Precarious Employment in Perspective

In recent scholarship, the notion of precarious employment has become increasingly important when exploring challenges to working conditions in various contexts. Both scholars and stakeholders have highlighted the multifaceted character of this phenomenon in different countries, regions and labour markets. This book explores the emergence of precariousness in Sweden, a country that has traditionally been held up as an example when it comes to the advantages of powerful pro-labour parties and employment security. The essays provide historical and international perspectives on the issue, as well as multi-disciplinary approaches to explaining the problem. By examining the development of precarious employment in recent decades in different settings, ranging from industrial relations and employment relationships to consideration of regulation, policy and actual working conditions in different sectors, the authors, writing from different disciplinary perspectives, provide a rich and varied analysis of precarious employment. They suggest that the best tool for understanding the phenomenon is a power relations approach based on class, gender and ethnicity.