For the first time in history, we have a mass migration of labour without an actual migration of workers. Mark Graham and Alex Wood explore the consequences.
Category archives: Uncategorized
Trade unions, the internet, and surviving the gig economy
The internet provides new opportunities to strengthen collective action and improve new forms of work.
Uber: risk without autonomy or control
Dr Alex J. Wood discussed the implications of the recent UK Uber Employment Tribunal ruling on BBC News. The court decided that Uber must classify its drivers as workers. The ruling means that, pending appeal, Uber drivers are entitled to the national minimum and living wage of £7.20 an hour, rest breaks and sick pay.
Why the digital gig economy needs co-ops and unions
Millions of people are joining the digital gig economy, attempting to outbid one another for increasingly precarious bit-work. We need to challenge that culture. By Alex J Wood and Mark Graham
It’s a matter of time: can Deliveroo deliver collective bargaining for the gig economy?
Last week ‘gig’ workers took to the streets in a show of public discontent. London’s Deliveroo couriers (moped or cycle riding workers who pick up food from restaurants and deliver it to customers) have begun a series of headline grabbing strike and protest actions.
Digital Transformations of Work
The conference will explore issues such as the degree to which information technology is transforming capitalism and opening up new means of exploitation, whether the traditional regulation of working time, structured around a stable 9-5 5-day week, is being fractured; how labour is being fragmented and individualized and employment casualized. And whether the digital circulation …
Tracing employment rights through online labour markets
Online labour markets represent a rapidly growing feature of the world of work. Dozens of international online market places exist for the buying and selling of labour. The number of hours worked on oDesk.com (now known as Upwork), a leading platform, grew from 2 million in early 2010 to over 10 million hours in early …
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Zero Hours Employment: A New Temporality of Capitalism?
by Alex Wood and Brendan Burchell For many critics, the growth of insecure work is evidence that United Kingdom (UK) government’s economic policies are failing. It is argued that the declining unemployment of the past 18 months, which the government vaunts as evidence that the UK is back on track to a full economic recovery, is …
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What Dave, Vince and Ed don’t tell you about zero-hours contracts
Zero-hours contracts have existed for decades, so why are they suddenly a hot topic? Instead we need policies that tackle the wider problems of employer control and working-time insecurity. Brendan Burchell Alex J Wood
Washing away capitalism: workers who’ve occupied their factory provide a space of hope
A soap factory in Greece, abandoned by its owners, has been reclaimed by its workers – and provides a vital example of how things can be done differently.