Hello Fedi! I'm finally writing my #Introduction post after being a lurker for years (2022 is when I made my first account). I've never really been active on any social media, but Mastodon is unique and I'd like to experience the sense of community that it offers.

A bit about me! I live in a fairly small town in #Saskatchewan on Treaty 4 land. I enjoy #gardening, #walking, and playing #guitar. I am collecting and digitizing CDs which I enjoy through a modest, self hosted Jellyfin server. I gave #Linux a shot several years ago and have since been in love with the principles of #opensource and #FOSS. Recently I've been working to improve #OpenStreetMap in my area to make it a more viable option for others in my community.

I'm a proud democratic socialist, and I believe in the project of universal liberation. I support the rights of #workers, the #LGBTQIA community, and #immigrants. I oppose #fascism and believe that we once again find ourselves at the crossroads of #socialism and barbarism. Despite how grim everything looks now, I see enough good in the world to remain optimistic for the future. This is one place in particular that brings me hope. Y'all are cool here 👍

Today at 17 - 18:30 UTC / 18 - 19:30 CET we'll have an open video call in the internationalist union hall of tech workers' cooperatives and folks who want to start tech workers' cooperatives.

Come on by!

https://meet.jit.si/techcoops

#coop #cooperative #democracy #workers #cooperativa #solidarity #union

Today at 17 - 18:30 UTC / 18 - 19:30 CET we'll have an open video call in the internationalist union hall of tech workers' cooperatives and folks who want to start tech workers' cooperatives.

Come on by!

https://meet.jit.si/techcoops

#coop #cooperative #democracy #workers #cooperativa #solidarity #union

The attack on working from home reverses a trend towards fuller participation in the UK's work-force by people with a range of disabilities.

A key advance for many disabled workers has been the ability to perform jobs remotely, fitting in with their care needs & combatting workplace discrimination based on appearance.

If the Govt. is keen to keep the disabled working if possible, then supporting home-working is a key element of any strategy!

#disability #workers
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/21/decline-in-remote-jobs-risks-shutting-disabled-people-out-of-work-study-finds

The attack on working from home reverses a trend towards fuller participation in the UK's work-force by people with a range of disabilities.

A key advance for many disabled workers has been the ability to perform jobs remotely, fitting in with their care needs & combatting workplace discrimination based on appearance.

If the Govt. is keen to keep the disabled working if possible, then supporting home-working is a key element of any strategy!

#disability #workers
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/21/decline-in-remote-jobs-risks-shutting-disabled-people-out-of-work-study-finds

RE: https://climatejustice.social/@GeofCox/116101895925958688

Here's a great concise analysis of the choices the British political class have made that have resulted in a low-skill, low-productivity economy....as Geoff makes clear, this is not an accident of circumstance it is a route chosen....

#economics #productivity #workers

The plight of those trying to find 'low skill' jobs (notwithstanding Sarah O'Connor's suggestion we should abandon such designations), are finding the application processes ever more daunting & exploitative as employers take advantage of the competition for such entry-level work to get free shifts or ghost failed applicants.

And, of course, its the young primarily who are experiencing this hell of job hunting.... for them the economy is just *not* working!

#workers
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/feb/18/entry-level-recruitment-low-paid-jobs-wage

Why is the UK (still) dependent on a migrant workforce?

Well, a key contributing factor is employers' attachment to low pay & dismal terms & conditions of employment.

So, let's not blame migrants for seeking out jobs in their new country; lets be clear, its the UK's employers, their labour cost-focussed management mind-set & their continuing rubbish management practices that are the real problem here.

We need a sea change in employment practice(s)!

#workers #business
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/feb/18/training-more-uk-workers-may-not-cut-net-migration-report--

There's a frequent complaint that public sector pensions are much more generous than private sector pensions & this is iniquitous for tax payers.

But much of the difference (which has declined recently) is down to the higher levels of contribution paid in by both employees & employers.

So, actually the problem of low private sector pensions is more about low pay (making higher contributions impossible) & stingy employers rather than over-generous public pensions!

#pensions #workers
h/t FT

Meanwhile at John Lewis Partnership, in a bid to reduce staff resentment at the management of the employee owned retail group, staff are to see an annual rise of 6.9%in their wages... while the board also will (again) consider reinstating the annual bonus (which at its height was addition nearly a quarter to annual staff pay).

The Bank of England on the other hand will see this as one more sign that 'inflationary pressures' persist in the UK economy...

#inflation #workers
h/t FT

The economy is not working for many young people!

'Youth unemployment now stands at 14.0%, the highest for nearly five years. Yet more worryingly over the course of 2025 around one in five unemployed young people had been unemployed for over 12 months, an increase on the previous year. This type of long-run unemployment early in a persons’ working life can result in lifelong decreased earnings and higher unemployment risks in the future'!

#workers #unemployment

https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/work-foundation/news/blog/rising-participation-and-weak-demand-spells-trouble-for-uk-jobseekers

Given the modern capitalism's reliance of consumer demand to support the economy, one of the key reasons behind the continuing stagnation of the UK economy is the underwhelming consumer sentiment across the country.... the cost of living crisis, insecure & precarious employment and other social pressures (from health to education) all undermine capitalism's required optimism about the future....

#workers #consumers #CostOfLivingCrisis #politics
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/feb/16/uk-finances-debts-survey-consumer-confidence

Sarah O'Connor (FT) argues given the volatility in the labour market's demand for various skills, not least due to shifts likely resulting from employment of AI (even if its far from clear how this will play out), we should abandon the idea of 'high skill' & 'low skill' occupations.

Rather young people should focus on the social value of work & what they love as an instrumental focus on skills needed right now makes little sense.

This would also transform post-16 education!

#workers #AI

This week I've been mainly reading, no. 283.

Ethel Carnie's early C20th novel of working class lives, Miss Nobody (1913/2013) is an exercise in self-aware working class writing. Covering the gamut from women's place in early C20th society, to industrial organisation, by way of the role of romantic novels for working class readers & poverty, this is a really compelling read, but also for its time innovative in its frequent shifts in narrative focus.

#books #politics #class #workers @books