Issue 13

An Interview with…

Nikki Mohan

Q1: Why did you decide to become a Girl Economics contributor?

I believe that we provide a niche mouthpiece to the world of economics, integrating economics with multiple disciples and exploring a modern feminist outlook, which will hopefully inspire many girls to pursue it further! But also to simply increase economic literacy in a friendly and approachable manner, in a field that still appears to be so male dominated.

Within this I hope to build up my own writing skills through diving into some of my own interests and heritage, enjoy collaborating with the team and make economics interesting and accessible for all.

Q2: Why do you think it is important that economics is taught alongside other subjects such as politics and philosophy?

I am a very strong believer in economics as encompassing a plethora of different social sciences and humanities, and that a strong approach to these, would form the making of an amazing economist, one who is able to analytically dissect different viewpoints.

Q3: Who is your biggest inspiration and why?

Generally, I would say female ethnic minorities who have potentially come from less privileged backgrounds, yet, despite setbacks have been determined to achieve their goals and have broken multiple barriers of change. From the top of my mind I think of Rosa Parks, Mary Seacole and Kamala Harris, and many others whose actions have been hidden within the blankets of history, and which I would like to uncover in future articles!

Very specifically, I was listening to a podcast yesterday on the White Rose (a Nazi resistance group during the 1930s) of whom brother and sister (Hans and Sophie) distributed striking pamphlets on freedom. Even when sentenced to death, the two held firm to their values, Sophie saying ‘I would do it all over again’. I aspire to hold the same unwavering courage in my beliefs as them.

Q4: What are your future career plans?

Whilst I am keeping my options open for now I am considering certain fields in economics and law. Although this may sound a bit cliche, an important value for me truly is to make change and I think a major part of that is to educate others, so I am also looking into fulfilling roles of being an academic/researcher.

A deep dive into…

The political and economic repercussions of striking: 1970sversus 2024. What’s changed? If anything.

Strikes can be used to voice concerns over workplace conditions, wages, and job security, aiming to influence employers and policymakers towards favourable resolutions and making sure each worker is heard. Among the main trade unions in the UK are Unite the Union, representing diverse sectors including manufacturing and transportation, and the National Union of Teachers (NUT), focusing on educators' interests and welfare. Recently, following the NEU members strike action of 2023, the pay rise for teachers has increased to 6.5%.

Happy workers happy life? The looming economy...

Rights, free speech and recognition of activism are all of fundamental importance to a democratic society. However, the giving of generous pay rises, which are very much needed in some cases, are ultimately limited by the economy. Striking disrupts productivity and output in affected industries (which is what we may encounter first-hand at our local stations, upon learning of the cancellation of trains that day) on a wider scale leading to potential losses in GDP growth, for example the 0.5% decrease in December 2022.

More generally, labour market inefficiencies stemming from prolonged strikes can exacerbate inflationary pressures and reduce consumer confidence. Additionally, strikes may contribute to increased uncertainty for investors, affecting capital flows.

What about the 1970s?

Barbara Castle’s ‘In Place of Strife’ was a white paper proposed to limit the power of trade unions in 1969. However, this would eliminate a key source of income for Labour and alienate their key supporters, as seen by a recent ‘The Guardian’ article criticising Labour for not stepping in more to help the Unions. Consequently, the failure of this Act contributed to the fall of the Labour government in 1970 as it convinced many outside the Labour movement not only that the Trade Unions had too much power, but that their resistance to change was a major obstacle to economic progress. Whilst this white paper was indirectly adopted by the Conservative government under Ted Heath, known as the Industrial Relations Act of 1971, this too failed. Immediately, the TUC set out to make the Act unworkable by telling its members to deregister and defy The National Industrial Relations Court (NIRC). The miner’s strike in 1972 forced the government to declare a state of emergency! This coupled with the oil price shock led to the renowned 3-day work week. As strikes are rapidly increasing again, perhaps history could serve as a warning here.

We’re on an incline again....

In-work poverty (when an individual’s income, after housing costs, is less than 60% of the national average) – has grown incrementally since the 1980s. In the UK, this already affected one in eight workers before the recent cost of living crisis emerged. The New Labour government tried to alleviate this with tax credits and other wage subsidies after 1997 however this was scaled back radically under the Conservative-led coalition government from 2010 simultaneously reducing support for low-income family housing costs.

As Thatcher politically marginalised Trade Unions their density– the portion of the workforce represented by unions – fell from around 50% in 1979 to around 30% in 1997. In 2021, the figure stood at around 23%, although in the public sector, it remained at around 50% of workers. As a result, current strikes drawn from this unionised minority, are operating from a position of weakness rather than strength.

To conclude:

It would be interesting to see how Trade Union relations and striking continue in the next year. With Labour currently leading in opinion polls at 43% in their Manifesto, Starmerrigorously enforces a return to a Labour for the ‘working classes’, supporting Trade Unions. Perhaps, with a new Industrial Relations act one would see certain changes in interaction between the workers and government. Nonetheless, it is of utmost importance to see pay as fair, then, as now, strikers were diverse in their background, simply attempting to protect precarious living standards in a period of rising economic insecurity.

• Nikki Mohan

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4. A “Vibecession” in Singapore?

5. Swiss Climate Change Inaction Violates Human Rights

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Opportunity Corner

Girls Are Investors (GAIN) Zoom meeting which introduced how best to use LinkedIn to further your career. This webinar will take place next Wednesday 17th April.

That is all for this issue, remember to share Girl Economics with anyone you think would enjoy reading it! See you in the next issue,

Erin McGurk