Rise of the precarious workers

On 30 October the IWGB will be facing Uber at the Court of Appeal as part of the ongoing battle over workers’ rights. A victory would put us one step closer to ending the attack on our rights that so-called “gig economy” bosses are conducting with near impunity.

This is not just about Uber drivers, but about all of us that are being forced into increasingly more precarious forms of work. That’s why all precarious workers, from Deliveroo couriers to outsourced workers, will be marching together demanding an end to precarious work and a revival of the basic employment rights that we are being denied.

The march will start at 8:00 at Transport for London (197 Blackfriars Road), go past the Royal Courts of Justice and end at the University of London, where workers are fighting to end outsourcing. FULL DETAILS HERE.

Marxist students from across London and further afield will be mobilising for this demonstration. The motion below has been passed by the KCL Marxist society, and is being presented to Marxist societies elsewhere this week. We encourage everyone to attend the demonstration next week to stand up for the rights of precarious workers.

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Precarious employment has become a typical feature of our lives under capitalism. More and more, workers are being forced to accept low pay, poor working conditions and minimal rights as standard. Over 10 million people in Britain are currently considered to be in precarious work. This includes zero hours contracts, temporary employment, underemployment or the hollow ‘self-employment’ of companies like Uber and Deliveroo. This represents an absurd number of people in our society who are barely able to live off their wages and are living in a desperate social and financial situation.

The rise in the use of foodbanks and the growing layer of society without any monetary savings are but two examples of the horrendous implications of precarious employment, which seeks to exploit workers to the point of dehumanisation.

Here at our university we have seen the brutality and hardship that precarious workers face. The fight to bring KCL Cleaners in-house showed the deep-rooted anger that has developed by those suffering under precarious employment, but it also showed that solidarity and struggle are key to opposing these measures.

As Marxists, we recognise that precarious work is a natural product of capitalist crisis. As bosses search for new avenues of profit making in the attempt to escape inevitable financial collapse, they are forced to abandon all pretense of morality and undermine even the most basic conditions of workers’ lives. We also must not forget the criminal role that the Tory government has played in the last few years, promoting and even encouraging precarious employment, so that the ruling class can continue to profit at the expense of working people.

In light of this KCL Marxist Society puts its full support behind the demands of the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB), who have called a national demonstration at the end of the month, demanding an end to attacks on workers’ rights and an end to precarious employment.

KCL Marxist Society commits:

To send a delegation to join the IWGB’s demonstration on October 30th, in solidarity with those in precarious employment.
To continue the fight at our own university to oppose precarious employment and ensure that all our staff have the working rights they deserve.
To struggle more widely against the capitalist system that engenders this exploitation and fight to bring down the Tory government that represents its interests.

The Workers United will Never be Defeated!

Students and Workers, Unite and Fight!

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Published by Marxist Student on October 23, 2018October 23, 2018

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