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Class Power on Zero-Hours
AngryWorkers, a small political collective, have spent six years organising in London’s industrial backyard, mainly in the food manufacturing and logistics sector. This book is about their experiences as they try and find new ways of building class power in tough times. It is essential reading for anyone who is grappling with the question: ‘what next for working class politics and revolutionary strategy?’
- GenresPoliticsNonfiction
392 pages
Published March 1, 2020
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August 30, 2020
The core of this book describes working conditions in Bakkavor’s food processing factories in West London, then moves on to describe how a Tesco distribution centre operates. The opening 100 plus pages are used to set the scene, then there is the central 180 pages, finally after a curious detour into 3D printer manufacture - and leaving aside an appendix - the last 50 pages deal with the question of revolutionary organisation. Cut into the descriptions of contemporary labour and class exploitation is much useful analysis and historical material:
"The food and drink industry is the UK’s largest manufacturing sector, accounting for 17% of the total UK manufacturing turnover, contributing £28.2bn to the economy annually and employing 400,000 people. And while a lot of fruit and veg is imported, the shelf life of freshly prepared products (FPP) means that outsourcing this work overseas is not possible. All the FPP found in the chilled section of our supermarkets comes from UK factories." Page 136.
"People in Britain buy around 3.5 million ready-meals a day, which easily makes it the leading ready-meals market in Europe. Working hours are some of the longest in Europe, which perhaps explains the demand." Page 139.
"Bakkavor is one of the biggest UK food companies you’ve never heard of. You’ve probably got a Bakkavor food item in your fridge, but you wouldn’t know it because their name won’t be on the packaging. They employ around 17,000 people across various sites in the UK and source 5,000 products from around the world to supply the largest supermarkets with their own-brand products - from salads, to desserts, to ready-meals and pizzas." Pages 147/148.
"Bakkavor has an ageing workforce, the majority in the 55-64 age bracket. The next biggest age group was workers aged between 45-54, fewer again in the 35-44 age range. I think this was a huge factor in the docility of the workforce in general, even when the union was ramping up its activity. There was an aversion to risk, a palpable fear of going on strike, and a resignation that only comes with living a hard life with few victories. That isn’t to say there weren’t some older workers who were up for the fight." Page 155.
"A toxic culture of disrespect pervaded the factories… All the stress and bad vibes understandably had a negative impact on peoples’ mental and physical health. One guy dropped down dead in the smoking area. Another guy, a night shift hygiene worker, died in his late forties. A mild-mannered Polish guy from the maintenance department had a psychotic episode and climbed onto the roof, sobbing in front of his workmates. A young office worker who everybody ignored even killed himself. Others had strokes and panic attacks and were taken away by the ambulance, which came with depressing regularity. It wasn’t just that they were old or smoked, although of course those were factors. I think it was also the type of work and toxic culture that drove people to their limits." Page 178.
The poor working conditions at Bakkavor, bad pay and struggles to improve it - alongside the unhygienic methods of food production - are described in detail. The switches from more objective analysis to an utterly subjective position and speculative assertion are sudden and frequent. Some might see this as a weakness but it is actually the book’s strength. It’s a rhetorical device designed to give those who haven’t done these jobs a feeling of insight into them and a sense of empathy with those depicted in the book. Likewise if you have been employed in the industries described you might be drawn to a conscious embrace of the book’s wider analytical perspective in part due to a sense of identification with the text’s more subjective turns. Even even those who have not worked in these industries - or on some other factory floor - will recognise the social relations depicted from shops, offices and other places of employment.
In short Class Power On Zero Hours is worth reading for its central sections about food production and distribution. The opening and closing parts of the book may resonate with some but were less than thrilling to me. I found the initial section about west London especially tedious and almost gave up when I read the following sentence on the first full page:
Nobody on the London left had even heard of Greenford, not surprising due to its status as a cultural desert, in zone four on the Central line. Page 7.
I don’t know - and don’t care - if I’d count as part of what Angry Workers configure as the London left but I’d not only heard of Greenford, until lockdown I was going through it once once a month on my way to an extended training session the martial arts club I belong to has in South Ruislip. Likewise, I have two friends - one born in the same south-west London hospital as me - who work for Ealing council (pest control and a desk job); for those who don’t know, Greenford is part of the borough of Ealing. While I passed through rather than went to Greenford and Park Royal growing up, I spent plenty of time back then in Hounslow which isn’t so far away.
Ultimately the claim that ‘nobody’ was familiar with Greenford reveals Angry Workers’ contact with the working class across much of London when its members first arrived here to have been rather limited. Other things they say point to the same conclusion. On the basis of what the collective writes it would seem that many of those they hung out with in London before moving to the city’s west were students who’d come here to take university courses and who saw themselves as on the left but were clueless about about the place they’d relocated to. The text makes it clear Angry Workers went to great efforts to connect with the working class in west London, but leaves the impression they are still disconnected from it in other parts of the city.
The assertion that Greenford has cultural desert status appears obnoxious, racist and anti-working class: clearly not positions Angry Workers would want to be associated with even if what’s quoted above might be (mis)read as linking them to views of this type. Bourgeois distaste for proletarian culture - sometimes expressed with the absurd assertion that the working class don’t have a culture and exists in a ‘cultural desert’ - can be found among parts of what Angry Workers seem to be describing as the London ‘left’. What ‘the left’ is and whether 'liberal' elements who want to transform everyone into a bourgeois subject are part of it might be seen by some as open to debate, although not by me. In odd places Class Power On Zero Hours lacks clarity in its verbal formulations but on the basis of the entire text, a generous guess would be it is the views of reactionaries who wish to demean working class immigrant communities that are being invoked in the statement about Greenford’s cultural desert status rather than the Angry Workers collective itself believing this to be the case. That said, anyone who was born in the west or south-west of London or who has spent much time there can safely skip the early parts of this book. It is uneven but there is more than enough in its main section to make it worthwhile reading if you’re consciously engaged in class struggle: or even if you're not, yet!
Finally, I really liked the solid pink inside covers of the book, so much so that I’m almost tempted to overlook the fact that this publication really cries out for an index. I’m unlikely to read the whole book twice but it would have been helpful to be able to find the parts I’m going to want to access again easily with an index.
"The food and drink industry is the UK’s largest manufacturing sector, accounting for 17% of the total UK manufacturing turnover, contributing £28.2bn to the economy annually and employing 400,000 people. And while a lot of fruit and veg is imported, the shelf life of freshly prepared products (FPP) means that outsourcing this work overseas is not possible. All the FPP found in the chilled section of our supermarkets comes from UK factories." Page 136.
"People in Britain buy around 3.5 million ready-meals a day, which easily makes it the leading ready-meals market in Europe. Working hours are some of the longest in Europe, which perhaps explains the demand." Page 139.
"Bakkavor is one of the biggest UK food companies you’ve never heard of. You’ve probably got a Bakkavor food item in your fridge, but you wouldn’t know it because their name won’t be on the packaging. They employ around 17,000 people across various sites in the UK and source 5,000 products from around the world to supply the largest supermarkets with their own-brand products - from salads, to desserts, to ready-meals and pizzas." Pages 147/148.
"Bakkavor has an ageing workforce, the majority in the 55-64 age bracket. The next biggest age group was workers aged between 45-54, fewer again in the 35-44 age range. I think this was a huge factor in the docility of the workforce in general, even when the union was ramping up its activity. There was an aversion to risk, a palpable fear of going on strike, and a resignation that only comes with living a hard life with few victories. That isn’t to say there weren’t some older workers who were up for the fight." Page 155.
"A toxic culture of disrespect pervaded the factories… All the stress and bad vibes understandably had a negative impact on peoples’ mental and physical health. One guy dropped down dead in the smoking area. Another guy, a night shift hygiene worker, died in his late forties. A mild-mannered Polish guy from the maintenance department had a psychotic episode and climbed onto the roof, sobbing in front of his workmates. A young office worker who everybody ignored even killed himself. Others had strokes and panic attacks and were taken away by the ambulance, which came with depressing regularity. It wasn’t just that they were old or smoked, although of course those were factors. I think it was also the type of work and toxic culture that drove people to their limits." Page 178.
The poor working conditions at Bakkavor, bad pay and struggles to improve it - alongside the unhygienic methods of food production - are described in detail. The switches from more objective analysis to an utterly subjective position and speculative assertion are sudden and frequent. Some might see this as a weakness but it is actually the book’s strength. It’s a rhetorical device designed to give those who haven’t done these jobs a feeling of insight into them and a sense of empathy with those depicted in the book. Likewise if you have been employed in the industries described you might be drawn to a conscious embrace of the book’s wider analytical perspective in part due to a sense of identification with the text’s more subjective turns. Even even those who have not worked in these industries - or on some other factory floor - will recognise the social relations depicted from shops, offices and other places of employment.
In short Class Power On Zero Hours is worth reading for its central sections about food production and distribution. The opening and closing parts of the book may resonate with some but were less than thrilling to me. I found the initial section about west London especially tedious and almost gave up when I read the following sentence on the first full page:
Nobody on the London left had even heard of Greenford, not surprising due to its status as a cultural desert, in zone four on the Central line. Page 7.
I don’t know - and don’t care - if I’d count as part of what Angry Workers configure as the London left but I’d not only heard of Greenford, until lockdown I was going through it once once a month on my way to an extended training session the martial arts club I belong to has in South Ruislip. Likewise, I have two friends - one born in the same south-west London hospital as me - who work for Ealing council (pest control and a desk job); for those who don’t know, Greenford is part of the borough of Ealing. While I passed through rather than went to Greenford and Park Royal growing up, I spent plenty of time back then in Hounslow which isn’t so far away.
Ultimately the claim that ‘nobody’ was familiar with Greenford reveals Angry Workers’ contact with the working class across much of London when its members first arrived here to have been rather limited. Other things they say point to the same conclusion. On the basis of what the collective writes it would seem that many of those they hung out with in London before moving to the city’s west were students who’d come here to take university courses and who saw themselves as on the left but were clueless about about the place they’d relocated to. The text makes it clear Angry Workers went to great efforts to connect with the working class in west London, but leaves the impression they are still disconnected from it in other parts of the city.
The assertion that Greenford has cultural desert status appears obnoxious, racist and anti-working class: clearly not positions Angry Workers would want to be associated with even if what’s quoted above might be (mis)read as linking them to views of this type. Bourgeois distaste for proletarian culture - sometimes expressed with the absurd assertion that the working class don’t have a culture and exists in a ‘cultural desert’ - can be found among parts of what Angry Workers seem to be describing as the London ‘left’. What ‘the left’ is and whether 'liberal' elements who want to transform everyone into a bourgeois subject are part of it might be seen by some as open to debate, although not by me. In odd places Class Power On Zero Hours lacks clarity in its verbal formulations but on the basis of the entire text, a generous guess would be it is the views of reactionaries who wish to demean working class immigrant communities that are being invoked in the statement about Greenford’s cultural desert status rather than the Angry Workers collective itself believing this to be the case. That said, anyone who was born in the west or south-west of London or who has spent much time there can safely skip the early parts of this book. It is uneven but there is more than enough in its main section to make it worthwhile reading if you’re consciously engaged in class struggle: or even if you're not, yet!
Finally, I really liked the solid pink inside covers of the book, so much so that I’m almost tempted to overlook the fact that this publication really cries out for an index. I’m unlikely to read the whole book twice but it would have been helpful to be able to find the parts I’m going to want to access again easily with an index.
August 23, 2021
Very good anaylsis and some interesting food for thought. It sets out it's research extensively and oddly grippingly for the subject matter, then discusses solutions, then concludes. Worth checking out to give yourself an insight on the stuff going on under our noses and through our bellies.
March 22, 2021
There is some good stuff in here, mainly the collating of worker stats across the country, but I found it impossible to get past my distaste of the methods employed here (moving to a poorer part of the city and working low paid jobs for a few years, deciding what everyone living in that environment should do, then moving on). Overall it came across as incredibly patronising (especially the part where they declare themselves at the forefront of class warfare, saying it's difficult but ultimately gave them purpose...please) and unbelievably naïve and overreaching. They state themselves that at the end of several years they had failed to create a stable group of more than ten individuals, and yet lay out their plans for exactly how the UK would reach revolution, which includes such gems as the 'urban poor' going out to the country to 'convince' farmers to give up their land and everyone just living on meat and potatoes for several years 'until the apple trees grow'.
This could have been a tight focus book and though it would still have been built on patronising ground it may have been useful. As it stands, they make ludicrous assertions and quite unbelievable 'demands' of the entire country, given that they couldn't even get out of London for their project and clearly understand little of class/economic struggles outside of the capital. I learned a lot more from Helen Yaffe's book We Are Cuba, and from Jane McElevey's work, though neither are without their issues too.
This could have been a tight focus book and though it would still have been built on patronising ground it may have been useful. As it stands, they make ludicrous assertions and quite unbelievable 'demands' of the entire country, given that they couldn't even get out of London for their project and clearly understand little of class/economic struggles outside of the capital. I learned a lot more from Helen Yaffe's book We Are Cuba, and from Jane McElevey's work, though neither are without their issues too.
July 15, 2020
Several weeks ago in one of the Zoom calls which have since become a pervasive aspect of everyday life under lockdown, a friend introduced me to a new and promising group called the Angry Workers Collective [AWC], brought into existence a mere 6 years ago, adding that “There’s a very real and refreshing militancy to them, totally apart from the usual circles.” Earlier this year, they released a book documenting their cumulative experiences and ideas, titled Class Power in Zero Hours; it is perhaps the most important book to have been published in recent decades for understanding and improving the political situation for the British working class today.
Read the rest of my review online here: https://www.weareplanc.org/blog/class...
Read the rest of my review online here: https://www.weareplanc.org/blog/class...
October 5, 2020
Inspiring activism and an interesting book. Important in reasserting the importance of class politics, aiming to communist revolution, and critiques of much of the labour movement and left.
Limited in their not engaging in much of the existing labour movement, or seeing that as a priority: indeed seeing doing so as waste of time, or worse. The net result is, I think, one of the best attempts at what they are attempting to do, over a 6 year period - but far from success.
I skipped around half the chapters. Shocking, I know.
Limited in their not engaging in much of the existing labour movement, or seeing that as a priority: indeed seeing doing so as waste of time, or worse. The net result is, I think, one of the best attempts at what they are attempting to do, over a 6 year period - but far from success.
I skipped around half the chapters. Shocking, I know.
December 14, 2025
sehr gute Analysen und soannendez Fallbeispiele. leider aber auch sehr lang
August 17, 2021
For those that have been following the work of the AngryWorkers for a while, attended their talks at the various radical bookfairs, there isn't much new to the book. The benefit however is to have all their thoughts and experiences given at hand in a thick but easily readable book.
No matter the disagreements I may have with their approach(es), the AngryWorkers are one of the most important experiment in building workers autonomy in the UK, if not in Europe. It is an must read for anyone interested in work politics, unionism (and its critiques), left communism, and autonomy.
That being said, my main concerns with their (theoritical approach) are threefold:
1) I'm dubious of their definition of "class unionism" and how different should that be from revolutionary syndicalism or anarcho-syndicalism. The main difference they point to is to exit concerns that are not workplace related from the union (at least that's the difference they point when they compare their project to the UK IWW). But the (recent) changes in revolutionary syndicalist group that led them to partake in various campaigns was a result of an internal critique of the limits of workerism and an effect of the decomposition of the class (of which they might be responsible to an extent). Why the nostalgia? Why pretend it is any different?
2) I appreciate the discussion on the division of labour between men and women in the shop floor. But I'm not sure how useful it is to continue talking of "sexual division" or of "sexed" differences when all of their descriptions seem to indicate a heavy gendering of social relations. Maybe it's just semantics, but it felt weirdly outdated.
3) I am aware of the AW's critiques of intersectionality, and they quickly indicate their opinion in the book. But critiquing intersectionality shouldn't be a reason to address race only superfluously. With all the talks about racial capitalism developing in the legacy of the various racial unrests in the West, maybe it is time to give more depth to these analysis and not keep it at a critique of class stratification inside ethnic groups.
No matter the disagreements I may have with their approach(es), the AngryWorkers are one of the most important experiment in building workers autonomy in the UK, if not in Europe. It is an must read for anyone interested in work politics, unionism (and its critiques), left communism, and autonomy.
That being said, my main concerns with their (theoritical approach) are threefold:
1) I'm dubious of their definition of "class unionism" and how different should that be from revolutionary syndicalism or anarcho-syndicalism. The main difference they point to is to exit concerns that are not workplace related from the union (at least that's the difference they point when they compare their project to the UK IWW). But the (recent) changes in revolutionary syndicalist group that led them to partake in various campaigns was a result of an internal critique of the limits of workerism and an effect of the decomposition of the class (of which they might be responsible to an extent). Why the nostalgia? Why pretend it is any different?
2) I appreciate the discussion on the division of labour between men and women in the shop floor. But I'm not sure how useful it is to continue talking of "sexual division" or of "sexed" differences when all of their descriptions seem to indicate a heavy gendering of social relations. Maybe it's just semantics, but it felt weirdly outdated.
3) I am aware of the AW's critiques of intersectionality, and they quickly indicate their opinion in the book. But critiquing intersectionality shouldn't be a reason to address race only superfluously. With all the talks about racial capitalism developing in the legacy of the various racial unrests in the West, maybe it is time to give more depth to these analysis and not keep it at a critique of class stratification inside ethnic groups.
November 10, 2021
This book gives a very comprehensive insight into the experience of working in food production/ delivery which I thought was pretty accurate given my experience in this sector (spoiler alert - it's not a good time!). Perhaps this would be eye-opening to those privileged enough to have not worked in this kind of job where you're systematically treated like shit.
The way the AngryWorkers collective inserted themselves into largely immigrant working-class communities felt a little bit uncomfortable and condescending off them, as if they were positioning themselves as some kind of saviours. That said, I got the impression that it was in good heart and I respect their commitment to navigating the inner workings of these workplaces in-order to cultivate and gain insight into potential means of building resistance. Unfortunately their attempts weren't successful which was quite disheartening as I was expected to be inspired by their efforts at collective action against "the bosses". They do however analyse the reasons that they failed which are valuable and included language barriers and bureaucratic union structures.
Although I appreciated the premise of this book, I felt that the detailed depictions of shifts and attempts at class resistance were too lengthy and became tiresome (I ended up skipping some of the later sections on delivery-driving etc.) There was also a digression of an inquiry into a 3D printing manufacturing plant which while somewhat relevant I deemed excessive and off-topic. I found some chapters interesting, including "Working class families and women's realities", "Food in capitalism" and "The current moment and criticism of democratic socialism" which I'm sure will be of use for future reference.
This book is good if you skip to the bits that interest you, or if you are really interested in resisting capitalism from the bottom up in today's world.
The way the AngryWorkers collective inserted themselves into largely immigrant working-class communities felt a little bit uncomfortable and condescending off them, as if they were positioning themselves as some kind of saviours. That said, I got the impression that it was in good heart and I respect their commitment to navigating the inner workings of these workplaces in-order to cultivate and gain insight into potential means of building resistance. Unfortunately their attempts weren't successful which was quite disheartening as I was expected to be inspired by their efforts at collective action against "the bosses". They do however analyse the reasons that they failed which are valuable and included language barriers and bureaucratic union structures.
Although I appreciated the premise of this book, I felt that the detailed depictions of shifts and attempts at class resistance were too lengthy and became tiresome (I ended up skipping some of the later sections on delivery-driving etc.) There was also a digression of an inquiry into a 3D printing manufacturing plant which while somewhat relevant I deemed excessive and off-topic. I found some chapters interesting, including "Working class families and women's realities", "Food in capitalism" and "The current moment and criticism of democratic socialism" which I'm sure will be of use for future reference.
This book is good if you skip to the bits that interest you, or if you are really interested in resisting capitalism from the bottom up in today's world.
January 11, 2021
Really interesting practical organizing discussion in the food production/logistics sectors of West London. In particular dispelling the myth many in the left buy into of purely “service economy” and a great critique of the common leftist assumption that “luxury communism” can come thru weaponizing the neoliberal state and taking control of the automation robots. Sorry folks Angry Workers are here to tell you that we’re still working for a living, still making everything necessary for society to function, production is increasing, wages decreasing, and were fucking pissed. I’ve got some minor critiques I’ll get into later (I’ll type up an email) but for revolutionaries looking to make a difference with your comrades, get rooted and organizing at work! Angry workers will tell you, it’s hard and unglamorous, but the alternative sucks as much shit.
October 11, 2021
A good analysis of working conditions in West London.
I found it quite refreshing to read some modern left-wing theory that actually involved praxis and not just armchair theorising about 'muh capital is bad'.
The book goes into depth about working at the Bakkavor food factory and Tesco distribution centre highlighting the pitfalls of modern class organisation. Although sometimes coming across as a bit LARPy and patronising (affluent people moving into a poor part of west London to organise low paid migrant workers) they did win my admiration by the sheer resilience of their praxis.
Although I could not see myself reading through the whole book again I have certainly bookmarked multiple chapters for reference as I believe this is a brilliant book for reference etc.
I found it quite refreshing to read some modern left-wing theory that actually involved praxis and not just armchair theorising about 'muh capital is bad'.
The book goes into depth about working at the Bakkavor food factory and Tesco distribution centre highlighting the pitfalls of modern class organisation. Although sometimes coming across as a bit LARPy and patronising (affluent people moving into a poor part of west London to organise low paid migrant workers) they did win my admiration by the sheer resilience of their praxis.
Although I could not see myself reading through the whole book again I have certainly bookmarked multiple chapters for reference as I believe this is a brilliant book for reference etc.
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