediated Domestic Work under Conditions of Austerity. Comparative Landscapes of Austerity and the Gig Economy: New York and Berlin ~ Niels van Doorn Trends in Collective Bargaining, Wage Stagnation and Income Inequality under Austerity ~ Ian Cunningham and Philip James Privatization, Hybridization and Resistance in Contemporary Care Work ~ Pat Armstrong and Donna Baines PART III: Case Studies of Austerity in the Private, Public and Nonprofit Sectors Non-Citizenship at Work: Labour Flexibility Behind the Counter in Western Canada ~ Geraldina Polanco What We Talk About When We Talk About Austerity: Social Policy, Public Management and Politics of Eldercare Funding in Canada and China ~ Kendra Strauss and Feng Xu Public Sector Reform and Work Restructuring for Firefighters in Scotland ~ Eva Jendro and Dora Scholarios Austerity, Personalized Funding and the Degradation of Care Work: Comparing Scotland’s Self-Directed Support Policy and Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme ~ Donna Baines and Doug Young The Rise of Managerialism in the US: Whither Worker Control? ~ Mimi Abramovitz and Jennifer Zelnick Austerity and the Irish Non-Profit Voluntary and Community Sector ~ Pauric O’Rourke PART IV: Alternatives and Resistance ‘The most striking progressive achievement in labor and employment policy’? The Scottish Living Wage in Social Care during Austerity ~ Alina M. Baluch Legislation: A Double-Edged Sword in Union Resistance to Zero-Hours Work – The Case of Ireland ~ Juliette MacMahon, Lorraine Ryan, Michelle O’Sullivan, Jonathan Lavelle, Caroline Murphy, Mike O’Brien, Tom Turner and Patrick Gunnigle Moral Projects and Compromise Resistance: Resisting Uncaring in Non-Profit Care Work ~ Donna Baines Austerity, Resistance and the Labour Movement ~ Helen Blakely and Steve Davies Afterword: Final Word and the Path Forward – Is the Myth of Austerity Giving Way to Myth of the Robots Taking the Jobs? ~ Jill Rubery

About the Author :
Donna Baines is Director and Professor of Social Work at the University of British Columbia. Ian Cunningham is Head of Department and Professor of Human Resource Management at the University of Strathclyde.