Overview

In a contemporary labour market that includes growing levels of precarious employment, the regulation of minimum employment standards is intricately connected to conditions of economic security. With a focus on the role of neoliberal labour market policies in promoting 'flexible' employment standards legislation - particularly in the areas of minimum wages and working time - Mark Thomas argues that shifts toward 'flexible' legislation have played a central role in producing patterns of labour market inequality. Using an analytic framework that situates employment standards within the context of the broader social relations that shape processes of labour market regulation, Thomas constructs a case study of employment standards legislation in Ontario from 1884 to 2004. Drawing from political economy scholarship and using a qualitative research methodology, Thomas analyses class, race and gender dimensions of legislative developments, highlighting the ways in which shifts towards 'flexible' employment standards have exacerbated longstanding radicalised and gendered inequities. ""Regulating Flexibility"" argues that in order to counter current trends towards increased insecurity, employment standards should not be treated as a secondary form of labour protection but as a cornerstone in a progressive project of labour market re-regulation.

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Thomas has made a significant contribution with Regulating Flexibility. It is a must read for any one interested in the neoliberalization of labour policy. Equally important is the skilful way Thomas weaves together how the various social and political forces, and the imbalance of power between them, is understood and acted upon by the state. What Thomas has done is introduce a radical analysis of public policy and public administration that calls for some greater application to other areas of labour policy but also other policy fields.-- Socialist Studies

Author Information

Mark P. Thomas is assistant professor of sociology, York University.

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