The Invisible Worker - Issue #3 | Crisis
Donation protected
The invisible worker
The invisible worker is a zine exploring the interface between work and technology within contemporary capitalism. The zine creates a space for precarious workers to have their voices heard.
The crisis
Covid-19 has brought to the fore the impacts of 40 years of neoliberalism and the massive transfer of power away from labour. Now millions of workers around the world face a future that is uncertain and scary. Here in the UK, there are 1.8 million people on zero hour contracts. Many of those who have lost their jobs are left without protection, and are left with the consolation of a statutory sick pay that won’t even cover their rent.
For the lucky ones who get to keep their jobs, they are left to continue working despite any concerns they have, despite the fact that they risk spreading the virus to colleagues, friends and family, because the alternative is to go hungry. This is a crisis that did not begin in Wuhan. This is a crisis that began long before anyone became sick, before anyone died of viral pneumonia, or before the virus first transferred from animals to humans.
This is a crisis that began with the collapse of trade unions, the deregulation of financial markets, the degradation of workplace protection, the massive growth of the gig economy and the rise in zero hour contracts.
Issue #3 | Crisis
We are launching issue #3 | Crisis, to explore how the lives of precarious workers are being shaped by the pandemic.
We will be giving workers the opportunity to speak for themselves, to write their own pieces, submit their own artwork, about their own experiences. And for this they will be paid. We are asking our readers and supporters to help us to do this.
Over the coming weeks we will be reaching out to people across the UK who are in precarious work and who are being impacted by the current crisis, commissioning and paying them to write pieces that reflect their experiences.
By contributing what you can, you will be directly supporting our mission to platform the stories and experiences of precarious workers. Your donation to this fundraiser will enable us to pay those in precarious work - gig workers, people on zero hours, freelancers, those who've lost their jobs, people in precarious situations with caring responsibilities and families to support - to tell us about how they are feeling the impacts of the crisis.
We are currently funding this issue out of our own pocket, using our savings. None of us are rich, but we believe in this project. If possible, please donate what you can to help us to fund this project. All our editorial team work on a voluntary basis and no profit will be made from the production of this issue.
Help us to provide a platform for the voices of those workers whose lives are being radically torn to shreds by the pandemic, by commissioning and paying them to write pieces that reflect their experiences.
Find selected articles from Issue 1 | The Platform Worker and Issue 2 | The Digital Labourer on Medium, and find out more about the invisible worker at www.theinvisibleworker.com.
The invisible worker is a zine exploring the interface between work and technology within contemporary capitalism. The zine creates a space for precarious workers to have their voices heard.
The crisis
Covid-19 has brought to the fore the impacts of 40 years of neoliberalism and the massive transfer of power away from labour. Now millions of workers around the world face a future that is uncertain and scary. Here in the UK, there are 1.8 million people on zero hour contracts. Many of those who have lost their jobs are left without protection, and are left with the consolation of a statutory sick pay that won’t even cover their rent.
For the lucky ones who get to keep their jobs, they are left to continue working despite any concerns they have, despite the fact that they risk spreading the virus to colleagues, friends and family, because the alternative is to go hungry. This is a crisis that did not begin in Wuhan. This is a crisis that began long before anyone became sick, before anyone died of viral pneumonia, or before the virus first transferred from animals to humans.
This is a crisis that began with the collapse of trade unions, the deregulation of financial markets, the degradation of workplace protection, the massive growth of the gig economy and the rise in zero hour contracts.
Issue #3 | Crisis
We are launching issue #3 | Crisis, to explore how the lives of precarious workers are being shaped by the pandemic.
We will be giving workers the opportunity to speak for themselves, to write their own pieces, submit their own artwork, about their own experiences. And for this they will be paid. We are asking our readers and supporters to help us to do this.
Over the coming weeks we will be reaching out to people across the UK who are in precarious work and who are being impacted by the current crisis, commissioning and paying them to write pieces that reflect their experiences.
By contributing what you can, you will be directly supporting our mission to platform the stories and experiences of precarious workers. Your donation to this fundraiser will enable us to pay those in precarious work - gig workers, people on zero hours, freelancers, those who've lost their jobs, people in precarious situations with caring responsibilities and families to support - to tell us about how they are feeling the impacts of the crisis.
We are currently funding this issue out of our own pocket, using our savings. None of us are rich, but we believe in this project. If possible, please donate what you can to help us to fund this project. All our editorial team work on a voluntary basis and no profit will be made from the production of this issue.
Help us to provide a platform for the voices of those workers whose lives are being radically torn to shreds by the pandemic, by commissioning and paying them to write pieces that reflect their experiences.
Find selected articles from Issue 1 | The Platform Worker and Issue 2 | The Digital Labourer on Medium, and find out more about the invisible worker at www.theinvisibleworker.com.
Organizer and beneficiary
Cat Gough
Organizer
Robbie Warin
Beneficiary