#22 FEPS Talks The Condition of the Working Class in England
Mar 12, 2020•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode description
Frances O’Grady, General Secretary of the British Trades Union Congress (TUC), and László Andor, FEPS Secretary General, analyse in this FEPS Talks episode the meaning of the working class today. They rebut the notion which was widespread after the December elections in the UK that the working class as such turned anti-European and became a supporter of the Tories. Stereotypes and simplifications should be avoided not least because the composition and consciousness of the working class has changed in the past centuries, but also in the last decades, and if it is used, this term should not be reduced to active or retired blue-collar workers in depressed regions. On the other hand, it is true that a lot of British workers would have preferred to see a more social European Union. And in order to ensure more workers in other countries do not get disaffected with EU integration, investment policies like the Green Deal and more social rights should be promoted. O’Grady elaborates on the UK experience with a minimum wage, and the expected effects of Brexit on working conditions. She opposes the idea of “socialism in one country”, and stresses that workers have to show solidarity across borders because capitalism is international. Trade unions and progressive political forces have to push jointly for decent jobs in the 21st century.
