The Work Book (Witness to Injustice)

Year Published:  1982
Resource Type:  Book
Cx Number:  CX2690

Abstract: 
"It is impossible to have a society which assures justice for all unless we transform the nature of work in our society. To do that ,we must first understand the workplace. When we collectively make the attempt to understand the work situation which affects us all then and only then will we be ble to challenge and transorrm society through social action based on the realizaiton of common problems and common solutions.

On the baiss, and the fact that "work is probably the most imporant single variable influencing our lives," the Social Action Commission of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlottetown has published THE WORK BOOK (WITNESS TO INJUSTICE).

In it, Prince Edward island workers give first-hand accounts of the nature of the work they do, their working conditions, the meaning of that work to them, and their feelings about it. A more generalized perspective on th employment problems faced by Island women is offered by a field worker with a women's employment development programme as she discusses her own job.

The occupation described in THE WORK BOOK demonstrates the shift that the Island economy has taken in recent years "away from primary industries and small-scale private ownership, towards bureaucratically controlled jobs in the service sector under chain and government management." (The service sector accounts for 72 per cent of Real Domestic Product). Typical of this change has been the establishment of industrial malls on the island as part of a government-sponsored development plan.

These personal accounts in THE WORK BOOK are prefaced by articles which situate the experiences of Island workers in broder economic, political, cultural, and theological contexts and provide some analysis. Hoever, the editors do not present recommendations for change - - it is their hope that Islanders and workers elsewhere will take up that task after studying THE WORK BOOK.

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