The Casualisation of Labour

Labour 'flexibility' is always a relation of class struggle. Historically, such flexibility has sometimes provided a bargaining weapon against capitalist work-discipline. Since the 1980s, however, labour has been newly flexibilised to intensify its exploitation. Often called casual labour or precarité, this flexploitation imposes insecurity, indignity and greater discipline (Gray, 1995). As a cutting edge of neoliberalism since the mid-1970s, the British state disorganised and decomposed the industrial working class which had characterized …showed first 75 words of 2051 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2051 total…and WILKINSON, F. (2002) Job insecurity and work intensification. London: Routledge. HEERY, E., and SALMON, J. (2000) The insecure workforce. London: Routledge. THOMPSON, E. and WARSHURST. C. (ed) (1998) Workplaces of the future. London: Macmillan Press Ltd. FELSTEAD, A. and JEWSON, N. (1999) Global Trends in flexible labour. Macmillan Press Ltd. GRAY, A. (1995) Flexibilisation of labour and the attack on workers' living standards. Common Sense 18 www.dti.gov.uk/work-lifebalance www.dti.gov.uk/fairnessatwork www.tuc.org.uk