Cooking on the Breadline
Low pay and poor conditions in the British food industry leave thousands of those who feed us too poor to feed themselves — but some are pushing back and organising for better.
21 Articles by:
Ella Glover
Ella Glover is a freelance journalist with bylines in Vice, Huck, and the Overtake.
‘It’s Soul Destroying’: Why Barnet Social Workers Are on Strike
Amid spiralling workloads and a staffing crisis, mental health social workers in Barnet have taken over 60 days of strike action to demand investment in a vital service. Barnet’s Labour Council have responded by using strike-breaking agency workers.
‘Gives Us What We’re Owed’: Why Healthcare Assistants Are on Strike
Healthcare assistants are the very backbone of the NHS. Forced to work above their pay grades for poverty wages, they’re going on strike for the pay — and the recognition — they deserve.
East London NHS Workers Are Striking for Pay Justice
Barts NHS Trust has refused to pay its mostly migrant women domestic workers the cost of living pay rise it has paid their colleagues. So today, they are striking to demand their worth.
Organising Behind the Bar
Hospitality work is synonymous with low pay and insecurity. The only way to change that is to get organised.
Back the 13th Note Strikers
This weekend, staff at Glasgow’s 13th Note are staging the first bar strike in Scotland for 20 years. Their fight is proof that workers can organise against the worst conditions in the most casualised industries.
Labour Is Turning its Back on Britain’s Childcare Crisis
The cost of childcare has priced 1.3 million mothers out of work. Labour’s U-turn on universal free childcare isn’t ‘fiscally responsible’. The truth is that the crisis is too expensive not to fix.
The OCS Strike Shows How Outsourced Workers Can Win
Following 26 days of strikes, outsourced hospital workers at Lancashire and South Cumbria Trust won a 14% pay rise, an extra week of annual leave, and the same sick pay as their in-housed colleagues – a victory against the two-tier workforce.
A Strike to Save the Ambulance Service
The ambulance service is on its knees, but the government won’t listen to workers’ warnings – so today, 15,000 start balloting for a strike.
The Further Education Fightback
After a 35% pay cut in the last ten years, college lecturers now face losing another 10%. They speak to Tribune about why that can’t be allowed to happen.
Liverpool’s Dockers Are Fighting For the Working Class
More than 500 dock workers in Liverpool are out on strike against a real-terms pay cut from a company turning over millions – and proving the power of industrial action and solidarity to build a better world.
Pay Up OCS
Outsourced hospital workers should be paid the same as their in-house NHS colleagues. Workers employed by OCS in Lancashire and South Cumbria Trust know that – and they’ve been out on strike to make it a reality.
Behind the Childcare Crisis
Childcare is in crisis as parents grapple with unaffordable costs and underpaid and overworked nursery staff reach breaking point. It’s time for serious change – with childcare funded properly and treated as a public good.
A Safe Commute Is a Worker’s Right
With transport costs spiralling and decimated services unreliable, low-paid workers too often feel afraid leaving jobs late at night. It should be up to the boss to make sure staff get home safe.
Struggle is Brewing at Budweiser
Despite spiralling living costs, employees at the Budweiser factory in Samlesbury were offered an insulting 3% pay rise – in response, these ‘beer heroes’ went on strike for the first time ever.
The Chep Strike Shows How Workers Can Win
After working through the pandemic, workers at Chep in Manchester were offered a miserly pay deal. They rejected it, embarked on the longest strike in their union’s history – and this week, they won.
Behind the Scunthorpe Scaffs Strike
Scaffolders at British Steel’s Scunthorpe site have spent years fighting for their pay to be brought in line with nationally agreed rates. Now, even after more than 100 days on strike, they’re determined to win.
The Christmas Class War
For many workers, Christmas is the toughest time of the year as long hours combine with low wages and despotic bosses. If we want the festive season to be enjoyed by everyone, it’s time to organise.
How the Weetabix Workers Are Fighting ‘Fire and Rehire’
Despite making millions in pandemic profits, Weetabix is trying to force its engineers to accept longer hours and almost £5,000 less per year in pay – just the latest example of the corporate war on workers.
Support the Royal Parks Strikers
After working to keep London’s Royal Parks safe for all during the pandemic, outsourced cleaners and attendants are fighting for parity with their in-house colleagues.