Will the British Gas sackings be a harbinger of doom for workers’ rights? | Owen Jones

If companies can use the pandemic to ‘fire and rehire’, a relentless race to the bottom beckons for Britain’s workforceBack in the early months of the pandemic, the nationwide clap for carers, performed on Thursday evenings, was supposed to be an outpouring of solidarity and gratitude to frontline workers for their efforts in tackling the virus, not self-congratulatory hypocrisy. Now that British Gas workers have been sacked en masse for refusing to sign up to slashed terms and conditions, it is worth wondering how many of the company’s senior executives on exorbitant salaries applauded their key workers last year. How many of them whooped, cheered and banged pots and pans to show their neighbours they really, really care, before undermining the working conditions of engineers and other workers at the company who risked their health to help keep Britain functioning during its gravest postwar emergency?The fate of British Gas employees should disturb millions of other workers because it could prove a harbinger for their own futures. The Conservatives have laid so many obstacles to industrial action that it has become unthinkable for most workers: that a super majority of 89% of GMB union members who took part in the ballot at British Gas voted in favour of striking over its plans – overcoming acute legal thresholds – is indicative of the strength of feeling among the rank and file. At a time when many workers were suffering unprecedented stress because of the pandemic, British Gas sought to bully them into either accepting longer working hours or losing their jobs. Continue reading... https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/apr/16/british-gas-sackings-workers-rights #centrica #industrial_action #trade_unions #utilities #business #politics #uk_news #gig_economy #employment_law