Tag Archives for openDemocracy
Embracing data is key to the future of unions
Learning to read and predict our changing environment through strategic use of data is crucial for the survival of trade unions “Will you be happy when the last union office turns its lights off? Is that what success looks like?” This is a challenge Mike Clancy, general secretary of Prospect, sometimes lays down to employers and HR professionals, evoking an … Continue reading
Building up the bundle of sticks. New ideas for union organising
A new mini-series of blogs, published by SPERI and openDemocracy, will present new ideas for how unions can organise and engage with the workforce. “A trade union is like a bundle of sticks. The workers are bound together and have the strength of unity … A worker who is not in a union is like a single stick. She can … Continue reading
The working lives of the under-30s show the future of work for us all
New research by the TUC to understand the lives of Britain’s young workers will help improve work and give them a path to union membership Lindsay’s phone rings again as she squints at the list of house calls for the day. On the end of the phone an elderly client cries as she pleads for someone to come and help … Continue reading
Back to the future: women’s work and the gig economy
Learning from the history of women’s work can help to overcome discrimination and improve working conditions in the gig economy ‘The future of work’ is big news, with the debate also picking up speed in policy circles. And with good reason: a persistent lack of decent work globally is negatively affecting incomes, and therefore living standards. Addressing this is an … Continue reading
Falling through the gaps: insecure work and the social safety net
Labour market support systems need to adapt to better support the growing number of workers in vulnerable employment Vulnerable employment, with workers experiencing high levels of precariousness, is a global phenomenon. The ILO projects global growth in vulnerable forms of employment to grow by 11 million a year. The impacts of this are being felt across developed, emerging and developing … Continue reading
Organising against the gig economy – lessons from Latin America?
New strategies of organisation and workers’ control in Latin America suggest ways to tackle the insecurity of the gig economy Workers in the so-called ‘gig economy’ face heightening conditions of precarity and exploitation – from delivery couriers to taxi drivers, as has been shown in this series so far, conditions of work are increasingly deleterious and show little sign of … Continue reading
New Unions, Old Laws – Why flexibility is key in the ‘gig economy’
The gig economy companies must and can be challenged to better protect their workers; this can be done under existing legislation The conventional understanding surrounding work divides employment into two categories: employee and self-employed. The former offers more rights but less flexibility, the latter offers more flexibility but with no rights at all. These are helpful umbrella terms but they … Continue reading
The Changing World of Work and the trade union movement’s response
The economy and employment are changing fast, but there are important steps that unions can take to be prepared In 2016, the final panel session at the Unions 21 conference discussed the union movement’s response to the debate on the future of work and in the past year, I have attended events, read reports and had endless discussions on the … Continue reading
Organising with on-demand freelancers in the platform economy: Part Two
Adopting online freelancing platforms as part of your business model presents organisations with challenges that require novel solutions Digital technologies have enabled the rise of online labour platforms that transform contemporary organisations and the way work gets done. In Part One of this blog, I introduced a typology of online labour platforms and described the motivations of organisations to work … Continue reading
It’s time to regulate the gig economy
Technology is used to monitor workers doing platform-based work. It can also be used to regulate work and protect workers Over a century ago, labour laws began to be instituted in diverse countries throughout the world. These laws were intended to provide protection to workers in what was recognized as an unequal relationship of exchange, but it also gave authority … Continue reading
Organizing with on-demand freelancers in the platform economy: Part One
To understand the future of work we need to explore the diversity of platforms and how they are used in the modern economy In the platform economy, digital technologies enable a wide range of interactions. You’re probably familiar with sharing economy platforms such as Uber and Airbnb. But probably lesser known are the transformative effects that online labour platforms have … Continue reading
The gig economy requires unions to embrace the Internet
The internet provides new opportunities to strengthen collective action and improve new forms of work These are hard times for trade unions. Private sector union membership in the US is down to under 7 per cent of workers. While private sector membership in the UK is higher, at 14 per cent, the ability of UK unions to win disputes, outside … Continue reading
It’s not the gig economy, stupid
The gig economy has got us talking about the labour market, but the decline in trade union membership matters more Sometimes change comes suddenly and without warning, in big bold type on the front pages. But, often, the changes that really matter never make it to the headlines. Take the large falls in global poverty over the past few decades, … Continue reading
A crisis of control – what should the on-demand workforce be demanding?
To improve security at work we must bring together the demands of people in work with those looking to find work. When it comes to work, the UK is facing a crisis of control. We already feel among the highest sense of job insecurity of any country in Europe and work among the longest hours. Low unemployment figures mask a … Continue reading
Labour and work in the modern economy | New SPERI and openDemocracy collaboration
SPERI and openDemocracy have launched a new collaboration to explore the themes of labour rights and worker organisation in the modern economy. Work for many people is changing fast with concerns about low pay, casualisation and insecurity central to current policy debates. Issues and questions connected to the ‘gig economy’ and ‘platform-working’ have increasingly come to dominate academic and policy … Continue reading
Same as it ever was? Labour rights and worker organisation in the modern economy
SPERI and openDemocracy launch new series of articles on labour and work in the 21st century economy The ‘gig economy’. Platform-working. On-demand apps and algorithmic monitoring. Outside of some policy, technology and academic circles these terms will draw blank looks from most people. Yet ask people if they have heard of Uber, Deliveroo or TaskRabbit and the recognition will be … Continue reading
A call for the revival of political and economic education
Political and economic education is pitiful, and via political parties, the education system and trade unions, it desperately needs to be revived One way we participate in democracy is by voting. Another may be protesting, or through supporting some trade union action. However we engage, we are doing so armed with some knowledge about the current state of affairs, and … Continue reading →
7 June 2018 by Antonia Jennings
Categories: SPERI Comment | Tags: Antonia Jennings, labour rights, openDemocracy, political and economic education, Trade Unions | Leave a comment