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This Better Work

A series by Priyanka Raval

Between the pandemic and the soaring cost of living crisis, there have been seismic shifts in the world of work. Our media outlets have often been caught short – with a noticeable lack of solid, informed and authoritative coverage.

Since the days of Thatcher, trade unions have been legislated into the ground, their memory all but forgotten, especially by many younger people. Industries declined, and a more globalised, financialised era was ushered in.

In the meantime work has changed. It’s fragmented, more precarious, harder to organise – although newer, smaller and more agile unions have sprung up to organise workers in casual and gig-economy labour, and are winning important victories.

With some exceptions older, bigger unions struggled to modernise and remain relevant. Until now, with last year’s ‘Hot Strike Summer’ preceding a ‘Winter of Discontent’ – which shows no signs of abating quickly. Between public service cuts, flatlining wages and brutal rises in the cost of living, workers have had enough. And they have reminded the nation that when they don’t work, the country doesn’t work. Strikes have brought trains, hospitals and schools to a standstill.

While pay deals between union leaders and Tory MPs have stuttered, the UK is now facing legislation – the Minimum Service Bill – that would further undermine the right to strike. Labour, meanwhile, stands accused by some of turning away from its trade union roots, forbidding MPs from attending pickets.

What comes next is uncertain. But at the Cable, one of my main focuses will be providing dedicated, in-depth and informative coverage on the world of work in Bristol and beyond, from speaking to experts to standing on pickets. I’ll be cutting through jargon, and looking into solutions based on organising on the ground, as well as the legislative and political framework strikes exist on.

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This Better Work

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With mass layoffs and poor working conditions becoming widespread across the sector, it’s time for techies to get organised. 

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This Better Work

Restructure of Bristol uni wellbeing services prompts staff unease and resignations

A proposed restructure of wellbeing services at the uni has been postponed from August until January. However, staff and unions remain critical of the move, arguing it has undermined morale.

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This Better Work

Righting a historic injustice: why special needs teachers at one Bristol school walked out

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This Better Work

‘We need to face them on the streets’: how trade unions are responding to the far-right threat

‘Collective power is where it’s at’: City Academy workers celebrate strike action successes

Union members at the east Bristol secondary school have achieved most of a series of asks from the academy trust that manages it, after announcing rolling walkouts. Workers say the action has brought staff together.

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The UK needs to decriminalise sex work to expand labour rights and protections to all, and enable sex workers to unionise, local activists say. 

Will AI free us from drudgery – or reduce us to robots?

Artificial intelligence already helps employers treat workers like robots – and the fear is that it could also take their jobs. Its huge potential benefits will only be shared if unions get to have their say.

Service cuts, redundancies and rising caseloads: St. Mungo’s staff vote for indefinite strike action

Unite members from St.Mungo’s vote to escalate their month-long strike to indefinitely, after charity refuses to meet pay demands

Digital first, local radio last? Striking staff warn BBC changes will be communities’ loss

We speak to BBC Radio Bristol journalists on the picket lines on two days of strike action about what the proposed changes to the BBC will mean for their jobs, and local journalism as a whole.

How can workers turn strikes into wins?

As the cost of living crisis bites, recent months have seen the return of mass strikes. While the cards are stacked against workers, they have won important victories – how have these been achieved, and how can we build on them?

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