York University’s Global Labour Research Centre (GLRC) will host a launch event and discussion for the book Unfree Labour? Struggles of Migrant and Immigrant Workers in Canada on Nov. 12 at the Workers’ Action Centre, 720 Spadina Ave., second floor.
The event, which runs 5 to 6:30pm, will feature co-editors Aziz Choudry and Adrian Smith as well as guests Sedef Arat-Koç and Deena Ladd.
Over the past decade, Canada has experienced considerable growth in labour migration. Moreover, temporary labour migration has replaced permanent immigration as the primary means by which people enter Canada. Utilizing the rhetoric of maintaining competitiveness, Canadian employers and the state have ushered in an era of neoliberal migration alongside an agenda of austerity flowing from capitalist crisis. Labour markets have been restructured to render labour more flexible and precarious, and in Canada as in other high-income capitalist labour markets, employers are relying on migrant and immigrant workers as “unfree labour.” This book explores labour migration to Canada and how public policies of temporary and guest worker programs function in the global context of work and capitalist restructuring.
The event is sponsored by the Global Labour Research Centre, York University and Workers’ Action Centre.
Copies of the book will be available for purchase during the event.