Organising in Home Care

What can be learned from working

in highly gendered work arenas?
BRISTOL
2007

450 T&G members

600 workers

Part time

598 women, 2 men

Average age early

50s
 Why might unions be interested in
Home care?
• Social care and logistics fastest growing
industrial sectors
• Atypical union members
• Riddled with issues
• US examples in social care
• Low paid, poorly organised
• Most highly gender segregated of
occupations in public sector
• Supra-local – rooted in the community
Does gender matter in organising?
• Do we need to take the same approach in organising
male and female workers?

what gives these workers power?

how can we build leverage against the employer?

how can we give these women confidence that they

can win?

how do we give them control of the campaign?

 Gender is a
key industrial
issue
Home care work is
‘women’s work’
Equal pay claims are
driving privatisation
Fragmented
‘feminised’ work
patterns prevail
Cross party campaigning – appealing
to left and right
Building alliances with community
groups
Mainstreaming gendered, relational
arguments
Mobilisation was critical
Physical presence of ‘hidden workers’
Utilising workers’ resources
Strong media presence
Qualitative over quantitative justice
 Gendered organising?
• Strike action can harm women workers
• Non-hierarchical organisational form
• Engaging with emotions built confidence
• Fluidity of leadership
• Gendered, Relational arguments
• Women can win at work – we need to give
a high profile to examples