All welcome
12 Noon – 3 pm, Saturday 19th November
62 Marchmont St, Kings Cross, London WC1N 1AB
Unwaged Struggles and What the IWW has to Offer
What are the characteristics of the struggles of Unwaged Workers? This might seem an odd question to come from an Industrial Union, often seen as simply involved in the workplace. But the IWW has always backed the working class whether in a traditional workplace or engaged in unwaged work. Nowadays Job seekers are obliged to spend hours fulfilling the criteria of the bureaucrats just to receive a pittance. Often such workers are obliged to apply for work they may not be suitable for as part of a box-ticking game imposed on the Job Centre. It may seem a complete waste of time, but one effect it is meant to have is to help force wages down. By having thousands of workers clamouring for low-paid work, it helps fabricate the so-called market forces which reduce wages. One consequence of this policy has been forcing millions of workers to become self-employed – a statistic which masks under-employment:
Part time self-employment grew by 88% between 2001 and 2015, compared to 25% for the full-time mode.
Office of National Statistics
The IWW has always actively engaged with all sectors of the work class and the establishment of this group is the latest step of our work amongst the unwaged.
Organize, Educate, Emancipate
These three words have long summarised the Wobbly (a slang name for the IWW) approach to what the working class do to oppose capitalism. Our Unwaged Workers Group is currently working on a Workers’ School, based on precisely these concepts. It would be great to see you at the meeting and hear your ideas on how we could take this exciting idea forward.