MPhil/PhD in Social Policy / Trade union organising in England adult social care since the 2022 cost of living crisis

There is a wealth of evidence that adult social care workers are very poorly paid, with the existence of ethnicity pay gaps. However, trade union activity has historically been low in adult social care, where the affective nature of care work can block the formation of collective opposition. A small number of studies suggest potential conditions under which adult social care workers can develop a collective sense of exploitation, such as poor pay.

Since 2022, the cost of living crisis has significantly eroded pay, making economic issues even more prominent. Furthermore, industrial action in adult social care has seen an uptick. However, there has been a lack of research on trade union organising in England adult social care.

Therefore, research is required to understand why there has been an increase in collective organising and industrial action in adult social care since 2022, and what makes collective organising effective in adult social care, with a focus on British and migrant care workers.

The planned research will utilise a case study methodology, where cases are discrete efforts at trade union organising, such as St Monica workers in Bristol, Hestia workers in London, and SAGE workers in London. Additionally, sites where union pay consultations occur across large care home chains will be included, such as Four Seasons, HC-One, and The Huntercombe Group.

Finally, rank-and-file organisations CaSWO and PAWA will be cases. For each case, workers, trade union staff, and trade union officials, and service commissioners, managers, and regulators, will be included. A mixture of qualitative (interviews, focus groups) and semi-quantitative (surveys) methods will be utilised, with thematic analysis and descriptive quantitative methods used for analysis.

Finally, to ensure that the research process reflects the lived experiences of adult social care workers, Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) will be embedded throughout the project lifecycle.