A noted expert on the growth of insecure and precarious work will give a public talk in Dublin's Liberty Hall tomorrow (April 30), as part of the 2012 May Day Festival.
Guy Standing - Professor of Economic Security at the University of Bath - is the author of The Precariat (Bloomsbury 2011), a study of the growth and spread of insecure forms of work and the likely consequences for wider society.
According to Professor Standing "neoliberal policies and institutional changes have produced a huge and growing number of people with sufficiently common experience to be called an emerging class (which) consists of millions with insecure jobs, housing and social entitlements..."
In a recent article for The Guardian, Professor Standing warned of the long term consequences of this development:"Chronically insecure people easily lose their altruism, tolerance and respect for non-conformity. If they have no alternative on offer, they can be led to attribute their plight to strangers in their midst."
Professor Standing is also a founder member of the Basic Income Network (BIEN), which promotes a citizenship income for all. Admission to Professor Standing's public talk is free and it takes place in Liberty Hall at 6pm (doors open 5.40pm) on Monday April 30.
The debate will also hear from Siptu's Ethel Buckley and will be chaired by John Douglas of Mandate.