Economy
Work
As a reader and worker-owned co-operative, New Internationalist is committed to exploring different ways of working. What would happen if we worked less? How can we protect worker’s rights in the gig economy and globalized economy? Is it right to pay my bills working in an ethically compromised industry? We answer all this and more in our section on ‘work’.
The hidden exploitation of fashion supply chains
Homeworkers play a vital but under-recognized role in the garment industry, writes Transform Trade’s Kate Dixon.
Scottish ship workers stand defiant
A recent wave of mass redundancies from P&O ferries has triggered outrage. Conrad Landin reports from Cairnryan, Scotland, where the movement to restore jobs is gaining momentum.
The democratic workplace
In co-operatives, employees can take control of the business. Amy Hall explores the possibilities and challenges.
Living well
Richard Swift on why we need to stop chasing the dream of full employment and focus on what really matters instead.
The squeeze on workers
To ensure a fairer future we will need to tackle business as usual, says Dinyar Godrej.
Lloyd’s of London’s debt
What would be the cost of reparations for the transatlantic slave trade and ongoing support of fossil fuels? Sahar Shah and Harpreet Kaur Paul explore the Lloyd’s insurance market.
Spotlight: Tse Tse Fly Middle East
Louise Gray turns her attention to the anti-slavery musical activism of Tse Tse Fly Middle East.
What if... we worked less?
Aidan Harper makes the case for a new politics of time.
Holding platforms accountable to digital workers’ rights
There is an urgent need to improve the welfare and job quality of digital workers, write Mark Graham, Sai Englert and Jamie Woodcock.
Networked but commodified: digital labour in the remote gig economy
Research by Alex J. Wood, Mark Graham and others shows how gig economy platforms commodify labour in Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Challenging exploitation in the gig economy
Global South workers in the digital platform-enabled gig economy are beginning to organize. Alex J. Wood and Mark Graham report.
Watch out McDonald’s, the ‘McStrike’ is coming
Twenty-year-old McDonald’s worker Annalise Peters warns that workers plan to hold the fast food giant accountable.
Japan: building the future, living in the past?
How Japanese society and robots match up, by Christopher Simons.
The age of disruption
The vision of the future we are fed will leave many of us reeling, writes Dinyar Godrej. For what?
Killer robots: the race for Autonomous Weapons
Noel Sharkey’s stark warning against the latest arms race.
How corporate giants are automating the farm
Precision agriculture is where it’s at – according to the corporate giants. Jim Thomas inspects their plans.
Robots, not humans: official policy in China
Industrial robots are being put to work on a huge scale. Jenny Chan looks at the case of Foxconn.
Audrey Watters: ‘AI is ideological’
Think of computer code as new rules governing society – who gets to enforce it? asks Audrey Watters.
Plutocrats and paupers: life after robots
If automation decimates jobs, we need better solutions than these, argues Nick Dowson.
The inextricable link between migration and sweatshops
The possibility of workers’ rights and climate justice movements responding together provides hope, writes Dalia Gebrial.
Let’s make platform capitalism more accountable
What do Google, Uber, and Facebook have in common? Mark Graham asks.
Why are trade unions opposing worker self-management?
The Second Euromediterranean Workers’ Economy summit in Greece highlighted the rift in the global workers’ movement. Liam Barrington-Bush reports.
Electronics brands and factories must commit to improve labour standards
Poor working conditions and violations of labour standards are widespread in the electronics supply chain, and that must change, writes Dr Gale Raj-Reichert.
Trade unions – the facts
From the changing workplace to zero-hours contracts, precarious working and outsourcing: workers are open to extreme exploitation. Here are the facts.
A migrant’s story
Trade unions aren’t even on the radar of most of London’s poorly treated hospitality workers. But a union could help them find their voice, as Afrika explains.
‘Politics is the battle of remembering over forgetting’
Comedian and activist Mark Thomas talks socialist sheds, working-class stories and the importance of sticking together.
Digital work marketplaces impose a new balance of power
Can we reverse the diminishing power of workers in a world of hyper-geographically mobile work? asks Mark Graham.
Mostafa's story
One man's inspiring but disturbing journey to become a rickshaw rider in Bangladesh. Photos by Ana Norman Bermudez.
Former Kamlari slave girls pave the way for change in Nepal
By speaking out about their experiences, survivors have helped change society, reports Kevin Childs.
Breaking the system designed to keep tea workers poor
Sabita Banerji reports on the challenge of securing labour rights for plantation workers in India.
Myth 1: Austerity will lead to 'jobs and growth'
It's wrong to sell austerity as a cure for economic woes, says Dinyar Godrej.
Trade unions are feminism’s forgotten ally
We should learn from and link to the unions, says Rebecca Winson: solidarity works!
Cambodia’s garment workers fight poor working conditions
Alice Cuddy reports on the government crackdown against protesters and trade unions.
The true cost of your cup of tea
Sri Lankan tea pickers remain in a caste system that binds them to extreme poverty, says Marco Picardi.
Overseas Filipino Workers – heroes at home, exploited abroad
In Qatar, Iris Gonzales is surrounded by fellow Filipinos forced to find jobs away from their families.
Argument: Should prostitution be legalized?
Human rights lawyer Dianne Post and writer and filmmaker Bishakha Datta go head-to-head.