Inequality and unfairness still stalk Scotland after more than twenty years of devolution. Having done little to shield against austerity, Brexit and an increasingly right-wing Westminster agenda, calls for further constitutional reform to solve pressing political, economic and social problems grow ever louder. The debate over further devolution or independence continues to split the population.In A New Scotland, leading activists and academics lay out the blueprints for r...

Growing levels of income and wage inequality and the precaritization of many sections of the labour force have made labour unions as salient as ever. Although membership levels have decreased, they remain among the world’s largest representative organizations and continue to play a significant role as vehicles for democracy, sustainable development and social justice.This handbook assembles an array of experts to critically engage with the debates and discussions about the role and...

Joe Strummer was one of the twentieth century’s iconic rock’n’roll rebels. As frontperson, spokesperson and chief lyricist for The Clash, he played a major role in politicising a generation through some of the most powerful protest songs of the era, songs like ‘White Riot’, ‘English Civil War’ and ‘London Calling’. At the heart of this protest was the struggle for social justice and equality.The punk rock politics of Joe Strummer examines Strummer’s beliefs on a range of i...

'80s British alternative band, The Redskins, are a case study for examining the relationship between music, politics and revolution and the development of a contra-culture.In Marxism in Music: Constructing a Communist Contra-Culture with The Redskins, Rock'n'roll and Revolution, Gregor Gall examines how The Redskins, so**-**called for their skinhead aesthetics and commitment to a socialist ideal, were a deliberately political band and built a counter-hegem...

In the summer of 2022, the little-known leader of a small union became a ‘working-class hero’. Facing down media pundits who thought they could walk all over him, he offered a robust critique of the government and provided workers with an authentic voice. At a time when the Labour Party was unable to articulate a credible alternative to the Tories, Mick Lynch spoke for the working class.Where did Lynch come from? How did he develop the skills and traits that make him such an effect...

Published in collaboration with BUIRA, this book provides a critical review of the field of industrial relations (IR) and evaluates its future in the rapidly evolving world of work.Written by key names in IR, the book captures the significant transformations that have taken place within the field over the past decade. It traces the historical development of IR, exploring its ongoing impact on our lives. The chapters delve into various aspects, including union organization and mobil...

Bob Crow was the most high-profile and militant union leader of his generation. This biography focuses on his leadership of the RMT union, examining and exposing a number of popular myths created about him by political opponents. Using the schema of his personal characteristics (including his public persona), his politics and the power of his members, it explains how and why he was able to punch above his weight in industrial relations and on the political stage, helping the small RMT unio...

In recent years, there has been an acute crisis of worker representation in the finance sector in Britain. Labour union and staff association membership and density has fallen, collective organisation has experienced dislocation and disorganisation and worker self-confidence has been sapped. Prior to this, there was a sense of an identifiable trajectory towards greater 'unionateness' by labour unions and staff associations, with the sector moving towards growing self-identification of empl...

This book describes and analyses the impact of the 2007-2008 financial crisis upon the working conditions of employees in the financial services sector in Britain*.* It tells the story of workers being made to pay the price for a crisis that was not of their own making, but nevertheless caused a deleterious impact on their employment security, remuneration and working conditions. Evidence of fighting back against this has been sparse so that the response of employees is best characterised ...

This title was first published in 2003.This book explores many of the major issues of concern to researchers studying trade unionism. It offers: a definition, elaboration and contextualisation of militancy (industrial, union and worker); an examination of the relationship between workplace unionism and the wider body of the union; a study of factionalism and industrial and political consciousness: and an analysis of the construction and mobilisation of conflict and cooperation (social part...

Several thousand new trade union recognition agreements have been signed since 1997, representing a major development within industrial relations in Britain. This has resulted from the interaction of union organizing efforts and the statutory union recognition provisions of the Employment Relations Act 1999. However for trade unions, recognition alone is not enough, a vital issue is whether, having gained union recognition, trade unions are now effectively delivering upon the promises and ...

After many years of indifferent decline, trade union membership is now being revitalized; strategies known as ‘union organizing’ are being used to recruit and re-energize unions around the globe. This book considers exactly how trade unions are working to do this and provides a much-needed evaluation of these rebuilding strategies.By comparing historical and contemporary case studies to assess the impact of various organizing campaigns, this book assesses the progress of unions acr...