Public Sector Labour Geographies and the Contradictions of State Employment

Abstract

This article reviews how workers employed by the state are understood by economic and political geographers. To fully understand the politics of work in this sector, one must acknowledge how states perform different roles vis-à-vis workers: as a service delivery authority, regulatory body, democratic institution and, for public sector workers, as an employer and boss. The article asks how organised labour engages with the state across different political scales and in different geographical contexts. Public sector workers shape neoliberal restructuring through political contestation, not least at the level of local government. However, restructuring processes also erode the boundaries of the sector itself, thus questioning the basis for sector-based unionism.