Reopening plan must address work inequality
In the rush to return to a semblance of normal, it would be a huge mistake to cement the pre-pandemic status quo of undervaluing and underpaying front-line caring and service work that enables the rest of our economy to function.
B.C.’s economic recovery is slightly ahead of most other provinces and we are likely to see relatively strong job creation numbers this summer. However, the encouraging top-level statistics hide important inequalities that will block an inclusive recovery unless explicitly addressed.
Racialized communities continue to experience higher unemployment, are more likely to work in low-wage jobs with few if any benefits and face greater financial insecurity. Recent immigrants and Indigenous workers are also seeing a much slower recovery as are workers aged 15 to 24, especially young women.
It is crucial that as B.C. reopens this summer, governments and employers lead a transition for inclusive and just prosperity.
I’ve just published a report examining ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on B.C.’s job market over the pandemic’s first full year and recommending policies for a more inclusive economy.
My in-depth analysis of B.C.’s job market shows that while COVID-19 created unprecedented disruption for everyone, lower-income British Columbians have been worst impacted, particularly those with intersecting inequalities due to race, class and gender. Lower-paid workers in part-time, temporary, more precarious jobs were more likely to lose jobs or majority of hours in the pandemic’s early days and have seen a slower recovery. Indigenous, female, and racialized workers are more likely to have low-wage jobs than white or male peers and were more severely impacted. These workers bore the brunt of pandemic impacts in another important way—they more likely risked their health in essential jobs on the front lines.
The pandemic has highlighted how much of our economy relies on unpaid labour—mostly by women— and on undervalued jobs in femaledominated industries staffed largely by racialized workers.
Despite solid job creation numbers, long-term unemployment— defined as being unemployed for six months or more—has more than tripled in B.C. since the pandemic started. As of May 2021, this affected over 51,000 workers. Without targeted action we risk extending longterm consequences from pandemicinduced job losses, especially for racialized and younger workers.
Building a more just, inclusive and sustainable economy post-pandemic will require all hands on deck: all levels of government, business, local communities and the non-profit sector. Such an economy means not undervaluing low-wage work, instead creating good jobs with a living wage, good working conditions and access to basic benefits like paid sick leave.
I propose a three-pronged policy framework to B.C.’s government for an inclusive recovery:
1. make large-scale investments in crucial public services, especially in the care economy (health care, child care and education).
2. ensure better jobs for everyone by modernizing workplace rights and protections.
3. overhaul income and social supports to plug the gaping holes in our social safety net exposed so clearly by the pandemic.
Prioritizing the economic security of those most impacted by COVID19 is the only way to tackle longstanding income and wealth inequalities that have worsened during the pandemic.