Current research questions Labour Studies faculty are exploring...
- What do national dreams play in propelling migrant workers into global circuits of labour?
- How do language barriers shape occupational health and safety experiences?
- What are the causes and ramifications of work injuries and illnesses among racialized precarious workers?
- How do gender identity and sexual orientation affect worker experiences in non-metropolitan cities?
- Are unions renewing themselves?
- How effective are the political campaigns of unions
- How do we understand the concept of 'unfree labour'?
Other research questions currently being explored:
- How can migrants in Temporary Foreign Worker Programs assert their rights?
- How do unions interact with different social movements?
- Why has labour’s alliance with the NDP frayed in recent years and could it (or should it) be repaired?
- How does the state – through law and policy – shape workers’ experiences and union’s activities? And whose interests does the state serve?
- How is employment in resource extraction gendered, and how does this affect northern Indigenous communities?
Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on Ontario Workers, Workplaces and Families
Results from the 2020 survey of Ontarians on the impact that COVID-19 on their income security, employment, workplace experiences, housing and food security, and political views, co-authored by Mohammad Ferdosi (Department of Political Science), Dr. Peter Graefe (Department of Political Science), Dr. Wayne Lewchuk (School of Labour Studies), and Dr. Stephanie Ross (School of Labour Studies).
Dr. Stephanie Ross – Union Politics in the 21st Century
Union Politics in the 2st Century is a five-year SSHRC-funded research project that seeks to understand how unions are engaging politically and what political strategies are the most successful in securing worker-friendly policies. The research team is made up of Dr. Stephanie Ross, Dr. Larry Savage (Brock University) and Dr. Wayne Lewchuk, as well as Labour Studies doctoral students Chris Fairweather and Chantal Mancini. This project will create the most comprehensive documentation of union political campaigns in Canada since the year 2000.
Learn more about the Union Politics in the 21st Century Project
Dr. Suzanne Mills - LGBTQ+ livelihoods: uneven geographies of work and inclusion.
LGBTQ+ livelihoods: uneven geographies of work and inclusion is a partnership with the University of Windsor, the United Steelworkers, Unifor, Sudbury Workers Education and Advocacy Centre and the Windsor Workers Education Centre. The project, lead by Suzanne Mills, examines the experiences of LGBTQ2S+ people living in Sudbury and Windsor Ontario to better understand how industrial work cultures influence LBTQ2S+ worker experiences and whether union membership promotes inclusion.
Learn more about the LGBTQ+ livelihoods: uneven geographies of work and inclusion project.
Southern Ontario’s Basic Income Experience
A study of how Ontario’s 2018 basic income pilot affected individuals and families in Hamilton and Brantford. Co-authored by Mohammad Ferdosi (McMaster University), Tom McDowell (Ryerson University) Wayne Lewchuk (McMaster University), and Stephanie Ross (McMaster University).
Read Southern Ontario’s Basic Income Experience Report (PDF)
Mapping the Void: Two-Spirit and LGBTIQ+ Experiences in Hamilton
A Research Partnership Among: McMaster University, The AIDS Network and Hamilton community researchers who identify as Two-Spirit and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer JUNE 11, 2019
Download Mapping the Void: Two-Spirit and LGBTIQ+ Experiences in Hamilton
Language Barriers and Workers’ Compensation Access in Ontario and Quebec
Language barriers and workers’ compensation access in Ontario and Quebec (Premji, Begum, Medley, MacEachen, Saunders), funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. It reports on a comparative study of Quebec and Ontario workers’ compensation systems that examined how policies and practices facilitate or hinder access for injured workers who experience language barriers.
Download the Language Barriers and Workers’ Compensation Access in Ontario and Quebec Report.
Extreme Employment Precarity and Health Impacts Among South Asians in Toronto
Extreme employment precarity and health impacts among South Asians in Toronto (Premji, Begum, Jahangir, Gnanayutham, McKinnon), funded by an Ontario Multicultural Community Capacity grant. It describes experiences of extreme employment precarity and impacts on health and well-being among South Asians in Toronto based on stories shared in the context of focus groups and an information workshop developed by the team of researchers and advocates.
Download the Extreme Employment Precarity and Health Impacts Among South Asians in Toronto Report.
A Guide to Identifying and Addressing Challenges Related to Language Barriers in Return to Work
Authors: Premji, Begum, MacEachen, Medley
Funded by the WSIB the guide provides advice for stakeholders involved in the return to work process on how to identify and address challenges that arise in contexts of language barriers.
What to do if you get injured or ill from work
Authors: Premji, Begum, MacEachen, Medley
This is a printable pamphlet funded by the WSIB has advice for injured workers who experience language barriers, and it is available in 7 languages.
View the printable pamphlet that has advice for injured workers who experience language barriers.
Work, Inclusion and 2SLGBTQ+ people in Sudbury and Windsor
This report presents the findings of a two-year study of the experiences of a large and diverse sample of 2SLGBTQ+ workers in the mid-sized cities of Sudbury and Windsor to address these gaps.
- Suzanne Mills
- Ben Owens,
- Adrian Guta
- Nathaniel Lewis
- Natalie Oswin
In partnership with the United Steelworkers Canada, Unifor and the Sudbury Workers Education and Advocacy Centre.
Download the 'Work, Inclusion and 2SLGBTQ+ people in Sudbury and Windsor' report.
Research Podcast
Lister to audio from the student and faculty at McMaster University's School of Labour Studies, Canada's leading program studying contemporary work, workers and social justice movements.
What is the Institute for Work in a Global Society (WIGS)?
WIGS is an interdisciplinary research group affiliated with the School of Labour Studies at McMaster University. We bring a social science perspective to issues of direct concern to paid and unpaid workers, and the institutions representing their interests. We have established links with researchers in the trade union community and at universities in a number of countries. WIGS facilitates research, holds regular seminars, and plans occasional conferences. We can facilitate trade unionists, researchers, faculty and graduate students wishing to visit McMaster and participate in our activities.
Read the pamphlets below to find out
Graduate Research
View our past student Major Research Project and Thesis titles.