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Fulfilling the ‘British way’: beyond constrained choice—Amazon workers' lived experiences of workfare

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  • Kendra Briken
  • Phil Taylor

Abstract

This article makes a distinctive contribution to critiquing the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices (TRMWP). Rejecting TRMWP's abstracted concept of ‘choice’ and its celebration of the ‘British way’ of job creation, it emphasises the degree of compulsion experienced by low‐pay, temporary workers in local labour markets. The empirical focus is on Amazon's ‘fulfilment centre’ at Swansea and draws on testimonies of ‘associates’, both permanent and, mostly, agency temps including migrant workers. The article situates these worker experiences in job‐starved labour markets, considering the role of temporary worker agencies (TWAs) and the effects of workfare and benefit sanctions. The evidence compels a reconceptualisation of the triangular relationship between TWAs, employers and temp workers as quadrilateral, emphasising the role of the state. A brutal, digitally enabled lean workplace regime intersects with a brutal, digitally enabled workfare regime which serves to thoroughly critique Taylor's absurdly optimistic characterisation of choice.

Suggested Citation

  • Kendra Briken & Phil Taylor, 2018. "Fulfilling the ‘British way’: beyond constrained choice—Amazon workers' lived experiences of workfare," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(5-6), pages 438-458, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:indrel:v:49:y:2018:i:5-6:p:438-458
    DOI: 10.1111/irj.12232
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Linda McDowell & Adina Batnitzky & Sarah Dyer, 2008. "Internationalization and the Spaces of Temporary Labour: The Global Assembly of a Local Workforce," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 46(4), pages 750-770, December.
    2. Paul Blyton & Jean Jenkins, 2013. "Mobilizing Protest: Insights from Two Factory Closures," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 51(4), pages 733-753, December.
    3. John Purcell & Kate Purcell & Stephanie Tailby, 2004. "Temporary Work Agencies: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow?," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 42(4), pages 705-725, December.
    4. Jamie Peck & Nik Theodore, 2001. "Contingent Chicago: Restructuring the Spaces of Temporary Labor," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(3), pages 471-496, September.
    5. Greer, Ian & Breidahl, N. Karen & Knuth, Matthias & Larsen, Flemming, 2017. "The Marketization of Employment Services: The Dilemmas of Europe's Work-first Welfare States," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198785446, Decembrie.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Andrew Smith & Jo McBride, 2023. "‘It was doing my head in’: Low‐paid multiple employment and zero hours work," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(1), pages 3-23, March.
    3. David Etherington & Bob Jeffery & Peter Thomas & Martin Jones & Ben Ledger‐Jessop, 2023. "Trade union strategies to tackle labour market insecurity: Geography and the role of Sheffield TUC," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(3), pages 261-277, May.
    4. Alessio Faccia & Corlise Liesl Le Roux & Vishal Pandey, 2023. "Innovation and E-Commerce Models, the Technology Catalysts for Sustainable Development: The Emirate of Dubai Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-29, February.
    5. Judith Kohlenberger & Milda Žilinskaitė & Aida Hajro & Irina Vafiadis & Sabina Bikic, 2021. "Essential, yet invisible: working conditions of Amazon delivery workers during COVID-19 and beyond," Working Paper Reihe der AK Wien - Materialien zu Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft 230, Kammer für Arbeiter und Angestellte für Wien, Abteilung Wirtschaftswissenschaft und Statistik.

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