Recent changes in Canada and Australia allow international students to increase the hours they work outside their studies.
Previously, international students in Canada were permitted
to work only 20 hours per week outside their school programs; that limit has
been temporarily removed until December 31, 2023. Australia moved earlier and lifted a similar
cap until June 30, 2023. In the US, an on-campus
20-hour restriction exists during sessions with additional hours during breaks
and specific exceptions for certain groups and circumstances. Demand for
workers means more students working more hours in more sectors in the economy.
Clearly, the easing of restrictions on work hours is
intended to alleviate labour shortages, particularly in the service
sector. That said, many students work in
many other sectors of the economy. In my
own experience, I have met international students working in construction,
manufacturing, transportation, warehousing, and healthcare.
Increased Hours = Increased Risk
With unlimited hours on top of studies and on-campus work
(often part of their studies), international students are exposed to more hazards. Recall that risk is the chance or probability
of harm from a work-related hazard. That
increased risk is greater than you might expect.
First, the risk of injury and occupational disease is
related to exposure. For most jobs, one
can think of exposure in terms of hours exposed to the hazards present in the
workplace. Increased hours alone account
for increased risk in the population of international students who engage in
employment. Holding the number of
international students constant and increasing their exposure to work hazards through
increased hours, increases the likelihood of occupational injury and disease.
Fatigue and Risk
A second factor can increase the risk beyond a straight
linear relationship. The fatigue – risk relationship
is an accepted fact. NIOSH-CDD writes:
Fatigue can slow down reaction times. Reduce attention or
concentration, limit short-term memory and impair judgement…High levels of
fatigue can affect any worker in any occupation or industry with serious
consequences for worker safety and health.
[See https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/fatigue/default.html
]
Published studies rarely focus on non-work sources of
fatigue outside of commuting time and breaks between shifts. Study time, family needs and other factors
can add to fatigue and increase risk. Some
industries have modeled hazards and fatigue related risks [for example, see Transport
Canada, Fatigue Risk Management System for the Canadian Aviation Industry -
Introduction to Fatigue Audit Tools - TP 14577 available at https://tc.canada.ca/en/aviation/publications/fatigue-risk-management-system-canadian-aviation-industry-introduction-fatigue-audit-tools-tp-14577
]
Models and studies of enhanced risk facing resident and
foreign students are lacking but the implication of existing knowledge is that the
added hours of exposure to potential harms may disproportionately increase risk
of injury or disease.
International Student Population
The population of foreign students is not trivial. Australia,
Canada, and the US are three of the top five destination countries for foreign
international students, accounting for more than 2 million of the estimated 5.6
million international students world wide.
|
Rank |
Country |
International student population (2020) |
|
1 |
USA |
1,075,496 |
|
2 |
UK |
551,495 |
|
3 |
Canada |
503,270 |
|
4 |
China |
492,185 |
|
5 |
Australia |
463,643 |
|
3,086,089 |
[see https://studee.com/guides/10-most-popular-countries-for-international-students/
]
These are significant numbers. Policy changes expanding hours increase the
potential labour supply of this population’s in terms of allowed work opportunities
may be needed to address demand for labour in the economy. Current labour market shortages are evident
in many jurisdictions. Along with
inflation, rental housing shortages and increased costs for transportation and
study materials (particularly technology), international students may have a
greater motivation to take advantage of greater opportunities for
employment.
Stock, Flow and Foreign Student Population Measures
International students pose a challenge for those charged
with designing health, safety and workers’ compensation awareness programs for
them. At any given time, the population
of international students can vary. Most
courses of study span a calendar year or more.
Study visas may be valid for or across multiple years, but students may
enter and leave the jurisdiction as part of their studies or simply to return
home for part of any given year. This is the “flow” of international students.
Unlike refugees and new immigrants (definitionally, permanent or extended-stay residents including
asylum seekers) or temporary foreign workers (individuals contracted for periods
of greater than a year or returning on a seasonal basis), foreign students are
generally in the jurisdiction for shorter periods (not permanently). At any given time, the population or “stock”
of foreign students may exceed the “flow” or count of new arrivals.
Once a cohort of new immigrants or temporary foreign workers
is oriented to health and safety or workers’ compensation in the jurisdiction, they
are often considered part of the resident population in terms of knowledge and
awareness programs. With foreign
students, the “stock” is ever changing and the challenge of raising awareness,
building trust, and informing them of their rights and obligations never wains.
Experience and expectations
Workplace culture is not universal. Attitudes and beliefs regarding workplace
health and safety vary widely.
Experiences and understandings about workplace health and safety and
workers’ compensation also vary by country.
It is not reasonable to assume all international students bring the same
understanding to the workplace.
Consider the following:
| Canada's top 10 international student source countries (by number of study permit holders on Dec. 31, 2021) |
|
|
India |
217,410 |
|
China |
105,265 |
|
France |
26,630 |
|
Iran |
16,900 |
|
Vietnam |
16,285 |
|
South Korea |
15,805 |
|
Philippines |
15,545 |
|
United States |
14,325 |
|
Nigeria |
13,745 |
|
Mexico |
11,550 |
|
US: Number of international students studying in the US in 2020/21, by country of origin |
|
|
China |
317,299 |
|
India |
167,582 |
|
South Korea |
39,491 |
|
Canada |
25,143 |
|
Saudi Arabia |
21,933 |
|
Vietnam |
21,631 |
|
Taiwan |
19,673 |
|
Brazil |
14,000 |
|
Mexico |
12,986 |
|
Nigeria |
12,860 |
https://www.statista.com/statistics/233880/international-students-in-the-us-by-country-of-origin/
Australia: Number of international students |
|
China | 141,567 |
India | 86,782 |
Nepal | 51,579 |
Vietnam | 19,932 |
Indonesia | 14,865 |
Malaysia | 14,135 |
Thailand | 14,015 |
Brazil | 13,963 |
Philippines | 13,703 |
Colombia | 13,661 |
With the possible exception of international students from
Canada, the US and Australia studying away from home in one of the other
countries in this grouping, foreign students will have no prior understanding
of the jurisdictional authorities responsible for workplace health, safety and
workers’ compensation. I could find no study contrasting the a priori
understanding of international students regarding workplace laws, duties, and
responsibilities. While resident
citizens will have some understanding from their indirect exposure through
media, family, and community, it is unlikely that all foreign international
students will bring an equivalent common understanding with them.
International students should not be “lumped in” with
strategies designed for other temporary foreign workers. Most temporary foreign workers are required
by their visas to work for specific employers; international students may be
employed in multiple sectors by multiple employers and may change employers frequently.
This adds a further challenge for those seeking to increase protections for and
gain the trust of international students and those who employ them.
Are workers’ comp and OH&S adapting
Workers’ compensation agencies and prevention organizations
are not always quick to react to changes in the demographics of their target
populations. International students are
a special demographic segment of their target population.
As noted, Canada, the US and Australia differ from other
countries in who has jurisdiction over workplace health, safety and workers’
compensation laws. Most countries in the
world that have social security arrangements for work injuries have national
programs. While efforts to increase the
knowledge of residents on workers’ compensation and occupational health and
safety through advertising and inclusion
in high school curricula in Canada, the US and Australia; similar awareness
programs and educational curricula may not exist in the home countries of many
international students. Failure to
adequately inform international students may lead to their injury, potential
under-reporting of hazards, and suppression of workplace rights.
So, what are authorities responsible for workplace health,
safety and compensation doing to address this change? How are they working to communicate worker
rights to this unique population, helping their employers understand risks, and
making others in the workplaces more aware to foreign student issues?
To be clear, this is not just a question of language. Nearly all international students are
required to have official language proficiency just to qualify for admission as
students. Understanding, trust, access,
and support go beyond translating brochures and webpages. If you can find a workers’ compensation
authority or OH&S doing a great job gaining the trust of foreign students,
let me know. I could find no
public-facing statements or studies on this issue. Foreign students need to know that their
status and right to work are not at risk by engaging with health and safety
agencies or filing a workers’ compensation claim.
I also found little in the way of data on the risk
differences (if any) faced by international students. Do they experience similar levels of injury
or risk as resident workers remains an unanswered question. Few workers’ compensation jurisdictions identify
international students in their data –a necessary categorization if we are to
determine work-injury risk, claims rates, or establish the likelihood of under-reporting
of workplace injury in this population.
Taking action to help protect international students and
serve them requires action by workers’ compensation and prevention
authorities. These actions include:
• Collecting
data on international student injuries
• Interacting
with specific international student groups
• Determining
where international students are working and being injured
• Educating
international students and their employers on their rights and building trust
• Actively
seeking to minimize under-reporting of workplace injury, illness and disease
involving international students
• Comparative
research on risk, frequency, severity, and outcomes of injured international
students vs. resident student workers
Societally, we want and need international students more
than every. They can be a resource that
will help level the gaps in our labour force and skill needs. Takin intentional
and robust steps to understand and address their needs is more important now than
at any point in the past.
