How Organise Members Are Changing Workplaces

There’s a lot to tell you. In just the last few weeks, Organise members like you have worked together to raise issues, come up with solutions and win campaigns to make work better for our 1 million strong community.

Here’s a snapshot of the Organise community’s recent impact 👇

Workers can now keep all their tips ✉️

Fern lost her job after using £1.50 of her own tip money to buy lunch one day at work. She was told by her employers that she had stolen from them - and because there weren’t proper regulations, she couldn’t stop them from taking the tips she had earned. So Fern took to Organise to ask if other hospitality workers had experienced the same.

She got hundreds of responses – and she used this energy to start a petition demanding that the government step in and finally make tip theft illegal. [1]

The petition gained more than 40,000 signatures and media attention, so Fern started an Organise action asking campaign supporters to email their MP about the issue. All those emails pushed MPs to bring the problem of tip theft to Parliament - which ultimately led to the government passing a new law that makes it illegal for employers to keep workers’ tips. [2]

The new law should mean more than 3 million people working in hospitality, hairdressers and taxi drivers benefit from £200 million more in tips. Result!

Employment bill victories 🏆

The Government announced a new law which will shape the future of work. Organise members have been campaigning for years to make work better paid and safer on a national level. Alongside many unions and campaign groups, together we’ve achieved some major milestones:

All workers will receive statutory sick pay from the first day of illness, which 25,000 of us called for. [3] The campaign was featured in the Mirror.
102,000 of us signed the petition to protect the right to strike. [4]
254,474 of us joined the campaign to make fire and rehire illegal. [5]
28,800 of us helped influence an increase in the minimum wage and to remove the lower age limit for the minimum wage. [6]

The new law will be debated and over the next few months, so Organise members have more opportunities to make this new law even stronger.

Fansify workers finally get paid ⭐️

Disabled content creators were owed thousands of pounds in wages and started a campaign on Organise after they were ignored by the company. Thanks to hundreds of us coming together - signing petitions and taking action - these workers have finally received the wages they were owed. [7] Even better, the CEO has committed to personally handling any future cases of missing wages!

Uber reinstates wrongly deactivated driver 🚖

Thousands of us supported an Uber driver whose account was deactivated based on a false complaint. Uber automatically deactivated the driver’s account without providing any specific details of the complaint or any way to challenge the decision. After thousands of us got involved, including more than 100 Uber drivers sharing their stories of being wrongfully suspended and the driver’s MP getting involved; this Uber driver’s account has been reinstated. [8]

The campaign continues to fight this systemic problem of automatic suspensions to ensure all Uber drivers have a fair way to see the reason and appeal it.

Tesco lorry drivers fighting AI-powered CCTV 📹

More than 300 Tesco lorry drivers have come together to raise the alarm on AI-powered CCTV that continuously film and monitor drivers in the trucks being rolled out without their support. [9]

Drivers are really worried about the AI-powered CCTV being used to inappropriately discipline them or threaten them. They point out that Tesco lorries already have external CCTV cameras for safety.

One driver says: “Our manager has stated that if you lift your hand from the steering wheel or drink water, you could be fired the next day. These cameras are not for safety; they are strictly for control. Too much stress makes accidents much more likely.”

Progress in respecting unpaid carers 💪

The Government announced that more unpaid carers will be able to claim carers allowance - thanks to 10,000 Organise members piling on the pressure. Together, we signed petitions, emailed our MPs, shared our stories and created a people-powered report with the voices of hundreds of unpaid carers and delivered it to MPs and ministers. [10] The Government is lifting the earnings threshold - the amount that an unpaid carer can earn and also receive £81 a week carers allowance. [11]

Organise members also pressured the Government to investigate the carers allowance scandal that’s affected hundreds of people in our community. [12] That’s the scandal in which left unpaid carers to rack up thousands of pounds of debt after the DWP ordered carers to pay hefty repayment charges over minor breaches of carer’s allowance earnings limits - and some of them are even facing criminal charges.

Stopped Government plans to scrap disability benefits 🛑

48,000 of us sounded the alarm on Government plans to scrap cash Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and replace them with “vouchers” that would make people have to pay for costs upfront; a move described by the disability charity Scope as a “full-on assault on disabled people”. [13] The Organise community submitted more than 21,000 responses to the government’s consultation - forcing Minister Stephen Timms to admit the response was mostly ‘negative’ to the dangerous plans, and that the government would not be following through for now. [14]

PIP is a lifeline for many disabled people, covering essential costs like rent, mobility aids, PA and carer fees, transport, groceries and medication.

Worker solidarity with Palestine ✊

As the devastation intensifies, Gaza is now unrecognisable. Homes, schools, and hospitals lie in ruins, while food, clean water, and healthcare are almost non-existent. The death toll is 43,000, but the likelihood is that the number is much higher. Israel has not just been targeting Hamas, but aid workers, healthcare workers, journalists, refugees and children. [15]

As a community of workers, we are taking a stand to demand our Government stops arming Israel. 8,600 of us have emailed our MPs, and some Organise members’ MPs have escalated our collective concerns to Government ministers. Organise members are part of a big movement to stop the conflict, and our shared pressure has led to a partial suspension in arms sales to Israel. [16]

From winning fair wages to changing the law, Organise members are at the forefront of making work better for all of us. These examples of impact highlight how important – and effective! – it is when we all come together to take action.

What change do you want to see at work? Take action today in just a few simple steps with Organise.

Thank you for all that you do,

Roxy, Amy, Bex and the Organise team

NOTES

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/millions-to-take-home-more-cash-as-tipping-laws-come-into-force

[2] https://the.organise.network/campaigns/make-it-illegal-for-employers-to-keep-tips

[3] https://organise.network/actions/petition-department-of-work-and-pensions-EfdrmG8u

[4] https://the.organise.network/campaigns/protect-the-right-to-strike

[5] https://organise.network/actions/petition-petition-make-fire-and-rehire-i-YacO-daK

[6] https://the.organise.network/surveys/2038/results/public

[7] https://organise.network/actions/petition-stop-wage-theft-for-disabled-wo-rNxOoFE8

[8] https://organise.network/actions/petition-uber-deactivating-drivers-app-o-qJDwXh8w