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Article

12 Apr 2017

Author:
Tom Hunt, Open Democracy (UK)

Commentary: Same as it ever was? Labour rights and worker organisation in the modern 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 far greater. They might use the apps. They might even work for them.

Over a very short period these terms, companies and the issues associated with them – as well as the concerns generated by them – have increasingly come to dominate debates about the nature of work in the modern economy. The public and policymakers alike will agree that work for many people in twenty-first century advanced capitalist economies is changing – and changing fast.

Unions, worker organisations and a growing number of politicians are increasingly concerned about the enforced casualisation, extensive monitoring, low pay and uncertain hours that many of today’s workers experience. But it is debatable whether these concerns are about ‘new’ features of the labour market or rather ever-present labour issues that affect workers in capitalist economies...

Whether in 2017 or 1917, these concerns are underpinned by the fundamental challenge of how to protect and enhance workers rights. More broadly they are about how to prevent labour exploitation and strike a fairer balance of power between employer and employees. Similarly, the key mechanisms to address these challenges remain the same: workers organising to improve their individual pay and conditions, and ensuring that protections and rights are enshrined in law....

Over the coming weeks, a new series of articles on these themes will be published jointly by the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute (SPERI) and openDemocracy....

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