Introduction

In this chapter we explore the interface between the community and the workplace in relation to environmental justice and, especially, in the forms of struggles for occupational and environmental health. We look at the connections, overlaps and parallels, both theoretical and practical, between workplace and worker organising, and community organising and development.

The chapter is based on three main sources of information. First is a series of interviews with activists from different parts of the UK and the US and less formal discussions with activists in the UK Hazards Campaign and the European Work Hazards Network. Second, we draw on information and experiences related both formally and informally during two conferences of the Asia Network for the Rights of Occupational and Environmental Victims (ANROEV) in Hanoi (2015) and Nepal (2017), on material in subsequent ANROEV email correspondence and the publication Resistance on the continent of labour (Panimbang, 2017b), which documents and analyses experience from ANROEV activists. Our third source is our own experience and learning as occupational and environmental activists over many years. Recurring themes have been identified. The chapter will use examples from sources to elucidate these themes.

In keeping with the activist nature of this project, as well as contributing to the book, a major aim in researching and writing the chapter was to contribute to the building of international networks and coalitions and the continued development of a global grassroots occupational and environmental health network.

Interviews

We interviewed the following activists:

Bryan Simpson, Unite the Union official and facilitator and activist with the campaign Better than Zero, supporting young precarious workers in Scotland to organise themselves; to identify major workplace issues including low wages, insecure or non-existent contracts and unsafe working conditions; and to take direct action to force employers to address these. Bryan also works with hospitality workers through the creation of Unite Hospitality branches.

Jawad Qasrawi, hazards activist and sub-editor of Hazards Magazine, a unique UK magazine combining top-level investigative journalism with reporting of and support for grassroots campaigns that challenge unsafe and criminal working conditions and act to protect workers’ life and health.