Future-proofing workers’ rights in the digital world

ONE of the biggest challenges facing unions across Australia is adapting and transitioning to the new economy, particularly regarding the movement’s approach to organising and campaigning.

During his opening address at the 2015 ACTU Congress in Melbourne last week, ACTU Secretary Dave Oliver acknowledged many of these challenges, and reassured observers and delegates that unions will be prepared to tackle them head on.

“We have a growing liquid workforce, where workers bid for parcels of work where the lowest bid wins,” Mr Oliver said.

“We are facing the rise of mega companies like Instagram, Apple and Google — digital businesses with a trickle-up effect, further increasing unequal wealth distribution.

“These are the effects of the new economy, and these present real challenges in how we fight to regulate wages and conditions, protect superannuation and ensure worker safety to all Australians.”
Traditional models have struggled to keep up
The rise of digital technologies has allowed companies which do not fit traditional structures to rise rapidly, and traditional organising models have struggled to keep up.

Uber, for example, is a global private car/rideshare company which in Australia is currently unregulated, and in many regions such as Victoria is operating illegally.

Importantly however, Uber drivers are not technically employees and despite now representing a 22% market share in the Australian taxi market, there are no regulatory mechanisms to protect wages and conditions.

As a movement, it is important for unions to acknowledge that the nature of organisations in a digital world has changed, and how they reach and protect workers employed in these modern organisations such as Uber, is a major challenge.

Furthermore, it was suggested at the ACTU Congress that collective bargaining, the foundation of the union movement’s strength, may have inadvertently contributed to a shift in organisational behaviour.

Organisations are now more and more frequently utilising contractors over employees as a means of avoiding the conditions and rights fought for through collective bargaining.

One example which demonstrates this, and the reverse-ebay model referred to by Dave Oliver, is the work of interpreters. Instead of courts and hospitals and other traditional employers of these workers using full-time staff, they have transitioned to a contracting model.

An agency now bids for work and the interpreter than contracts to an agency. In a bidding war, with no award applying, just as water always finds the lowest point, so will wages and conditions.

The result: an interpreter is required at a hospital in a regional centre like Geelong to do a 90 minute job, and the fee quoted was $68. Yet that $68 does not include the approximately two hours travel time, the worker’s fuel charges, parking, mobile phone or their insurances — not insignificant amounts.

Over 3.5 hours work and travel time for $68 less costs, that interpreter, performing an essential service, will earn way less than the minimum wage.

Like Uber, the challenge is how to organise individuals and contractors to deliver protection for their rights.

[caption id=”attachment_29402" align=”aligncenter” width=”650"]

Artwork: Sam Wallman (www.penerasespaper.com)[/caption]

Addressing these challenges and identifying the opportunities presented through this revolution, the ACTU has committed to establishing a “working group of interested affiliates to explore, plan and work to implement a movement wide strategy to ensure our success”.

According to a resolution supported by delegates, “the work of this committee shall be focused on:

1. Identifying existing or emerging disruptors that present our movement with real threats and/or opportunities that must be addressed in order to ensure our success; and
2. Identifying, developing and trialling potential models of union membership, democracy, organisation, communication and engagement strategies to secure our success in the digital world; and
3. Identifying and developing strategically targeted campaigns for the growth and success of our movement in the digital world and working with relevant affiliates and the ACTU Executive on their implementation and measurement”.

During a workshop session, ‘Unions in the New Economy’ in which the resolution was drafted, it was acknowledged that much of the work of the future working group will be about assessing the history of union organising and campaigning, and learning from the lessons of past victories.

This was in reference to an earlier session, ‘The Future of Organising’.

Speaking to this fringe event at the Congress was one of the architects of the Your Rights at Work campaign, and father of the modern organising centre, Chris Walton, who these days is the CEO of Professionals Australia.

“Knowing the issues is crucial, but there is no point knowing the issues, unless we know how to win, and what a win looks like,” said Mr Walton.

“During Your Rights at Work we realised that the way to win was to acknowledge that the institutional power of the past was no longer working in our favour − instead, we needed to reconnect with our workers.

“Using this principal, we hit the phones, and hit the workplaces, generating more than 190,000 signatures — which before social media, was a massive feat.

“While most of the data collected was lost when the campaign was dismantled, the lessons learned were not lost, and the fundamentals of that campaign will shape the future of organising,” said Mr Walton.
Key pillars to successful campaigning
Following on from Mr Walton, was Luke Hilakari, Secretary of the Victorian Trades Hall Council, who spoke about the importance of campaigning to union movement, and what the future of campaigning will entail.

According to Mr Hilakari, the three key pillars to a successful campaign are data collection, authenticity and innovation.

“The movement Australia-wide has 1.8 million members — these aren’t just the people who have signed a petition, these are real members, paying fees,” said Mr Hilakari.

“The more members we have, the stronger we are and the way we grow our membership is by collecting data, using that data to be as relevant and as authentic as possible and using innovative ways of reaching new audiences.

“The future of campaigning is not set, but will be fluid, and will require more sophisticated ways of collecting and utilising data, without forgetting the fundamental principle of authenticity and personal connection.

“It takes real people to move people,” said Mr Hilakari.

It is evident that the changing nature of our economy, civil society and democracy as a result of the digital revolution will impact the future of union organising and campaigning.

It is also clear that through the future working group, the breadth of experience from past successes and the rising force of our movement’s new and innovative leaders, the ACTU will be well-placed to help defeat the Coalition Government at the next election.