Category Work
Freedom, Probation, and The American Dream: Some Thoughts from a New Mexican Factory Floor
by Jonny Craig In his 2016 release, Interstate: Hitchhiking through the State of a Nation, travel-writer Julian Sarayer chronicles his unorthodox and remarkable journey from New York to San Francisco. As with many — perhaps all — great travel books, Sarayer’s account is as much about those he encounters along the way as it is […]
A Rise in Vulnerability? Academic Studies, Paid Work and Mental Health
**This is the second of three posts on student experience, debt and austerity in higher education; see post published on October 8th.** by Anne-Meike Fechter In the last few years, a slew of reports voiced concerns about a rise of mental health problems among university students, in the UK and elsewhere. While there is debate about […]
How Does the Necessity of Paid Work Impact Our Students?: Learning from the Global Studies Student Employment Survey
by Paul Robert Gilbert **This is the first of three posts on student experience, debt and austerity in higher education; the second post was published on October 15th.** There is little more grating, for those of us who work in Higher Education, than those portions of the British media who insist on propagating lazy stereotypes of ‘work-shy […]
No Paninis for Poverty Pay
by Rebecca Prentice Throughout the UK yesterday restaurant and food delivery workers walked off their jobs to protest low wages, zero hours contracts, and unpredictable work schedules—including those from Brighton’s two JD Wetherspoon restaurants, The Post and Telegraph and The Bright Helm. Writing in The Guardian, Owen Jones and Katie Southworth describe these strikes as […]
Union revitalisation and women workers at the intersection of gender and class
by Hannah Loosley **A version of this post was published at ecnmy.org.** Women working in care, catering, cleaning, cashier and clerical jobs (the 5 Cs) have long been neglected in trade unions and politics. Their jobs are seen as ‘extras’ – helping other people be fed and cared for, so they can do their ‘proper’ […]
Five years after deadly factory fire, Bangladesh’s garment workers are still vulnerable
by Geert De Neve and Rebecca Prentice (Previously posted on The Conversation UK.) Five years ago last month, in November 2012, a fire in the Tazreen Fashions factory in Bangladesh killed at least 112 workers. Probably caused by a short circuit on the ground floor of the building, the fire rapidly spread up the nine […]
Deliveroo Riders Aren’t Workers, Says London Tribunal
by Rebecca Prentice In a surprise setback for trade unions attempting to organise the ‘gig’ economy, a London tribunal has ruled that Deliveroo riders are self-employed contractors, not ‘workers.’ This means that the riders do not have basic rights to minimum wage, holiday pay, and health and safety protections. They also have no right to […]
