Making Good Work: Policy, Practice and Research Workshop Tuesday 30 th October 2018

Making Good Work: Policy, Practice and Research

Workshop Tuesday 30th October 2018

Science Gallery, Great Maze Pond, London SE1 9GU

Improving the quality of jobs is a widely shared goal among the three communities of: policy makers; practitioners in companies and trade unions; and researchers. There is also widespread consensus that policy, practice and research could be improved if dialogue between these three specialist communities were better.

This workshop seeks to address this situation and improve engagement between the three communities, with specific reference to research, policy and practice around improving the quality of work.

In the morning session two presentations will explore the processes involved in

successful collaboration. In the afternoon, workshops jointly facilitated by academics,

policymakers and practitioners will discuss the practicalities of collaborative working.

Academics will be able to engage directly with policymakers and practitioners, as they, in their turn, will be able to engage directly with academics. We hope that this will help to establish an environment where professionals can meet and where all can learn from existing collaborations which produce high quality research that is collaborative and that has impact. This will also be an opportunity to exchange ideas which will lead to future collaborations to tackle bad jobs and improve job quality.

The fee to attend is £80, with lunch and refreshments provided.

PhD students and Early Career Researchers will be charged £30 and there may be

additional support available for them.

Please book online at:

https://store.leeds.ac.uk/conferences-and-events/leeds-university-business-school/research-

events/making-good-work-policy-practice-and-research

​

AGENDA

9.00

Registration and coffee

10.00

Welcome – Professor Stephen Bach, Dean of King’s Business

School

10.15 – 12.15

Professor Patricia Findlay (Strathclyde University), Grahame Smith

(General Secretary, Scottish TUC) and Linda Murray (Head

of

Strategy Services Scottish Enterprise).

Professor Monder Ram (Aston University) and Fuad Mahamed

(CEO Ashley Integrates).

12.15 – 13.15

Lunch break

13.15 – 14.15

Break out groups Session One

14.15 – 14.45

Coffee break

14.45 – 15.45

Break out groups Session Two

15.45 – 16.15

Debrief, Closing remarks

Workshop Organisers: Professor Irena Grugulis (Leeds), Professor Katie Bailey (Kings)and Professor Kevin Daniels (UEA)

Workshop Steering Group: Professor Paul Edwards (Birmingham), Dr Diane Burns

(Sheffield), Professor John Childs (Birmingham), Professor Anne-Marie Greene

(Leicester), Professor Ray Loveridge (Oxford), Professor Monder Ram (Aston), Kiran

Trehan (Birmingham), Professor Chris Warhurst (Warwick), Dr M Williams (Surrey)​

24th September 2018

A History & Policy Trade Union and Employment Forum conference

A History & Policy Trade Union and Employment Forum conference

Saturday 6^th October 2018, 10am -5pm

Lecture Theatre 3, Bush House (North East Wing),

King’s College London, 30 Aldwych, London WC2B 4BG

In 1868, while suffering under major legal restrictions, the British

trade unions teamed up to found a central body to lobby for their

wider social and industrial aims and rights. Today, when unions are

again subject to severe legal disadvantage, it is timely to recall the

first Trades Union Congress (TUC) and unions’ achievements, and

to look forward on union prospects for the future.

Speakers and chairs including:

• Sarah Veale, former Head of Equality and Employment Rights at the

TUC

• Paul Nowak, TUC Deputy General Secretary
• Nick Jones, journalist and broadcaser, and former BBC industrial

and senior political correspondent

• Lord John Monks, General Secretary of the TUC 1993-2003
• Gail Cartmail, Assistant General Secretary, UNITE
• Laura Cohen, CEO, British Ceramic Confederation
• Mark Curthoys, research editor, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
• John Edmonds, former General Council chair and GMB, General Secretary
• Dr James Moher a former union official and historian of the

Labour movement

• Peter Ackers, Visiting Professor, Loughborough University

Places are free but limited so booking is essential. Please

Email historyandpolicy@kcl.ac.uk

to advise of any disability or

access requirements.

the Eventbrite listing is up

here:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/democracy-

at-work-150-years-of-the-tuc-tickets-49649947329

24th September 2018

The Launch of The Work and Equalities Institute

24th September 2018

BUIRA PhD Network Symposium 2018 Philosophy, Paradigms, and Programmes of enquiry in Management and Work Related Doctoral Research

24th September 2018

BUIRA Conference 2019 - Newcastle

The 2019 BUIRA conference will be held in Newcastle, 1-3 July 2019.  Please mark the date in your diary.  The call for papers will follow soon.

BUIRA

24th September 2018

The 2018 edition (no. 39) of Historical Studies in Industrial Relations will be published this week.

10th September 2018

AIRAANZ 2019: ''Global Work, Quality Work" 12-14 February 2019, RMIT University, Melbourne

10th September 2018

Effort, Participation and Insecurity at Work in Britain:

Effort, Participation and Insecurity at Work in Britain:

First Findings from the Skills and Employment Survey 2017

Date: 1.00pm – 3.45pm, Wednesday 3 October 2018
Venue: Canada Water Culture Space, 21 Surrey Quays Rd, London SE16 7AR.

Dear Colleague,

The Skills and Employment Survey 2017 is the seventh in a series of surveys stretching back to the mid-1980s.  A second set of results from the survey will be launched on Wednesday 3 October 2018 at Canada Water Culture Space, London (three further reports are available from www.cardiff.ac.uk/ses2017).

At this event the authors – Alan Felstead, Duncan Gallie, Francis Green and Golo Henseke – will present headline findings of the survey and outline policy implications relating to three themes:

·           Work Intensity

·           Participation

·           Insecurity

The event will be chaired by Lesley Giles of the Work Foundation and Cara Maguire member of the Good Work team at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will offer some reflections on the results presented. 

The event is free, but places are limited and attendance will be by prior registration only.  If you would like to attend please e-mail k.buckle@ucl.ac.uk by 19 September 2018.

If you require any further information, please contact Katharine Buckle at the SES2017 Conference Desk on Tel: 020 7612 6566.

First Findings from the Skills and Employment Survey 2017

Date: 1.00pm – 3.45pm, Wednesday 3 October 2018
Venue: Canada Water Culture Space, 21 Surrey Quays Rd, London SE16 7AR.

Dear Colleague,

The Skills and Employment Survey 2017 is the seventh in a series of surveys stretching back to the mid-1980s.  A second set of results from the survey will be launched on Wednesday 3 October 2018 at Canada Water Culture Space, London (three further reports are available from www.cardiff.ac.uk/ses2017).

At this event the authors – Alan Felstead, Duncan Gallie, Francis Green and Golo Henseke – will present headline findings of the survey and outline policy implications relating to three themes:

·           Work Intensity

·           Participation

·           Insecurity

The event will be chaired by Lesley Giles of the Work Foundation and Cara Maguire member of the Good Work team at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will offer some reflections on the results presented. 

The event is free, but places are limited and attendance will be by prior registration only.  If you would like to attend please e-mail k.buckle@ucl.ac.uk by 19 September 2018.

If you require any further information, please contact Katharine Buckle at the SES2017 Conference Desk on Tel: 020 7612 6566.

10th September 2018

The Routledge Companion to Employment Relations - FREE ACCESS

Dear Tony Dundon,

Congratulations on the publication of your book The Routledge Companion to Employment Relations.

Using the following unique link, you can share the book in its entirety.

https://rdcu.be/4foT

Those you share the links with will be able to read the full book online and there are no restrictions on how many people you can send the link to, so please take this unique opportunity to share widely and get people talking about your work.

The links will expire 60 days from today, and whilst everyone will be able to explore the full book online, printing, copying, or downloading will not be available.

10th September 2018

Research Studentship on Climate Change, Labour and Work at Westminster Business School, University of Westminster

Research Studentship on Climate Change, Labour and Work at Westminster Business School, University of Westminster

Three years, full time  

£16,000 annual stipend plus fee waiver

A full-time University of Westminster PhD Studentship is available in the Centre for the Study of the Production of the Built Environment (ProBE - https://www.westminster.ac.uk/probe) starting in January 2019. This PhD studentship is part of ProBE’s programme of research on Climate Change and Work, conducted in partnership with the York University, Toronto, funded by the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), led by Professor Carla Lipsig Mummé and entitled Adapting Canadian Work and Workplaces, an international perspective (ACW - http://www.adaptingcanadianwork.ca/). The programme explores the role of work and global warming and the role of organised workers as a force for adaptation. ProBE is responsible for the international dimension, with projects on green transition strategies and worker agency in Europe and the US, as well as in the built environment. The applicant is expected to have broad knowledge of the field and some experience of quantitative and qualitative research.

The closing date for applications is Thursday, 1^st November, 2018

For further information on how to apply, please visit: https://www.westminster.ac.uk/courses/research-degrees/research-areas/business/how-to-apply

When applying please ensure that you quote ‘WBS/ProBE Studentship’

Prospective candidates wishing to discuss an application informally should contact Professor Linda Clarke: clarkel@westminster.ac.uk

20th August 2018

Celebrating and critiquing John Kelly’s Rethinking Industrial Relations

Half day debate and discussion:

Celebrating and critiquing John Kelly’s Rethinking Industrial Relations

Wednesday 5 December 2018

Centre for Employment Relations Innovation and Change (CERIC), University of Leeds

Eventbrite booking details

It was just twenty years ago that John Kelly’s Rethinking Industrial Relations (1998) was published. It is one of those rare books to be found on many of the bookshelves of people working in the field of industrial relations. To reflect on the book’s significance, we brought together a number of researchers and scholars to create a special issue of the journal, Economic and Industrial Democracy, to both celebrate as well as constructively critique the contribution Rethinking Industrial Relations has made to subsequent studies of union organising and mobilisation.

At its heart, Rethinking Industrial Relations is a forceful and robust critique of the employment relationship and employment relations under capitalism. The book adopts a radical and Marxist perspective––not from the school of academic Marxism––but from activist and political interventionist perspectives, which explains why its interest has spread beyond the academy.

We want to push forward the debate and discussion we started in the special edition – not by repeating what was said there by its contributors but rather by asking scholars and practitioners to comment on the papers and to provide questions for discussants (and the audience) to think about future application – both in the academic and in unions and social movements.

You are invited to take part in this event and join us for what looks like an enjoyable and thought-provoking day in Leeds in early December. If you would like a ticket for this event then please keep an eye out for a following email.

Gregor Gall and Jane Holgate

Wednesday 5 December 2018: Leeds

Contributors

Gabriella Alberti, Associate Professor, Leeds University Business School

Heather Connolly, Associate Professor, University of Leicester

Ralph Darlington, Emeritus Professor, University of Salford

Gregor Gall, Visiting Professor, Leeds University Business School

Ian Greenwood, Associate Professor, Leeds University Business School

Jane Holgate, Professor, Leeds University Business School

Jean Jenkins, Reader, Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University

John Kelly, Professor, Birkbeck, University of London

Eleanor Kirk, Research associate, University of Glasgow

Ian Manborde, Equality and Diversity Organiser, the Equity union

Miguel Martinez Lucio, Professor, Manchester Business School, Manchester University

Melanie Simms, Professor, Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow

Mark Stuart, Professor and CERIC director, Leeds University Business School

Charles Umney, Associate Professor, Leeds University Business School

17th August 2018

BUIRA History of Industrial Relations Study Group

BUIRA History of Industrial Relations Study Group

TUC: 150^th Anniversary

Walter Citrine and the Changing International Environment, 1920-1945

Wednesday 17 October 2018

4.00pm for 4.20-6.30pm (Tea/ coffee from 4.00)

Room tbc, University of Westminster Business School, 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS (opposite Madame Tussauds and 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:

4.00-4.20pm: Tea/ coffee/ refreshments

4.20-4.30: Welcome: Michael Gold and Linda Clarke (Chairs)

4.30-5.00: Jim Moher

The TUC leadership and the Left after the General Strike  - Citrine/Bevin - Cripps/Beavan

Walter (Lord) Citrine (1887-1983), General Secretary of the TUC in its heyday – from the General Strike to 1946 – has, largely, but undeservedly, been written out of the history of the Labour movement. He is remembered only for his ABC of Chairmanship, while his stewardship of the TUC, central role as President of the International Federation of Trade Unions (1928-1945) and huge influence on Labour Party policy in the 1930s and 1940s, has been downplayed or ignored. Citrine’s side has rarely been examined but can now be seen to have been far more substantial and significant as a contribution to the Labour movement.

5.00-5.30: Jonathan Davis

Searching for Truth in Russia: Walter Citrine’s Soviet Visits in the Interwar Years

The TUC General Secretary Walter Citrine went to the Soviet Union in 1925 and 1935. Touring the country to see how socialism was developing in a country that was seen by many as the vanguard of the international socialist movement, he found reasons to be both optimistic and pessimistic about the development of a left-wing alternative to capitalism. Yet Citrine’s visits have not had the attention they deserve. This talk will therefore consider what Citrine saw when he searched ‘for truth’ in Russia, and it will assess how it contributed to Labour’s socialist identity in the interwar years.

5.30-6.00: General discussion

6.00: Close (followed by drinks until 6.30)

The speakers:

Dr Jim Moher is a former union national official (T&GWU and CWU) and Labour councillor, turned historian. He has published a chapter on Walter Citrine: A Union Pioneer of Industrial Cooperation in Alternatives to State-Socialism in Britain (editors P. Ackers & A. Reid, Palgrave, 2017), as well as other pieces on Citrine. He is working on the first biography of the TUC leader and is a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Contemporary British History, King’s College, London.

Dr Jonathan Davis is Senior Lecturer in History and Co-director of the Labour History Research Unit at Anglia Ruskin University. He has published widely on Labour and the Soviet Union and is co-editor of Labour and the Wider World (I. B. Tauris, 2008), Britain’s Second Labour Government, 1929-31: a reappraisal (MUP, 2011), and Labour and the Left in the 1980s (MUP, 2018). He is currently writing a global history of the 1980s for Routledge.

17th August 2018

Hard Times, Hard Choices by Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick and Richard Hyman

Publication of a paperback edition of Trade Unions in Western Europe
Hard Times, Hard Choices by Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick and Richard Hyman, with an extensive Afterword which updates the analysis. £24.99. Details at
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/trade-unions-in-western-europe-9780198816782?lang=3n&cc=in

17th August 2018

New BUIRA Honorary Members

Congratulations to Professor Peter Ackers and Professor Ralph Darlington who have both been awarded Honorary Membership of BUIRA in recognition of their contribution to industrial relations and BUIRA.

23rd July 2018

New BUIRA Executive Members

Congratulations to Eve Ewington and Laura William who have both been elected to the BUIRA Executive.

23rd July 2018

BUIRA Conference 2018

Thanks to all who attended the 2018 BUIRA Conference and to the organising team at Middlesex for hosting an excellent event.  Pictures and reports from the conference are available on our Facebook and Twitter accounts @buiraonline  and will be added to the website shortly.

The 2019 conference will be held in Newcastle and we hope to see you all there.

23rd July 2018

Job vacancy: Senior/ Principal Teaching Fellow, Warwick Business School

Job vacancy: Senior/ Principal Teaching Fellow, Warwick Business School

Permanent, full time.

Salary: £39,992 - £47,722 per annum (Senior Teaching Fellow); £49,149 - £56,950 per annum (Principal Teaching Fellow)

Warwick Business School (WBS) is a research-led, triple-accredited university-based business school with globally renowned research credentials and a portfolio of world-class courses.  We are continuing our search for talented individuals to join our faculty. Applications are invited for the post of Senior or Principal Teaching fellow in Human Resource Management.

The successful candidate will have a track record of developing and applying innovative teaching methods. Evidence of excellent teaching performance at undergraduate and masters levels would be expected. Candidates will be expected to have experience of undertaking curriculum design and review, and of developing and delivering a range of programmes of study. The successful candidate will be required to contribute broadly to the group’s teaching, potentially covering modules in areas such as Human Resource Management, Employment Relations and International HRM. Applicants that have experience in delivering applied, skills-based HR teaching will be particularly welcome.

The ability to contribute to the development of teaching and learning strategies and to provide leadership to others working within programmes as a mentor and colleague are also key features of this position. The successful candidate’s teaching approach is expected to be informed by research within their discipline, as well as their own practice.

A good honours degree and a PhD or equivalent in an area related to Employment Relations or Human Resource Management are also required.

We are supportive of staff with caring responsibilities including a generous maternity/paternity/adoption/parental leave policy, onsite childcare facilities and the childcare vouchers scheme.

The following links provide further details on how to apply:

Principal Teaching Fellow

Senior Teaching Fellow

For informal queries, please contact the Organisation and Human Resource Management Head of Group: Professor Kim Hoque, kim.hoque@wbs.ac.uk

Closing date for applications: 8/08/2018

Interview Dates: 18/09/2018 and 19/09/2018

22nd July 2018

Job vacancy: Northern TUC based in Newcastle

https://www.tuc.org.uk/jobs/policy-and-campaigns-support-officer

22nd July 2018

BUIRA Stewardship

It was agreed at the 2018 AGM that a team from Birmingham University will become BUIRA stewards from July 2019.  This follows the end of the term of the current stewardship team at Newcastle University.

22nd July 2018

Publication: Routledge Companion to Employment Relations

The recently published Routledge Companion to Employment Relations may be of interest to our members: 

https://www.routledge.com/The-Routledge-Companion-to-Employment-Relations/Wilkinson-Dundon-Donaghey-Colvin/p/book/9781138911178

30th June 2018

Event: Disclosing versus concealing a mental health problem at work: what do we know and where do we go from here?

Professor Laurent Lapierre Telfer School of Management University of Ottowa, Canada

Wednesday 18th July2018

10:30 – 12:00 (coffee and tea at 10:15)

1.004 Dover St, University of Manchester.

Abstract

Mental health is a growing global concern. For example, 41% of Canadians are at high risk for mental health issues, and recent estimates suggest that 1 in 5 working-age Canadians are adversely affected by a mental health challenge each year. In the UK, the recent results of the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey show that 1 in 6 people over the age of 16 had a common mental health problem in the week prior to being interviewed, and that nearly half of adults think that they have had a diagnosable mental health condition at some point in their life. Mental health problems represent a significant cost to companies stemming from reduced productivity, absences, and turnover (e.g., £35 billion in 2017 in the UK according to the Centre for Mental Health). Despite a notable increase in public attention given to mental health, relatively little is known on how employers, and managers specifically, can best support their employees’ mental health. When struggling with one’s mental health, a highly promising first step toward receiving support at work is to disclose the struggle to one’s manager, who would often be best positioned to provide some type of accommodation. However, many individuals prefer to conceal their challenge, often out of fear of being disadvantaged or treated poorly because of the stigmatization of mental health problems. In this presentation, Prof Lapierre will provide an overview of the limited scholarship addressing employees’ disclosure of a mental health problem. He will also list a series of research questions that he believes should be addressed in order to offer organizations the means of ensuring that their managers create a work climate where their employees feel comfortable revealing their mental health problems, and where such revelation actually leads to positive outcomes.

About the Speaker

Dr Lapierre is the Ian Telfer Professor of Workplace Behaviour and Health. His research focuses mainly on two topics: Occupational health psychology and leadership. His work on the first topic has focused on the intersection of individuals’ work and family lives. He has strived to identify how organizational policies, individuals at work (supervisors and coworkers), employees themselves, and their families can each help them experience less work-family conflict, more work-family enrichment, and overall better health. In his work on leadership, Dr Lapierre has been giving particular attention to relational dynamics between managers (supervisors) and each of their employees (subordinates). More recently, he has focused on the influence that individuals’ acts of followership can have on others’ leadership.

28th June 2018

Vacancies at University College Dublin

Please apply by following the below web link: 

20th June 2018

[ILERA 2018 World Congress] Invitation to the ILERA Council Meeting 

Greetings from ILERA World Congress 2018!

18th June 2018

Event: The Skills and Employment Survey 2017

Productivity, Skills Trends and Fairness at Work in Britain:

First Findings from the Skills and Employment Survey 2017

Date: 1.00pm – 3.30pm, Thursday 19 July 2018
Venue: Church House, Dean’s Yard, Westminster, London SW1P 3NZ

The Skills and Employment Survey 2017 is the seventh in a series of surveys stretching back to the mid-1980s.  The results will be launched on 19 July 2018 at Church House, Westminster, London.

At this event the authors – Alan Felstead, Duncan Gallie, Francis Green and Golo Henseke – will present headline findings of the survey and outline policy implications relating to three themes:

·           Productivity: Almost a decade after the financial crisis productivity growth has failed to recover to its pre-recession level.  This survey gives the workers’ perspective on what drives productivity and what could be done to spark its revival.

·           Skills Trends: Substantial public and private investment in education and training make it essential that effective use is made of the skills produced.  This survey examines the evolution of job skills, the changing nature of the post-graduate labour market and the gendered pattern of job skills over the last two decades.

·           Fairness at Work: Employees’ views about how fairly their organisations treat them and their colleagues is key determinant of job-related well-being.  This survey shows how fairness at work is distributed and examines some of the factors affecting these beliefs.

The event will also mark the launch of the Job Quality Quiz (www.howgoodismyjob.com). 

The event is free, but places are limited and attendance will be by prior registration only.  If you would like to attend please e-mail alice@inanyevent-uk.com by 5 July 2018. (Email address has now been corrected, apologies for any inconvenience caused)

If you require any further information, please contact Alice Johnson-Jelf at the SES2017 Conference Desk on Tel: 01275 266000.

Three more themes – effort, participation and insecurity – will be covered at a second launch to be held on 3 October 2018 at Canada Water Culture Space, 21 Surrey Quays Rd, London SE16 7AR.

12th June 2018

Event: Productivity, Skills Trends and Fairness at Work in Britain: First Findings from the Skills and Employment Survey 2017

Productivity, Skills Trends and Fairness at Work in Britain:

First Findings from the Skills and Employment Survey 2017

Date: 1.00pm – 3.30pm, Thursday 19 July 2018
Venue: Church House, Dean’s Yard, Westminster, London SW1P 3NZ

The Skills and Employment Survey 2017 is the seventh in a series of surveys stretching back to the mid-1980s.  The results will be launched on 19 July 2018 at Church House, Westminster, London.

At this event the authors – Alan Felstead, Duncan Gallie, Francis Green and Golo Henseke – will present headline findings of the survey and outline policy implications relating to three themes:

·           Productivity: Almost a decade after the financial crisis productivity growth has failed to recover to its pre-recession level.  This survey gives the workers’ perspective on what drives productivity and what could be done to spark its revival.

·           Skills Trends: Substantial public and private investment in education and training make it essential that effective use is made of the skills produced.  This survey examines the evolution of job skills, the changing nature of the post-graduate labour market and the gendered pattern of job skills over the last two decades.

·           Fairness at Work: Employees’ views about how fairly their organisations treat them and their colleagues is key determinant of job-related well-being.  This survey shows how fairness at work is distributed and examines some of the factors affecting these beliefs.

The event will also mark the launch of the Job Quality Quiz (www.howgoodismyjob.com). 

The event is free, but places are limited and attendance will be by prior registration only.  If you would like to attend please e-mail alice@inanyevent.com by 5 July 2018.

If you require any further information, please contact Alice Johnson-Jelf at the SES2017 Conference Desk on Tel: 01275 266000.

Three more themes – effort, participation and insecurity – will be covered at a second launch to be held on 3 October 2018 at Canada Water Culture Space, 21 Surrey Quays Rd, London SE16 7AR.

11th June 2018

BUIRA Conference 2018 - Timetable now available

The conference timetable is now availablehttps://www.buira.org/assets/images/conferences/2016/Conference-schedule%20(002).pdf

Please also select your meal choices for the Conference Gala Dinnerhttps://www.eventbrite.com/e/buira-conference-gala-dinner-tickets-46762782742

8th June 2018

Event: Work and Equalities Fourth Fairness at Work Conference 10 – 11 September 2018

Building on the three previous Fairness at Work Conferences at the University of Manchester (in 2012, 2014, and 2016), the 2018 conference aims to bring together academics and practitioners to discuss strategic issues on the subject of justice and fairness at work.

The last two years have seen a major shift in the political environment and an emergence of a politics of national insularity. Yet at the same time major strides have been made in raising awareness and support for living wage campaigns and improving workplace justice. The conference aims to discuss developments in our understandings of the impact of technological changes (e.g. the gig economy), the changing experiences of work amongst groups of vulnerable workers (e.g. younger workers), the impact of an increasingly hostile context on notions of justice and fairness at the workplace (e.g. a greater challenge to minority rights) and the responses and roles of trade unions and other civil society organisations in dealing with such challenges.

Plenary speakers include:
Professor Ralph Darlington, University of Salford
Dr Jo Grady, University of Sheffield
Professor Debra Howcroft, Work and Equalities Institute
Professor Andrew Pendleton, University of Durham
Professor Melanie Simms, University of Glasgow
Professor Vicki Waas, University of Cardiff
Dr Alex Wood, Oxford University

The conference is being held in Manchester at the same time as the 150^th Annual Conference of the UK’s Trade Unions Congress and will organise sessions linked to the TUC conference themes, with invited speakers and activities focused on the future of trade unions and worker regulation and rights.  The TUC was founded in Manchester in 1868 and the WEI Fairness at Work conference will include social and cultural activities linked to the labour history and struggles for equality of the city.

Delegates will also be able to attend the Fairness at Work/Work & Equalities Institute fringe event, "Work and Equalities: Futures and Challenges", on Tueday 11th September as part of the TUC's 150th anniversary conference also held in Manchester during that week.

Venue: The University of Manchester - Cost: £200 Waged, £100 Day rate (£50 unwaged): includes all food and drink plus the conference dinner

Register to attend the conference

Further details  available here: http://mbs.ac.uk/weifairworkconference

7th June 2018

Event: University of Greenwich, Faculty of Business PSIRU/WERU conference

University of Greenwich, Faculty of Business PSIRU/WERU conference  

FUTURE PUBLIC SERVICES

To be held on Wednesday 27^th June 2018 in Lecture theatre QA 280, Queen Anne Building, Business Faculty, University of Greenwich, Park Row, London SE10 9LS.

The proposals in the Labour Party’s 2017 manifesto for public ownership of water, energy and rail proved extremely popular in the general election. Since then there has been a resurgence of debate in the UK around the question of public ownership for the first time in a quarter of a century, involving politicians, investors, academics, unions, and the public, with substantial media coverage.  

The University of Greenwich is organising a conference on 27th June 2018 to contribute to and enhance this debate. The morning session will focus on the case for public ownership in the UK, and on the transition to public ownership, of railway, water, and energy services, and PFI schemes in the NHS, local and central government. This will be followed by contributions on the political economy of public services and public economics, including international speakers.

The afternoon session will examine how public services can be more democratic focusing on the role of public service workers, and how quality of public services can be improved when workers contribute to the design and delivery of the services.  Presentations from academics and international trade unionists will discuss this relationship between workers and public services in relation to health and education, local government, public transport, and waste management.  

9.00-13.00: Why public ownership?

Labour party speaker: public ownership plans

Ian Taylor (Transport for Quality of Life): Public ownership of railways

Dr. Helen Mercer (University of Greenwich): Nationalising SPVs and PFI 

Prof. David Hall (University of Greenwich): Public ownership of water and energy

Prof. Judith Clifton (University of Cantabria): Public enterprise and the future 

Dr. Emanuele Lobina (University of Greenwich): Theorising efficiency and the public sector 

Dr. June Sekera (University College London and Tufts University): Re-thinking public economics

Discussion

Lunch 13.00-14.15

14.15- 17.00: Democratising public services  

Chair: Prof Sian Moore, University of Greenwich

Dr. Jane Lethbridge (PSIRU): Worker-led management of services – towards democratic professionalism in public services

Asbjorn Wahl (Campaign for the Welfare State and NUMGE, Norway): Workers in the welfare state

Public transport:  Alana Dave (ITF): Redesigning and restructuring services

Waste management: Vera Weghmann (PSIRU): Redesigning and restructuring services

Discussion

17.00 Close

For registration, please contact  businessevents@greenwich.ac.uk

For more information please contact: Dr. Jane Lethbridge, Director, PSIRU  j.lethbridge@gre.ac.uk

7th June 2018

Event: Contemporary British Trotskyism: a symposium

Contemporary British Trotskyism: a symposium

Thursday 28 June

2pm - 4.30pm

Venue: Queen Mary University of London, Arts 1 building, Room 1.28

A symposium on British Trotskyism jointly organised by the PSA Labour Movements and Communism Specialist groups for John Kelly’s new book Contemporary Trotskyism: Parties, Sects and Social Movements in Britain (Routledge, 2018)

Speakers

John Kelly (Birkbeck)

Ian Birchall

Phil Burton-Cartledge (Derby)

Madeleine Davis  (Queen Mary)

Kevin Morgan (Manchester)

Mark Wickham-Jones (Bristol)

In a major new study of British Trotskyism, John Kelly looks in detail at the influence, resilience and weaknesses of the British Trotskyist movement, from the 1970s to the present day. This afternoon seminar brings together experts in the history and politics of the labour movement, Communism, New Left and far left to debate the arguments of the book and reflect on the significance of the Trotskyist movement for contemporary British politics. 

FREE: all welcome

Register: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/contemporary-british-trotskyism-a-symposium-tickets-46762541019

5th June 2018

Event: Time’s Up: Proposed Solutions for Equality and Diversity Challenges in 2017

The Diversity Interest Group at the University of Greenwich is showcasing its research on Equality and Diversity in a one day conference.

Date: Monday, 11 of June 2018

 Time: 9:30

Location: Queen Anne Building, Room 063, Park Row, London SE10 9LS

Key note speech from Professor Tracey Reynolds: "Mind(ful) of the gap: intersectionality and the challenges of diversity in higher education"

Plus conference presentations from researchers at the University of Greenwich on the themes of:

• Education
• Careers and Employment
• Justice

Including a practitioner focus from Sarah Crowe

Vice President | Senior Consultant- Diversity and Inclusion– EMEA, Northern Trust.

Followed by a roundtable including Professor Sian Moore and Dr Jason Arday.

To register, please email Business Events with your name and job title to attend.

Professor Tracey Reynolds: Tracey's teaching and research interests focus on transnational families and kinship networks; constructions of motherhood and parenting & youth studies, and she has established international recognition within these fields of expertise. She has conducted extensive empirical research in the UK across a range of social issues including black and minority families living in disadvantaged communities, the study of families and in the Caribbean and North America.

Professor Sian Moore: Director of the Work and Employment Research Unit, University of Greenwich. Sian joined the University of Greenwich as Professor in Employment Relations and Human Resource Management and Director of the Work and Employment Research Unit (WERU) in September 2015. She was previously Professor of Work and Employment Relations and Co-Director of the Centre for Employment Studies Research (CESR) at the University of the West of England.

Dr Jason Arday: a Senior Lecturer in Education at Roehampton University, School of Education, a Visiting Research Fellow at The Ohio State University in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and a Trustee of the Runnymede Trust and Co-Chair of the Runnymede Academic Forum.He has recently completed an edited collection with Professor Heidi Mirza (Goldsmiths, University of London) entitled Dismantling Race in Higher Education: Racism, Whiteness and Decolonising the Academy (Palgrave).

4th June 2018

Event: BUIRA History of Industrial Relations Study Group

Deindustrialisation and Industrial Relations in Scotland: 1960s until Today

Thursday 7 June 2018: 15.30-17.00 (Tea/ coffee from 15.00; drinks at 5pm)

Room C279, University of Westminster Business School, 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS (opposite Madame Tussauds and nearly opposite Baker Street tube)

For further details or to reserve a place, please e-mail Michael Gold (m.gold@rhul.ac.uk) or Linda Clarke (clarkel@wmin.ac.uk).

Programme:

3.00-3.20pm: Tea/ coffee/ refreshments

3.20pm: Welcome and introductions: Michael Gold and Linda Clarke (Chairs)

3.30-4.00pm: Jim Phillips, Jim Tomlinson and Valerie Wright (presented by Jim Phillips)

Deindustrialisation, Ownership and Industrial Relations, c. 1963-1993: Evidence from Linwood Car Manufacturing and Timex Dundee

Deindustrialisation was a phased and managed process, which structured industrial relations. From the mid-1950s industrial workers and communities in Scotland were persuaded to trade ‘old’ jobs in the staples for ‘new’ jobs in lighter engineering. ‘New’ employers acquired obligations, partly because public money was involved in establishing business premises and associated housing. The cases of Linwood car manufacturing and Timex Dundee show that workers exerted moral economy claims to ownership of these new jobs and factories. Through trade union organisation, embedded in community and familial ties, they challenged managerial sovereignty, particularly at points of transition or crisis.

4.00-4.30pm: Dr Jenny O’Neil and Dr Vaughan Ellis

Unheard Voices of Decline: Scottish Oil Sector

This paper examines how employment in the Scottish oil industry is changing as the industry declines, shedding in excess of 120,000 jobs between 2014 and 2016 as oil prices fell. Yet, the absence of workers’ voice in policy discussions about how best to safeguard the industry and utilise their skills has meant that other stakeholders’ interests have been privileged. Drawing from in depth oral history interviews with off shore oil workers, it is argued that workers are experiencing lower wages, fewer shifts, difficulty accessing re-training and career changes as well as adverse effects on family life and wellbeing.

4.30-5.00pm: General discussion

5.00pm: Close (followed by drinks until 5.30pm)
 

The speakers:

Jim Phillips is a Senior Lecturer in Economic and Social History at the University of Glasgow, where he and his c-authors are working on a Leverhulme-funded project, Employment, Politics and Culture in Scotland since 1955. Jim co-edits Scottish Labour History and Historical Studies in Industrial Relations.

Dr Jenny O’Neil is a Lecturer in Labour Relations and Global HRM at Edinburgh Napier University. Her research interests include skills development within turbulent environments, employee voice and Global HRM.

Dr Vaughan Ellis is a Lecturer in Work and Industrial Relations specialising in the contemporary organisation and experience of work, and how changes in an organisations' external environment impact upon the labour process.

1st June 2018

Workshop: What Kind of Green and Just Transition? With Special Reference to the Built Environment

ProBE – Centre for the Study of the Production of the Built Environment

University of Westminster

WHAT KIND OF GREEN AND JUST TRANSITION?

WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT 

DATE:       Thursday 12 July 2018, 12 noon-18.00pm          

VENUE:    Room CG28, University of Westminster Marylebone Campus,

35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS (opposite Madame Tussaud and diagonal from Baker Street tube station)

There is much discussion as well as divergent approaches to the question of a just transition to a low carbon economy, revolving

around what is achievable by the market or by ecological modernisation and whether instead a much more radical transformation

is necessary. This workshop addresses this debate and is concerned in particular with the active role of workers and the trade unions

in this transition, including examples from the built environment of successful intervention.

11.30-12.00     REGISTRATION AND COFFEE

12.00-12.05     Welcome: Introduction:                      ProBE/University of Westminster

SESSION 1: WHAT IS A GREEN AND JUST TRANSITION?

12.05-12.25     Just Transition and Beyond Just Transition: Strategies, Tactics, Labour Leadership            Carla Lipsig Mummé            York University, Toronto

12.25–12.45    Enabling city networks for green transitions   Fred Steward  University of Westminster

12.45-13.05     Trade Union Approaches to Just Transition Strategy Sam Mason    Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union

13.05-13.30     Discussion

13.30-14.15     LUNCH BREAK

SESSION 2:  CONSTRUCTING A LOW CARBON BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY PROVISION

14.15-14.35     From constructing carbon-intensive to low carbon energy supply    Colin Gleeson            ProBE/University of Westminster

14.35-14.55     Conflicting ways from Black to Green           Béla Galgóczi  European Trade Union Institute

14.55-15.15     Green jobs and sustainability in the European offshore wind turbine manufacturing industry            Lisa Schulte    Middlesex University

15.15-15.35     Discussion      

15.35-15.55     COFFEE BREAK

SESSION 3: GREEN TRANSITIONS, TRADE UNION ACTIONS AND LOCALITIES

15.55-16.15     Green Transitions in the built environment in Europe Linda Clarke and Melahat Sahin-Dikmen            ProBE/University of Westminster

16.15-16.35     Framing Just Transition          Dimitris Stevis Colorado State University

16.35-17.00     Discussion

PANEL SESSION:  WHERE DO TRADE UNIONS GO FROM HERE?

17.00-18.00     Mercedes Landolfi (Fillea CGIL, Italy); ITUC? tbc, Philip Pearson (GJA);

1800-18.30      Drinks

To reserve a place and for further information, contact, Melahat Sahin-Dikmen M.Sahindikmen@westminster.ac.uk or Linda Clarke: clarkel@westminster.ac.uk

1st June 2018

Event and discussion: History & Policy: Why is Equal Pay for women so difficult to achieve?

31st May 2018

Vacancy - Research Assistant (Institute for Research into Organisations, Work and Employment (IROWE))

Great job opportunity for new Research Assistant to come and join iROWE (Institute for Research into Organisations, Work and Employment), University of Central Lancashire.

iROWE covers diverse research topics from domestic violence to co-working to leadership in healthcare to conflict resolution.  We run events with internal and external stakeholders, and are very keen on engagement with the community – for instance our forthcoming conference on domestic violence in the workplace with the TUC, and speakers from practitioners, expert groups, policy and academia.

Research Assistant (Institute for Research into Organisations, Work and Employment (IROWE))

University of Central Lancashire – Lancashire School of Business and Enterprise.

REQ003665

Hours:  Full time (36.5 hours per week - 1.0 FTE).  Job Share and part time applications also considered.

Basis:  Fixed term contract for 12 months initially

Grade: E (£21585-24285)

Closing Date:  24/06/2018

Applications and all details please search vacancies:  https://www.uclan.ac.uk/work/index.php

 If anyone wants to talk to me about the role they are very welcome to do so Dr Gemma Wibberley,  gwibberley@uclan.ac.uk

30th May 2018

Call for Abstracts: BUIRA 2018 PhD Workshop

The British Universities Industrial Relation Association holds 2018 conference at Middlesex University, London (Hendon campus), Wednesday 27th – Friday 29th June, 2018.

The PhD session is planned to hold on first day of the conference, Wednesday 27th June. The session will have two main features (PhD Workshop paper presentations and panel discussions). Professor Michael Gold, Royal Holloway, University of London, and Dr Danat Valizade, University of Leeds, have been confirmed to be amongst the panel.

29th May 2018

Vacancy: Professor and Director, Centre for Global Business

Job: Professor and Director, Centre for Global Business (Research Only)

Our Centre comprises six research groups:

If you're after a rewarding career, Monash University can help make it happen. With leading academics and world-class resources, combined with a ranking in the top 100 universities worldwide, we offer all you need to build a brighter future.

We are seeking a strong and committed leader and researcher to fulfil the role of Professor and Director of the Centre for Global Business. The Director will maintain and enhance the Centre's profile as a leading national centre of research and provide strategic leadership to the existing team.

The Director is responsible for representing the Centre and its interests, views and needs across external, professional, business and government platforms. You will be responsible for maintaining a strong program of research, capable of attracting high calibre research staff and substantial external funding, publish research outcomes in the highest impact journals and foster postgraduate research training through the supervision of postgraduate students.

The successful applicant will be a researcher of international repute with a vision for the needs and development of global business studies both nationally and internationally. This vision will be supported by superior communication skills and a demonstrated commitment to the promotion of global business as a research area.

To thrive in this appealing role, you will have a relevant postgraduate qualification, an internationally-recognised career in a relevant discipline, a demonstrated record of academic excellence, and extensive experience and expertise in strategic management and leadership, particularly in a multidisciplinary environment.

Your application must address the selection criteria. Please refer to "How to apply for Monash Jobs".

Enquiries

Professor Gary Magee- Deputy Dean (Research), <Gary.Magee@monash.edu> 

or if you wish, for an informal discussion, contact Professor Greg Bamber <greg.bamber@monash.edu>

Position Description

 PD - Professor and Director, Centre for Global Business

Monday 9 July 2018, 11:55 pm AEST

24th May 2018

Event: WERU Seminar - Self-Employed Workers: Who Are They And Can They Be Organised?

THE UNIVERSITY OF GREENWICH WORK AND EMPLOYMENT RESEARCH UNIT 
 
SELF-EMPLOYED WORKERS: WHO ARE THEY AND CAN THEY BE ORGANISED? 
 
WEDNESDAY 30^th MAY 2018. 15.00 – 18.00 
 
VENUE: ROOM HH102, HAMILTON HOUSE, PARK VISTA, GREENWICH, SE10 9LZ 
 
Recently there has been a new focus on the role of self-employment in the labour market. In large part this is because of the substantial rise in self-employment since the financial crash of 2007/08 and the rise of 'bogus' self-employment in the new logistics industries (and elsewhere) which has challenged the legal concept of the 'employee' and workers' rights generally. This seminar seeks to shed new light on the different kinds of work undertaken by the self-employed - from window cleaners to accountants, and the wide range of incomes achieved. Our four presentations include recent research on the self-employed by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES); analysis by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) of the national statistics on the self-employed workforce; a speaker from BECTU on the union organisation of self-employed workers in the film and broadcasting industries; and Professor Patricia Leighton on research she has been conducting among self-employed professionals. Our speakers are as follows: 
 
Andrea Broughton (Ecorys) and Matthew Williams (IES) will present the findings of recent IES research on segmentation of the solo self-employed workforce. The research highlights the diverse nature of this workforce, identifying nine distinct segments, ranging from highly independent, secure and well-paid individuals to those with a low degree of control over their working life, working in low-paid and insecure jobs. The research is based on a literature review and analysis of three datasets: the Labour Force Survey, the Family Resources Survey and Understanding Society. Andrea Broughton joined Ecorys as an Associate Director in January 2018, prior to which she was Principal Research Fellow at the Institute for Employment Studies. Andrea has a degree in modern languages (French and German) and an MA in international industrial relations and human resource management. She has over 20 years of experience in conducting research into European comparative employment relations, working for clients such as the European Commission, the European Parliament and Eurofound, Dublin. Andrea’s research interests include social dialogue, management of change and restructuring, precarious work and atypical employment. Matthew Williams re-joined IES in May 2013, having started his career at the Institute in the 1990s. An economist by training, Matthew has considerable experience and expertise in labour market analysis, at a local, regional and national level and for employers and public bodies, and he is a strong quantitative researcher and skilled in using SPSS to analyse administrative and survey datasets. He also has experience in the work areas of disability and higher education research. Prior to re-joining IES Matthew worked for 12 years as a self-employed research consultant, often working in conjunction with IES, and worked on a wide range of qualitative and quantitative research projects.

Mark Chandler (ONS) will discuss the national data available on the self-employed workforce, looking at their characteristics, income and wealth.  Mark Chandler is a Senior Economic Adviser currently leading four teams of economists in the economics hub at the Office for National Statistics. His experience includes defining, measuring and developing measures of service output and productivity, providing the economics component to the annual local government finance settlements and the business rates retention scheme, monitoring and evaluation of local Growth Deals and Devolution Deals, and developing the WebTAG system of economic appraisal for transport investments. Prior to becoming a civil servant, he was an academic teaching and leading research projects in the Baltic States. His Ph.D. in economics, on a public choice model of local government finance, is from the University of Connecticut.
 
Paul Evans (BECTU) will cover the union organisation of the self-employed in the film and broadcasting industries and show how a collective agreement was negotiated for these workers. Paul is an Assistant National Secretary of BECTU, the sector of the Prospect trade union that covers the entertainment industry. He oversees a rapidly growing 11,000-strong division of the union representing London TV, feature film and commercials production and post-production crew – mostly freelancers. He has a previous background as the founder of a Worker Co-op in the tech sector, a period of work in publishing and as a European Parliament researcher. In his spare time, he is the whistle player in a Pogues tribute band and is the author of a book titled ‘Save Democracy – Abolish Voting’, published by The Democratic Society in November 2017.

Professor Patricia Leighton (IPag Business School, France and University of South Wales UK) argues for a more radical, comprehensive and robust re-assessment of the employment law framework applying to workers generally, but the self-employed in particular. While Patricia’s background is as an employment lawyer, she will draw on a lot of empirical data on the experience of self-employed people and the legal and other responses to them in her presentation. She sees employment rights (and, indeed, other rights, e.g. to compete, work as a professional etc, work across borders etc) as important but by no means the only area for exploration and there is a need to set employment rights alongside social protections and a range of other issues. Patricia Leighton is Professor Emeritus at the University of South Wales UK and was previously Jean Monnet Professor of European Law  and a Professor at the College of Europe, Bruges. She is currently Professor of European Law at the IPag Business School  France and a member of their research group. Her research and publishing interests are employment relationships, atypical contracts and self-employment. She has written several books on employment contracts and their management, flexible and emerging work patterns, and on opportunity and wellbeing at work. She has undertaken many research projects for international and national governments and other organisations, including the ILO, the European Commission and UK government departments, for private sector organisations and professional bodies.

This is a free seminar open to the public and all are invited but please can you inform us if you are planning to attend from outside the University of Greenwich by registering your interest at:   Business School Events with your name, job title and organisation to attend. Or email Professor Geoff White on wg08@gre.ac.uk

 
HOW TO FIND US

Hamilton House, 15 Park Vista, Greenwich, London SE10 9LZ 
Telephone: +44 20 8331 9083 E-mail: i3centre@gre.ac.uk​

23rd May 2018

Journal of Industrial Relations - Call for special issue proposals

The Journal of Industrial Relations (JIR) is inviting proposals for special issues for the years 2020 and 2021.

The Journal of Industrial Relations is an ISI-ranked, peer-reviewed international journal administered by the Australian Labour and Employment Relations Association (ALERA). The editors invite scholarship from a range of disciplinary perspectives, examining any aspect of employment relations. Contributions exploring the traditional concerns of industrial relations as well as studies addressing the intersection of workplace, family and community are welcome.

The guidelines for special issue proposals, editorial guidelines and the JIR's aims and scope can be found at http://journals.sagepub.com/pb-assets/cmscontent/JIR/JIR_Call%20for%20SI%20proposals__2020-2021.pdf.

Please submit your special issue proposal to the JIR Editors at business.jir@sydney.edu.au by June 2018

23rd May 2018

Book Publication: Kettling the Unions: A Guide to the 2016 Trade Union Act

Kettling the Unions?

A Guide to the 2016 Trade Union Act

 By Alan Tuckman

Foreword by Mark Serwotka, PCS General Secretary

 Published with the support of the Public and Commercial Services Union

ORDER NOW FROM SPOKESMAN BOOKS:

£14.99 + £1P&P

http://spokesmanbookshop.com/Kettling-the-Unions

From Mark Serwotka’s foreword:

‘This very welcome book is intended to provide an analysis of the roots of the Trade Union Act 2016. Those roots lie in Thatcher’s legislation of the 1980s and further back to the undermining of collective bargaining in UK industrial relations that developed in the 1970s, in the context of neoliberalism’s rise to dominance. 

The Trade Union Act was a transparent attempt to contain trade unions in the position they held before the turn of the 20th century. It has introduced draconian restrictions on the right to strike, and new restrictions covering balloting and picketing. It has also changed the rules on union political funds from the current ‘opt-out’ system to an ‘opt-in’ system, an anti-democratic attempt to reduce the ability of trade unions to fund not only political parties, but also a wide range of other non-party political activities. 

As well as aiming to be a guide to the 2016 Trade Union Act and its effect on the trade union movement, this book sets it in the context of decades of attacks on the rights of workers to organise by Conservative governments.’

Contents:

Foreword by Mark Serwotka 7

Preface Oil on the Fire? Brexit and Workers’ Rights 9

Introduction 16

 Chapter 1 - The Trade Union Problem 28

The Emerging Problem 28 | The Rise of Trade Unionism 31 | Regularising Trade Unions? 36 | Taff Vale and the Trade Disputes Act 1906 39 | Voluntarism 44 | The Enemy Within: the challenge to consensus 47 | The Establishment of Trade Unionism and its Growing Challenge 53

Chapter 2 - Containing the Unions 58

The Attack on Voluntarism 58 | Heath, the ‘Quiet Revolution’ and the Industrial Relations Act 60 | Labour and the Social Contract 64 | Trade Unions Under Thatcher and Major 71 | Fairness at Work? The Labour Government 1997-2010 78 | The Coalition, the State of the Unions, and the Carr Review 83

Chapter 3 - The Trade Union Act 2016: A Guide 102

Introduction 102

2. Industrial Action Ballots 107

Ballot Thresholds 107 | Electronic Balloting 113 | Information Requirements associated with industrial action ballots 117 | Timing of and Duration of industrial ballots 119 | Expiry of industrial action mandate 121 | Picketing 122 | Use of agency workers during strikes 127

3. Political Funds 129

The Nature of Trade Union Political Funds 129 | Reform of Political Funds 131

4. Facilities Time and Check-Off 134 Facilities Time 134 | Check-Off 138
5. The Role of the Certification Officer 141

 Chapter 4 - Flexing the Kettle? 153

A ‘Winter of Discontent’? 153 | Implementing the Act 155 | Testing the Trade Union Act 158 | Immediate Impact of the Act 161 | Pension Disputes in the Universities and Royal Mail 164 | Pensions and the Pay Cap 173 | Conflict in the ‘new economy’?: Organising the unorganised 175 | Recognition in the global economy 179 | A revival of trade unionism? 181 | Repealing the Trade Union Act 187

Appendices 196

Appendix 1 - Examples of workers who deliver ‘important public services’ under the 40% threshold 196 Appendix 2 - Facilities Time 198 Appendix 3 - Role of Certification Officer 200 Appendix 4 - Institute of Employment Rights, Manifesto for Labour Law 201

Acknowledgements 204

About the Author 204

-----

Press review copies: PDF copies of the book can be sent to papers, magazines and journals in advance of publication upon request and consideration.

22nd May 2018

Event: Work & Equalities Annual Lecture

The 2018 WEI Annual Lecture, in partnership with the Health Services Research Centre (HSRC) will take place on Thursday 24^th May from 3pm – 5pm.

The topic is:

New Forms of Governance: Striving for Better Jobs and Public Services.

Can new forms of governance help in the search for better jobs and public services: evidence from developments in health care and community services in the United States.

Hallsworth Professors Rose Batt and Ron Applegate of Cornell University will present.

Further details are given in the flyer attached, and you can register here.

18th May 2018

Invitation to apply: Advert for BUIRA Executive Committee Members

The BUIRA Executive Committee will have 2 vacancies as from July 2018.

As discussed and agreed at the AGM in Leeds 2016, the voting system for vacancies on the Executive Committee will be conducted differently.

We now invite all members to forward their interest in becoming a member of the BUIRA Exec Committee to BUIRA admin who isJess Douglas at admin@buira.org.

All members are welcome to apply regardless of career stage i.e. early, senior, or type of contract.

However, this year we would like to strongly encourage women to apply for these positions as they are under-represented on the Committee.

Of course this does not remove open competition and the selection process is still via the membership at the AGM, not the Stewardship or the Executive Committee.

Please include a short biography of no more than 300 words and your reasons for applying for the vacant position.

Executive Committee members are expected to

• attend Committee meetings (3 a year)
• attend the annual conference
•  chair sessions at the conference
• review conference abstracts
• engage in e-mail discussions as appropriate

11th May 2018

Times Up In Academia

We are keen to hear from members interested in joining a working group concerning the ‘times up in academia’ movement.  If you might be willing get involved, or simply want to share experiences, ideas and thoughts on what BUIRA could do to support this important issue,  please let us know ASAP at admin@buira.org

10th May 2018

Call for expressions of interest in hosting BUIRA 2020 Conference

We are currently inviting expressions of interest in hosting the 2020 BUIRA conference.  If you might be interested in hosting the conference at your institution in summer 2020 please do let us know by at admin@buira.org

10th May 2018

Call for Streams, Abstracts and Papers - Global Work Quality Work? AIRAANZ Conference, 12-14 February 2019, RMIT University, Melbourne

Association of Industrial Relations Academics of Australia and New Zealand (AIRAANZ) Conference
Global Work, Quality Work?
12-14 February 2019, Melbourne, Australia

CALL FOR STREAMS, ABSTRACTS AND PAPERS

The Association of Industrial Relations Academics of Australia and New Zealand (AIRAANZ) is pleased to invite industrial relations scholars worldwide to present their research at the next annual conference to be held in Melbourne, hosted by the School of Management at RMIT University. The conference theme ‘Global Work, Quality Work?’ invites us to consider the dilemmas arising from growing disparities in the quality of jobs and from fragmentation of employment, especially in the context of the rapidly changing landscape of global capitalism, labour regulation, labour migration and labour movements.

The contributions of industrial relations scholarship and practice to understanding and responding to the challenges of growing inequalities in employment, pressures on job quality and poor labour market outcomes for diverse groups of workers will set the direction for the conference. Papers that engage with innovative responses to the challenges and issues of regulation, labour organisation and labour movements are of particular interest. Along with contributions that address the conference themes, abstracts and papers addressing a wide range of issues drawing on industrial relations, human resources, sociology of work and labour rights are invited.

Stream Proposals: Stream proposals should provide a brief (one page maximum) outline of the stream and include stream title, organiser/s’ names and email addresses. Organisers of accepted streams are expected to encourage participants and assist with organising refereeing of papers. Stream proposals should be emailed to airaanz@con-sol.com by 18 May 2018.

Abstracts: Abstracts of 250 words should succinctly set out the research question, methods used, theoretical focus and major conclusions. For full details go to: www.airaanz2019.org.au.

Papers: Refereed and non-refereed papers should be between 3,000 and 5,000 words. Submission details can be found at www.airaanz2019.org.au.

KEY DATES AND DEADLINES:
Stream proposals due: 18 May 2018
Abstract & paper submissions open: 4 June 2018
Paper submissions close: 31 August 2018
Abstract submissions close: 28 September 2018
Acceptance notification: 5 November 2018
Early bird registrations close: 8 December 2018

Contacts: Fiona Macdonald fiona.macdonald@rmit.edu.au; Diane Holland diane.holland@rmit.edu.au
Conference Solutions (Mandy Winter and Greg Vickers) airaanz@con-sol.com .

For full details see the AIRAANZ Website

9th May 2018

Event: WERU Seminar on the Self-EmployedWorkforce

THE UNIVERSITY OF GREENWICH WORK AND EMPLOYMENT RESEARCH UNIT 
 
SELF-EMPLOYED WORKERS: WHO ARE THEY AND CAN THEY BE ORGANISED? 
 
WEDNESDAY 30^th MAY 2018. 13.00 – 18.00 
 
VENUE: ROOM HH102, HAMILTON HOUSE, PARK VISTA, GREENWICH, SE10 9LZ

 
Recently there has been a new focus on the role of self-employment in the labour market. In large part this is because of the substantial rise in self-employment since the financial crash of 2007/08 and the rise of 'bogus' self-employment in the new logistics industries (and elsewhere) which has challenged the legal concept of the 'employee' and workers' rights generally. This seminar seeks to shed new light on the different kinds of work undertaken by the self-employed - from window cleaners to accountants, and the wide range of incomes achieved. Our four presentations include recent research on the self-employed by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES); analysis by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) of the national statistics on the self-employed workforce; a speaker from BECTU on the union organisation of self-employed workers in the film and broadcasting industries; and Professor Patricia Leighton on research she has been conducting among self-employed professionals. Our speakers are as follows: 
 
Andrea Broughton (Ecorys) and Matthew Williams (IES) will present the findings of recent IES research on segmentation of the solo self-employed workforce. The research highlights the diverse nature of this workforce, identifying nine distinct segments, ranging from highly independent, secure and well-paid individuals to those with a low degree of control over their working life, working in low-paid and insecure jobs. The research is based on a literature review and analysis of three datasets: the Labour Force Survey, the Family Resources Survey and Understanding Society. Andrea Broughtonjoined Ecorys as an Associate Director in January 2018, prior to which she was Principal Research Fellow at the Institute for Employment Studies. Andrea has a degree in modern languages (French and German) and an MA in international industrial relations and human resource management. She has over 20 years of experience in conducting research into European comparative employment relations, working for clients such as the European Commission, the European Parliament and Eurofound, Dublin. Andrea’s research interests include social dialogue, management of change and restructuring, precarious work and atypical employment. Matthew Williams re-joined IES in May 2013, having started his career at the Institute in the 1990s. An economist by training, Matthew has considerable experience and expertise in labour market analysis, at a local, regional and national level and for employers and public bodies, and he is a strong quantitative researcher and skilled in using SPSS to analyse administrative and survey datasets. He also has experience in the work areas of disability and higher education research. Prior to re-joining IES Matthew worked for 12 years as a self-employed research consultant, often working in conjunction with IES, and worked on a wide range of qualitative and quantitative research projects.

Mark Chandler (ONS) will discuss the national data available on the self-employed workforce, looking at their characteristics, income and wealth.  Mark Chandler is a Senior Economic Adviser currently leading four teams of economists in the economics hub at the Office for National Statistics. His experience includes defining, measuring and developing measures of service output and productivity, providing the economics component to the annual local government finance settlements and the business rates retention scheme, monitoring and evaluation of local Growth Deals and Devolution Deals, and developing the WebTAG system of economic appraisal for transport investments. Prior to becoming a civil servant, he was an academic teaching and leading research projects in the Baltic States. His Ph.D. in economics, on a public choice model of local government finance, is from the University of Connecticut.
 
Paul Evans (BECTU) will cover the union organisation of the self-employed in the film and broadcasting industries and show how a collective agreement was negotiated for these workers. Paul is an Assistant National Secretary of BECTU, the sector of the Prospect trade union that covers the entertainment industry. He oversees a rapidly growing 11,000-strong division of the union representing London TV, feature film and commercials production and post-production crew – mostly freelancers. He has a previous background as the founder of a Worker Co-op in the tech sector, a period of work in publishing and as a European Parliament researcher. In his spare time, he is the whistle player in a Pogues tribute band and is the author of a book titled ‘Save Democracy – Abolish Voting’, published by The Democratic Society in November 2017.

Professor Patricia Leighton (IPag Business School, France and University of South Wales UK) argues for a more radical, comprehensive and robust re-assessment of the employment law framework applying to workers generally, but the self-employed in particular. While Patricia’s background is as an employment lawyer, she will draw on a lot of empirical data on the experience of self-employed people and the legal and other responses to them in her presentation. She sees employment rights (and, indeed, other rights, e.g. to compete, work as a professional etc, work across borders etc) as important but by no means the only area for exploration and there is a need to set employment rights alongside social protections and a range of other issues. Patricia Leighton is Professor Emeritus at the University of South Wales UK and was previously Jean Monnet Professor of European Law  and a Professor at the College of Europe, Bruges. She is currently Professor of European Law at the IPag Business School  France and a member of their research group. Her research and publishing interests are employment relationships, atypical contracts and self-employment. She has written several books on employment contracts and their management, flexible and emerging work patterns, and on opportunity and wellbeing at work. She has undertaken many research projects for international and national governments and other organisations, including the ILO, the European Commission and UK government departments, for private sector organisations and professional bodies.

This is a free seminar open to the public and all are invited but please can you inform us if you are planning to attend from outside the University of Greenwich by registering your interest at:   Business School Events with your name, job title and organisation to attend. Or email Professor Geoff White on wg08@gre.ac.uk

 
HOW TO FIND US

Hamilton House, 15 Park Vista, Greenwich, London SE10 9LZ 
Telephone: +44 20 8331 9083 E-mail: i3centre@gre.ac.uk

9th May 2018

Event: WERU Seminar on the Self-EmployedWorkforce

THE UNIVERSITY OF GREENWICH WORK AND EMPLOYMENT RESEARCH UNIT 
 
SELF-EMPLOYED WORKERS: WHO ARE THEY AND CAN THEY BE ORGANISED? 
 
WEDNESDAY 30^th MAY 2018. 13.00 – 18.00 
 
VENUE: ROOM HH102, HAMILTON HOUSE, PARK VISTA, GREENWICH, SE10 9LZ

Recently there has been a new focus on the role of self-employment in the labour market. In large part this is because of the substantial rise in self-employment since the financial crash of 2007/08 and the rise of 'bogus' self-employment in the new logistics industries (and elsewhere) which has challenged the legal concept of the 'employee' and workers' rights generally. This seminar seeks to shed new light on the different kinds of work undertaken by the self-employed - from window cleaners to accountants, and the wide range of incomes achieved. Our four presentations include recent research on the self-employed by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES); analysis by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) of the national statistics on the self-employed workforce; a speaker from BECTU on the union organisation of self-employed workers in the film and broadcasting industries; and Professor Patricia Leighton on research she has been conducting among self-employed professionals. Our speakers are as follows: 
 
Andrea Broughton (Ecorys) and Matthew Williams (IES) will present the findings of recent IES research on segmentation of the solo self-employed workforce. The research highlights the diverse nature of this workforce, identifying nine distinct segments, ranging from highly independent, secure and well-paid individuals to those with a low degree of control over their working life, working in low-paid and insecure jobs. The research is based on a literature review and analysis of three datasets: the Labour Force Survey, the Family Resources Survey and Understanding Society. Andrea Broughtonjoined Ecorys as an Associate Director in January 2018, prior to which she was Principal Research Fellow at the Institute for Employment Studies. Andrea has a degree in modern languages (French and German) and an MA in international industrial relations and human resource management. She has over 20 years of experience in conducting research into European comparative employment relations, working for clients such as the European Commission, the European Parliament and Eurofound, Dublin. Andrea’s research interests include social dialogue, management of change and restructuring, precarious work and atypical employment. Matthew Williams re-joined IES in May 2013, having started his career at the Institute in the 1990s. An economist by training, Matthew has considerable experience and expertise in labour market analysis, at a local, regional and national level and for employers and public bodies, and he is a strong quantitative researcher and skilled in using SPSS to analyse administrative and survey datasets. He also has experience in the work areas of disability and higher education research. Prior to re-joining IES Matthew worked for 12 years as a self-employed research consultant, often working in conjunction with IES, and worked on a wide range of qualitative and quantitative research projects.

Mark Chandler (ONS) will discuss the national data available on the self-employed workforce, looking at their characteristics, income and wealth.  Mark Chandler is a Senior Economic Adviser currently leading four teams of economists in the economics hub at the Office for National Statistics. His experience includes defining, measuring and developing measures of service output and productivity, providing the economics component to the annual local government finance settlements and the business rates retention scheme, monitoring and evaluation of local Growth Deals and Devolution Deals, and developing the WebTAG system of economic appraisal for transport investments. Prior to becoming a civil servant, he was an academic teaching and leading research projects in the Baltic States. His Ph.D. in economics, on a public choice model of local government finance, is from the University of Connecticut.
 
Paul Evans (BECTU) will cover the union organisation of the self-employed in the film and broadcasting industries and show how a collective agreement was negotiated for these workers. Paul is an Assistant National Secretary of BECTU, the sector of the Prospect trade union that covers the entertainment industry. He oversees a rapidly growing 11,000-strong division of the union representing London TV, feature film and commercials production and post-production crew – mostly freelancers. He has a previous background as the founder of a Worker Co-op in the tech sector, a period of work in publishing and as a European Parliament researcher. In his spare time, he is the whistle player in a Pogues tribute band and is the author of a book titled ‘Save Democracy – Abolish Voting’, published by The Democratic Society in November 2017.

Professor Patricia Leighton (IPag Business School, France and University of South Wales UK) argues for a more radical, comprehensive and robust re-assessment of the employment law framework applying to workers generally, but the self-employed in particular. While Patricia’s background is as an employment lawyer, she will draw on a lot of empirical data on the experience of self-employed people and the legal and other responses to them in her presentation. She sees employment rights (and, indeed, other rights, e.g. to compete, work as a professional etc, work across borders etc) as important but by no means the only area for exploration and there is a need to set employment rights alongside social protections and a range of other issues. Patricia Leighton is Professor Emeritus at the University of South Wales UK and was previously Jean Monnet Professor of European Law  and a Professor at the College of Europe, Bruges. She is currently Professor of European Law at the IPag Business School  France and a member of their research group. Her research and publishing interests are employment relationships, atypical contracts and self-employment. She has written several books on employment contracts and their management, flexible and emerging work patterns, and on opportunity and wellbeing at work. She has undertaken many research projects for international and national governments and other organisations, including the ILO, the European Commission and UK government departments, for private sector organisations and professional bodies.

This is a free seminar open to the public and all are invited but please can you inform us if you are planning to attend from outside the University of Greenwich by registering your interest at:   Business School Events with your name, job title and organisation to attend. Or email Professor Geoff White on wg08@gre.ac.uk

 
HOW TO FIND US

Hamilton House, 15 Park Vista, Greenwich, London SE10 9LZ 
Telephone: +44 20 8331 9083 E-mail: i3centre@gre.ac.uk

9th May 2018

Policy report and debate “On AI and Robotics”

Excerpt:
This publication is designed to help employers, regulators and policymakers understand the potential nature of these effects by reviewing a variety of application areas in which AI and robots are deployed, both individually and together. The more that is known about how different fields or industries might be disrupted, the better prepared institutions, companies and systems will be.

A number of researchers and associates of The University of Manchester have contributed, across a range of different specialisms, coordinated by Policy@Manchester. These insights cover advice in four key areas; hazardous environments, healthcare, research, and industry(covering employment and future technical progress).

Full Policy report and debate “On AI and Robotics” (Industry, Work, Employment ...).   Available at:

9th May 2018

Event: Making use of Oral History - Update to Schedule

Making use of Oral Labour History

Britain at Work (B@W) 1945-95 in association with British Universities’ Industrial Relations (BUIRA) IR History Group and Oral History Society (OHS)

Saturday 2 June 2018, 11am – 5.00pm

University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS

(opposite Madame Tussauds and nearly opposite Baker Street tube)

Room C279 (lunch C287)

For further details and to reserve a place please email Michael Gold (m.gold@rhul.ac.uk) or Linda Clarke (clarkel@wmin.ac.uk)

This year’s Britain at Work Oral Labour History Day will focus on what we do with the recordings we make, both audio and video. How do we share what we learn from interviews and how do we make sure that oral histories we collect are preserved for future use in safe environments and archives? The day will begin with an opening address byRobert Perks, Lead Curator, Oral History and the Director of National Life Stories at the British Library. Rob is also secretary of the Oral History Society and an editor of the journal Oral History. He will talk about developments and opportunities for the dissemination and sustainability of oral history collections.

Rob will be followed by roundtable reports from participants currently involved in oral history in work settings. After lunch, there will be presentations, beginning with Martin Astell, Sound and Video Archivist at Essex Record Office, who will talk about being an archivist working in a local authority museum/archive and the challenges besetting local archives and archivists. This is followed by presentations on the diverse results of oral history projects: books, films, a pop-up museum and a comic.

B@W is an initiative to capture the memories of people at work between 1945 and 1995, some of which are to found at the TUC Library Collections held at London Metropolitan University (www.unionhistory.info/britainatwork)..

DRAFT PROGRAMME

10.30-11.00 Registration

11.00-11.15 Welcome and introduction: Michael Gold and Linda Clarke

11.15-12.00 Keynote: How can I future-proof my oral history project? Guidance on best archival and legal practice for preservation and public access and reuse’. Rob Perks, Lead Curator, Oral History & Director of National Life Stories at the British Library. Chair: Joanna Bornat

12.00-13.00 Roundtable: brief contributions from participants on their current interest in oral labour history. Chair: Michael Gold

13.00-14.00 Lunch: 

14.00-15.30. Diverse uses of oral history. Chair: John Gabriel

·         Local collections: Martin Astell onOral history collections at the county record office - and how to set them free, Senior Archivist (Sound and Video), Essex Record Office

·         Film: Alex Gordon/ Chris Reeves (RMT History Project)

·         Book: Sally Groves (author of Trico: a victory to remember)

15.30-15.50 Break

15.50-16.40 More diverse uses: Chair: Linda Clarke

·         Educational website and book: Sundari Anitha / Ruth Pearson (Striking Women)

·         Pop-up Museum: Padmini Broomfield and Emma Golby-Kirk (Ford Transition, Southampton)

16.40-17.00 Discussion + chair’s closing observations: Michael Gold

9th May 2018

Call for Abstracts - BUIRA 2018 PhD workshop

The British Universities Industrial Relation Association holds 2018 conference at Middlesex University, London (Hendon campus), Wednesday 27th – Friday 29th June, 2018.

The PhD session is currently planned to be held on first day of the conference, Wednesday 27th June. The session will have two main features: PhD Workshop paper presentations and panel discussions.

Invitation is hereby extended to doctoral students, who are researching in the field of Industrial/Employment Relations, to submit abstracts for workshop paper presentations.

Abstracts could be on any research ideas, from a work in progress paper (WIP), or from a section of ongoing PhD work- the idea of this is to offer a platform away from main BUIRA conference paper sessions, where we could 'test the waters', and have feedback from peers and from a panel of established academics.

This call for abstracts opens from Tuesday 8th May to Friday 8th June. Please send abstract of 250 words to: buiraphd@outlook.com.

7th May 2018

Call for contributions: Gender Issues in Business Schools Network

4th May 2018

Specially Extended Plenary Session: BUIRA Conference 2018 (Update to Speakers)

Specially Extended Plenary Session:

BUIRA Conference

The 2018 UCU Pensions Dispute:

Assessment and Implications

Wednesday 27 June 1.15pm-3.15pm

Middlesex University, London (Hendon campus)

Speakers: John Kelly (Birkbeck), Phil Taylor (Strathclyde),

Jo Grady (Sheffield), Rachel Cohen (City) and Sean Wallis (UCL)

BUIRA members will undoubtedly agree that the 2018 British Universities pensions’ dispute has been a watershed moment for both industrial relations and trade unionism within higher education. Ironically, given the predominant discourse that suggests strike activity and trade unionism has become increasingly irrelevant in today’s changed world of work, the USS dispute had some of the elements of the industrial battles of the 1970s, albeit there were also new innovative forms of organisation and activity, the combination of which produced unprecedented transformative developments that have been ‘grist for the mill’ for BUIRA members.

            Significantly, UCU’s central strategy of strike mobilisation (in line with its recent Commission on Effective Industrial Action) broke with the limited one or two-day national strikes of the past (over pay, and pensions) with its call for sustained (virtually continuous) 14-days of strike action. If the busting of the Tories’ 2016 Trade Union Act balloting thresholds (both in terms of participation levels and percentage voting in favour of strike action) surprised many, the way in which the protracted nature of the action was then enthusiastically embraced by the mass of the union’s eligible membership also staked completely new ground with wide-ranging implications.

            In forcing the employers to rethink and climb down (in some respects at least) - as vice chancellors in a number of institutions broke ranks with UUK - it demonstrated in graphic relief the enduring power of effective collective strike action. It also provided time for strikers to organise, gain confidence and build links among themselves within their respective institutions and across universities. If in the past picket lines had been small and routine affairs, they now developed over the course of four weeks into relatively much larger and more vibrant pickets of defiance. The sustained nature of the action provided the basis for regular (often daily) mass meetings, the formation of strike committees, organisation of ‘Teach-Ins’ and ‘Teach-Outs’, local rallies and two London demonstrations. It also led to the development of very important links with students, who joined picket lines, signed a nationally-organised petition demanding financial compensation for missed classes, and in a number of places engaged in highly impressive solidarity occupations directed at university administrations.

            Animated UCU members’ discussions and debates on the picket line and at meetings then translated into the infusion of life into many semi-moribund UCU branches. The underlying transformation of the union was also manifested in the stunning union recruitment figures of thousands of new members, including many insecure, short-term and part-time contract staff. The #NoCapitulation and #ReviseandResubmit revolts, including the mass lobbying of the HEC/branch delegate meetings, as well as the large minority vote against accepting the second offer that called off the action, were indicative of a wider rank-and-file rebellion against national negotiators. The use of social media by numerous local UCU branches and active strikers, notably Twitter (particularly #USSbriefs) and local WhatsApp groups, further enhanced the horizontal exchange of information, ideas, arguments and debates. Also of major significance was the way in which the strike went well beyond the immediate issue of pensions to represent a generalised questioning of the neoliberal transformation of universities in recent years (with its marketization, commodification and rampant managerialism) in favour of an alternative democratised public higher education system.

            Notwithstanding the differences in viewpoint as to whether the dispute should have been called off or not (amongst BUIRA members as well as union members generally), the 2018 UCU strike action should clearly not be viewed as a one-off or closed affair. Quite apart from the way in which the pensions issue is likely to rear its head again a few months down the road, there are other crucial issues on which the battleground is likely to continue, such as pay, casualization, restructuring and job losses, REF, etc, in which case the recent transformative experience of collective strike action and rejuvenation of UCU that has occurred will require assessment and reassessment.

            In the process, if the 2018 pensions dispute will have ‘brought home’ the enduring relevance of the academic subject matter of employment relations and trade unionism to BUIRA members within higher education, it has also underlined the importance for many BUIRA academics of being trade unionists whose ‘partisan’ ideological and practical intervention – in being active participants who took the side of university staff in struggle against the employers - is an integral part of their identity and portfolio at work.

            It is against this backcloth we are delighted to announce a special extended 2-hour plenary session on the UCU strike has been organised at BUIRA’s annual conference. It will be comprised of two panels of speakers that will run back-to-back. The first panel will discuss/debate the overall strategy and tactics adopted by UCU within the dispute, with two speakers: John Kelly (Birkbeck) and Phil Taylor (Strathclyde). The second panel will have three UCU speakers, Jo Grady (Sheffield), Rachel Cohen (City) and Sean Wallis (UCL), reflecting on aspects of the dispute, such as local union organisation, social media usage, links with students, balloting process, final deal, and wider questions and implications raised about employment relations and trade unionism within higher education. The intention is to keep both sets of panel contributions fairly brief (no more than 10 minutes for each speaker) in order to enable plenty of time for discussion, debate and argument from the floor of the conference (albeit speakers will have the opportunity to come back within the questions and discussion period).  We hope you will be able to come along to join the discussion, hopefully attending the whole of the BUIRA conference, or just this special plenary session.

Further details: Professor Ralph Darlington r.r.darlington@salford.ac.uk

4th May 2018

Support of "European Appeal" as part of the ETUC strategy for "More Democracy at work"

The ETUC is issuing a European appeal for more democracy at work and isseeking signatures in support. Details of the policy can be found at:
https://www.etuc.org/documents/etuc-resolution-strategy-more-democracy-work-0#.Wul1IvlKuUn

To register support, send a mail to Wolfgang Kowalsky via WKOWALSK@ETUC.ORG

2nd May 2018

Event: BUIRA conference 2018 - Registration now open

Registration for the BUIRA conference is now open!

 Please register by following the link https://www.buira.net/conference/11/register

Note that you must be a BUIRA member to register - you can join on the same page.

Below you will find some information about accommodation and the general conference schedule.

We look forward to seeing you in June!

The BUIRA team

BUIRA Conference 2018, Middlesex University, London

When: 27-29 June

Where: Hendon Campus 

Accommodation: 

Student accommodation

Other: 

Hendon Hall   

Travelodge (Finchley)   

 (143 bus every 12 mins – 15 mins to Hendon campus)

Holiday Inn Brent Cross 

Schedule

Wednesday 27^thJune

09.00                    Registration opens

09.15-13.00         PhD workshop

12.00-13.00         Lunch

13.00-13.15         Conference opens, welcome

13.15-15.15         Plenary: the 2018 Universities Pension Dispute

15.15-15.30         Refreshments

15.30-17.00         Paper Session 1 

17.15-18.45         Paper Session 2 

19.00                   Drinks reception and Barbecue meal at MDX House Quad

Thursday 28^thJune

09.00-10.30         Paper Session 3

10.30-10.45         Refreshments

10.45-12.15         Paper Session 4 

12.15-13.15         BUIRA AGM

13.15-14.00         Lunch

14.00-15.45         Unions, politics and policy plenary 

15.45-16.15         Refreshments

16.15-17.45         Paper Session 5

17.45-18.30         BUIRA study groups

19.30                   Conference dinner – Canal Museum, Kings Cross

Friday 30^thJune

09.30-11.00         Paper Session 6  

11.00-11.15         Refreshments

11.15-12.45         Paper Session 7 

12.45-13.30         Lunch

13.30                   Conference closes 

27th April 2018

Event: Greenwich Diversity Interest Group Conference

Greenwich Diversity Interest Group Conference
11th Jun 2018 9:30am - 6:30pm
Greenwich Campus, Queen Anne Building, Room 063, Park Row, London SE10 9LS

The Diversity Interest Group at the University of Greenwich is showcasing its research on Equality and Diversity in a one day conference on Monday 11 June 2018 9:30am – 6:30pm in QA063.

Key note speech from Professor Tracey Reynolds: "Mind(ful) of the gap: intersectionality and the challenges of diversity in higher education"

Plus conference presentations from researchers at the University of Greenwich on the themes of:

• Education
• Careers and Employment
• Justice

Including a practitioner focus from Sarah Crowe

Vice President | Senior Consultant- Diversity and Inclusion– EMEA, Northern Trust.

Followed by a roundtable including Professor Sian Moore and Dr Jason Arday.

To register, please email Business Events with your name and job title to attend.

Professor Tracey Reynolds: Tracey's teaching and research interests focus on transnational families and kinship networks; constructions of motherhood and parenting & youth studies, and she has established international recognition within these fields of expertise. She has conducted extensive empirical research in the UK across a range of social issues including black and minority families living in disadvantaged communities, the study of families and in the Caribbean and North America. Research awards include Economic Social Research Council awards on Caribbean youths and transnational identities; Big Lottery on care planning among BAME older people in London (with Age UK Lewisham and Southwark) and Arts Humanities Research Council on migrant mothers' citizenship.

Professor Sian Moore: Director of the Work and Employment Research Unit, University of Greenwich. Sian joined the University of Greenwich as Professor in Employment Relations and Human Resource Management and Director of the Work and Employment Research Unit (WERU) in September 2015. She was previously Professor of Work and Employment Relations and Co-Director of the Centre for Employment Studies Research (CESR) at the University of the West of England. 

Dr Jason Arday: a Senior Lecturer in Education at Roehampton University, School of Education, a Visiting Research Fellow at The Ohio State University in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and a Trustee of the Runnymede Trust and Co-Chair of the Runnymede Academic Forum. He has recently completed an edited collection with Professor Heidi Mirza (Goldsmiths, University of London) entitled Dismantling Race in Higher Education: Racism, Whiteness and Decolonising the Academy (Palgrave).

Target audience: current students, staff, alumni, general public​

27th April 2018

Event: Framing Work: Competing Analytical Perspectives on Employment Relations

Framing Work: Competing Analytical Perspectives on Employment Relations

Manchester Industrial Relations Society

Shirley Lerner Memorial Lecture

Speaker: Professor Ed Heery 

Professor of Employment Relations

Cardiff Business School, University of Cardiff

http://www.mirs.org.uk/index.html

Thursday 3 May 6pm
Lecture Theatre G33, Ground Floor
Manchester Metropolitan University Business School
All Saints, Oxford Road (near Oxford Road railway station), Manchester M15 6BH
Map:  http://www.mmu.ac.uk/travel/allsaints/

Free ‘nibbles and drinks’ buffet after the meeting from 7.30pm

Contemporary writing on the employment relationship falls into three broad traditions: a unitary tradition that assumes there is a natural coincidence in the interests of employer and worker; a pluralist tradition that believes regulation is required to enable workers to advance their own, separate and distinct interests against those of the employer; and a critical tradition that perceives a fundamental cleavage in the interests of workers and employers and celebrates worker resistance to employer domination.

This presentation will identify the defining features of these competing traditions, or frames of reference as they are often known, and will show how their separate conceptions of the relative interests of workers and employers leads to distinctive research agenda, modes of explanation, prescriptions for practice, and particular ways of engaging with the public sphere. The presentation will also consider the relationship between the frames and will identify the typical forms of contention and debate in which they engage.

For further details see:

Professor Ralph Darlington: r.r.darlington@salford.ac.uk 0161-295-5456

Twitter: @ManchesterIRS

26th April 2018

Event: Central London BUIRA Seminar: Union Organising Globally: Chinese and Latin American Ports Compared

Central London BUIRA Seminar:

 Union Organising Globally:

Chinese and Latin American Ports Compared

Katy Fox-Hodess, Worker Power, Trade Union Strategy and International Connections: A Cross-National Comparison of Dockworker Unionism in Latin America

Dr Tim Pringle (SOAS) Labour organizing, trade union reform and working class power in China

Friday 25 May 2018, 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 C279 (lunch C287)

For further details and to reserve a place, contact Linda Clarke (clarkel@wmin.ac.uk)

This regular monthly seminar is focused on unions and labour movements in Europe, Latin America and China, with the examples of maritime and dock workers and we are fortunate to have two very expert speakers:

Katy Fox Hodess presents some of the findings of her PhD, entitled Dockworkers of the World Unite: Transnational Class Formation and the New Labor Internationalism, in which she examines the construction of ‘bottom-up’ labor internationalism by rank-and-file dockworker union activists affiliated to the International Dockworkers Council. Katy will discuss union coordination in response to recent labor disputes in Latin America (Chile, Colombia). Katy is undertaking her PhD thesis in Sociology at the University of California at Berkeley and is currently is a lecturer in Work, Employment, People and Organisations at the University of Sheffield. Her publications include ‘(Re-)Locating the Local and National in the Global: Multi-Scalar Political Alignment in Transnational European Dockworker Union Campaigns’ British Journal of Industrial Relations,2017

Tim Pringle is a senior lecturer in Labour, Social Movements and Development. His research is focussed on East Asia, in particular labour relations, trade union reform and social movements and labour migration in China and Vietnam. He is also the editor of China Quarterly. Tim will present research focuses on the extent that the Party-led All-China Federation of Trade Unions is able to establish functioning trade union branches at enterprise level, drawing on a case study of the Yantian International Container Terminal. Tim will argue that the YICT union developed a system of annual collective bargaining in order to ‘tame’ the power of militant dockworkers and prevent strikes. This required an effective enterprise-level trade union that was able to manipulate members’ somewhat ambiguous acceptance of its role.

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

25th April 2018

Journal of Industrial Relations - Call for special issue proposals

20th April 2018

Specially Extended Plenary Session: BUIRA Conference 2018

The 2018 UCU Pensions Dispute:

Assessment and Implications

Wednesday 27 June 1.15pm-3.15pm

Middlesex University, London (Hendon campus)

Speakers: John Kelly (Birkbeck), Phil Taylor (Strathclyde), Jo McNeill (Liverpool),  Jo Grady (Sheffield) and Sean Wallis (UCL)

BUIRA members will undoubtedly agree that the 2018 British Universities pensions’ dispute has been a watershed moment for both industrial relations and trade unionism within higher education. Ironically, given the predominant discourse that suggests strike activity and trade unionism has become increasingly irrelevant in today’s changed world of work, the USS dispute’s well organised and innovative forms of collective organisation and activity produced unprecedented transformative developments that have been ‘grist for the mill’ for BUIRA members.

Significantly, UCU’s central strategy of strike mobilisation (in line with its recent Commission on Effective Industrial Action) broke with the limited one or two-day national strikes of the past (over pay, and pensions) with its call for sustained (virtually continuous) 14-days of strike action. If the busting of the Tories’ 2016 Trade Union Act balloting thresholds (both in terms of participation levels and percentage voting in favour of strike action) surprised many, the way in which the protracted nature of the action was then enthusiastically embraced by the mass of the union’s eligible membership also staked completely new ground with wide-ranging implications.

In forcing the employers to rethink and climb down (in some respects at least) - as vice chancellors in a number of institutions broke ranks with UUK - it demonstrated in graphic relief the enduring power of effective collective strike action. It also provided time for strikers to organise, gain confidence and build links among themselves within their respective institutions and across universities. If in the past picket lines had been small and routine affairs, they now developed over the course of four weeks into relatively much larger and more vibrant pickets of defiance. The sustained nature of the action provided the basis for regular (often daily) mass meetings, the formation of strike committees, organisation of ‘Teach-Ins’ and ‘Teach-Outs’, local rallies and two London demonstrations. It also led to the development of very important links with students, who joined picket lines, signed a nationally-organised petition demanding financial compensation for missed classes, and in a number of places engaged in highly impressive solidarity occupations directed at university administrations.

Animated UCU members’ discussions and debates on the picket line and at meetings then translated into the infusion of life into many semi-moribund UCU branches. The underlying transformation of the union was also manifested in the stunning union recruitment figures of thousands of new members, including many insecure, short-term and part-time contract staff. The #NoCapitulation and #ReviseandResubmit revolts, including the mass lobbying of the HEC/branch delegate meetings, as well as the large minority vote against accepting the second offer that called off the action, were indicative of a wider rank-and-file rebellion against national negotiators. The use of social media by numerous local UCU branches and active strikers, notably Twitter (particularly #USSbriefs) and local WhatsApp groups, further enhanced the horizontal exchange of information, ideas, arguments and debates. Also of major significance was the way in which the strike went well beyond the immediate issue of pensions to represent a generalised questioning of the neoliberal transformation of universities in recent years (with its marketization, commodification and rampant managerialism) in favour of an alternative democratised public higher education system.

Notwithstanding the differences in viewpoint as to whether the dispute should have been called off or not (amongst BUIRA members as well as union members generally), the 2018 UCU strike action should clearly not be viewed as a one-off or closed affair. Quite apart from the way in which the pensions issue is likely to rear its head again a few months down the road, there are other crucial issues on which the battleground is likely to continue, such as pay, casualization, restructuring and job losses, REF, etc, in which case the recent transformative experience of collective strike action and rejuvenation of UCU that has occurred will require assessment and reassessment.

            In the process, if the 2018 pensions dispute will have ‘brought home’ the enduring relevance of the academic subject matter of employment relations and trade unionism to BUIRA members within higher education, it has also underlined the importance for many BUIRA academics of being trade unionists whose ‘partisan’ ideological and practical intervention – in being active participants who took the side of university staff in struggle against the employers - is an integral part of their identity and portfolio at work.

            It is against this backcloth we are delighted to announce a special extended 2-hour plenary session on the UCU strike has been organised at BUIRA’s annual conference. It will be comprised of two panels of speakers that will run back-to-back. The first panel will discuss/debate the overall strategy and tactics adopted by UCU within the dispute, with two speakers: John Kelly (Birkbeck) and Phil Taylor (Strathclyde). The second panel will have three UCU speakers, Jo McNeill (Liverpool), Jo Grady (Sheffield) and Sean Wallis (UCL), reflecting on aspects of the dispute, such as local union organisation, social media usage, links with students, balloting process, final deal, and wider questions and implications raised about employment relations and trade unionism within higher education. The intention is to keep both sets of panel contributions fairly brief (no more than 10 minutes for each speaker) in order to enable plenty of time for discussion, debate and argument from the floor of the conference (albeit speakers will have the opportunity to come back within the questions and discussion period). 

We hope you will be able to come along to join the discussion, hopefully attending the whole of the BUIRA conference, or just this special plenary session.

Further details: Professor Ralph Darlington r.r.darlington@salford.ac.uk

20th April 2018

Event: BUIRA History of Industrial Relations Study Group

Deindustrialisation and Industrial Relations in Scotland: 1960s until Today

Thursday 7 June 2018: 15.30-17.30 (Tea/ coffee from 15.00)

Room C279, University of Westminster Business School, 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS (opposite Madame Tussauds and nearly opposite Baker Street tube)

For further details or to reserve a place, please e-mail Michael Gold (m.gold@rhul.ac.uk) or Linda Clarke (clarkel@wmin.ac.uk).

Programme:

3.00-3.20pm: Tea/ coffee/ refreshments

3.20pm: Welcome and introductions: Michael Gold and Linda Clarke (Chairs)

3.30-4.00pm: Jim Phillips, Jim Tomlinson and Valerie Wright (presented by Jim Phillips)

Deindustrialisation, Ownership and Industrial Relations, c. 1963-1993: Evidence from Linwood Car Manufacturing and Timex Dundee

Deindustrialisation was a phased and managed process, which structured industrial relations. From the mid-1950s industrial workers and communities in Scotland were persuaded to trade ‘old’ jobs in the staples for ‘new’ jobs in lighter engineering. ‘New’ employers acquired obligations, partly because public money was involved in establishing business premises and associated housing. The cases of Linwood car manufacturing and Timex Dundee show that workers exerted moral economy claims to ownership of these new jobs and factories. Through trade union organisation, embedded in community and familial ties, they challenged managerial sovereignty, particularly at points of transition or crisis.

4.00-4.30pm: Dr Jenny O’Neil and Dr Vaughan Ellis

Unheard Voices of Decline: Scottish Oil Sector

This paper examines how employment in the Scottish oil industry is changing as the industry declines, shedding in excess of 120,000 jobs between 2014 and 2016 as oil prices fell. Yet, the absence of workers’ voice in policy discussions about how best to safeguard the industry and utilise their skills has meant that other stakeholders’ interests have been privileged. Drawing from in depth oral history interviews with off shore oil workers, it is argued that workers are experiencing lower wages, fewer shifts, difficulty accessing re-training and career changes as well as adverse effects on family life and wellbeing.

4.30-5.00pm: General discussion

5.00pm: Close (followed by drinks until 5.30pm)
 

The speakers:

Jim Phillips is a Senior Lecturer in Economic and Social History at the University of Glasgow, where he and his c-authors are working on a Leverhulme-funded project, Employment, Politics and Culture in Scotland since 1955. Jim co-edits Scottish Labour History and Historical Studies in Industrial Relations.

Dr Jenny O’Neil is a Lecturer in Labour Relations and Global HRM at Edinburgh Napier University. Her research interests include skills development within turbulent environments, employee voice and Global HRM.

Dr Vaughan Ellis is a Lecturer in Work and Industrial Relations specialising in the contemporary organisation and experience of work, and how changes in an organisations' external environment impact upon the labour process.

18th April 2018

Event: Making use of Oral History

Britain at Work (B@W) 1945-95 in association with British Universities’ Industrial Relations (BUIRA) IR History Group and Oral History Society (OHS)

Saturday 2 June 2018, 11am – 4.45pm

University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS

(opposite Madame Tussauds and nearly opposite Baker Street tube)

Room C279 (lunch C287)

For further details or to reserve a place, please email Michael Gold (m.gold@rhul.ac.uk) or Linda Clarke (clarkel@wmin.ac.uk)

This year’s Britain at Work Oral Labour History Day will focus on what we do with the recordings we make, both audio and video. How do we share what we learn from interviews and how do we make sure that oral histories we collect are preserved for future use in safe environments and archives? The day will begin with an opening address by Robert Perks, Lead Curator, Oral History and the Director of National Life Stories at the British Library. Rob is also secretary of the Oral History Society and an editor of the journal Oral History. He will talk about developments and opportunities for the dissemination and sustainability of oral history collections.

Rob will be followed by a roundtable reports from participants currently involved in oral history in work settings. After lunch, there will be presentations from presenters whose oral history projects have resulted in books, films, pop-up museum and a comic. The day will end with a presentation from Martin Astell (tbc), Sound and Video Archivist at Essex Record Office, who will talk about being an archivist working in a local authority museum/archive and the challenges besetting local archives and archivists at the moment.

B@W is an initiative to capture the memories of people at work between 1945 and 1995, some of which are to found at the TUC Library Collections held at London Metropolitan University (www.unionhistory.info/britainatwork)..

Draft Programme

10.30-11.00 Registration

11.00-11.15 Welcome and introduction: Michael Gold and Linda Clarke

11.15-12.00 Keynote: How can I future-proof my oral history project? Guidance on best archival and legal practice for preservation and public access and reuse’. Rob Perks, Lead Curator, Oral History & Director of National Life Stories at the British Library. Chair: Joanna Bornat

12.00-13.00 Roundtable: brief contributions from participants on their current interest in oral labour history. Chair: Michael Gold

13.00-14.00 Lunch: 

14.00-15.25

Presentations. Chair: John Gabriel tbc

• Alex Gordon/ Chris Reeves (RMT History Project)
• Sally Groves (author of Trico: a victory to remember)
• Sundari Anitha / Ruth Pearson (Striking Women educational website + book)
• Padmini Broomfield (Ford Transition Pop-up Museum, Southampton)

15.25-15.45 Break

15.45-16.15 Local collections: Martin Astell, Essex Record Office tbc. Chair:

16.15-16.45 Discussion + closing observations. Chair: tbc

18th April 2018

Event: Central London BUIRA Seminar: Labour Migration

Labour Migration

Professor Bridget Anderson (University of Bristol) on Labour market flexibility and citizenship rights

Dr Rachel Marangozov (Institute of Employment Studies) on Brexit and beyond: A perfect storm for our nursing workforce?’

Friday 27 April 2018, 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 C279 (lunch C287)

For further details and to reserve a place, contact Linda Clarke (clarkel@wmin.ac.uk)

This regular monthly seminar is focused on labour migration, a particularly topical theme given on-going Brexit negotiations and we are fortunate to have two expert speakers:

Bridget Anderson, Professor of Professor of Migration, Mobilities and Citizenship in the School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies at the University of Bristol, explores the tension between labour market flexibilities and citizenship rights. She will discuss the functions of immigration in key labour market sectors and the ways in which immigration controls increasingly impact on citizens as well as migrants. From 2013-2017 Bridget was Research Director of COMPAS (Centre of Migration, Policy and Society) at the University of Oxford. She has always worked closely with migrants’ organisations, trades unions and legal practitioners at local, national and international level. Her publications include: Us and Them? The Dangerous Politics of Immigration Controls (Oxford University Press, 2013); Who Needs Migrant Workers? Labour Shortages, Immigration and Public Policy, co-edited with Martin Ruhs (Oxford University Press, 2012); The Social, Political and Historical Contours of Deportation with Matthew Gibney and Emanuela Paoletti (Springer, 2013); and Migration and Care Labour: Theory, Policy and Politics with Isabel Shutes (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014).

Rachel Marangozov, Research Associate at the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) and Director of MigrationWork CIC, will present findings from 2 IES studies:1) for the Migration Advisory Committee, on whether nursing should be kept on the Shortage Occupation List; and 2) on the risks of Brexit to the nursing workforce. She will question the sustainability of continued reliance on a foreign workforce of nurses. Rachel specializes in the labour market disadvantage of ethnic minority groups and migrant workers. She previously worked at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) on a range of equality and diversity issues and is a Director of MigrationWork CIC, which helps communities, policymakers, and practitioners respond to migration. Her work there has involved projects for the European Commission in both the United Kingdom and in several European Member States on a range of integration issues.

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

17th April 2018

TUC 150th Anniversary Conference: Speakers Announced

TUC 150^th Anniversary Conference: Retrospect and Prospects

Organised in conjunction with the Manchester Industrial Relations Society

Friday 1 June 10am-6.30pm

Mechanics Institute, Princess Street, Manchester

Timetable

9am – 10am: Registration

10am: Opening remarks

10.15 – 11.30: Panel Session1chaired by Lynne Morris, UNISON/TUC North West Chair

The role of the TUC in significant disputes

• Professor Ralph Darlington Professor of Employment Relations, University of Salford,

   and secretary of Manchester Industrial Relations Society

• Professor John Kelly, Professor of Industrial Relations, Birkbeck, University of London

• trade union speaker tbc

11.30 – 12.45: Panel session 2 Chaired by Lynn Collins, TUC North West

TUC Relations with Labour in Government and opposition

• Sarah Veale, former Head of Equality and Employment Rights, TUC

• Keith Ewing – Professor of Public Law, King’s College London

• John McDonnell MP, Labour Party Shadow Chancellor

12.45 – 1.45: Lunch

1.45 – 3.00: Panel Session 3 chaired by Paula Wood, PCS/TUC North West

TUC Framing Laws and Changing Laws

• John Hendy QC Old Square Chambers, London

• Stephen Cavalier, Chief Executive, Thompsons solicitors

• Hannah Reed, Senior Employment Rights Officer TUC

3.00 – 4.15: Panel session 4 chaired by Peter Middleman NEU/TUC North West

The Organising Academy and beyond

• Melanie Simms, Professor of Work and Employment, University of Glasgow

• Sally Hunt – TUC President and UCU General Secretary

• Paul Nowak – TUC Deputy General Secretary

4.15 – 6.30pm:

Closing Remarks followed by a Beer and Sandwiches reception,

hosted by Thompsons Solicitors

Registration for the conference costs £10 which includes copies of presentations, lunch and

closing reception. A number of student places will be made available at a reduced rate of £5.

You can register via the Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tuc150-retrospects-and-prospects-tickets-42781768421

16th April 2018

Event: Human Resource Management and the Shifting Global Landscape

British Academy of Management Human Resource Management Special Interest Group

One-Day Conference: Human Resource Management and the Shifting Global Landscape

Deadline for abstract submissions 20/04/18.

The purpose of this year’s conference is to bring together academics, policymakers and practitioners to examine the changing world of work. Given current developments - such as Brexit, travel bans, and mass human displacement - organisations are increasingly looking for ways not only to navigate through current challenges, but also to be able to compete sustainably and thrive through unforeseen future events. The conference aims to offer an opportunity for dialogue among academics, practitioners and policy makers, and to consider future challenges and potential responses in relation to Human Resource Management (HRM). 

In an era, where the competition for talent is fierce (Schuler, Jackson, & Tarique, 2011) and unforeseen circumstances constantly shift the political and economical landscape (Wood and Budhwar, 2016), studies demonstrate that organisations need more elaborate HRM approaches for sustainable performance (Andreeva, et al., 2017; Glaister, Liu, Sahadev, & Gomes, 2014). Further to this, recent high-profile job harassment cases have questioned the role of HR as an ethical steward (Caldwell et al., 2011) and have reignited debates regarding whether HR practitioners focus on the human or the resource side of the management of human resources (Delbridge & Keenoy, 2010). It is perhaps high time that we move beyond the examination of a decontextualized HRM towards a more holistic appreciation of the world of work. In line with this, there have been important calls for more integration between HRM and other relevant streams of management research such as talent management and international business (e.g. Allen, Lee, Reiche, 2015), as well as the broader social sciences.

This event will take place on the 15th June 2018 in Birmingham.

We invite contributions from a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives that address any of the areas or the workshop theme more generally:
 

• Generational differences, inclusion and diversity in a global economy
• Global employment relations and mobility
• Working conditions during crises (economic, political, societal) across the world
• Talent Sourcing and Management in multinationals, SMEs and the public sector
• The gig economy and its implications for HR in a global context
• Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics in HR
• HR and employment practices across different countries and cultures

Keynote Speakers:

·         Professor Catherine Cassell (University of Birmingham, UK) 

·         Professor David Collings (Dublin City University, Ireland)

Please submit an extended abstract of up to 2000 words via email to Dr Margarita Nyfoudi via e-mail m.nyfoudi@bham.ac.uk Deadline for submissions: 20th April 2018 at 12.00 UK time.

In the submission e-mail, please attach the abstract in a word or pdf file and include the following information in the message: Title, Author(s) Name(s), E-mail

University of Birmingham kindly sponsors the facilities for the event

If you have any queries or would like to discuss a potential submission, please contact 

Dr Margarita Nyfoudi: m.nyfoudi@bham.ac.uk

16th April 2018

Framing Work: Competing Analytical Perspectives on Employment Relations

Framing Work: Competing Analytical Perspectives on Employment Relations

Manchester Industrial Relations Society

Shirley Lerner Memorial Lecture

Speaker: Professor Ed Heery 

Professor of Employment Relations

Cardiff Business School, University of Caridff

http://www.mirs.org.uk/index.html

Thursday 3 May 6pm
Lecture Theatre G33, Ground Floor
Manchester Metropolitan University Business School
All Saints, Oxford Road (near Oxford Road railway station), Manchester M15 6BH
Map:  http://www.mmu.ac.uk/travel/allsaints/

Contemporary writing on the employment relationship falls into three broad traditions: a unitary tradition that assumes there is a natural coincidence in the interests of employer and worker; a pluralist tradition that believes regulation is required to enable workers to advance their own, separate and distinct interests against those of the employer; and a critical tradition that perceives a fundamental cleavage in the interests of workers and employers and celebrates worker resistance to employer domination.

This presentation will identify the defining features of these competing traditions, or frames of reference as they are often known, and will show how their separate conceptions of the relative interests of workers and employers leads to distinctive research agenda, modes of explanation, prescriptions for practice, and particular ways of engaging with the public sphere. The presentation will also consider the relationship between the frames and will identify the typical forms of contention and debate in which they engage.

For further details see:

Professor Ralph Darlington: r.r.darlington@salford.ac.uk

0161-295-5456

Twitter: @ManchesterIRS

13th April 2018

ERU Conference at Cardiff: Global Value Chains and their Employment Relations Consequences 10/11 May 2018

Global Value Chains and their Employment Relations Consequences

ERU Conference: 10-11 May 2018,

Location: Cardiff Business School, Cardiff, UK

Organisers:

Jonathan Morris (Cardiff University) Jimmy Donaghey (Warwick University) Jean Jenkins (Cardiff University) Richard Locke (Brown University) Rachel Ashworth (Cardiff University)

Conference Aims and Scope:

This year’s Employment Research Unit Conference will take place on 10-11 May 2018 at Cardiff Business School on the theme of Global Value Chains and their Employment Relations Consequences. Keynote speakers will include Richard Locke, Mark Anner, Jennifer Bair, Andrew Crane and Klara Skrivankova and a special issue of the BJIR will accompany the conference. The conference team welcomes paper submissions that focus on the link between supply chain decisions and employment conditions. The attached call for papers provides further details.

Please note, there are funds to support the attendance of PhD students and early career researchers for this event. If anyone wishes to take advantage of such funding, they should please contact Jean Jenkins at jenkinsj1@cardiff.ac.uk in the first instance.

Conference Schedule:

10^th May 2018, 2-5pm, Symposium on Exploitative Work, Cardiff Business School

10^th May 2018, 7-10pm, Conference dinner, Cardiff Bay

11^th May 2018, 9-5pm, Conference paper sessions, Cardiff Business School.

Call for papers

The conference and proposed special issue of BJIR concerns the issue of the emergence, growth and evolution of global commodity chains and related employment relations issues. The relationship between supply chain relationships and the workplace is topical and referred to explicitly by the ILO agenda on international work and by the OECDs concerns with skills (OECD, 2017). While topical, much of the research in the area focuses on power relations between firms in chains and employment relations concerns being a secondary issue. However, this is changing and for example an emerging number of recent publications in the BJIR examine the employment relations consequences of supply chains. As such, this initiative proposes to bring this emerging research together into a coherent and unified volume.

Globalisation of production has brought significant economic growth and employment opportunities; for example, it has been estimated that 80% of world trade passes through GVCs (UNCTAD, 2013) and some 453 million jobs have been created in OECD and emerging economies (ILO, 2015). Further, it was once assumed that economic upgrading of value chains would lead to social upgrading. However, the potential asymmetric power relationships in supply chains have implications for both the employment relationship and social relations at work. This is particularly so in situations where there has been a ‘race to the bottom’ to secure contracts through low wages where, for example, industry entry and exit costs are low and developing economies are fearful of footloose large firms ‘cutting and running’ or where small firms in the lower tiers of the chain face being left behind. Participation in such chains may therefore result, in the worst case scenario, in country-wide economic benefits in developing countries but a degradation of working conditions and ‘social downgrading’, particularly for those working in low tier suppliers and irregular, informal, female and immigrant workers. Indeed, while there has been an extensive literature on GVC, there is increasing concern with the use of, for example, child labour, vulnerable workers and working conditions.

There have been attempts to use a variety of regulatory methods to improve work standards, tied to the ILO’s Decent Work Framework, but such attempts to regulate labour standards in chains (particularly apparel and footwear ones supplying to major western retailers and brands), may force undue pressures on firms in the supply chain trying to reconcile the conflicting demands of cheap labour and suppliers asking for higher standards. To date, much of this research has been framed in terms of the Corporate Social Responsibility agenda, however the industrial relations lens brings a particularly important and underexplored focus. The competition for surplus value between local, national and international capital has led to many examples of extreme demands on workforces already subject to multiple layers of socio-economic disadvantage. In such contexts, both public, statutory and private, voluntary regulation have proved woefully inadequate, particularly over issues of enforcement and non-compliance.

However, there is evidence that supply chains are evolving (to include, for example, high skill level services in locations such as India) and consolidating (for example, in the automotive industry) but also that the continuing geographical spread of activity may be under some threat as a consequence of automation, with consequences for the potential for national upgrading strategies (OECD, 2017).

The special issue seeks to consolidate recent research in the area and advance theoretical and applied knowledge on how decisions in the supply chain impact upon employment relations at work. As such we wish to draw papers from a number of disciplines including human resource management and the sociology of work, as well as industrial relations. In this special issue we wish to elicit submissions that are rich in empirical content and connect to theory in such a way as to build a detailed picture of the ways that broader social phenomena play out at the workplace level, in the specific context of international value chains and production networks. We would, therefore, welcome submissions from a range of areas including the effects of global supply chains on social relations at work. Research has focused on the role of MNCs in implementing employment practices across borders and the development of global supply chains. Much of this has been driven by the emergence of global value chains, which in turn are predicated upon trade liberalisation and intense (often labour) cost competition. We would like to see papers which draw upon:

(1) Control, struggle and the labour process in GVCs, for example, labour control and resistance in production at GVCs which has led to increased work intensity and control through pay systems, employer control over workers and threats to independent unionism.

(2) Class, rights and identity in industrial relations in GVCs, focussing on the ‘intersectionality’ of class, gender, race and ethnicity, and the exploitation of migrant labour.

(3) The presence of forced labour and modern-day slavery in value chains.

The special issue would also welcome papers on the governance of global value chains and the role of private, public and social regulation, including NGOs and international trade unions. We would like to see papers which draw upon:

(1) Institution building in GVCs which highlight both the potential and the complexities of institution building.

(2) Social accountability and sustainable work in GVCs, encompassing not only issues of job quality and the decent work agenda but also issues of private versus public regulation.

(3) Human relations and workplace realities in GVCs, focussing on the debate over human rights versus employment rights.

(4) The extent to which apparatuses such as Codes of Conduct and International Framework Agreements have enabled the democratisation of workplaces.

(5) Emerging connections between civil society and the trade union movement.

References:

ILO (2015) World Employment and Social Outlook 2015. Geneva: ILO.

OECD (2017) OECD Skills Outlook, 2017: Skills and Global Value Chains. Paris: OECD.

UNCTAD (2013) World Investment Report: Global Value Chains. Geneva: United Nations Publications.

Conference submission information:

Authors wishing to present a paper at the ERU Conference should send a 1000 word abstract to the organisers by 13 April, 2018. The abstract should outline the paper’s rationale and, if empirical, its main methods and results. After the conference authors will be invited to revise the papers within three months for submission to the journal. All papers for publication will be subject to the strict BJIR refereeing procedure Guidelines for BJIR authors can be found at

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1467-8543

In the event of queries, please contact: Jean Jenkins at jenkinsj1@cardiff.ac.uk in the first instance.

6th April 2018

PhD Position Available: WBS/ProBE Studentship

Research Studentship on Climate Change, Labour and Work at Westminster Business School, University of Westminster

Three years, full time  

£16,000 annual stipend plus fee waiver

A full-time University of Westminster PhD Studentship is available in the Centre for the Study of the Production of the Built Environment (ProBE) starting in September 2018. This PhD studentship is part of ProBE’s programme of research on Climate Change and Work, conducted in partnership with the York University, Toronto, funded by the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), led by Professor Carla Lipsig Mummé and entitled Adapting Canadian Work and Workplaces, an international perspective (ACW). The programme explores the role of work and global warming and the role of organised workers as a force for adaptation. ProBE is responsible for the international dimension, with projects on green transition strategies and worker agency in Europe and the US, as well as in the built environment. The applicant is expected to have broad knowledge of the field and some experience of quantitative and qualitative research.

The student will be asked to do 6 hours of work per week as a research assistant to support ProBE’s ACW research and enhance REF 2020 submission. There may also be opportunities for exchange visits to Canada.

Eligible candidates will hold at least an upper second class honours degree and a Master’s degree. Candidates whose secondary level education has not been conducted in the medium of English should also demonstrate evidence of appropriate English language proficiency, normally defined as 6.5 in IELTS (with not less than 6.0 in any of the individual elements).

The Studentship consists of a full fee waiver at the Home Fee Rate of £5000 and a stipend of £16,000 per annum over three years of PhD study. The Studentship is open to Home and Overseas applicants, but overseas applicants must be aware that they will need to cover the difference between the Home and Overseas fee (Currently £8000 per year).

The closing date for applications is Monday, 14^th May 2018

For further information on how to apply, please visit: https://www.westminster.ac.uk/courses/research-degrees/research-areas/business/how-to-apply

When applying please ensure that you quote ‘WBS/ProBE Studentship’

Prospective candidates wishing to discuss an application informally should contact Professor Linda Clarke:clarkel@wmin.ac.uk

29th March 2018

PhD studentship: ESRC-Skills Development Scotland - Explaining employer engagement with apprenticeships

Description

The project is funded by the ESRC and Skills Development Scotland (SDS). The aims of the project are to explore the factors that influence employers' decisions about whether or not to develop apprenticeships, engage with apprenticeship policy, and how employers seek to shape the policy context around apprenticeship provision.

To achieve this, the research will use a mixed methods approach (secondary analysis of surveys and case studies of employers) to explore varying levels of employer engagement with apprenticeships in Scotland. In the first year, the doctoral researcher will explore existing quantitative data sets to identify patterns of engagement with apprenticeship provision. This analysis will inform the selection of at least six employer case studies in key sectors. The second year will therefore be spent working to secure access with participating employers, to understand the pressures within their sectors and industries, and interviewing key stakeholders (employers, managers, policy makers etc). The third year will be spent analyzing the data and writing up the doctoral thesis.

The successful applicant will work closely with individual employers as well as SDS and other stakeholders to deliver theoretically-rigorous and policy-relevant research. The project will result in reports to stakeholders as well as a written doctoral thesis.

Given the extensive work with employers, it is important that candidates have an understanding of how employing organisations make decisions. An interest in labour market policy is also an advantage. Candidates should be keen to develop strong qualitative research skills, and be open to opportunities to undertake training to develop quantitative data analysis skills. Candidates are likely to have a social science background, with some evidence of an enthusiasm to understand business decisions.

The PhD Project will be Lead-Supervised by Professor Melanie Simms in the Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow.

Further details:

https://www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/socialsciences/studentfundingopportunities/postgraduateresearch/#d.en.570622

Eligibility

Home/EU applicants are eligible to apply.  

ESRC eligibility information
http://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/postgraduates/prospective-students/eligibility/index.aspx

26th March 2018

London BUIRA seminar Labour Migration 27 April 2018

Central London BUIRA Seminar:

Labour Migration

Professor Bridget Anderson (University of Bristol) on Labour market flexibility and citizenship rights

Dr Rachel Marangozov (Institute of Employment Studies) on Brexit and beyond: A prefect storm for our nursing workforce?’

Friday 27 April 2018, 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 C279 (lunch C287)

For further details and to reserve a place, contact Linda Clarke (clarkel@wmin.ac.uk)

This regular monthly seminar is focused onlabour migration, a particularly topical theme given on-going Brexit negotiations and we are fortunate to have two expert speakers:

Bridget Anderson, Professor of Professor of Migration, Mobilities and Citizenship in the School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies at the University of Bristol, explores the tension between labour market flexibilities and citizenship rights. She will discuss the functions of immigration in key labour market sectors and the ways in which immigration controls increasingly impact on citizens as well as migrants. From 2013-2017 Bridget was Research Director of COMPAS (Centre of Migration, Policy and Society) at the University of Oxford. She has always worked closely with migrants’ organisations, trades unions and legal practitioners at local, national and international level. Her publications include: Us and Them? The Dangerous Politics of Immigration Controls(Oxford University Press, 2013); Who Needs Migrant Workers? Labour Shortages, Immigration and Public Policy, co-edited with Martin Ruhs (Oxford University Press, 2012);The Social, Political and Historical Contours of Deportation with Matthew Gibney and Emanuela Paoletti (Springer, 2013); andMigration and Care Labour: Theory, Policy and Politics with Isabel Shutes (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014).

Rachel Marangozov, Research Associate at the Institute for Employment Studies (IES)and Director of MigrationWork CIC, willpresent findings from 2 IES studies:1) for the Migration Advisory Committee, on whether nursing should be kept on the Shortage Occupation List; and 2) on the risks of Brexit to the nursing workforce. She will questionthe sustainability of continued reliance on a foreign workforce of nurses. Rachel specializes in the labour market disadvantage of ethnic minority groups and migrant workers. She previously worked at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) on a range of equality and diversity issues and is a Director of MigrationWork CIC, which helps communities, policymakers, and practitioners respond to migration. Her work there has involved projects for the European Commission in both the United Kingdom and in several European Member States on a range of integration issues.

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

26th March 2018

Events: Central London BUIRA in Conjunction with the University of Westminster

BRITISH UNIVERSITIES INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ASSOCIATION

Central London BUIRA in conjunction with

THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTMINSTER

The Central London branch of BUIRA meets in the Westminster Business School of the University of Westminster at 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS (nearest tube Baker Street). There are many with an interest in industrial relations in the London area, including from universities, trade unions and employer associations. The meetings take the form of seminars, with key speakers, and attract a lively mix of people, both BUIRA and non-BUIRA members, from a range of different disciplines and organisations, some very expert in the particular topic discussed. We usually meet on the last Friday of the month at 10.30, with coffee available from 10.15 and a sandwich lunch provided from 12.30. This gives ample opportunity to discuss the presentation from an invited speaker and matters of common interest, as well as just to catch up with friends. The programme aims to give us fresh insights into key current issues, to present new approaches to the subject of industrial relations, and to discuss important research in the area - whether in Britain or farther afield, particularly on mainland Europe. The programme for 2017-18 is about the changing nature of social partnership and the labour contract at national, transnational and global level.

24^th November 2017, European Social Dialogue, with Philippe Pochet (General Director, European Trade Union Institute) on What is the Role of Employers and what are the Hopes for the Future? and tbcDiscussant: Richard Hyman (LSE)

Room C385 (lunch C287)

26^th January 2018, The changing labour contract, with Dr Simon Joyce (University of Leeds) on the Future of Work and the Gig Economy and Dr Alexandra Oeser (Université Paris Nanterre) From local to international: wiping out the employer?

Discussant: Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick (Birkbeck College)

Room CG44

23^rd February 2018, Labour Abuse, with Professor Roberto Pedersini (University of Milan) on Coping with fraudulent Work in the European Union, and Nick Clark (Middlesex University) on One law for the rich… Case studies from the Unpaid Britain project

Room: CG44

27^th April 2018 Labour Migration with Professor Bridget Anderson (University of Bristol) on and Dr Rachel Marangozov (Institute of Employment Studies) on Migration of Nurses, Room C279 (lunch C287)

25^th May 2018, tbc

Room: C279 (lunch C287)

So do put these dates in your diary now. These meetings can be full. To ensure a place and to help forecast catering provision, please Contact: Prof. Linda Clarke, Westminster Business School, University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS. Tel. 020350 66528; email: clarkel@wmin.ac.uk(please also let me know if you subsequently need to cancel)

17th October 2017

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19th September 2016