When the Lewisian Dream Sours: Industrial Aspirations and Reverse Labour Migration

The COVID-19 pandemic has escalated processes of labour transition from industrial work to the informal economy, which have always characterized the life of the working poor. This paper explores this kind of reverse transition, that is, when the Lewisian dream of having an industrial job comes to an end, and workers are forced into a reverse migration. Specifically, the paper focuses on the post-industrial experiences of former Indian garment workers leaving the National Capital Region and moving back to Bihar. Emphasis is placed on workers' reasons for leaving the industry and their current employment and reproductive strategies. Findings are based on a sample of 50 former workers, identified in urban industrial hamlets and traced back to their place of origin. Respondents' experiences are analysed based on semi-quantitative questionnaires and life histories. Findings reveal that upon leaving the factory, workers find alternative informal employment through caste or social networks whilst using land as safety net. They suggest that farming and informal work are not alternative but rather complementary income and work strategies. By adopting a life-cycle approach to studying labour transitions across formal and informal employment domains, this analysis contributes to policy debates on decent work.

Care in times of the pandemic: Rethinking meanings of work in the university.

In this paper, we challenge the meanings of work that marginalize academic activities associated with care and contribute to inequitable gender divisions of academic labor. We argue that the pandemic crisis and the revision of the meaning of "essential work" that accompanied it has served as a catalyst for such concerns to get a hearing. But while there has been significant attention paid to domestic care demands and their impact on academic labor, there is less focus on the caretaking work we do in the university even though the gender unequal distribution of teaching, mentoring and service work has also intensified in the pandemic. We argue that this is in part due to the institutional discourses and practices that continue to devalue many components of everyday academic labor. In order to challenge these limits, we extend ideas from Feminist political economy (FPE) to university settings in order to reframe academic labor and revalue care as an essential part of it. We offer two suggestions, connected to FPE methodologies, for gathering and reconceptualizing data on academic work to push the project forward. We conclude with the argument that this project of revaluing caring labor is essential for achieving goals of equity, faculty well-being, and the sustainability of universities.

Gender and Crises in European Economic Governance: Is this Time Different?*

There is now a significant literature engaging with questions around gender and economic governance in the European Union. This builds upon research that demonstrates the gendered nature of the economy, and the gendered impacts of policy interventions. This paper draws on that research to develop an account of the gendered nature of the EU's crisis response, moving from analysis of the response to the Global Financial Crisis to some prelimary discussions of the EU's economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper shows how at each stage policies generate gendered consequences, and are built upon gendered assumptions about society and the economy. This paper therefore connects the feminist literature on the European Economic Governance to debates on the Covid-19 response, using a focus on gender and gender equality to examine key continuities between the crisis fighting of the Global Financial crisis to the establishment of the Next Generation EU fund.

Sacrificed: Ontario Healthcare Workers in the Time of COVID-19.

Healthcare workers (HCWs) in Ontario, Canada have faced unprecedented risks during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have been infected at an elevated rate compared to the general public. HCWs have argued for better protections with minimal success. A worldwide shortage of N95s and comparable respirators appears to have influenced guidelines for protection, which stand at odds with increasing scientific evidence. In-depth interviews were conducted with ten frontline HCWs about their concerns. They reported that the risk of contracting COVID-19 and infecting family members has created intense anxiety. This, in conjunction with understaffing and an increased workload, has resulted in exhaustion and burnout. HCWs feel abandoned by their governments, which failed to prepare for an inevitable epidemic, despite recommendations. The knowledge that they are at increased risk of infection due to lack of protection has resulted in anger, frustration, fear, and a sense of violation that may have long-lasting implications.Sacrifié: Le personnel de la santé ontarien à l'époque de la COVID-19RésuméEn Ontario, au Canada, le personnel de la santé a eu à faire face à des risques sans précédent durant la pandémie de COVID-19. On y a constaté un taux d'infection plus élevé chez les travailleuses et travailleurs de la santé (TTS) qu'au sein de la population en général. Les TTS ont revendiqué des moyens de protection améliorés, sans grand succès. Une pénurie mondiale de masques respirateurs de type N95 ou similaires semble avoir joué sur les directives en matière de protection, qui ne cadrent pas avec une accumulation de preuves scientifiques. Lors d'entretiens en profondeur, dix TTS de première ligne ont été invités à donner leur avis sur la situation. à les entendre, le risque de contracter la COVID-19 et d'infecter les membres de leur famille leur cause beaucoup d'anxiété. Associée à un manque de personnel et à une charge de travail accrue, cette anxiété se traduit par un épuisement physique et professionnel. Les TTS se sentent abandonnés par leurs gouvernements, qui ont manqué de se préparer à l'inévitabilité d'une épidémie, malgré ce qui leur avait été recommandé. Leur réalisation d'être exposés à un plus grand risque d'infection par manque d'équipement de protection s'est muée en colère, frustration et peur, et en un sentiment de violation de leurs droits dont on peut craindre qu'il subsiste fort longtemps.