Callum Cant

Callum Cant
Born
Basingstoke, Hampshire, England
Alma mater
Occupation(s)
  • Author, Researcher, Lecturer
Writing career
Subjects
Websitewww.strategyofrefusal.com

Callum Cant is a British author, researcher and labour rights advocate known for his contributions regarding workers in the gig economy. He is a lecturer in management at Essex Business School.

Early life and education

Cant was born in Hampshire and privately educated at Lord Wandsworth College,[1] the universities of Warwick and Sussex, and the University of West London, where he completed his Ph.D. His thesis, titled "'We are a service class': a workers’ inquiry into the class composition of service commodity production during the unreal interregnum",[2] focused on understanding the class composition of young, precarious, disorganised, and low-paid service sector workers in the UK.

Career

Cant was the head of communications at Momentum during the 2019 general election. Upon leaving Momentum, he returned to research and completed a postdoctoral position at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, collaborating on the 'Fairwork AI' project with the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence.[3][4][5]

Cant has contributed over 100 articles to publications such as The Guardian,[6][7] The Independent[8][9] and Novara Media.[10][11][12] From 2018 to 2019, he penned a column 'Stay Classy' for Vice,[13] focusing on strikes in the UK.

Currently, Cant is a senior lecturer in management at Essex Business School[14] as well as an editor for Notes from Below.[15]

Research and publications

Cant's research interests include artificial intelligence, platform capitalism, algorithmic management, workers’ inquiry, class composition, trade unions, and industrial relations. His published notable contributions include a book Riding for Deliveroo: Resistance in the New Economy,[16] which investigates class conflict in platform capitalism. He has also co-authored academic articles such as "Fast Food Shutdown: From disorganisation to action in the service sector" in Capital & Class[17] and "Digital workerism: Technology, Platforms, and the Circulation of Workers’ Struggles" in tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique.[18]

References

  1. ^ http://lordwandsworth.daisy.websds.net/Filename.ashx?systemFileName=LWCTST2012.pdf&origFilename=LWCTST2012.pdf
  2. ^ Cant, Callum (3 August 2020). "We are a service class": a workers' inquiry into the class composition of service commodity production during the unreal interregnum (Thesis) – via repository.uwl.ac.uk.
  3. ^ "Dr Callum Cant". Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Callum Cant". Fairwork. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  5. ^ "Dr Callum Cant". Alan Turing Institute. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  6. ^ Cant, Callum (23 November 2023). "Be warned: Deliveroo's victory over its riders shows just how vulnerable British workers are". The Guardian.
  7. ^ Cant, Callum (3 September 2020). "In Britain's low-pay economy, warehouse workers could start calling the shots". The Guardian.
  8. ^ "'Why students should stop relying on Parliament for free education'". The Independent. 19 January 2016.
  9. ^ "Why students will not go down without a fight, despite the Government's #HEgreenpaper". The Independent. 6 November 2015.
  10. ^ "Sheffield Food Couriers Are Waging the Longest Strike in the History of the Gig Economy". Novara Media.
  11. ^ "'Starmerism' is Failing on Its Own Terms – And Members Need to Lead the Way". Novara Media.
  12. ^ "The Frontline of the Struggle Against Platform Capitalism Lies in São Paulo". Novara Media.
  13. ^ Cant, Callum (28 June 2019). "We Should All Ditch Work and Go on Strike for the Climate".
  14. ^ "Dr Callum Cant". University of Essex. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  15. ^ "About".
  16. ^ Riding for Deliveroo: Resistance in the New Economy: Amazon.co.uk: Cant, Callum: 9781509535514: Books. ASIN 1509535519.
  17. ^ Cant, Callum; Woodcock, Jamie (December 3, 2020). "Fast Food Shutdown: From disorganisation to action in the service sector". Capital & Class. 44 (4): 513–521. doi:10.1177/0309816820906357.
  18. ^ Englert, Sai; Woodcock, Jamie; Cant, Callum (January 13, 2020). "Digital Workerism: Technology, Platforms, and the Circulation of Workers' Struggles". TripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique. Open Access Journal for a Global Sustainable Information Society. 18 (1): 132–145. doi:10.31269/triplec.v18i1.1133. hdl:1887/3220824 – via www.triple-c.at.