The kill programme: an ethnographic study of ‘dirty work’ in a slaughterhouse

• Author: Lindsay Hamilton,Darren McCabe
• Published date: 01 July 2015
• Date: 01 July 2015
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12046

The kill programme: an ethnographic study

of ‘dirty work’ in a slaughterhouse

Darren McCabe and Lindsay Hamilton

It has been argued that ‘dirty work’ is characterised by strong

occupational and workgroup cultures. This literature has

mainly focused on direct workers, but this article largely

attends to indirect ‘dirty’ workers, specifically meat inspectors,

through ethnographic research conducted in a UK slaughter-

house. Four arguments are developed; the first is that ‘dirty

workers’ may not all display group cohesiveness; indeed,

individualisation may be more evident depending upon the

technology used, internationalisation and employment condi-

tions. Second, there is complexity and diversity within ‘dirty

work’ and even single occupations can contain considerable

variety, rendering generalisations problematic. Third, we argue

that much greater attention needs to be given to the wider

contextual issues affecting ‘dirty work’, specifically changing

labour markets, itinerant labour, economic conditions and

technologies. Finally, we argue that stigmatised work may

become more so if it is equated with the low wage economy

and/or undercutting conditions of employment through

exploiting migrant labour.

Keywords: culture, ‘dirty work’, economics, ethnography,

group cohesion, identity, migrant labour, technology.

Introduction

Nearly 25 years ago, in a widely cited account of a slaughterhouse, Ackroyd and

Crowdy (1990) explored the work of ‘slaughtering teams’ that had ‘a high degree of

autonomy from close supervision’ (op. cit.: 5). A highly ‘masculine’ culture prevailed,

where physical strength was celebrated (op. cit.: 8; see also Meara, 1974). This culture

was considered to have ‘little to do with technological factors’ (op. cit.:10), and mana-

gerial control was deemed to be relatively unproblematic, largely due to strong self-

monitoring workgroups. These findings resonate with earlier studies that identified ‘a

sense of unity’ (Thompson, 1983: 233) among slaughterhouse workers and group

cultures characterised by joking and ‘horseplay’ (op. cit.: 229).

It seems timely then, to contrast such studies with a contemporary slaughterhouse

because technological ‘developments’ in work organisation along with globalisation

have impacted upon such labour processes. Indeed, it has been argued that food

Darren McCabe (d.mccabe@lancaster.ac.uk)is a Professor of Organization Studies in the Department

of Organization, Work and Technology, Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster Univer-

sity, Lancaster, UK. Lindsay Hamilton (l.hamilton@keele.ac.uk) is a Lecturer in Management at Keele

Management School Keele University, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, UK.

New Technology, Work and Employment 30:2

ISSN 0268-1072

© 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd The kill programme 95