Workers across the UK are coming together and winning real change. In the last few weeks, Organise members' support for worker-led campaigns is impacting more than 366,000 workers all across the UK at huge companies including Boots, John Lewis, M&S, Morrison’s and Co-op. Here’s how we did it and how you can get involved.
There’s a lot to tell you. In 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.
Together, our support for worker-led campaigns is impacting more than 366,000 workers all across the UK at huge companies including Boots, John Lewis, M&S, Morrison’s and Co-op.
Here’s a snapshot of the Organise community’s recent impact 👇
Uber drivers’ campaign to stop Uber wrongly firing its drivers is making national headlines. Uber drivers delivered their 10,000-signature petition straight to Uber HQ. [1] And the Financial Times covered the issue, highlighting Ghulam’s story - a driver deactivated just for accepting a cash payment when the app failed. [2]
Together, we’re having an impact: Uber is paying attention. They’ve announced a newly introduced “expert panel” and review centre. And Uber drivers are getting their jobs back with support from their MPs - a testament to the power of collective pressure.
But our worker-powered research shows that drivers are still having problems. Uber still needs to share data on appeal outcomes, and many drivers still have no access to a fair review process.
That’s why it’s a positive sign that the Department for Transport has just replied to Organise members raising this issue:
Uber drivers are now ramping up the campaign, keeping the pressure on Uber and the Department of Transport to hold Uber accountable to stop automated firing and introduce a transparent, fair appeals system for all.
Boots workers’ campaign for fair sick pay at Boots is gaining traction. Our research reveals that 60% of long-term Boots staff say they wouldn’t get paid when they’re off sick. And many Boots staff say they’ve been forced to work while ill, which is dangerous for both staff and customers. [3]
Boots has no publicly available sick pay policy, leaving workers in the dark and at the mercy of inconsistent decisions. Staff across the UK are reporting wildly different sick pay experiences, creating a postcode lottery. Together, we’ve exposed this crisis, and we’re calling on Boots to publish its official policy and ensure it’s enforced in every store.
Now, as another big US pharma company looks set to buy Boots, staff anxiety is growing. Organise’s worker-led research, featured in The Guardian, show that over a quarter (27%) of staff fear for their job security, and more than a third (36%) believe conditions will get worse under new ownership. [4]
Nearly 1,000 of us have already joined the campaign, supporting more than 100 Boots workers by contacting Boots directly and 67% Boots customers say they won’t shop at Boots until they pay proper sick pay. [5]
Watch this space: we’re working with journalists to uncover the full truth and call on Boots to publicly commit to protecting staff with fair sick pay.
Hundreds of Co-op workers have been using Organise to share their experiences of being short staffed, being left alone juggling deliveries, customers, restocking and shoplifters. Co-op staff are calling for an end to 1:1 shifts and for minimum staffing levels per store. [6]
Some Co-op workers even shared stories of being stabbed or stalked while working in dangerously short staffed stores. You can read our worker-led report here. [7]
Thousands of Co-op members and customers wrote to the Co-op before their Annual General Meeting (AGM), the yearly event where Co-op bosses are quizzed and held to account by Co-op members. And together, we supported some Co-op workers and members to join the AGM, successfully challenging Co-op bosses directly on dangerous short staffing.
Co-op responded, claiming that “Where we have lone working, it is limited to short periods during daylight hours, never at the start or end of a day or during busy times” and that “We conduct full risk assessments”.
But that’s a different story to Co-op staff’s experiences. So together, we’re holding Co-op to account on these claims by supporting Co-op staff and customers to request these risk assessments and prove for good that low staffing levels are dangerous.
Hundreds of us shared our experiences of abusive non disclosure agreements (NDAs) used to silence us at work as part of a campaign with Can’t Buy My Silence. Together we sent our report to MPs and Lords as they vote on an amendment to the Employment Rights Bill which would ban abusive NDAs. You can read our worker-led report with Organise member’s experiences of NDA’s here. [8]
After thousands of us shared horror stories of being unable to get NHS dental care, Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee responded with a damning verdict: NHS dentistry is broken and the Government have failed to fix it. The Organise community’s evidence was quoted directly in their report, calling on the Government to act. [9]
More than 48,000 of us are demanding urgent funding for more NHS dentists and an end to the postcode lottery. Most workers can’t afford to go private, so we won’t stop until everyone can access the care they need.
First up, a major trade magazine published our people-powered report that 10,000 of us took part in, showing that over 77% UK workers believe that companies with more than 250 staff should be reporting on more pay gaps, such as ethnicity and disability pay gaps.
Organise’s worker-led research was featured in The Guardian, showing that over a quarter (27%) of staff fear for their job security, and more than a third (36%) believe conditions will get worse if Boots is bought by another big US pharma company.
In case you missed it, the Financial Times - read by the UK’s CEOs - published an article about how Organise is helping workers go public about bad bosses. You can read the full article here.
And the Financial Times also covered the issue of Uber drivers being wrongly fired, and the thousands of Uber drivers who are campaigning via Organise to right this wrong.
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, Honor, Bex and the Organise team
NOTES:
[1] Organise petition: Uber Deactivating Drivers App on False Allegation
[2] Financial Times: What can workers do if they’re fired by AI?
[3] Report from Boots staff and customers: https://orgn.is/BootsSickPayReport
[4] The Guardian: ‘It might be gutted’ – Boots braces for dose of private equity’s bitter medicine
[5] Report from Boots staff and customers: https://orgn.is/BootsSickPayReport
[6] Organise petition: End dangerous 1-on-1 shifts for Co-op workers!
[7] Report from Co-op staff and customers: https://orgn.is/co-op-ppr
[8] Report from Organise members on NDAs: https://orgn.is/NDA-ppr
[9] UK Parliament: Report on NHS dentistry crisis
Roxy dives in to help Organise members start and win their campaigns. She can help you plan your tactics and build your confidence.
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