In the last few weeks, Organise members like you have come together to raise issues, find solutions, and win campaigns to make work better for our 1-million-strong community.

Together, we’re supporting worker-led campaigns that are impacting hundreds of thousands of workers across the UK - including at major companies like Co-op, Boots, M&S, Uber and LNER.

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

‍Government backs Co-op workers’s campaign 🏆

Thousands of Co-op workers have been exposing Co-op’s cost cutting plan - “Project Lunar” - that’s forcing Co-op workers to run whole stores on their own.  Co-op workers are sounding the alarm: shoplifting and harassment increase when they’re left to work alone. Sign the petition to put an end to it.

Hundreds of Co-op staff and customers have been writing to their MPs about the dangers of lone working. Already, MPs have confirmed to Co-op staff and customers that they’ve raised the issue directly with Co-op. Read the report in full.

Now Co-op workers have achieved a HUGE milestone: the Minister for Business and Trade, Peter Kyle, backed the campaign stating:

“Project Lunar does pose a significant threat to lone workers at the Co-op”

Co-op workers and customers are clearly having an impact: Organise planned to attend the Co-operative Party conference with Co-op staff to pass on staff and customer concerns about lone working but were banned at the last minute.

Boots staff win their sick pay campaign! 🙌

What started with one Boots worker raising the alarm that staff were being denied access to the sick pay policy, given conflicting information by management or even outright denied sick pay, has grown into a powerful movement:

• 5,000 Boots workers and customers have signed the petition for fair sick pay
• 3,100 customers emailed Boots executives directly
• Hundreds of people have contacted their MPs who have escalated the issue with Boots and now Helen Maguire MP has told us she’ll be asking the Secretary of State for Business and Trade “what steps the Government is taking to ensure that private sector employers apply their company sick pay policies consistently and transparently, and that workers, particularly those who are disabled or living with long-term health conditions, are fully informed of and able to access their entitlement to sick pay.”

Thanks to this combined pressure, the official Boots sick pay policy is finally public. Organise has shared the policy with Boots staff directly, and Boots customers have crowdfunded to post a copy to Boots stores in every major UK city.

Boots has also now confirmed they’ll circulate the sick pay policy to staff themselves, a direct result of pressure from thousands of workers and customers. Hundreds of Boots staff have already read it, and many are passing it on to their colleagues.

This breakthrough belongs to every worker who spoke out, and every customer who backed them. Together, we’re winning!

M&S staff expose real reason for cancelled Christmas holiday 👀

This campaign started when a Marks & Spencer’s employee raised the alarm that their Christmas holiday had been cancelled at the last minute - prompting hundreds of M&S staff to say the same. You can still sign the petition and show support.

“My family live in a city away from where I work. My elderly mother recently had a heart attack and is battling serious ongoing health issues. My father is getting frailer. My holiday, including the boxing day, was approved months beforehand and then unceremoniously cancelled.”

M&S staff have been supported by 10,000 M&S customers who have written letters to M&S’ CEO and 95% M&S customers have pledged not to shop at M&S on Boxing Day. You can see the findings from our survey here.

M&S claim they told staff that they would have to work on Boxing Day at the start of the year - but staff are telling a different story. Many say that their managers have explicitly told them it’s because of the cyberattack.

<aside>

“We are being asked to sacrifice to claw back money from the cyberattack losses”

M&S staff are running an investigation to expose the truth in the media: watch this space…

Uber drivers win their jobs back 💪🏽

Over the past year, Uber drivers and Organise members have shone a spotlight on the company’s broken deactivation system. Thousands of drivers were “auto-fired”: losing their jobs with no warning, no evidence, and no working route to appeal.

Since launching the campaign, dozens of Uber drivers have now been reactivated, many only after their MP intervened. That alone shows just how flawed Uber’s internal systems are.

Under sustained pressure from Uber drivers, customers and MPs, Uber has started giving some drivers access to its new “Review Centre”, a small but important shift. While the system is still inconsistent and failing many drivers, it’s clear Uber drivers’ campaign is forcing action.

And after drivers exposed problems with fake customer complaints, Uber emailed all its UK users with a new policy on false reviews, another move that wouldn’t have happened without this community’s pressure.

Together the Organise community is keeping the pressure up until every Uber driver gets a clear reason for deactivation, in writing, and a functioning appeals system that works.

Organise community calls out silencing Palestine solidarity 🇵🇸

Thousands of Organise members have supported an LNER train guard who is calling for LNER to review its policies on free speech after he was sacked for saying “Free Palestine” on his lunch break.

LNER workers say that their Freedom of Information request to seek more information has revealed serious gaps in LNER’s equality and disciplinary practices. LNER has formally acknowledged the issue and confirmed a statement will be released shortly. It’s the first sign that this community’s collective action is having an impact.

This campaign is growing fast, and is LNER staff say it’s a clear example of how Palestine solidarity is being silenced in workplaces without clear HR policies.

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

‍