Labour Markets, Work, and Employment Relations

Researchers: Brendan Sweeney, Charlotte Yates, Dan Irvine, Ian Greer, Ken Delaney, Lorenzo Frangi, Mathieu Dupuis, Shannon Miller, Tod Rutherford, Wayne Lewchuk

The automotive industry is on the verge of substantial changes to the way that work and employment relations are organized. Understanding how these changes impact Canada’s automotive industry and how public policy can support new systems of work organization and employment relations is a critical components of the APRC’s research. Some specific APRC research projects that focus on labour markets, work, and employment relations include:

  • An establishment-level database that helps to examine and quantify changes to the composition of Canada’s automotive industry workforce. This database is a leading source of Canadian automotive industry information. Recent publications based on this database are available here and here. For more information about accessing the database please contact Brendan Sweeney.
  • A comprehensive analysis of the current and future automotive industry labour market needs in Canada. This project is funded by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and is being carried out in partnership with the Canadian Skills Training and Employment Coalition (CSTEC) and PRISM Economics. It will help automotive industry stakeholders and policy-makers anticipate the labour market requirements by occupation in the context of the evolving automotive industry supply chain.
  • An analysis of the impact of in-sourcing decisions on employment relations in the automotive industry since the recession of 2008-2009. Recent conference presentations based on this research are available here and here.
  • The role of employee voice in Canadian automotive industry workplaces that employ high-performance work systems. Recent conference presentations based on this research are available here and here.
  • A longitudinal study of labour market demographics and job quality in Canada’s automotive industry. This study examines the gender and age composition of Canada’s automotive industry workforce and its relationship to the quality of work in Canada’s automotive industry. A recent conference presentation is available here and a MRP submitted to the School of Labour Studies is available here.