Trade Unions, Surveillance and Social Media

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This thesis explores the impact that workplace surveillance has on trade union activists, and examines the extent to which workplace surveillance impacts the ability of trade union activists to advocate for labour rights and negotiate with employers. The literature review draws on the fields of surveillance studies and industrial relations to situate surveillance in the workplace. It also draws on the emerging field of data justice to explore how developments in digital technology are changing the ways in which employers can exert control over workers. The aim of the project is to further understanding of how surveillance is shaping trade union action in public sector workplaces in the UK. Data was collected through interviews and through document analysis, forming three qualitative case studies aimed at answeringquestions about how trade unions are shaping their activities in response to surveillance in the workplace, and how in turn they are developing ways of resisting the control exerted by surveillance. Thematic analysis of the findings demonstrates that the way surveillance is being enacted across public sector workplaces varies in many ways, and the way that it is experienced and resisted by various members is very different. The discussion examines the impact that this might have for collective action and solidarity across the movement. It considers the challenges the individualising effects of surveillance might have on collective identity and suggests new directions in future research that incorporate aspects of critical data studies.