By a retail worker in Huddersfield
Workers have been made to bear the brunt of the cost of living crisis and capitalism’s demand for ever-increasing profits. So how do we fight back?
Service and retail workers are all painfully aware of the increase in food costs, bills and rent over the last few years, but our pay continues to lag behind. The value we produce as workers is greater than the wages we receive and in this way, the capitalist system is built on exploitation and is where they mainly get their profits.
Wages are just the tip of the iceberg however, as record rates of burnout have been seen across the sector as companies shed labour to make even more money. Despite previous governments promising an end to zero-hours contracts in Britain over the last decade, these disgraceful employment methods have still not been repealed by Labour, despite them promising to do so.
So how do we organise against the bosses when these workplaces are more toxic and hostile than ever? Especially when they seek to isolate, alienate and subjugate us. In reality, shops, supermarkets and food chains simply could not do business without us. This means that we have enormous power as working people. We don’t have to simply put up with this. Our priority is to fight for better pay and conditions on a collective basis.
Joining a union (and convincing your colleagues to join it too) can be a crucial first step to challenging the day-to-day problems we face. Find out if your workplace has a recognised union. If it does, join it. If it doesn’t, join one anyway! It’s always better to be in a union than not. Speak to your colleagues, and importantly, listen. All those things that annoy you in the workplace will likely annoy others too. If enough of you have the same experience, talk about organising on that basis. Building a solid union membership is crucial to take on the bosses.
When you have more than 50% in the union, you can demand a recognition agreement which gives you all an opportunity to formally raise your concerns and grievances. This can include chaotic and unpredictable rotas, poor health and safety practice, or abusive managers.
Sorting out even minor problems and even winning little victories will collectively empower the workers to understand that when they collectively organise, they can win.
Fixing the way we work is just one part of the puzzle. We need to mobilise our collective power against individual bosses as well as the politicians that represent their interests. This means fighting against Labour’s attempts to walk back on their workers’ rights pledges, but it also means using our collective power to fight against any new rounds of austerity, against war and militarism, and on other fronts.
Young workers have already shown that they are prepared to fight back against the genocidal war on Gaza, against the climate crisis, and many of the other issues that we face. The workplace is a crucial starting point for building a powerful working-class fightback, and it needs to start now. The only way to do that is through collective organising, through a fighting trade union, and a sense of determination to push back against the bosses.
