{"id":22125,"date":"2026-09-10T16:29:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T14:29:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arbark.se\/?post_type=tribe_events&p=22125"},"modified":"2026-09-15T16:29:02","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T14:29:02","slug":"organising-the-unorganisable-lessons-learned-from-the-retail-sector-in-the-netherlands","status":"publish","type":"tribe_events","link":"https:\/\/arbark.se\/sv\/events\/organising-the-unorganisable-lessons-learned-from-the-retail-sector-in-the-netherlands\/","title":{"rendered":"Organising the unorganisable. Lessons learned from the retail sector in the Netherlands"},"content":{"rendered":"

What conditions are actually required for workers to organise? And what happens when established forms of organisation are not enough? Rosa K\u00f6sters explores these questions in the book How to self-organise? Insights from workers at Albert Heijn (Ahold) and Unox (Unilever) in the Netherlands, 1960\u2013202<\/em>. The book reconstructs sixty years of trade union and workplace-based organisation in the Netherlands (1960\u20132020), starting with two specific workplaces: Albert Heijn\u2019s (Ahold) distribution centres and supermarkets, and Unilever\u2019s sausage and soup factory, Unox. Both had a workforce that spanned a broad spectrum: women and men, immigrants and native-born, young and old. They are telling examples of the diversity that trade union work must in fact engage with.<\/p>\n

The study\u2019s core concept is self-organisation: workers\u2019 own initiatives, decision-making and active participation, alongside and in interaction with the established trade unions. K\u00f6sters shows that organising was rarely a matter of either trade unions or grassroots initiatives, but rather an interplay between formal structures and more informal, local collectives. The thesis thus challenges the established view of post-war working life as trade union-centred and argues that self-organisation can both emerge from below and be deliberately stimulated from above.<\/p>\n

The book also situates this in broader structural changes, such as the expansion of the service sector, flexible forms of employment, and automation. K\u00f6sters convincingly demonstrates that today\u2019s much-debated conditions have deep historical roots. The large-scale introduction of flexible employment contracts within the Netherlands\u2019 largest food retail chain can be traced back to 1963\u20131972, and Albert Heijn\u2019s distribution centres from the 1960s and 1970s emerge as clear precursors to today\u2019s warehouse work, with all that this implies for the organisational challenges we face today. Issues surrounding gig work, agency work and the platform economy can therefore be seen not as entirely new challenges, but as a continuation of a struggle for organisation with deep historical roots.<\/p>\n

Rosa K\u00f6sters, who works in the research department at the International Institute for Social History in Amsterdam, will present her study. This will be followed by a discussion with Elinor Odeberg, chief economist and head of research, and Stefan Carl\u00e9n, senior political analyst at Handelsandst\u00e4lldas f\u00f6rbund (the Swedish retailworkers trade union) <\/p>\n

The presentation and discussion will be held in English. <\/p>\n

If you are interested to visit this event, please use this form to register. We have limitied seats, so first come, first served. <\/p>\n

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