Working conditions in academia are generally considered to be deteriorating. Data from surveys which look at the job satisfaction of academics, however, do not clearly support this notion. This appears to be especially true for the case of Japan. Much of the recent literature on academics' job satisfaction globally relies on the comparison of two…

The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) represents 72,000 academic staff at universities and colleges across the country. CAUT strives for fair working conditions, compensation and benefits to foster quality teaching and innovative research while advancing equity and human rights within our profession. Many of the institutions where…

'Employers know that they can hire worldwide now … so, there is limitless supply of people … who can do the job … . they're all qualified, most of them are actually over-qualified … . I'm a wage slave basically, I don't think we have very much social status … . we are replaceable workers … I mean, the employer holds all the cards really. We are…

All workers have the right to perform their job duties under the best possible conditions, safeguarded from the harm which the execution of their duties may entail. In addition, employers have the obligation to guarantee this right to health, implementing a preventive system which assures the safety and health of the workers under their charge.…

This article examines the exploitation of patient labour at Kew Cottages, Australia's first purpose-built state institution for people with learning disabilities. Analysing historical evidence for the period 1887-1950 shows that unpaid patient labour contributed significantly to the economy of the Cottages and so to the government department of…

This article examines the relationship between skill acquisition and the constitution of economic selfhood in Trinidad. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork among garment workers in a context of industrial decline, I show how their formal, informal, and illicit means of acquiring sewing skills are inextricably linked to the fragmented and unstable…

The principle of decent work was first espoused in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Since 1999 the International Labour Organisation has operated according to a Decent Work Agenda and in recent times the movement towards the provision of decent work as a means of improving the quality of life has gathered momentum. Decent work is…

Little is known about the job strain of staff working in disability institutions. This study investigated the staff's job strain profile and its determinants which included the worker characteristics and the psychosocial working environments in Taiwan. A cross-sectional study survey was carried out among 1243 workers by means of a self-answered…

The author studied sex differences in the work health association, using a sample of 442 employed men and 243 employed women residing in Israel. Lack of job satisfaction and higher stress were related to illness among men, whereas the effect of excessive work demands was more pronounced among women. (Author/CH)

Notes that about half of U.S. toys are made in China, mainly by young women who work extremely long shifts, 7 days a week, "amid sickening vapors and under draconian rules." Describes corporate codes of conduct, the role consumers can play in changing extremely poor working conditions, and the impact of international trade reforms.…

Presents comments spoken at a human rights conference by Han Dongfang, a Chinese activist who was jailed after an attempt to organize China's first independent union from a tent in Tiananmen Square during the democracy movement. Today, he is barred from the mainland but works from Hong Kong through Radio Free Asia. Comments focus on foreign…

Readings and exercises for use with a course for Canadian workers on racism and the workplace are included in this book. The materials are organized to reflect the themes of the ten sessions of the course: (1) racism hurts workers; (2) analysing racial situations in the workplace; (3) the employer connection to racism in the workplace; (4)…

Throughout the world, the forms of employment in industrialized countries are in a state of flux. Employment relationships that were previously considered "regular" (permanent, full-time) are becoming less significant. In place of these relationships, other employment options (such as fixed contracts, part-time employment, and contingent…

This article offers three interrelated arguments for the adoption of a cultural approach to the study of learning. It then presents some early analyses of data from a case study of one learning site, concerned with the assessment of learning in the workplace. These analyses show how the shape of the learning site--for example, the nature of…

Organization Development (OD), conceived by behavioral scientists to humanize psychological aspects of working conditions which deprive employees of opportunities to develop and utilize their inherent resources, is based on the assumption that human resources can be released if people are given other conditions for work and cooperation. There is…