The Economist 2012.12.01 by The Economist

The Economist 2012.12.01 by The Economist

Author:The Economist [The Economist]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The Economist
Published: 2012-11-29T21:32:33.216000+00:00


Previous Articles Sections Next

Previous Articles Sections Next

Labour relations

Fight the glower

Trade unions are beginning to learn from community activists

Waning power

WHEN HSBC moved to Canary Wharf in 2003, it discovered some troublesome neighbours. London Citizens, a collection of local community groups, rallied the bank’s cleaners to demand a higher, “living” wage. The bank said no. So they bought shares, and at the annual general meeting the chairman found himself being addressed by the man who cleaned his office by night. Later nuns brought a bank branch to a standstill by paying in the week’s collection in trolleys full of pennies. HSBC agreed to pay its cleaners more.

London Citizens has since grown to encompass 237 institutions—most religious or educational. Neil Jameson, its monkish director, focuses on causes uniting this colourful patchwork of London life. Though broadly leftish in tone, it is uninterested in ideology and has admirers from across the political spectrum. Mr Jameson’s mantra is “power before programme”. His organisation is one of several that now harry firms over workers’ pay, as well as things like tax avoidance. In some ways they are taking the place of trade unions—which, these days, have programmes but little power.



Download



Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.