Read to the end for Read to the end for unionised Vicars, South Korea’s new generation of freedivers, and crabs on the picket line.

Morning team, 

This is Evie Breese, back with the latest news and views about making the world of work a better place.

It’s refugee week and, like many other yearly awareness celebrations, companies are out in force to demonstrate what they’re doing to help out. Global businesses including Amazon, Hilton and Pepsi have pledged to hire thousands of refugees in Europe, in acknowledgement that far too many refugees cannot find work.

This is, on the one hand, a worthy act, likely to be welcomed by the two in three Ukrainian refugees who have not been able to secure work in their European host countries. Given the barriers of language, foreign qualifications, and prejudice, companies adapting to include refugees in their workforces is a positive thing.

But equally, for the more cynical among us who are aware of the major recruitment crisis in Europe which has left many sectors desperate to hire anyway, it’s the bare necessities (fair pay for hard work) wrapped up as a gift. Shouldn’t we be asking why those barriers are there at all?

My colleague Isabella McRae met Mokhammed Moradi, a refugee from Ukraine to find out how he found work after a year of searching. And I’m going to take the opportunity to reshare with you the time I met Ashkan Pedramrad, a refugee from Iran, working in one seriously ambitious teashop. 

Lastly, with a new wave of industrial action announced from teachers and train drivers, just days after the junior doctors strike, I’ve cleared up some of the myths around strike pay. 

Got a work-related story I should know about? Drop me an email at evie.breese@bigissue.com or tweet at @Evie_Breese

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What you need to know about work this week:

Time is money. The first council to pilot a four-day working week may have actually saved £333,000 - as opposed to lost money or productivity by taking an extra day off each week. Evaluated by an independent researcher, the South Cambridgeshire District Council pilot has produced some ground-breaking results. 

Will the Lord provide? Even the holiest among us aren’t safe from rising inflation, which has pushed Church of England vicars to make their first ever formal pay claim. Represented by union Unite, the vicars are demanding a 9.5 per cent to their stipend. 

Broken promises. Indian nurses who travelled to the UK to help prop up a failing social care system have been left without pay and falling into debt. Recruited to work for a private children’s services company, an Observer investigation has revealed appalling practices that left some of the workers suicidal, as reported by Shanti Daas.

Literature lovers. Headteachers are even struggling to recruit enough English teachers (that’s on top of physics, maths and chemistry teachers) in time for September, a subject traditionally popular among those looking to teach, writes Anna Fazackerley in the Guardian. Fuelled by low pay, overwork and the pressure of Ofsted inspections, the growing teacher shortage will mean class sizes spiral. 

It’s a miserable life. As the potential of AI continues to inspire, and alarm, people of many professions, it looks like journalism is at the forefront of major change. This piece from Abi Whistance, newest recruit to Liverpool’s The Post, gives great insight into modern day “churnalism” and how the industry is holding on for dear life.

No delays. Bus drivers in Leeds and London have postponed strikes after each receiving an increased pay offer. 800 Leeds-based bus drivers will now consider the pay deal offered by ​​employers First Bus, while London bus drivers will also decide on a pay offer from Arriva. Both groups are represented by Unite. 

Strike watch

Teachers are set to strike for two days in July, as the National Education Union continues to demand pay be increased to match inflation to tackle the growing recruitment crisis.

Train drivers with union Aslef will refuse to work overtime for a week starting on Monday 3 until Saturday 8 July across 16 train operating companies. The companies rely on drivers to work shifts on their days off, meaning the industrial action is likely to be highly disruptive to services.

Journalists at Vice UK will have announced two days of strikes, following the media company's "failure to provide fair redundancy terms", according to the National Union of Journalists.

Charity workers who work to support homeless people at St Mungo's have announced plans to go on indefinite strike from June 27. Up to 500 workers across the southern England could participate in the strike with union Unite to protest of low wages.

Take a look at our comprehensive list of upcoming strike dates.

A global solution 🇰🇷

Young women in South Korea are escaping the rat race to pursue a centuries-old vocation on Geoje Island, on the south-east coast of the peninsula. And good job too, because more than half of the region's native freedivers are more than 70 years old, leaving the profession at risk of dying out. 

Should we be perplexed by what would attract young professionals from the cities to retrain as divers, harvesting shellfish and sea cucumbers from the ocean bed, with the training alone taking up to a year? Louise Krüger met some of the new generation of ‘haenyeo’ on Geoje Island. This is a lovely read from the Guardian. 

Working culture

Here’s a bit of summer reading for you, influenced by last week’s book from Simone Stolzoff. A good enough job might be within reach for some, but what about an easy job?

There is no such thing, argues Kikuko Tsumura, in her delightfully uneventful but unsettling novel, published in 2015, that follows a nameless burnt-out 36-year-old Japanese woman who tries her hand at a range of seemingly straight-forward jobs, including postering and writing rice cracker labels. It’s unclear what she ultimately concludes, other than that few workplaces are ever straightforward.

There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura is at all good book shops.

Enjoying this newsletter? Check out Survival Guide, our newsletter on the cost of living crisis from my colleague Isabella McRae. We also have a cost of living help Facebook group with money-saving tips and positive stories..

In the diary

Ongoing:

Thursday 22 June. Journalists and seasonal workers give evidence in parliament on the working conditions on British farms, following an investigation from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. 

Tuesday 27 June. Workers at homeless charity St Mungo's start indefinite strike action. 

Thursday 29 June. VICE journalists go on strike for two days with the NUJ. 

Monday 3 July. Train drivers begin a week-long ban on overtime, until Saturday 8 July, which will likely disrupt many services.

Wednesday 5 July. Teachers in England go on strike with the National Education Union (NEU). 

Friday 7 July. Teachers strike for a second day in England. 

Saturday 29 July. Event: Troublemakers at Work: Grassroots Trade Unionists conference 2023.

Animals with jobs 

While this plucky crab may no longer be actively engaged in the trade union movement, because it is sadly deceased, its legacy remains at the Margate Crab Museum.  

I can’t recommend enough a trip to this indescribable museum where you can learn everything about horseshoe crabs (not actually crabs!) and Tory MP Stephen Crabb (also not a crab, but with an anti-crab voting record). Put a visit on your summer bucket list now. 

Does your cat/dog/garden fox/animal you saw on holiday participate in the daily grind? Nominate them today by sending me a photo to: evie.breese@bigissue.com

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