Britain | Bosses beware

Sharon Graham, Unite’s new leader, plots a radical overhaul

British workplaces are likely to see more strikes

AGED 17 AND working as a silver-service waitress in London, Sharon Graham led an unofficial walkout in support of colleagues on casual contracts, which won them equal pay. It gave her a taste for facing off against employers. Now 52, she will soon have plenty of opportunity to satisfy it. On August 25th Unite, Britain’s second-largest—and by far its loudest—trade union, elected her as its new general secretary. She is expected to move the union away from Westminster and back into workplaces. The impact will be felt not just on the political left, but in boardrooms.

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Bosses beware”

Where next for global jihad?

From the August 28th 2021 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

Discover more

Someone with their eyes blindfolded

Are British voters as clueless as Labour’s intelligentsia thinks? 

How the idea of false consciousness conquered the governing party

A nurse attending to a pateient behind curtains, the light coming through the blinds

Blighty newsletter: Starmer’s silence puts the assisted-dying bill at risk


The best British companies to work for to get ahead

A new ranking of firms by pay, promotions and hiring practices


How the best British employers find and promote their staff

No degree? Some employers care much less than others

A tiny island fights the scourge of plastic on the beach

A Northern Irish experiment in recycling

A sticking-plaster policy for Britain’s strained courts

Magistrates get more power. Will they get punch-drunk on it?