The difference a union makes

An east London Socialist Party member

An example of the utter inability of capitalism to answer the basic needs of society, and its young people particularly, was provided to me by my own family recently.

My daughter's boyfriend has a degree which he attained last year. Having recently moved in together, he had been hopeful of finding decent employment with his degree after several low paid jobs.

Aged 23, he was taken on in the South West by a company at a basic salary of £12,000 a year plus 10% on any deal.

The job entailed selling upgrades on mobile phone tariffs, making sure it is appropriate and the customer has a suitable phone or cash back amount, largely as a reward/gift for staying with the same phone company.

Very soon a management consultancy firm came in and took over the recruitment and human resources side of the company. They brought in seven or eight young workers who were previously door-to-door salespeople. They were then set working for 100% commission.

Shortly afterwards my daughter's boyfriend was asked, with reference to job security, to move over to 100% commission sales.

The way in which he has been asked to sell upgrades has changed to firstly telling customers about a 'loyalty scheme' where they are due money back.

This also involves targeting specific groups, often the elderly and people with poor English, in the hope of landing sales on often wholly inappropriate packages.

This has now led to daily earnings of as little as £20 a day or less and a move from monthly to weekly (cash) wages.

There was no union organisation in the workplace.

But our discussion revealed to both my daughter and her boyfriend the differences for workers between unionised workplaces, such as mine, and non-unionised workplaces such as his and the one my daughter works in.

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The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.

The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.

The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.

The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.