What’s happening?

The truth about work and the myth of “work-life balance”

Sheila Cohen, TU Publications, paperback, 114 pages, £5,00 Copies from PO Box 58262, London N1 1ET

This pamphlet looks at how unions tackle management practices and is actually a follow-up to one dealing with the same theme 10 years ago.

A decade on it looks at activists in sectors ranging from buses to building work, telecoms to teaching. And the same ugly realities of bullying, zero hours, shift patterns, disciplinaries, and ever-increasing stress at work emerge.

Activists provide a sober but realistic picture of the world of work in the first decade of the 21st century. A common theme is the measurement of work and how time is minutely broken down, measured and controlled.

Cohen describes the pernicious use of technologies such as laptops and mobiles which allow employers to extend the working day and increase its intensity.

There are also prescient comments on the role of unions. A common complaint is of officials weighed down by so much case work that they spend little time recruiting and training stewards.

The tenor of the book is somewhat melancholic — but it does give a few signs of hope — for example rail engineers taking solidarity action with cleaners. Hopefully this pamphlet will stimulate more discussion of effective strategies for fighting back.