Organising migrant workers: the living wage campaign at the University of East London

This critical case study looks at the campaign led by Citizens UK and Unison to get the University of East London (UEL) to sign up to the London Living wage (LLW). UEL agreed to pay the LLW after a brief campaign in November 2010 and it was subsequently implemented in August 2011. The study charts the course of the campaign and draws on mobilisation theory and new primary research to account for its success. What our findings suggest is that community organisers and union activists were able to organise and mobilise a largely apolitical group of migrant workers. This, we suggest, can be explained by the successful mobilisation of the community and augurs well for future broad-based campaigns

The art of politics : broad-based organising in Britain

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Religion at work: the role of faith-based organizations in the London living wage campaign

This paper makes a contribution to debate about the intervention of religious organizations in matters of industrial relations, labour markets and public policy in relation to work. We draw on new empirical data to explore the involvement of low-paid migrant workers in faith organizations and relate this to the ways in which faith organizations have begun to engage in political campaigns to challenge the nature of work and immigration control. Using the example of London Citizens' living wage and regularization campaigns, the paper explores the basis on which faith organizations can provide the space for social and political solidarity among and beyond immigrants in low-paid jobs in London today. Copyright 2009, Oxford University Press.