From despair to where? #McStrike shows us where Labour’s rebuilding must start

The 2019 general election has already led to much soul-searching on the left. In particular, the loss of many seats in the, so-called, ‘red wall’ of historically safe seats in Wales, the Midlands and the North appears to demonstrate the social distance between the Party’s left-wing cosmopolitan London activists and its traditional working-class base. Why …

Remembering Willy Brown: a great researcher and teacher of labour relations

Willy Brown sadly passed away on Thursday 1st August 2019. I was lucky enough to have gotten to know him over the past seven years. Although he wasn’t my supervisor the kindness and support he offered me, when there was no obligation for him to do so, will be familiar to many. I first met …

Post-work fallacies and the social reproduction of capitalism

“In the U.K., one in five jobs is going to be automated… technology… has a contradictory element because on the one hand it makes you more precarious as a worker. On the other hand, it shows what you can be when liberated from work because you’ve got all this extra time. You can imagine different …

Variable geographies of protest among online gig workers

Millions of people across the planet use online labour platforms to make their living as part of the global gig or platform economy. One part of the iLabour project is to understand how worker voice and collective action shape institutions in this setting.

Taylor Review: The government must stop delaying protection for gig economy workers

The fragmentation of work over the last decade has given birth to the on-demand economy. In this new world of work, we can no longer expect to work a standard nine to five week; instead, self-employed and traditionally employed workers alike scramble to make a living from online labour platforms and zero hour contracts, where …

Government response to the Taylor Review: Good news on zero hour contracts but delay on gig economy

Today the government released their response to the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices. The government’s recognition that good quality work is important is very welcome. Unfortunately, much of the substance of the government’s response focuses on the need for further consultation and additional consideration. Six months after the publications of the Review’s recommendations, we …