The latest news from BUIRA
26th May 2020
Join The Equality Trust for this interactive online conference, bringing together a range of speakers to share their insights and explore how we can get organised to finally win equal pay during this challenging period.
Women, particularly those in low-paid work and the gig economy, are already some of the hardest hit economically by the COVID-19 crisis. Winning equal pay is more important now than ever before.
Join us on Friday 29th May to mark the 50th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act 1970, the landmark legislation which made equal pay for equal work a legal right for all. This conference will give participants the opportunity to explore the challenges of winning equal pay from a range of perspectives and begin taking action wherever they are.
Diana Holland - Assistant General Secretary, Unite the Union
Hilary Wainwright - Editor, Red Pepper
Dr Jo Grady - General Secretary, University and College Union (UCU)
Sam Smethers - Chief Executive, Fawcett Society
Alexia Hendrickson - Senior Campaign Manager, Pay Justice
Dame Moya Greene - Founder, #MeTooPay
Rachael McIlroy - Senior Research Lead, Royal College of Nursing
Professor Geraldine Healy - Queen Mary University
Dr Anne Laure Humbert - Director, Centre for Diversity Policy Research and Practice at Oxford Brookes University
Dr Wanda Wyporska - Executive Director, The Equality Trust
More speakers to be announced shortly
Sian Elliott - Women’s Equality Policy Officer, Trades Union Congress (TUC)
Kym Oliver & Jumoke Abdullahi - Co-Founders, The Triple Cripples
Tom Schuller - Author, The Paula Principle: Why Women Lose Out at Work
Imogen Richmond-Bishop - Research, Advocacy, and Communications Manager, Just Fair
Victoria Jones - National Officer, FDA
Paul Day - Director, Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA)
Dr Fenella Porter - Co-Director of Women's Rights and Gender Justice, Oxfam GB; Co-Founder, RED Learning Cooperative
Ian Manborde - Equality and Diversity Organiser, Equity
This online conference will take place on Friday 29th May from 10:00 to 13:00, and will feature a mix of plenary speakers and small group breakout discussions.
Please let us know if you have any accessibility needs so we can work on making this space as inclusive as possible. If you have any questions, please contact Rianna Gargiulo, Campaigns Officer, at rianna.gargiulo@equalitytrust.org.uk.
Once you have completed the sign-up form, you will receive an email confirmation. The day before the event you will receive an email with sign-in details. This is a free, open event and we encourage people from different communities, political backgrounds, and walks of life to attend.
26th May 2020
Jill Rubery looks at whether UK government support for workers in the wake of the crisis is as generous as it sounds. Professor Jill Rubery is Director of the Work & Equalities Institute at Alliance Manchester Business School.
https://www.alliancembs.manchester.ac.uk/news/support-schemes-under-microscope/
26th May 2020
Despotism on Demand draws attention to the impact of flexible scheduling on managerial power and workplace control. When we understand paid work as a power relationship, argues Alex J. Wood, we see how the spread of precarious scheduling constitutes flexible despotism; a novel regime of control within the workplace.
Wood believes that flexible despotism represents a new domain of inequality, in which the postindustrial working class increasingly suffers a scheduling nightmare. By investigating two of the largest retailers in the world he uncovers how control in the contemporary "flexible firm" is achieved through the insidious combination of "flexible discipline" and "schedule gifts." Flexible discipline provides managers with an arbitrary means by which to punish workers, but flexible scheduling also requires workers to actively win favor with managers in order to receive "schedule gifts": more or better hours. Wood concludes that the centrality of precarious scheduling to control means that for those at the bottom of the postindustrial labor market the future of work will increasingly be one of flexible despotism.
Video Abstract: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rdGQwPSRis&t=1s
Blog: https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/ending-despotism-at-work-after-coronavirus/
Praise:
"Despotism on Demand is brimming with ambition and imagination. Based on outstanding fieldwork, it rises above many such ethnographies in its theoretical sophistication."
Michael Burawoy, University of California, Berkeley
"This impressive book on working conditions in the on-demand economy deserves to be widely read. Alex J. Wood provides a lucid and nuanced account of how precarious scheduling has become central to managerial control in this growing sector."
Judy Wajcman, London School of Economics and Political Science
Paperback UK £20.99: https://www.combinedacademic.co.uk/9781501748882/despotism-on-demand/
Paperback US $26.95; ebook $12.99 https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501748882/despotism-on-demand/#bookTabs=1
26th May 2020
New early view open access article: ‘Does modernizing union administrative practices promote or hinder union revitalization? A comparative study of US, UK and Australian unions’, Clark, P. F., Bamber, G.J., Whitehead, P. V., Gray, L. S., Cockfield, S. & Gilbert, K., British Journal of Industrial Relations, doi.org/10.1111/bjir.12526
https://doi.org/10.1111/bjir.12526
11th May 2020
BUIRA’s US sister, Labor & Employment Relations Association (LERA) is hosting a series of free webinars Employment Relations During the COVID-19 Pandemic. These will all be on Thursdays as one-hour sessions that begin with comments by leading experts (5 minutes each), followed by open dialogue. The aim is to deepen understanding of employment relations matters during the pandemic. The one below might be of particular interest to members:
Speakers:
Fang will cover China; Greg will cover Australia; Martin will cover Germany; Harry will cover USA.
Moderator: Janice Bellace (University of Pennsylvania)
If you wish to participate, it is essential to register; click on this link or paste the link into your browser:
https://lera.memberclicks.net/lera-webinar-series--ler-during-covid-19
11th May 2020
11th May 2020
The BSA and WES have opened up a call for applications to join the Editorial Team. This is the first time that individual rather than institutional applications are being considered, reflecting the realities of the current climate. We have kept the number of people joining the team open so that as many good candidates as possible can be offered a place. Applicants should be in good scholarly standing in an appropriate academic discipline and ideally have some previous association with WES.
WES has a tight Editorial Team of approximately 12 colleagues doing the day to day editorial work and working with our Editorial and Associate Boards developing the journal. The culture within WES is to offer a generous and developmental editorial process for the 600 submissions we receive each year. We work in a highly collegial way as a team and with our 65 Board members to maintain this culture, despite the challenges of a year of strike action and now the Coronavirus crisis. The Editorial team meets, now virtually, on a regular monthly/bimonthly basis and team members are also expected to attend our Board meetings and conference, however those will be organised in the future. We are embarking on a period of internationalisation and navigating the development of Open Access within academic publishing - presenting us with interesting challenges and formulating new ways of working.
It might be hard to imagine taking on a substantial commitment to an editorial role at this time, but we have kept this application process flexible so you would start your tenure ideally from September but only when you are able and would be mentored by experienced team members during your first year. If you are interested in applying and would like to have an informal conversation with one of the Editors in Chief please contact us by email and we can arrange a call.
You are also welcome to contact Alison Danforth at the BSA for more information about the role and the BSA.
Elizabeth Cotton e.cotton2@herts.ac.uk
Eleonore Kofman e.kofman@mdx.ac.uk
Ian Roper i.roper@essex.ac.uk
Alison Danforth alison.danforth@britsoc.org.uk
Call for Editors: https://www.britsoc.co.uk/opportunities/
Deadline for applications: 3 June 2020
1st May 2020
For a copy of the paper summarised below, please email
keithsisson@hotmail.co.uk
Best wishes
Keith Sisson (Industrial Relations Research Unit, University of Warwick)
Making Britain the best place in the world to work: how to protect and enhance workers' rights after Brexit ... and coronavirus
Abstract
The UK government’s promise in the Queen’s Speech of 19 December 2019 to protect and enhance worker’s rights after Brexit has taken on new urgency in the light of the coronavirus pandemic, the inadequacy of the present framework being exposed for all to see. A Ministry for Employment and Social Affairs and a specialist social partnership body like the Low Pay Commission are needed to ensure that these rights are regularly reviewed and updated to reflect changing circumstances. Effective enforcement mechanisms are a must, which means a well-funded enforcement agency and requiring businesses to take responsibility for what happens in their supply chains, with provisions for social licensing as well as mandatory due diligence. The government also needs to improve the evidence base for decision making about workers’ rights including a regular survey of management policies and practices based on the internationally renowned Workplace Employment Relations Survey. Overall, the task will make sense to more people if the government uses the language of 'fairness’.
1st May 2020
20th April 2020
Dear colleagues
I am not able to physically send out book for review but I am negotiating e-copies of books for review in the British Journal of Industrial Relations.
If you are interested in reviewing these books then do please let me know j.holgate@leeds.ac.uk. Please also indicate when you might be able to complete the review.
Best wishes
Jane Holgate
Handbook of the Politics of Labour, Work and Employment. Edited by Gregor Gall, Visiting Professor of Industrial Relations, University of Leeds, UK https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/handbook-of-the-politics-of-labour-work-and-employment-9781784715687.html
Workers’ Self-Management in Argentina: Contesting Neo-Liberalism by Occupying Companies, Creating Cooperatives, and Recuperating Autogestión (Brill and Haymarket, 2020). Workers’ Self-Management in Argentina is Volume 199 of the Historical Materialism Book Series.
Neufeind, M., J. O’Reilly and F. Ranft (2018) (eds.) ‘Work in the Digital Age: Challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution’ (London: Rowman and Littlefield). https://policynetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Work-in-the-Digital-Age.pdf
Youth Employment Edited by Jacqueline O'Reilly, Clémentine Moyart, Tiziana Nazio and Mark Smith
https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/youth-employment
20th April 2020
Ending Despotism at Work after the Coronavirus - Join Alex J. Wood for a Virtual Book Launch and Q&A
- Despotism on Demand: How Power Operates in the Flexible Workplace -
May 15th, 2020 5:30pm BST (12:30pm EST, 9:30am PST)
“Despotism on Demand is brimming with ambition and imagination. Based on outstanding fieldwork, it rises above many such ethnographies in its theoretical sophistication.”—Michael Burawoy, University of California, Berkeley
“This impressive book on working conditions in the on-demand economy deserves to be widely read. Wood provides a lucid and nuanced account of how precarious scheduling has become central to managerial control in this growing sector. As such ‘flexible despotism’ constitutes an important new source of inequality.”—Professor Judy Wajcman, London School of Economics
Despotism on Demand draws attention to the impact of flexible scheduling on managerial power and workplace control. When we understand paid work as a power relationship, argues Alex J. Wood, we see how the spread of precarious scheduling constitutes flexible despotism; a novel regime of control within the workplace.
Zoom details will be sent out once you book a free ticket.
40-minute online talk followed by 20-minute Q&A session
Alex J. Wood is Lecturer in the Sociology of Work at the University of Birmingham and a Research Associate at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford. Follow him on Twitter @tom_swing.
ATTENDEES, SAVE 30% • USE CODE 09FLYER
In the United States order online at cornellpress.cornell.edu or call 800 848 6224
• In Canada email info@codasat.com
• In the UK, Europe, Asia, Middle East, Oceania & Africa save 30% on website orders at combinedacademic.co.uk
Use discount code CS09FLYER
17th April 2020
Dear colleagues
I hope you are doing fine in this difficult time.
I am not able to physically send out book for review but I am negotiating e-copies of books for review in the British Journal of Industrial Relations.
If you are interested in reviewing this boo then do please let me know. Please also indicate when you might be able to complete the review.
New Media Unions Organizing Digital Journalists By Nicole S. Cohen, Greig de Peuter
Best wishes
Jane Holgate
17th April 2020
Unfortuantly, we've had to postpone BUIRA 70th Anniversary Conference 2020 until next year. Manchester have kindly already offered to host us again in 2021 for what we're sure will be an amazing conference!
We'd like to thank everyone for their great abstracts our all the speakers who agreed to give plenaries. This year's conference would've been the biggest since our records begin, and we hope that you'll attend next year.
We also hope that we might be able to do a smaller event in the autumn to celebrate BUIRA's 70th year. We'll keep you posted on these developments.
Until then stay safe and soldiarity
19th March 2020
16th March 2020
Have you submitted your abstract for the Work, Employment and Society Conference 2020? If not, abstract submission will close on Friday, 27 March 2020.
https://www.britsoc.co.uk/events/key-bsa-events/bsa-work-employment-and-society-conference-2020/
Dramatic changes in the dynamics of work have fragmented the fabric of people’s lives, impacting on health, relationships and communities; for many, destroying the self-efficacy and social connections that extend dignity and a sense of citizenship.
It is against this backdrop that the Work, Employment and Society Conference 2020 (WES 2020) takes place in Cardiff, Wales. As the birthplace of the NHS, and with a long history of political and worker activism, Wales provides the perfect setting to reconnect, reactivate and reimagine the sociality of work.
WES 2020 invites discussion about the dignity of people at work; and how work and employment affects people’s lives, health, relationships and sense of citizenship.
Alongside paper presentations, reflecting the venue, we call for short films, art-work, photographic displays, music and theatrical performances that ignite the senses and (maybe) show work in a different light. The stages, screens and walls of the venue are open to imagination, and the trying out of something new.
Also, new for WES 2020, we invite ‘On the Front Line’ presentations. The aim is to hear the ‘voice of the worker’ and their experiences of work and employment. This might involve workers as co-authors or co-presenters, or workers might be embodied within the presentation; through audio, photograph, art, film or other creative means.
We also welcome suggestions for Special Sessions or events on any topic that matters for work and the lives of workers. The topic should relate to the Aims and Scope of the journal Work, Employment and Society and the conference theme: this might involve staging a debate on a controversial topic, challenging orthodoxy or highlighting a misunderstood concept or practice.
Abstract submission deadline: Friday, 27 March 2020
Please note: In order to submit an abstract, you will be required to create an account on the BSA website first. You do not have to hold BSA membership in order to submit an abstract. If you already have an existing account on the BSA website, please use those credentials to login. Please contact the BSA Membership Team if you experience any difficulties.
16th March 2020
https://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/BZI514/phd-scholarship-work-and-employment-relations-broadly-defined
Applications are invited for a full-time 4 year PhD scholarship commencing Sep/Oct 2020 in the area of work and employment relations, to be supervised by Professor Tony Dundon. The candidate will develop their specific proposal and areas of interest include, but not limited to: new technology and skills; the role of trade unions and union organising in the gig-economy; employment and digital labour platforms; social dialogue and worker voice for freelance/digital platform workers; and/or questions of employment regulation under new modes of capitalism.
Literatures of interest to candidates may include those that question the many claims about the future of work destroying jobs (see Spencer, 2017); the re-shaping of skill and labour power (see Thompson, 2019); the role of the state in (de)regulating worker rights (see Bales et al, 2018; Taylor, 2019); digital labour platform types (see Howcroft and Bergvall-Kareborn, 2019); labour market precarity (Rubery et al, 2019); emerging questions of voice yet also how employees are coerced into ‘silence’ (see Hickland et al, 2020); and a re-evaluation of disciplinary boundaries to study and examine such developments in the field of employment and HRM (see Godard, 2014; Dundon and Rafferty, 2018; Budd, 2020; Kaufman, 2020). References available here
Applications are invited from candidates with Degrees / Master’s degrees that have a knowledge base in industrial relations, labour process, sociology of work, labour law, heterodox economics, critical management, human resources, social psychology, and/or employment regulation.
The scholarship will cover EU level fees and a stipend of €1,000 per month for years one to four on a full time basis. Scholarship holders are expected to undertake a limited amount of formative academic duties in addition to pursuing their doctoral studies.
Application Procedure
Applicants should hold a minimum 2.1 first degree and preferably a Masters qualification in a relevant discipline area and have a strong interest in the areas of work and employment studies described above. Applicants should submit the following:
Applications should be sent by email to: Rebecca Gachet, Kemmy Business School, rebecca.gachet@ul.ie
Shortlisted candidates may be invited to interview.
Informal inquires may be made to Professor Tony Dundon (tony.dundon@ul.ie)
Closing date for receipt of applications is 5 pm on Friday, May 1st 2020.
16th March 2020
Restrictions on international travel have meant that our speaker, Professor Fang Lee Cooke, is no longer able to join us on Tuesday 24th March. With this in mind we have taken the decision to cancel the WEI annual lecture, with a view to rescheduling later in the year.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused and we will be in touch once we have confirmed a new date.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us at WEI@manchester.ac.uk
16th March 2020
For further details and to reserve a place, contact Linda Clarke (clarkel@wmin.ac.uk)
16th March 2020
16th March 2020
BUIRA endorses BSA statement on UCU industrial action. BUIRA would like to extend our support to and endorse the statement published by the British Sociological Association on 18th February 2020. Read the BSA statement here https://es.britsoc.co.uk/bsa-statement-on-strike-action-2/
BUIRA supports members who are affected by the forthcoming UCU strike action. Like the BSA, BUIRA will honour the digital picket line, and not tweet, retweet or send promotional emails during the strike period (20th February-20th March inclusive).
19th February 2020
PLEASE NOTE: CHANGE OF DATE AND TIME!
Due to the UCU strike, this seminar has been rescheduled to Friday 6th March
BUIRA History of Industrial Relations Study Group
Assessing the ILO and its history, with
Professor Marcel van der Linden (International Institute of Social History) and
Dr Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick (Birkbeck College)
Friday 6 March 2020, 10.30am-12.30pm followed by buffet lunch
Room C279, University of Westminster Business School, 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS (opposite Madame Tussauds, nearly opposite Baker Street tube)
For further details or to reserve a place, please email Michael Gold (m.gold@rhul.ac.uk) or Linda Clarke (clarkel@wmin.ac.uk).
Programme:
10.15-10.30: tea/coffee and biscuits
10.30: Welcome: Michael Gold and Linda Clarke (Chairs) followed by:
Marcel van der Linden: The ILO: a critical appraisal after one hundred years
The question I want to raise is straightforward: How can we appraise the record of the ILO since its founding in 1919? What are the results and future prospects of its efforts? Is the organization truly inconsequential, a "90-pound weakling,” a "toothless tiger," as critics have argued? These questions are difficult to answer. Not only because of the variegated history of the ILO, rife with ongoing controversies, but also because the literature on the subject is overwhelming. I will argue that the first half century of the ILO consisted of “fat years”, in which regulating the global labour market achieved limited but clear progress, and that the second half century was a time of “lean years”, when the ILO accomplished less. I will illustrate this by showing how the relative attainments from the period until around 1970 were subsequently weakened. Unless it manages to reinvent itself in the near future, the organization is now in danger of further marginalization.
Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick: The ILO and the International Labour Movement
The international labour movement has played a major role in working within the ILO structures, promoting the adoption of new international labour standards, and pushing for their full implementation. The international trade union bodies, which were instrumental in the founding of the ILO in 1919, have helped to shape it and provide it with reliable interlocutors. Drawing on previous work on the ITUC and the international labour movement more generally, Rebecca will focus on the role of the ITUC and its associated bodies (including the GUFs) in a) the development of new labour standards, focusing particularly on the Domestic Workers’ Convention, b) on its role in the resolution of the long-running conflict over the right to strike, and c) on the broader issue of the relations between the two bodies: have the international trade unions become overly dependent, even symbiotic, with the ILO, and what are the differing views within the global labour movement on these relations? Should they be changed, in the light of a new, more independent and campaigning approach to the global labour movement?
6pm: Close (followed by drinks until 6.00pm)
The speakers:
Marcel van der Linden is Honorary Fellow and former Research Director of the International Institute of Social History (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences),
18th February 2020
Keynote Speaker
About the Event
The concerns over austerity, Brexit, the decline of collective bargaining and the pace of technological change have fed into growing uncertainties about the future of work and the inequalities that may arise from such concerns. Whilst these issues are widely discussed in academic realms, there is little engagement between academics, policymakers and practitioners, which is necessary to address these uncertainties in their wider context. In four panel sessions, this daylong PGR event will address each of these critical areas of uncertainty and drawing upon academics’, practitioners’ and policymakers’ expertise to help PGRs understand the practicalities of these challenges and to develop the ability to conduct impactful research in these areas. The event focuses particularly on the North of England, since such uncertainties are seen to manifest in this region in a unique way.
Keynote Speaker
About the Event
The concerns over austerity, Brexit, the decline of collective bargaining and the pace of technological change have fed into growing uncertainties about the future of work and the inequalities that may arise from such concerns. Whilst these issues are widely discussed in academic realms, there is little engagement between academics, policymakers and practitioners, which is necessary to address these uncertainties in their wider context. In four panel sessions, this daylong PGR event will address each of these critical areas of uncertainty and drawing upon academics’, practitioners’ and policymakers’ expertise to help PGRs understand the practicalities of these challenges and to develop the ability to conduct impactful research in these areas. The event focuses particularly on the North of England, since such uncertainties are seen to manifest in this region in a unique way.
Schedule
8:50-9:20 Registration (Atrium, Alliance Manchester Business School)
9:20-9:30 Keynote: Professor Jill Rubery (Director, Work and Equalities Institute)
9:30-11:00 Session 1: The impact of Austerity
11:00-11:15 Coffee Break (Penthouse, Alliance Manchester Business School)
11:15-12:45 Session 2: Uncertainties caused by Brexit
12:45-13:30 Lunch (Penthouse, Alliance Manchester Business School)
13:30-15:00 Session 3: Pace of technological change
15:00-15:15 Coffee Break (Penthouse, Alliance Manchester Business School)
15:15-16:45 Session 4: The decline in collective bargaining
16:45-18:00 Drinks reception (Penthouse, Alliance Manchester Business School)
Registration
18th February 2020
https://www.edi-conference.org/
Please submit your abstracts to Stream 15:
Organizational Responsibility, Diversity Intersections and Precarious Work
Stream Chairs:
Elina Meliou, Aston Business School e.meliou@aston.ac.uk
Joana Vassilopoulou, Brunel University joana.vassilopoulou@brunel.ac.uk
Ana Lopes, Newcastle University ana.lopes@ncl.ac.uk
We have been witnessing a surging interest in debates about organizational responsibility, as well as the ethical and moral aspects of leadership (Brown & Mitchell, 2010; Ciulla & Forsyth, 2011; Dinh et al., 2014). This growing body of research impels leaders to exercise positive, humanistic behaviours for the betterment of their followers, organizations and society (Liu, 2015, Tomkins & Simpson, 2015, Gabriel, 2009). This literature focuses on social and environmental targets and objectives of sustainable value creation and positive change (Miska & Mendenhall, 2018).
Simultaneously, precarious forms of employment are on the rise. Precarious work is characterised by low pay, insufficient and variable hours, short-term contracts rights, and is shaped by work-life balance considerations (Ayudhya et al., 2017) and the degree of regulatory protection (ILO, 2015; Vallas, 2015). Socio-economic upheaval has resulted in nations becoming socially and politically more isolated, exclusionary and protective of resources, leading to a climate, which does not foster inclusion of vulnerable demographic groups in organizations and society at large (Mor Barak, 2018). Indeed, precarious work has deleterious effects for vulnerable demographic groups worldwide with women, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, among others, experiencing in and out of work poverty (Walby, 2015). Racial and feminist critiques sought to highlight how ‘regimes of inequality’ (Acker, 2006) structure work and organizations by restaging social relations of domination and subjugation (Acker, 1992; Gherardi, 1994; Nkomo, 1992).
The stream seeks to explore the paradox of organizational responsibility, diversity intersections and precarious work in order to develop a more nuanced understanding of the various contexts, and experiences of precarity in organizations.
Submissions to the stream can be in the form of long abstracts (up to 1500 words), developmental papers (3000-5000 words, including references) or full papers (no length restrictions) by the deadline of 1 March 2020. Please process your registration and paper submission online via www.edi-conference.org.
References
Ayudhya, U.C.N.; Prouska, R.; Beauregard, T. A. (2017) The Impact of Global Economic Crisis and Austerity on Quality of Working Life and Work‐Life Balance: A Capabilities Perspective. European Management Review DOI: 10.1111/imre.12128
Brown, M.E., & Mitchell, M.S (2010) Ethical and unethical leadership: Exploring new avenues for future research. Business Ethics Quarterly 20(4): 583–616.
Ciulla, J.B., & Forsyth, D.R (2011) Leadership ethics. In: Bryman A, Collinson D, Grint K, et al. (eds) The SAGE Handbook of Leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, pp. 229–241.
Gandini, A (2018) Labour process theory and the gig economy, Human Relations, DOI: 10177/001872671879002
ILO (2015) World Employment and Social Outlook: The Changing Nature of Jobs. Geneva: ILO Publications.
Mor Barak, M. E. (2018) Erecting Walls Versus Tearing Them Down: Inclusion and the (False) Paradox of Diversity in Times of Economic Upheaval. European Management Review.
Vallas, S. (2015) Accounting for precarity: Recent studies of labor market uncertainty. Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews 44(4): 463–469.
Walby, S. (2015) Crisis. Cambridge: Polity Press
14th February 2020
14th February 2020
10th February 2020
Assessing the ILO and its history, with
Professor Marcel van der Linden (International Institute of Social History) and
Dr Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick (Birkbeck College)
Thursday 5 March 2020, 4.00-6.00pm
Room C379, University of Westminster Business School, 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS (opposite Madame Tussauds, nearly opposite Baker Street tube)
For further details or to reserve a place, please email Michael Gold (m.gold@rhul.ac.uk) or Linda Clarke (clarkel@wmin.ac.uk).
Programme:
3.30-3.50pm: Tea/ coffee/ refreshments
3.50-4.00: Welcome: Michael Gold and Linda Clarke (Chairs)
Marcel van der Linden: The ILO: a critical appraisal after one hundred years
The question I want to raise is straightforward: How can we appraise the record of the ILO since its founding in 1919? What are the results and future prospects of its efforts? Is the organization truly inconsequential, a "90-pound weakling,” a "toothless tiger," as critics have argued? These questions are difficult to answer. Not only because of the variegated history of the ILO, rife with ongoing controversies, but also because the literature on the subject is overwhelming. I will argue that the first half century of the ILO consisted of “fat years”, in which regulating the global labour market achieved limited but clear progress, and that the second half century was a time of “lean years”, when the ILO accomplished less. I will illustrate this by showing how the relative attainments from the period until around 1970 were subsequently weakened. Unless it manages to reinvent itself in the near future, the organization is now in danger of further marginalization.
Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick: The ILO and the International Labour Movement
The international labour movement has played a major role in working within the ILO structures, promoting the adoption of new international labour standards, and pushing for their full implementation. The international trade union bodies, which were instrumental in the founding of the ILO in 1919, have helped to shape it and provide it with reliable interlocutors. Drawing on previous work on the ITUC and the international labour movement more generally, Rebecca will focus on the role of the ITUC and its associated bodies (including the GUFs) in a) the development of new labour standards, focusing particularly on the Domestic Workers’ Convention, b) on its role in the resolution of the long-running conflict over the right to strike, and c) on the broader issue of the relations between the two bodies: have the international trade unions become overly dependent, even symbiotic, with the ILO, and what are the differing views within the global labour movement on these relations? Should they be changed, in the light of a new, more independent and campaigning approach to the global labour movement?
6pm: Close (followed by drinks until 6.00pm)
The speakers:
Marcel van der Linden is Honorary Fellow and former Research Director of the International Institute of Social History (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences),
10th February 2020
30th June to 2nd July 2020
Plenary Speakers:
Judy Wajcman http://www.lse.ac.uk/sociology/people/judy-wajcman
Anne McBride https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/a.mcbride.html
Gail Hebson https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/gail.hebson.html
Jane Holgate https://business.leeds.ac.uk/research-ceric/staff/521/jane-holgate
Sian Moore https://www.gre.ac.uk/people/rep/faculty-of-business/sian-moore
Kirsty Newsome https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/management/staff/kirsty_newsome/index
Jean Jenkins https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/people/view/610450-jenkins-jean
Call for papers
BUIRA turning 70 presents a good opportunity to reflect on the past, present and future of industrial relations. Despite facing recent challenges, the field of industrial relations continues to be a vital topic of academic and practitioner enquiry. Issues that have long been central within the study of industrial relations, such as pay, collective bargaining, rights at work, employee representation, national and transnational forms of regulation, health and safety, job (in)security, precarity, and workplace conflict are highly prominent within many current political and academic debates. Understanding the politics of work, grounded in a critical social science tradition, is crucial for academics and policy makers alike.
IR continues to face a tough institutional environment. In the university, ‘HRM’ and ‘people and work’ has overtaken ‘industrial relations’ in the nomenclature of courses and modules. Within organisations and workplaces, trade unions continue to struggle to maintain a presence and voice for workers. While many university departments may nevertheless offer critical perspectives on work and employment, there is concern that the way ‘HRM’ is taught in some business schools may lack a sufficient diversity of perspectives and critical engagement with hegemonic neoliberalism. This in turn could lead to a potential ‘immiseration’ of the subject matter, and an inability to prevent or address trends such as the spread of precarious work, and the growing problem of in-work poverty (Dundon and Rafferty, 2018). At the same time, IR scholarship is often accused of being theoretically weak, suffering from a descriptive, and institutional bias, i.e. focusing on the dwindling institutions of trade unions and collective bargaining (Kelly, 1998).
Where are we now? How have we got here, and what should the future of the field look like? Reflecting on historical developments in industrial relations is crucial in order to ground and contextualise current developments in the world of work. History matters in helping us to understand the changing nature of industrial relations, and yet is often overlooked in modern accounts of work relations. It is also important to reflect on pressing current issues such as the impact of austerity and the crisis in an increasingly financialised world. What have been their consequences for public sector industrial relations? What is the impact of patterns of precarious work and non-standard employment relationships on the changing nature of work and employment, skills and the quality of work? Across all of these questions, issues of social class, equality and diversity remain more relevant than ever before. Looking to the future, one key question concerns the extent to which unions can play an active role with social movements to tackle climate breakdown.
We welcome empirical (both quantitative and qualitative), analytical, conceptual and methodological papers that concern any area of industrial relations, or fields cognate to industrial relations. We would particularly appreciate submissions from early career researchers and doctoral students. Papers concerning topics under the following headings will be particularly welcome:
Submission details
Abstracts of papers should be submitted here:
https://bham.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0iYSk4W03DvrkDr
Abstracts should be a maximum of 500 words in length and cover the following headings:
Extended Deadline for submission of abstracts: Monday, 27th January 2020
All abstracts are refereed anonymously by BUIRA Executive Committee members.
Conference fee £200 full and £100 PhD
References
Dundon T and Rafferty A (2018) The (potential) demise of HRM? Human Resource Management Journal 28(3): 377– 391.
Kelly J (1998) Rethinking Industrial Relations: Mobilisation, Collectivism and Long Waves. London: Routledge
30th June to 2nd July 2020
27th January 2020
Use discount code RSETU20 on Bristol University Press website (below) to benefit from a 25% discount on your purchase of the new publication by Bob Smale, ‘Exploring Trade Union Identities, Union Identity, Niche Identity and the Problem of Organizing the Unorganized’. The code expires 07/02/2020.
Please note that this code is only for use of BUIRA MEMBERS IN THIS LISTING and not for wider circulation (including social media, mailing lists and booksellers). The discount code referenced is intended for individual purchase via Bristol University Press website only, and is for use by the attendees of special events or close colleagues and friends. Please do let us know if you have any questions or queries on the above.
Use your discount code at: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/exploring-trade-union-identities
About the book: The labour market has changed over recent decades and so have trade unions with mergers, rebrandings, dissolutions and new unions being formed. The question is, how well positioned are unions to organize the unorganized? With more than three quarters of UK workers unrepresented, the growth of precarious employment and the gig economy this topical new book reports up-to-date research on union identities and what is termed ‘niche unionism’, while raising critical questions for the future.
27th January 2020
Davide Pero, University of Nottingham
Indie Unionism, Organizing and Labour Renewal: Learning from Precarious Migrant Workers’
This paper examines the organizing practices of indie unions – the emerging grassroots unions co-led by precarious migrant workers. It draws on an embedded actor-centred approach involving extensive multi-sited ethnography. The paper shows how workers normally considered unorganizable by the established unions can build lasting solidarity and associational power and obtain material and non-material rewards in the context of precarity, scarce economic resources and a hostile environment. Here, I argue that the organization of workers into ‘communities of struggle’ geared towards mobilization facilitates their empowerment, effectiveness and social integration. The paper contributes to labour mobilization theory by redefining the concept of organizing in inclusionary terms, so that the collective industrial agency of precarious and migrant workers organizing outside the established unions can be adequately recognized and accounted for.
‘The Art of Labor Organizing: Participatory Art and Migrant Domestic Workers’ Self-Organizing in London’
There has been an upsurge of interest regarding how actors engage with art within organizational processes. However, scholars have tended not to study the role of art within contemporary collective labor organizing. This paper focuses on how participatory art may support flat, participative labour organizing, particularly among marginalized, relatively powerless workers. We present an ethnographic account of how art practices are deeply embedded within the flat organizing processes of Justice For Domestic Workers, a self-organizing group of migrant domestic workers in London. We reflect on this case to theorise the art of flat organizing, an ideal type of a set of participatory art practices that are compatible with and supportive of flat labour organizing.
27th January 2020
One week to go until the call for papers closes!
30th June to 2nd July 2020
Extended Deadline for submission of abstracts: Monday, 27th January 2020
Plenary Speakers:
Judy Wajcman http://www.lse.ac.uk/sociology/people/judy-wajcman
Anne McBride https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/a.mcbride.html
Gail Hebson https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/gail.hebson.html
Jane Holgate https://business.leeds.ac.uk/research-ceric/staff/521/jane-holgate
Sian Moore https://www.gre.ac.uk/people/rep/faculty-of-business/sian-moore
Kirsty Newsome https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/management/staff/kirsty_newsome/index
Jean Jenkins https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/people/view/610450-jenkins-jean
Call for papers
BUIRA turning 70 presents a good opportunity to reflect on the past, present and future of industrial relations. Despite facing recent challenges, the field of industrial relations continues to be a vital topic of academic and practitioner enquiry. Issues that have long been central within the study of industrial relations, such as pay, collective bargaining, rights at work, employee representation, national and transnational forms of regulation, health and safety, job (in)security, precarity, and workplace conflict are highly prominent within many current political and academic debates. Understanding the politics of work, grounded in a critical social science tradition, is crucial for academics and policy makers alike.
IR continues to face a tough institutional environment. In the university, ‘HRM’ and ‘people and work’ has overtaken ‘industrial relations’ in the nomenclature of courses and modules. Within organisations and workplaces, trade unions continue to struggle to maintain a presence and voice for workers. While many university departments may nevertheless offer critical perspectives on work and employment, there is concern that the way ‘HRM’ is taught in some business schools may lack a sufficient diversity of perspectives and critical engagement with hegemonic neoliberalism. This in turn could lead to a potential ‘immiseration’ of the subject matter, and an inability to prevent or address trends such as the spread of precarious work, and the growing problem of in-work poverty (Dundon and Rafferty, 2018). At the same time, IR scholarship is often accused of being theoretically weak, suffering from a descriptive, and institutional bias, i.e. focusing on the dwindling institutions of trade unions and collective bargaining (Kelly, 1998).
Where are we now? How have we got here, and what should the future of the field look like? Reflecting on historical developments in industrial relations is crucial in order to ground and contextualise current developments in the world of work. History matters in helping us to understand the changing nature of industrial relations, and yet is often overlooked in modern accounts of work relations. It is also important to reflect on pressing current issues such as the impact of austerity and the crisis in an increasingly financialised world. What have been their consequences for public sector industrial relations? What is the impact of patterns of precarious work and non-standard employment relationships on the changing nature of work and employment, skills and the quality of work? Across all of these questions, issues of social class, equality and diversity remain more relevant than ever before. Looking to the future, one key question concerns the extent to which unions can play an active role with social movements to tackle climate breakdown.
We welcome empirical (both quantitative and qualitative), analytical, conceptual and methodological papers that concern any area of industrial relations, or fields cognate to industrial relations. We would particularly appreciate submissions from early career researchers and doctoral students. Papers concerning topics under the following headings will be particularly welcome:
Submission details
Abstracts of papers should be submitted here:
https://bham.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0iYSk4W03DvrkDr
Abstracts should be a maximum of 500 words in length and cover the following headings:
Extended Deadline for submission of abstracts: Monday, 27th January 2020
All abstracts are refereed anonymously by BUIRA Executive Committee members.
Conference fee £200 full and £100 PhD
References
Dundon T and Rafferty A (2018) The (potential) demise of HRM? Human Resource Management Journal 28(3): 377– 391.
Kelly J (1998) Rethinking Industrial Relations: Mobilisation, Collectivism and Long Waves. London: Routledge
20th January 2020
20th January 2020
We are pleased to announce the plenary speakers for the 'BUIRA 70th Anniversary Conference 2020: the past, present and future of industrial relations and the politics of work' will be:
Judy Wacjman http://www.lse.ac.uk/sociology/people/judy-wajcman
Anne McBride https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/a.mcbride.html
Gail Hebson https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/gail.hebson.html
Jane Holegate https://business.leeds.ac.uk/research-ceric/staff/521/jane-holgate
Sian Moore https://www.gre.ac.uk/people/rep/faculty-of-business/sian-moore
Kirsty Newsome https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/management/staff/kirsty_newsome/index
Jean Jenkins https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/people/view/610450-jenkins-jean
See the call for papers here: https://www.buira.net/conference/13
Abstract deadline: Monday, 27th January 2020.
17th January 2020
| Location: | Uxbridge |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £40,183 to £51,719 per annum including London allowance of £2,166 per annum. |
| Hours: | Full Time |
| Contract Type: | Permanent |
| Placed On: | 3rd January 2020 |
|---|---|
| Closes: | 3rd February 2020 |
| Job Ref: | 408905 |
Sociology & Communications at Brunel University London is part of a thriving interdisciplinary Department of Social and Political Sciences, which also includes Politics, Modern History, Anthropology and Journalism. It has a superb research record with 50% of research rated as being internationally excellent or world-leading in REF 2014.
As part of our continuing expansion, we are seeking to recruit a Sociologist. We are particularly interested in recruiting in the area of digital work and labour and the ‘gig’ economy, but will also consider applications in other areas of digital culture including surveillance and the state, and data justice.
This is a newly created position and will commence in the summer of 2020. The appointee will contribute to our well-established programmes in Sociology & Communications, as well as other programmes in the Department. The successful applicant will join a well-established research and teaching team with an outstanding track record of success.
The successful applicant will also be expected to participate in at least one of the College research centres, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability and Global Lives, or a University Research Institute.
More information about the Department can be found on the Departmental website:
https://www.brunel.ac.uk/sociology
Informal enquiries about the posts and the Department can be made to the Head of Department, Professor Justin Fisher (justin.fisher@brunel.ac.uk) or the Divisional Lead for Social Sciences and Communication, Dr Peter Wilkin (peter.wilkin@brunel.ac.uk).
Interviews and Presentations will be held on 14 May 2020
COMMITTED TO EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES AND REPRESENTING THE DIVERSITY OF THE COMMUNITY WE SERVE
13th January 2020
The labour market has changed over recent decades and so have trade unions with mergers, rebrandings, dissolutions and new unions being formed. The question is, how well positioned are unions to organize the unorganized? With more than three quarters of UK workers unrepresented, the growth of precarious employment and the gig economy this topical new book reports up-to-date research on union identities and what is termed ‘niche unionism’, while raising critical questions for the future.
For further information go to: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/exploring-trade-union-identities
13th January 2020
Ideas in Employment Relations Research Call for Papers for Special Issue Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society
New Extended Deadline: February 12, 2020!
Guest editors
Martin B. Carstensen (Copenhagen Business School): mbc.ioa@cbs.dk
Christian Lyhne Ibsen (Michigan State University): ibsenchr@msu.edu
Vivien Schmidt (Boston University): vschmidt@bu.edu
Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society has issued a call for papers for a special issue on ‘Ideas in Employment Relations Research’.
Please be advised that the deadline for long abstracts for this special issue has been extended to February 12, 2020 – full details are available at the following link:
Best wishes
Martin B. Carstensen, Vivien Schmidt and Christian Lyhne Ibsen
13th January 2020
Abstract Deadline Extended for BUIRA Conference to Monday, 27th January 2020.
Call for papers
Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester
30th June to 2nd July 2020
Call for papers
BUIRA turning 70 presents a good opportunity to reflect on the past, present and future of industrial relations. Despite facing recent challenges, the field of industrial relations continues to be a vital topic of academic and practitioner enquiry. Issues that have long been central within the study of industrial relations, such as pay, collective bargaining, rights at work, employee representation, national and transnational forms of regulation, health and safety, job (in)security, precarity, and workplace conflict are highly prominent within many current political and academic debates. Understanding the politics of work, grounded in a critical social science tradition, is crucial for academics and policy makers alike.
IR continues to face a tough institutional environment. In the university, ‘HRM’ and ‘people and work’ has overtaken ‘industrial relations’ in the nomenclature of courses and modules. Within organisations and workplaces, trade unions continue to struggle to maintain a presence and voice for workers. While many university departments may nevertheless offer critical perspectives on work and employment, there is concern that the way ‘HRM’ is taught in some business schools may lack a sufficient diversity of perspectives and critical engagement with hegemonic neoliberalism. This in turn could lead to a potential ‘immiseration’ of the subject matter, and an inability to prevent or address trends such as the spread of precarious work, and the growing problem of in-work poverty (Dundon and Rafferty, 2018). At the same time, IR scholarship is often accused of being theoretically weak, suffering from a descriptive, and institutional bias, i.e. focusing on the dwindling institutions of trade unions and collective bargaining (Kelly, 1998).
Where are we now? How have we got here, and what should the future of the field look like? Reflecting on historical developments in industrial relations is crucial in order to ground and contextualise current developments in the world of work. History matters in helping us to understand the changing nature of industrial relations, and yet is often overlooked in modern accounts of work relations. It is also important to reflect on pressing current issues such as the impact of austerity and the crisis in an increasingly financialised world. What have been their consequences for public sector industrial relations? What is the impact of patterns of precarious work and non-standard employment relationships on the changing nature of work and employment, skills and the quality of work? Across all of these questions, issues of social class, equality and diversity remain more relevant than ever before. Looking to the future, one key question concerns the extent to which unions can play an active role with social movements to tackle climate breakdown.
We welcome empirical (both quantitative and qualitative), analytical, conceptual and methodological papers that concern any area of industrial relations, or fields cognate to industrial relations. We would particularly appreciate submissions from early career researchers and doctoral students. Papers concerning topics under the following headings will be particularly welcome:
Submission details
Abstracts of papers should be submitted here:
https://bham.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0iYSk4W03DvrkDr
Abstracts should be a maximum of 500 words in length and cover the following headings:
Extended Deadline for submission of abstracts: Monday, 27th January 2020
All abstracts are refereed anonymously by BUIRA Executive Committee members.
Conference fee £200 full and £100 PhD
References
Dundon T and Rafferty A (2018) The (potential) demise of HRM? Human Resource Management Journal 28(3): 377– 391.
Kelly J (1998) Rethinking Industrial Relations: Mobilisation, Collectivism and Long Waves. London: Routledge
13th January 2020
BUIRA 70th Anniversary Conference 2020: The past, present and future of industrial relations and the politics of work
30th June to 2nd July 2020
https://www.buira.net/conference/13
Call for papers
BUIRA turning 70 presents a good opportunity to reflect on the past, present and future of industrial relations. Despite facing recent challenges, the field of industrial relations continues to be a vital topic of academic and practitioner enquiry. Issues that have long been central within the study of industrial relations, such as pay, collective bargaining, rights at work, employee representation, national and transnational forms of regulation, health and safety, job (in)security, precarity, and workplace conflict are highly prominent within many current political and academic debates. Understanding the politics of work, grounded in a critical social science tradition, is crucial for academics and policy makers alike.
IR continues to face a tough institutional environment. In the university, ‘HRM’ and ‘people and work’ has overtaken ‘industrial relations’ in the nomenclature of courses and modules. Within organisations and workplaces, trade unions continue to struggle to maintain a presence and voice for workers. While many university departments may nevertheless offer critical perspectives on work and employment, there is concern that the way ‘HRM’ is taught in some business schools may lack a sufficient diversity of perspectives and critical engagement with hegemonic neoliberalism. This in turn could lead to a potential ‘immiseration’ of the subject matter, and an inability to prevent or address trends such as the spread of precarious work, and the growing problem of in-work poverty (Dundon and Rafferty, 2018). At the same time, IR scholarship is often accused of being theoretically weak, suffering from a descriptive, and institutional bias, i.e. focusing on the dwindling institutions of trade unions and collective bargaining (Kelly, 1998).
Where are we now? How have we got here, and what should the future of the field look like? Reflecting on historical developments in industrial relations is crucial in order to ground and contextualise current developments in the world of work. History matters in helping us to understand the changing nature of industrial relations, and yet is often overlooked in modern accounts of work relations. It is also important to reflect on pressing current issues such as the impact of austerity and the crisis in an increasingly financialised world. What have been their consequences for public sector industrial relations? What is the impact of patterns of precarious work and non-standard employment relationships on the changing nature of work and employment, skills and the quality of work? Across all of these questions, issues of social class, equality and diversity remain more relevant than ever before. Looking to the future, one key question concerns the extent to which unions can play an active role with social movements to tackle climate breakdown.
We welcome empirical (both quantitative and qualitative), analytical, conceptual and methodological papers that concern any area of industrial relations, or fields cognate to industrial relations. We would particularly appreciate submissions from early career researchers and doctoral students. Papers concerning topics under the following headings will be particularly welcome:
Submission details
Abstracts of papers should be submitted here:
https://bham.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0iYSk4W03DvrkDr
Abstracts should be a maximum of 500 words in length and cover the following headings:
Extended Deadline for submission of abstracts: Monday, 27th January 2020
All abstracts are refereed anonymously by BUIRA Executive Committee members.
Conference fee £200 full and £100 PhD
References
Dundon T and Rafferty A (2018) The (potential) demise of HRM? Human Resource Management Journal 28(3): 377– 391.
Kelly J (1998) Rethinking Industrial Relations: Mobilisation, Collectivism and Long Waves. London: Routledge
Full details are available here.
10th January 2020
Prof Birgit Mahnkopf (Berlin School of Economics and Law) The future of work in the era of ´digital capitalism´. Digitalization and its impact on employment, workers and industrial relations
Dr Kim Moody (University of Westminster) The ‘logistics revolution’ of the 21st century as a material aspect of digital capitalism
Friday 31 January 2020, 10.30am – 12.30pm, followed by buffet lunch
University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS
(opposite Madame Tussauds and nearly opposite Baker Street tube)
Room L195
For further details and to reserve a place, contact Linda Clarke (clarkel@wmin.ac.uk)
This regular monthly seminar is focused on the urgent question of the impact of digitalisation on employment and industrial relations, often regarded as the 4th wave of the industrial revolution, and we are fortunate to have two expert speakers.
Birgit Mahnkopf is a German industrial sociologist and a retired professor of European Politics at Berlin School of Economics and Law Berlin. She has published broadly on issues such as: economic, social and political dimensions of globalization; political economy of European integration; social-ecological transition; sociology of work and industrial relations. Drawing on her discussion paper (No 01/2019 for the Euro Memorandum Group (‘The ‘4th wave of industrial revolution’ – a promise blind to social consequences, power and ecological impact in the era of ‘digital capitalism’’), she will talk about the newest wave of automation when it will be possible to produce (even) more (useless) commodities with less people, which will increase structural unemployment at least in some, and likely in many, countries and lead to further pressure of wages. The presentation attempts to subject the ongoing digitalization hype, especially how far digitalization can be linked to societal goals in favour of workers, to a critical assessment.
Kim Moody (University of Westminster) was a founder of Labor Notes in the US and is the author of several books on labour and politics, the most recent being On New Terrain: How Capital is Reshaping the Battleground of Class War (Haymarket Books, 2017). His discussion will draw primarily on two recent publicatons: “Labour and the Contradictory Logic of Logistics” Work Organisation, Labour & Globalisation 13(1) (2019): 79-95; “High Tech, Low Growth: Robots and the Future of Work” Historical Materialism, 26(4) (2018): 3-34. He will discuss the rapid rise of the new dynamics of logistics driven by the increased centrality of time in global competition and enabled by new technology. This ‘logistics revolution’ has changed the way millions of people work, who does the work and where, the nature of the workplace, and the impact on workers, communities and the environment. Driven by capital’s inherent need for expansion and ‘time-based competition’ and guided by ICT, contemporary logistics is altering the built environment through the creation of giant ‘logistics clusters’, changing the composition of the working class and the nature of work, and intensifying climate change. Can the labour and social movement meet these challenges?
This seminar is an opportunity to air and discuss these issues in an open forum and consider their implications for industrial relations. Anyone interested is welcome to attend this event. These meetings can be full though so, if you would like to attend and to help forecast catering provision, please Contact: Professor Linda Clarke, clarkel@wmin.ac.uk or 020350 66528
10th January 2020
10th January 2020
10th January 2020
We've been working hard with the Manchester organising team to keep BUIRA Conference fee as low as possible. We are pleased to announce that the fee for the
at Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester will be £200 full / £100 PhD
See the call for papers here: https://www.buira.org/conference/13
https://www.buira.org/conference/13
10th January 2020
ESRC PhD Studentship:
Job Quality and Fairness in UK and Welsh Workplaces (Cardiff University)
Despite growing affluence, research evidence suggests that the quality of work is declining. Survey evidence suggests that work is becoming more intense, task discretion declining, insecurity rising and employee involvement falling. One of the great challenges facing researchers is how to reconcile growing prosperity and falling hours at work with the growth of poor quality jobs. This PhD studentship will do this through an examination of the Skills and Employment Survey series (led by Professor Alan Felstead of the School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University) together with qualitative work carried out in Welsh workplaces (following the work of Professor Jonathan Morris of Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University). This ESRC PhD studentship is also offered in collaboration with ACAS Wales and South West of England with whom Morris and Felstead have developed strong links.
We welcome applications for both full and part-time study, and studentships are available as either ‘1+3’ (i.e. one full time year of research training Masters followed by three years of full-time Doctoral study, or the part-time equivalent), or ‘+3’ (i.e. three years of full-time doctoral study or its part-time equivalent), depending on the needs of the applicant.
For more information, go to: https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/wales-esrc-dtp-phd-collaborative-studentship-fair-work-job-quality-and-fairness-in-uk-and-welsh-workplaces-in-collaboration-with-acas-wales-and-south-west-of-england/?p116529
2nd January 2020
This public policy piece in Political Quarterly (Early View) on the future of British employee voice might be of wider IR interest. It's the published version of arguments I presented to a History & Policy Trade Union and Employment Forum, at Warwick University Modern Records Centre on 27 April 2018 and to the 2019 BUIRA conference, Newcastle, 2 July.
Industrial Relations and the Limits of the State: Can a left Labour Government resurrect comprehensive Sectoral Collective Bargaining and restore trade union power?
Abstract
Since 2017 the British Labour Party has proposed mandatory Sectoral Collective Bargaining (SCB) as a comprehensive strategy to rebuild trade union voice across the entire economy. The intellectual roots lie in the Institute of Employment Rights (IER), Manifesto for Labour Law (2016). First, this article explains the core IER approach, questioning: its feasibility given current low levels of union membership and bargaining coverage; and whether it would produce the stable and productive economy promised. Second, the central body develops four social science objections to this state-driven approach centred on: Industrial Relations History; Political Sociology; Economics; and Political Philosophy. The Conclusion argues that while stronger voluntary trade unions could help, it's neither practicable nor desirable for the state to impose a trade union, single-channel approach to employee voice. Instead, a ‘mixed economy of voice’ is proposed, perhaps including statutory wages councils, which speaks directly to all employees - union or non-union - and wins broader political, employer and public support.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1467-923X.12788
19th December 2019
Are you an ambitious researcher looking for your next challenge? Do you have a research background in employment or industrial relations, industrial sociology or other fields related to work and employment? Do you have an interest in action to protect the enviroment and mitigate climate change? Do you want to further your career in one of the UK’s leading research intensive Universities?
The Centre for Employment Relations Innovation and Change (CERIC) is a leading research centre investigating the changing nature of work and employment and employment relations. It houses a critical mass of internationally regarded researchers that produce intellectually challenging work with genuine policy and practitioner impact. CERIC is looking for a research fellow to support Dr. Vera Trappmann and Dr. Jo Cutter in their research on work, the labour movement and climate change mitigation.
This research is focused on the political economy and comparative industrial relations systems that shape the labour movement’s responses to climate change. You will support this work through undetaking reviews of relevant academic and policy literature; contribute significantly to the set up and delivery of a programme of qualitative research interviews and the design and testing of a new survey survey tool for trade union members.
To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact:
Dr Jo Cutter
Tel: +44 (0)113 343 0202; email: j.cutter@leeds.ac.uk
Or
Dr Vera Trappmann
Tel: +44 (0)113 343 1119; email: v.trappmann@leeds.ac.uk
| Location: | Leeds - Main Campus |
| Faculty/Service: | Faculty of Business |
| School/Institute: | Leeds University Business School |
| Category: | Research |
| Grade: | Grade 7 |
| Salary: | £33,797 to £40,322 p.a. |
| Post Type: | Full Time |
| Contract Type: | Fixed Term (for 6 months due to funding) |
| Release Date: | Tuesday 17 December 2019 |
| Closing Date: | Thursday 16 January 2020 |
| Reference: | LUBSC1455 |
| Downloads: | Candidate Brief |
19th December 2019
This is a little out of date but might still be of interest
6th December 2019
Study With Scholarships at the Sheffield Business School (SBS)
A PhD in SBS offers you a brilliant opportunity to develop your research skills and knowledge to create a real impact either in academia, public sector, private sector or as an entrepreneur.
At Sheffield Business School we have a vibrant international community of research students, academics and support staff, and a 30-year history of delivering high-quality postgraduate research that places a strong emphasis on close supervision and support.
Join us in our search for new thinking because:
We have extensive expertise in creating new knowledge and applying business research to solve real world problems
You will be supervised by a vibrant community of academics who are driven by the discovery of new knowledge
Your research will be conducted alongside a diverse community of doctoral researchers from the globe who bring a wealth of international experience
Our reputation for excellence is recognised through our high-quality research training and the support we offer our doctoral students
Sheffield Business School is committed to providing you with an outstanding student experience in a collegiate environment
About SBS
Sheffield Business School is one of the largest such institutions in the UK, with over 200 academic staff. As a result, the school’s research covers a wide spectrum of disciplines, ranging from finance and accounting, management, strategy, marketing, economics, international business and human resource management, hospitality, tourism, events management, food and nutrition.
Research undertaken at Sheffield Business School is largely shaped by the University's Creating Knowledge strategy, which sets out the following ambitions:
We will be recognised internationally for research which has real social, economic and cultural impact
We will identify and seize opportunities to lead in new and emerging areas
We will apply research to enrich students' learning and work with others to ensure translation into practice
In Sheffield Business School our research supports two overarching themes which are The Experience Economy and Social and Cooperative Economy. We welcome applications from prospective PhD students to undertake research that contributes to this agenda.
The Experience Economy covers a broad range of research interests linked to both the experience economy and the related area of customer experience management, focusing on the design, delivery and development of consumer experiences in a range of leisure, recreation, events, hospitality and tourism contexts. Research within this theme spans the breadth of the consumer experience process in various product markets. It includes a variety of service management issues and is also concerned with the employee workplace experience and the associated functional management issues.
Social and Cooperative Economy - Sheffield Business School is a leading centre of research into alternative forms of business organisation, notably social enterprise, through which businesses combine commercial objectives with the achievement of social aims such as environmental improvement or support for vulnerable groups in society. In particular SBS and our partners have pioneered the development of the Fair Shares model, which focuses on the democratic involvement of all stakeholders and the distribution of rewards on a fair and equitable basis.
How to apply
Anyone can apply for a PhD scholarship. However you would need to meet the standard Programme application entry requirements (see below). All applicants wishing to be considered for a PhD scholarship need to submit by the closing date (12 noon on Monday 2nd March 2020) the following documents (see below) by email to sbsdoctorates@shu.ac.uk.
Please indicate clearly in the body of your email that you would like to be considered for a SBS PhD scholarship.
We require the following documents for your application:
-a fully completed Sheffield Hallam University application form.
-a detailed research proposal (4-6 sides of A4 in length). All submitted research proposals will be uploaded to Turnitin to assess their originality.
-a transcript of marks from your highest qualification (we require a dissertation mark of 60 or higher).
-a copy of your award certificate from your highest qualification.
-two references, both of which must be recent letters on headed notepaper or the reference form found within the University application form (one of which should ideally be from an academic source). Referees can submit their references electronically by scanning and emailing the original documents direct to us from their own email address, but these must be on headed notepaper or the official form.
English Language proficiency evidence - Where English is not your first language, you must show evidence of English language ability to the following minimum level of proficiency. You must provide evidence of either a current IELTS score of 7.0 overall (with all component marks of 6.5 or higher and preferably Academic IELTS); or a current TOEFL test with an overall score of 100 internet based (with a minimum component score of 23 in listening and reading, 26 in writing and 22 in speaking) or SHU TESOL English Language qualification – final overall grade of A (with all components graded at B or higher) or a recognised equivalent testing system. Please note that your test score must be current, i.e. within the last two years.
Funding amount
A generous and comprehensive package is offered. This funding is for 3 year full-time PhD study. Our SBS PhD Scholarship covers tuition which is equal to the Home/EU fee. This includes a stipend at Research Council UK levels (this is currently £15,009 for 2019/20) per annum plus Home/EU tuition fees (£4,330 in 2019/20). For international students, a top up tuition fee of approximately £8,200 per year is required.
Selection process
Successful applicants will be required to attend an interview where you will be asked to discuss your research proposal. Interview panel members will include the PhD Programme Leader, a prospective Director of Studies and a representative from the SBS Creating Knowledge Board. All applicants wishing to be considered for a PhD scholarship need to submit all their documents by e-mail on 12 noon on Monday 2nd March 2020 to sbsdoctorates@shu.ac.uk. Interview dates are provisionally scheduled for week commencing 20th April 2020.
Areas of study
We are seeking PhD scholarship applications for 3 year funded full-time study with proposed theoretical and managerial implications in one of our department
Service Sector Management (SSM)
Further information
If you have any queries about full-time PhD Scholarships in SBS please contact:
Dr. Alisha Ali
PhD Programme Leader
Sheffield Business School
Sheffield Hallam University
Alisha.Ali@shu.ac.uk
Tel: 0114 225 4593
Deadline is 2 noon on Monday 2nd March 2020) the following documents (see below) by email to sbsdoctorates@shu.ac.uk.
Find a PhD: https://www.findaphd.com/phds/programme/sheffield-business-school-phd-scholarships/?p4325
SHU’s Website: https://www.shu.ac.uk/research/degrees/phd-scholarships/sheffield-business-school-phd-scholarships
6th December 2019
John Foster, Kenny MacAskill and Rory Scothorne: symposium on the Jimmy Reid biography by McKinlay and Knox
Ewan Gibbs & Jim Phillips: Remembering the Auchengaich mining disaster
Alan McKinlay, John Boyle & William Knox: Unionising BSR in East Kilbride, 1969
Rory Stride: Women, Work & Deindustrialisation: the case of James Templeton & Son, Glasgow, 1960-81
Adam McInnes: Deindustrialisation and Gordon Brown's approach to devolution in Scotland
Ian Gasse: The 1905 Dumfries Bakers' Strike
Please see https://www.scottishlabourhistorysociety.scot/ for details on access and subscriptions to Scottish Labour History.
6th December 2019
If you are interested in signing the below letter please let me know by return email by 12 pm on Thursday manoj.dias-abey@bristol.ac.uk Dr. Manoj Dias-Abey, Lecturer in Law, University of Bristol
Britain’s labour laws are in desperate need of reform. Working people are increasingly engaged in work that pays poorly, is insecure, and contains few avenues of redress if they are treated unfairly by their employers. In-work poverty is at a record high. In the large majority of families in poverty (60%) there is at least one person in work. The current government boasts about record low unemployment figures whilst at the same time it fails to protect workers from poverty pay and insecurity.
Evidence shows that collective bargaining helps to improve productivity and secure stable and well-paying jobs. In 1979, over 80% of UK workers were covered by collective agreements, but today that figure is less than 20%. The decline in collective bargaining was hastened by waves of anti-union legislation that began in the 1980s. Today, British trade union laws are some of the most restrictive in the Western world.
The Labour Party’s 2019 manifesto proposes significant labour law reform, explaining: “[w]ork should provide a decent life for all, guaranteeing not just dignity and respect in the workplace, but also the income and leisure time to allow for a fulfilling life outside it.” We believe that this vision is backed up by a credible plan of action.
Labour will support the introduction of sectoral collective bargaining to set minimum terms and conditions covering all workers in UK sectors. Enterprise-based collective bargaining will be boosted so that employers and workers can negotiate agreements suited to the needs of their workplace. Labour will introduce a real “living wage” and require employers to replace zero-hour contracts with minimum hours contracts based on a new right to regular hours. It will ensure the full range of employment protections are available to all workers from day one of employment and it will create a properly resourced government agency to proactively enforce these rights. Race and gender pay equality will be achieved by making the state responsible for enforcing equal pay legislation and by requiring employers to publicly report on pay disparities for BAME workers.
Labour will also introduce several important corporate governance reforms for large businesses, such as worker representatives on boards and the creation of “inclusive ownership funds”, which have the potential to radically democratise the economy.
Collectively, we have spent many decades studying labour law and industrial relations in the United Kingdom. We believe that the Labour Party is the only party with a transformative plan to create jobs that offer security, fair pay and dignity at work as well as an economy that works for the many.
Yours sincerely,
3rd December 2019
BUIRA 70th Anniversary Conference 2020
The past, present and future of industrial relations and the politics of work
Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester,
30th June to 2nd July 2020
Call for papers
BUIRA turning 70 presents a good opportunity to reflect on the past, present and future of industrial relations. Despite facing recent challenges, the field of industrial relations continues to be a vital topic of academic and practitioner enquiry. Issues that have long been central within the study of industrial relations, such as pay, collective bargaining, rights at work, employee representation, national and transnational forms of regulation, health and safety, job (in)security, precarity, and workplace conflict are highly prominent within many current political and academic debates. Understanding the politics of work, grounded in a critical social science tradition, is crucial for academics and policy makers alike.
IR continues to face a tough institutional environment. In the university, ‘HRM’ and ‘people and work’ has overtaken ‘industrial relations’ in the nomenclature of courses and modules. Within organisations and workplaces, trade unions continue to struggle to maintain a presence and voice for workers. While many university departments may nevertheless offer critical perspectives on work and employment, there is concern that the way ‘HRM’ is taught in some business schools may lack a sufficient diversity of perspectives and critical engagement with hegemonic neoliberalism. This in turn could lead to a potential ‘immiseration’ of the subject matter, and an inability to prevent or address trends such as the spread of precarious work, and the growing problem of in-work poverty (Dundon and Rafferty, 2018). At the same time, IR scholarship is often accused of being theoretically weak, suffering from a descriptive, and institutional bias, i.e. focusing on the dwindling institutions of trade unions and collective bargaining (Kelly, 1998).
Where are we now? How have we got here, and what should the future of the field look like? Reflecting on historical developments in industrial relations is crucial in order to ground and contextualise current developments in the world of work. History matters in helping us to understand the changing nature of industrial relations, and yet is often overlooked in modern accounts of work relations. It is also important to reflect on pressing current issues such as the impact of austerity and the crisis in an increasingly financialised world. What have been their consequences for public sector industrial relations? What is the impact of patterns of precarious work and non-standard employment relationships on the changing nature of work and employment, skills and the quality of work? Across all of these questions, issues of social class, equality and diversity remain more relevant than ever before. Looking to the future, one key question concerns the extent to which unions can play an active role with social movements to tackle climate breakdown.
We welcome empirical (both quantitative and qualitative), analytical, conceptual and methodological papers that concern any area of industrial relations, or fields cognate to industrial relations. We would particularly appreciate submissions from early career researchers and doctoral students. Papers concerning topics under the following headings will be particularly welcome:
Submission details
Abstracts of papers should be submitted here:
https://bham.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0iYSk4W03DvrkDr
Abstracts should be a maximum of 500 words in length and cover the following headings:
Deadline for submission of abstracts: Monday, 13th January 2020
All abstracts are refereed anonymously by BUIRA Executive Committee members.
References
Dundon T and Rafferty A (2018) The (potential) demise of HRM? Human Resource Management Journal 28(3): 377– 391.
Kelly J (1998) Rethinking Industrial Relations: Mobilisation, Collectivism and Long Waves. London: Routledge.
4th November 2019
It is with great sadness that we convey the news that Emeritus Professor Willy Brown passed away unexpectedly on Thursday evening at his home near Cambridge.
Willy’s achievements in the industrial relations and labour economics fields were exceptional. For many decades Willy was an eminent scholar in these fields, not only in the United Kingdom but also internationally. He was arguably one of the most influential academics of his generation in both research and policy formulation.
Willy was Emeritus Master of Darwin College and Emeritus Professor of Industrial Relations at the University of Cambridge. He was previously the Director of the Industrial Relations Research Unit at the University of Warwick, which gained an international reputation for excellence and influence under his leadership, before becoming the Montague Burton Professor of Industrial Relations at the University of Cambridge from 1985 to his retirement in 2012.
Willy provided academic leadership through various senior administrative roles at Cambridge. He also served as President of the British Universities Industrial Relations Association from 1986 to 1989 and as a member of the Executive of the International Labour and Employment Relations Association (formerly the International Industrial Relations Association) from 1989 to 1995.
Willy held a number of significant government appointments in the UK including foundation member of the Low Pay Commission from 1997-2007 and as a senior member of the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service Council and Panel of Arbitrators.
Willy was the author of many seminal journal articles and books including Piecework Bargaining (1973), The Changing Contours of British Industrial Relations (1981), The Evolution of the Modern Workplace (2009) and The Emerging Industrial Relations of China (2017). In 2002 he was made Commander of the British Empire for services to employment relations.
Willy was an Honorary Professor at Renmin University in Beijing and was instrumental in bringing together international and Chinese scholars to examine developments in Chinese employment relations. In 2015 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Sydney in recognition of his significant contributions to industrial relations scholarship and policy in Australia and internationally.
Notwithstanding Willy’s considerable academic accomplishments, his greatest impact may have been through his personal connections and friendships. Willy strived to make the world not only a better place but also a fairer place. In this respect he lived by example. Willy was a truly magnificent person with a unique capacity to speak with anyone on equal terms. He was so selfless, so humble, so generous, and so kind. Willy was greatly loved and will be sorely missed.
- Willy’s former doctoral students
4th August 2019
Elections to the two vacant places on the BUIRA Executive Committee took place at the association's Annual General Meeting earlier this month in Newcastle.
Eleanor Kirk (University of Glasgow) and Yvonne Rueckert (Portsmouth University).
21st July 2019
Following a successful conference hosted at Newcastle University, we're pleased to announce that a team from the University of Birmingham have become the BUIRA Stewards.
Many thanks to Jo McBride, Ana Lopes, Stewart Johnstone, Stephen Procter and Michael Brooks for their hard work running the association.
The Birmingham team is as follows:
Tony Dobbins – President
David J Bailey – Membership Officer
Genevieve Coderre-LaPalme – Events and Conference Officer
Andy Hodder – Secretary
Paul Lewis – Treasurer
Alex Wood – Communications Officer
21st July 2019
Nominations for Academy of Social Sciences Fellows
26th May 2020