Labour mobility examines the geographic mobility of workers. Approximately 44% of Canadians regularly cross at least one municipal, provincial, territorial, or national boundary on their way to and from work. About 10% of these workers work in transient or mobile workplaces. There are also over 300,000 foreign nationals working temporarily in Canada today, and approximately 270,000 new immigrants to Canada each year.
Labour mobility can result in complex, cascading, and often gendered patterns of mobility and immobility. Labour mobility also entails significant policy and regulatory complexity. This course examines these various forms of labour mobility and how they affect workers, their families, and the sending and receiving communities. The course particularly emphasizes labour mobility in western Canada.
Outline
Unit 1: Labour mobility in historical context
Unit 2: Theoretical perspectives on labour mobility
Unit 3: Commuting as labour mobility
Unit 4: Interprovincial migration
Unit 5: Temporary international migration
Unit 6: Permanent international migration
Unit 7: Conclusion
Learning outcomes
Explain the history of labour mobility in Canada to 2000.
Analyze the trajectory of labour mobility in your jurisdiction and nationally from 2000 to present day.
Identify who benefits from different forms of labour mobility and how they benefit from it.
Explain how government policy and identity factors contribute to mobile workers’ vulnerability in the workplace.
Enumerate the impact of labour mobility on workers and their sending and receiving communities.
Evaluation
To receive credit for LBST 325, you must achieve a minimum grade of D (50 percent)or better on the final exam and an overall grade of at least D (50 percent) for the course.
Activity
Weight
Telephone Quiz 1
10%
Written Assignment 1
30%
Telephone Quiz 2
10%
Written Assignment 2
30%
Final Exam
20%
Total
100%
The final examination for this course must be requested in advance and written under the supervision of an AU-approved exam invigilator. Invigilators include either ProctorU or an approved in-person invigilation centre that can accommodate online exams. Students are responsible for payment of any invigilation fees. Information on exam request deadlines, invigilators, and other exam-related questions, can be found at the Exams and grades section of the Calendar.
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Materials
Hiller, H. (2009). Second promised land: Migration to Alberta and the transformation of Canadian society. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press. (Print)
Other Materials
All other course materials are online.
Challenge for credit
Overview
The challenge for credit process allows you to demonstrate that you have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university-level course.
Full information about challenge for credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.
Evaluation
To receive credit for the LBST 325 challenge registration, you must achieve a grade of at least D (50 percent)on the examination.
Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized study counterparts.