Insights from the margins: gender, work and health in a restructuring fishing industry

Barbara Neis and Stacey WarehamSafetyNet

Memorial University of Newfoundland

Why a focus on rural and remote OHS?

• OHS because of the continuing neglect of the contribution of work-related exposures to ill health

• Rural because of evidence of a “health disadvantage” in rural communities that increases with remoteness (CIHI 2006)– Linked to disparities in income and education

but “rurality” is independently important– Is the relationship between rurality and health

linked to rural work?

Why gender, work and health?

• Research on work and OHS in rural and remote environments focused on mining, farming, forestry, fishing

• Male-dominated employment sectors

• General neglect of women’s work and gender in OHS research

• Particularly strong in rural and remote areas.

Wider Relevance

• Research on rural, resource-based industries can help us understand the social-ecology of the relationship between work and health

• Help us see ways social and physical environments interact to mediate health

• Resource-based industries are– Closely linked to environmental change and diversity

(physical environment)– Subject to frequent, severe change/restructuring (boom- bust

industries)– Studying change (restructuring) can help us see interactivity

as well as underlying processes more clearly (Dolan et al. 2005; Ommer et al. 2007).

Wider Relevance…

This work reminds us of the need to incorporate social power into our understanding of the relationships between social and physical environments and health

These relationships are dynamic and “to some degree driven and channeled by asymmetric power relations” that can shift ‘fields of opportunity’ “that are structured spatially, temporally, and institutionally in ways that constrain and channel power dynamics.” (MacDonald et al. 2006).

Newfoundland and Labrador fishery

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NEWFOUNDLAND

LABRADOR

2J

3K

3L

The Setting

1992-1994 collapse of Atlantic groundfish stocks

Fisheries closuresPlant closuresMassive layoffs

Industrial restructuring away from groundfish to shellfish

Mechanization

Increased seasonality

Shift Groundfish to Shellfish

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

NS NB PEI QC NL TOTAL

metrictonnes

1973

1983

1993

2003

Shellfish landings for Eastern Canada (1973-2003)

Trends in Compensation Claims by Fishing Sector

WHSCC Claims by Industrial Code

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Year

Claims

701: Offshore Harvesting 703: Inshore Fishing 704: Factory Freezer Trawlers

Pelot (2000)

Longitudinal analysis of SAR incidents and fishing activity 1993-1999

Temporal trends in fishing activity: ê 1994-5, é 1996-9

Inshore fishing areas had low and steady incident rates

Offshore activity increased with fishery restructuring from cod to crab

Offshore fishing areas had increasingly higher incident rates

Newfoundland Fishing Incidents: Perspectives and Analysis.R. Pelot, 2000

Snow Crab Licences and Permits

1998 Season Licenses & Permits

Temporary Seasonal

75%

Supplementary

21%

Fulltime

2%

Exploratory

2%

Perceptions Of Risk: Harvester Focus Group Results

• NEW FISHERIES, NEW RISKS Fishing farther from shore, in small, aging, inappropriate

boats Buddying up to mitigate risk Unfamiliar with crab fishery Navigating through shipping lanes without radar

• CHANGING VESSELS, CHANGING RISKS Modification of vessels to ‘better suit’ new fisheries Space constraints and safety

• CUTTING COSTS, THE COSTS OF CUTTING Enterprises cut costs by dumping insurance,

cutting crew, crewing with family, buddying-up Keep fishing even after injury After 1998, escalating costs, lower prices …

• REGULATORY REGIME Vessel replacement regulations constrain

improvements IQs reduce risk in competitive fishery by

reducing the pressure to fish in bad weather, to rush

IQ benefits compromised by declining stocks, community norms, trust agreements

Women and Men Fish Harvesters: 1981-2000, NFLD &

Labrador

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2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000

18000

1981 1990 2000

Year

Number of Fish Harvesters

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5

10

15

20

25

% Women Fish Harvesters

M F % wom en

Source: Grzetic 2002

Gender

• Gender It is unclear whether fishing with family

members makes fishing more or less safe Men assessed women to be “as good as

men” Women are inexperienced as new entrants,

exclusion of women from intergenerational mentoring

Safety implications -- women monitor safety practices of men on board

This and fear of family repercussions from disaster may mitigate contribution of masculinity to risk-taking

Fibre-glass boat-building (FBB)

• Boat-building has a long history in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL)

• Culturally and economically important

• Shift from wooden to fibreglass reinforced boats in past 15 years

• Rapid expansion to 48 fibreglass boat building and repair businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador around 2000

• Subsequent rapid decline

• At peak, approximately 750 workers

• Working in small, remote, nonunionized operations

19881989199019911992199319941995199619971998 1999

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Number of Vessels

Year

Fleet Profile 1988-99

60'-64'11"

55'-59'11"

50'-54'11"

45'-49'11"

40'-44'11"

35'-39'11"

Styrene Exposures & FBB

• Fibreglass boat building and repair requires the release of the chemical styrene, a known neurotoxin associated with – Mood instability (Campagna et al., 1995) and aggression that

may negatively impact social relationships (Julien, et al., 2000)

– Irritation and forgetfulness (Flodin, Ekberg, Anderson, 1989) – Fatigue and depression (ATSDR, 1992) – Reduced color vision (Castillo, Baldwin, Sassine, & Mergler, 2001) – Hearing loss (Sliwinska-Kowalska, et al., 2003)

Community-based study FBB

• Origin: Concern among OHS inspectors about inconsistent PPE use among FBB workers

• Objective: To assess social, cognitive, and cultural factors affecting safety behaviours with respect to styrene exposure among groups who have personal contact with or have a vested interest in the FBB industry

• Method: Qualitative and quantitative research methods:– Interviews with community members, managers,

employees, and key informants.

– Four surveys for the four interest groups

• All employees working with chemicals in Canadian workplaces should have knowledge of the hazardous chemicals in their workplace - Workplace Hazardous Materials Information Systems (WHMIS)

• In this study:– 61% (26) employees had completed WHMIS training,

33% (14) had not– 44% (18) indicated they did not receive safety training

before they started their job – 37% (16) indicated they had not received any safety

training since starting their job – 54% (23) indicated that they had not been informed

about the health effects of styrene exposure.

Precarity, Dependency and Risk

Precarity, dependency and risk

• Situational factors can affect the safety behaviours of employees making them more willing to take risks at work to get the job done.

• Study participants often talked about the importance of the FBB industry to the survival of their community

• This reality places a great deal of pressure on the managers/owners of these workplaces

• It is also a source of power over workers:“…with the fish plant closing there are a lot more people looking for

work so I can pick the best ones out.” (Manager A)

• The immediate needs of employees (rather than the long term benefits of a healthy and safe work place) can increase employee risk tolerance (Orton et al., 2001)

Community Attachment & OHS

• When employees perceive a lack of commitment to OHS among managers, job insecurity tends to be associated with low levels of safety knowledge, less self-reported safety compliance, and greater likelihood of workplace injuries and accidents (Probst, 2004)

• Community attachment or sense of belonging to place appears to affect the extent to which individuals will amplify or attenuate risk associated with that place (Masuda and Gavin, 2006) and tolerate risk (Billig, 2006)

• Those FBB employees who reported being attached to their community were more likely to report that they were satisfied with their job

• Heightened community attachment was also associated with reporting they were not worried about the health effects of styrene exposure at their workplace

“I suppose it's [they tolerate the risk] because of the love of the community, and the love of the fact that they've got a job, and as they can stay here, they don't have to go away. And there's employment for them, and there's something for them to do. And they don't want to move…Unfortunate that it's that way, but, what do you do?” (Teacher – Community A)

“Cause they [workers] don't want to move, so they take anything to stay.” (Wife of Former Fibreglass Boat Building Plant Worker - Community C)

• The extent to which employees believed their family members and their physician were concerned about the health effects of styrene exposure affected their safety-related behaviour at work

• But HCP lacked knowledge of OHS risks in the industry

Gender and Sex

• Male-dominated industry• Some women occupying positions that have been traditionally

held by men in this industry – The extent to which the safety equipment prescribed to these

workers is appropriate for women is questionable (e.g., equipment fit)

• Women tend to be working in an administrative capacity– Exposure of office personnel was not a matter of concern or

acknowledged as a threat to health but could be, as in autobody and other similar small businesses (Eakin)

– “I don’t smell it anymore…you get use to it” (Manager B, female)

• The long term effects of styrene exposure may be different for men and women given their biological specificities

• Women family members and others in community were often concerned about health effects of styrene on husbands, family members.

Work-related Respiratory Problems among Shellfish

Processing Workers

Shellfish processing

Is associated with chemicals and allergens that can trigger respiratory problems like asthma, bronchitis, etc.

These include:• Aerosolized proteins• Cleaning chemicals• Ammonia• Sulphites (to brighten raw product)• Forklift fumes

• Estimated 22,000 workers across Eastern Canada• Primarily female workers, gender division of labour

Licensed Crab Processing Plants, 2003

Occupational Asthma

Asthma that is caused by exposure to fumes, dusts, chemicals in the “workplace”

• Symptoms of asthma (shortness of breath, wheeze, cough, chest tightness) while at work, sometimes after work –immediate and delayed

• Symptoms usually improve while away from work (i.e. weekends, vacation, off-season)

• Crab asthma- caused by sensitization to HMW proteins aerosolized during processing

Crab Asthma Study Objectives

• Document beliefs and concerns of workers, management and health professionals related to working with crab

• Compare allergen levels associated with different processes and plants, document proteins involved, explore ways to reduce levels

• Estimate the percentage of workers likely to have occupational asthma and allergy in a variety of plants with different processes and histories

• Link history of exposures with likelihood of illness

• Document quality of life and socio-economic impacts of crab asthma among affected workers

Results

Crab processing is associated with high percentage of work-related asthma in the 4 NL plants

• Approximately 18% participants - almost certain or highly

probable diagnosis of OAA

Highest percentage (close to 50%) in the oldest plant where there was also poor ventilation

Cooked Crab cleaning & Sawing in low ventilation areas were highest risk jobs

(Gautrin et al. submitted)

Cumulative Exposures

• Participants listed up to three jobs they had performed at the plant

• They indicated how many seasons they had spent at each

• We calculated number of weeks exposed at each job

• Multiplied that by the average exposure level in that area of the plant

• Added together exposures from the three jobs to get cumulative exposure over their careers

Exposures and illness

Workers with higher cumulative exposure were more likely to have crab asthma

Women had higher cumulative exposures on average than menworking in higher exposure jobson average had worked longer in the industry

Women were more likely to be sick

(Howse et al. 2006)

Other issues…

• Negative effects on quality of life for the sick• Issues with quality of medical care, HCP knowledge

about OAA, access to specialists, cost of drugs

• Workers (primarily women) tended to work until could no longer work because:– few alternatives for employment– family responsibilities– “like having a job”– “economic independence” Those who did were putting themselves at risk of longer-

term breathing problems(Howse, 2005)

Fish processing as % of nonprofessional employment in rural NL

Data from Canada Census, 2001. Sourced: Community Accounts, May, 2006.

Economic Zone (s) Men Women

Labrador Coast (Zones 1, 4 & 5 Combined) 9.7% 12%

Northern Peninsula (Zones 6 & 7) 7.5% 13.4%

Terra Nova Park to White Bay (Zones 11 & 14) 8.4% 11.3%

Bonavista Peninsula (Zone 15) 11.4% 15.2%

Trinity/Conception Bay North (Zone 17) 12.3% 18.7%

Irish Loop (Zone 20)

Average

15.1%

10.8%

21.6%

15.37%

These jobs matter – especially to women

Lessons from the Margins

Interactions between the social and physical environments of rural and remote work, gender and health

• Environmental degradation triggered industrial restructuring that interacted with the built environment (boats, plants), policy change, wider industrial change and with gender and class relations in these communities to influence the risk of illness, injury and fatality & options and opportunities for dealing with it (MacDonald et al. forthcoming)

• Growing awareness of the risks at the level of the boat, the plant and the larger OHS system (through research) triggered interventions (individual, organizational)

• The industry continues to be highly dynamic - shifting species (sea cucumber) and now to aquaculture and may shift from local to migrant workers (Moreau and Neis in prep; Grzetic, in prep)

• Processing work is also shifting rapidly around the world; knowledge of the risks and solutions is not necessarily following.

Lessons from the margins

Fishing, FBB and shellfish processing are all forms of gendered precarious employment

(Quinlan, Mayhew, Bohle, 2001)– Precarious work is associated with higher injury rates, higher hazard

exposures, and related physical and mental illness (Aronsson, 1999) – Substandard employee training and knowledge of OHS standards

(Aronsson, 1999; Eakin, 1992) – Challenges linked to regulation of OHS policies and procedures (e.g.,

Mayhew, 1997a; Mayhew & Quinlan, 1997; Quinlan, Mayhew & Bohle, 2001)• Economic pressures can have a particularly significant impact on the health and

safety of precarious workers (e.g., Lingard & Yesilyurt, 2003; Mayhew, 2002; Mayhew & Quinlan, 2001; Quinlan, Mayhew, Bohle, 2001)

– Precarious workers are less likely to file compensation claims (Lippel, 2006) - contributes to invisibility

In seasonal and insecure industries, anxiety about job loss is exacerbated by the fact that time off on compensation does not count towards EI eligibility -- result Jobs or Health Mentality

Lesson from the margins

• Work is part of a larger social-ecological system• Globally, precarious work is becoming increasingly

common- men’s jobs are becoming more like women’s• Research on restructuring, work precarity and OHS

reminds us that our exposure assessments need to extend beyond measuring allergens, chemicals, ergonomic stressors and demand and control to social power exposure assessments.

• Social power includes ‘power over’ and ‘power to’• It influences not only outcomes but also whether a

problem gets on the agenda or is even understood to be a problem

Questions or comments?