Scottish tech workers met at CodeBase in Edinburgh to discuss the newly launched Tech Workers Charter created by Prospect Union, which aims to increase union membership among tech workers and improve conditions across the industry.

While tech is often viewed as a lucrative, stable job, recent mass redundancies among the largest names in tech has created unease – much of what was discussed centered around job security.

Prospect – a trade union representing various industries across the UK – surveyed thousands of tech workers and met discretely with union members and interested workers to formulate the Charter, which they launched to a packed audience on 23 March.

The Charter delves in and out of specialist requests for the tech industry – with basic tenants like transparent pay and increased diversity and inclusion, to tech specific stipulations like non-compete clauses and the right to intellectual property.

Key components were placed into three distinct categories: transparency in work; quality and partnership at work; and tech for good.

Transparency in Work

Tech workers wanted transparency: clearly-defined pay grades with transparent objectives, responsibilities, and paths for progression was a key tenant they would like to see going forward.

“If you’re hiring people in different pay, you need to be able to justify that,” one of the workers involved in the Charter stipulated.

Further, workers are asking for more clarity from companies regarding their job security.

While they understand the risks involved in joining a startup, workers feel they should be secure in knowing their pay check will show up at the end of the month – the charter says that companies owe their workers some insight into their financial outlook.

Another major issue the workers touched on were stringent non-compete clauses which block tech workers from accepting positions with competing companies, or even applying for jobs with similar tech.

Tech workers explained that these clauses are often vaguely defined and can be long-lasting, preventing career pivoting and progression.

“I find these clauses causing not just barriers to employment and entrepreneurship, but they also help society by reducing competition and innovation in the tech industry,” one worker argued.

Quality and Partnership at Work

Flexible working hours are now well accepted in many industries, and recent research shows that Scots are ready to quit their jobs rather than forgo hybrid working models.

However, remote and flexible working may be at risk even in tech, as Meta CEO Mark Zucerkberg said that workers work better in the office than at home, and as cyber security concerns rise with remote work.

Tech workers remain adamant that flexible working continues, however: “If you have organizations that are flexible enough, that means you can diversify your workforce; you can reach so many more people. And it means that organizations are more diverse, and are stronger because of it. So that’s why flexible working is important,” a worker presented. 

Connected to flexible working stipulations is the right to switch off – while tech workers may be allowed to work remotely, they feel work life should not be invading their personal life.

The Charter is adamant in advising tech workers to not opt out of the Working Time Directive.

As a worker explained, anyone is able to work longer hours if they wish – opting out of the Working Time Directive means than at employer can force a worker to perform tasks outside legal working hours, forfeiting a worker’s right to refuse.

Further, the charters says that clauses about intellectual property rights also need to be redrawn – some clauses say that companies have the right to any intellectual property created during a worker’s employment.

Workers are calling for this to be reformed, saying they should maintain the right to their own code, and employers should have no rights to intellectual property developed outside contracted hours.

Tech For Good

Many tech for good stipulations reflect the unique position many tech workers are in – both their power in job variety as well as their social responsibility.

To improve diversity, inclusion, and equity, workers are calling for more data to be published regarding gender pay gaps and company demographics.

Recruitment processes should also be reformed – degree and grade requirements should be scrapped: “Those are absolutely useless, especially in this domain where people can be judged and assessed based on what they’ve actually produced,” a worker argued. 

But the Charter goes further than that – tech workers are reflecting on what their talents and skills are being used for, and they want to have more of a say.

Environmental concerns across the board are huge – workers want to know their tech is not causing further harm to the environment, and are pushing for greener policies and a commitment to a Just Transition.

Further, tech workers are fighting for the right to say no to work they find unethical – whether this be refusing to work on projects with countries with human life violations, or contractors hoping to use certain technologies for increased surveillance without proper ethical practices.

Protections for whistle-blowers is also a part of the Charter.

A Union for Tech Workers – Starting Somewhere

Tech has one of the lowest union membership percentages of any industry, only slightly higher than hospitality.

Maria Torres-Quevedo, who works for Prospect and is part of their push to reach under-unionised industries like tech, touched on the reasons this might be, and the audience noted relatively high pay, a lack of collectivism, a gamification of the tech industry, and meritocracy as key reasons tech as yet to form a larger trade union.

The launch of the Charter was a starting step for tech workers to approach their co-workers and employers to fight for better working conditions across the board.

“The power that a union has comes from its membership – if we had full union membership across the tech sector, that will be huge. You have the power collectively,” Torres-Quevedo said.