BUIRA Conference 2017- Register Now!

BUIRA Conference 2017- Register Now!

Registration is OPEN click here to register and here to view the outline conference programme.

British Universities Industrial Relations Association Annual Conference:

The Changing Face of Industrial Relations: New Borders, New Frontiers

University of Portsmouth, Wednesday 28th - Friday 30th June 2017

Guest speakers include:

Professor Charles Woolfson (Linköping University) and Hannah Reed (Trades Union Congress) on the implications of ‘Brexit’ for employment relations

Mags Dewhurst (Independent Workers Union of Great Britain) and Alex Wood (Oxford University) on the ‘gig economy’ and employment relations

The Conference Dinner venue is located in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

Further information about the conference, including an outline of the conference programme, is available on this page:

http://www.port.ac.uk/portsmouth-business-school/events/buira-2017/

Registration for the conference is open until 9^th June only using the link on this page:

http://onlinestore.port.ac.uk/conferences-and-events/portsmouth-business-school/organisation-studies-and-hr/british-universities-industrial-relations-association-buira-annual-conference

17th May 2017

Invites to host BUIRA conference 2018

Invites to host BUIRA conference 2018

We have already had some interest in hosting the BUIRA conference in 2018.  If anyone else would be interested in hosting our 2018 conference please do let us know asap at admin@buira.org.uk

17th May 2017

re-conference doctoral session on Critical Friendship in Employment Relations

This year the British Universities Industrial Relations Association is organising a pre-conference doctoral session on Critical Friendship in Employment Relations, which will take place on the 28th June from 9.00-13.00 in Portsmouth.

The will be led by Professor Melanie Simms (University of Leicester), Editor in Chief ‘Work Employment and Society’. The session is an exercise in critical friendship where all participants circulate a piece of written work which is then discussed in a supportive and collaborative environment. The piece of written work does NOT have to be a full conference paper (submissions can be as short as the participant wishes). It can be a section of a chapter, a draft paper or any document to discuss with peers.

This is a unique opportunity to get to know fellow PhD students, exercise critical thinking and receive constructive feedback.

The deadline for submission of written work is FRIDAY 9th JUNE 2017. Submissions should be made via e-mail: buiraphd@outlook.com

17th May 2017

Symposium on left-of-centre-parties and unions, 01.06.17, QMUL

Symposium on left-of-centre-parties and unions, 01.06.17, QMUL

Just like Labour in the UK, left-of-centre parties all over the world have historic ties to the trade union movement – ties aimed at helping both partners but that sometimes spark disputes between them, as well as attracting criticism from their opponents.

Whether rooted in a shared history, culture and ideology or more a 'marriage of convenience', in the post-war period the relationship between socialist, social democratic, and labour parties and unions supposedly helped parties win power and ensured the working class achieved huge gains in terms of full employment, the welfare state and labour market regulation. More recently, however, it’s been argued that the links between left-of-centre parties and trade unions have declined as their collaboration has become less mutually advantageous, not least as a consequence of structural changes in the economy and labour market.

This symposium, featuring some of the researchers involved and an expert set of discussants, is dedicated to discussing a newly published cross-national study of the ties between left-of-centre parties and trade unions, edited by Elin Haugsgjerd Allern (University of Oslo) and Tim Bale (Queen Mary University of London), that qualifies, and even challenges that widespread assumption.

Based on a brand new dataset, including organizational data gathered by an international team of experts, that study uncovers and explores what turns out to be considerable variation in the strength of contemporary organizational links between left-of-centre parties and unions in twelve different countries that have been democracies since at least the mid -to late-1940's. Testing a series of hypotheses on the importance and the impact of particular political systems and socio-economic factors, and on the costs and benefits for both parties and unions, detailed qualitative and quantitative analysis suggests that left-of-centre party-trade union links are stronger where trade unions are larger, denser, and more unified and where parties are less able to rely on the state to finance their organizational activities and electoral campaigns. Traditional partners that still have fairly strong links with each other seem to have greater incentives than others to maintain those links. Moreover, it remains the case that the links between parties and unions matter to policy, too.

The symposium will see participants gather for lunch at 12.30, after which there will be two sessions – one on country case studies and one on comparative angles – which will run until 17.30.  

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-launch-left-of-centre-parties-and-trade-unions-in-the-twenty-first-century-tickets-34323700111

17th May 2017

**The gig economy: deal or ordeal? - Monday 5th June, King's College London** Mon 5 June 2017 09:30 – 19:30 BST Organised by the Centre for Digital Culture, Department of Digital Humanities (King's College, London) in collaboration with ENDL - European

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17th May 2017

Conference -last call

17th May 2017

Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Equality and Diversity

8th May 2017

BUIRA Conference 2017- Register Now!

BUIRA Conference 2017- Register Now!

British Universities Industrial Relations Association Annual Conference:

The Changing Face of Industrial Relations: New Borders, New Frontiers

University of Portsmouth, Wednesday 28th - Friday 30th June 2017

Guest speakers include:

Professor Charles Woolfson (Linköping University) and Hannah Reed (Trades Union Congress) on the implications of ‘Brexit’ for employment relations

Mags Dewhurst (Independent Workers Union of Great Britain) and Alex Wood (Oxford University) on the ‘gig economy’ and employment relations

Further information about the conference is available on this page:

http://www.port.ac.uk/portsmouth-business-school/events/buira-2017/

Register for the conference is open until 9^th June only using the link on this page:

http://onlinestore.port.ac.uk/conferences-and-events/portsmouth-business-school/organisation-studies-and-hr/british-universities-industrial-relations-association-buira-annual-conference

8th May 2017

Global Governance: An Idea Whose Time Has Come.

Global Governance: An Idea Whose Time Has Come.

Global Labour Governance: An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Manchester Industrial Relations Society

Shirley Lerner Memorial Lecture

Thursday 18 May 6pm-7.30pm

Speaker: Professor Jimmy Donaghey

Professor of Industrial Relations and Personnel Management

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

Lecture Theatre LT33, Ground Floor
Manchester Metropolitan University Business School
All Saints, Oxford Road, Manchester M15 6BH (near Oxford Road railway station) http://www.mmu.ac.uk/travel/allsaints/

Free wine and nibbles buffet after the meeting 7.30pm

It is well established that globalisation has placed many pressures that have destabilised national systems of employment relations without establishing equivalent transnational mechanisms. While much of the focus to date has been on identifying these governance gaps, this presentation will argue that institutional innovations are emerging in response to this destabilisation.

Drawing on research into the response to the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster, it will examine the Accord For Building and Fire Safety in Bangladesh, a transnational initiative bringing together Bangladeshi unions, two global Union federations, over 200 western brands and four NGOs to improve workplace safety in the ready-made garment supply chain. It will be highlighted that the Accord demonstrates that developing a meaningful mechanism of global labour governance in this case required both institutional experimentation and significant actor-led innovations. Finally, the extent to which wider lessons can be drawn from the case and what questions remain unanswered about the evolving nature of global labour governance will be considered.

For further details of the Manchester Industrial Relations Society please  contact:

Professor Ralph Darlington, Salford Business School, University of Salford, Salford M5 4WT

Phone: 0161-295-5456; email: r.r.darlington@salford.ac.uk

Manchester Industrial Relations Society website: www.mirs.org.uk

Twitter: @ManchesterIRS

1st May 2017

new book

New Book: Introducing Employment Relations: a Critical Introduction

Oxford University Press has just published the 4^th edition of Introducing Employment Relations: a Critical Introduction by Steve Williams.

Further information, including details of how to obtain an inspection copy, is available from the OUP website: http://global.oup.com/ukhe/product/introducing-employment-relations-9780198777120?cc=gb&lang=en&

1st May 2017

Conference on Lay Members in Employment Tribunals

1st May 2017

vacancy

Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Global Human Resource Management at Newcastle University

For further details please see:

https://vacancies.ncl.ac.uk/

1st May 2017

Employment Rights post brexit

WORK AND EMPLOYMENT RESEARCH UNIT SEMINAR SERIES

EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS POST-BREXIT

WEDNESDAY 10 MAY 2017. 15.00 – 18.00

ROOM QA065, QUEEN ANNE COURT, UNIVERSITY OF GREENWICH

This seminar considers the current state of employment rights in the UK and how this might change in the aftermath of withdrawal from the EU. We have three expert speakers including Professor Keith Ewing (Kings College London), Sarah Veale (ex-TUC, EHRC Commissioner and Visiting Fellow at the University of Greenwich) and Rachel Suff (Senior Policy Adviser, Employment Relations, CIPD). The seminar will include a presentation on brand new research by the CIPD on employer views of employment rights..

Professor Keith Ewing (Kings College London) will look at the implications of BREXIT for employment law generally.  How much of our employment law is EU sourced, and how do we protect the legacy of EU sourced rights?   What is the role of the European Court of Justice in the protection of employment rights, and what will be the implications of losing access to the Court?   What is the future direction of EU social policy and employment rights, and what will be the implications for the UK as a non member of the EU? Keith Ewing is Professor of Public Law at King's College London, and President of the Institute of Employment Rights.

Sarah Veale (University of Greenwich and EHRC) will consider in particular the potential impact upon discrimination legislation. The majority of legislation protecting people in the UK from discrimination on grounds of protected characteristics derives from the EU. The UK Government has said that the Great Repeal Bill will simply copy all EU legislation that affects the UK on to the domestic statute book. It will then examine all of it to see what it deems necessary to retain, or improve. Some on the right are arguing for a wholesale reduction in anti-discrimination law as part of this process. More progressive voices, such as the Equality and Human Rights Commission, argue to retain and improve the stock. The incremental introduction of anti-discrimination legislation in the UK has resulted in significant and positive changes in workplace culture. Its removal, or diminution, will lead to a deterioration in employment relations. Sarah Veale was Head of Equality and Employment Rights at the TUC between 2003 and 2015, when she retired. Since then Sarah has been a Commissioner on the Equality and Human Rights Commission, a member of the Regulatory Policy Committee, an Executive Committee member of the Institute for Employment Rights and Vice Chair of the Equality and Diversity Forum. Previously Sarah was a member of the ACAS Council and the Health and Safety Executive Board.

Rachel Suff (Public Policy Adviser, Employment Relations CIPD) will present new research on employers’ attitudes to employment rights. Brexit brings the whole question of the UK’s employment law framework to the fore. Do we have the right balance of regulation to both protect individuals at work and promote labour market flexibility for employers? New research, commissioned by the CIPD, explores employers’ attitudes to employment law, how employers translate the law into practice and its impact on the business. It asks whether there is a certain 'perception-reality gap', and whether or not employers' perceived barriers and attitudes to regulation are fully aligned to actual practice on the ground. The report also looks at key pieces of EU-derived employment regulation such as that relating to agency workers and working time to assess their effectiveness and future potential for reform. Rachel Suff joined the CIPD as a policy adviser in 2014, initially in a European role, to increase the CIPD’s public policy profile and engage with politicians, civil servants, policy-makers and commentators to champion better work and working lives. An important part of her role is to ensure that the views of the profession inform CIPD policy thinking on issues such as employment relations and health and well-being. As well as carrying out research on UK employment issues in collaboration with the CIPD's ER Network of employment relations specialists, she helps guide the CIPD’s thinking in relation to European developments affecting the world of work. Rachel’s prior roles include working as a researcher for XpertHR and as a senior policy adviser at Acas.

This is an open seminar and all are invited but please can you inform us if you are planning to attend from outside the University of Greenwich by contacting myself, Professor Geoff White, on wg08@gre.ac.uk.

HOW TO FIND US

Queen Anne Court is on the main University of Greenwich campus at the Old Royal Naval College. The nearest TfL station is Cutty sark on the DLR. The nearest mainline station is Maze Hill on the line from Cannon Street and London Bridge.

24th April 2017

Bargaining for productivity

24th April 2017

Central London BUIRA Seminar:

Central London BUIRA Seminar:

Changing employment status and new forms of work organisation,

Dr Jan Drahoukoupil (ETUI) on The Platform Economy and the Disruption of the Employment Relationship

Annie Powell (Leigh Day Law Firm) on The fight for workers’ rights in the digital economy: Uber and other cases

Friday 28 April 2017, 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 focussed on the implications for employment and the labour market of the rapid development of new forms of working associated with digitalisation. Jan Drahokoupil (ETUI) will present the work he has been undertaking on production networks and the future of work, in particular the business model of a platform economy. He argues that this represents an extension of market mechanisms that has serious implications for workers, requiring particular measures including special protection, a framework for self-employment and an extension of collective bargaining possibilities. This will be complemented by Annie Powell who will speak about the reasons for the decision in the Uber driver case and its implications for other claims, including Deliveroo.

Jan Drahokoupil is a Senior Researcher at the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) in Brussels and coordinates research on digitalization. He has published a number of books and journal articles on European and transition economies, welfare state, and multinational corporations. He is also editor of two forthcoming special issues of Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research on digitalization and the future of work. His book publications include Transition economies: political economy in Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia (with Martin Myant), Wiley-Blackwell, 2011, The outsourcing challenge: organizing workers across fragmented production networks (edited), ETUI, 2015, and Flexible workforces and low profit margins: electronics assembly between Europe and China (edited), ETUI, 2016.

Annie Powell is a solicitor in the employment and discrimination team at law firm Leigh Day. She was recently involved in the successful Employment Tribunal claim by Uber drivers which found that Uber wrongly classifies the drivers as self-employed and is therefore acting unlawfully in denying them workers’ rights including the right to receive holiday pay and to be paid at least the National Minimum Wage.

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. 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

24th April 2017

job vacancy

Job vacancy: Assistant/ Associate Professor in Human Resource Management at Warwick Business School

Warwick Business School is currently inviting applications for the role of Assistant/ Associate Professor in Human Resource Management. We are looking for an internationally oriented, ambitious yet collegial scholar who will contribute to the existing research streams within the school’s Organisation and HRM group.

We especially welcome applications from researchers with the ability to publish at the very highest level, and who have the potential to generate research income and research impact.

Closing date for applications: May 14^th.

Further details can be found at:

Assistant Professor in Human Resource Management (78900-047)

Associate Professor in Human Resource Management (78931-047)

If you would like to discuss this vacancy further, please contact Kim Hoque, Head of the Organisation and Human Resource Management group: kim.hoque@wbs.ac.uk;  +44 (0)2476 524658

24th April 2017

"Launch of BSI Code of Practice for Diversity and Inclusion, 4th May, Manchester Museum"

"Launch of BSI Code of Practice for Diversity and Inclusion, 4th May, Manchester Museum"

Colleagues at FairWRC, Manchester have been working with BSI to develop a Code of Practice for Diversity and Inclusion (BS 76005: 2017). This is being launched on 4th May at the Manchester Museum, University of Manchester and all are welcome. Details below:

http://shop.bsigroup.com/Navigate-by/Conferences/Conferences/Now-Booking/2017-05-04-BS-76005-launch-event-Diversity-and-inclusion/BS-76005-Launch-event/

The Code of Practice was developed by a BSI drafting panel consisting of academics and practitioners and attempts to push the consideration of diversity and inclusion beyond the organisation to customers/clients, supply chain partners and communities. Further information can be obtained from Anne McBride, a.mcbride@manchester.ac.uk

24th April 2017

Job vacancy

UCD College of Business UCD School of Business

Lecturer/ Assistant Professor in Human Resource Management and Employment Relations.

Temporary 5 year Post

Applications are invited for a temporary five year appointment as Lecturer/ Assistant Professor in Human Resource Management and Employee Relations, UCD School of Business.

The successful candidate will contribute to the following areas and have a track record of:

Research: The Human Resource Management and Employment Relations Subject Area places strong emphasis on research leading to publication in international, peer-reviewed academic journals and in leading debate in the field of human resource management in the academic and public space.

Teaching and Learning: The successful candidate will be expected to contribute to teaching and assessment on modules dealing with European Employment Relations and HRM and with Work and Employment in the Global Economy. They will also be expected to contribute to human resource management modules delivered by the Subject Group. The Subject Group is a significant contributor to the Business School’s undergraduate, postgraduate, international and executive education programmes.

Administration: assume administrative and managerial duties as appropriate to the role.

Lecturer/Assistant Prof. (above the bar) Salary Scale: €51,807 - €79,194 per annum

Appointment will be made on scale and in accordance with the Department of Finance guidelines

Closing date: 17.00hrs (Local Irish Time) on 2 May 2017.

Prior to application, further information (including application procedure) should be obtained from the UCD Job Vacancies website: http://www.ucd.ie/hr/jobvacancies.

Applications must be submitted by the closing date and time specified. Any applications which are still in progress at the closing time of 17:00hrs (Local Irish Time) on the specified closing date will be cancelled automatically by the system. UCD are unable to accept late applications.

Hours of work for academic staff are those as prescribed under Public Service Agreements. For further information please follow link below: http://www.ucd.ie/hr/t4cms/Academic%20Contract.pdf

13th April 2017

Job vacancy

3-year Postdoctoral Research Associate position at the University of Sydney

The University of Sydney Business School’s Women, Work and Leadership Research Group is advertising a 3 year, level A Post-doctoral fellowship working on a project on women’s careers in male-dominated occupations, professions and sectors.

Closing date: 3 May 2017 (11:30pm, Sydney time)

For further information, please use the above links or go to one of the following links:

Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Women, Work and Leadership Research Group

http://sydney.edu.au/recruitment/ and search using the reference number 624/0317.

We would be really glad if you could pass this on to your networks of suitable qualified people (must have PhD in relevant area etc.)

10th April 2017

Letter to The Guardian by 67 industrial relations academics

Letter to The Guardian by 67 industrial relations academics supporting the BA cabin crew dispute over pay, 13 Match 2017:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/mar/13/to-fly-to-starve-ba-cabin-crew-deserve-better

6th April 2017

Professor Ralph Darlington’s blog for the Institute for Employment Rights

Professor Ralph Darlington’s blog for the Institute for Employment Rights on why industrial relations academics ‘take sides’ in industrial disputes like the one at British, 24 March 2017 Airways: http://www.ier.org.uk/blog/ba-cabin-crew-dispute-why-academics-‘take-sides’

6th April 2017

Job vacancy

Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Women, Work and Leadership Research Group

Closing date: 3 May 2017 (11:30pm, Sydney time)

For further information, please use the above links or go to: http://sydney.edu.au/recruitment/ and search using the reference number 624/0317.

The post doc will be working directly with Marian Baird and me in the WWLRG at the University of Sydney Business School.

We would be really glad if you could pass this on to your academic networks.

6th April 2017

Registration to the British Universities Industrial Relations Association Annual Conference:

Registration to the British Universities Industrial Relations Association Annual Conference:

The Changing Face of Industrial Relations: New Borders, New Frontiers

University of Portsmouth, Wednesday 28th - Friday 30th June 2017

Please note that conference registration is open. You will be able to register for the conference only until 9^th June using the link on this page:

http://onlinestore.port.ac.uk/conferences-and-events/portsmouth-business-school/organisation-studies-and-hr/british-universities-industrial-relations-association-buira-annual-conference

6th April 2017

Global Labour Governance: An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Manchester Industrial Relations Society

Shirley Lerner Memorial Meeting

Global Labour Governance: An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Speaker: Professor Jimmy Donaghey

Industrial Relations Research Unit, University of Warwick

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

Thursday 18 May 6pm
Lecture Theatre LT33, Ground Floor
Manchester Metropolitan University Business School
All Saints, Oxford Road, Manchester M15 6BH
Map:  http://www.mmu.ac.uk/travel/allsaints/

It is well established that globalisation has placed many pressures that have destabilised national systems of employment relations without establishing equivalent transnational mechanisms. While much of the focus to date has been on identifying these governance gaps, this presentation will argue that institutional innovations are emerging in response to this destabilisation.

Drawing on research into the response to the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster, it will examine the Accord For Building and Fire Safety in Bangladesh, a transnational initiative bringing together Bangladeshi unions, two global Union federations, over 200 western brands and four NGOs to improve workplace safety in the readymade garment supply chain. It will be highlighted that the Accord demonstrates that developing a meaningful mechanism of global labour governance in this case required both institutional experimentation and significant actor-led innovations. Finally, the extent to which wider lessons can be drawn from the case and what questions remain unanswered about the evolving nature of global labour governance will be considered.

For further details of the Manchester Industrial Relations Society please  contact:

Professor Ralph Darlington, Salford Business School, University of Salford, Salford M5 4WT

Phone: 0161-295-5456; email: r.r.darlington@salford.ac.uk

Manchester Industrial Relations Society website: www.mirs.org.uk

Twitter: @ManchesterIRS

29th March 2017

Fully Funded Case PhD: Alliance Manchester Business School: ‘The causes and consequences of precarious work for women’

Fully Funded PhD: ‘The causes and consequences of precarious work for women’

Applications are invited for a fully funded PhD studentship with the Fairness at Work Research Centre at the Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, under the supervision of Professors Damian Grimshaw and Jill Rubery.  This ‘studentship is partnership with Oxfam.

See also: http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AXY439/esrc-case-phd-studentship-the-causes-and-consequences-of-precarious-work-for-women-a-city-region-study-of-greater-manchester/

27th March 2017

CERIC doctoral conference- 10th May

2017 Centre for Employment Relations Innovation and Change (CERIC) Doctoral Conference

‘The Employment Relationship’

The Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change (CERIC) warmly invites postgraduate researchers at all stages to the 2017 CERIC Doctoral Conference, to be held on Wednesday 10th May 2017 at Leeds University Business School.

The theme for the Conference is ‘The Employment Relationship’. Abstracts for oral and poster presentations are invited from a broad spectrum of disciplines covering any aspect of:

v Work

v Employability

v Labour Markets

v Industrial relations / trade union movements

v Human resource management

v Inequalities

v Diversity

The deadline for abstract submission of up to 300 words is Friday 31st March 2017 (notification of acceptance will be sent by Monday 10th April).

The abstract submission can be made via e-mail: cericphd@leeds.ac.uk and registration for the conference can be made via the following link:

http://business.leeds.ac.uk/about-us/article/2016-centre-for-employment-relations-and-change-ceric-doctoral-conference/

CERIC is pleased to offer a prize for the best presentation, which will be the costs (up to £400) to cover attendance at a leading conference of the student’s choice. There is also a prize of £100 for the best poster presentation.

For any queries please contact the organisers at cericphd@leeds.ac.uk

To find out more about CERIC, please visit

http://lubswww2.leeds.ac.uk/CERIC/

http://business.leeds.ac.uk/about-us/article/2017-centre-for-employment-relations-innovation-and-change-ceric-doctoral-conference/

27th March 2017

2017 Centre for Employment Relations Innovation and Change (CERIC) Doctoral Conference

2017 Centre for Employment Relations Innovation and

Change (CERIC) Doctoral Conference

‘The Employment Relationship’

The Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change (CERIC) warmly invites postgraduate researchers at all stages to the 2017 CERIC Doctoral

Conference, to be held on Wednesday 10^th May 2017 at Leeds University Business

School.

The theme for the Conference is ‘The Employment Relationship’. Abstracts for oral and poster presentations are invited from a broad spectrum of disciplines covering any aspect of:

• Work
• Employability
• Labour Markets
• Industrial relations / trade union movements
• Human resource management
• Inequalities
• Diversity

The deadline for abstract submission of up to 300 words is Friday 31^st March 2017

(Notification of acceptance will be sent by Monday 10^th April).

The abstract submission can be made via e-mail:

cericphd@leeds.ac.uk and registration for the conference can be made via the following link:

http://business.leeds.ac.uk/about-us/article/2016-centre-for-employment-relations-and-change-ceric-doctoral-conference/

CERIC is pleased to offer a prize for the best presentation, which will be the costs (up to £400) to cover attendance at a leading conference of the student’s choice.

There is also a prize of £100 for the best poster presentation

.

For any queries please contact the organisers at cericphd@leeds.ac.uk

To find out more about CERIC, please visit http://lubswww2.leeds.ac.uk/CERIC/

20th March 2017

Central London BUIRA Seminar: Transforming labour in Central and Eastern Europe

Central London BUIRA Seminar:

Transforming labour in Central and Eastern Europe:

Europeanisation, dependant capitalism, labour weakening and awakening

Dr Violaine Delteil, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle

Dr Vassil Kirov, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Université d'Evry, and ETUI

Friday 31 March 2017, 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 focussed on the marked differences with the rest of Europe still evident in the fields of labour, work and industrial relations in Eastern Europe, over a quarter of a century after the fall of the Berlin Wall and more than ten years after the accession of Central and Eastern Europe into the European Union. Drawing on their recent book, to be launched in the seminar, Labour and Social Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe (Routledge, 2017), Violaine Delteil and Vassil Kirov will present a detailed analysis of the original and “big transformation” that has taken place in a wide range of countries in in the region. They stress the singularity of national models in the light of the diversity of capitalisms and explore the various dimensions of the “dependant capitalism model” that most countries from the region illuminate. They will address the key issues of the Europeanization of the new member states and the cumulative trends of labour weakening and labour awakening that emerged in the aftermath of the 2007-2008 crisis.

Dr Violaine Delteil is Associate Professor at the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle and member of the Research Centre "Integration and Cooperation in the European Area" (ICEE). Her research interests include: the social dimension and employment issues of the European Union, European integration and regional cohesion, and the challenges and economics of globalization. In addition to the new book, her recent publications include: Trajectoires de transformation et d’intégration dans l’Europe du Sud-Est. Défis pour les élargissements futurs,V. Delteil, R. Ivan (eds), Editions de l'Université de Bucarest, 2016; Strategies of Multinational Corporations and Social Regulations: European and Asian Perspectives, eds V. Delteil, P. Dieuaide, X. Richet, Springer, 2014.

Dr Vassil Kirov is Associate Professor in the Institute for the Study of Societies and Knowledge, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and Senior Researcher at the Centre Pierre Naville, Université d'Evry, and at the European Trade Union Institute. His research interests are in the sociology of enterprise, work and organisations, employment relations, labour markets and Europeanisation. Vassil has been a researcher in large EU-funded research projects (SMALL, WORKS, WALQING) and has worked as an external expert for the European Commission, the ILO, the European Foundation for Working and Living Conditions, CEDEFOP, the Fundamental Rights Agency, the Swiss Development Agency, etc. As well as the new book, his recent publications include: Holtgrewe, U., Kirov, V., Ramioul, M. (eds.) (2015), “Hard Work in New Jobs. The Quality of Work and Life in European Growth Sectors”, Houndmills, Palgrave McMillan.

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. 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 March 2017

Central London BUIRA Seminar: Changing employment status and new forms of work organisation

Central London BUIRA Seminar:

Changing employment status and new forms of work organisation,

Dr Jan Drahoukoupil (ETUI) on The Platform Economy and the Disruption of the Employment Relationship

Annie Powell (Leigh Day Law Firm) on The fight for workers’ rights in the digital economy: Uber and other cases

Friday 28 April 2017, 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 focussed on the implications for employment and the labour market of the rapid development of new forms of working associated with digitalisation. Jan Drahokoupil (ETUI) will present the work he has been undertaking on production networks and the future of work, in particular the business model of a platform economy. He argues that this represents an extension of market mechanisms that has serious implications for workers, requiring particular measures including special protection, a framework for self-employment and an extension of collective bargaining possibilities. This will be complemented by Annie Powell who will speak about the reasons for the decision in the Uber driver case and its implications for other claims, including Deliveroo.

Jan Drahokoupil is a Senior Researcher at the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) in Brussels and coordinates research on digitalization. He has published a number of books and journal articles on European and transition economies, welfare state, and multinational corporations. He is also editor of two forthcoming special issues of Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research on digitalization and the future of work. His book publications include Transition economies: political economy in Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia (with Martin Myant), Wiley-Blackwell, 2011, The outsourcing challenge: organizing workers across fragmented production networks (edited), ETUI, 2015, and Flexible workforces and low profit margins: electronics assembly between Europe and China (edited), ETUI, 2016.

Annie Powell is a solicitor in the employment and discrimination team at law firm Leigh Day. She was recently involved in the successful Employment Tribunal claim by Uber drivers which found that Uber wrongly classifies the drivers as self-employed and is therefore acting unlawfully in denying them workers’ rights including the right to receive holiday pay and to be paid at least the National Minimum Wage.

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. 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 March 2017

BUIRA Academic Debate: ‘Workplace partnership: A genuine high-road strategy or a chimera in disguise?’

BUIRA Academic Debate: ‘Workplace partnership: A genuine high-road strategy or a chimera in disguise?’

Peter Ackers - Professor of Employment Relations, De Montfort University

Mark Stuart – Montague Burton Professor of Human Resource Management and Employment Relations, Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds

Recorded 10 November 2016 at BUIRA Doctoral Symposium, Leeds.

A video of the discussion now available online:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS3RsyJKcb0

16th March 2017

WORK AND EMPLOYMENT RESEARCH UNIT SEMINAR SERIES

WORK AND EMPLOYMENT RESEARCH UNIT SEMINAR SERIES

THE FUTURE OF THE LABOUR MARKET POST-BREXIT

WEDNESDAY 29 MARCH 2017. 15.00 – 18.00

ROOM HH102, HAMILTON HOUSE, UNIVERSITY OF GREENWICH

This seminar considers the state of the UK labour market, looking at both the current picture and potential trends towards 2025 in the light of Brexit. In particular the seminar will look critically at the growth of precarious employment and the so-called ‘gig’ economy and whether this pattern is temporary or set to remain a key feature of post-Brexit Britain. We have three distinguished speakers to consider these issues – David Freeman (Head of Labour Market and Households at the ONS); Alex Bryson (University College London) and Kevin Doogan (University of Bristol). 

David Freeman (ONS) will describe and analyse recent trends in the UK Labour Market. Using a wide range of data on the UK Labour Market, David will look at trends shown by the data, particularly during the period following the recent economic downturn. Areas to be covered include types of employment, earnings, age and gender breakdowns. David Freeman is the Head of Labour Market and Households at the Office for National Statistics (ONS). He has worked at ONS since 1998, covering a number of roles in economic statistics.

Alex Bryson (University College London and NIESR) will discuss some of the important trends in work and the labour market over the last 20 or so years and address the question: can we approximate what the labour market looks like in 2025 by extrapolating from those trends? He will examine the contention - proffered by a few - that the traditional employment relationship underpinning the purchase of labour power in the modern era – the late 19th Century onwards – is coming under increasing strain and is under threat from the ‘gig’ economy. Alex Bryson is Professor of Quantitative Social Science at the Department of Social Science at UCL (https://iris.ucl.ac.uk/iris/ browse/profile?upi=ABRYS65), and a Research Fellow at NIESR and IZA. His research focuses on industrial relations, labour economics and programme evaluation.

Kevin Doogan (University of Bristol) will briefly reflect on the art and the chequered history of labour market prediction. He will then discuss ‘the new temporalities’ in the organisation of working time, which Jill Rubery and colleagues have highlighted. He will consider the significance of ‘new employer-led modalities’, particularly in the rise of ‘Zero Hours Contracts’. He will argue that there is temporal divergence in labour market patterns with one trend suggesting impermanence and irregularity in employment and another which suggests increasing job stability and rising job tenures. Furthermore he will suggest that these trends are co-divergent and that future prospects will be influenced by the relative strengths of trends towards irregularity and stability. Kevin Doogan is the author of ‘New Capitalism? The Transformation of Work’. He is the Jean Monnet Professor of European Policy Studies at the School for Policy Studies at the University of Bristol and has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Sydney and at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. 

This is an open seminar and all are invited but please can you inform us if you are planning to attend from outside the University of Greenwich by contacting myself, 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.

Hamilton House is located on Park Vista, a ten minute walk from the main Old Royal Naval College campus. The nearest railway station is Maze Hill on the mainline from Cannon Street via London Bridge (about five minutes to Hamilton House). The alternative is Cutty Sark on the DLR from Bank station (about a fifteen minute walk to Hamilton House).

14th March 2017

BUIRA IR History seminar on American Labour Migration and Organisation

BUIRA History of Industrial Relations Study Group

Labour in Late 19th century America: Migration and Organization

Wednesday, 22 March 2017, 4.30– 7.00

(Tea/coffee from 4.15pm, drinks/nibbles from 6.30pm)

Room C181, 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:

4.30-5.00pm: Tea/coffee/refreshments

5.00pm: Welcome: Michael Gold and Linda Clarke (Chairs)

5.00-5.30pm: Kim Moody (Independent scholar resident in London)  

Tramps & Trade Union Travellers: How Geographic Mobility Undermined Organized Labour in Gilded Age America

The decades following the American Civil War saw massive internal migration across the continent, from farm to city, and city to city on a far greater scale than in Europe. Employment was often irregular and both skilled and unskilled workers tramped and travelled to find work. Along with recurring economic turbulence and the movement of industry itself, this migration undermined labour organization for much of period from 1870 to 1900.

5.30-6.00pm: Steven Parfitt (Associate Lecturer at the University of Derby)

The Knights of Labor and the Fraternal Tradition

The Knights of Labor, founded in 1869 by Uriah Smith Stephens, was the first significant national labour organization in the USA. This presentation addresses its history and situates it within the framework of fraternalism and fraternal movements. Fraternalism has usually been overlooked in most accounts of labour history and working-class movements, and where it is mentioned it is usually done so in a derisive way. This paper aims to recover, or start to recover, this tradition and to think about what fraternalism might mean for us now.

6.00-6.30pm: General discussion/ close

6.30-7.00pm: Drinks

The speakers:

Kim Moody was a labour journalist in the US with the publication Labor Notes for many years, and author of five books and many articles on trade unionism and politics. His latest is In Solidarity: Essay in Working Class Organization in the United States, Haymarket Books, 2014. He has a PhD. in American Studies from the University of Nottingham.

Steven Parfitt is a historian of British, American and global labour history. His first book, Knights Across the Atlantic, has been published with Liverpool University Press. He has written ten articles in academic journals and others in the Guardian, Jacobin and TheConversation.com. He teaches a wide range of historical subjects at Derby, Loughborough and Nottingham on casual contracts and is looking for that elusive first post.

13th March 2017

Hans Boeckler Doctoral Fellowship

 Hans Boeckler Doctoral Fellowship

The Hans Boeckler Foundation (HBS) is pleased to announce the Hans Boeckler Doctoral Fellowship for 2017-2018. In May a committee will award one fellowship. The deadline for applications is April 15, 2017.

PURPOSE

These residential fellowships will be awarded to graduate students engaged in dissertation projects related to the Foundations research and policy consulting program and to the on-going work of its researchers. During their tenure fellows are expected to be in residence in Duesseldorf and to participate actively in the intellectual life of the Foundation.

The Hans-Boeckler-Foundation of the German Federation of Trade Unions (DGB) promotes codetermination as a principle for designing a democratic society. The HBS provides consulting services and training for elected representatives of works councils, staff councils and supervisory board representatives but also provides funding for some 2,000 university students. An important aspect of the Foundation’s work is related to academic research in various fields of study. Besides providing funding for external research, the HBS also maintains two own research institutes, the Institute for Economic and Social Research (WSI) and the Macroeconomic Policy Institute (IMK). Research projects cover a broad range of issues and fields of study. Among other aspects, research topics include welfare state development, co-determination, macroeconomics and European economic coordination, fiscal policy, monetary policy, forecasting, working time policy, collective bargaining, work organization, labor market regulation, gender studies, and the distribution of wealth and income. For summaries of the research profiles of both institutes see

http://www.boeckler.de/wsi_36380.htm

http://www.boeckler.de/imk_36269.htm

Working languages at the HBS are German and English.

ELIGIBILITY AND TERMS OF THE FELLOWSHIP

Doctoral Candidates are eligible to apply if they have completed all requirements for the Ph.D. but the dissertation. The fellowship is only available for students enrolled in a Ph.D. program outside of Germany.

Fellows may spend between three and twelve months in residence at the HBS for field research or theoretical work. Grants will normally begin by July 2017; however, individual arrangements are possible. The fellowship provides a stipend of 1150 Euro per month. In addition, the HBS will pay one economy class round trip from your location to Duesseldorf. Within limits of its possibilities the Foundation will also contribute to the costs for travel for field research within Germany.

Applicants should send a cover letter with name, address, e-mail and telephone number, their current CV, a research proposal not exceeding ten double spaced pages, and two letters of recommendation from academic advisors. Applicants should indicate how much time they would want to spend at the HBS and when they would like to start their tenure. Applications should be addressed to:

Hans Boeckler Foundation

c/o Dorothee Schmitz

Hans Boeckler Strasse 39

D-40476 Duesseldorf

Germany

10th March 2017

Job Opportunity: Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor - Human Resource Management/Employment Relations

Monash Business School Department of Management

Location: Melbourne

Employment Type: Full-time

Duration: Continuing appointment

The Opportunity

If you have the relevant qualifications and research track record, a demonstrated ability to engage and educate, high-level interpersonal skills, and if you enjoy working as part of a team, we would love to hear from you.

This role is a full-time position; however, flexible working arrangements may be negotiated.

Your application must address the selection criteria. For more info see: http://careers.pageuppeople.com/513/cw/en/job/559118/senior-lecturerassociate-professor-human-resource-managementemployment-relations

Enquiries: Head of Department, Véronique Ambrosini <v.ambrosini@monash.edu>

Closing Date: Thursday 16 March 2017, 11.55pm Melbourne time

9th March 2017

Vacancies at the University of Sheffield

7th March 2017

Publication of 'Bob Crow - socialist, leader, fighter' by Gregor Gall

Publication of 'Bob Crow - socialist, leader, fighter' by Gregor Gall

The 11 March is the third anniversary of the death of Bob Crow, former general secretary of the RMT union. He was just 52 years old.

Manchester University Press publishes 'Bob Crow - socialist, leader, fighter', which examines his life and legacy, both industrial and political, around the troika of his personality, politics and power of his members.

From the book description: 'Bob Crow was the most high-profile and militant union leader of his generation. This biography focuses on his leadership of the RMT union, examining and exposing a number of popular myths created about him by political opponents. Using the schema of his personal characteristics (including his public persona), his politics and the power of his members, it explains how and why he was able to punch above his weight in industrial relations and on the political stage, helping the small RMT union become as influential as many of its much larger counterparts.  As RMT leader, Crow oversaw a rise in membership and promoted a more assertive and successful bargaining approach. While he failed to unite all socialists into one new party, he established himself as the leading popular critic of neo-liberalism, 'New' Labour and the age of austerity.'

The book is priced £20 and can be bought from http://www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526100290/

The ISBN is 978-1-5261-0029-0

7th March 2017

Central London BUIRA Seminar - Changing employment status and new forms of work organisation

Central London BUIRA Seminar:

Changing employment status and new forms of work organisation,

Dr Jan Drahoukoupil (ETUI) on The Platform Economy and the Disruption of the Employment Relationship

Annie Powell (Leigh Day Law Firm) on The fight for workers’ rights in the digital economy: Uber and other cases

Friday 28 April 2017, 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 focussed on the implications for employment and the labour market of the rapid development of new forms of working associated with digitalisation. Jan Drahokoupil (ETUI) will present the work he has been undertaking on production networks and the future of work, in particular the business model of a platform economy. He argues that this represents an extension of market mechanisms that has serious implications for workers, requiring particular measures including special protection, a framework for self-employment and an extension of collective bargaining possibilities. This will be complemented by Annie Powell who will speak about the reasons for the decision in the Uber driver case and its implications for other claims, including Deliveroo. 

Jan Drahokoupil is a Senior Researcher at the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) in Brussels and coordinates research on digitalization. He has published a number of books and journal articles on European and transition economies, welfare state, and multinational corporations. He is also editor of two forthcoming special issues of Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research on digitalization and the future of work. His book publications include Transition economies: political economy in Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia (with Martin Myant), Wiley-Blackwell, 2011, The outsourcing challenge: organizing workers across fragmented production networks (edited), ETUI, 2015, and Flexible workforces and low profit margins: electronics assembly between Europe and China (edited), ETUI, 2016.

Annie Powell is a solicitor in the employment and discrimination team at law firm Leigh Day. She was recently involved in the successful Employment Tribunal claim by Uber drivers which found that Uber wrongly classifies the drivers as self-employed and is therefore acting unlawfully in denying them workers’ rights including the right to receive holiday pay and to be paid at least the National Minimum Wage.

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. 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

1st March 2017

BUIRA History of Industrial Relations Study Group

BUIRA History of Industrial Relations Study Group

Labour in Late 19th century America: Migration and Organization

Wednesday, 22 March 2017, 4.30– 7.00

(Tea/coffee from 4.15pm, drinks/nibbles from 6.30pm)

Room C181, 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:

4.30-5.00pm: Tea/coffee/refreshments

5.00pm: Welcome: Michael Gold and Linda Clarke (Chairs)

5.00-5.30pm: Kim Moody (Independent scholar resident in London)  

Tramps & Trade Union Travellers: How Geographic Mobility Undermined Organized Labour in Gilded Age America

The decades following the American Civil War saw massive internal migration across the continent, from farm to city, and city to city on a far greater scale than in Europe. Employment was often irregular and both skilled and unskilled workers tramped and travelled to find work. Along with recurring economic turbulence and the movement of industry itself, this migration undermined labour organization for much of period from 1870 to 1900.

5.30-6.00pm: Steven Parfitt (Associate Lecturer at the University of Derby)

The Knights of Labor and the Fraternal Tradition

The Knights of Labor, founded in 1869 by Uriah Smith Stephens, was the first significant national labour organization in the USA. This presentation addresses its history and situates it within the framework of fraternalism and fraternal movements. Fraternalism has usually been overlooked in most accounts of labour history and working-class movements, and where it is mentioned it is usually done so in a derisive way. This paper aims to recover, or start to recover, this tradition and to think about what fraternalism might mean for us now.

6.00-6.30pm: General discussion/ close

6.30-7.00pm: Drinks

The speakers:

Kim Moody was a labour journalist in the US with the publication Labor Notes for many years, and author of five books and many articles on trade unionism and politics. His latest is In Solidarity: Essay in Working Class Organization in the United States, Haymarket Books, 2014. He has a PhD. in American Studies from the University of Nottingham.

Steven Parfitt is a historian of British, American and global labour history. His first book, Knights Across the Atlantic, has been published with Liverpool University Press. He has written ten articles in academic journals and others in the Guardian, Jacobin and TheConversation.com. He teaches a wide range of historical subjects at Derby, Loughborough and Nottingham on casual contracts and is looking for that elusive first post.

1st March 2017

Warwick-Acas Lowry Lecture: Monday 3rd April, 5.00pm, University of Warwick

Warwick-Acas Lowry Lecture: Monday 3rd April, 5.00pm, University of Warwick

The 2017 Lowry lecture, organised by the Industrial Relations Research Unit together with Acas, in memory of Sir Pat Lowry will be given by Margaret Beels, Chair, Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority. The topic of the lecture will be ‘Tackling Labour Exploitation’.

If you would like to join the invited audience of senior employment relations practitioners, policymakers and academics for the lecture, which will be held at the University of Warwick, at 5pm on Monday 3rd April, could you please email Val.Jephcott@wbs.ac.uk by Friday 17th March.

Details of the location for the lecture and directions to the University of Warwick will be provided prior to the event.

28th February 2017

London BUIRA Seminar Friday 31 March Delteil and Kirov Transforming Labour in Eastern Europe

Central London BUIRA Seminar:

Transforming labour in Central and Eastern Europe:

Europeanisation, dependant capitalism, labour weakening and awakening

Dr Violaine Delteil, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle

Dr Vassil Kirov, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Université d'Evry, and ETUI

Friday 31 March 2017, 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 focussed on the marked differences with the rest of Europe still evident in the fields of labour, work and industrial relations in Eastern Europe, over a quarter of a century after the fall of the Berlin Wall and more than ten years after the accession of Central and Eastern Europe into the European Union. Drawing on their recent book, to be launched in the seminar, Labour and Social Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe (Routledge, 2017), Violaine Delteil and Vassil Kirov will present a detailed analysis of the original and “big transformation” that has taken place in a wide range of countries in in the region. They stress the singularity of national models in the light of the diversity of capitalisms and explore the various dimensions of the “dependant capitalism model” that most countries from the region illuminate. They will address the key issues of the Europeanization of the new member states and the cumulative trends of labour weakening and labour awakening that emerged in the aftermath of the 2007-2008 crisis.

Dr Violaine Delteil is Associate Professor at the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle and member of the Research Centre "Integration and Cooperation in the European Area" (ICEE). Her research interests include: the social dimension and employment issues of the European Union, European integration and regional cohesion, and the challenges and economics of globalization. In addition to the new book, her recent publications include: Trajectoires de transformation et d’intégration dans l’Europe du Sud-Est. Défis pour les élargissements futurs,V. Delteil, R. Ivan (eds), Editions de l'Université de Bucarest, 2016; Strategies of Multinational Corporations and Social Regulations: European and Asian Perspectives, eds V. Delteil, P. Dieuaide, X. Richet, Springer, 2014.

Dr Vassil Kirov is Associate Professor in the Institute for the Study of Societies and Knowledge, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and Senior Researcher at the Centre Pierre Naville, Université d'Evry, and at the European Trade Union Institute. His research interests are in the sociology of enterprise, work and organisations, employment relations, labour markets and Europeanisation. Vassil has been a researcher in large EU-funded research projects (SMALL, WORKS, WALQING) and has worked as an external expert for the European Commission, the ILO, the European Foundation for Working and Living Conditions, CEDEFOP, the Fundamental Rights Agency, the Swiss Development Agency, etc. As well as the new book, his recent publications include: Holtgrewe, U., Kirov, V., Ramioul, M. (eds.) (2015), “Hard Work in New Jobs. The Quality of Work and Life in European Growth Sectors”, Houndmills, Palgrave McMillan.

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. 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

28th February 2017

Vale Emeritus Prof. Zander Wedderburn/funeral details

On 23 February 2017 Zander Wedderburn passed away at the age of 81, just over a year after his dearly beloved Bridget (B), his wife, died. He was Emeritus Professor of Psychology in the School of Management, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, which he had served for 32 years, including as a Head of School and as a Member of the University Senate.

Before joining ‘The Watt’, he had worked on a rotating shift system at what later became the British Steel Corporation (BSC), Corby and then at Cardiff University on an industrial relations research project. After his retirement from The Watt, Alexander Wedderburn founded publishing company Fledgling Press.

His main research impact was on hours of work and shiftwork, on which he became an internationally known authority, building on a BSC Research Fellowship. His particular interest was in the interface between research and practice. His many credits include: several measured practical interventions, a ten-year stint as editor of the Bulletin of European Shiftwork Topics, and being founding editor of the Shiftwork International Newsletter. He was a Fellow of the Working Time Society, a member of BUIRA and President of the British Psychological Society in 2003/2004, only the third occupational psychologist to achieve the BPS presidency in the past fifty years: http://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-20/edition-10/online-only-article-zander-wedderburns-presidential-address

Most of his teaching was in the area of making industrial, occupational and organisational psychology available to students of business and engineering, and he established a part-time M.Sc. in Occupational Psychology taught jointly with Strathclyde University.

He had an MA from Oxford (Exeter College) and a Ph.D. from Heriot-Watt. He published important contributions from 1960 (the year after he graduated) until after he retired in 2000. His book that was a ‘love letter’, an ‘obituary’ for his wife, ‘B: A Life of Love’ (2013), is a lovely memoir: http://www.fledglingpress.co.uk http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/memories-are-made-of-this-1-2370671

In spite of universities’ increasing demands that academics focus primarily on publishing research articles in elite academic journals, he always had time for universities’ broader roles including education, mentoring, wider engagement and service. He was a conscientious citizen, very generous with his time in terms of helping students, alumni, colleagues, practitioners and other people. He contributed his talent and time to furthering University governance, community, social and political causes, including industrial relations and other interests; see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Allan_Innes_Wedderburn

He was a great man and an excellent mentor; all those who were lucky enough to know him will miss him and always remember him fondly. Over the years, I have much enjoyed sharing good times with him and B in the UK and in Australia. I was fortunate to catch up with Zander at his home a few months ago. Although he was then ailing, he was still excellent company, as ever.

The gist of a recent message from his 4 lovely children is below:

There will be a public memorial service at St Andrew's and St George's West Church, George Street, Edinburgh, on Wednesday, March 1, at 1 pm. There will be light refreshments in the Undercroft at the church afterwards, and then there will be an open house at 7 Lennox Street, Edinburgh for anyone who feels like calling in to chat and share memories of Zander and B.

http://johnstonpress.iannounce.mobi/edinburgh-evening-news-and-scotsman-publications/obituary/professor-alexander-allan-innes-wedderburn/49293410

Zander had had cancer for over two years and in recent weeks, he'd been fading. On 23 February, as he sat listening to his favourite music with Chris and Joanna, without any distress or pain, his breathing unexpectedly suddenly changed, faltered, and then simply stopped completely. Only minutes before, he had been communicating with them, letting them know with a thumbs up that he was enjoying listening to the Woody Guthrie songs that they were listening to together. He did not struggle or suffer at all; he simply passed away peacefully.

It was a good end to a good life. He was a remarkable man: professionally he was an expert in the intriguing world of the psychology of shift work, and privately, he was an individualist with a wonky sense of humour and a sometimes unnerving mischievous streak.

He'll be hugely missed, and he leaves behind a legacy that will be with us all for the next generation.

Zander and B have passed from this world now, but the two of them had an unforgettable impact on many people, not least, of course, on those of us who they created and nurtured.

With our deepest love, Chris, Pete, Joanna, Rebecca xxxx

Peter Wedderburn <pete@brayvet.com>, Christopher Wedderburn <chriswedd2@gmail.com>

27th February 2017

Manchester Industrial Relations Society

Manchester Industrial Relations Society

Human Rights v Bill of Rights: What’s In It For Workers?

Joint Meeting with the Industrial Law Society

Speaker: Professor Tonia Novitz

Professor of Labour Law, University of Bristol Law School

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

Thursday 16 March 6pm
Lecture Theatre LT33, Ground Floor
Manchester Metropolitan University Business School
All Saints, Oxford Road, Manchester M15 6BH
Map:  http://www.mmu.ac.uk/travel/allsaints/

One of the key Conservative 2015 election manifesto pledges was to ‘scrap the Human Rights Act and introduce a British Bill of Rights’. While for the time being, this proposal seems to have been shelved, it could re-surface at short notice. Indeed, Brexit may set the stage for such an initiative.

This presentation will examine workers’ rights that arise by virtue of Articles 4, 8, 9, 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, with reference to Conservative demands for ‘a proper balance between rights and responsibilities’. It will also address implications of decline in the influence of the European Court of Human Rights, as the British judiciary ‘take back control’. It emerges that there may be little in a British Bill of Rights for workers, but a great deal potentially for employers.   

For further details of the Manchester Industrial Relations Society please  contact: 

Professor Ralph Darlington, Salford Business School, University of Salford, Salford M5 4WT

Phone: 0161-295-5456; email: r.r.darlington@salford.ac.uk

Manchester Industrial Relations Society website: www.mirs.org.uk

Twitter: @ManchesterIRS

27th February 2017

Job Opportunities at Equity

Equity have two job opportunities which may be of interest to you, your  colleagues, current or former students. Please visit the Equity website for more details about these vacancies and to download application materials:  https://www.equity.org.uk/news-and-events/equity-news/job-opportunity-at-equity/

24th February 2017

A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book About Human Resource Management

20th February 2017

Buira conference 2017: 28th - 30th June 2017 Final deadline for abstracts

BUIRA conference 2017: 28th - 30th June 2017 Final deadline for abstracts

Tomorrow, 17^th February 2017, is the day of the final deadline for abstract submission on the BUIRA website. To have the chance to present your research in Portsmouth, you have all of today and tomorrow to submit an abstract!

Abstracts of papers (500 words max) should be submitted via the BUIRA website:

https://www.buira.org/conference/7

16th February 2017

BUIRA ​conference 2017: The Changing Face of Industrial Relations: New Borders, New Frontiers

BUIRA conference 2017: The Changing Face of Industrial Relations: New Borders, New Frontiers

BUIRA conference 2017: The Changing Face of Industrial Relations: New Borders, New Frontiers

Portsmouth, 28th-30th June 2017

A reminder that the deadline for submission of abstracts is 17th February 2017.

Abstracts of papers (500 words max) should be submitted via the BUIRA website:

https://www.buira.org/conference/7

Registration for BUIRA 2017 in Portsmouth is now open.

Please visit our website for details of the conference fees and how to register, information about the conference location (the University of Portsmouth Business School), suggestions for accommodation in Portsmouth and travel information.

http://www.port.ac.uk/portsmouth-business-school/events/buira-2017/

There is a link on this page to the online store for the purposes of registration and payment.

You can also use the online store to reserve campus-based accommodation in Rees Hall (overlooking Southsea Common and the seafront), with a single en-suite room with breakfast costing £45.00 per night.

10th February 2017

Unions21 Conference 21 March, London

Unions21 Conference 21 March, London

Call for poster submissions. Deadline 14th March.

Details of the conference including how to register are at http://unions21.org.uk/events/unions21-conference-2017-1

Unions 21 is an organisation which supports unions to increase their

influence, impact and effectiveness by working with members,

supporters and stakeholders to create an open space for research,

innovation and activity. Our 

current work themes are new economies, new workers, good work and

innovation and change.

Our 2017 annual conference on 21 March will 

highlight work under those three themes that is already being

undertaken by researchers and academics. Our audience is a

combination of senior union leaders, officers and a growing academic

body and this is an opportunity to engage with 

leading practitioners.  By looking  to showcase the best, most

interesting and thought provoking work, the conference will hold the interest whether you are a PhD student, lecturer or professor.

8th February 2017

Manchester Industrial Relations Society Meeting

Manchester Industrial Relations Society Meeting

The Gender Pay Gap

and the Changing Role of Women in the Labour Market

Speaker: Sally Brett

Head of Equalities, British Medical Association

(formerly Senior Equality Policy Officer, Trades Union Congress)

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

Thursday 23 February 6pm-7.30pm
Lecture Theatre LT33, Ground Floor
Manchester Metropolitan University Business School
All Saints, Oxford Road, Manchester M15 6BH
Map:  http://www.mmu.ac.uk/travel/allsaints/

For further details of the Manchester Industrial Relations Society contact

Professor Ralph Darlington,

Salford Business School,

University of Salford

Salford M5 4WT

phone: 0161-295-5456; website: www.mirs.org.uk Twitter: @ManchesterIRS

8th February 2017

PHD Scholarships Sheffield Hallam University in HRM, Employment Relations and Sociology of Work deadline February 24th 2017

Sheffield Hallam University have PHD scholarships in Sheffield Business School and invitations are due for a submission deadline of 24^th February 2017.

Details are on Sheffield Business School https://www.shu.ac.uk/study-here/fees-and-funding/postgraduate/postgraduate-scholarships/phd-scholarships/apply .

Scholarships in Human Resource Management, Employment Relations  and Sociology of Work are strongly recommended to contact Professor Peter Prowse at Sheffield Business School on  p.prowse@shu.ac.uk.

6th February 2017

Buira conference 2017: 28th - 30th June 2017

Buira conference 2017: 28th - 30th June 2017 

GOOD NEWS EVERYONE! 

The ABSTRACT submission deadline has been extended to 
Friday, February 17 (final deadline).

With best wishes

The BUIRA team

6th February 2017

L/SL POSTS IN HRM/OB AT DE MONTFORT UNIVERSITY

L/SL POSTS IN HRM/OB AT DE MONTFORT UNIVERSITY

The Department of HRM at DMU, which is home to the Contemporary Research on Organisations, Work and Employment (CROWE) research group is expanding by recruiting 3 posts at Lecturer/Senior Lecturer level. We are currently seeking applicants who can design and deliver modules in a creative and innovative way which ensures a positive student learning experience. Delivery will be across a range of undergraduate, postgraduate, distance and blended distance learning programmes. Our strengths include: Excellent REF results; nationally and internationally recognised research; Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Approved Centre status with accreditation for programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate level; and excellent NSS (National Student Survey) results.

These positions are an ideal next step if you are keen to progress your academic career in a dynamic, collegiate and highly supportive department.

Details of the posts can be found in the links below:

https://jobs.dmu.ac.uk/webrecruitment/Default.asp?Section=Vacancy&VacID=10375

https://jobs.dmu.ac.uk/webrecruitment/Default.asp?Section=Vacancy&VacID=10376

6th February 2017

BUIRA IR History seminar on American Labour Migration and Organisation 22 March 2017

BUIRA History of Industrial Relations Study Group 

Labour in Late 19th century America: Migration and Organization 

Wednesday, 22 March 2017, 4.30– 7.00

(Tea/coffee from 4.15pm, drinks/nibbles from 6.30pm)

Room C181, 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:

4.30-5.00pm: Tea/coffee/refreshments 

5.00pm: Welcome: Michael Gold and Linda Clarke (Chairs) 

5.00-5.30pm: Kim Moody (Independent scholar resident in London)  

Tramps & Trade Union Travellers: How Geographic Mobility Undermined Organized Labour in Gilded Age America

The decades following the American Civil War saw massive internal migration across the continent, from farm to city, and city to city on a far greater scale than in Europe. Employment was often irregular and both skilled and unskilled workers tramped and travelled to find work. Along with recurring economic turbulence and the movement of industry itself, this migration undermined labour organization for much of period from 1870 to 1900. 

5.30-6.00pm: Steven Parfitt (Associate Lecturer at the University of Derby)

The Knights of Labor and the Fraternal Tradition

The Knights of Labor, founded in 1869 by Uriah Smith Stephens, was the first significant national labour organization in the USA. This presentation addresses its history and situates it within the framework of fraternalism and fraternal movements. Fraternalism has usually been overlooked in most accounts of labour history and working-class movements, and where it is mentioned it is usually done so in a derisive way. This paper aims to recover, or start to recover, this tradition and to think about what fraternalism might mean for us now. 

6.00-6.30pm: General discussion/ close

6.30-7.00pm: Drinks 

The speakers:

Kim Moody was a labour journalist in the US with the publication Labor Notes for many years, and author of five books and many articles on trade unionism and politics. His latest is In Solidarity: Essay in Working Class Organization in the United States, Haymarket Books, 2014. He has a PhD. in American Studies from the University of Nottingham. 

Steven Parfitt is a historian of British, American and global labour history. His first book, Knights Across the Atlantic, has been published with Liverpool University Press. He has written ten articles in academic journals and others in the Guardian, Jacobin and TheConversation.com. He teaches a wide range of historical subjects at Derby, Loughborough and Nottingham on casual contracts and is looking for that elusive first post.

2nd February 2017

London BUIRA seminar Labour and Global Governance 24 February 2017

Central London BUIRA Seminar:

Labour and global governance

Dr Frank Hoffer on The significance for labour of changes in global governance (Bureau for Workers’ Activities, ILO)

Dr Yvonne Rueckert (University of Portsmouth) on Global unions and World Bank and IMF policies

Discussant: Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick (Birkbeck College London) 

Friday 24 February 2017, 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 the changing nature of the global governance system and the interaction of some of its actors, including the Global Unions, the ILO and the international financial organisations (IMF and World Bank). Frank Hoffer will discuss changes in global governance and their significance for trade unions everywhere, arguing too that the deeper engagement of trade unions with the ILO is essential in the decent work agenda. Yvonne Rueckert from the University of Portsmouth, will show how the formalised dialogue between the Global Unions and the IFIs has developed since an agreement was signed by the international actors in 2002. Her research explores factors which hinder and promote the progress of a dialogue that can be considered as a strategic instrument for the Global Unions in providing them with a means to influence IFIs policies and to shape the rules and institutions of global governance towards a more worker-friendly regime.   

Frank Hoffer is senior research officer at the Bureau for Workers Activities of the ILO, focussing on social protection, working conditions and labour standards, and the international coordinator of the Global Labour University network. His is engaged on the project ‘Governance by Contract?: The Impact of the International Finance Corporation's Social Conditionality on Worker Organization and Social Dialogue’. His publications include:

2011. "Decent Work 2.0". Social Europe Journal; 2011. "International Labour Standards: An Old Instrument Revisited". Social Europe Journal; 2010. "The Great Recession: A Turning Point for Labour". Int. Jnl of Labour Research 2(1); 2009. "Don’t waste the crisis: The case for sustained public investment and wage-led recovery policies". Global Labour Column 

Yvonne Rueckert is a senior lecturer in International Employment Relations at Portsmouth Business School, having previously worked at the University of Bradford Management School, the University of Bochum (Germany), and University of Oviedo (Spain). Her PhD, supported by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, focused on international labour standards and the dialogue between the Global Unions and the international financial institutions (World Bank and IMF). Her general research focus is on international comparative employment relations and organization theory. 

The discussant, Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick, from Birkbeck College, specialises in international governance and was a former official of the International Union of Food and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF) and of the International Labour Organisation (ILO).  

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 

LATER LONDON BUIRA SEMINARS INCLUDE:

31 March 2017 Transforming labour in Central and Eastern Europe:

Europeanisation, dependant capitalism, labour weakening and awakening

Dr Violaine Delteil (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle) and Dr Vassil Kirov, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Université d'Evry, and ETUI, Room C279 (lunch C287)

28 April 2017, Changing employment status and new forms of work organisation, with Dr Jan Drahoukoupil (ETUI) on The Platform Economy and the Disruption of the Employment Relationship and Annie Powell (Leigh Day Law Firm) on The fight for workers’ rights in the digital economy: Uber and other cases Room: C279 (lunch C287)

1st February 2017

Internship Advert - ITF

We currently have an Internship role in our Women Transport Workers
Department at the ITF that we would like to advertise on your website.
Please see attached project information and advert.

The internship will be for a period of 8 weeks (35 hours per week)
commencing from 10 July to 1 September 2017 and it will be based in London.

The role will close on Tuesday 28^th February 2017.

Kindly refer to our website for more information regarding the ITF
http://www.itfglobal.org/en/global/

30th January 2017

Employment Relations Book

A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book about Employment Relations

Tony Dundon - Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, National University of Ireland, Ireland

Niall Cullinane - Queen's University Management School, Queen's University Belfast

Adrian Wilkinson - Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing, Griffith Business School, Griffith University

Conceived by Chris Grey and written to get you thinking, the “Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap” series offers an informal and accessible yet sophisticated and critical overview of what you find in conventional textbooks.

In Employment Relations the authors translate years of experience, with the help of interesting vignettes, real life examples and connections with popular culture, into a critical understanding of the topic that brings the field to life.

An excellent supplementary text for Employment Relations and HRM students or anyone interested in a short, succinct book on the subject of Employment Relations.

30th January 2017

Scottish Labour History journal

Scottish Labour History journal – call for proposals for papers for 2017 edition

Of the many important centenaries that have abounded in the early part of our new millennium, for the study of labour history none is more important than that of the 1917 October Revolution in Russia. It was a world historic turning point. For the first time anywhere under capitalism, workers made a successful bid for power, seeking to reshape society in their own image. We are all well aware of the unfolding events following the revolution, be they the civil war, the Stalinization of Soviet Russia, and the impact on revolutionary and working class movements throughout the world. These events gave rise to, and testify to, the divergence of thought and belief on what constitutes socialism and communism, representing a second major division in what had previously been a largely united international socialist movement. Such divisions have been keenly played out within the study of labour history.

Scottish Labour History, the annual journal of the Scottish Labour History Society and now in its 51st year, will mark the centenary of the October Revolution with its 2017 edition, organized on the theme of ‘The October Revolution and its legacy’.

To this end, we wish to make a call for submissions to this journal on the broad themes of the impact and influence of the October Revolution on the labour, trade union and working class movements in Scotland and the British Isles. What we have in mind are most obviously articles on how these existing movements were affected by, and developed in the light of, the October Revolution. We are also interested in submissions on how these movements sought to interpret, utilize and respond to the October Revolution. In doing so, Scottish Labour History seeks submissions which do not merely look at the ‘external’ impact of the October Revolution upon these shores, but also how domestic dynamics conditioned the response to the external development represented by the October Revolution. So we are keen to see submissions which either bring to the table new historical research on these matters or examine the state of our knowledge and understanding of these processes and outcomes.

(NB Scottish Labour History will also publish papers in its 2017 edition which are not related to this special call for papers. Therefore, any other submissions will also be considered.)

Scottish Labour History publishes paper of between 8,000-10,000 words and research notes of between 4,000-6,000 words. We are calling for abstracts of 500 words for either full papers or research notes on the theme of ‘The October Revolution and its legacy’.

Please send them to the co-editors, either Professor Gregor Gall (g.gall@bradford.ac.uk) or Dr Jim Phillips (James.Phillips@glasgow.ac.uk) by 1 March 2017 at the latest. 

30th January 2017

BUIRA ​conference 2017: The Changing Face of Industrial Relations: New Borders, New Frontiers

BUIRA conference 2017: The Changing Face of Industrial Relations: New Borders, New Frontiers

We are pleased to announce that registration for BUIRA 2017 in Portsmouth is now open.

Please visit our website for details of the conference fees and how to register, information about the conference location (the University of Portsmouth Business School), suggestions for accommodation in Portsmouth and travel information.

http://www.port.ac.uk/portsmouth-business-school/events/buira-2017/

There is a link on this page to the online store for the purposes of registration and payment.

You can also use the online store to reserve campus-based accommodation in Rees Hall (overlooking Southsea Common and the seafront), with a single en-suite room with breakfast costing £45.00 per night.

Abstracts of papers (500 words max) should be submitted via the BUIRA website:

https://www.buira.org/conference/7

Deadline for submission of abstracts: 3rd February 2017.

26th January 2017

Special Issue Call for Proposals: Human Resource Management Journal

Please visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1748-8583 for details of the call for proposals for Special Issues of Human Resource Management Journal (HRMJ). Proposals should be submitted to HRMJ.journal@wiley.com<HRMJ.journal@wiley.com> by 31st January 2017.

Human Resource Management Journal is a scholarly journal that seeks to promote the understanding of HRM to academics and practising managers. HRMJ aims to promote the theory and practice of HRM, to provide an international forum for discussion and debate, and to stress the critical importance of people management to a wide range of economic, political and social concerns. Since 2006, HRMJ has broadened its editorial scope to become more globally orientated and has strengthened the international character of its Editorial Team and Board.

Journal Reputation & Rankings:

HRMJ is ranked 4 in The Chartered Association of Business Schools' Academic Journal Guide 2016, and 'A' in the Australian Business Deans Council Journal Rankings List. According to the ISI Journal Citation Reports, HRMJ is ranked 6/26 in Industrial Relations and Labor and 71/192 in Management. The current impact factor is 1.845.

Editors-in-Chief:

Elaine Farndale, Pennsylvania State University, USA / Tilburg University, The Netherlands

Anthony McDonnell, Queen’s University (soon to move University College Cork, Ireland)

Dora Scholarios, University of Strathclyde, UK

Adrian Wilkinson, Griffith University, Australia

Associate Editors:

Katie Bailey, University of Sussex, UK

Edel Conway, Dublin City University, Ireland

Anders Dysvik, BI Norwegian Business School, Norway

Martin Edwards, King's College London, UK

Kaifeng Jiang, Mendoza College of Business at University of Notre Dame, USA

Gill Kirton, Queen Mary University of London, UK

Mila Lazarova, Simon Fraser University, Canada

Helen Liu, Pennsylvania State University, USA

Ashly H. Pinnington, The British University in Dubai, UAE

Amanda Pyman, Monash University, Australia

B. Sebastian Reiche, IESE Business School, Spain

Juani Swart, Bath University, UK

Andrew Timming, University of St Andrews, UK

Current Calls for Papers:

Special Issue: Exploring trade-offs between employee well-being and organizational performance: The role of Human Resource Management

Guest Editors: Karina Van De Voorde, Marc Van Veldhoven and Riccardo Peccei

Submission deadline: 1 March 2017

Call for papers: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1111/(ISSN)1748-8583/asset/homepages/HRMJ_Special_Issue_CFP.pdf?v=1&s=cbe1bfc5a550affeb7d1b88e06b739a0204b1e12

Special Issue: New Avenues in International Careers Research

Guest Editors: Adam Smale, Jon Briscoe, Michael Dickman, Wolfgang Mayrhofer and Emma Parry

Submission deadline: 3 April 2017

Call for papers: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1111/(ISSN)1748-8583/asset/homepages/Special_Issue_CfP__HRMJ_.pdf?v=1&s=d40c89393dee3438d7bf2406587e01bd176a987a

Warm regards,

Elaine Farndale, Anthony McDonnell, Dora Scholarios, and Adrian Wilkinson

Editors-in-Chief

24th January 2017

Restructuring, deindustrialisation and redundancy: contemporary debates and issues

Work and Employment Research Unit Seminar Series

Centre for Research on Management, Economy and Society, Hertfordshire Business School, University of Hertfordshire

Title: Restructuring, deindustrialisation and redundancy: contemporary debates and issues

Date: Wednesday February 15^th 2017

Time: 13:00 – 17:00

Location: Room W040, Law Building, de Havilland campus, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, AL10 9E

This is an open seminar, but please contact Chris McLachlan to confirm attendance and for any further information – c.mclachlan3@herts.ac.uk

Ola Bergström, Gothenburg University, Sweden

Changing restructuring regimes in eleven European Member States after the financial crisis

This paper is concerned with the developments in a selection of European Member States since the global financial crisis in 2008 as regards how the policy frameworks to manage organizational restructuring has changed. Restructuring is here used as a unifying concept for all types of changes in work arrangements that, from the point of view of the individual worker, imply a change in employment status or working conditions. The aim of this paper is to analyse the impact of the economic crisis on the national restructuring regimes and to identify how the changing policy frameworks affect the conditions for employers’ social responsibility as regards restructuring. The comparative analysis in this paper is based on data collected by an international group of researchers in a EU-financed project “MOLIERE” analysed through the restructuring regime framework suggested by Gazier (2008). The findings show that there are considerable changes in the way restructuring is managed and regulated in the selection of European Member States. Member States are increasingly adopting measures aiming at facilitating quantitative adjustment, primarily through the use of working time reduction schemes, which enables firms to reduce their labour costs when demand suddenly decreases. A second group of Member States are adopting measures that support qualitative adjustment, for example transition services designed to help workers find new jobs. The third main movement is a shift in the role of the state, with declining use of state funded early retirement scheme and an increasing involvement of social partners. The findings suggest that the changing restructuring regimes has implications for the practice and definition of employer social responsibility.

Ola Bergström is Professor in Management and Organisation at the Department of Business Administration at the School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Göteborg, Sweden. He obtained his doctorate at the University of Gothenburg in 1998. His research interests evolve around the interface between organizations and labour markets and in particular the field of restructuring in a European context. He has published articles and books on a wide range of topics such recruitment, corporate social responsibility, and temporary agency work, restructuring and labour market policy. He has taken part in several European projects on Restructuring in Europe (e.g. MIRE, IRENE, ARENAS and MOLIERE). He is chairman of the centre for Global Human Resource Management at the University of Gothenburg and is currently one of four members of the Economic Council for Swedish Industry which provides independent analyses to the social partners of the Swedish manufacturing industry

Tim Strangleman, University of Kent

Picturing work, envisaging closure: The life and death of an English Brewery

In 2005 the Guinness brewery at Park Royal in west London closed its doors after nearly 70 years of production. From its foundation in the 1930s through to its final years the brewery acts as a powerful ‘privileged occasion’ for understanding the changing nature of the organisation and work more generally in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. This paper will draw on the author’s extensive research in the brewery before closure and in Company archives to tell this story. Using oral history interviews, archive material and a huge range of visual material it will reflect on what one company’s trajectory can tell us more generally about capitalism historically and in contemporary society. In doing so it engages with issues such as industrial citizenship, work meaning and identity, and corporate image making.

Tim Strangleman, FAcSS is Professor of Sociology, in the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, SSPSSR, University of Kent, Canterbury. He has researched and written widely on work identity, culture and meaning; traditional industries in decline and deindustrialisation. Tim is an historical sociologist who uses oral history and visual methods and approaches in his research. He has published articles in a range of journals including Sociology, IJURR, Sociological Review and ILWCH. He is the author of two books: (2008) Work and Society: Sociological Approaches, Themes and Methods, with Tracey Warren, Routledge; and (2004) Work Identity at the End of the Line? Privatisation and Culture Change in the UK Rail Industry, Palgrave. He is currently completing a book based on his Guinness research to be published by Oxford University Press in 2017.

Ian Greenwood, University of Leeds

Strategic Choice and the response of trade unions to Industrial Restructuring

 As restructuring gathers pace, the strategies for engagement between unions and management become increasingly important to understand. This paper, hence, presents an investigation and assessment of the strategic choices of management and unions in response to industrial restructuring as manifested through collective bargaining and as liminal moments.

Understanding union responses to restructuring cannot be adequately captured through a conceptualisation of bargaining strategies as occurring only at a local or international level or as wholly adversarial or cooperative. The industrial relations of restructuring is played out in a complex social space, contingent upon history, (mystic chords of memory and path dependent propensities), culture, geography, corporate and union strategies, ‘dominant coalitions’ and the influence of key individuals. Although a significant body of research offers insight into union responses to management strategies for restructuring, at the micro level of strategy formation and collective bargaining strategies and tactics, research is though, somewhat underdeveloped.

The conceptual framework for analysis is provided by a modified Strategic Choice model (Walton, Katz and McKersie). Just as the particular phase of engagement can govern the orientation of union responses to restructuring, so intra organisational bargaining within management can modulate dominant management ideological predilections. Strategic choices and processes are dynamic and reflect the ebb and flow of power relationships both within and between management and unions. The empirical basis for this evolving research is provided by a multi-level, qualitative study of restructuring in the UK steel industry.

Ian Greenwood is Associate Professor of Industrial Relations and HRM at the Leeds University Business School (LUBS) and member of the Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change centered on the Work and Employment Relations Division at LUBS. He has been engaged in a number of research projects connected to the steel and metals sector. These include the evaluation of the role that lifelong learning strategies might play in response to the processes of restructuring in the European steel and metal sectors and the potential of partnership based approaches for furthering the learning agenda and employability. Also, the socio-economic consequences of the contraction of the UK steel industry. He also researches the role of union learning representatives and their impact on workplace skill formation; team working; trade union activism and renewal including Community Unionism. Other research interests include the contemporary nature of collective bargaining.

Chris McLachlan, University of Hertfordshire

Internalising the experience of restructuring: steelworkers and occupational identity

The impact of redundancy on affected employees following employment restructuring includes issues such as poor health, financial hardship, emotional and psychological distress and feelings of helplessness towards future employment. Addressing the impact on individuals in industries that generate a powerful sense of occupational identity, such as steel, is especially important in understanding the different ways in which employees respond to restructuring. In order to try and ameliorate the impact on employees, responsible restructuring has been proposed in the academic and policy literature as way for organisations to address the concerns of those affected.

Thus, this paper presents the findings from a case study of UK based steel plant (SteelCo) that claimed to have conducted its restructuring process in a responsible fashion. In particular, the impact of the restructuring, and the supposed responsible approach, on affected steelworkers is discussed, highlighting a range of social, cultural, material and experiential factors most pertinent to the response of employees to SteelCo’s restructuring process. The findings presented point to the notion that, for steelworkers, the experience of restructuring had become internalised as part of what it meant to work at SteelCo, generating an indifference to SteelCo’s description of its process as ‘responsible’. Understanding the extent to which a restructuring process is responsible, or not, must therefore be understood in relation to the social and historical factors that constitute particular occupational identities, and thus the subsequent disposition of employees to the onset of restructuring processes.

Chris McLachlan is Senior Lecturer in Human Resources at Hertfordshire Business School, University of Hertfordshire. His main research interests lie in the intersections between employment relations and business ethics, and is currently finishing up his PhD from Leeds University Business School, exploring responsible approaches to restructuring in the UK steel industry.

20th January 2017

A future for Post Industrial communities? An action orientated conference hosted by Leeds University’s Centre for Employment Relations Innovation and Change (CERIC)

A future for Post Industrial communities?

An action orientated conference hosted by Leeds University’s Centre for Employment Relations Innovation and Change (CERIC) in collaboration with the national campaigning organisation HOPE not hate
23/24 March Leeds

registration: https://goo.gl/forms/uVAwLQzQ3M1DNkT23

Plenary sessions

– The challenges faced by postindustrial communities

– Why have post-industrial communities been failed?

– Who are the agents of change i– these communities?

– Challenging narratives of race, racism and immigration

– Organising around health disadvantage and poverty in post-industrial communities

Workshops

– Conveying the crisis in postindustrial communities (in 140 characters).

– Building power and effecting change

– If ‘myth busting’ doesn’t work, how do we address division and fear?

– Resourcing and organising in post industrial communities.

The process of deindustrialisation has destabilised many working class communities across the country. The large industrial workplaces (docks, mines, steel works, potteries, and car plants) have often disappeared. In towns which once had an industrial identity, that has gone, along with the high levels of trade union engagement, the sports and social clubs. Even the pubs are going. Meanwhile the once solid relationship between the communities and their traditional representatives; the Labour Party, has become ‘more complex’.

These post-industrial communities face a future where parents know that their children's future is significantly less promising than their own was, where 'career opportunities' are often limited to work in low wage jobs such as retail parks and where the traditional sense of community has often been replaced by an uneasy division along ethnic, social and religious lines.

All of this raises a number of questions for academics, economists, public health professionals, politicians, policy makers, trade unionists, funders, anti-racists and community activists. This conference aims to bring people from all these fields.

Contact j.holgate@leeds.ac.uk for further details.

20th January 2017

Vacancies at Warwick Business School

Assistant/Associate Professor Vacancies in HRM at Warwick Business Schools. Candidates with research interest in industrial relations are welcome. Deadline 3rd February.


http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AWI926/assistant-professor-in-human-resource-management-78900-126/
http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/AWM024/associate-professor-in-human-resource-management-78900-017/

20th January 2017

London BUIRA seminar January 27 on unions and industrial action in Germany and Britain

Central London BUIRA

Westminster Business School of the University of Westminster

35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS (nearest tube Baker Street)

10.30am – 12.30pm, followed by buffet lunch

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

SEMINAR PROGRAMME 2017: Significant changes in labour organisation and employment nationally, in East and West Europe, and globally (see attached):

27 January 2017, Union membership and industrial action in Germany and Britain, Dr Heiner Dribbusch (Institute of Economic and Social Research, WSI, Germany) on Organising through conflict and Professor John Kelly (Birkbeck College) on Do strikes increase trade union membership? Room C419 (lunch C389)

This regular monthly seminar is focussed on the impact of industrial action on trade union organising and membership in the contrasting cases of Germany and Britain. Heiner Dribbusch, of Hans-Böckler Stiftung, drawing on his recent paper published in the ETUI journal Transfer, examines strike activity in Germany between 2004 and 2015 in the public and private services sectors, particularly by United Services Union, ver.di, the second largest union. He shows how industrial disputes constitute decisive moments for unions to demonstrate their effectiveness, acting as a catalyst to union building, though not a magic bullet. In contrast, John Kelly from Birkbeck College, based on a 7 year dataset of trade union membership joiners and leavers from a major British trade union and drawing on a paper to be published in the British Journal of Industrial Relations, shows how periods of strike action are associated with a significantly higher rate of membership and that new members are motivated by perceived injustice and union effectiveness.

Heiner Dribbusch is senior researcher at the Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI) within the Hans Böckler Stiftung His research fields cover trade union organising and trends in industrial action in Germany and Europe, wage policy, and trade union policies. His most recent publications include: ‘Trade Unions in Germany: Development, Challenges, Responses’ (with Peter Birke) in: Ingrid Artus et al. (eds.): Developments in German Industrial Relations, Cambridge Scholars Publishing 2016, ‘Anti-Unionism in a Coordinated Market Economy: the Case of Germany’ (with Martin Behrens) in Gregor Gall/Tony Dundon (eds.) Global Anti-Unionism. Nature, Dynamics, Trajectories and Outcomes, Palgrave MacMillan, 2013;

John Kelly is Professor of Industrial Relations in the Department of Management at Birkbeck College whose main research interests are comparative employment relations, comparative labour politics and trade unionism. His most recent publications include Ethical Socialism and the Trade Unions: Allan Flanders and British Industrial Relations Reform, Routledge. 2015, and ‘Conflict: trends and forms of collective action’, Employee Relations, 37(6): 1-13, 2015.

LATER LONDON BUIRA SEMINARS INCLUDE:

24 February 2017, Labour and global governance, Dr Frank Hoffer (Bureau for Workers’ Activities, ILO) and Dr Yvonne Rueckert (University of Portsmouth) on Global unions and World Bank and IMF policies, Discussant: Dr Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick (Birkbeck College) Room: C279 (lunch C287)

31 March 2017 Transforming labour in Central and Eastern Europe:

Europeanisation, dependant capitalism, labour weakening and awakening

Dr Violaine Delteil (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle) and Dr Vassil Kirov, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Université d'Evry, and ETUI, Room C279 (lunch C287)

28 April 2017, Changing employment status and new forms of work organisation, with Dr Jan Drahoukoupil (ETUI) on The Platform Economy and the Disruption of the Employment Relationship and Annie Powell (Leigh Day Law Firm) on The fight for workers’ rights in the digital economy: Uber and other cases Room: C279 (lunch C287)

16th January 2017

WORK AND EMPLOYMENT RESEARCH UNIT SEMINAR SERIES

WORK AND EMPLOYMENT RESEARCH UNIT SEMINAR SERIES 

TACKLING LOW PAY: MINIMUM WAGE OR LIVING WAGE? 

WEDNESDAY 25 JANUARY 2017. 15.00 – 18.00  

ROOM QA238, QUEEN ANNE COURT, OLD ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE, GREENWICH

This WERU seminar considers the mechanisms for tackling low pay in the UK, both statutory and voluntary. While the National Minimum Wage established in 1998 continues, from 2016 a new 25 year-old ‘National Living Wage’ rate was introduced by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne. The impact of that change has yet to be fully researched but we have two presentations on initial research being conducted for the Low Pay Commission. We also have a presentation by Katherine Chapman of the Living Wage Campaign on progress towards a voluntary living wage level and a a presentation on research being conducted for the Welsh Government on the potential for a Wales Living Wage. We will have the following presentations.

Ken Mulkearn (Incomes Data Research). Ken will present on the the findings from a survey of employers for the Low Pay Commission about their implementation of the NLW. It looked in particular it looked at the effects of the NLW, now and in future, on pay and conditions, whether workforce profiles might change as result of the age threshold, the extent of effects on organisation of work and productivity measures and current and potential effects on costs, profits and prices. Ken Mulkearn is a founder of Incomes Data Research (IDR), established in 2015. IDR monitors pay and conditions developments across the economy, and reports on these in its regular Pay Climate e-bulletin. The organisation also conducts surveys of pay and conditions in specific sectors and labour markets and carries out a range of contract work for external clients in both the private and public sectors, including pay and benefits benchmarking, pay club surveys, job evaluation, and research on a variety of aspects of reward policy. Prior to founding IDR, he was Head of Pay and Research at Incomes Data Services (IDS), Ken speaks to a wide range of audiences on pay issues. He holds an MSc in social research methods from the London School of Economics, where he also took modules in industrial relations. His primary degree is from Trinity College, Dublin. For more information on IDR see http://incomesdataresearch.co.uk/ orhttps://twitter.com/payclimate

Professor Sian Moore (University of Greenwich). Sian’s presentation will explore the implications of non-standard employment contracts for hours and the organisation of working time and the consequent impact the introduction of the NLW (if any) may have on workers on non-standard employment contracts. It does so in the context of the increase in zero hours, variable hours, guaranteed hours contracts and misclassified self-employment’ (Dean, 2016; ONS, 2016). The presentation considers the possibility that with competition on the basis of low pay entrenched, there is some anticipation that the NLW will encourage more employers to substitute zero hours and variable hours contracts for ‘regular’ ones, notably at the lower end of the labour market (e.g. Philpott cited in The Guardian 02/09/2015). The presentation draws upon current research on homecare and logistics as well as the early stages of research for the Low Pay Commission. Sian Moore is Professor of Employment Relations and Human Resource Management and Director of the Work and Employment Research Unit (WERU) at the University of Greenwich. Her research centres on the relationship between gender and class, consciousness and activism. She has also published on statutory trade union recognition and trade union learning, equality reps and the British Airways dispute 2009-11. Her current research focus is work and employment in the logistics sector and on the pay and conditions of homecare workers.

Katherine Chapman (Living Wage Campaign). Katherine’s presentation will provide an overview of the Living Wage and the Foundation, where we are now and the reported benefits of the Living Wage for employees and businesses. Katherine Chapman joined the Living Wage Foundation as Director in March 2016. She has a background in working with industry leaders and policy makers to achieve change. Before joining the Foundation she was Assistant Director at the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, a public body providing strategic leadership on employment and skills issues in the UK where she led on strategies to boost productivity, wages and social mobility. Previously Katherine was Head of Education and Skills at Policy Connect, a cross-party network of industry leaders and parliamentarians.

David Nash and Deborah Hann (University of Cardiff). David and Deborah will consider who pays the Living Wage and why. They will present initial findings from a recent survey of all accredited Living Wage employers and service providers, which is just under 3000 organisations.  After profiling the characteristics of accredited organisations the reasons for accreditation and the influences, both internal and external, that informed that decision will be considered.   They will consider any associated changes that have accompanied the implementation of the living wage and also examine the possible impact and involvement of stakeholders such as subcontractors and trade unions.  The scale and coverage of the living wage within accredited organisations will be outlined together with employers’ assessment of the effects of becoming accredited.  Finally, they will outline the impact of the Government’s own National Living Wage in April 2016 and how the voluntary Living Wage movement should respond going forward. David Nash has been Lecturer in Employment Relations at Cardiff Business School since 2003.  Before coming to Cardiff he was a researcher at Cambridge University, where he also completed his PhD examining the use of variable pay in the financial services sector.  David’s research has concentrated on the areas of remuneration, corporate governance and workplace conflict resolution.  He has undertaken research projects for the UK government, the Bevan Foundation and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service.   Deborah Hann is Lecturer in Employment Relations and researcher in UK and European Employment Relations at Cardiff Business School. Prior to joining Cardiff Business School, she completed a PhD at Manchester Business School and worked as a research fellow at Queen’s University.  She has worked on projects on the impact of European legislation on worker voice and on the resolution of conflict in the workplace.  More recently, Deborah has been looking at the presence and spread of conflict resolution practices within the UK.

This is an open seminar and all are invited but please can you inform us if you are planning to attend from outside the University of Greenwich by contacting myself, Professor Geoff White, on wg08@gre.ac.uk.

​

13th January 2017

Manchester Industrial Relation Society Meeting

Manchester Industrial Relations Society

Morrisons Supermarkets and Employment Relations

Speaker: Pete Monaghan

People Manager – Employment Relations, Morrisons Supermarkets

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

Thursday 26 January 6pm
Lecture Theatre LT33, Ground Floor
Manchester Metropolitan University Business School
All Saints, Oxford Road, Manchester M15 6BH
Map:  http://www.mmu.ac.uk/travel/allsaints/ 

Employment Relations (ER) within organisations has long been practised as a specialist function within the HR profession. In general terms ER practitioners mainly look after relationships with trade unions, manage Employment Tribunal claims and deal with varying degrees of intra-organisational conflict. We know that both union membership levels and the number of workplaces who recognise unions is on a long term decline. We know that since the introduction of ET fees the volume of cases has reduced dramatically.  

So what does a modern ER function do these days and more importantly how does it need to evolve to remain relevant within the HR profession? This presentation will draw on the experience of one of the UK’s leading and successful retail companies to reflect on broader challenges and opportunities for those in the ER (and Human Resources) function 

For further details of the Manchester Industrial Relations Society please  contact:

Professor Ralph Darlington, Salford Business School, University of Salford, Salford M5 4WT

Phone: 0161-295-5456; email: r.r.darlington@salford.ac.uk

Manchester Industrial Relations Society website: www.mirs.org.uk

Twitter: @ManchesterIRS

9th January 2017

ESCR Wales DTP PhD studentship in Global Language-Based Area Studies at Cardiff University: Evaluating Social Dialogue in Europe

This project will examine social dialogue in two EU member states as well as the articulation between national and European levels of social dialogue in these two states. One case will be characterised by strong union organisations and bargaining structures (Germany, Scandinavian countries) and one by weak unions and structures (Central and Eastern European countries) to analyse whether and under what conditions social dialogue can give voice to workers, whether this leads to consensus over macroeconomic and social policy and whether EU notions of social dialogue are transposable to all member states.

This PhD will focus on the following research questions:

Can social dialogue provide a forum for gaining consensus over social and macroeconomic policies, or do external economic constraints mitigate against ‘genuine’ social dialogue?

In a context of trade union weakness, can social dialogue give trade unions a voice in policy-making?

To what extent are EU policies on social dialogue transposable to, and to what extent do they articulate with, national settings where trade unions are weak?

This studentship also involves an internship with the European Trade Union Institute.

The award is available on either a 1+3 or +3 basis. A 1+3 studentship provides funding for four years (or part-time equivalent), completing a research training Masters in the 1st year, followed by three years research funding for a PhD. A +3 studentship provides funding for the three years PhD research study only (or part-time equivalent).

This studentships is a ‘collaborative’ award. Applicants should take careful consideration of the working title and description of the project, and may wish to contact the supervisors, particularly Dr Nick Parsons (Parsonsn@cf.ac.uk).

For academic queries about the scheme in general, please contact Prof Gordon Cumming (cumming@cf.ac.uk).

For any administrative questions, please contact Alex Ford (FordA9@cf.ac.uk). 

Application deadline: 1 February 2017 

For more details and the application process, please see: http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/funding-and-fees/view/escr-wales-dtp-phd-studentship-in-global-language-based-area-studies-2.-evaluating-social-dialogue-in-europe

4th January 2017

Confront Change, Workshop at Congress House 11 January 2017

Confronting Change:

Globalization, Migration and Precarious Labour in the Age of Brexit 

On Wednesday 11 January 2017, the University of Exeter and the TUC’s European Union and International Relations Department will host a public conference at Congress House, London. To register for this event please visit the Eventbrite page for the conference. The event is free to attend and all are welcome but space is limited. 

The EU referendum has brought to the fore debates concerning the effects of globalization, migration and casual or ‘precarious’ labour in twenty-first century Britain. These issues are not limited to the U.K., however. Over the course of the past three decades the dominance of neo-liberal economics, and the associated processes of privatisation and de-regulation, have contributed to widening inequality and a decline in formal sector employment across the globe. For organised labour movements these pressures have brought ever greater challenges, as trade unions have fought to resist the erosion of hard won labour rights and protect the living standards of their members. On these issues trade unions have won some notable victories but it is clear that further challenges lie ahead. Indeed, for all neo-liberalism’s dominance over the past thirty years, the world finds itself at a crossroads. The 2008 financial crash; the debt and migration crises within Europe; the election of Donald Trump and rise of protectionism in the United States; and Brexit have all served to shake the foundations of the established global order. In turn, these events have led to a polarised debate between those who favour a renewed push for ever-greater levels of global inter-dependence and those that advocate a return to economic nationalism. For trade unions the challenge is not to allow this uncertainty to accelerate recent changes within the labour market, particularly with regard to the exploitation of migrants and undercutting of existing workforces, the rise of precarious labour and the imposition of stricter trade union laws. Instead trade unions should continue their active role in shaping debates about the deleterious effects of casualization and the infringement of labour rights by both states and employers. 

The aim of this one day conference is to bring together academics, policymakers and trade union activists to reflect on the impact of globalization, migration and precarious labour and to consider the role of trade unions in the age of Brexit. The workshop will investigate the following questions: 

What is the relationship between globalization, migration and precarious labour?

Is precarious labour a new phenomenon or does it have a deeper history?

How can trade unions mobilise casual workers in order to protect the rights of the so-called ‘precariat’?

How can trade unions contribute to debates concerning the free movement of labour? How can trade unions represent increasingly transient and mobile ‘transnational’ workforces?

What does Brexit mean for trade union rights and freedoms in Britain? What role can trade unions play as a progressive force in post-Brexit Britain and Europe? 

Timetable 

Confronting Change:

Globalization, Migration and Precarious Labour Post-Brexit 

10.30-11.00 Tea/Coffee 

11.00-11.15 Introduction 

11.15-12.30 Panel One: The Rise of Precarious Labour 

Marcel van der Linden, International Institute for Social History 

Esther Lynch, Confederal Secretary, European Trade Union Confederation 

12.30 – 13.30 Lunch 

13.30 – 14.45 Panel Two: Trade Unions and Globalization 

Andreas Bieler, University of Nottingham 

Gail Cartmail, Acting Assistant General Secretary, Unite Union 

14.45 – 15.00 Coffee Break 

15.00 – 16.15 Panel Three: Trade Unions and the Challenge of Migration 

Heather Connolly, De Montfort University, Leicester 

Rosa Crawford, Policy Officer, EU and International Relations, TUC 

16.15 – 16.30 Concluding Remarks

4th January 2017

LERA 2017 Winter Meeting

Please join the Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA) in Chicago for the LERA 2017 Winter Meeting, Jan. 6-8, 2017, held in conjunction with the ASSA/AEA. 

The LERA 2017 Winter Meeting Program Committee, chaired by Sandy Jacoby of UCLA and Jeannette Wicks-Lim of the University of Vermont, brings you 18 sessions on leading topics addressing "Equity and Prosperity: Employment Policy for the 21st Century", including a plenary session and welcome reception on the opening night, which you are invited to attend. 

You can find the complete LERA program and more here:
https://lera.memberclicks.net/2017-lera-winter-meeting-assaaea

6th December 2016

London BUIRA seminar programme 2017 begins Jan 27 on unions and industrial action in Germany and Britain

BRITISH UNIVERSITIES INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ASSOCIATION

Central London BUIRA

Westminster Business School of the University of Westminster

35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS (nearest tube Baker Street)

10.30am – 12.30pm, followed by buffet lunch

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

SEMINAR PROGRAMME 2017: Significant changes in labour organisation and employment nationally, in East and West Europe, and globally (see attached):

27 January 2017, Union membership and industrial action in Germany and Britain, Dr Heiner Dribbusch (Institute of Economic and Social Research, WSI, Germany) on Organising through conflict and Professor John Kelly (Birkbeck College) on Do strikes increase trade union membership? Room C419 (lunch C389)

This regular monthly seminar is focussed on the impact of industrial action on trade union organising and membership in the contrasting cases of Germany and Britain. Heiner Dribbusch, of Hans-Böckler Stiftung, drawing on his recent paper published in the ETUI journal Transfer, examines strike activity in Germany between 2004 and 2015 in the public and private services sectors, particularly by United Services Union, ver.di, the second largest union. He shows how industrial disputes constitute decisive moments for unions to demonstrate their effectiveness, acting as a catalyst to union building, though not a magic bullet. In contrast, John Kelly from Birkbeck College, based on a 7 year dataset of trade union membership joiners and leavers from a major British trade union and drawing on a paper to be published in the British Journal of Industrial Relations, shows how periods of strike action are associated with a significantly higher rate of membership and that new members are motivated by perceived injustice and union effectiveness.

Heiner Dribbusch is senior researcher at the Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI) within the Hans Böckler Stiftung His research fields cover trade union organising and trends in industrial action in Germany and Europe, wage policy, and trade union policies. His most recent publications include: ‘Trade Unions in Germany: Development, Challenges, Responses’ (with Peter Birke) in: Ingrid Artus et al. (eds.): Developments in German Industrial Relations, Cambridge Scholars Publishing 2016, ‘Anti-Unionism in a Coordinated Market Economy: the Case of Germany’ (with Martin Behrens) in Gregor Gall/Tony Dundon (eds.) Global Anti-Unionism. Nature, Dynamics, Trajectories and Outcomes, Palgrave MacMillan, 2013;

John Kelly is Professor of Industrial Relations in the Department of Management at Birkbeck College whose main research interests are comparative employment relations, comparative labour politics and trade unionism. His most recent publications include Ethical Socialism and the Trade Unions: Allan Flanders and British Industrial Relations Reform, Routledge. 2015, and ‘Conflict: trends and forms of collective action’, Employee Relations, 37(6): 1-13, 2015.

LATER LONDON BUIRA SEMINARS INCLUDE:

24 February 2017, Labour and global governance, Dr Frank Hoffer (Bureau for Workers’ Activities, ILO) and Dr Yvonne Rueckert (University of Portsmouth) on Global unions and World Bank and IMF policies, Discussant: Dr Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick (Birkbeck College) Room: C279 (lunch C287)

31 March 2017 Transforming labour in Central and Eastern Europe:

Europeanisation, dependant capitalism, labour weakening and awakening

Dr Violaine Delteil (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle) and Dr Vassil Kirov, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Université d'Evry, and ETUI, Room C279 (lunch C287)

28 April 2017, Changing employment status and new forms of work organisation, with Dr Jan Drahoukoupil (ETUI) on The Platform Economy and the Disruption of the Employment Relationship and Annie Powell (Leigh Day Law Firm) on The fight for workers’ rights in the digital economy: Uber and other cases Room: C279 (lunch C287)

5th December 2016

Labour and Development II: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue, 24th Feb, 2017, University of Sussex

Following a very successful event at De Montfort University in June 2016 we are delighted to announce the second workshop in the Subjecting Labour series at the University of Sussex. The series seeks to build interdisciplinary methodological approaches to understanding “labour” as an active subject in development. It brings together Anthropology, Industrial Relations, Geography, and International Political Economy (IPE) and is currently building towards a special issue in a leading journal. 

Anthropologists and geographers have long engaged with ‘agency’ in order to understand how workers negotiate and interpret local economies, spatial conditions and processes of development. Yet, primarily, this has remained focused on the ability of various labouring communities to manoeuvre, shape or re-interpret the confines of global and state structures, shifting economic configurations and development programs or policies. Likewise, labour agency is central to studies of industrial relations, albeit as a 'collective actor' that mobilises institutional means to bargain for better wages and conditions.  However, traditional/institutional industrial relations lack attention to forms of labour that have always existed as a value creator beyond the formal workplace: in households, communities and in the realm of social reproduction, or to the wider concerns and role of labour in society. For scholars in IPE, a discipline founded on understanding the relationship between states and markets, labour has been gaining increasing attention. From contesting firm strategies within global production networks to directly and indirectly influencing the policy decisions of states, labour gained new analytical significance. Yet, as with industrial relations, labour is too often conceptualised as an “interest group”, with this remaining locked either into traditional Marxist dichotomies of class or by situating labour as an institutional actor pursuing gains from a process within which its role is already circumscribed.

The workshop series has developed as a means to rethink definitions, strategies and struggles of labour in production and reproduction.  Labour has, to varying degrees, been an actor in development, in freedom struggles in the Global South and in universal aspirations towards improved quality of life, citizenship rights and other forms of change. Remaining conscious of the ambiguity of defining what ‘labour’ can be seen to incorporate, we seek to rethink the historical and contemporary role of ‘labour’ in impacting development trajectories and discourses.  We seek to build understanding around the relationship between ‘labour’ and (the often messy, contested or contradictory) forms of development that take place at state level and beyond.  We began this process in the first workshop.  However, there were also areas we saw as needing further thought.  Thus we are asking contributors, against the broader background of the workshop program, to consider the following thematic questions:

How to consider forms, methods, and impacts of resistance in terms of labour and development?

How to deal with tensions and contradictions of states playing a ‘progressive’ role vis-à-vis labour?

What is the role of social reproduction, not just in creating forms of exploitation, but as a potential location for new types of resistance?

How might we resituate ‘informal’ labour at the forefront of these issues and deal with the blurred nature of the formal/informal dichotomy?

How might we deal with developing work which considers more affective and emotive engagements with labour, labour markets, labour force control as well as dualistic appeals to alternative visions and forms of organisation beyond ‘formal’ or ‘traditional’ means of mobilising?

Webpage:  https://labouranddevelopment.wordpress.com/

Contact at University of Sussex: Dr Thomas Chambers, tc90@sussex.ac.uk

Organising Committee: Dr Adam Fishwick (DMU, International Political Economy); Dr Thomas Chambers (Sussex, Anthropology); Dr Anita Hammer (DMU, Work and employment relations and Economic Geography)

Advisors: Professor Jonathan Davies (DMU), Dr Geert de Neve (Sussex), Dr Benjamin Selwyn (Sussex)

Other Network Members: Dr Kevin Gray (University of Sussex); Dr Alessandra Mezzadri (SOAS); Dr Fenella Porter (Ruskin College); Brandon Sommers (ISS); Ilias Alami (University of Manchester); Eva Herman (Middlesex University); Dr Matteo Rizzo (SOAS); Dr Nik Hammer (Leicester)

Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE

1st December 2016

Labour and Development II: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue, 24th Feb, 2017, University of Sussex

Following a very successful event at De Montfort University in June 2016 we are delighted to announce the second workshop in the Subjecting Labour series at the University of Sussex. The series seeks to build interdisciplinary methodological approaches to understanding “labour” as an active subject in development. It brings together Anthropology, Industrial Relations, Geography, and International Political Economy (IPE) and is currently building towards a special issue in a leading journal. 

Anthropologists and geographers have long engaged with ‘agency’ in order to understand how workers negotiate and interpret local economies, spatial conditions and processes of development. Yet, primarily, this has remained focused on the ability of various labouring communities to manoeuvre, shape or re-interpret the confines of global and state structures, shifting economic configurations and development programs or policies. Likewise, labour agency is central to studies of industrial relations, albeit as a 'collective actor' that mobilises institutional means to bargain for better wages and conditions.  However, traditional/institutional industrial relations lack attention to forms of labour that have always existed as a value creator beyond the formal workplace: in households, communities and in the realm of social reproduction, or to the wider concerns and role of labour in society. For scholars in IPE, a discipline founded on understanding the relationship between states and markets, labour has been gaining increasing attention. From contesting firm strategies within global production networks to directly and indirectly influencing the policy decisions of states, labour gained new analytical significance. Yet, as with industrial relations, labour is too often conceptualised as an “interest group”, with this remaining locked either into traditional Marxist dichotomies of class or by situating labour as an institutional actor pursuing gains from a process within which its role is already circumscribed.

The workshop series has developed as a means to rethink definitions, strategies and struggles of labour in production and reproduction.  Labour has, to varying degrees, been an actor in development, in freedom struggles in the Global South and in universal aspirations towards improved quality of life, citizenship rights and other forms of change. Remaining conscious of the ambiguity of defining what ‘labour’ can be seen to incorporate, we seek to rethink the historical and contemporary role of ‘labour’ in impacting development trajectories and discourses.  We seek to build understanding around the relationship between ‘labour’ and (the often messy, contested or contradictory) forms of development that take place at state level and beyond.  We began this process in the first workshop.  However, there were also areas we saw as needing further thought.  Thus we are asking contributors, against the broader background of the workshop program, to consider the following thematic questions:

How to consider forms, methods, and impacts of resistance in terms of labour and development?

How to deal with tensions and contradictions of states playing a ‘progressive’ role vis-à-vis labour?

What is the role of social reproduction, not just in creating forms of exploitation, but as a potential location for new types of resistance?

How might we resituate ‘informal’ labour at the forefront of these issues and deal with the blurred nature of the formal/informal dichotomy?

How might we deal with developing work which considers more affective and emotive engagements with labour, labour markets, labour force control as well as dualistic appeals to alternative visions and forms of organisation beyond ‘formal’ or ‘traditional’ means of mobilising?

Webpage:  https://labouranddevelopment.wordpress.com/

Contact at University of Sussex: Dr Thomas Chambers, tc90@sussex.ac.uk

30th November 2016

ESRC Seminar: Factor Income Distribution, Work and Employment - Social and Economic Perspectives

Call for Participants 

Wednesday 14th December 2016

Venue: Nottingham Trent University

Organisers: Bruce Philp, Gary Slater, Andrew Trigg and Dan Wheatley

The drivers of factor income distribution have tended to be overlooked by mainstream economists and policymakers in favour of a focus on personal income distribution. However, both aspects of income distribution have a renewed salience in the context of current political and economic turmoil.  This is the final seminar in a series that explores factor income distribution from a plurality of perspectives, including heterodox economic approaches, in addition to more mainstream analyses; feminist economics; institutional, sociological and employment studies perspectives. This final session will draw strands of debate and analysis together and look to policy implications.

More information about the series is available on our website: https://factorincomedistribution.wordpress.com. Follow us on Twitter at @factorincomes.

Participants from government, industry and the university sector are invited to attend. PhD students are especially welcome.

Seminar 6: Policy Recommendations 

Programme

10:30-11:00         Registration, Coffee and Pastries 

11.00-11.15         Welcome from Bruce Philp (Birmingham City University) and Daniel Wheatley (University of Birmingham) 

11:15-12:45         Craig Holmes (Pembroke College Oxford)

Technology, inequality and the role of skills policy 

Will Rossiter (Head of Economic Strategy Research Bureau, Nottingham Business School)

Inequality in regional and local economic development strategy and practice 

12:45-13:30         Lunch 

13:30-14:30         Howard Reed (Landman Economics)

The UK wage share, 1948-2015: evidence from aggregate data 

14:30-15:30         Roundtable

Factor Income Distribution, Work and Employment: Policy Recommendations and Series Summary

Led by Bruce Philp (Birmingham City University), Gary Slater (Leeds University Business School),

Andrew Trigg (Open University) and Daniel Wheatley (University of Birmingham)

Some funded travel bursaries will be available for PhD students. Participants are also advised that places at each seminar are limited and so booking is essential.

The event is funded by the ESRC.

For enquiries about travel bursaries, and/or to book a place on the event, please contact Camille Heslop-Martin at ESRC.IncomeDistSeminar@ntu.ac.uk 

Location: DICe Building (Room 109B), Nottingham Trent University, Burton Street, Nottingham, NG1 4BU (Access from Clarendon Street). 

For directions, travel details and campus map see: http://www4.ntu.ac.uk/about_ntu/document_uploads/189251.pdf

30th November 2016

New BUIRA Administrator

Laura Bambrough has taken over the role of Administrator as Trudi Pemberton has left Newcastle University Business School.

If you have any items to be added to the website/newsletter or any other questions please contact Laura at admin@BUIRA.org.

30th November 2016

BUIRA social media and website co-ordinator

BUIRA is looking for a person to develop and run the association’s social media and web presence. This is for 8 hours a week (£20 per hour) for an initial 3-month period, but we anticipate this being extended. This work would be suited to someone who is self-employed.

 The work will entail creating and maintaining a web and social media presence, and will require experience of maintaining websites and social media platforms.  The role will involve working with the BUIRA team and contributors to support the production of content for the web and social media.   It will also require searching and soliciting appropriate material for the website. This could be recent news events relating to employment and industrial relations, reporting on BUIRA members’ activities (reports, research, media activity). It could involve written and visual material (photos, videos etc). The aim is to keep the website interesting and up-to-date such that traffic to the site increases. This will be done in conjunction with the use of social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) to a) direct traffic to the site and b) to create a social media presence for the association such that our profile is raised in the academic world and more widely in the public/media sphere.  A further aspect would be to help promote BUIRA events (seminars/conference) using the website, social media and publicity materials. 

If you wish to express an interest in this consultancy work, we will require a written 2 page A4 document outlining how you feel you can assist BUIRA in creating and maintaining a web and social media presence, and your previous experience (with examples) in social media/website work. The deadline for submission of this is Friday 23rd December 2016.  

For further information please contact Stewart Johnstone stewart.johnstone@ncl.ac.uk.

25th November 2016

Gaining Research Funding Event: November 29: Nottingham

Please share with your networks; early career researchers and PhD students are especially welcome!

A major challenge and opportunity facing Business and Management scholars is securing external funding to support their work and to demonstrate impact.  The Centre for People, Innovation and Performance in combination with the British Academy of Management Building Capacity/ Human Resource Management Special Interest Groups are pleased to invite you to an event entitled: ‘Gaining Research Funding’. The event will draw upon the insights of leading academics who have been successful in attracting research funding. 

The event will take place on November 29, 2016 from 12:30-16:00 and will include lunch and entail presentations and a panel discussion. Please see below details of confirmed speakers.

Presenters

Greg J. Bamber

Professor Greg Bamber is Co-Director of the Australian Consortium for Research in Employment & Work, Monash University, Australia and Visiting Professor, Newcastle University Business School, England. He has won many grants including from: ESRC; Australian Research Council; Bank of England; Foundation for Management Education; International Labour Organization; British Academy; Ford Foundation; Primary Health Care Research Institute; Academy of Social Sciences, Academy of the Humanities; various health services, other institutions and universities. He is a research grant assessor in the UK, USA, Australia and Canada. He has been lead investigator on many grant-funded projects, including on: airlines, hospitals, manufacturing, telecommunications; outsourcing/shared services, dispute settlement; workplace change. He was formerly Director of Research at Durham Business School and at Monash University. He has many publications. They include: International & Comparative Employment Relations: https://study.sagepub.com/bamber; Up in the Air: How Airlines Can Improve Performance by Engaging their Employees: www.cornellpress.cornell.edu   For more details: www.gregbamber.com

Nelarine Cornelius

Nelarine is Professor in Human Resource Management and Organizational Studies. She is Visiting Professor, University of Paris (10) and Distinguished Visiting Professor, University of Lagos. An important strand of her work is the application of Amartya Sen’s capabilities approach to the study of inequality and fairness in work practices and the governance and social responsibility of organizations: she is one of the few scholars working in this area in the context of work organisations. She is co-led the ESRC funded seminar series (with Professor Miguel Martinez Lucio of the University of Manchester): Ethnicity, networks and voice mechanisms in established and hard to reach BME communities. She has also completed research projects on the development of community policing (with Kent Police); the experience of mentoring and identity (with Professor Eric Pezet, Paris 10) and organizations and democracy (with Miguel Martinez Lucio and Eric Pezet); social enterprise practices (with Dr. James Wallace (Bradford) and management practices in emerging economies (with James Wallace, Eric Pezet; Olusoji George, University of Lagos, and Ashiq Ali Jhatial, Sindh University Pakistan). She is also undertaking work on new insights into equality, diversity and inclusion with a variety of colleagues internationally.

David Knights 

Professor David Knights is at the Department of Organization, Work and Technology, Lancaster University Management School. His research interests are broad within the area of work and organization studies including gender, technology, higher education and the financial sector. Current research has been related to academics in business schools, the global financial crisis, the body and embodiment and most recently, veterinary surgeons. He jointly created and continues to edit Gender, Work, and Organization and has published several books and international refereed journal articles. He has secured numerous research grants the latest of which are concerned with the study of veterinary surgeons.

Chair

Helen Shipton is Professor of Human Resource Management and Director of the Centre of People, Innovation and Performance at Nottingham Business School.  A member of the British Academy of Management Council and of the Steering Committee of the HRM Special Interest Group, Helen’s research interests centre on HRM, creativity and innovation, having recently co-edited with Budhwar, Sparrow and Brown a book entitled Human Resource Management, Innovation and Performance.  Helen has gained funding from the ESRC (seminar series & case studentship) and has been on the organizing team for a successful knowledge transfer partnership bid focused on innovation within legal services.

PLEASE NOTE: Delegates are invited to send through one or two questions in advance of the event (to the organizing team, as below) if they wish, at the latest by 5.00pm Friday 25thth November.  The questions where possible will be answered during the event, especially in the panel session.  

Objectives

To gain insights from academics who have been successful in winning funding in the area of business and management

To provide support and guidance to delegates as to the opportunities and pitfalls associated with particular funding sources

To have the opportunity to raise specific questions with the presenters, especially in the panel session.  

There is no charge for the event, which is sponsored both by the Centre of People, Innovation and Performance and BAM. Registration is required through the BAM office (omihut@bam.ac.uk).  Please note that spaces are strictly limited and registrations, offered on a first-come first served basis, need to be received by Friday 25th November.

Please register for this event HERE: https://www.bam.ac.uk/civicrm/event/info?id=3215

Note -Non-BAM Members

Please follow the steps below: 

1. Create a Non-BAM Member Account at Stay Informed.

2. Complete your registration by emailing Oana at omihut@bam.ac.uk or calling the BAM office on 020 7383 7770.

If you are not a BAM member and would like to join BAM or find out more about the benefits of being a BAM member, please go to BAM BAM membership.

Organising team

Oana Mihut from the BAM office is dealing with registrations for the event (omihut@bam.ac.uk). Ashley Purcell, Administrator for the Centre of People, Innovation and Performance, Nottingham Business School, will receive your advance questions (as requested above)/ general queries about the event and its location etc.  Ashley.Purcell@ntu.ac.uk

Cheers!

GREG BAMBER

https://business.monash.edu/management/research/research-groups/acrew/our-people

Monash Business School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3145, Australia 

E: GregBamber@Gmail.Com, greg_bamber@yahoo.com.au

24th November 2016

Scottish Labour History journal – call for proposals for papers for 2017 edition

 Of the many important centenaries that have abounded in the early part of our new millennium, for the study of labour history none is more important than that of the 1917 October Revolution in Russia. It was a world historic turning point. For the first time anywhere under capitalism, workers made a successful bid for power, seeking to reshape society in their own image. We are all well aware of the unfolding events following the revolution, be they the civil war, the Stalinization of Soviet Russia, and the impact on revolutionary and working class movements throughout the world. These events gave rise to, and testify to, the divergence of thought and belief on what constitutes socialism and communism, representing a second major division in what had previously been a largely united international socialist movement. Such divisions have been keenly played out within the study of labour history.

Scottish Labour History, the annual journal of the Scottish Labour History Society and now in its 51st year, will mark the centenary of the October Revolution with its 2017 edition, organized on the theme of ‘The October Revolution and its legacy’.

To this end, we wish to make a call for submissions to this journal on the broad themes of the impact and influence of the October Revolution on the labour, trade union and working class movements in Scotland and the British Isles. What we have in mind are most obviously articles on how these existing movements were affected by, and developed in the light of, the October Revolution. We are also interested in submissions on how these movements sought to interpret, utilize and respond to the October Revolution. In doing so, Scottish Labour History seeks submissions which do not merely look at the ‘external’ impact of the October Revolution upon these shores, but also how domestic dynamics conditioned the response to the external development represented by the October Revolution. So we are keen to see submissions which either bring to the table new historical research on these matters or examine the state of our knowledge and understanding of these processes and outcomes.

(NB Scottish Labour History will also publish papers in its 2017 edition which are not related to this special call for papers. Therefore, any other submissions will also be considered.)

Scottish Labour History publishes paper of between 8,000-10,000 words and research notes of between 4,000-6,000 words. We are calling for abstracts of 500 words for either full papers or research notes on the theme of ‘The October Revolution and its legacy’.

Please send them to the co-editors, either Professor Gregor Gall (g.gall@bradford.ac.uk) or Dr Jim Phillips (James.Phillips@glasgow.ac.uk) by 1 March 2017 at the latest. 

22nd November 2016

ESRC Seminar Series: Migrants, Workplace and Community: Learning from Innovation in Civil Society

Migrant Worker Initiatives and Established Labour Organisations

Organisers: Stefania Marino, Miguel Martínez Lucio and Stephen Mustchin

 The question of trade unions and their responses to migration has become a central feature of the study of labour and employment relations and the sociology of work more generally. Recent research has engaged with the different ways trade unions have responded to the challenges facing migrant workers in a more precarious working environment and the way in which the broader body of regulation and rights can be sustained and enhanced. Trade unions respond in a variety of ways and attitudes and policies have varied greatly over time and according to the specific context. In recent years, there has been an emerging consensus regarding the need for a greater sensibility to issues of race and social exclusion.

 In the current context, there is a growing awareness that the climate of growing xenophobia and the limited reach of trade unions have brought a new set of challenges to migrant communities and trade unions. In some cases, these challenges have generated new forms of worker organisation, e.g. new forms of independent models of representation and action within and beyond the main remit of traditional associations. Furthermore, the question of ‘Brexit’ and the emergence of a more ambivalent approach to migration issues in some trade union communications suggest a new set of challenges to the hopes of social inclusion and equality.

 The Seminars will have speakers discussing developments in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. It will also have speakers discussing the new forms of worker organisations that are emerging and the problems presented by the current political and social climate. Details of the sessions will be announced soon. The main speakers and discussants will be Gabriella Alberti, Heather Connolly, Zita Holbourne, Stefania Marino, Miguel Martinez Lucio, Stephen Mustchin, Davide Pero, Judith Roosblad, Mohammed Taj and Michael Whittall.

 Venue: Alliance Manchester Business School, Dover Street Building, room 1.037

Date: 25th November

Time: 9.30-4.30pm

Registration Event Brite http://esrc_seminar_series.eventbrite.co.uk

Programme:

 9.30               Welcome- Davide Pero’, Nottingham University Business School

Introduction- Stefania Marino, Miguel Martinez Lucio, Stephen Mustchin, University of Manchester

 10.00 - 11.15   Trade unions and labour migration in North-West Europe

‘The "Schatten" side of labour Migration in German – trade union responses to precarious employment practices’ - Michael Whittall, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

‘Trade unions and migrant workers in the Netherlands’- Judith Roosblad, University of Amsterdam

 11.15-11.40   Tea and Coffee

 11.40-1.30    Trade unions and labour migration in the UK: Recent developments and dilemmas

‘A pattern of restriction of social and mobility rights for EU migrants in the UK? Implications for labour relations’- Gabriella Alberti, University of Leeds

‘Trade union responses to migration in the UK: past lessons and future challenges’- Heather Connolly, De Montfort University

Davide Pero’, University of Nottingham

 1.30-2.30        Lunch

 2.30-4.30         Roundtable: Where do trade unions go from here? Questions of racism and xenophobia

Zita Holbourne, BARAC & PCS

Mohammed Taj, Unite and Former President of TUC

Discussant and chair Stephen Mustchin, University of Manchester

17th November 2016

New Book by Caroline Lloyd and Jonathan Payne

Skills in the Age of Over-Qualification: Comparing Service Sector Work in Europe

Many national governments have emphasised the role of skills in achieving international competitiveness, higher living standards, and social inclusion. However, even prior to the 2008 financial crisis, problems of over-qualification, skills wastage, and poor job quality were becoming difficult to ignore. In their new book, Skills in the Age of Over-Qualification, Caroline Lloyd, Cardiff University and Jonathan Payne, De Montfort University ask what can be done to make better use of skills that workers already have, and to improve the quality of jobs and services.

Through cross-national comparative research, this book examines whether and why service sector jobs vary across countries. Drawing upon detailed empirical research, the jobs of vocational teacher, fitness instructor, and café worker in the UK, Norway, and France are compared, allowing an exploration of the role of national institutions, sectors, and organisations in shaping work organisation and job quality. The findings contribute to the comparative study of work organisation, the relationship between skills and performance, the role and purpose of education and the prospects for better jobs in ‘the age of over-qualification’.

Skills in the Age of Over-Qualification: Comparing Service Sector Work in Europe is published by Oxford University Press.

Published October 2016: 288 pages, HB ISBN: 9780199672356 £55

Available for £38.50 with online discount when you order directly via www.oup.com/academic/business, adding promotion code ASFLY Q6. Discount valid until 31/12/2016. Also available as an EBook.

17th November 2016

WERU Seminar at Greenwich on 30 November: Change of venue

WORK AND EMPLOYMENT RESEARCH UNIT SEMINAR SERIES
 
NEW SKILLS FOR A SKILLED ECONOMY? THE POST-BREXIT OUTLOOK
 
WEDNESDAY 30 NOVEMBER 2016. ROOM QA175. QUEEN ANNE COURT, OLD ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE.  15.00 – 18.00
 
This seminar will cover the crisis in skills formation in the UK economy. It features four expert speakers who will speak about the current skills shortages facing the UK labour market and Government policies aimed to remedy them. Our speakers include Professor Ken Mayhew (University of Oxford and ex-economic director of the UK’s NEDC); Dr Patrick McGurk and Richard Meredith (University of Greenwich) and Sue Fearns (Prospect – the trade union representing professional staff in the civil service and energy industry). 

 Ken Mayhew (University of Oxford). Alternative Pathways into the Labour Market in the UK.  Ken will argue that the current configuration of pathways into the labour market is massively sub-optimal.  The consequence is that there is widespread under-utilisation of skills and capabilities together with harmful distributional consequences.  He will go on to consider how policy makers might address the problems. Ken Mayhew is Emeritus Professor of Education and Economic Performance at Oxford University, Emeritus Fellow in Economics at Pembroke College Oxford and Honorary Professor of Education and Economic Performance at Maastricht University.  Currently he is a member of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body.   He was Founding Director of SKOPE, an ESRC-funded multidisciplinary research centre on skills, knowledge and organisational performance.  Outside academia he served as Economic Director of the UK’s former National Economic Development Office.  Mayhew has published widely on labour economics, human resource management, the economics of education and policy analysis.  He is an editor of Oxford Economic Papers and The Oxford Review of Economic Policy. 

 Richard Meredith and Dr Patrick McGurk (University of Greenwich) Patrick and Richard’s paper will investigate the responsibilities and membership of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) in England to assess the prospects for devolution of employment and skills policy. The paper argues that LEPs represent a fresh, market-driven attempt by government to alter the institutional framework for meeting local labour market needs through devolved, business-led bodies. However, the paper also shows that while LEPs assume devolved powers, their structure, resourcing and leadership are poorly aligned for the engagement of local employers. It is therefore argued that the prospects for effective devolution in the area of employment and skills are weak. Rather, it is argued, government employment and skills programmes are set to be dominated by a centralised contracting regime involving large private sector agents. Richard Meredith is a MPhil/PhD student and part-time lecturer within the Work and Employment Relations Unit at the University of Greenwich.   His research interest is employers’ motives for recruiting the long term unemployed, particularly in the case of the UK.    He has 23 years public sector experience (including the UK Public Employment Service) and 13 years industry experience in Employer Intermediary Services (including Business Link and Train to Gain). Dr Patrick McGurk is currently the Head of Human Resources and Organisational Behaviour at the University Of Greenwich Faculty Of Business. Patrick worked for several years in further and management education in the UK and Germany before joining the University of Greenwich in 2006. He completed his PhD at the London School of Economics in 2011. Patrick has researched and published on leadership and management in the public services and on government employment and skills policy. He is co-editor of a forthcoming Special Issue of the Human Resource Management Journal on employer engagement with government initiatives for vulnerable labour market groups, and co-author of a recently commissioned report on English apprenticeships for the Institute of Construction Economics at Michigan State University.

 Sue Fearns (Prospect) will cover three main issues: STEM skills – the current position and the post-Brexit outlook; skills and professional development in the civil service; and skills and the ‘productivity puzzle’. Sue will also reflect on the role of Prospect as a trade union representing highly skilled professionals within the UK labour market. Sue Fearns is Deputy General Secretary at Prospect, the union for professionals. Her responsibilities in Prospect include leading the union’s work on equal opportunities; legal services; skills; campaigning and communications; and on science, engineering and sustainability.  She is a member of the TUC General Council and Executive Committee, and is a board member of unionlearn, deputy chair of the Women’s Committee and a TUC Aid Trustee. She has been an active member of the Trade Union Sustainable Development Advisory Committee since its inception, and is the General Council’s lead on environment and sustainability. Sue is also Chair of Unions 21. Unions 21 provides an ‘open space’ for discussion on the future of the trade union movement and the world of work, helping to shape unions since 1993 by providing evidence, advice, new thinking and networks.She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and a trustee of the Science Council.

 This is an open seminar and all are invited but please can you inform us if you are planning to attend from outside the University of Greenwich by contacting myself, Professor Geoff White, on wg08@gre.ac.uk.
 
HOW TO FIND US
 http://www2.gre.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/465729/Greenwich.pdf

17th November 2016

New BUIRA PhD Network Organisers

At the PhD Symposium last week, Danat Valizade and Ralph Darlington stepped down as BUIRA PhD Network Organisers and handed over responsibility to Maisie Aufderhorst-Roberts and Calum Carson.

Heartfelt thanks to Danat and Ralph for all the hard work and commitment, and a very warm welcome to Maisie and Calum!

17th November 2016

Manchester Industrial Relations Society

The Relevance of Trade Unionism for Today

Speaker: Dave Ward

General Secretary, Communication Workers Union

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

Thursday 8 December 6pm
Lecture Theatre LT33, Ground Floor
Manchester Metropolitan University Business School
All Saints, Oxford Road, Manchester M15 6BH
Map:  http://www.mmu.ac.uk/travel/allsaints/

The UK economy is fundamentally broken. Workers in this country have rarely been under so much pressure to work harder and faster for less, six million people earn less than a living wage and millions are trapped in insecure employment. At the same time, the basic things we’ve taken for granted like the right to a decent home are out of reach for many.

Trade unions are hugely important in this context and the labour movement as a whole has to respond. Industrially we have seen workers in companies like Sports Direct, Uber and Deliveroo fighting back – but we also have to respond politically if we are going to defeat the populist right.

With trade union density in decline, and a majority Conservative government, the challenge on both these fronts is huge. So the union movement has got to adapt - we’ve got to get organised and we’ve got to mobilise our membership behind a New Deal for Workers. I will be setting out the case for how to do so. 

For further details of the Manchester Industrial Relations Society please  contact:

Professor Ralph Darlington, Salford Business School, University of Salford, Salford M5 4WT

Phone: 0161-295-5456; email: r.r.darlington@salford.ac.uk

Manchester Industrial Relations Society website: www.mirs.org.uk

Twitter: @ManchesterIRS

14th November 2016

Central London BUIRA

Westminster Business School of the University of Westminster

35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS (nearest tube Baker Street)

10.30am – 12.30pm, followed by buffet lunch

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

SEMINAR PROGRAMME 2017: Significant changes in labour organisation and employment nationally, in East and West Europe, and globally (see attached and below):

27 January 2017, Union membership and industrial action in Germany and Britain, Dr Heiner Dribbusch (Institute of Economic and Social Research, WSI, Germany) on Organising through conflict and Professor John Kelly (Birkbeck College) on Do strikes increase trade union membership? Room C419 (lunch C389)

This regular monthly seminar is focussed on the impact of industrial action on trade union organising and membership in the contrasting cases of Germany and Britain. Heiner Dribbusch, of Hans-Böckler Stiftung, drawing on his recent paper published in the ETUI journal Transfer, examines strike activity in Germany between 2004 and 2015 in the public and private services sectors, particularly by United Services Union, ver.di, the second largest union. He shows how industrial disputes constitute decisive moments for unions to demonstrate their effectiveness, acting as a catalyst to union building, though not a magic bullet. In contrast, John Kelly from Birkbeck College, based on a 7 year dataset of trade union membership joiners and leavers from a major British trade union and drawing on a paper to be published in the British Journal of Industrial Relations, shows how periods of strike action are associated with a significantly higher rate of membership and that new members are motivated by perceived injustice and union effectiveness.

Heiner Dribbusch is senior researcher at the Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI) within the Hans Böckler Stiftung His research fields cover trade union organising and trends in industrial action in Germany and Europe, wage policy, and trade union policies. His most recent publications include: ‘Trade Unions in Germany: Development, Challenges, Responses’ (with Peter Birke) in: Ingrid Artus et al. (eds.): Developments in German Industrial Relations, Cambridge Scholars Publishing 2016, ‘Anti-Unionism in a Coordinated Market Economy: the Case of Germany’ (with Martin Behrens) in Gregor Gall/Tony Dundon (eds.) Global Anti-Unionism. Nature, Dynamics, Trajectories and Outcomes, Palgrave MacMillan, 2013;

John Kelly is Professor of Industrial Relations in the Department of Management at Birkbeck College whose main research interests are comparative employment relations, comparative labour politics and trade unionism. His most recent publications include Ethical Socialism and the Trade Unions: Allan Flanders and British Industrial Relations Reform, Routledge. 2015, and ‘Conflict: trends and forms of collective action’, Employee Relations, 37(6): 1-13, 2015.

LATER LONDON BUIRA SEMINARS INCLUDE:

24 February 2017, Labour and global governance, Dr Frank Hoffer (Bureau for Workers’ Activities, ILO) tbc and Dr Yvonne Rueckert (University of Portsmouth) on Global unions and World Bank and IMF policies, Room: C279 (lunch C287)

31 March 2017 Transforming labour in Central and Eastern Europe:

Europeanisation, dependant capitalism, labour weakening and awakening

Dr Violaine Delteil (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle) and Dr Vassil Kirov, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Université d'Evry, and ETUI, Room C279 (lunch C287)

28 April 2017, Changing employment status and new forms of work organisation, with Dr Jan Drahoukoupil (ETUI) on The Platform Economy and the Disruption of the Employment Relationship and Annie Powell (Leigh Day Law Firm) on The fight for workers’ rights in the digital economy: Uber and other cases Room: C279 (lunch C287)

4th November 2016

4th BUIRA PhD Symposium

10-11 November 2016

University of Leeds, United Kingdom

PROGRAMME

Day 1, 10 November 2016

Venue: Blenheim Terrace, SR G.02 House No. 11-14, University of Leeds

Room information and directions:

http://students.leeds.ac.uk/site/custom_scripts/ajax_loader.php?type=room&id=99841

10.00-11.00 Registration

11.00-11.15 Opening and welcome

11.15-13.00 BUIRA Academic Debate: ‘Workplace partnership: A genuine high-road strategy or a chimera in disguise?’

Peter Ackers - Professor of Employment Relations, De Montfort University

Mark Stuart – Montague Burton Professor of Human Resource Management and

Employment Relations, Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds

13.00-14.00 Lunch

Venue: Blenheim Terrace, SR G.12 House No. 11-14

14.00-15.30 Session 1

Venue: Blenheim Terrace, SR G.15 House No. 11-14

Discussant: Dr Vera Trappmann (University of Leeds)

The future(s) of New Zealand trade unions?

Carol Jess (Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand)

Breakaway trade unions: A political economy approach

David Evans (University of Strathclyde)

Unravelling the conundrum of contingent workers’ attitudes towards trade unions

Danat Valizade (University of Leeds)

15.30-15.45 Comfort break

15.45-17.15 Session 2

Venue: Blenheim Terrace, SR G.15 House No. 11-14

Discussant: Dr Hugh Cook (University of Leeds)

Methodology, positionality, ethics and reflexivity in relation to a case-study of offshoring

Sylvia Courtnage (London Metropolitan University)

Women, work and Inner East London’s digital and creative cluster – what do we know?

Carole Williams (London Metropolitan University)

Meaningful work in public health services

Pauline Davis (Anglia Ruskin University)

18.30-21.30 Symposium Dinner

Bill’s Restaurant Leeds

1 Albion Place, Leeds

LS1 6JL

0113 245 2010

https://bills-website.co.uk/restaurants/leeds/

Day 2, 11 November 2016

Venue: Baines Wing SR 1.16, University of Leeds

Room information and directions:

http://students.leeds.ac.uk/site/custom_scripts/ajax_loader.php?type=room&id=99822

10.00-11.15 Building impact into your research

Dr Jo Cutter, Research Engagement Manager, University of Leeds

11.15-11.30 Comfort break

11.30-12.30 Session 3

Discussant: Professor Andy Charlwood (University of Leeds)

A ‘new actor’ and ‘voluntary regulator’ of the employment relationship? A comprehensive investigation of UK employer forums

Philippe Demougin (Cardiff University)

Institutional and firm responses to the changing nature of apprenticeships in England and Germany

Maisie Aufderhorst-Roberts (University of Leeds)

12.30-13.30 Lunch

13.30-14.30 Session 4

Discussant: TBA

Perceptions of comparable worth in UK academic institutions

Camille Heslop-Martin (Nottingham Trent University)

Inquiry into front-line experiences of voluntary and community sector employees

Natasha Choudary (London Metropolitan University)

14.30-15.30 The future of BUIRA: Industrial or employment relations?

BUIRA PhD Network Meeting

15.30-15.45 Closing remarks

-End of Programme

Organisers’ Contact Details

Danat Valizade

Lecturer in Quantitative Methods, Leeds University Business School

D.Valizade@leeds.ac.uk ; +44 (0)77 41153300

Maisie Aufderhorst-Roberts

Doctoral student, Leeds University Business School

jl08mfr@leeds.ac.uk

Ralph Buiser

Doctoral Fellow, Cardiff University School of Social Sciences

BuiserRJ@cardiff.ac.uk

Accommodation in Leeds:

Leeds has a wealth of hotels, B&B’s and hostels. Some of the recommended options are as follows:

Ibis Leeds Centre

Travelodge Leeds Centre

Discovery Inn Leeds

Air BnB is of course another option

University of Leeds provides short-term accommodation for £44 per night. The residence is located on campus, nearby the Symposium venues. Further details can be found here:

http://accommodation.leeds.ac.uk/info/200128/staff_accommodation/39/hotels_and_bed_and_breakfasts

Transportation

The University of Leeds, marked by its famous Parkinson building, is located in Leeds city centre, within a reasonable distance from the train station. More information about transportation to and from the university, including an interactive campus map, can be found here:

https://www.leeds.ac.uk/info/5000/about/131/find_us

Bus No1 departs from the train station and stops at Parkinson steps. Taxis in Leeds are not terribly expensive, with Uber being the cheapest option. You can also rely on local taxi companies, particularly Amber (0113 2022117).

4th November 2016

‘Supply Chain Capitalism’, Parcel Delivery Workers and the Degradation of Work: Kirsty Newsome and Sian Moore

University of Leicester, School of Business

Wednesday 16 November

15.30-17.00, Ken Edwards Lecture Theatre 2

The escalation of consumption through e-retailing has increased the demand for home delivery services. The ‘immediate gratification’ of consumer demands is built upon the crucial transformation of the once relatively hidden domain of logistics, distribution and parcel delivery. This necessary ‘revolution’ of the logistics function predicated upon pressures from retailers, is dedicated to securing more exacting, demanding and time critical levels of service delivery and provision. The logistics revolution, concurrent with ‘supply chain capitalism’ (Tsing 2009) has coordinated the movement of products through the supply chain, thereby creating the crucial infrastructure for contemporary capitalism (Cowen 2014). 

 Whilst there are signs of a growing interest and media attention in the logistics workers within global value chains, to date little attention has been focused on the degradation of work for parcel delivery workers, at the end of the supply chain. This seminar will explore qualitative research data from a British Academy funded project exploring work and employment in the UK Parcel Delivery sector. In theoretical terms the paper will seek to contribute to growing debates concerned with the ‘labour of movement’ within the circuit of capital, as well as contributing to an understanding of the last-mile of delivery within wider production networks.

Dr. Kirsty Newsome is Reader in Employment Relations at the University of Sheffield Management School. She leads the Global Value Chain and the Labour Process research theme within the Work, Employment Relations Research Centre (WOERRC) at Sheffield. Her research interests are focused around three interconnected core themes: the changing character of employment regulation; the shifts and transformations in the politics of production; and the dynamic interplay of global value chains and the labour process.  Kirsty’s current research focus is to explore changing work and employment within the logistics sector.

Sian Moore is Professor of Employment Relations and Human Resource Management and Director of the Work and Employment Research Unit (WERU) at the University of Greenwich. Her research centres on the relationship between gender and class, consciousness and activism. She has also published on statutory trade union recognition and trade union learning, equality reps and the British Airways dispute 2009-11. Her current research focus is work and employment in the logistics sector.

2nd November 2016

Call for Papers: European Journal of Industrial Relations

Special Issue: Board-level Employee Representation --- Its Impact and Future

Guest Co-Editors: Michael Gold, Royal Holloway University of London; Chris Rees, Royal Holloway University of London and Jeremy Waddington, University of Manchester

Recent work on employee participation published in English-language journals has centred on its effectiveness in improving organizational performance as well as on specific forms like direct employee involvement, consultation and trends in collective bargaining. Yet all these forms focus on day-to-day workplace issues, involving the implementation and monitoring of policies decided at higher organizational levels. Such analysis has generally neglected the ways in which employee representatives can influence earlier stages of strategic corporate decision-making.

This special issue will aim to fill this gap, by addressing the role of board-level employee representation (BLER), a topic that lies at the intersection of the literature on employee participation and corporate governance. 

We invite prospective authors to submit an abstract on some aspect of board-level employee participation and its operation in Europe. This abstract should be roughly 1,000 words long, and contain a title, key references, methods, main findings and conclusions. Please submit it to the editor [r.hyman@lse.ac.uk], copied to the guest co-editors [M.Gold@rhul.ac.uk; Chris.Rees@rhul.ac.uk; jeremy.waddington@virgin.net], by 31 March 2017.

The themes we aim to cover include:

·         The history and origins of BLER across Europe, and changes to its current structure and functioning, following the 2008 global financial crisis.

·         The degree of influence that board-level employee representatives are able to exert, such as analyses of power relationships on the board.

·         The question of incorporation, that is, the extent to which employee representatives retain or lose their independence through coming to identify with shareholder perspectives.

·         The strength of the links between board-level employee representatives and their union and works council structures (‘articulation’).

·         Gender issues and the role of women as board-level employee representatives.

·         Policy debates and outcomes in countries, including Belgium, Italy and the UK amongst others, that do not provide for BLER.

·         The role of BLER in the ‘sustainable company’, and its influence on corporate performance with respect to environmental and social matters.

·         The relationship between BLER as a form of employee participation and the ‘varieties of capitalism’ literature.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, and we welcome any abstracts within this general brief.

31st October 2016

Manchester Industrial Relations Society

Joint Meeting with the CIPD

Employee Engagement: A Path to Organisational Success?

Speaker: Professor David Guest

Professor of Organisational Psychology and HRM, School of Management and Business, King’s College, London

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

Thursday 17 November 6pm
Lecture Theatre LT33, Ground Floor
Manchester Metropolitan University Business School
All Saints, Oxford Road, Manchester M15 6BH
Map:  http://www.mmu.ac.uk/travel/allsaints/

How do we evaluate the success of innovations in employment relations? Employee engagement is one of the relatively small number of innovations in employment relations over the past decade that has excited employers and academics as well as national policy-makers. It has created something of a bandwagon, reflected in the Engage for Success movement among employers and the many research studies reported by academics. Yet it is a concept that has been difficult to define, its impact is often unclear and employers and academics view it rather differently.

This presentation will outline criteria for successful employment relations innovations, including whether they enhance performance, well-being, voice and trust, and test employee engagement against these.  In the light of this analysis, an integrated approach to employee engagement will be presented that seeks to enhance the chances of positive outcomes. This presentation will therefore start from a critical perspective and move towards a strategy for effective engagement.

For further details of the Manchester Industrial Relations Society please  contact:

Professor Ralph Darlington, Salford Business School, University of Salford, Salford M5 4WT

Phone: 0161-295-5456; email: r.r.darlington@salford.ac.uk

Manchester Industrial Relations Society website: www.mirs.org.uk

Twitter: @ManchesterIRS

31st October 2016

WORK AND EMPLOYMENT RESEARCH UNIT SEMINAR SERIES

NEW SKILLS FOR A SKILLED ECONOMY: THE POST-BREXIT OUTLOOK

WEDNESDAY 30 NOVEMBER 2016. ROOM 102 HAMILTON HOUSE. 15.00 – 18.00

This seminar will cover the crisis in skills formation in the UK economy and the potential impact of Brexit. It features three expert speakers who will speak about the current skills shortages facing the UK labour market, the Government policies aimed to remedy them and the situation post-Brexit. Our speakers include Professor Ken Mayhew (University of Oxford and ex-economic director of the UK’s NEDC); Richard Meredith (University of Greenwich and previously employed in both the public employment service and private intermediary services) and Sue Fearns (Prospect – the trade union representing professional staff in the civil service and energy industry). 

Ken Mayhew (University of Oxford). Alternative Pathways into the Labour Market in the UK.  Ken will argue that the current configuration of pathways into the labour market is massively sub-optimal.  The consequence is that there is widespread under-utilisation of skills and capabilities together with harmful distributional consequences.  He will go on to consider how policy makers might address the problems.

Ken Mayhew is Emeritus Professor of Education and Economic Performance at Oxford University, Emeritus Fellow in Economics at Pembroke College Oxford and Honorary Professor of Education and Economic Performance at Maastricht University.  Currently he is a member of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body.   He was Founding Director of SKOPE, an ESRC-funded multidisciplinary research centre on skills, knowledge and organisational performance.  Outside academia he served as Economic Director of the UK’s former National Economic Development Office.  Mayhew has published widely on labour economics, human resource management, the economics of education and policy analysis.  He is an editor of Oxford Economic Papers and The Oxford Review of Economic Policy. 

Richard Meredith (University of Greenwich) Local Enterprise Partnerships. Richard’s paper will investigate the responsibilities and membership of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) in England to assess the prospects for devolution of employment and skills policy. The paper argues that LEPs represent a fresh, market-driven attempt by government to alter the institutional framework for meeting local labour market needs through devolved, business-led bodies. However, the paper also shows that while LEPs assume devolved powers, their structure, resourcing and leadership are poorly aligned for the engagement of local employers. It is therefore argued that the prospects for effective devolution in the area of employment and skills are weak. Rather, it is argued, government employment and skills programmes are set to be dominated by a centralised contracting regime involving large private sector agents.

Richard Meredith is an MPhil/PhD student and part-time lecturer within the Work and Employment Relations Unit at the University of Greenwich.   His research interest is employers’ motives for recruiting the long term unemployed, particularly in the case of the UK.    He has 23 years public sector experience (including the UK Public Employment Service) and 13 years industry experience in Employer Intermediary Services (including Business Link and Train to Gain).

Sue Fearns (Prospect) Professional skills and the union perspective. Sue will cover three main issues in her talk: STEM skills – the current position and the post-Brexit outlook; skills and professional development in the civil service; and skills and the ‘productivity puzzle’. Sue will also reflect on the role of Prospect as a trade union representing highly skilled professionals within the UK labour market.

Sue Fearns is Deputy General Secretary at Prospect, the union for professionals. Her responsibilities in Prospect include leading the union’s work on equal opportunities; legal services; skills; campaigning and communications; and on science, engineering and sustainability.  She is a member of the TUC General Council and Executive Committee, and is a board member of unionlearn, deputy chair of the Women’s Committee and a TUC Aid Trustee. She has been an active member of the Trade Union Sustainable Development Advisory Committee since its inception, and is the General Council’s lead on environment and sustainability. Sue is also Chair of Unions 21. Unions 21 provides an ‘open space’ for discussion on the future of the trade union movement and the world of work, helping to shape unions since 1993 by providing evidence, advice, new thinking and networks.She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and a trustee of the Science Council.

This is an open seminar and all are invited but please can you inform us if you are planning to attend from outside the University of Greenwich by contacting myself, 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

26th October 2016

Announcing the Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade at the TA Best Practice Exchange, 3rd November 2016

We are delighted to announce that Barry Gardiner, MP, Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade, Europe, Energy and Climate Change within the new Department for International Trade will be joining us for the TA Best Practice Exchange.

He will joining an excellent speaker line-up with Nick Hurd, MP, as Minister of State for Climate Change and Industry within the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and also Baroness Lorely Burt, the Liberal Democrat Lords’ Principle Spokesperson for Business, Innovation and Skills, meaning that all three of the major parties will be represented on the day.

Along with immigration, trade is likely to be the other major issue which will dominate the themes as we leave the EU.  This is a key opportunity for you to engage with Government early as the debate around the UK leaving Europe hots up.  Don’t miss out on the chance to make your voices heard and input into the negotiations as we consider the options and various Brexit models for the UK.

Join us on Thursday, 3^rd November 2016 at One Drummond Gate, London (etc. venues) to interact with our guests and participate in many more activities on the day, including discussion sessions delivered by experts and Award winning trade associations covering:

• Our Governance Surgery for 2016 – Measuring Board Skills and Effectiveness
• How to create a successful in-house magazine
• Membership Recruitment – Tips for Success
• The Importance of Good PR
• Using Your Members for Promotion
• The Internet of Things
• Benchmarking your TA Against Others
• Communicating with the World – What your Website says about You
• Collaborative Working at its Best
• Lobbying Ethically and Influencing Policy in the Right Way

Don’t delay, click here to reserve your places and take advantage of our special offer of three for the price of two.  Come along for just £295 + VAT per person or £590 + VAT for three!

See you there!

Linda

L M Cavender (Mrs)

Chief Executive

Trade Association Forum Ltd

20th October 2016

Shaping the world of work - time for a UK jobs strategy

The latest Warwick Industrial Relations Paper (No 105) has just been published and is available on-line:

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/wbs/research/irru/wpir/wpir105.pdf

It's by Keith Sisson and entitled "Shaping the world of work - time for a UK jobs strategy"

17th October 2016

CfP- Special Issue: Board-level Employee Representation --- Its Impact and Future

Guest Co-Editors: Michael Gold, Royal Holloway University of London; Chris Rees, Royal Holloway University of London and Jeremy Waddington, University of Manchester

 Recent work on employee participation published in English-language journals has centred on its effectiveness in improving organizational performance as well as on specific forms like direct employee involvement, consultation and trends in collective bargaining. Yet all these forms focus on day-to-day workplace issues, involving the implementation and monitoring of policies decided at higher organizational levels. Such analysis has generally neglected the ways in which employee representatives can influence earlier stages of strategic corporate decision-making.

This special issue will aim to fill this gap, by addressing the role of board-level employee representation (BLER), a topic that lies at the intersection of the literature on employee participation and corporate governance. 

We invite prospective authors to submit an abstract on some aspect of board-level employee participation and its operation in Europe. This abstract should be roughly 1,000 words long, and contain a title, key references, methods, main findings and conclusions. Please submit it to the editor [r.hyman@lse.ac.uk], copied to the guest co-editors [M.Gold@rhul.ac.uk; Chris.Rees@rhul.ac.uk; jeremy.waddington@virgin.net], by 31 March 2017.

The themes we aim to cover include:

• The history and origins of BLER across Europe, and changes to its current structure and functioning, following the 2008 global financial crisis.
• The degree of influence that board-level employee representatives are able to exert, such as analyses of power relationships on the board.
• The question of incorporation, that is, the extent to which employee representatives retain or lose their independence through coming to identify with shareholder perspectives.
• The strength of the links between board-level employee representatives and their union and works council structures (‘articulation’).
• Gender issues and the role of women as board-level employee representatives.
• Policy debates and outcomes in countries, including Belgium, Italy and the UK amongst others, that do not provide for BLER.
• The role of BLER in the ‘sustainable company’, and its influence on corporate performance with respect to environmental and social matters.
• The relationship between BLER as a form of employee participation and the ‘varieties of capitalism’ literature.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, and we welcome any abstracts within this general brief.

17th October 2016

4th BUIRA PhD Symposium - University of Leeds, 10-11 November 2016

The British Universities Industrial Relations Association (BUIRA) invites you to take part in the 4th BUIRA PhD Symposium to be held at the University of Leeds on 10-11 November 2016.

The deadline for abstract submission is Friday 21 October 2016. Abstracts of no longer than 500-words should be submitted to buiraphd@outlook.com.

Registration to the Symposium can be made online via https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/buira-phd-symposium-tickets-27673176215

The Symposium is a unique opportunity to build a professional network. It will kick off with an engaging academic discussion on the future of employment relations and prospects of employer-employee partnership.

Key discussants:

Professor Peter Ackers – Professor of Employment Relations at De Montfort University

Professor Nick Bacon – Professor of Human Resource Management at CASS Business School (City University of London)

Professor Mark Stuart – Montague Burton Professor of Human Resource Management and Employment Relations at Leeds University Business School

On the second day, there will be a special session on ‘Building impact into your research’, led by Dr Jo Cutter (University of Leeds). This will be followed by a general discussion relating to the development of the BUIRA PhD Network.

Should you have any queries regarding the Symposium please do not hesitate to contact us at buiraphd@outlook.com.

We are looking forward to seeing you in Leeds!

14th October 2016

The University of Western Australia

Lecturer / Senior Lecturer / Associate Professor HR / Employment Relations |REF:496728 |

The details can be found at http://external.jobs.uwa.edu.au/cw/en/job/496728/lecturer-senior-lecturer-associate-professor-hr-employment-relations-ref496728

11th October 2016

IRRU call for information on research of relevance to GLAA

Following the Immigration Act 2016, the Gangmasters Licensing Authority is evolving into the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA). The GLAA retains its licensing and regulatory function of temporary labour in food and farming but will have a much broader role and new powers to address labour exploitation across the entire labour market. GLAA activity and new powers cover a wide range from modern slavery/forced labour through to non-compliance with statutory employment rights and associated regulation. All types of workers in all sectors of the economy are covered. (see www.gla.gov.uk)

The GLAA wishes to establish/reinforce contacts with academics working in relevant areas in order to be able to draw on current and recent academic research to inform its strategy, intelligence and operations and potentially to stimulate (and assist) in future research to fill gaps in knowledge. Warwick’s Industrial Relations Research Unit (IRRU) is assisting the GLAA in this. There is relevant research being undertaken at Warwick and work elsewhere that is known about. But we wish to compile a more comprehensive list of research and researchers and encourage interaction. We propose to host an academic workshop in Spring 2017.

If you are undertaking or supervising relevant research (or have recently published same) please send information to IRRU by the end of October (contact details below). Please do this even if you have had direct contact with GLA. If you know of work being done by people outside the range of BUIRA mailing please draw their attention to this call.

There is a wide range of areas of potential relevance. These include research on

• specific sectors where there may be ‘high risk’ (a non-exhaustive list beyond the current GLA sector of food and farming might include parts of construction, transport/warehousing, the care sector, beauty industry, hand car washing, accommodation and food services, textiles, parts of manufacturing...)
• migrant labour employment, exploitation and trafficking
• characteristics and nature of vulnerable workers and of labour exploitation in UK
• organisational structure/business models; employment patterns and working practices;
• supply chains; small business etc. which may cast light on labour exploitation issues

Professor Guglielmo Meardi (Director, IRRU, WBS) and Professor Linda Dickens (Emeritus Professor

University of Warwick; Board member GLA)

Please send your contact details and a brief outline of your research (with details of any published material where applicable) before the end of October to Val.Jephcott@wbs.ac.uk

11th October 2016

Advertising ILPC Climate Change Stream call for papers

The 34th International Labour Process Conference 2017

‘Re-Connecting Work and Political Economy’, Sheffield 4-6 April

Special Stream Call for Papers

A Volatile Political Economy: Work, Climate Change and Labour: Labour Process Perspectives

Prof. Carla Lipsig-Mummé (carlalm@yorku.ca), York University, Canada,

Prof. Linda Clarke, University of Westminster, UK,

Donald Lafleur, Executive Vice-President, Canadian Labour Congress,

Dr. Elaine Bernard, Director of Labor and Worklife Program, Harvard Law School, US

Despite international efforts, the world is warming more rapidly than expected. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the world of work in industrialised countries produces 80% of human-created greenhouse gas emissions. Work, worksites and production supply chains are major polluters. The new retreat into defensive nationalism adds to the difficulties of combatting at an international level the global danger we confront. It is vital to re-connect work and political economy, so that the transition to a low carbon economy becomes an international driver for transforming the labour process to the benefit of workers.

Bringing workers and unions and work itself ‘in’ to the struggle to slow global warming entails rethinking the labour process through a green lens, and adapting key steps in the chain of production to mitigate greenhouse gases. It entails reconsidering the legal, political and economic contexts that hinder or facilitate workplace low-carbon adaptation, bringing labour and environment law together, criticising work design and current business models for their carbon excesses, and rediscovering the influential roles that workers, their unions and professional associations can play in adapting and improving the labour process. And, finally, it means understanding the ways in which political economies and responses to climate change affect not only the labour process, but union goals, alliances, modes of action, organisation of young workers, political strength and strategic creativity.

The Stream welcomes abstracts for papers on changing national and international political economies and their role in aiding, obstructing, or transforming the role of work and unions in transitioning to a global low-carbon economy.

We welcome papers that take up a range of issues.

1.      International, sectoral, policy-oriented, conceptual, or activist approaches to the climate change-labour process relationship

2.      The role of labour unions in greening the labour process

3.      Supply chains, politics and political economies: the challenge of mitigating carbon emissions.

4.      Transforming the energy production process

5.      Gender, race and class implications of the green labour process transition

6.      Innovative collective bargaining and ‘climate bargaining’ by unions

7.      Green education and training for workers, union activists, negotiators, leaders

8.      Climate change, young workers and union renewal

Submissions via the web-site www.ilpc.org.uk closing date 21st October 2016

11th October 2016

CfP: Early Career Researchers Event 'Developing future agendas in welfare to work research'

Call for Papers for BSA Early Careers Forum/CERIC event

‘Developing future agendas in welfare to work research’

Friday 27th January 2017

University of Leeds

Keynotes: Prof Tracy Shildrick (Leeds) and Dr Sharon Wright (Glasgow)

This event focuses on broadening the scope of ‘welfare to work’/active labour market policy research. It aims to explore how sociological insights (e.g. sociology of work, intersectionality, organisational sociology) and other perspectives (e.g. migration, labour market theory, organisation theory, employment relations) can be integrated to illuminate this important topic in an inter-disciplinary way, in order to forge innovative new research agendas. The event also aims to be a springboard for an ongoing network of scholars, including for grant collaborations, journal special issues, edited collections or special conference streams. Papers are invited from doctoral researchers and ECRs up to 7 years post-PhD. Presenters will receive feedback from discussants who are established academics. 

Contributors are encouraged to explore the theoretical, empirical and methodological aspects of researching this area and to consider future research avenues, including:

 How can we understand the changing delivery of welfare to work theoretically and comparatively through the intersection of sociological and other perspectives?

• How do actual and potential programme participants across different social groups perceive changes in welfare to work?
• How do processes of welfare conditionality and sanctions operate and with what outcomes?
• What can we learn from the lived experiences of actual and potential programme participants across different social groups and what are the implications for citizenship?
• What are the challenges for those impacted by welfare to work in view of the changing mobility/welfare rights within the EU and in the context of the UK’s vote to leave the EU?
• How are the roles of actors and organisations delivering welfare to work changing and how do they perceive these changes? What kinds of social relations are being developed between these actors and other organisations?
• What kinds of methodological innovations can we employ to provide novel insights into this area?
• What are the policy implications that arise from the research evidence?
• What can we learn from the experiences of other countries?
• How can we more effectively engage the public in our research findings?  

Abstracts of 250 words to j.ingold@leeds.ac.uk by Friday 18th November 2016 

Registration is now OPEN. Click HERE to book your place. BSA Members £10, non-members £25 

Organisers: Dr Jo Ingold, Dr Gabriella Alberti (Leeds); Dr Ruth Patrick (Liverpool). Funded by the BSA ECR Forum Regional Fund and Leeds University Business School. A small number of bursaries will be offered to participants with accepted papers who without funding could not otherwise attend. Applications and enquiries to j.ingold@leeds.ac.uk  

With best wishes,

Jo

Dr Jo Ingold

Lecturer in Human Resource Management and Public Policy

Work and Employment Relations Division

Leeds University Business School

GM.18, Maurice Keyworth Building

University of Leeds

Leeds, UK LS2 9JT

Tel: +44 (0)113 343 2645    

Work, Employment and Society Associate Board member: http://wes.sagepub.com/

How do inter-organizational relations affect employer engagement in welfare to work programmes in the UK and Denmark? ESRC Future Leaders Award 2013-2017

Website: http://ow.ly/CNpwn

Follow us on Twitter @EmpEngW2W

10th October 2016

Join Nick Hurd MP at the TA Best Practice Exchange - 3 November 2016

Dear Colleague

We are delighted to announce that Nick Hurd MP, Minister of State for Climate Change and Industry within the newly formed Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will be delivering a keynote session at the TA Best practice Exchange in London on Thursday, 3^rd November 2016.  The new ministerial portfolio reflects the priorities of Government to develop a comprehensive industrial strategy and lead the Government’s relationship with business.

Nick will be discussing with you first hand any concerns that you may have about our domestic and international trading outlook in the post EU Referendum landscape and will be looking to provide you with some degree of reassurance and an indication of what the Government is doing as we become closer to invoking Article 50 to begin our extraction from Europe.  You all have a vital role to play to help your members survive and hopefully thrive in the weeks, months and years ahead and your input into Government thinking will help shape the future for UK plc.

The event is on Thursday, 3^rd November 2016 at One Drummond Gate, London (etc. venues).  Join us on the day to hear Nick, ask him questions and to participate in many more activities on the day, including discussion sessions delivered by experts and Award winning trade associations covering:

• Our Governance Surgery for 2016 – Measuring Board Skills and Effectiveness
• How to create a successful in-house magazine
• Membership Recruitment – Tips for Success
• The Importance of Good PR
• Using Your Members for Promotion
• The Internet of Things
• Benchmarking your TA Against Others
• Communicating with the World – What your Website says about You
• Collaborative Working at its Best
• Lobbying Ethically and Influencing Policy in the Right Way

Baroness Lorely Burt, Liberal Democrat Lords’ Principle Spokesperson for Business, Innovation and Skills will also be joining us as will many of our partners.  Do join us for what promises to be an excellent educational experience which I have no doubt will save you time, effort and money in your future activities.

Don’t delay, click here to reserve your places and take advantage of our special offer of three for the price of two.  Come along for just £295 + VAT per person or £590 + VAT for three!

I hope to see you there!

Linda

L M Cavender (Mrs)

Chief Executive

Trade Association Forum Ltd

_________________________________________________
Barley House | Sopers Road | Cuffley | Hertfordshire | EN6 4RY
(: +44 (0)20 3869 8650 | *: lcavender@taforum.org

www.taforum.org

uk.linkedin.com/in/lindacavender

PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE NUMBER:

Trade Association Forum Ltd

Barley House

Sopers Road

Cuffley, Hertfordshire

EN6 4RY

Tel: +44 (0)20 3869 8650

7th October 2016

Professor of European Integration and Employment Relations

EXTERNAL ADVERTISEMENT SUMMARY

Ref: 008724

UCD College of Business Professor of European Integration and Employment Relations One permanent position

Applicants are invited for a permanent appointment as Professor of European Integration and Employment Relations, UCD College of Business.

The academic grades in UCD are:

• Full Professor
• Professor
• Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer)
• Assistant Professor (Lecturer)

UCD College of Business is Ireland’s leading business school and research centre.

UCD College of Business consists of UCD Lochlann Quinn School of Business (‘the Quinn School’) focused on undergraduate education, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business (‘the Smurfit School’), UCD Centre for Distance Learning (‘CDL’) and UCD Smurfit Executive Development (‘Executive Development’) . The Quinn School and CDL are located on the main campus at Belfield while the Smurfit School and Executive Development are located at Blackrock about five kilometres away. Academic staff teach in both schools.  CDL also has a significant overseas presence in Singapore, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka and the development of our brand presence in these geographies is an important aspect of this role.

The College has over 7,000 undergraduate students and graduate students in the Quinn School, the Smurfit School and in CDL and approximately 1,200 participants in UCD Smurfit Executive Development.

One of the keystones of the School’s reputation as one of the world’s leading business schools is the quality and expertise of our faculty. We are the only business school in Ireland to hold the triple crown of accreditation from AACSB (US), EQUIS (Europe) and AMBA (UK). We are also the only Irish member of CEMS and GNAM, global alliances of leading business schools and multinational companies. Our MBA programme is consistently ranked in the top 100 globally by Financial Times, and our full-time MBA is ranked 73rd in the world and 22nd in Europe.

Our purpose is to re-imagine business education in an open world by providing together a transformational business education which develops informed, agile, critical, conscious thinkers and doers in the world and for the world and is led by a profound commitment to research, innovation and impact.

Our core values of the School are excellence in research and teaching, collegiality within the university, and willingness to change and encourage diversity. The School is committed to continuous improvement and increasing aspirations in regard to teaching and knowledge creation and dissemination. Collaboration with stakeholders in and outside the University is a central aspect of our strategy in enhancing our international reputation and reach.

About the Position

The Professor of European Integration and Employment Relations will be a member of the Human Resource Management and Employment Relations Subject Area within the UCD College of Business. Other subject areas in the College, especially management, share teaching and research interests in international business, European integration, work and employment and the modules by the Human Resource Management and Employment Relations Subject Area are also taken by students in the social sciences.

Each Fall semester the subject area hosts and provides teaching for undergraduate students from the ILR School at Cornell University and also operates a master’s-level exchange programme with the ILR School. The subject area is also a member of the European Masters in Labour Studies network (http://www.ucd.ie/indrel/programmes/postgraduateprogrammes/) through which master’s students avail of study exchanges across Europe’s leading centres for studies in the field.

The holder of the Professorship will engage in teaching and research on comparative and international employment relations. Applications from candidates with an expertise in European employment relations are particularly welcome. The areas encompassed by the Professorship may include the employment relations implications of European Integration and challenges to the European project (e.g. the euro and fiscal crises and impending ‘Brexit; the impact of European governance, including the European semester and the EU’s new economic governance arrangement, and comparative employment relations and trends in work and employment across Europe.

The appointee should hold an international reputation and possess a strong research track record in the field. They should also be able to play a leadership role within the context of the Subject Group and the College as a whole.

The successful candidate will be expected to contribute to the development of the subject area’s and College’s profile in research and teaching and will offer leadership in the following areas:

Teaching and Learning: The Human Resource Management and Employment Relations Subject Area is a significant contributor to the Business School’s undergraduate, postgraduate, international and executive education programmes. These include the BComm, MSc, the MBA and PhD programmes.  The Group also contributes to modules in Business & Society. The appointed professor will play a key role in shaping the delivery and impact of European Integration and Employment Relations across the range of levels, programmes and student populations encompassed by the School’s modules and programmes.

Research: The School places strong emphasis on research leading to publication in highly-regarded international, peer-reviewed academic journals and books and in leading debates in business in both the academic and public space.

Members of the Human Resource Management and Employment Relations Subject Area publish across a range of journals, including, Human Resource Management; Human Resource Management Journal; The International Journal of Human Resource Management; Journal of International Business Studies; Work, Employment and Society; Human Relations; The British Journal of Industrial Relations; The European Journal of Industrial Relations, Industrial Relations Journal.

They have also written and edited books published by among other major publishers: Routledge; Oxford University Press; ILR Press; Rowman and Littlefield International and the Institute of Public Administration.

Contribution: In conjunction with the Dean of the School of Business, the successful applicant will be involved in the formulation and implementation of policies to develop the academic and strategic potential of the School. It is expected that Professorial staff will assume administrative and managerial duties as appropriate to the role, and play an active part in fostering collegiality within the School.

95 Professor Salary Scale: €78,332 - €103,253 per annum

Appointment will be made on scale and in accordance with the Department of Finance guidelines

Prior to application, further information (including application procedure) should be obtained from the UCD Job Vacancies website: http://www.ucd.ie/hr/jobvacancies.

Closing date: 17:00hrs (local Irish time) on Friday 14^th October 2016

Applications must be submitted by the closing date and time specified.    Any applications which are still in progress at the closing time of 17:00hrs on the specified closing date will be cancelled automatically by the system. UCD do not accept late applications.

4th October 2016

IR/HR Conference etc. in Australia

3rd October 2016

Call for Papers: Digital Transformations of Work :: Labouring in the Digital Economy Stream at ILPC2017

Deadline for abstracts is October 21 October
Submissions via website: http://www.ilpc.org.uk
Corresponding Author: Xanthe Whittaker xw90@le.ac.uk

This stream will question the implications of the evolution of digital technologies at work from a labour process perspective. We welcome contributions that examine:

• New employment relations in the gig or platform economy (e.g. Uber; Deliveroo);
• Crowdsourcing and new forms of labour;
• “Gamification" and the distinction between work, labour and play;
• The integration of data, digital metrics and algorithms into work processes;
• Control and data-related managerialisation;
• Digitisation and the ability to measure previously intangible aspects of work;
• Digital technologies, workplace flexibility and the intensification and extensification of labour;
• The commodification of digital labour and the role of free and unpaid labour in online regimes of accumulation;
• New jobs, new professional identities;
• Resistance and trade union organisation;
• Policy and regulation of digitally-mediated work;
• Methodological challenges and how to study digital work.

Steam info: http://www.ilpc.org.uk/Portals/56/ilpc2017-docs/ilpc2017s2-digitial-labour.pdf

3rd October 2016

FairWRC SEMINAR SERIES 2016/2017

Alliance Manchester Business School

FairWRC SEMINAR SERIES 2016/2017:  First Semester Programme

The Fairness at Work Research Centre (FairWRC) is pleased to announce a series of speakers on leading issues regarding fairness at work.

12 October 2016  - Room B3, AMBS East - 1-3pm

False Self-Employment, Autonomy and Regulating for Decent Work: Improving Working Conditions in the UK Stripping Industry

Kate Hardy (Leeds University Business School)

A large-scale study of working conditions in UK-based strip dancing clubs reveals that dancers are against de facto self-employment as it is defined and practised by management, but in favour of de jure self-employment that ensures sufficient levels of autonomy and control in the workplace. While dancers could potentially seek ‘worker’ or ‘employee’ status within the existing legal framework, their strong identification with the label ‘self-employed’ and their desire for autonomy will likely inhibit these labour rights claims. We propose an alternative avenue for improving dancers’ working conditions, whereby self-employed dancers articulate their grievances as a demand for decent work, pursued through licensing agreements between clubs and local authorities and facilitated by collective organization.

23 November 2016 - Room B017, Dover Street - 1-3pm

Balancing flexibility and stability? Alternatives to downsizing in an MNC

Stewart Johnstone (Newcastle University Business School)

The Great Recession of 2008 was one of the most significant economic shocks since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Given that HRM practices are heavily influenced by developments in the macro economy, we would expect the challenging economic environment to have an impact on HRM policies and practices. While there is evidence of aggregate trends and patterns of employer responses, fewer studies have explored how and why firms responded as they did at the enterprise level.  Furthermore, while there are studies on the extent and impact of downsizing activities, less is known about the alternatives to downsizing associated with ‘responsible restructuring’ and ‘employment stabilisation’ HRM strategies. The empirical focus of the paper is the response of a major MNC renowned for a long standing ‘no-lay-off policy’. The paper contributes to ongoing debates regarding the balance between flexibility and stability in contemporary employment relationships and the potential for ‘flexicurity’ at the enterprise level.

30 November 2016 - Room 5.1, Crawford House - 1-3pm

Discriminating evidence: the work of speech and language therapists (SLTs)

Clare Butler (Newcastle University Business School)

Evidence-based practice (EBP) in healthcare stands on a seductive logic: clinical practice ought to be based on scientific research. Yet, in some healthcare professions there are challenges in assimilating scientific research into clinicians’ practice - speech and language therapy is one such profession. Here, the challenge for EBP is grounded in the largely idiosyncratic nature of the clients and the resultant difficulty in building a robust evidence base. As a result, there is a lack of evidence for SLTs to draw upon in undertaking their work. For instance, Bernie’s communication impairment after his stroke is inherently personal. In responding to his unique presentation, Bernie’s therapy therefore needs to be individual. As such, generalised EBP may have negative consequences. Yet, in a context of austerity and impact, EBP remains mesmeric. This paper draws on interviews with thirty-three SLTs and explores their experience of discriminating evidence and of, sometimes, being evidently discriminatory.

Contact: fairwrc@manchester.ac.uk      Twitter: @FAirWRC 

30th September 2016

Offer to BUIRA members to Join Unions21.

By joining Unions21 as an individual supporter, you will be contributing to the important work that we do, in a unique way that is not being done anywhere else.  As well as being able to contribute to our quarterly magazine, you will gain access to practitioners through events and conferences.  To join go to https://pay.gocardless.com/AL0000HH2RJ6Y9

29th September 2016

Unions 21- call for posters

Unions 21 is an organisation which supports unions to increase their influence, impact and effectiveness by working with members, supporters and stakeholders to create an open space for research, innovation and activity. We are currently finishing a strategic review and formulation of a new plan of work which includes the current work themes: new economies, new workers, good work and innovation and change.

We are looking for posters for our annual conference on 21 March which highlights work under those three themes that is already being undertaken by researchers and academics. Our audience is a combination of senior union leaders, officers and a growing academic body and this would be an opportunity for you to showcase your work to leading practioners. It doesn’t matter whether you are a PhD student, lecturer or professor, we’re looking to showcase the best, most interesting and thought provoking work.

For more information, please contact Becky Wright, Director on

 becky@unions21.org.uk

27th September 2016

Greenwich seminar on migrant labour

UNIVERSITY OF GREENWICH WORK AND EMPLOYMENT RESEARCH UNIT SEMINAR SERIES

22nd September 2016

Call for papers

Special issue of Economic and Industrial Democracy: Global Economic Crisis, Work and Employment, Deadline extended 31.12.16

How have work and employment relations been affected by the global economic crisis, and what are the prospects for organisations, workers and economic recovery? This Special Issue provides an opportunity to take stock of developments in work and employment post-economic crisis.  We invite papers that make an important theoretical and/or empirical contribution to our understanding of such issues; international and comparative papers are particularly welcome. You can download the full call for papers here: https://goo.gl/BQ1b3O. Due to numerous requests, the deadline has been extended to 31 December 2016. The guest editors are happy to discuss potential submissions; please direct queries to  stewart.johnstone@ncl.ac.uk in the first instance.

21st September 2016

Special Issue, Personnel Review, CfP: HR & Workplace Innovations: an extension -- October 1, 2016

Cheers!

20th September 2016

Andy Charlwood

Andy Charlwood has joined the Work and Employment Relations Division at Leeds University Business School as Professor of HRM from Loughborough University.

19th September 2016

Framing Work: Unitary, Pluralist and Critical Perspectives in the Twenty-first Century

Framing Work: Unitary, Pluralist and Critical Perspectives in the Twenty-first Century

Edmund Heery

This new book presents an overview of the field of Industrial Relations, broadly conceived, making use of the time-honoured concept of ‘frames of reference’ to identify the main competing strands in IR research and commentary. Unlike other presentations of the field, which tend to emphasise its unifying assumptions, Framing Work stresses difference and points to the main lines of fracture in the IR field.

The first part of the book provides a review of contemporary unitary, pluralist and critical IR writing. For each of these frames the book considers their underlying conception of the interests of workers and employers, research agenda, understanding of worker subjectivity, favoured theoretical arguments, normative standards and modes of critique, and forms of engagement with the ‘real world’ of work. For each frame contemporary writing is contrasted with arguments from the ‘classic’ period of IR scholarship from the 1960s to the 1980s.

The second part of the book reviews the competing positions adopted by adherents of the three frames to four core issues within contemporary IR research. These issues are worker participation, service work and customer culture, equality and diversity, and the impact of the global financial crisis. It is argued that across these issues there has been a shift from a form of debate in which pluralist prescription for reform was subject to critique from the left to a new pattern in which unitary writing makes the running, inviting separate critique from pluralist and critical opponents.

The book ends with a call for ‘critical pluralism’, in which the pluralist emphasis on institution-building and practical reform of IR is married to a critical focus on conflict and recognition that social movements are often the source of significant IR change.

Framing Work has just been published by Oxford University Press and is available from all the usual outlets and through the OUP website:

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/framing-work-9780199569465

19th September 2016

Reducing Precarious Work through Social Dialogue

Reducing Precarious Work through Social Dialogue

@ NH Hotel du Grand Sablon, Brussels City Centre

24-25th November 2016

Organised by the Alliance Manchester Business School in cooperation with the European Commission

Conference aims

Join us at this conference and explore how innovative forms of social dialogue in different country contexts can reduce the precariousness of employment and promote more inclusive labour markets.

The conference will debate the challenges facing social partners in addressing ‘Protective Gaps’ in regulation, representation, enforcement and social protection. It will profile new evidence of effective social dialogue with original data and illuminating case studies for Denmark, France, Germany, Slovenia, Spain and the UK.

The Participants

The conference will feature internationally renowned speakers and representatives from government, trade unions and employer bodies at European, national and sector levels. Presentations from leading policy-makers and practitioners across Europe will stimulate discussion about the lessons for new strategies to promote inclusive job growth and fairness at work. A policy roundtable panel with international experts will debate the challenges and prospects for Europe’s social partners.

Timetable includes:

• French-English-German simultaneous translation
• Keynote talks –including Philippe Marcadent (Chief INWORK ILO), Maria Jepsen (Director
• Research ETUI), Susan Hayter (INWORK ILO), Maarten Keune (Prof and Co-Director AIAS)
• Facilitated roundtable discussions
• New European research evidence addressing key questions:

oHow does precarious employment differ by country?

oHow are ‘Protective Gaps’ changing?

oCan social dialogue promote more inclusive approaches?

• International expert panel on the prospects for inclusive job growth

THE CONFERENCE IS FREE (including lunch/dinner)

Please register early as space is limited:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/reducingprecarious-work-through-social-dialogue-tickets-23797166967

19th September 2016

BUIRA stewardship

Newcastle University Business School have now taken over the BUIRA stewardship and the team are as follows:

Jo McBride   President

Stewart Johnstone   Communications Officer

Ana Lopes   Events and Conference Officer

Mick Brookes  Membership Officer

Steve Procter  Treasurer

Trudi Pemberton  Administration Officer

We would like to take this opportunity to extend our thanks to the Leeds University Business School outgoing team for their fantastic work in the much needed improvements to the Association.

19th September 2016

Acas Research Partnerships: Call for up to 6 new proposals.

Deadline: Proposal and costs to be sent to Acas by Monday 26th September

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) is seeking expressions of interest to undertake small scale research under six broad areas.

The programme is commissioned under our new Acas strategic aim ‘to shape and inform policy thinking and practice on employment issues which contribute to fair, effective and efficient working relationships’. We expect to use the outputs to provide insight and commentary on these subject areas as well as to add to Acas’ broader evidence base which informs front line services. More information on Acas’ Strategy 2016 – 2021 can be found at: http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=5709

The six broad areas of interest are:

1. Flexible working for parents and carers returning to work

We would like to commission research to review how organisations are managing requests for flexible working following a return to work after taking an extended period of leave for parental/caring responsibilities.

2. Performance management

We are keen to gain a greater insight into two areas: the role and relevance of performance management systems and appraisals; and how employers manage capability in relation to poor performance, a lack of skills or sickness absence.

3. Technology in the workplace

We would like to commission research into the impact that technology is having or likely to have on employment relations, with particular reference to the relationship between automation and the future of workplace skills.

4. Conflict management practices in the workplace

We would like to continue Acas’ programme of research exploring conflict management strategies. In particular, we are keen to explore the role different HR structures and arrangements play in addressing workplace conflict.

5. Managing gender identity in the workplace

We are keen to commission an exploratory piece of research on managing gender identity issues in the workplace. We wish to adopt a typology of gender identity that can be used in Acas guidance, and to explore the implications of each in terms of employer practices.

6. Collective relations in non-unionised workplaces

We are keen to commission research to support a new programme of work aimed at mapping out the current state of collective relations in non-unionised workplaces. We are open to ideas on how this might best be done.

We are also open to ideas on the precise focus, and related research methodology, of these projects.

Tender selection

Acas’ approach to developing these research partnerships is not limited to work with academics and we regularly work with other organisations to sponsor and conduct research. In some instances, we envisage that colleagues from Acas may play a role in elements of the data collection, and this could lead to co ownership of outputs. In all instances, we anticipate close working on the design of projects and outputs. Our funding contribution will be relatively small (under £10,000 per project).

If you are interested in working with Acas and carrying out research on one or more of these project areas, please email acasresearch@acas.org.uk stating your interests. We will then send you more information about each project area and provide details of how to apply.

Please note that any projects commissioned under this scheme will need to be completed in the 2016/17 financial year and preferably as soon as is possible. The deadline for receipt of proposals is 7pm on Monday 26th September.

12th September 2016

Historical Studies in Industrial Relations 37 (2016) Contents

Articles

Caroline Dick, Testing the Fabric: Prescribing Female Dress in Australian Early Living-Wage Cases – 1
Adrian Williamson, The Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act 1927 Reconsidered – 33
Roger Seifert and Andrew Hambler, Wearing the Turban: The 1967–1969 Sikh Bus Drivers’ Dispute in Wolverhampton – 83
Alan Tuckman and Herman Knudsen, The Success and Failings of UK Work-Ins and Sit-Ins in the 1970s: Briant Colour Printing and Imperial Typewriters – 113
Stephen Mustchin, Conflict, Mobilization, and Deindustrialization: The 1980 Gardner Strike and Occupation – 141
Peter Dorey, Weakening the Trade Unions, One Step at a Time: The Thatcher Governments’ Strategy for the Reform of Trade-Union Law, 1979–1984 – 169

Symposium: The Oxford School of Industrial Relations: Fifty Years after the 1965–1968 Donovan Commission
Peter Ackers, Introduction: Who Were the Oxford School and Why Did They Matter? – 201
George Bain, A Canadian’s Reflections on the Oxford School – 208
William Brown, The Oxford School at Donovan – 213
John Edmonds, The Donovan Commission: Were We in the Trade Unions Too Short-Sighted? – 222
Sue Ferns, Changing Gender Roles and Public-Policy Perspectives since Donovan: A Trade-Union View – 229

Document
Tony Topham, A Difficult Childhood: The Formative Years of the Transport and General Workers’ Union – 237

Book Reviews
Paul Edwards, Wolfgang Streeck, Buying Time: The Delayed Crisis of Democratic Capitalism – 261
Rebecca Zahn, Ruth Dukes, The Labour Constitution: The Enduring Idea of Labour Law – 265

For subscriptions see:http://online.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/loi/hsir

12th September 2016

Manchester Industrial Relations Society Meeting - Brexit, Corbyn and the Changing Economic and Political Landscape

Speaker: Paul Mason

Guardian columnist, author of Why It’s Still Kicking Off Everywhere and Postcapitalism: A Guide to Our Future, and former economics editor for Channel 4 News and BBC 2 Newsnight

Thursday 27 October 6pm
Lecture Theatre LT33, Ground Floor
Manchester Metropolitan University Business School
All Saints, Oxford Road, Manchester M15 6BH
Map: http://www.mmu.ac.uk/travel/allsaints/

Neoliberal capitalism is busted, discredited and on life support; Brexit signals, at the very least, the high water mark of globalisation, with populist politics and nationalist rhetoric corroding the power of reason; and companies like Sports Direct alongside the growing ‘gig’ economy of self-employment and fragmentation underline the modern reality of precarious work, coercive management and absence of unions.

But the Corbyn phenomena with its mass influx of new left-leaning members, alongside other broader political forces and social movements, offers a massive and historic opportunity to fight for a radical reshaping of the economy and society in a more democratic and equal fashion, including a new legal charter than extends human rights to the workplace as the first line of defence against bosses such Mike Ashley. Can Labour become a social movement, and what can political parties learn from horizontal networked activism?

For further details of the Manchester Industrial Relations Society please contact:

Professor Ralph Darlington, Salford Business School, University of Salford, Salford M5 4WT
Phone: 0161-295-5456; email: r.r.darlington@salford.ac.uk
Manchester Industrial Relations Society website: www.mirs.org.uk
Twitter: @ManchesterIRS

12th September 2016

Series “Work, Employment Relations, Organisational Studies, Human Resource Management”

We invite proposals for books, including research monographs, in the area of work, employment, organisational studies and HRM’. The aim is to publish high-quality research in the related subject areas of work and employment regulation, along with how organisation are structured and managed. The series will consider monographs that take a critically overarching pluralist approach to debate and discuss topics via related theoretical lenses, including political economy, ethics, and systems of governance.

A key focus of the series is how the imperatives for efficiency, quality and high performance can be configured so that equality, inclusion, good pay, dignity, well-being and social justice are also achieved in increasingly globalised and fragmented work regimes.

The series investigates the connections between the world of work and the political economy and public policy that shape regulations, organisational and business environments, work experiences, and well-being within a new globalised model of consumerism.

Series Editors: Tony Dundon; Adrian Wilkinson

Further information: http://www.springer.com/series/14359

12th September 2016

4th BUIRA PhD Symposium - University of Leeds, 10-11 November 2016

The British Universities Industrial Relations Association (BUIRA) invites you to take part in the 4th BUIRA PhD Symposium to be held at the University of Leeds on 10-11 November 2016

This year’s Symposium invites PhD students at any stage of their research. It provides an opportunity to deliver an academic presentation in a supportive and collaborative atmosphere and to receive constructive feedback from fellow PhD students and senior academics. Alongside students’ presentations, the Symposium will hold plenary sessions led by esteemed academics, workshops on theoretical advancements in employment relations and research impact. Topics of doctoral presentations include but are not limited to:

                        Industrial relations, trade union development and strategies
                        Employee voice and wellbeing
                        Labour markets, labour migration and social policies
                        Human resource management, work and employment experiences
                        Political economy and sociology of work

Spaces are limited but registration is FREE, including a symposium dinner hosted by BUIRA. Student members of BUIRA will also be eligible for travel or accommodation bursary to attend, to sign up for membership (£20 for students) please visit www.buira.net. 

Please register to attend the Symposium via the following link by 4 November 2016: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/buira-phd-symposium-tickets-27673176215

For presenters, send in your 500-word abstracts to buiraphd@outlook.com by 21 October 2016.

Should you have any queries regarding the Symposium please do not hesitate to contact us at buiraphd@outlook.com.

We are looking forward to seeing you in Leeds!

12th September 2016

Labour, Employment and Work Conference (LEW2016)

November 28 and 29, 2016

Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

The 2016 Labour, Employment and Work (LEW2016) welcomes papers and presentations analysing ‘The Changing Nature of Work and Employment’ with relevance to New Zealand and Australia. We are delighted to announce our keynote speaker Professor Adrian Wilkinson, Director of the Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing at Griffith University, Australia.

Abstract submission date extended to 12 September 2016

Submission of abstracts and workshop proposals to clew-events@vuw.ac.nz

For further information of keynote speakers, conference programme and workshops, see the conference web-site

22nd August 2016

Blacklisting, Bullying & Blowing the Whistle - Exposing the hidden underbelly of the modern workplace

**Please register for this promptly as spaces are filling up**

Friday 16 September - Saturday 17 September 2016 (11am - 5pm)

This two day conference, organised by Blacklist Support Group (BSG) and the Work & Employment Research Unit (WERU) at the University of Greenwich supported by New Internatinalist and Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, will reveal and discuss the hidden injuries of the modern workplace which are often neglected by mainstream media and academia.

A key aim will be to explore the different and interlocking ways in which surveillance and intensified control operate; in the workplace, in employment and in relation to community campaigns and civil rights activism.

Plenary sessions and workshops will consider the blacklisting and victimisation of activists and the treatment of whistleblowers, who have both highlighted corporate malpractice in the private sector and failures in public service provision. They will also consider the modern workplace tyranny of performance management where workers are bullied by intense monitoring and measurement of their work, with potentially discriminatory effects on disabled, Black and Minority Ethnic, migrant, women and older and younger workers.   

The conference brings together academics, politicians, lawyers and activists with a view to inputting into the formulation of a programme of policy and action that can restore workplace rights and fairness at work.

Speakers include:

John McDonnell MP – Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
John Hendy QC – Institute of Employment Rights (IER)
Helen Steel – blacklisted McLibel activist, Spies Out of Lives
Gail Cartmail – Assistant General Secretary, UNITE the union
Roger McKenzie – Assistant General Secretary , UNISON
Donna Guthrie & Zita Holbourne – Black Activists Rising Against Cuts (BARAC)
Professor Sian Moore – University of Greenwich (WERU)
Professor Keith Ewing – Kings College London (IER)
Professor Phil Taylor – University of Strathclyde
Phil Chamberlain – author 'Blacklisted', University of West of England
Shamik Dutta – Bhatt Murphy solicitors for victims of undercover policing
Dave Smith – Blacklist Support Group

When

Friday 16th September - Saturday 17th September 2016

Venue

University of Greenwich, Stephen Lawrence Building, Old Royal Naval College, 30 Park Row, London SE10 9LS.

More information including programme and details on registration here: http://www.gre.ac.uk/business/services/events/events/current/BlacklistingBullyingBlowingtheWhistle

15th August 2016

NEW BOOK: Employment Relations under Coalition Government: The UK Experience 2010-2015

Just published in Routledge Studies in Employment Relations series

Steve Williams and Peter Scott (eds) - Employment Relations under Coalition Government: The UK Experience 2010-2015.

Contents listing below, and further details at:
https://www.routledge.com/Employment-Relations-under-Coalition-Government-The-UK-Experience-2010-2015/Scott-Williams/p/book/9781138887008

Part 1: Introduction

1. The UK Coalition Government 2010-15: An Overview
Steve Williams and Peter Scott

Part 2: The Coalition’s Economic, Employment and Labour Market Reforms

2. Economic Policy and Employment under the Coalition Government
Enda Hannon

3. The Coalition’s Youth Employment Policies: Addressing a Structural Challenge?
Melanie Simms, Sophie Gamwell, and Benjamin Hopkins

4. Welfare-to-work Policy under the Coalition
Steve Williams and Peter Scott

Part 3: Employment Relations under the Coalition

5. The Coalition Government and the Lifting of the Floor of Individual Employment Rights
Roger Welch

6. Equality and Diversity at Work under the Coalition
Simonetta Manfredi

7. Protecting Life and Death under the Coalition
Phil James

8. Tightening the Grip: The Coalition Government and Migrant Workers
Alex Balch

9. Plus ça change: The Coalition Government and Trade Unions
Steve French and Andy Hodder

Part 4: Reforming the State

10. The Coalition Government and Employment Relations in the Public Services
Peter Scott and Steve Williams

11. Deciphering the Coalition’s Big Society: Issues and Challenges for Work and Employment Relations
Brian Abbott

Part 5: The Coalition and Employment Relations: Perspectives and Prospects

12. Employment Relations under Coalition Government in Perspective
Steve Williams and Peter Scott

13. Employment Relations under Coalition government: Reflections, Legacy and Prospects
Steve Williams, Peter Scott, and Roger Welch

11th August 2016

John Salmon

I am sorry to announce the death of John Salmon, who passed away recently following a long-period of ill-health. 

John was a longstanding member of BUIRA and a specialist in Japanese management and industrial relations. John completed his doctorate at the Industrial Relations Research Unit at Warwick and then went on to work at Manchester Metropolitan University and at Cardiff Business School. He was a good colleague to all of us at Cardiff for nearly twenty years.

John is survived by his partner, Jill, and their two daughters, Ellie and Laetitia.

Edmund Heery

1st August 2016

Invite to Wales Labour Market Summit II: Bangor University, September 14th

The Wales Labour Market Summit II is a knowledge exchange event serving as a platform for comparing, debating, and informing policy interventions in response to large-scale job losses across traditional industries (deindustrialisation). While the primary region of focus is Wales, the summit seeks to provide opportunity for comparative reference to other regional and national labour market interventions in the UK and beyond with the intention of catalysing change in future policy and practice. Speakers and attendees will consist of stakeholders, practitioners, and academics. The day will consist of a mix of keynote speakers and structured group discussion.

There are a number of limited places available for attending this free event; please contact: Alexandra Plows: a.plows@bangor.ac.uk or Owen Powell: abuf58@bangor.ac.uk

Confirmed speakers:

Tuomo Alasoini (Tekes, Finland), Dylan Williams (Head of Economic Development & Community Regeneration, Anglesey), Professor Frank Peck (Research Director, Centre for Regional Economic Development, University of Cumbria), Professor Karel Williams (Manchester Business School), Professor Ian Rees Jones (Cardiff University), Dr Alexandra Plows (Bangor University), Patricia Findlay (University of Strathclyde), Professor Alan Felstead (Cardiff University)

Summit team:

Principal Investigator: Dr Alexandra Plows a.plows@bangor.ac.uk
Co Investigator: Professor Tony Dobbins a.dobbins@bangor.ac.uk
Project Research Associate: Owen Powell abuf58@bangor.ac.uk

https://www.bangor.ac.uk/cbless/labour-market-summit.php.en

Full details:

Wales Labour Market Summit II:

Comparing policy interventions to challenge ‘business as usual’

14th September 2016 - Thoday Building, Bangor University

Schedule

09:00       Morning Refreshments

09:15       Welcome

Speaker Session 1: "Workplace Innovation"

09:30       Two decades of promoting workplace innovation in Finland: past experiences, future challenges - Tuomo Alasoini (Tekes, Finland)

10:00       [Title TBC] Fair and innovative work in Scotland: The work of the Fair Work Convention and efforts to support workplace innovation - Professor Patricia Findlay (Work and Employment Relations, University of Strathclyde)

10.30       Refreshment Break

11:00       Why we need innovation in adult care  - Professor Karel Williams (Director of CRESC, Accounting and Political Economy, Manchester Business School) & Professor Ian Rees Jones (WISERD Director, Cardiff University)

Speaker Session 2: "Job Quality"

11:30       Is job quality in Britain (and Wales) getting better or worse? - Professor Alan Felstead (School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University)

12:00       Self-employment and 'make do and mend': Implications of ethnographic findings - Dr Alex Plows (School of Social Sciences, Bangor University)

12:30       Lunch

Speaker Session 3: "Supply Chains"

13:30       [Title TBC] Supply chain and procurement initiatives in Cumbria - Professor Frank Peck (Research Director, Centre for Regional Economic Development, University of Cumbria)

14:00       [Title TBC] Supply chain and procurement initiatives in North Wales - Dylan Williams (Head of Economic Development & Community Regeneration, Anglesey & Supply Chain Lead, NWEAB)

14:30       Refreshment Break

15:00       Challenging 'Business as Usual' - Panel Q&A

16:30       Closing Remarks

1st August 2016

Michigan State University - Vacancy

ASSISTANT OR ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR FACULTY POSITION IN LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS
School of Human Resources & Labor Relations, College of Social Science, Michigan State University.

The School of Human Resources & Labor Relations in the College of Social Science at Michigan State University seeks applicants for a full-time tenure system position at the Assistant or Associate Professor level in labor and employment relations. This position is an academic-year (nine-month)  appointment with a beginning date of August 16, 2017.

We are particularly interested in applicants with research and teaching interests in labor and employment relations broadly defined, labor economics,work and organizations and applied research methods.Instructional responsibilities include teaching in our signature Master of Human  Resources & Labor Relations program, our doctoral program and at the undergraduate level.

We seek applicants with demonstrated records of research and scholarship excellence and demonstrated records (or strong potential for success) in obtaining external funding to support one's research agenda.Applicants must have completed a Ph.D. in a relevant field such as employment relations & human resources, or related disciplines such as economics, sociology or political science prior to the beginning date.

Special instructions to applicants:

Applicants should complete an application and provide a cover letter outlining one's research and teaching interests, curriculum vitae and writing samples. To view the posting and apply for the position go to https://jobs.msu.edu and search on the "Faculty/Academic Staff" tab.
Then go to posting #3744

The review of applications will begin September 1st, 2016 but applications will continue to be considered until this position is filled.

If you have questions about the process for applying online you should contact Annette Bacon at bacona@msu.edu <bacona@msu.edu>, or by
calling her at 517-355-1801. If you have other inquiries about the
position (not related to the process of applying online), you may contact the Search Committee Chair, Dale Belman, at drdale@msu.edu <drdale@msu.edu>./Applications and supporting materials/ /must be submitted using the University’s online application system, identified above./

The School of Human Resources & Labor Relations strongly encourages applications from women, persons of color, ethnic minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities. To find out more about the School, visit our website: www.hrlr.msu.edu

1st August 2016

Gender and Sexuality in Male-Dominated Occupations: Women Working in Construction and Transport - New book by Tessa Wright

20% discount until 6 August 2016

"In Gender and Sexuality in Male-Dominated Occupations, Tessa Wright contributes new research on occupational segregation and the intransigent problem of women’s low participation in the transportation and construction sectors. Her intersectional approach brings into focus the diversity of women’s experiences based on sexuality, race, age, and occupational status; and the engaging interviews cover a wide range of topics from recruitment, training, and hiring to workplace interactions, social networks, and work-family conflict. Of particular interest to policy-makers and advocates is Wright’s discussion of interventions from the UK, U.S. and South Africa as well as her recommendations for change."

- Amy M. Denissen, California State University Northridge, US

Examining women’s diverse experiences of male-dominated work, this ground-breaking book explores what sexuality and gender means to women working in the construction and transport industries. Using accounts from heterosexual women and lesbians working in professional, manual and operational roles, Gender and Sexuality in Male-Dominated Occupations adopts an intersectional approach to examine advantage and disadvantage on the basis of gender, sexuality and occupational class in these sectors. Drawing on interviews and focus groups, the author examines why women choose to enter male- dominated industries, their experiences of workplace relations, their use of women’s support networks and trade unions, and the interface between home and work lives. Presenting international and UK-based examples of effective interventions to increase women’s participation in male-dominated work, this important book highlights the need for political will to tackle women’s underrepresentation, and suggests directions for the future.

Tessa Wright is a Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management at the Centre for Research in Equality and Diversity, Queen Mary University of London, UK. Her research covers equality and discrimination at work, with an interest in strategies for advancing equality, including through trade unions.

Palgrave Macmillan UK, 1st ed. 2016, 287 p.
eBook ISBN 978-1-137-50136-3, Normally £59.99
Hardcover ISBN 978-1-137-50134-9 Normally £75.00  Both editions  **** 20% discount using CODE PM16TWENTY until 6 August 2016 ****

http://www.palgrave.com/gb/book/9781137501349

25th July 2016

Notice - Dr Jo Grady

Dear Colleagues,

We are looking to revisit some of the ideas of formal and informal imperialism and of collaboration that run through and have been developed from the classic essay by John Gallagher and Ronald Robinson ‘The Imperialism of Free Trade’ (1953).  In particular, we are looking at ways in which their ideas might be helpfully developed in understanding contemporary economies.  

This call for expressions of interest follows on from an initial invitation by the senior editor for Economics and Finance at Routledge to put together an edited collection proposal on the back of an article we published in 2014 which appeared in Capital and Class, entitled, ‘“Naked Abroad” – The Continuing Imperialism of Free Trade’.  

In the proposed volume, we would like to draw out yet further how concepts such as formal and informal imperialism, and collaboration, can help us to understand capitalism both historically and/or in the contemporary world.   Potential book chapters might cover, at either/both an empirical or theoretical level:

•       The Panama Papers as a case-study in collaboration by local elites;
•       Chinese investment in infrastructure projects in Africa as an example of informal imperialism;
•       The role of the Troika in the Greece bailout;
•       Military interventions as an example of the continued willingness of states to undertake formal imperialism where necessary to secure the frontiers of an expanding economy;
•       The role of tax havens in freeing-up the movement of financial capital;
•       The role of supra-national organisations in extending free trade/neoliberal policies globally;
•       The role of capital in the creation of political instruments of free trade/neoliberal policies such as TTIP;
•       The role played in collaboration with imperialism by citizens in the metropolitan;
•       The ways in which formal imperialism is transferred to informal imperialism historically (e.g., to cite Gallagher and Robinson’s example, India) and the contemporary world (e.g. the role of the private security industry in Iraq, see paper by Brewis, Godfrey, Grady and Grocott, 2014);
•       Theoretical contributions to the understanding of imperialism from a Marxist perspective;
•       The collapse of British informal imperialism, notably in the years around 1944-45;
•       The threat to the USA’s ability to exercise informal imperialism posed by China and Russia; 
•       The rhetoric of imperialism historically and in the contemporary world and the way in which imperial control is naturalised and legitimised.

If you would be interested in developing any of these ideas, or if you have alternative ideas, please feel free to send us a brief paragraph outlining your potential contribution.  If you could do so by 2 August, we will then be able to assess how potential contributions might fit into the volume.  We anticipate that chapters will be 6,500-7,500 words each and are happy to work to a schedule that suits contributors (though we would prefer to have a substantial draft of the book ready by no later than this time next year).

All best,

Chris Grocott,
Lecturer in Management and Economic History, University of Leicester.
c.grocott@le.ac.uk

Jo Grady,
Lecturer in Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management, University of Leicester.
j.grady@le.ac.uk

25th July 2016

New book: Developing Positive Employment Relations: International Experiences of Labour Management Partnership, Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.

Editors Stewart Johnstone, Adrian Wilkinson.  

While traditionally associated with employment relations in the coordinated market economies of continental European nations, partnership approaches have attracted increasing attention in recent decades in the liberal market economies of the UK, Ireland, USA, Australia and New Zealand. Developing Positive Employment Relations assesses the conceptual debates, reviews the employment relations context in each of these countries, and provides workplace case studies of the dynamics of partnership at the enterprise level.

Contributors: P Ackers;  J Cutcher-Gershenfeld; A Danford; H Delaney; T Dobbins; J Donaghey ; T Dundon; A Eaton; PJ Gollan; N Haworth; J Hoskin; S Johnstone; TA Kochan; G Patmore; M Richardson; S Rubenstein; D Shah;   A Wilkinson, Y Xu.

http://www.palgrave.com/gb/book/9781137427700

18th July 2016

Durham University Business School - Vacancy

Durham University is looking to appoint a Research Associate to work for a period of 12 month on a project funded by the European Commission. This international project is led by the Durham University Business School and is carried out in collaboration with project partners in Germany, Sweden and the UK.

We welcome expressions of interest from candidates which hold a PhD in the field of Industrial Relations, EU Policy, or Labour Market Studies or a relevant area and will be experienced in quantitative research methods, especially in data base development and analysis, and will possess a good knowledge of European industrial relations systems.

This Research Associate position is a good opportunity for an excellent researcher to join an international team to pursue research in comparative industrial relations.

More information can be found at: http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/ANZ257/research-associate/

Informal enquiries may be addressed to Dr Barbara Bechter (barbara.bechter@durham.ac.uk)

18th July 2016

University of Leeds - Teaching Fellow in Human Resources Management

Work and Employment Relations Division

To contribute to the School’s teaching programme at undergraduate and postgraduate levels; to provide effective research student supervision to postgraduate students; to contribute to administration of the School and its taught programmes. In addition you will be expected to provide pastoral advice and guidance to students.

The Work and Employment Relations Division is a highly successful division in Leeds University Business School.  It has a strong reputation for research, nationally and internationally and gained 100% student satisfaction ratings in the NSS in 2015 and 2014.  This role will be divided between the division’s programmes including the CIPD accredited MA HRM and the newly launched MSc in Management Consultancy.

Further information on the Business School can be found at: www.leeds.ac.uk/lubs

Informal enquiries may be made to the Head of Division, Professor Irena Grugulis i.grugulis@leeds.ac.uk, tel +44 (0)113 343 4460

If you have any specific enquiries about your online application please contact the Faculty HR Team jobs@lubs.leeds.ac.uk

Click here for further information about working at the University of Leeds www.leeds.ac.uk/info/20025/university_jobs

18th July 2016

Manchester EWERC Precarious Work conference

Video from Manchester EWERC Precarious Work conference:

http://centralmarketing.newsweaver.co.uk/newsletter22/1iudj8q9eyf?email=true&a=1&p=50555736&t=20197225

18th July 2016

Third FairWRC conference 12-13 September 2016 - Registration Open

Registration is open for FairWRC third international conference: 'Fairer futures? Understanding standards and practices at work in a challenging global context'

The conference aims to bring together academics and practitioners to discuss issues on the subject of fairness at work in what remains a challenging environment politically and economically.

Discussions will centre on how initiatives in terms of good employment practices (e.g. the use of labour standards, trade union responses to change, social movement audits and management interventions) are being influenced or undermined by the current environment.

The conference will contribute to our understanding of the challenges facing such initiatives and how organisations are responding to the hostile and uncertain context we live in, especially given highly complex global networks and structures in terms of production and service delivery. The questions of equality, social inclusion, worker participation and worker health – and their enforcement – are ongoing concerns regard-less of the changes taking place. 

http://www.mbsresearch.mbs.ac.uk/fairwrc/

Plenary speakers include:

• Rosemary Batt

Alice Cook, Professor of Women and Work at Cornell University

• Madeleine Bunting

Writer, Newspaper Columnist and Broadcaster

• Rachel Cohen

City University, London

• Tony Dundon

Alliance Manchester Business School, The University of Manchester

• Damian Grimshaw

Alliance Manchester Business School,The University of Manchester

• Salvo Leonardi

CGIL Union Italy

• Richard Saundry

The University of Plymouth

• Carol Woodhams

The University of Exeter

Venue: The University of Manchester

When: September 12th and 13th 2016

Cost: £180 Waged for both days (£50 unwaged) (includes lunch and conference meal) please look at the flyer for further payment options.

For further information please download the conference flyer 

Download a flyer for the conference >>

Registration is now open 

To register and pay for this conference please go to 

www.confercare-online.co.uk

18th July 2016

The 34th International Labour Process Conference 2017 - ‘Re-Connecting Work and Political Economy’ - University of Sheffield, 4-6th April

Call for Papers, Special Streams and Symposia

The 2017 International Labour Process Conference (ILPC) will take place in Sheffield between 4th and 6th April. Each year the ILPC brings together researchers from a variety of countries with the objective of enhancing our understanding of contemporary developments relating to work and employment. The conference organisers welcome papers from any topics on ‘Work and Employment’ broadly defined.

In addition, the theme of the 2017 conference is ‘Reconnecting Work and Political Economy’. The turbulence unleashed by the financial crisis of 2008 has led to increased interest in the relationships between work and employment and the wider economy, as reflected in the recent concern with exploring forms and consequences of ‘financialisation’ and efforts to establish links between labour process analysis and the comparative analysis of institutions (Vidal and Hauptmeier, 2014). The growing interest in ‘global value chains’ (Newsome et al., 2015) has also encouraged greater attention to be paid to the contemporary global economy, while simultaneously prompting a reconsideration of the meaning, status and analytical potential of core labour process concepts and the connections between production, distribution and exchange.

Building on these developments, the aim of the conference is to extend and deepen connections between political economy research and labour process analysis. We encourage papers that seek to develop inter-disciplinary linkages through their empirical, conceptual or theoretical content. We particularly welcome submissions on topics such as:

· Power, subordination and degradation in the contemporary global economy
· The politics of production, productivity and performance management
· Structural imbalances in the global economy and the consequences for labour
· Finance capital and ‘financialisation’
· Institutional dynamics, accumulation and the labour process
· The influence of international and supranational organisations
· Commodification and the role of markets
· Austerity, welfare regimes and the workplace
· Productive and reproductive labour in the global economy
· Global value chains and ‘dimensions’ of labour (e.g. unfree/ forced labour, informal work)
· Technology, ‘robotisation’ and the digital economy
· Time, space, place and the labour process
· Migrant labour, labour markets and the organisation of production
· Connecting Work and Employment in Global South and developing Economies

We also welcome papers related to traditional labour process territories and concerns. Examples include:

· Labour process theory and other critical perspectives of work relations
· Industrial relations, representation and trade union strategies
· New forms of workforce flexibility, insecurity and intensification
· Inequality at work: gender, ethnicity, and class
· Changing skills, knowledge and occupations
· Labour agency and changing forms of resistance
· Labour history

Conference Submissions and Deadlines

Abstracts

All abstracts are externally refereed. Papers must not have been previously published or presented elsewhere. The abstract should contain clear information about the topic, how it is being investigated and the intended contribution to knowledge. Abstracts relating to new empirical  research should contain information about theoretical orientation, findings, methodology and the stage of the research. Abstracts of papers that are concerned solely with theoretical or conceptual matters will need to provide clear information about the nature of the anticipated advance or innovation.

Abstracts should be approx. 500 words. Abstract submission is through the ILPC website (www.ilpc.org.uk <http://www.ilpc.org.uk>). The website will open for submissions on 2nd August 2016.

Abstract Submission Deadline: 21st October 2016

Symposia

Each year, ILPC hosts a number of symposia. The format for a symposium should be roundtable rather than paper-based. If you wish to propose a  symposium, please submit a proposal that includes information about the topic and that explains why a symposium format is appropriate. Please list all of the contributors and provide information about their individual contributions.

Symposia Submission Deadline: 21st October 2016

Stream Proposals

During the past few years, the conference has incorporated a select number of streams into the programme. While there is no intention to become a fully-streamed event, we have found that additional streams have been an important and intellectually stimulating aspect of our conference. This year we welcome stream proposals that reflect the theme of the conference notably ‘Reconnecting Work and Political Economy’

Since streams only represent a portion of our conference, we may not be able to accept all stream proposals. Acceptance of streams is based on a review process in which streams are evaluated based on two main criteria (in addition to the substantive focus of the proposed stream):

•The focus of the stream reflects the overall theme of the conference; and/or treats traditional topics in a novel way.
•The stream will broaden the audience for the conference and attract scholars who may be new to the event.

Stream proposals of approx. 500 words should include:

•Detailed description of the proposed stream (including title and key conveners).
•A discussion of how the stream will address the criteria for inclusion listed above.

If you wish to discuss the possibility of organizing a stream please contact:

Jason Heyes j.heyes@sheffield.ac.uk and/or Kirsty Newsome k.j.newsome@sheffield.ac.uk

Stream Proposal Deadline : 29th July 2016

(via Jason Heyes j.heyes@sheffield.ac.uk and Kirsty Newsome k.j.newsome@sheffield.ac.uk)

PhD workshop

Doctoral students and early career researchers are especially welcome at the ILPC. The 2017 conference will include a pre-conference workshop and dinner, which will provide an opportunity to learn more about the scope and development of labour process research. It will also provide an informal environment in which to share experiences and develop relationships.

The 2017 Organising Team

Thomas Hastings, Jason Heyes, Genevieve LeBaron, Kirsty Newsome
Admin Support: Kelly Walker, Sheffield University Management School

(Email the team via ilpc.admin@ilpc.org.uk)

11th July 2016

Queen Mary CRED (Centre for Research in Equality and Diversity) - Summer Events

Queen Mary CRED (Centre for Research in Equality and Diversity) summer events are taking place on Wednesday 6 July. Do join us!

CRED SUMMER EVENTS – WEDNESDAY 6 JULY

Room 3.40 Bancroft Building, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS

1300-1500 - SEMINARS

Women Work and Care
Dr. Rae Cooper

Associate Dean, Undergraduate Business Associate Professor | Work and Organisational Studies Associate Editor | The Journal of Industrial Relations Deputy Director | The Women and Work Research Group | The University of Sydney Business School

Understanding the shifting boundaries of gendered power in the employment relationship: constraints and opportunities for tackling gender inequality
Dr. Tricia Dawson – Keele University

Tea

1730- 1900 - BOOK LAUNCH

Gender and Sexuality in Male-Dominated Occupations: Women Working in Construction and Transport
Tessa Wright

The launch is hosted by the Centre for Research in Equality and Diversity <http://www.busman.qmul.ac.uk/research/researchcentres/cred/104039.html> and we are delighted to welcome two speakers who will talk about the implications of the book’s findings for women working in the construction and transport sectors:

Kath Moore, Managing Director, Women into Construction CIC
Frances McAndrew, Programme Manager Diversity and Inclusion, Network Rail

Drinks reception.

We hope you will be able to attend. To confirm attendance at the book launch please email Nadia Adigbli: n.adigbli@qmul.ac.uk

11th July 2016

The Third Fairness at Work International Conference

Fairer Futures? Understanding Standards and Practices at Work in a Challenging Global Context

12-13 September 2016
Venue: The Roscoe Building, The University of Manchester

The Fairness at Work Research Centre (FAirWRC) at Alliance Manchester Business School, The University of Manchester is organising this conference with the aim of bringing together academics and practitioners to discuss issues on the subject of fairness at work in what remains a challenging environment, politically and economically. Discussions will centre on how initiatives in terms of good employment practices (e.g. the use of labour standards, trade union responses to change, social movement audits and management interventions) are being influenced or undermined by the current environment. The conference will contribute to our understanding of the challenges facing such initiatives and how organisations are responding to the hostile and uncertain context we live in, especially given highly complex global networks and structures in terms of production and service delivery. The questions of equality, social inclusion, worker participation and worker health and their enforcement are ongoing concerns regardless of the changes taking place.

Plenary speakers include:
Rosemary Batt, ILR School, Cornell University
Madeleine Bunting, Writer, Newspaper Columnist and Broadcaster
Rachel Cohen, Department of Sociology, City University, London
Tony Dundon, Alliance Manchester Business School, The University of Manchester
Damian Grimshaw, Alliance Manchester Business School, The University of Manchester
Salvo Leonardi, Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL), Italy
Richard Saundry, Plymouth Business School, The University of Plymouth
Carol Woodhams, University of Exeter Business School, The University of Exeter

FEES
£180 waged
Day Rate £100
£50 unwaged/students
The conference dinner is included in the price.

REGISTRATION
To register and pay for this conference http://confercare-online.co.uk/browse/extra_info.asp?compid=1&modid=2&deptid=10&catid=13&prodid=26

To view the conference flyer click here http://www.mbsresearch.mbs.ac.uk/fairwrc/Portals/0/FairWRC%20Sept2016%20Event%20A 4%20F.pdf 

Please note that the FairWRC conference is run in conjunction with the Health Services Research Centre. For details see: http://www.research.mbs.ac.uk/hsrc/Portals/0/Users/002/02/2/HSRC_Fairer%20_Futures.pdf

27th June 2016

Reframing Resolution – Innovation and Change in the Management of Workplace Conflict

A one day Work, Organisation and Employment Relations Research Centre (WOERRC) and Acas conference

Sheffield Management School – 11th July 2016

This conference brings together leading academic researchers and practitioners to examine the current trends in workplace conflict and to explore the ways in which organisations are responding to this challenge and seeking new approaches to its management.

The conference will feature a keynote address from Sir Brendan Barber, Chair of Acas and include contributions from a number of leading researchers including: Prof Paul Latreille (Sheffield), Prof Bill Roche (University College Dublin), Prof Peter Urwin (Westminster), Prof Richard Saundry (Plymouth), Prof Greg Bamber (Monash), Dr David Nash (Cardiff) and Dr Ian Ashman and Dr Gemma Wibberley (iROWE).

This event is free - for further information and booking please visit: http://management.sheffield.ac.uk/events/reframing-resolution/

27th June 2016

International Labour Process Conference 2017 - Pre-Call for Papers

‘Reconnecting Work and Political Economy’ - University of Sheffield, 4th-6th April

This is the pre-call for papers for ILPC 2017. As with previous conferences we welcome any topics on Work and Employment broadly defined. In addition, the general theme of the 2017 conference is ‘Reconnecting work and Political Economy’. The turbulence unleashed by the financial crisis of 2008 has led to increased interest in the relationships between work and employment and the wider economy, as reflected in the recent concern with exploring forms and consequences of ‘financialisation’ and efforts to establish links between labour process analysis and the comparative analysis of institutions (Vidal and Hauptmeier, 2014). The growing interest in ‘global value chains’
(Newsome et al., 2015) has also encouraged greater attention to be paid to the contemporary global economy, while simultaneously prompting a reconsideration of the meaning, status and analytical potential of core labour process concepts and the connections between production, distribution and exchange.

Building on these developments, the aim of the conference will be to extend and deepen connections between political economy research and labour process analysis. As well as traditional labour process territory, we encourage papers that seek to develop inter-disciplinary linkages through their empirical, conceptual or theoretical content.

The full call for papers, along with the call for special streams and the dates for submission, to follow shortly. Please consult the ILPC website in early July http://www.ilpc.org.uk/.

If you wish to discuss a possible special stream for next year’s conference please contact Dr Kirsty Newsome, at the University of Sheffield (k.j.newsome@sheffield.ac.uk <k.j.newsome@sheffield.ac.uk>).

Host organisation:

The conference will be hosted jointly by the Work, Organisation and Employment Relations Research Centre (WOERRC) and the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute (SPERI), both at the University of Sheffield.

WOERRC comprises researchers from the Management School and the Faculty of Social Sciences. The aim of the centre is to generate and disseminate high-quality research that has the potential to inform and shape academic debates and influence policy and practice.
https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/woerrc/about

SPERI aims to bring together leading international researchers, policy-makers, journalists and opinion formers to develop new ways of thinking about the economic and political challenges posed for the whole world by the current combination of financial crisis, shifting economic power and environmental threat. http://speri.dept.shef.ac.uk/about/

13th June 2016

Lord Wedderburn Papers

The papers of Bill Wedderburn are now being archived at the Modern Records Centre, Warwick University. See:

https://warwickmrc.wordpress.com/2016/06/09/lord-wedderburn-and-the-european-question/#more-881

Thanks to those BUIRA members who donated. Anyone else wishing to donate (another £3000 would be useful!) should contact Paul Smith at: paulsmithblist@hotmail.co.uk

13th June 2016

Monash Business School Advanced PhD and Research Fellowship

The four-year Advanced PhD and Research Fellowship Program includes a three-year PhD component and one year of post-doctoral employment (subject to the satisfactory completion of PhD study).

Our Advanced PhD program enables you to complete independent research under the guidance of leading academics across one of the school's key research themes. It includes coursework and training skills in addition to the delivery of your major thesis. Our unique fellowship program also guarantees post-doctoral  employment,  enabling you to launch your academic career.

The fellowship includes:

- an annual full-time stipend, currently valued at $30,000 p.a. (2016 rate)
- relocation allowance
- health insurance (up to $10,000 for family cover)
- annual international student fee (currently $28,100 p.a.) for each year that you are enrolled
- post-doctoral employment for a one-year period (subject to the satisfactory completion of PhD study)

This program gives you the opportunity to undertake rigorous research training across one of our three key research areas, explore to some of the world's most pressing intellectual and practical challenges, and launch your research career.

Expressions of interest for 2017 entry into the Advanced PhD program are welcome and can be emailed to buseco-research.degrees@monash.edu. Expressions of interest closing date is 30 June 2016.

Timeline

Please note, if you are also applying for the Monash University Graduate Research Scholarship,​​ you can only apply for the main Monash-wide selection round for admission into the following year. You don't need to submit a separate Expression of Interest form​ for this​. Simply indicate your intention in your original Expression of Interest form and we will assess you separately for this. In the event you are deemed 'eligible to apply' for both Monash Scholarships and the Advanced PhD program,​ we would then ask you to submit one online application to be assessed accordingly. Please take note that your research proposal for this program should align to one of the Monash Business School research themes and formatted according to information in this link .

Other Monash Business School Scholarships

There is no need to apply for the following three scholarships. You will be considered automatically when you apply for a Monash University Graduate Research Scholarship, subject to availability. Learn how to apply for a PhD with Monash Business School here.

The main Monash-wide selection round, opens on 1 June and closes on 31 October each year. A second, annual mid-year round opens on 1 November and closes on 31 May. As with all our scholarship opportunities, eligibility criteria apply.

Remember that you should initiate the process to obtain an invitation not less than four weeks prior to the date on which you expect to submit your application

6th June 2016

BUIRA AGM 2016 papers for consideration

AGM files

1st June 2016

Labour and Development: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue

Date and Venue: Wednesday 1st June, 9.30-5pm, Hugh Aston building, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK

Conveners: Dr. Anita Hammer and Dr. Adam Fishwick

Crisis of contemporary capitalism has put labour, development, class struggles and the state at the centre of analysis both in the Global North and the South. This research workshop brings together scholars across a wide range of academic disciplines, including Anthropology, International Political Economy, Industrial Relations, Labour/Economic Geography and Development Studies, and geographical interests including Latin America to South and South-East Asia to Africa.

Our aim is to explore the question: how can we engage across academic disciplines on existing methodological and theoretical limitations in understanding the role of labour in development?

The four interrelated themes around which the sessions and roundtable are organised include:

•  - Conceptualising forms of resistance
•  - Situating labour and the state
•  - Social reproduction and the household
•  - Informal economies and precarity
• This workshop is a starting point for the establishment of a wider academic network for understanding labour and development with a plan to host a second workshop at the University of Sussex in January 2017.

Speakers:

Matteo Rizzo (SOAS)
Geert de Neve (Sussex)
Amrita Chhachhi (ISS, Hague)
Ben Selwyn (Sussex)
Juanita Elias (Warwick)
Nik Hammer (Leicester)
Alessandra Mezzadri (SOAS)
Tom Chambers (Sussex)
Kevin Gray (Sussex)
Peter Ackers (DMU)
Adam Fishwick (DMU)
Anita Hammer (DMU)

For more information please contact and Anita Hammer, HRM (ahammer@dmu.ac.uk) and Adam Fishwick, PoPP (adam.fishwick@dmu.ac.uk).

To register please e mail Sally Thomas (sathomas@dmu.ac.uk)

30th May 2016

Central London BUIRA Seminar: European integration and the role of trade unions

Dr Torsten Müller, (European Trade Union Institute) Strategies to counter crisis-related attacks on trade union rights and Dr Aristea Koukiadaki (University of Manchester), Continuity and Change in Joint Regulation in Europe: Structural Reforms and Collective Bargaining in Manufacturing

Discussant: Professor Richard Hyman (LSE)

Friday 27 May 2016, 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 C282 (lunch C287)

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

This regular monthly seminar is focussed on European integration and the direction of employment and industrial relations. Torsten Müller from the European Trade Union Institute will provide an overview of strategies by trade union organisations at European and national levels to counter attacks on trade union rights. In his presentation, Torsten will show that attacks on trade union rights are not limited to those countries directly affected by European-level interventions in the context of the misguided EU crisis management, but that - mainly conservative - governments in a range of European countries use the crisis as a pretext for attacks on union rights. Against this backdrop he will show different strategies - legal action, mass demonstrations, political consultation and cross-national coordination - which unions try to cultivate in order to counter these attacks on trade union rights. And Aristea Koukiadaki will discuss the findings from a recently completed research project on the impact of the austerity measures on national systems of collective bargaining in the EU Member States most affected by the crisis.

Torsten Müller has been a senior researcher in the ETUI since 2012, working in the areas of collective bargaining in times of crisis, transnational company-level agreements and the Europeanisation of industrial relations. Before 2012, he was a member of the European and Global Industrial Relations Research Group at the University of Applied Sciences in Fulda / Germany, involved in research projects covering the activities of European Works Councils, the development of international framework agreements and the activities of European and Global Union Federations. He has also worked at the Industrial Relations Research Unit at the University of Warwick and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions in Dublin / Ireland.

Aristea Koukiadaki has been a senior lecturer in employment law in the School of Law at Manchester University since 2014 and is co-editor of A. Koukiadaki, I. Tavora and M. Martinez-Lucio, Joint Regulation and Labour Market Policy in Europe during the Crisis, ETUI, 2016. She was lead investigator on the recent European research project: Social dialogue during the crisis: The impact of industrial relations reforms on collective bargaining in the manufacturing sector. Her research focuses on the empirical study of law and on applied legal and policy analysis, with particular reference to labour market regulation, corporate governance and EU social policy.

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

30th May 2016

Rural Radicalism Conference, Saturday 4th June 2016

This event will take place at: Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge
Helmore 251 (first floor of the Helmore Building on East Road, Cambridge)
10:00am – 4.45pm
Organised by the Labour History Research Unit at Anglia Ruskin University and the Victorian Studies Centre, at Saffron Walden Town Library

East Anglia has a rich but often overlooked history of radicalism and this conference will introduce people to some aspects of this history and provide a focus for a renewed interest in Labour History.

Labour radicalism in East Anglia has taken many different forms, ranging from the struggle by the farm-workers to establish their own trade union and their continuing fight to earn a living wage, to the colourful Christian Socialism of the Thaxted Movement in north-west Essex. These rural struggles were not isolated from the cities but drew on them for support and sometimes inspiration, and in turn their radicalism shaped the nature of the early Labour Party.

During the day, the speakers will not simply describe the events that occurred, but will explore the ways in which people organised and sustained their struggles, often over many years.

There is no charge for attending the Conference, but people wishing to attend are requested to reserve their place by booking with eventbrite, using the link at the foot of this email. There are 50 places available.  Please note that the organisers reserve the right to change the programme without notice

Programme
10:00 - 10:15  Registration

10:15 – 11.00
Town, gown, and farm: the early Labour Party in Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire
Ashley Walsh
This paper will explore the origins of the Labour Party in Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire where early activists sought explicitly to unite disparate forms of political association among light-industrial and railway workers in Cambridge who were traditionally attached to the Liberal Party, various congregations of dissenting Protestants, agricultural labourers, and academics. It will demonstrate how these groups were often difficult to hold together and, as a result, how slow  and sporadic the development of organised Labourism was in a university-oriented market town on the edge of the Fens.

Ashley Walsh is a doctoral student at Downing College, Cambridge, specialising in eighteenth-century British intellectual history. He is also Leader of the Labour Group on Cambridgeshire County Council. Along with Richard Johnson, he wrote 'Camaraderie: One Hundred Years of the Cambridge Labour Party, 1912-2012' to mark the centenary celebrations of the Labour Party in Cambridge.

11:00 – 11:20  Coffee

11:20 – 12:05
Christian Socialism in North-West Essex: A Progress Report
Arthur Burns
This paper discusses Arthur’s Thaxted work, in particular highlighting those issues which have emerged in the course of his research and which remain to be resolved, not least because of their invisibility in the standard accounts of Conrad Noel, the Battle of the Flags and the Thaxted tradition.

Professor Arthur Burns is vice-dean for Education in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at King’s College London and a vice-president of the Royal Historical Society. He has published widely on the history of the Church of England from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries, and is a director of the online Clergy of the Church of England Database 1540-1835. He has also written on nineteenth-century reform and the history of walking. He is currently working on a book on the Christian Socialist tradition in twentieth-century Thaxted.

12:05 – 12:50
Defending place as custom: rural resistance in the early 19th century ‘neighbourhood’.
Dr Katrina Navickas
Rural resistance in early 19th century England was never isolated from the concerns of town dwellers. Indeed, in this period of rapid urbanization, resistance commonly occurred in the ‘neighbourhood’ or ‘edgelands’ of urban areas: places where boundaries were challenged or changed by changing agricultural and industrial economies. This paper explores rural resistance in these areas, especially focusing on the East and North Ridings of Yorkshire, and disputes over enclosure and the Swing riots of the early 1830s. It draws from two ways of thinking about protest and place: first, the early modern historian Andy Wood’s conception of place as custom; second, the geographer Doreen Massey’s conception of protest as a ‘critique of dispossession’. It argues that, even though rural areas may not have been as responsive to national political movements such as Chartism, their protests were not backward-looking or reactionary, but connected to wider critiques of the impact of national economic change.

Dr Katrina Navickas is senior lecturer in history at the University of Hertfordshire. She researches popular protest in 18th and 19th century England, and also has a developing interest in using digital methods in historical research. Her latest book is ‘Protest and the Politics of Space and Place, 1789-1848’, published by Manchester University Press.

12:50 – 14:00  Lunch

14:00 – 14.35
Strike and Lockout: the formation of the agricultural labourers’ union in south Cambridgeshire and north-west Essex, 1872-1874.
Martyn Everett
“The most striking labour advance of the year 1872 was to be the work, not of the town artisans, but the farm labourers; was to come not from the great centres of industry, but from the villages where squire and farmer looked invincible in their absolute dominion over the seemingly helpless, servile, and spiritless rural poor.” (Reg Groves: ‘Sharpen the Sickle!’).

Martyn Everett was formerly a librarian, and is the author of several books.  He is also a member of Unite Community Union.

14:35 – 15:10

The Burston School Strike – 100 years of Village Revolt
Shaun Jeffery
On April 1st 1914 the school children of the Norfolk village of Burston went out ‘on strike’ in support of their teachers who were being victimised from their employment by the local school managers and Parson. Tom and Annie Higdon had arrived in Burston after being forced into take a transfer from their previous posting because of Tom’s organising of the local agricultural labourers’. But rather than that outcome being repeated, the day marked the beginning of what would become known as the Longest Strike in History.

Shaun Jeffery is a horticulture worker; a member of Unite’s Food, Drink & Agriculture Region and National Committee’s, Secretary of the Burston Strike School Museum Trustees and one of the Strike School Rally organisers.

15:15  - 15:35 Coffee

15:35 – 16:20
Labour and the villages: South Norfolk 1872-1924.
Alun Howkins
In 1921 at a by-election Labour won its first truly rural seat - South Norfolk. They lost it at the general election of 1922 and won it again in 1924. This paper will examine the long-term background to that victory in the history of rural radicalism and trades unionism in the county.

Alun Howkins is Honorary Professor in the School of History at the University of East Anglia. He is also Professor Emeritus at the University of Sussex where he taught for many years. He started life as a farm worker and his first book Poor Labouring Men was on rural radicalism in Norfolk.

16:20 – 16:45 Closing discussion – where next for rural labour history?

There is no charge to attend the conference but people are requested to book in advance via Eventbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/rural-radicalism-tickets-25314321818#tickets

30th May 2016

The EU Referendum - issues for trade unionists

Friday, 3rd June, 2016, 2pm-5pm

Venue:

Room M207, Marylebone Campus, University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS
(opposite Madame Tussauds and diagonally opposite Baker Street tube)

Introduction and welcome
Professor Linda Clarke, University of Westminster
Dr Steve French Keele University

Professor Michael Gold, Royal Holloway
European Union Social Policy – what does it provide and what are the implications of Brexit options?

Gabriele Bischoff - DGB and President of the Workers’ Group European Economic and Social Committee
The EU Referendum – A European trade union perspective

John Hilary - War on Want
Free Trade Agreements and TTIP – the implications for the UK in or outside the European Union                                                                             

Tony Burke, Assistant General Secretary Unite
The implications for manufacturing and employment rights of Brexit – a trade union perspective

Buffet lunch and refreshments available from 1.30pm, Drinks at 5pm at the end.

The event is free and open to anyone interested in the EU Referendum

For further details about the ESRC series see: http://ukandeu.ac.uk/

If you would like to attend, please contact:

Linda Clarke: clarkel@wmin.ac.uk or Steve French: s.r.french@keele.ac.uk

30th May 2016

Truth for Giulio

BUIRA members will be aware of the death by torture in Cairo in January of Giulio Regeni, an Italian PhD student studying at Cambridge. He was  engaged in research on independent trade unions in Egypt. The campaign to establish the truth behind his murder is very active and has already been successful in putting diplomatic pressure on the Egyptian government and in providing encouragement to the beleaguered supporters of academic and trade union freedom within Egypt. If you have not already done so, you can help by signing and encouraging others to sign the petition: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/120832

More background can be found on:
http://www.egyptsolidarityinitiative.org/justice-for-giulio

16th May 2016

VC2020 Lectureship in the Dept of HRM, De Montfort University

The Dept of HRM at De Montfort University is currently advertising a Vice-Chancellor’s 2020 Lectureship. The successful candidate will join our research group CROWE , and will benefit from a 50 per cent time allowance for research in their first year. Details can be found at the link below.

http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/ANO212/lecturer-in-human-resource-management-vc2020/

9th May 2016

Chair in Human Resources Management

Chair in Human Resources Management

Leeds University Business School is enjoying a rapidly growing international reputation. The School now seeks to enhance its quality through a professorial appointment in the Work and Employment Relations Division. The Chair appointment will have a specialism in the area of HRM, to build on the established research expertise in the group in this discipline. We welcome applicants with expertise/specialisms in any area of HRM, including international and comparative HRM and emerging areas of research such as HR data analytics.  Leeds University Business School places a premium on international levels of scholarship and research excellence and you will be expected to provide leadership to academic colleagues in the Work and Employment Relations Division and the Centre for Employment Relations Innovation and Change (CERIC). You will join one of the leading centres in HRM and Employment Relations in the UK, and will be part of a vibrant group of leading international scholars. 

The person appointed will:
- deliver research-led education that contributes to an exceptional student experience;
- deliver top quality research outputs that contribute to impact and innovation;
- expect to take on a significant leadership role in the organisation, including Head of Group.

Preliminary enquiries about the post may be made to:
Professor Irena Grugulis, Head of Division
Telephone: +44 (0)113 343 4479
E-mail: i.grugulis@leeds.ac.uk

The salary, which is negotiable, will be within the Professorial range - minimum £60,512 p.a.

9th May 2016

Future direction of BUIRA: make sure you are able to vote

The BUIRA executive met yesterday to discuss the future direction of BUIRA. This meeting followed the analysis of the recent survey of BUIRA members. We will shortly be writing to all BUIRA members about a number of issues relating to the operation of the Association and will be inviting members to vote on a series of options. These will include things like employing a part time administrator, membership fees, the name of the organization (among other things).

In order to take part in this decision-making you will need to be a fully paid up member of BUIRA and on our new online membership system. While 225 people have transferred over to the on-line membership via the website a similar number have not. It is not practical for us to run two systems so if you have not yet gone to the BUIRA website and registered your membership then you will need to do so now.

I realise that some of you are still paying by standing order – but you need to change this and join via the website so you can be recognised as a member and able to vote on the proposed changes.

These are the instructions – it only takes a couple of minutes and will be much appreciated.

You will now need to join or renew your membership here http://buira.net/membership

Now we have switched over to this membership system you will be required to pay your annual membership (£40 full, or £20 PhD or associate member e.g. practitioner or trade unionist) just once on line - after this payment, your membership will automatically be deducted on an annual basis (unless you cancel it).

Please, though, make sure you cancel your annual standing order - unless, of course, you want to make an annual donation to BUIRA, which would be very welcome!

2nd May 2016

Best Doctoral Student Paper Award sponsored by the British Journal of Industrial Relations

Wiley, the publisher of the British Journal of Industrial Relations, have kindly agreed to sponsor a £250 prize for the best written conference paper at the 2016 BUIRA annual conference.

This award is BUIRA’s distinction given to the best doctoral student paper presented at the annual BUIRA conference. Following acceptance of an initial abstract, doctoral students are invited to submit papers ahead of conference that proceed through a blind review process to determine the winner of the competition. The award is typically accompanied by a £250 prize. The recipient is invited to receive the award at the BUIRA conference dinner held during the annual conference.

Doctoral students interested in submitting a paper for this award must have had a paper accepted for presentation at the annual conference and must be a fully paid-up student member of BUIRA.

To be considered for the award:

• Papers must be sole authored;

Papers should be no longer than 4,000 words, not including references, abstract and appendices. They should be in 12 point font, double spaced with page numbers at the bottom of each page

Papers should begin with a cover page containing the title and an abstract of no more than 200 words outlining the purpose of the paper, the methods used and the main conclusion/ argument

Papers can be empirical or theoretical and can cover any general area of employment relations. They should be structured in an appropriate way (see below)

Papers should, in general, be clearly structured and contain:

Introduction – that sets out the focus of the paper, its relevance and key research questions

Review – a review of key background literature, the limitations of current debate and the rationale and contribution of the paper (theoretical and historical essays will tend to be structured as an extended review)

Methods – an account of the methods used, why such methods were appropriate and how data were collated and analysed. Quantitative papers should make it clear what techniques were used and set out key measures and variables (dependent, independent, controls etc)

Findings – should analyse relevant data in a way that clearly seeks to address the main research questions/ themes of the paper. Where interview quotations are used they should follow recognised conventions. Likewise, quantitative data should be reported in an appropriate tabular format and include key tests of significance.

Discussion and conclusions – this section should draw together the main findings of the paper and relate them back to the key questions animating the paper and how this contributes to wider debate (the conclusion should not simply summarise the findings)

References – to be presented in Harvard format.

The deadline for the submission of papers is: 1 June 2016

Papers should be sent to: Jane Holgate j.holgate@leeds.ac.uk

Previous recipients of the Best Doctoral Student Paper Award

2015 – Simon Joyce; Eleanor Kirk

Review Committee for Best Doctoral Student Paper Award

All papers will be blind reviewed by all members of the committee.

Professor Michael Gold (Royal Holloway); Professor Christopher Forde (Leeds); Danat Valizade (Leeds)

2nd May 2016

Doctoral research workshop on research quality, research productivity and inductive methodology

Attention: Doctoral candidates in IR, OB and HR. 

The second annual doctoral research workshop on "research quality, research productivity and inductive methodology" (also called the  doctoral "sweatshop")  is being organized at the LSE this summer. It is free, and doctoral students only pay something small for accommodation and food.  

More details regarding the July workshop, including timing, costs, syllabus, and feedback from last years participants can be found here:

www.lse.ac.uk/management/programmes/phd/2nd-Annual-Doctoral-Sweatshop.aspx  

Space is limited, so interested students should sign up quickly

2nd May 2016

BUIRA conference 2016 Leeds 29 June to 1 July

The focus of this year’s conference is on the prospects and opportunities for employment relations as we approach 2020.The year 2020 has been used by policy makers, academics and commentators on work and employment relations as a basis for reflection, measurement and assessment. At EU level, 2020 is the point at which many of the neo-liberal informed agenda around change and growth are expected to reach fruition.

For many, 2020 will be seen as a point at which an assessment of the consequences and permanent legacies of austerity regimes and restructuring can reasonably take place. In the UK, 2020 will see the next general election, with the first three months of the current Conservative government having already had a profound impact on the regulation of employment, work and welfare.

We have a fantastic programme this year including three plenaries with a set of great speakers:

Organising v mobilizing and the Fight for $15 Professor Tony Royle, Dr Jane McAlevey, Martin Smith, GMB

Current issues in Chinese industrial relations Dr Jenny Chan, Professor Sarosh Kuruvilla, Professor William Brown

Who pays the living wage? Environmental, organisational and individual considerations Professor Jane Parker, Professor Ed Heery, Professor Damian Grimshaw

The full timetable will be on the web shortly and you can register for the conference here

2nd May 2016

Invite to attend an ESRC seminar on Labour Market Regulation in the Post-Crisis Era

Venue: Halifax Hall, University of Sheffield: www.halifaxhall.co.uk.

Date: 5th May 2016

Papers

Thomas Hastings (Sheffield) and Jason Heyes (Sheffield), Varieties of Regulation: Concepts, Policy and Practice
Darryl Dixon (GLA), An Overview of How the Role of the GLA and the Regulatory Environment of the UK are Changing
John Hurley (Eurofound), Labour Market Regulation in the EU Post-Crisis: An Overview
Nicola Countouris (UCL), Between the Rock and the Hard Place: EPL in Europe after the Crisis
Ian Clark (Leicester) and Trevor Colling (Kings), Informal Migrant Employment in Hand Car Washes in Leicester
Nikolaus Hammer (Leicester), Privatising Workplace Regulation in UK Value Chains
Michael Brookes (Newcastle), Phil James (Middlesex) and Marian Rizov (Lincoln), Employment Regulation and Productivity: Is There a Case for Deregulation?
Paul Latreille (Sheffield) and Rob Wapshott (Sheffield), Formal Legal Requirements in the Context of Informal Employment Relations

Attendance is open to all, but registration is required.
To register please contact Sam Warner: SJW160@student.bham.ac.uk
Further information can be found at http://management.sheffield.ac.uk/events/labour-market-regulation-in-the-post-crisis-era/

Refreshments will be provided. There will be a dinner after the event and there is some financial support available for PhD students to attend.

Aims of the seminar

The economies of the European Union continue to be affected by the aftermath of the financial crisis that began in 2007-08. In many countries unemployment remains above its pre-crisis level and economic growth is weak. The search for a solution to sluggish economic performance and persistently high unemployment has led European governments to implement labour market reforms, many of which have involved a weakening of employment protection legislation (EPL) and looser constraints on the use of temporary employment contracts. Casual forms of employment have proliferated. The coverage and enforcement of employment rights have also been affected. Austerity has resulted in some labour inspectorates experiencing budget cuts, encouraging a tighter focusing of enforcement activity and potential a narrowing of the effective coverage of regulation, yet the simultaneous growth of casualization, informality and more complex supply chains imply a need for the scope of regulation to be expanded. How might this be achieved?
The aim of this seminar is to take stock of post-crisis developments in labour regulation, focusing on the UK and the wider EU. The seminar will discuss labour legislation, the relative legal status of regular, temporary and informal workers, and changes affecting enforcement mechanisms. The issues that the seminar will address include:
•       How have regulatory challenges changed since the crisis? What are the new challenges?
•       How have changes in employment legislation and its enforcement altered labour market outcomes and conditions of work? Has weaker EPL improved the position of labour market ‘outsiders’?
•       How might employment protections be better designed and enforced? Where are the regulatory pressure points and who should apply the pressure? What role should government agencies, employers, unions and NGOs play?
•       Can contractual flexibility and employment security be simultaneously achieved?
•       What are the drivers of post-crisis regulatory change?
•       What roles do ideas, interests, power and economics play in the development of regulation?

2nd May 2016

Critical friendship in employment relations research

Date: June 28-29, 2016

Venue: University of Leeds

This year BUIRA organises a pre-conference PhD session, which will take place in Leeds, June 28-29 2016 (a day prior to the BUIRA Annual Conference). The session is an exercise in critical friendship where all participants circulate a piece of written work three weeks before the session. This is a unique opportunity to get to know fellow PhD students, exercise critical thinking and receive constructive feedback to your ideas.   

The deadline for submission of written work is FRIDAY 3^rd JUNE 2016.

Please submit via e-mail: buiraphd@outlook.com

The session will be led by Professor Melanie Simms (University of Leicester), Editor in Chief ‘Work Employment and Society’.

Outline of the session

The piece of written work does NOT have to be a full conference paper (submissions can be as short as the participant wishes). It can be a section of a chapter, a draft paper or any document you want to discuss with peers.

There are three main objectives:

• To provide a forum for PhD students to receive feedback on their ideas no matter where they are in the project.
• To develop the skills, culture and practice of critical friendship within BUIRA.
• To provide a forum for discussion significantly different from usual conference papers.

Participants - including facilitators - will submit a piece of written work before the session.

The process will be co-ordinated by facilitators so we will have to have participants' names and email addresses as soon as possible. The number of facilitators will depend on the number of participants. We aim for a ratio of approximately 1:7. Written work is NOT anonymised nor peer reviewed for acceptance. The only requirement for participating in the session is that someone is a PhD student in the broad area of industrial relations and intends to participate in the wider conference. All written work is collated a circulated to all participants at least 3 weeks prior to the event along with guidance for principles of critical friendship in this document. All participants must read all written submissions in advance of the session and prepare feedback in line with the principles of critical friendship.

Each piece of submitted work is then discussed by the group and feedback is given. This can range from questions about the premise of the argument, suggestions for improvement and development, etc. Principles of respect and support are agreed in advance and it is the responsibility of all to ensure they are upheld.

For more details please e-mail buiraphd@outlook.com

2nd May 2016

Historical Studies in Industrial Relations

Copy (110,000 words) for the 2016 edition of HSIR has been sent to the publishers, Liverpool University Press, and will be available in September. It contains a wide range of articles, including one on the Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act 1927, one of the inspirations for the Conservative government’s Trade Union bill at present going through the parliamentary process.

HSIR has published numerous articles on the history of labour law and industrial disputes. We would welcome submissions on employers, employers’ associations, employers’ structure and policy, and the management of labour (including the development of ‘human resource management’), and on ethnic workers.

Submissions for the 2017 edition should be sent to: paulsmithblist@hotmail.co.uk

See: http://online.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/loi/hsir

25th April 2016

WORK AND EMPLOYMENT RESEARCH UNIT - PUBLIC SECTOR PAY AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS UNDER THE CONSERVATIVES

Date: Wednesday 27 April, 2016
Time: 1pm – 5pm
Location: Room HH102, Hamilton House, 15 Park Vista, Greenwich, London SE10 9LZ. Telephone: +44 20 8331 9083 E-mail: i3centre@gre.ac.uk

The next University of Greenwich Work and Employment Research Unit (WERU) Seminar is a symposium on public sector pay and industrial relations under the Conservatives. Public sector pay has been constrained under a strict pay policy since 2010 and there have also been changes to payment systems and proposals for changes to working practices. Some changes have been imposed, some have been negotiated and others have been kicked into the long grass. This seminar will seek to focus on what has changed and what has not. It will consider the emergence of skill shortages, the growth of agency working and changes to pay progression. It will look at the state of the Pay Review Body system and at collective bargaining. The landscape of pay and industrial relations in the public sector has changed dramatically since 2010, but an assessment of the outcome so far is long overdue. We intend this seminar to help in developing an assessment.

We are delighted to have the following speakers: Nicola Allison (Office for Manpower Economics), Josie Irwin (Royal College of Nursing), Heather Wakefield (Unison), David Powell (National Union of Teachers) and Alastair Hatchett (Visiting Research Fellow, Greenwich).

THE PAY REVIEW BODY SYSTEM

Nicola Allison’s presentation will address the main issues currently facing the pay review bodies in the light of the ongoing 1% public sector pay policy. Nicola Allison is the Remuneration Specialist at the Office for Manpower Economics (OME). The OME provides an independent secretariat to eight Pay Review Bodies which make recommendations covering 2.5 million workers - around 45% of public sector staff - and a pay bill of £100 billion. These include the NHS, teachers, the armed forces, prisons and the police. In making recommendations, review bodies need to consider the need to recruit, retain and motivate suitably able and qualified people, and the financial circumstances of the government

THE NHS

Josie Irwin’s presentation will take stock of developments in NHS pay and terms and conditions since the economic crash in 2008/9, including the brief foray into regional/local pay in 2012. She will assess the challenges presented for NHS pay determination structures (the NHS Pay Review Body) and any pay, terms and conditions reform/improvement by ongoing pay constraint, a poor industrial relations climate dominated by the dispute over the junior doctors contract and Government concerns to address progression and 'old fashioned' arrangements for compensation unsocial hours. She will set out the staff side's priorities for reform and assess progress in finding a basis for agreement with the employers.

Josie Irwin has been Head of Employment Relations for the Royal College of Nursing since 2004. Josie is the RCN’s lead negotiator. She is also national Staff Side Secretary of the NHS Staff Council, responsible for the pay terms and conditions of 1.3m staff in the NHS. The RCN is the largest professional union for nursing in the UK, representing 430, 000 nurses, health care assistants and nursing students, both in the NHS and the private sector.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Heather Wakefield (Unison) will cover the impact of austerity policies on the local government workforce. She will cover the profile of the workforce, local government’s position in in the public sector pay 'league', the policy and financial context of bargaining in local government, the impact of the National Living Wage, the development of 'localism' in pay structures and maintaining equal pay in a climate of cuts.

Heather Wakefield is the Head of the Local Government, Police and Justice section at UNISON. She is the lead negotiator and Trade Union Side Secretary of the NJC for Local Government Services, which covers 1.3 million local authority employees and was a member of the Low Pay Commission for nine years.

SCHOOL TEACHING

David Powell (NUT) will cover the real picture on pay for teachers: the NUT response to the Government's attempts to undermine the national pay system for teachers in England and Wales by imposing of PRP and increasing school powers on pay levels and pay progression.

David Powell works at the National Union of Teachers with responsibilities including pay, negotiations and education funding. Originally from Stockton-on-Tees, David read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at New College, Oxford. He worked as a civil servant prior to joining the NUT in 1993.

OVERVIEW

Alastair Hatchett (University of Greenwich) will provide an introductory overview of policy and outcomes. Alastair Hatchett is a visiting research fellow in the Business School and was previously Head of Pay at the major pay research organisation, Incomes Data Services (IDS) (now IDR).

Further details from Professor Geoff White on wg08@gre.ac.uk To register please reply to this email (BusinessEvents@greenwich.ac.uk) with your name, organisation name and any special dietary requirements.

25th April 2016

ESRC Seminar: Labour Market Regulation in the Post(?)-Crisis Landscape, University of Sheffield - May 5, 2016

The economies of the European Union continue to be affected by the aftermath of the financial crisis that began in 2007/8. In many countries unemployment remains above its pre-crisis level and economic growth is weak. The search for a solution to sluggish economic performance and persistently high unemployment has led European governments to implement labour market reforms, many of which have involved a weakening of employment protection legislation (EPL) and looser constraints on the use of temporary employment contracts. Casual forms of employment have proliferated. The coverage and enforcement of employment rights have also been affected. Austerity has resulted in some labour inspectorates experiencing budget cuts, encouraging a tighter focusing of enforcement activity and potential a narrowing of the effective coverage of regulation, yet the simultaneous growth of casualization, informality and more complex supply chains imply a need for the scope of regulation to be expanded. How might this be achieved?

The aim of this seminar is to take stock of post-crisis developments in labour regulation, focusing on the UK and the wider EU. The seminar will discuss labour legislation, the relative legal status of regular, temporary and informal workers, and changes affecting enforcement mechanisms. The issues that the seminar will address include:

• How have regulatory challenges changed since the crisis?
• What are the new challenges?
• How have changes in employment legislation and its enforcement altered labour market outcomes and conditions of work?
• Has weaker EPL improved the position of labour market ‘outsiders’?
• How might employment protections be better designed and enforced?
• Where are the regulatory pressure points and who should apply the pressure?
• What role should government agencies, employers, unions and NGOs play?
• Can contractual flexibility and employment security be simultaneously achieved?
• What are the drivers of post-crisis regulatory change?
• What roles do ideas, interests, power and economics play in the development of regulation?

Confirmed participants include:

• Jason Heyes and Tom Hastings
• Nicola Countouris
• Michael Brookes, Phil James and Marian Rizov  
• Ian Clark and Trevor Colling
• Robert Wapshott and Paul Latreille
• Nikolaus Hammer
• John Hurley - Eurofound

Attendence is open to all, although please register in advance. Email Sam Warner:SJW160@student.bham.ac.uk

25th April 2016

Oral Labour History: Its Value for Trade Unions - The “Winter of Discontent” 1978/9

SYMPOSIUM

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

Saturday 14 May 2016 11am-4.45pm

Diskus Centre, Unite the Union, 128 Theobald’s Road, London WC1X 8TN

If you would like to attend, please contact Michael Gold (m.gold@rhul.ac.uk) or Linda Clarke (clarkel@wmin.ac.uk)

‘Until lions have their historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunters’

African Proverb

Once again the Britain at Work (B@W) group is organising an Oral Labour History Day. This year’s theme is the significance of oral history for trade unions focussing particularly on the so-called “Winter of Discontent” of 1978/9.

The day will begin with an opening address by Rodney Bickerstaffe, former General Secretary of Unison, followed by round table introductions on projects in which symposium participants are involved. After lunch, a real time interview will be conducted with a trade unionist involved in the struggles of that momentous period, and journalist and former BBC political and industrial correspondent Nick Jones will review the media coverage, followed by a panel discussion. All those engaged in or with an interest in oral labour history, and particularly trade unionists, are welcome to participate.

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). Working life as experienced during the half-century 1945-1995 was marked by extreme diversity and change, and by the growth of trade union organisation and influence to a high point in the mid-1970s the so-called ‘Winter of Discontent’.

21st April 2016

Central London BUIRA Seminar: European integration and the role of trade unions

Dr Torsten Müller, (European Trade Union Institute) Strategies to counter crisis-related attacks on trade union rights and Dr Aristea Koukiadaki (University of Manchester), Continuity and Change in Joint Regulation in Europe: Structural Reforms and Collective Bargaining in Manufacturing

Discussant: Professor Richard Hyman (LSE)

Friday 27 May 2016, 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 C282 (lunch C287)

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

This regular monthly seminar is focussed on European integration and the direction of employment and industrial relations. Torsten Müller from the European Trade Union Institute will provide an overview of strategies by trade union organisations at European and national levels to counter attacks on trade union rights. In his presentation, Torsten will show that attacks on trade union rights are not limited to those countries directly affected by European-level interventions in the context of the misguided EU crisis management, but that - mainly conservative - governments in a range of European countries use the crisis as a pretext for attacks on union rights. Against this backdrop he will show different strategies - legal action, mass demonstrations, political consultation and cross-national coordination - which unions try to cultivate in order to counter these attacks on trade union rights. And Aristea Koukiadaki will discuss the findings from a recently completed research project on the impact of the austerity measures on national systems of collective bargaining in the EU Member States most affected by the crisis.

Torsten Müller has been a senior researcher in the ETUI since 2012, working in the areas of collective bargaining in times of crisis, transnational company-level agreements and the Europeanisation of industrial relations. Before 2012, he was a member of the European and Global Industrial Relations Research Group at the University of Applied Sciences in Fulda / Germany, involved in research projects covering the activities of European Works Councils, the development of international framework agreements and the activities of European and Global Union Federations. He has also worked at the Industrial Relations Research Unit at the University of Warwick and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions in Dublin / Ireland.

Aristea Koukiadaki has been a senior lecturer in employment law in the School of Law at Manchester University since 2014 and is co-editor of A. Koukiadaki, I. Tavora and M. Martinez-Lucio, Joint Regulation and Labour Market Policy in Europe during the Crisis, ETUI, 2016. She was lead investigator on the recent European research project: Social dialogue during the crisis: The impact of industrial relations reforms on collective bargaining in the manufacturing sector. Her research focuses on the empirical study of law and on applied legal and policy analysis, with particular reference to labour market regulation, corporate governance and EU social policy.

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

21st April 2016

Central London BUIRA Seminar: European integration, free movement and migration

Prof Bernard Ryan (University of Leicester) on EU migration and regulation in the UK labour market and Dr Eugenia Markova (University of Brighton) The impact of migration regulations on third-country nationals

Room M303 (lunch M304)

Friday 29 April 2016, 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 M303 (lunch M304)

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

This regular monthly seminar is focussed on the roles of migration and free movement in European integration, an area critical to understanding the direction of employment and industrial relations. Bernard Ryan from the University of Leicester will discuss the impact of EU labour migration and regulation, whilst Eugenia Markova from the University of Brighton will draw on a recently completed empirical study of the transnational mobility and integration patterns of Bosnians-Herzegovinians, Ukrainians, Filipinos and Indians in the UK to discuss the impact of migration regulations on third-country nationals.

Bernard Ryan has been Professor of Migration Law at the University of Leicester since 2013 and is co-chair of the Migration and Law Network, which aims to promote the field of migration law in British universities. His research has focused on; the inter-relationship of labour migration and the law; international law relating to migration; the legal framework relating to irregular migration; and the implications of diversity for migration law and policy. He is editor of Labour Migration in Hard Times: Reforming Labour Market Regulation?, published by the Institute of Employment Rights. 

Eugenia Markova is Senior Lecturer in Economics at the Brighton Business School, University of Brighton, UK. She has an extensive research, consultancy and publication record on the economic and social aspects of labour migration, having covered the UK, Greece, Bulgaria and Spain. Most recently she investigated and coordinated the UK part of the EU-funded study ITHACA: Integration, Transnational Mobility and, Economic and Social Capital Transfers. Her publications include (with S. McKay and A. Paraskevopoulou (2011) Undocumented workers’ transitions – legal status, migration and work in Europe, London: Routledge.

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

21st April 2016

Manchester Industrial Relations Society Meeting - Shirley Lerner Memorial Lecture

One Year On – Employment Relations under the Conservative Government

Speaker: Professor Melanie Simms

School of Management, University of Leicester

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

Thursday 28 April 6pm
Lecture Theatre LT35, Ground Floor
Manchester Metropolitan University Business School
All Saints, Oxford Road, Manchester M15 6BH
Map:  http://www.mmu.ac.uk/travel/allsaints/

The year since the General Election in May 2015 has seen a series of important proposals to reform industrial relations in the UK. This lecture will reflect on the central developments, locating them in historical context and discussing likely future implications.

This presentation will be structured around three key themes. First, proposed changes to the regulation of collective representation at work through the proposed Trade Union Bill, and also the decision to confront the British Medical Association (BMA) with the imposition of a new contract for junior doctors. Second, the focus on the regulation of low pay through changing regulation around the National Minimum Wage; of particular interest here are proposals for future wage setting mechanisms. Finally, the lecture will highlight changes to youth employment policy including the introduction of a long-awaited Apprenticeship Levy.

Taken together, these three areas signal a significant change of direction in UK employment policy, although the outcomes are likely to be highly variable across sectors, occupations and regions.  

For further details of the Manchester Industrial Relations Society contact:
Professor Ralph Darlington: email: r.r.darlington@salford.ac.uk phone: 0161-295-5456
Manchester Industrial Relations Society website: www.mirs.org.uk
Twitter: @ManchesterIRS

21st April 2016

Scholarships available - Monash University

A number of PhD scholarships are available at Monash Business School, Melbourne, Australia:

http://business.monash.edu/programs/research-degrees/scholarships

21st April 2016

ESRC Seminar Series: Migrants, Workplace and Community: Learning from Innovations in Civil Society

SEMINAR 2: New forms of organizing and self-organizing of migrant workers across community and workplace. Lessons from the US, Europe and the Global South

This seminar will consider international approaches to community based organising in order to understand how different methodologies are applied to best effect in drawing in new groups of workers.

Thursday 23 June 2016: 10am-6pm

University of Leeds Business School, Meadows Teaching Room 2, Leeds, LS2 9JT

NOTE: places are limited Please register: http://tinyurl.com/jh4t9ey

Programme

10.15: Coffee and registration

10.30: Welcome

10.45-11.45: Dr Jenny Chen: Learning for jobs: student workers in China enforcing labour

11.45-12.45: Professor Jane Wills: The strengths and weaknesses of community organising in relation to labour: lessons from the living wage campaign in London and beyond

12.45-1.45: Lunch

1.45-2.45: Dr Janice Fine: Standards in partnership with civil society: can co-production succeed where the state alone has failed?    

2.45-3.45: Dr Jane McAlevey: Building high participation organizations: whole worker organizing.

3.45-4pm: Coffee

4pm-5pm: Carlos Saavedra: Movement building and community organizing in the US migrant rights movements.

5pm-6pm: Discussion

6pm: Drinks and dinner 

15th April 2016

Wage bargaining event - London - 26th April

15th April 2016

Please register now for BUIRA conference 2016

15th April 2016

2016 BUIRA Survey closing date on Friday 15 April

To all BUIRA members,

A reminder to you to take the time to complete our survey of BUIRA members. We have had a good response to far, and we encourage all members to give their views on the development of BUIRA by completing the survey by the end of this week (15 April 2016).  Following recommendations at the 2015 BUIRA conference, and discussion amongst the BUIRA Executive, the survey is designed to find out more about members’ perceptions of BUIRA, and the activities that BUIRA undertakes. Our aim is to find out more about what members want from BUIRA. The results from the survey will help to inform the development of BUIRA activities over the coming years. The survey will take approximately 20 minutes to complete, and is anonymous. The results from the survey will be distributed, in summary form, to all BUIRA members, and reported at the BUIRA AGM at conference in June 2016.

To access the survey, please click on the link below, or cut and paste it into your browser.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/RR8M226

13th April 2016

Third Fairness at Work Conference 'Fairer Futures? Understanding Standards and Practices at Work in a Challenging Global Context’, 12th & 13th September 2016 Call for Papers

Fairness at Work Research Centre - The University of Manchester

The conference aims to bring together academics and practitioners to discuss issues on the subject of fairness  at work in what remains a challenging  environment politically and economically. Discussions will centre on how initiatives in terms of good employment practices (e.g. the use of labour standards, trade union responses to change, social movement audits and management interventions) are being influenced or undermined by the current environment. The conference will contribute to our understanding of the challenges facing such initiatives and how organisations are responding to the hostile and uncertain context we live   in,   especially   given   highly   complex   global   networks   and   structures   in   terms   of
production   and   service   delivery.   The   questions   of   equality,   social   inclusion,   worker participation and worker health – and their enforcement – are ongoing concerns regardless of the changes taking place.

Papers are invited on these developments, and on fairness at work issues more broadly, in the areas of diversity and equality, stress and wellbeing, dignity at work, labour and employment relations, technology and work, and key elements of employment relations such as pay, pensions and working time, and the link between human rights and employment rights.

Venue: The University of Manchester
Cost: £180 Waged (£50 unwaged) (includes lunch and conference meal)
Please Send 500 word abstracts or 1000 words for sessions by May 5th 2016 to fairwrcconferences@mbs.ac.uk

11th April 2016

Precarious work, causes, consequences and counter-measures. - Manchester

The event is free and includes lunch on both days, and dinner on the Thursday. The link to register is here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/precarious-work-causes-consequences-and-counter-measures-tickets-21449570242

21st-22nd April

There will be papers from Manchester colleagues as well as a range of invited speakers, and a policy roundtable at the end of the first day (Thursday 21st).

Please note the cutoff for registration with dinner is 15th April as we have to notfy the restaurant of final numbers.

11th April 2016

Industrial Relations in Europe Conference (IREC), Izmir, 8-9 September 2016

The deadline for submitting abstracts is now extended until 18th May.

For details, visit the conference website: http://www.ieu.edu.tr/irec2016/index.php/home/

11th April 2016

Doctoral Workshop - London School of Economics

Dear Colleagues,

I wanted to bring your attention to the second annual doctoral "sweatshop" on research quality, research productivity and inductive methodology. We did this one last year and it was quite successful (the feedback on that one is posted on the web link below). I am offering it again this year in July, and LSE will sponsor it. It is a one week, residential, intensive program that is offered completely free of tuition, and students will only pay for accomodation (which is quite minimal). LIke last year, we have places for 20 doctoral students, and we will select such that we have a group from diverse academic institutions in the UK and Europe. Thus, we will select on a first come-first served basis, but also limit it to two candidtes from each institution.

All relevant details, including time, registration, syllabi, format, etc can be seen at the URL below. Please also feel free to share it amongst your networks, and BUIRA.

www.lse.ac.uk/management/programmes/phd/2nd-Annual-Doctoral-Sweatshop.aspx

Regards,

Sarosh Kuruvilla
Cornell and LSE

11th April 2016

ESRC Seminar: Labour Market Regulation in the Post(?)-Crisis Landscape, University of Sheffield - May 5, 2016

The economies of the European Union continue to be affected by the aftermath of the financial crisis that began in 2007/8. In many countries unemployment remains above its pre-crisis level and economic growth is weak. The search for a solution to sluggish economic performance and persistently high unemployment has led European governments to implement labour market reforms, many of which have involved a weakening of employment protection legislation (EPL) and looser constraints on the use of temporary employment contracts. Casual forms of employment have proliferated. The coverage and enforcement of employment rights have also been affected. Austerity has resulted in some labour inspectorates experiencing budget cuts, encouraging a tighter focusing of enforcement activity and potential a narrowing of the effective coverage of regulation, yet the simultaneous growth of casualization, informality and more complex supply chains imply a need for the scope of regulation to be expanded. How might this be achieved?

The aim of this seminar is to take stock of post-crisis developments in labour regulation, focusing on the UK and the wider EU. The seminar will discuss labour legislation, the relative legal status of regular, temporary and informal workers, and changes affecting enforcement mechanisms. The issues that the seminar will address include:

• How have regulatory challenges changed since the crisis? What are the new challenges?

• How have changes in employment legislation and its enforcement altered labour market outcomes and conditions of work?

• Has weaker EPL improved the position of labour market ‘outsiders’?

• How might employment pr…

Confirmed participants include:

    • Jason Heyes and Tom Hastings
    • Nicola Countouris
    • Michael Brookes, Phil James and Marian Rizov  
    • Ian Clark and Trevor Colling
    • Robert Wapshott and Paul Latreille
    • Nikolaus Hammer

Attendence is open to all, although please register in advance. Email Sam Warner: SJW160@student.bham.ac.uk

11th April 2016

Critical Labour Studies Annual symposium, Durham: 12-13 November 2016

This year’s CLS conference will take place at the historic home of the mineworkers union at Redhills in the City of Durham –– a city that also hosts the annual Miners’ Gala, which remains one of the biggest labour movement gatherings in Europe.

The conference will take place in the Miners’ Hall with its numbered seating representing each of the pits of the Durham coalfield that, at one time, was the largest in the world.

We are planning some additional special events to celebrate the building’s history and the ‘Durham Big Meeting’ as well as booking a local restaurant for dinner on the Saturday evening.

There is plenty of accommodation in Durham City and on the outskirts and Newcastle is a 15-minute train journey away Accommodation needs to be booked independently. Refreshments will be provided at Redhills but you will need to indicate whether you plan to join us for dinner on Saturday evening. Durham railway station is a short walk from Redhills.

CLS encourages debate and invites presenters to try out new ideas rather than be constrained by the usual academic parameters. It is also part of the CLS tradition to encourage joint presentations from academics and researchers alongside trade unionists. This year, given our location, we would encourage submissions that relate to unions and communities and their shared engagement with austerity and its implications.

We also want to continue our internationalist traditions but please do not be out off if your idea does not fit our categories

12-13 November 2016

VENUE: Redhills, Red Hill Lane, Durham DH1 4BD

Cost £50 waged and £30 unwaged.

CALL FOR PAPERS

To register for this Critical Labour Studies annual symposium please do so through your bank using the following details but make sure you email critical_labour_studies@yahoo.com to reserve your place and submit your abstract (please also indicate if you will join us for dinner on Saturday night and if you have any dietary requirements):

• Payment to: CLS
• Payment from: your name
• Sort code: 08-60-01
• Account number: 20237918

criticallabourstudies.org.uk

4th April 2016

Call for papers for a Special issue, Personnel Review: Human Resources & Workplace Innovations: Practices, Perspectives & Paradigms

This Special Issue is dedicated to the late Tom Redman. There is a tribute to him in Personnel Review, Vol. 45, No. 3, 2016; see: www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/PR-02-2016-0027

With intensifying global competition and technological advancement, employing organizations are increasingly relying on their human resources (HR) and workplace innovations to compete and succeed in competitive markets (Datta et al., 2005; Boxall & Purcell 2016). For example, high performance work systems (HPWS) and the impact on the performance of individual employees and organizations have received substantial interest among academics and management practitioners (Takeuchi et al., 2009). Research findings have influenced management practice in diverse organizational settings, including different countries, sectors and occupations. There has also been a growing body of research that has examined the mediating variables that act as a conduit between employee and organizational performance, and for instance, empowerment, trust, social identification, leadership and devolving HR management to the line, to name a few HR innovations (Bainbridge, 2015; Ramsay et al., 2000).

Despite the substantial research interest in various HR and workplace innovations, there are still significant gaps in academic and practitioner knowledge on the use, configuration and impact of such innovations on key stakeholders, as well as on individual and organisational performance. Most of the relevant literature is underpinned by a unitarist frame of reference that assumes that employees and their managers benefit from such innovations. This assumption has been questioned by some (Boxall and Macky, 2007). For example, it is arguable that HPWS implemented without adequate job control is associated with negative employee outcomes such as anxiety, stress, role overload and turnover intentions. Despite such reservations empirical research published in mainstream journals that critique the impact of such innovations on employees and managers is rare. Hence, there is still much that researchers and practitioners do not know about such innovations, in particular, the implementation and impact upon employees and their line managers (see Bamber et al., 2014). Scholars claim that there is much that researchers and practitioners do not know about the ‘black box’ of HRM – the precise linkages between such innovations, employee attitudes and behaviours and the impact upon individual and organizational performance (Boxall & Purcell 2016). They have called for further research to unpack the mechanisms through which such innovations impact on individual and organization outcomes (Takeuchi et al., 2009). Moreover, complicating this issue is that there is not a generally agreed definition of such innovations as HPWS. Many assume that HPWS is the most significant HRM innovation, despite the fact that there are many other debates about workplace innovations taking place either under the banner of productivity improvement or business process improvement such as lean management (Stanton et al., 2014). New business models born in the digital age, the sports arena, the voluntary sector and the creative industries might also include different approaches to the management of people. Nevertheless, HRM is often missing from these debates.

Given the impact of HR and workplace innovations on management practice and work and workers, this Special Issue is timely and important. Such innovations have significant implications for employing organizations, public policies, and the wider society, including the changing forms of work, links with other process improvements and innovations, as well as the role of unions and HR/industrial relations (IR) practitioners.

Aims

We seek papers that unpack the impact of relevant innovations (exemplified above) on managers and employees from various theoretical and empirical perspectives. Specifically, we seek papers that consider to what extent are such innovations associated with positive outcomes for employees and their line managers, such as thriving at work, job quality, employee wellbeing, or are they associated with greater job stress and burnout, work intensification and reduced job quality and turnover intentions? What impact do these variables have on employee performance? Moreover, under what conditions and circumstances do such innovations lead to positive or negative outcomes for employees and their managers? What mediating variables (including ‘black-box’-type links) impact on the relationship between innovations, and positive or negative outcomes? How are these mediating variables influenced by such factors as: sector, occupation, employment mode and organizational form? We seek papers from various disciplinary approaches using quantitative, qualitative and/or mixed methods.

The Special Issue will advance research agendas by discussing research questions and results on various practices, perspectives and paradigms for evaluating innovations. The papers included will advance theoretical and empirical understanding of how such innovations are implemented in diverse contexts and organizational forms. Papers are welcome from various analytical, normative and critical approaches as are those that consider the consequences for various organizational stakeholders.

Indicative list of topics

• The ‘black box’ links between HR innovations and the performance of employing organizations
• The impact of sectoral, national and regional contexts of such innovations
• The roles of HR/IR practitioners in designing and implementing innovations
• The role of innovations in employing organizations, including creative industries, sports and performance-based organizations, digital industries, the voluntary and not-for profit sectors
• The impact of innovations on management and employees, in particular, work intensification, workplace employment relations, occupational health and safety
• Innovations and their relationship to collective and individual bargaining, unions and various forms of employment
• Critical approaches to innovations and the consequences of such innovations for workers

Papers to be considered for this special issue should be submitted no later than 1 August 2016 via the Personnel Review Scholar One website: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/prev

The Guest Editors would be glad to discuss ideas for papers via email:

Timothy Bartram (La Trobe University, Australia): t.bartram@latrobe.edu.au

Pauline Stanton (RMIT, Australia): pauline.stanton@rmit.edu.au

Greg J. Bamber (Monash University, Australia/Newcastle University, UK): gregbamber@gmail.com

For more on the submission process and the above-cited references etc., please see: http://emeraldgrouppublishing.com/products/journals/call_for_papers.htm?id=6563#sthash.vIuDRe6W.dpuf

4th April 2016

What's Happening to Job Quality? - Tuesday 3 May 2016

This full-day event will present the latest European trends in the quality of work, which includes employment security, skills, autonomy, and rewards. Job quality has risen in the public policy agenda, as well as being increasingly recognised as important for business performance and employee wellbeing.

The event presents the work of the European Changing Employment Network of policy and academic researchers, unions, employers and practitioners.

Contributors to the event include:

• Steven Tobin, Senior Economist, The International Labour Organisation (ILO)
• Agnieska Piasna and Jan Jan Drahokoupil,  European Trade Union Institute (ETUI)
• Julia Kubisa, Kristina Hakansson and Tommy Isidorsson, University of Gothenburg
• Birgit Blättel-Mink, Goethe University of Frankfurt
• Kirsty Newsome, University of Sheffield; Cilla Ross, The Co-operative College and Sian Moore, University of Greenwich
• Jörg Weingarten, Research Director, PCG-Project Consult GmbH, Germany
• Roger McKenzie, Deputy General Secretary, UNISON

Who should attend  

Practitioners, policymakers and researchers interested in what influences job quality and its effects on societal, organisational and employee wellbeing.

Benefits of attending

• Find out about EU policy on employment and social policy.
• Share good practice and discuss sustainable employer approaches to employee wellbeing and workplace health.
• Engage with a diverse group of European researchers and practitioners working to understand and shape job quality and employee wellbeing, with the opportunity to collaborate in future initiatives.

Venue & Registration

Tuesday 3rd May 2016

Registration and refreshments from 10.30am

Event 11.00am-5.00pm including an opportunity for networking

Technology Innovation Centre,
99 George Street,
Glasgow, G1 1QE

Event registration URL- www.engage.strath.ac.uk/event/284

You may also be interested in the event, Engaging with the workforce of the future - www.engage.strath.ac.uk/event/291/

4th April 2016

Kemmy Business School - Department of Personnel & Employment Relations - Vacancy

Kemmy Chair of Work and Employment Studies - Multiannual

Salary scale: €106,516 – €136,276 p.a.

Further information for applicants and application material is available online from: http://www.ul.ie/hrvacancies/

The closing date for receipt of applications is Monday, 25th April 2016.

Applications must be completed online before 12 noon, Irish Standard Time on the closing date.

Please email erecruitment@ul.ie if you experience any difficulties

Applications are welcome from suitably qualified candidates.

The University is an equal opportunities employer and committed to selection on merit.

4th April 2016

The death of Giulio Regeni: the delivery of a letter calling for an independent investigation to the Egyptian Embassy in London.

The death of Giulio Regeni: the delivery of a letter calling for an independent investigation to the Egyptian Embassy in London.

The brutal death in Cairo in January 2016 of Giulio Regeni, an Italian doctoral student at Cambridge University, prompted an international letter calling for an independent enquiry that quickly gained 4600 signatures. This was formally delivered to the Egyptian Embassy in London on 22 March. The Deputy Chief of Mission, Mr Hassan Shawky, received the letter and discussed the request with a group of eight teachers and researchers from Cambridge and London universities who reflected a cross-section of the signatories.

Mr Shawky assured the group that the Egyptian government was committed at the highest level to investigate the crime fully and to bring the perpetrators to justice. It had taken the unprecedented step of acting quickly to bring in an Italian team who were now working closely with the Egyptian investigators. More recently the Italian Attorney-General had met with his Egyptian counterpart and declared himself satisfied with the way the investigation was being pursued. Mr Shawky was aware of speculation in the media about the circumstances of the death but insisted that no-one should jump to conclusions before the investigation was complete.

Members of the signatory group expressed their shock and outrage at the killing of Giulio Regeni. The inherent injustice involved in the return from Egypt of an extraordinary and talented researcher in a body bag covered in signs of torture was recounted. It was also underlined that academics rely on fieldwork to carry out their research, that Giulio was doing something very normal, and thus that this case threatened a fundamental tenet of academic practice. Strong reservations were voiced about the credibility and independence of the investigative procedures described by the Deputy Ambassador. It was emphasized that international credibility in this matter would require rigorous procedures of evidence-gathering and investigative method, the implication being that these were lacking from the Egyptian investigation. It was pointed out that the head of the Egyptian investigation had reportedly himself been convicted of torture and murder, and that this implied that the investigation was not credible. It was mentioned that the Deputy Ambassador had painted too rosy a picture of Italo-Egyptian cooperation, and that senior Italian officials had stated that the cooperation was insufficient. It was stressed that our role as academics was not to support the Egyptian government, as the Deputy Ambassador asked, but to defend academic freedom and human rights. It was noted that Giulio's death implicated not only Egyptian-Italian relations, but also UK-Egyptian relations, as Giulio had been resident in the UK. It was noted that the issue had international ramifications because signatories to the letter were from many countries, and because the case of Giulio touched academics everywhere. It was noted that British universities in general, and Cambridge University in particular, have enjoyed and fostered close ties to Egypt, but that these ties were in jeopardy as a result of Giulio's death, and would especially be jeopardized by an inadequate investigation. The delegation was not reassured by the Deputy Ambassador's remarks, and left with no reason to believe that the investigation being carried out by the Egyptian government would be credible.

Mr Shawky said that the Egyptian government would not accept an international investigation into the case beyond the collaboration with the Italian authorities, and that the Italian government had not requested this. He said that it was being conducted in a proper way so that the outcome could not be questioned. He added that there was no intention to hide anything of relevance because any hidden truth would backfire. He appreciated the friendship which the group expressed towards the Egyptian people and would, in his report to Cairo, emphasise the points they had raised.



The group of signatory academics was:
Professor William Brown, Emeritus Master of Darwin College, University of Cambridge
Dr John Chalcraft, Associate Professor in the Department of Government, London School of Economics
Dr Paolo Gerbaudo, Director of the Centre for Digital Culture, King's College, London University
Professor Clément Mouhot, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge
Dr Glen Rangwala, Lecturer in the Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Cambridge
Ms Sophie Roborgh, Doctoral candidate, Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Cambridge
Dr Sharath Srinivasan, Director, Centre for Governance and Human Rights, University of Cambridge
Dr Waseem Yaqoob, Research Fellow, Pembroke College, Research Staff Rep, Cambridge UCU, University of Cambridge

29th March 2016

Today is the day to renew your BUIRA membership if you haven't already!

Thank you to those members who have renewed their BUIRA membership on line

Can I encourage those that have not yet transfered to our new membership system to do so before 1 April? That is today!

We have automated the BUIRA membership system on our website.

You will now need to join or renew your membership here http://buira.net/membership

Most members pay their annual dues around 1 April each year – can we ask that you respond to this email by going to the website and paying your annual membership fee now if you have not yet done so.

Now we have switched over to this membership system you will be required to pay your annual membership (£40 full, or £20 PhD or associate member e.g. practitioner or trade unionist) just once on line - after this payment, your membership will automatically be deducted on an annual basis (unless you cancel it).

Please, though, make sure you cancel your annual standing order -  unless, of course, you want to make an annual donation to BUIRA, which would be very welcome!

Fees:
Membership £40 (£40 full, or £20 PhD or associate member e.g. practitioner or trade unionist)

25th March 2016

Call for papers for a Special issue, Personnel Review: Human Resources & Workplace Innovations: Practices, Perspectives & Paradigms

This Special Issue of Personnel Review is dedicated to the late Tom Redman, a former Editor of Personnel Review. There is a tribute to him in press in Personnel Review, Vol. 45, No. 3, 2016

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/PR-02-2016-0027

With intensifying global competition and technological advancement, employing organizations are increasingly relying on their human resources (HR) and workplace innovations to compete and succeed in competitive markets (Datta et al., 2005; Boxall & Purcell 2016). For example, high performance work systems (HPWS) and the impact on the performance of individual employees and organizations have received substantial interest among academics and management practitioners (Takeuchi et al., 2009). Research findings have influenced management practice in diverse organizational settings, including different countries, sectors and occupations. There has also been a growing body of research that has examined the mediating variables that act as a conduit between employee and organizational performance, and for instance, empowerment, trust, social identification, leadership and devolving HR management to the line, to name a few HR innovations (Bainbridge, 2015; Ramsay et al., 2000).

Despite the substantial research interest in various HR and workplace innovations, there are still significant gaps in academic and practitioner knowledge on the use, configuration and impact of such innovations on key stakeholders, as well as on individual and organisational performance. Most of the relevant literature is underpinned by a unitarist frame of reference that assumes that employees and their managers benefit from such innovations. This assumption has been questioned by some (Boxall and Macky, 2007). For example, it is arguable that HPWS implemented without adequate job control is associated with negative employee outcomes such as anxiety, stress, role overload and turnover intentions. Despite such reservations empirical research published in mainstream journals that critique the impact of such innovations on employees and managers is rare.  Hence, there is still much that researchers and practitioners do not know about such innovations, in particular, the implementation and impact upon employees and their line managers (see Bamber et al., 2014). Scholars claim that there is much that researchers and practitioners do not know about the ‘black box’ of HRM – the precise linkages between such innovations, employee attitudes and behaviours and the impact upon individual and organizational performance (Boxall & Purcell 2016). They have called for further research to unpack the mechanisms through which such innovations impact on individual and organization outcomes (Takeuchi et al., 2009). Moreover, complicating this issue is that there is not a generally agreed definition of such innovations as HPWS. Many assume that HPWS is the most significant HRM innovation, despite the fact that there are many other debates about workplace innovations taking place either under the banner of productivity improvement or business process improvement such as lean management (Stanton et al., 2014). New business models born in the digital age, the sports arena, the voluntary sector and the creative industries might also include different approaches to the management of people. Nevertheless, HRM is often missing from these debates.

Given the impact of HR and workplace innovations on management practice and work and workers, this Special Issue is timely and important. Such innovations have significant implications for employing organizations, public policies, and the wider society, including the changing forms of work, links with other process improvements and innovations, as well as the role of unions and HR/industrial relations (IR) practitioners.

Aims
We seek papers that unpack the impact of relevant innovations (exemplified above) on managers and employees from various theoretical and empirical perspectives. Specifically, we seek papers that consider to what extent are such innovations associated with positive outcomes for employees and their line managers, such as thriving at work, job quality, employee wellbeing, or are they associated with greater job stress and burnout, work intensification and reduced job quality and turnover intentions? What impact do these variables have on employee performance? Moreover, under what conditions and circumstances do such innovations lead to positive or negative outcomes for employees and their managers? What mediating variables (including ‘black-box’-type links) impact on the relationship between innovations, and positive or negative outcomes?  How are these mediating variables influenced by such factors as: sector, occupation, employment mode and organizational form? We seek papers from various disciplinary approaches using quantitative, qualitative and/or mixed methods.

The Special Issue will advance research agendas by discussing research questions and results on various practices, perspectives and paradigms for evaluating innovations. The papers included will advance theoretical and empirical understanding of how such innovations are implemented in diverse contexts and organizational forms. Papers are welcome from various analytical, normative and critical approaches as are those that consider the consequences for various organizational stakeholders.

Indicative list of topics
• The ‘black box’ links between HR innovations and the performance of employing organizations
• The impact of sectoral, national and regional contexts of such innovations
• The roles of HR/IR practitioners in designing and implementing innovations
• The role of innovations in employing organizations, including creative industries, sports and performance-based organizations, digital industries, the voluntary and not-for profit sectors
• The impact of innovations on management and employees, in particular, work intensification, workplace employment relations, occupational health and safety
• Innovations and their relationship to collective and individual bargaining, unions and various forms of employment
• Critical approaches to innovations and the consequences of such innovations for workers

Papers to be considered for this special issue should be submitted no later than 1 August 2016 via the Personnel Review Scholar One website:  https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/prev

The Guest Editors would be glad to discuss ideas for papers via email:

Timothy Bartram (La Trobe University, Australia): t.bartram@latrobe.edu.au 

Pauline Stanton (RMIT, Australia): pauline.stanton@rmit.edu.au

Greg J. Bamber (Monash University, Australia/Newcastle University, UK): gregbamber@gmail.com 

For more on the submission process and the above-cited references etc., please see: http://emeraldgrouppublishing.com/products/journals/call_for_papers.htm?id=6563#sthash.vIuDRe6W.dpuf

Cheers!

Greg Bamber 

www.gregbamber.com

25th March 2016

BUIRA PhD session - ‘Critical friendship in employment relations research’

This year BUIRA organises a one-day pre-conference PhD session, which will take place in Leeds on TUESDAY, June 28^th 2016 (a day prior to the main BUIRA Annual Conference). The session is an exercise in critical friendship where all participants circulate a piece of written work THREE WEEKS before the session. The session is a unique opportunity to get to know fellow PhD students in the field of employment relations, exercise critical thinking and receive constructive feedback to your ideas.   

The deadline for submission of written work is FRIDAY 3^rd JUNE 2016.

Please submit via e-mail: buiraphd@outlook.com

The session will be led by Professor Melanie Simms (University of Leicester), Editor in Chief ‘Work Employment and Society’.

Outline of the session

The piece of written work does NOT have to be a full conference paper. It can be a section of a chapter, a draft paper or any document you want to discuss with peers.

There are three main objectives:

• To provide a forum for PhD students to receive feedback on their ideas no matter where they are in the project.
• To develop the skills, culture and practice of critical friendship within BUIRA.
• To provide a forum for discussion significantly different from usual conference papers.

Participants - including facilitators - will submit a piece of written work before the session. An indicative maximum word length is 8000 words in order to keep the pre-workshop workload manageable. Submissions can be as short as the participant wishes. There is no expectation submissions are even written in full sentences. Examples of previous submissions range from a full draft book chapter, through to preliminary literature review paragraphs, a list of key questions of interest to the participant, and many other formats. The objective is that participants submit something they think they can get useful feedback on through the process of critical friendship.

The process will be co-ordinated by facilitators so we will have to have participants' names and email addresses approximately 12 weeks before the session. We will alert participants to deadlines, circulate draft material, advise on preparation for the session etc. The number of facilitators will depend on the number of participants. We aim for a ratio of approximately 1:7

Written work is NOT anonymised nor peer reviewed for acceptance. The only requirement for participating in the session is that someone is a PhD student in the broad area of industrial relations and intends to participate in the wider conference.

All written work is collated a circulated to all participants at least 3 weeks prior to the event along with guidance for principles of critical friendship in this document. All participants must read all written submissions in advance of the session and prepare feedback in line with the principles of critical friendship.

Any participant who does not submit a written document will not be allowed to attend the session. It is essential that critical friendship is reciprocal and non-hierarchical.

Each piece of submitted work is then discussed by the group and feedback is given. This can range from questions about the premise of the argument, suggestions for improvement and development, etc. Principles of respect and support are agreed in advance and it is the responsibility of all to ensure they are upheld.

Critical Friend Scheme

Introducing the concept of a critical friend

A ‘critical friend’ is a trusted peer who asks provocative questions, provides alternative lenses through which to examine data or experiences, and offers critiques of your work, issues or problems. A critical friend takes the time to fully understand the context of the work, issues or problems presented and the outcomes that the person or group is working towards. The critical friend is an advocate for the success of those outcomes. A critical friend provides an appropriate balance between support and challenge. Finally, critical friendship is more than a technical exercise predicated on a context-free, asocial or ahistorical environment; rather, it is a process of argumentation that emerges from dialogue, interpretation, experience and active attempts to both subvert and navigate through prevailing power structures.

The role of a critical friend

• Peers who listen, question your rationale, challenge assumptions and support your risk-taking
• Supportive and non-judgmental of you as a person
• Prepared to ask questions relating to your statements, arguments or actions
• Committed to helping you develop your professional practice and providing advice about your professional dilemmas
• Shares knowledge and resources
• Critiques research papers and provides feedback

Offers active facilitation which explores how learning is supported, avoided and/or prevented through power relations

21st March 2016

9th Asian Regional Congress of the International Labour and Employment Relations Association - Beijing, China, 1-3 November 2016

Call for papers (deadline 15 July 2016)

Registration and paper submission via: www.ileraasian2016.cn

The 9th Asian Regional Congress of the International Labour and Employment Relations Association (ILERA) will be held in Beijing from 1 to 3 November 2016. The theme of the Congress is “The Implications of Economic Transformation and Innovation on Labour and Employment Relations and the Responses”. The Congress is co-hosted by the China Association for Labour Studies and the Chinese Academy of Labour and Social Security. Also, the Congress is jointly organized by the following institutions: School of Labour and Human Resources of Renmin University of China, School of Labour Economics of Capital University of Economics and Business, China Institute of Industrial Relations, Labour Science Education Branch of the China Association for Labour Studies, Labour Relations Branch of the Chinese Association of Human Resource Development.

Currently, many countries (regions) in Asia as well as other parts of the world are undergoing transformation of economic structures, accompanied by new issues, changes and problems in the field of labour and employment relations. These countries (regions) have taken policies and measures according to their own specific situations, making theoretical and practical exploration and accumulating much successful experiences. However, they have experienced challenges and are still confronted with many new issues. The Asian Regional Congress aims to consider theoretical and practical issues, and to discuss and analyze the challenges and various situations, so as to promote better theories and practices. Meanwhile, it is also hoped to encourage innovation in theory and practice in the field of labour relations through discussions with academics and practitioners. This Congress provides a good opportunity to expand channels of international collaboration and strengthen the links among researchers, institutions, organizations and academics throughout the world to help to promote the development of harmonious labour relations.

We warmly invite academics, practitioners, policy makers and guests from all over the world to the Congress, to share thoughts and ideas. Distinguished international researchers and tripartite representatives will be invited to deliver speeches at the Congress.

1. Theme

The Implications of Economic Transformation and Innovation in Labour and Employment Relations and Human Resources, and the Responses

2. Papers presented at the Congress will be organized around the following six topics:

2.1   Changes and challenges in the labour market

2.2   The implications of economic transformation and innovation on labour relations and responses

2.3   Ideas and approaches to facilitate dispute-settlement and harmonious labour relations

2.4   Policies and measures to improve social security and the protection of workers’ rights and interests

2.5   Income distribution policy during economic transformation and innovation

2.6   The future of labour and employment relations, human resources and labour-market regulation

Based on the tradition of earlier ILERA World Congresses and Asian Regional Congresses, Special Symposia will be convened as part of the Congress, according to proposals submitted by individuals and research groups.

3.  Congress papers and symposium proposals submission guidelines

3.1   The content of papers or research reports submitted should be related to the Congress theme and topics. It must contain original research or a point of view and rational reasoning. Manuscripts must not have been published/accepted for publication elsewhere.

3.2   Papers must be between 4000 and 8000 words, including abstract (200-300 words) and reference. The full name of the authors and e-mail addresses should be included in the title page.

3.3   The deadline of Congress papers submission (in English or Chinese) is 15 July 2016.

3.4   A group of experts will be invited to form the Paper Review Committee to review all the submitted papers anonymously and decide the shortlist for the congress paper proceedings. .

3.5   The authors who submit papers in Chinese will be notified after the review (if accepted), and they must submit the English version by 15 September 2016.

3.6   The accepted papers will be distributed to the delegates and guests during the Congress in DVD form.

3.7   ILERA members can submit proposals for the Congress programme and topics (if any) for discussion in a symposium on a particular theme or topic. The deadline for symposium proposal submission is 15 August 2016.

3.8   Papers and symposium proposals from all over the world would be welcome, especially if it is shown how they might have implications or relevance in China and/or other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Indian sub-continent.

4. Venue

Beijing International Convention Center

(Address: No. 8 Beichen Dong Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing P.R. China 100101)

5. Registration fee

5.1     Early bird registration fees (before 31 May 2016)

5.2     Standard registration fees (after 1 June 2016)

6. Registration and paper submission website: www.ileraasian2016.cn

8. Contact information

Please feel free to contact the Preparation Office of the Congress should you have any question.

E-mail: zgldxh@126.com

Ms. ZHANG Yujie, 0086(10)-64941035
Mr. LIU Genghua, 0086(10)-64941226
Ms. YIN Manxue, 0086(10)-64941397

21st March 2016

Professor of International Human Resource Management / Human Resource Management - College of Business, University College of Dublin

Applicants are invited for a permanent appointment as Professor of International Human Resource Management/Human Resource Management, UCD College of Business.  

About the College

UCD College of Business is Ireland’s leading business school and research centre. In 2009 we officially celebrated 100 years of business education.

One of the keystones of the College’s reputation as one of the world’s leading business schools is the quality and expertise of our faculty. We are the only business school in Ireland to hold the triple crown of accreditation from AACSB (US), EQUIS (Europe) and AMBA (UK). We are also the only Irish member of CEMS, PIM and GNAM, the global alliances of leading business schools. Our MBA programme is consistently ranked in the top 100 globally by Financial Times, and our full-time MBA is ranked 73rd in the world and 22nd in Europe.

UCD College of Business consists of the UCD Lochlann Quinn School of Business (‘the Quinn School’) focused on undergraduate education, the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business (‘the Smurfit School’), the UCD School of International Business Education, focused on overseas programmes and UCD Smurfit Executive Development. The Quinn School is located on the main campus at Belfield while the Smurfit School is located at Blackrock about five kilometers away. Academic staff teach across all schools.

About the Position

The Chair in International Human Resource Management/Human Resource Management is located in the Industrial Relations and Human Resources Subject Area (soon to be retitled the Human Resource Management and Employment Relations Subject Area) within the UCD College of Business.  

The appointee should hold an international reputation in International Human Resource Management and/or Human Resource Management, with a strong research and track record in IHRM and/or HRM.  They should also be able to play a leadership role within the context of the College as a whole.

Closing date: 17:00hrs GMT on Tuesday 3rd May 2016

Prior to application, further information (including application procedure) should be obtained from the UCD Job Vacancies website: http://www.ucd.ie/hr/jobvacancies.

2013 (2010) Prof. C Scale: </b> €106,516 - €136,276 p.a.

Appointment will be made on scale and in accordance with the Department of Finance guidelines.

Prior to application, further information (including application procedure) should be obtained from the UCD Job Vacancies website: http://www.ucd.ie/hr/jobvacancies.

21st March 2016

One Year On – Employment Relations Under the Conservatives - Manchester Industrial Relations Society

Shirley Lerner Memorial Lecture

Speaker: Professor Melanie Simms (School of Management, University of Leicester)

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

Thursday 28 April 6pm
Lecture Theatre LT35, Ground Floor
Manchester Metropolitan University Business School
All Saints, Oxford Road, Manchester M15 6BH
Map:  http://www.mmu.ac.uk/travel/allsaints/

Free buffet with wine and non-alcoholic drinks, cakes and savoury nibbles after the meeting

The year since the General Election in May 2015 has seen a series of important proposals to reform industrial relations in the UK. This lecture will reflect on the central developments, locating them in historical context and discussing likely future implications.

This presentation will be structured around three key themes. First, proposed changes to the regulation of collective representation at work through the proposed Trade Union Bill, and also the decision to confront the British Medical Association (BMA) with the imposition of a new contract for junior doctors. Second, the focus on the regulation of low pay through changing regulation around the National Minimum Wage; of particular interest here are proposals for future wage setting mechanisms. Finally, the lecture will highlight changes to youth employment policy including the introduction of a long-awaited Apprenticeship Levy.

Taken together, these three areas signal a significant change of direction in UK employment policy, although the outcomes are likely to be highly variable across sectors, occupations and regions.  

For further details of the Manchester Industrial Relations Society contact:

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

Manchester Industrial Relations Society website: www.mirs.org.uk

Twitter: @ManchesterIRS

21st March 2016

Workshop at the University of Sheffield, May 26-27, 2016

Conceptualizing Labour ‘Unfreedom’ and Degradation Along the Supply Chain

Since the economic crisis of 2008-2009, labour unfreedom has intensified at the bottom end of the labour market. Working conditions, remuneration, and collective bargaining rights have stagnated or declined for large-swathes of the low-waged workforce. At the same time, evidence from several sectors suggests that the practices commonly known as ‘forced labour’ have become widespread and are accelerating in global value chains. Indeed, the era of austerity seems to have condensed labour market opportunities and across the bottom rungs of the labour market.

The expansion of Global Value Chains has significant and far-reaching implications for labour and the labour process. Legal and illegal forms of exploitation are more porous and overlapping than is usually acknowledged in scholarship and policy. There is an urgent need to understand the nexus and interactions between forced labour and ‘regular’ exploitation within global value chains. Recent research on global value chains (GVC) and global commodity chains (GCCs) has begun to remedy the ‘labour deficit’ within those paradigms. Yet, we maintain that there is much to be done to understand the ‘dimensions’ of labour unfreedom and degradation within and along value chains.

Bringing together scholars of both the ‘normal’ labour market and of unfree labour (including forced labour and human trafficking), this workshop will aim to build a comprehensive understanding of recovery’s wide-ranging effects on low-waged and vulnerable workers.  Key questions include:

- How can the GVC/GCC and Labor Process Theory paradigms help us to understand and represent the links between unfree labor, legal exploitation and the degradation of labour within value chains?

• - How can we best understand the gender dimensions of labour unfreedom and degradation within and along supply chains? 

Moving beyond orthodox indicators of labor market performance (such as unemployment and GDP), what evidence bases can be used to empirically analyze and capture the full set of labor market challenges?

- Overall, the workshop aims to generate new thinking about the overlaps and boundaries between unfree labour and normalized exploitation within global value chains. We welcome papers from a variety of disciplines across the social sciences.

Thanks to generous funding from the UK Economic and Social Research Council, there will be no registration fee for the workshop and meals will be provided.  Limited funds are available to support travel.

Convened by: University of Sheffield Management School’s Work, Organization & Employment Research Centre (WOERRC) and Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute (SPERI)

Deadline for submissions: 30th March 2016

Please submit a 250 word abstract and presenter bio to: Dr Kirsty Newsome (k.j.newsome@sheffield.ac.uk) & Dr Genevieve LeBaron (g.lebaron@sheffield.ac.uk)

14th March 2016

University of Leeds - Associate Professor/Lecturer Vacancy

Associate Professor/Lecturer in Management Consulting/Human Resource Management (HRM)

Location: Leeds - Main Campus
Faculty/Service: Faculty of Business
School/Institute: Leeds University Business School
Category: Academic
Grade: Grade 8 to Grade 9
Salary: £38,896 to £55,389 per annum
Closing Date: Sunday 10 April 2016
Reference: LUBSC1096

Leeds University Business School is seeking to enhance its vibrant group of international scholars within the Work and Employment Relations Division and the Centre for Employment Relations Innovation and Change (CERIC). Contributing to the cutting edge of academic research and producing agenda setting work of recognised international excellence, you will be part of one of the leading centres in HRM and Employment Relations in the UK. With a proven track record of high quality research, you will be an experienced teacher with the ability to motivate and inspire at all levels. We are particularly keen to attract applicants with expertise in Management Consulting, professional work or knowledge work.

Further information about the Faculty is available using the following web link: www.business.leeds.ac.uk.

Informal enquiries may be made to Professor Irena Grugulis, Head of Division, email i.grugulis@leeds.ac.uk, tel +44 (0)113 343 4479.

If you have any specific enquiries about your online application please contact the Faculty HR Team, email jobs@lubs.leeds.ac.uk.

Interviews are expected to be held week commencing 25 April or 2 May.

Click here for further information about working at the University of Leeds www.leeds.ac.uk/info/20025/university_jobs.

14th March 2016

2016 BUIRA Survey

To all BUIRA members

Please find below a link to our survey of BUIRA members, which we strongly encourage you to participate in.  Following recommendations at the 2015 BUIRA conference, and discussion amongst the BUIRA Executive, we have designed a short survey to find out more about members’ perceptions of BUIRA, and the activities that BUIRA undertakes. Our aim is to find out more about what members want from BUIRA. The results from the survey will help to inform the development of BUIRA activities over the coming years. The survey will take approximately 20 minutes to complete, and is anonymous. The results from the survey will be distributed, in summary form, to all BUIRA members, and reported at the BUIRA AGM at conference in June 2016.

To access the survey, please click on the link below, or cut and paste it into your browser.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/RR8M226

We would appreciate it if you could complete the survey by the 28th March 2016. 

Your input is much appreciated.
The BUIRA Executive Committee

9th March 2016

Manchester Industrial Relations Society Meeting - The EU – In or Out? Implications for Employment Relations

Speaker: Professor Michael Gold, School of Management, Royal Holloway, University of London

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

Thursday 10 March 6pm
Lecture Theatre LT35, Ground Floor
Manchester Metropolitan University Business School
All Saints, Oxford Road, Manchester M15 6BH
Map:  http://www.mmu.ac.uk/travel/allsaints/

On 23 June we will be asked to vote in a referendum on our continued membership of the European Union. The implications of exit are potentially far reaching for numerous areas of economic, political and social life, not least employment relations.

The purpose of this presentation is to raise questions about how ‘Brexit’ might affect the world of work and thereby provoke discussion and debate. For example, how might remaining a member of the European Economic Area affect employment relations, or negotiating bilateral agreements with individual member states of the EU? Would a total ‘Brexit’ be possible? Which items of EU-based labour legislation would a Conservative government most likely target for repeal? Does membership of the EU really matter anyhow from an employment perspective if, as some have argued, ‘social Europe is dead’? How concerned should trade unions be about possible Brexit?

For further details of the Manchester Industrial Relations Society please  contact:

Professor Ralph Darlington, Salford Business School, University of Salford, Salford M5 4WT
Phone: 0161-295-5456; email: r.r.darlington@salford.ac.uk
Manchester Industrial Relations Society website: www.mirs.org.uk
Twitter: @ManchesterIRS

7th March 2016

University of Leicester – School of Management - VACANCIES

Three Full-Time Funded Postgraduate Research Opportunities, University of Leicester – School of Management

The School of Management is pleased to offer two Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTAships) and one Graduate Research Assistantship (GRAship). Each GTAship and the GRAship is worth £18,417 per year over four years. GTAships and GRAships offer teaching experience or research experience while working on PhD research. The School of Management at the University of Leicester is renowned for the quality of its creative, interdisciplinary and heterodox research. We welcome applications from those interested in the critical and innovative rethinking of any of the following fields: accounting and finance; innovation, science and technology; marketing and consumption; organization studies; regional studies; work and employment. Our PhD programme is distinctive because it is firmly located within a broadly defined critical social science tradition. Our students draw on any of the different fields of management as well as on anthropology, cultural studies, economics, geography, physics and mathematics, science and technology studies, sociology, politics, philosophy and psychology amongst other disciplines in undertaking their research.

It is important for you to read the 'Further Guidance' and the 'Job Summaries' available on our website if you are interested in applying for these PhD research opportunities: http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/management/postgraduate/research/fees.

Closing date for applications: 17th April 2016. Interviews are provisionally scheduled for the end of May 2016.

7th March 2016

Series: Work, Employment Relations, Organisational Studies, Human Resource Management

We invite proposals for books, including research monographs, in the area of work, employment, organisational studies and HRM. The aim is to publish high-quality research in the related subject areas of work and employment regulation, along with how organisation are structured and managed. The series will consider monographs that take a critically overarching pluralist approach to debate and discuss topics via related theoretical lenses, including political economy, ethics, and systems of governance.

A key focus of the series is how the imperatives for efficiency, quality and high performance can be configured so that equality, inclusion, good pay,  dignity, well-being and social justice are also achieved in increasingly globalised and fragmented work regimes.

The series investigates the connections between the world of work and the political economy and public policy that shape regulations, organisational  and business environments, work experiences, and well-being within a new globalised model of consumerism.

*Series Editors:*

Tony Dundon; Adrian Wilkinson

*Further information: *http://www.springer.com/series/14359

7th March 2016

The University of Manchester - Workshop 21st-22nd April 2016

Precarious work: causes, consequences and counter-measures’

Precarious work is a central factor in increasing inequality and insecurity across developed and developing countries and attention is needed to understand both the institutional, social and economic conditions that give rise to precarious work and to policies and practices that can modify its effects and promote inclusive labour markets. Funded by the Hallsworth conference fund, this workshop is an important contribution to the University of Manchester’s commitment to addressing global inequalities as a core university research theme and to promoting social responsibility.

The workshop is jointly organised by EWERC (the European Work and Employment Research Centre) and FairWRC (the Fairness at Work Research Centre) within Alliance Manchester Business School ahead of the creation of a new research institute. The workshop also draws on contributions from colleagues within the School of Law and the School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED).

Confirmed external speakers so far include:

Janine Berg (ILO); Gerhard Bosch (IAQ Duisburg-Essen); Brendan Burchell (Cambridge); Iain Campbell (RMIT); Maria Hudson (Essex); Karen Jaehrling (IAQ); Deidre McCann (Durham); Philippe Méhaut (LEST) Sian Moore (Greenwich); Aga Piasna (ETUI); Valeria Pulignano (Leuven)

Confirmed speakers from Manchester so far include:

Jo Cartwright; Damian Grimshaw; David Holman; Debra Howcroft; Mat Johnson; Sheena Johnson; Arjan Keizer; Aristea Koukiadaki; Marti Lopez Andreu; Ruth Lupton; Stefania Marino; Miguel Martinez Lucio; Anne McBride; Stephen Mustchin; Anthony Rafferty; Jenny Rodriguez; Jill Rubery; Isabel Tavora; Roger Walden

To register free for this event please go to:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/precarious-work-causes-consequences-and-counter-measures-tickets-21449570242

7th March 2016

Publication of Sex Worker Unionization: Global Developments, Challenges and Possibilities (Palgrave)

Sex Worker Unionization by Gregor Gall examines the challenges and opportunities offered by unionization for Sex Workers. Exploring unionisation projects undertaken by Sex Workers in most major economies, this ground-breaking study shows how sex-workers have collectively sought to control and organize their work and working lives by co-determining the wage-effort with their de facto employers. It highlights the range of significant obstacles that have impeded their progress, including owner hostility, state regulation and the sway of radical feminism that is present in many unions. Outlining a more efficacious model for sex worker unionization based upon combining occupation unionism and social movement unionism, this pioneering and controversial new book offers an important study of business organization in a unique industry.

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Sex workers before sex work

3. Sex worker union organizing in North America

4. Australia and New Zealand

5. Germany and the Netherlands 

6. Britain and continental Europe

7. Asia, Africa and Latin America

8. Influences on unionization

9. Conclusion

Appendix: interviewees and informants

References

Hardback 9781137320131, ppviii+240, £75.00

Available from http://www.palgrave.com/gb/book/9781137320131

Gregor Gall is Professor of Industrial Relations at the University of Bradford

7th March 2016

BUIRA 2016 Conference Details

We look forward to welcoming you to the 2016 British Universities Industrial Relations Association Conference in Leeds

Registration for the conference is now open via the BUIRA website (www.buira.net) You need to be a member in order to attend and present at the conference.

We have now automated the BUIRA membership system and this is also now on-line on the website.

As we are currently switching over to this membership system you will be required to pay your annual membership (£40 full, or £20 PhD or associate member e.g. practitioner or trade unionist) alongside your conference registration. After this payment, your membership will automatically be deducted on an annual basis (unless you cancel it).

Please, though, make sure you cancel your annual standing order – unless, of course, you want to make an annual donation to BUIRA, which would be very welcome.

Fees:

Membership £40 (£40 full, or £20 PhD or associate member e.g. practitioner or trade unionist)

Conference fees (including all meals):

Full members: £350

Honorary members: £240

Doctoral members: £150

The conference will take place at the The Carriageworks, Millennium Square, Leeds LS2 3AD. This is right in the City Centre and a 10-minute walk from Leeds railway station.

We are also holding a pre-conference workshop on ‘Understanding power and strategy for effective organizing’ led by Dr Jane McAlevey who is well-known in the American labor movement as the hard-charging organiser who racked up a string of victories at a time when union leaders said winning wasn’t possible. See details attached. This will be on Tuesday 28 June 2016, 10am-5.30pm at University of Leeds, Attendance fees for this event (includes lunch & refreshments) £20

NOTE: places are limited. You must register and pay in advance. Details can be found at www.buira.net
Accommodation

Leeds has a wealth of hotels catering for all budgets ranges. We strongly recommend early booking of hotel accommodation and the best rates are only available well in advance. Some suggested hotels for the BUIRA conference are listed below:

Park Plaza (****), Boar Lane City Square, Leeds - located next to Leeds train station. Price range £100 per night +
http://www.parkplaza.co.uk/leeds-hotel-gb-ls1-5ns/gbleeds

Radisson Blu Hotel (****), 1 The light, The Light, The Headrow, Leeds. Located in the Light complex, Price range £120 per night +
https://www.radissonblu.com/en/hotel-leeds

Quebecs (****), 9 Quebec Street, Leeds, located next to Leeds train station. Price range £80 per night +.
http://www.quebecshotel.co.uk/

Holiday Inn Express Leeds City Centre (***), Kirkstall Road, Leeds. 0.5 miles from train station. Price range £100 per night +
http://www.expressleeds.co.uk/

Hotel IBIS Leeds City Centre (**), 23 Marlborough Street, Leeds. A 0.75k walk from city centre. Price range £60 per night
http://www.ibis.com/gb/hotel-3652-ibis-leeds-centre/index.shtml

Novotel Leeds City Centre (***), 4 Whitehall Quay, Leeds. Located very close to Leeds Train station. Price range: circa £100 per night
http://www.novotel.com/gb/hotel-3270-novotel-leeds-centre/index.shtml

Roomzz Leeds City centre. 10 Swinegate, Leeds LS1 4AG City Centre, Roomzzz City offers luxury apartments with free WiFi. £89 per night.
http://www.roomzzz.com/leeds-city/

Holiday Inn Express Leeds City Centre - Armouries (***), Armouries Drive, Leeds, LS10 1LE. From £42 per night.
http://www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/hotels/gb/en/leeds/leecc/hoteldetail

We have arranged dinners for Wednesday and Thursday evenings. The first evening will be at the Leeds city centre Aagrah http://www.aagrah.com/restaurants/leeds-city/

And the official conference dinner will be at the Lakeside Café, Roundhay Park on Thursday evening. Transport will be provided to and from the conference venue to the Park.

We look forward to welcoming you to Leeds and to an exiting 2016 BUIRA conference.

7th March 2016

Canadian IR Association, Saskatoon, Canada, May 31 to June 2, 2016: Call for Presentations

We are still accepting proposals until the end of February.  Also, please consider putting together a panel of speakers to form a session.  We still have a few spots open.  

The conference will open with a special plenary session on international industrial relations featuring Alex Colvin (Cornell), Greg Bamber (Monash, Australia), Anil Verma (UofT), and Daphne Taras (UofS) followed by a cocktail party in our new downtown campus building (a converted factory).  Day 2 and 3 will be held on the main campus and promises a full line up of research presentations.  We will hold an evening banquet to honour Professor Michael Lynk’s (Western, Law School) work on ‘the right to strike’ ....I hope to see you in Saskatoon in May/June (and yes, the snow will be gone).

http://www.cira-acri.ca/2016-conference 

The theme of the 2016 CIRA conference calls attention to the workplace as a meeting place for several diverse disciplines of study. The workplace is an important arena where employees go to earn a living, while employers seek to profit from their labour. It is where production is organized through cooperation, yet a key space for conflict. It is where social, cultural and religious norms are integrated, and a key vector of societal and global change. This year’s theme aims to encourage research on the workplace from fields which are different, yet complementary, and even conflicting, such as history, sociology, women’s studies, management, economics, and policy studies. Research submissions broadening our understanding of the workplace, issues in the workplace, management practices, societal impacts, the role of public policies in shaping employment outcomes, and the impacts of globalization and economic integration on the workplace are particularly invited. 

Highlights of the Conference Schedule….

June 1, 8am to 4pm – Approximately 40 presentations of original, peer reviewed soon to be published research presentation 

June 1, 6pm – H.D. Woods Memorial Lecture and Award...Reception and Dinner with the Saskatoon CIRA Chapter. 

June 2, 8am to 2pm – Approximately 25 additional research presentations. 

A few of the Research Presentations from the 2015 Meeting (in Montreal):

- That’s Ridiculous! An analysis of ridicule in Canadian public sector conflict. 

- “Accidental Revitalization”: A New Pathway for Union Renewal? Jason Foster, Athabasca University 

- Generational cohort and union communication. Chris Smith, Carelton University. Linda Duxbury, Careleton University 

- Industrial relations under austerity: the impact of the European Economic Governance on national industrial relations. Roberto Pedersini, Università degli Studi di Milano 

- Strike and strike propensity: micro and macro determinants in 15 OECD countries Lorenzo Frangi, ESG-UQAM. Robert Hebdon, Desautels Business School-McGill. Muhammad Umar Boodoo, Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources, University of Toronto 

- Judicial Review of Labour Relations Board and Labour Arbitration Decisions in the Post-Dunsmuir Period in Ontario Luba Yurchak, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University 

- Labour Union Response to Transgender Issues in Canada Dr. Gerald Hunt, Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University Michael Pelz, University of Toronto 

- “Government Domination” and “Interest Game”: Two Paths of Chinese Collective Consultation. Xiaotian Lei, School of Labor Economic, Capital University of Economics and Business 

- A Human Resource Perspective on Social Enterprises as a Platform for Economic Development: Lessons from Cases in North-Eastern Brazil. Anil Verma, University of Toronto

29th February 2016

European Association for Evolutionary Political Economy - The 28th Annual Conference, Manchester (UK), 3-5 November 2016

Special Session organised by Manchester Industrial Relations Society and ADAPT

Facilitating Sustainable Work: Theory and Practice

http://eaepe.org/

Contacts: Session co-ordinators, Hamish Mathieson (h.mathieson@btinternet.com) and Francesca Sperotti (francesca.sperotti@adapt.it). Administrative queries: (eaepe2016@mmu.ac.uk).

CALL FOR PAPERS

The promotion of sustainable economic development is an increasingly urgent issue for policy- makers in industrialised countries around the world, for example the European Union’s ‘Europe 2020’ strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. Yet dominant remedies for lagging competitiveness emphasise heightened work intensity with adverse and ultimately unsustainable effects on workers’ well-being and on the quality of products and services.

An alternative approach argues that current trends must be reversed through the pursuit of sustainable work systems in which employees are not confined to an intensive and meaningless work reality, instead are allowed to learn and develop, to use intelligence and creativity, to collaborate and participate (Docherty, Forslin and Shani,2009). In such work systems the sustainability of human and social resources is one of the foundations of economic sustainability where the opportunity to develop as a person, a professional and a member of a society through work experiences is a basic human right.

The concept of sustainable work has also been adopted by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Drawing on evidence of recent demographic changes such as increased life expectancy and lower fertility rates it has developed an analytical framework for ‘sustainable work over the life course’ in which working and living conditions are such that they support people in engaging and remaining in work throughout an extended working life (European Foundation, 2015). An ageing population is thus an important stimulus to rethink employment policies in order to facilitate longer and better working lives by promoting worker’s well-being and work-life balance. Two domains need to be addressed in seeking to make work sustainable: first, the characteristics of the job which focuses on aspects of job quality and their effects on workers’ well-being and second, the characteristics and circumstances of individuals such as health, skills, employability and motivation which determine availability for work. Making work sustainable requires a match between job quality and availability for work in an integrated model that is influenced by the institutional context of employment (comprising legislation and collective agreements), and by company-level practices in areas such as working time, age management, employee engagement, work organisation and employee participation.

Papers are invited to the conference stream that focus on the theme of sustainable work including evaluations of the concept and research on attempts to introduce policies and practices aimed at enhancing sustainable work. The conference stream aims to provide an opportunity for discussion of sustainable work as a concept and of empirical research findings on initiatives at organisational level.

29th February 2016

Labour & Industry: a journal of the social and economic relations of work.

Labour and Industry is the official journal of the Association of Industrial Relations Academics of Australia and New Zealand (AIRAANZ), and was established in 1987. It is published by Routledge/ Taylor and Francis and a new editorial team was appointed in 2016 led by Prof. Jane Parker, Prof. Jim Arrowsmith (both Massey University, Auckland, NZ) and Dr. Noelle Donnelly (Victoria University, Wellington, NZ).

The journal welcomes empirical and theoretical contributions relating to work and industrial relations. It has a broad and international multi-disciplinary scope that embraces industrial/employment relations, human resource management, labour and business history, labour and employment law, management and organisational studies, political science and public policy, organisational psychology and sociology. 

For further details please see the website. 

http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rlab20/current#.VsvJPX197s0

The editorial team would also be pleased to discuss ideas for submissions and special issues, and will be represented by Jane and Jim at the 2016 BUIRA conference in Leeds.

29th February 2016

King's College, London - Vacancies

King's College accepts applications from enthusiastic candidates for the following posts:

*   Professor in International Management
https://www.hirewire.co.uk/HE/1061247/MS_JobDetails.aspx?JobID=67283

*   Reader in International Management
https://www.hirewire.co.uk/HE/1061247/MS_JobDetails.aspx?JobID=67323

*   Lecturer in Human Resource Management
https://www.hirewire.co.uk/HE/1061247/MS_JobDetails.aspx?JobID=67281

*   Lecturer in International Management
https://www.hirewire.co.uk/HE/1061247/MS_JobDetails.aspx?JobID=67266

*   Teaching Fellow in Management
https://www.hirewire.co.uk/HE/1061247/MS_JobDetails.aspx?JobID=67285

____________

King's College London is the 4th oldest university in the UK and is recognised today as a world-leading research university, consistently ranked in the top 20 globally. We understand the need to turn original thinking into everyday application, encouraging curiosity to develop work that makes an impact on society and global issues. Great names from King's are continuing to change the world.

Located in the heart of London, King's is the hub of a global network of strong academic connections and collaboration, with prestigious international partnerships within and across disciplines - scientific and medical, social and creative. King's is investing in the highest calibre of talent to drive the university forward to achieve its greatest potential. We are looking for a strong commitment to research (as attested by top publications) and teaching to push the boundaries of knowledge, influence the future and create a lasting impact.

In September 2015, our Department of Management became the School of Management & Business, within the Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy, and engaged in an unprecedented period of expansion, including the opening of new programmes at the BSc and MSc level.

We are research driven, deeply interdisciplinary, and all social sciences (sociology, political science, psychology, economics, industrial relations) are represented within our school. Our faculty has recently published in top journals including British Journal of Industrial Relations, Human Relations, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Organization Studies, Work, Employment & Society and others. Our faculty also values and produces high quality monographs with prestigious university presses.

We offer an excellent balance between research and teaching, pension scheme, sabbatical entitlement for tenure track positions, an extremely collegiate faculty environment and training opportunities, in particular for those new to teaching.

29th February 2016

9th Equality, Diversity and Inclusion International Conference (EDI)

22 - 24 June 2016, University of Cyprus, Cyprus

Conference theme: Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Human Rights in Times of Austerity

Stream title: Intersectional approaches to climate change

Stream convenors: Kate Sang, Christopher Lyon, Susan Sayce, Nisha Onta

The effects of climate change will not be felt equally across national contexts, with poorer countries facing more immediate and stronger effects. However, global efforts to address climate change have also recognised that gender is also a factor in both the effects of climate change and also its mitigation. However, gender still remains peripheral to climate policy making, regardless of the gender composition of policy making teams (Mangusdottir & Kronsell, 2014). Further, there is increasing understanding of the importance of working with indigenous peoples and ontologies/epistemologies. This has been highlighted in terms of policy making, and media representations of climate change (Roosvall and Tegelberg, 2015).

However, social identities cannot be viewed in isolation. Efforts to understand how multiple identities may affect an individual’s experience have moved towards the theory of intersectionality. Developed by Kimberle Crenshaw (1991) this approach does not aim to add together sources of discrimination or oppression, rather how these sources interact to inform experience (Hancock, 2007). Davis (2008:68) defines intersectionality as ‘the interaction between gender, race, and other categories of difference in individual lives, social practices, institutional arrangements, and cultural ideologies and the outcomes of these interactions in terms of power’. Warner (2008:454) provides the following definition of intersectionality: ‘the idea that social identities such as race, gender and class interact to form qualitatively different meanings and experiences’. Analyses of intersectionality are moving towards understanding how privilege and disadvantage may interact (Yuval-Davis, 2006: 201). Early steps have been made to understand, from an intersectional perspective, can inform how communities respond to climate change (Vinyeta et al., 2015). However, there is considerable scope for further studies which can adopt intersectionality in order to provide nuanced and contextualised understandings of how to best respond to the threats posed by climate change.

Empirical and conceptual submissions are not limited to, but may wish to consider:

- How gender informs experiences of working within organisations dedicated to mitigating the effects of climate change. Further, how does gender intersect with other social identities, such as ‘race’, ethnicity, sexuality, disability to inform these experiences.

- How is gender, and other intersecting social identities, (re)produced within climate change organisations? What are the effects of these (re)productions on efforts to mitigate climate change and its effects?

- The dynamics of how gender intersects with other social identities for understanding and mitigating the effects of climate change.

- How incorporating methodological approaches which enable temporal and contextual elements may help to reveal the intersectional dynamics of climate change.

- How can intersectional understandings be used to inform climate policy, and associated practice?

- Given the particular local effects of climate change, to what extent (and in what ways) are global organisations adapting their policies to local concerns. This may include working relationships with indigenous peoples.

- To what extent are indigenous, and other non Western perspectives, welcome within academic debates on climate change?

- How, and to what extent, do new initiatives such as Green/Sustainable Human Resource Management create opportunities for organisations to challenge existing patterns of privilege/oppression?

The panel welcome queries prior to submission. Please contact Kate Sang (k.sang@hw.ac.uk) in the first instance.

Important dates:

• Abstract/Developmental/full paper submission: March 31, 2016 on http://www.edi-conference.org

• Response to authors (acceptance / rejection): April 30, 2016.
• Deadline for full papers and best paper nominations and submission of best papers to the relevant associated journal (as agreed by submitter): May 30, 2016.

22nd February 2016

PhD Studentship Opportunity at the University of Portsmouth

If you know of anyone who might be interested in a PhD studentship opportunity at the University of Portsmouth please share these details.

Topic: Juridification and Contention in Employment Relations: the Role of Judicial Review

Closing date for applications: Tuesday 29 March 2016

Interviews: Interviews will be conducted on Tuesday 26 April 2016

Start date for the studentship: 1 October 2016

Funding: The studentship will cover tuition fees and an annual grant equivalent to that offered by the ESRC – set at £14,057 per annum for 2015/16 for full-time study for a maximum of three years. There is an allowance of £2000 for fieldwork associated with the PhD research. UK/EU residence eligibility conditions apply.

For further information about the opportunity, including how to apply, is available here: http://www.port.ac.uk/postgraduate-research/business-and-management/funded-phd-opportunities/juridification-and-contention-in-employment-relations-the-role-of-judicial.html

22nd February 2016

2016 Centre for Employment Relations Innovation and Change (CERIC) Doctoral Conference

The Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change (CERIC) warmly invites postgraduate researchers at all stages to the 2016 CERIC Doctoral Conference, to be held on Wednesday 11th May 2016 at Leeds University Business School.
Abstracts for oral and poster presentations are invited from a broad spectrum of employment relations themes covering any aspect of:

- Work
- Employability
- Labour Markets
- Industrial relations / trade union movements
- Human resource management

The abstract submission of up to 300 words is now open. The deadline for abstract submission is Monday 21st of March 2016 (notification of acceptance will be sent by Friday 1st April). The abstract submission and registration for the conference can be made via e-mail: cericphd@leeds.ac.uk
CERIC is pleased to offer a prize for the best presentation, which will be the costs (up to £400) to cover attendance at a leading conference of the student’s choice. There is also a prize of £100 for the best poster presentation.

For any queries please contact the organisers at cericphd@leeds.ac.uk
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To find out more about CERIC, please visit: http://lubswww2.leeds.ac.uk/CERIC/

15th February 2016

Central London BUIRA in conjunction with University of Westminster - Seminar Programme 2016

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

10.30am – 12.30pm, followed by buffet lunch

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

SEMINAR PROGRAMME 2016: European integration and the direction of employment and industrial relations:

29 April 2016, European integration, free movement and migration with Prof Bernard Ryan (University of Leicester) on EU migration and regulation in the UK labour market and Dr Eugenia Markova (University of Brighton) The impact of migration regulations on third-country nationals

This regular monthly seminar is focussed on the roles of migration and free movement in European integration, an area critical to understanding the direction of employment and industrial relations. Bernard Ryan from the University of Leicester will discuss the impact of EU labour migration and regulation, whilst Eugenia Markova from the University of Brighton will draw on a recently completed empirical study of the transnational mobility and integration patterns of Bosnians-Herzegovinians, Ukrainians, Filipinos and Indians in the UK to discuss the impact of migration regulations on third-country nationals. Room M03 (lunch M304)

27 May 2016 European integration and the role of trade unions with Dr Torsten Müller, (European Trade Union Institute) Strategies to counter crisis-related attacks on trade union rights and Dr Aristea Koukiadaki (University of Manchester), Continuity and Change in Joint Regulation in Europe: Structural Reforms and Collective Bargaining in Manufacturing

Discussant: Professor Richard Hyman (LSE)

This regular monthly seminar is focussed on European integration and the direction of employment and industrial relations. Torsten Müller from the European Trade Union Institute will provide an overview of strategies by trade union organisations at European and national levels to counter attacks on trade union rights. In his presentation, Torsten will show that attacks on trade union rights are not limited to those countries directly affected by European-level interventions in the context of the misguided EU crisis management, but that - mainly conservative - governments in a range of European countries use the crisis as a pretext for attacks on union rights. Against this backdrop he will show different strategies - legal action, mass demonstrations, political consultation and cross-national coordination - which unions try to cultivate in order to counter these attacks on trade union rights. And Aristea Koukiadaki will discuss the findings from a recently completed research project on the impact of the austerity measures on national systems of collective bargaining in the EU Member States most affected by the crisis. Room C282 (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)

15th February 2016

Journal of Industrial Relations – Latest Issue

The latest issue of the Journal of Industrial Relations contains several articles that may be of interest to BUIRA members, in particular a theoretical paper by Ed Heery on IR pluralism in Britain

All articles are available at the following link: http://jir.sagepub.com/content/58/1.toc

Articles

British industrial relations pluralism in the era of neoliberalism - Edmund Heery

‘We are very focused on the muffins’: Regulation of and compliance with industrial relations in franchises - Ashlea Kellner, David Peetz, Keith Townsend, and Adrian Wilkinson

Extending employment entitlements to non-standard workers: Alternative models for long service leave portability - Ray Markey, Shauna Ferris, Joseph McIvor, Louise Thornthwaite, Chris F Wright, Salut Muhidin, Sharron O’Neill, and Nick Parr

Wage determination in Australia: The impact of qualifications, awards and enterprise agreements - Damian Oliver

Constraints on public sector bargaining in Canada - Joseph B Rose

Are Chinese workers compensated for occupational risk? - Haining Wang, Zhiming Cheng, and Russell Smyth

Wage inequality and neoliberalism: The Australian experience - Ian Watson

15th February 2016

De Montfort University - Graduate School Full Bursary PhD Scholarship

Trade Union History and Policy: A study of how contemporary British Trade Unions use their history & the available historical resources to inform their current identities and strategies (Supervisors: Professor Peter Ackers, Professor Robert Colls and Dr Heather Connolly)

Contemporary Research on Organisations, Work and Employment (Crowe) Research Group, Department of HRM, Faculty of Business and Law (in collaboration with the School of Humanities), De Montfort University, Leicester.

COMMENCING OCTOBER 2016.

A PhD research scholarship including stipend and tuition fee costs is offered within the Contemporary Research on Organisations, Work and Employment (Crowe) Research Group, Department of HRM, Faculty of Business and Law, De Montfort University, Leicester. It is available to UK or EU students who are suitably qualified and have outstanding potential as a researcher.

In offering this scholarship the University aims to further develop its proven research strengths in Employment Relations and Labour History.  It is an excellent opportunity for a candidate of exceptional promise to contribute to a stimulating, world-class research environment.

Professor Ackers is on the management committee of the Trade Union Forum of History & Policy, which links trade union leaders and historians. This
related PhD project will explore how trade unions understand and use their history. Applicants should have a good first degree in History and preferably a Masters. They should have some specialism in C20th British History, an awareness of Social and Economic History and an interest in Trade Unions. The research would include: mapping the current state of knowledge and the availability of resources, such as the Modern Records Centre and the Peoples’ History Museum; exploring the role of the TUC/ GFTU; and more in-depth research into a sample of current British trade unions.

For a more detailed description of the scholarship, the subject area at DMU, and an application pack please visit: http://www.dmu.ac.uk/research/graduate-school/phd-scholarships.aspx.

Please direct academic queries to Professor Peter Ackers on +44 (0)116 257 7865 or email peter.ackers@dmu.ac.uk. For administrative queries contact Morgan Erdlenbruch at Morgan.Erdlenbruch@dmu.ac.uk. Completed applications should be returned together with two supporting references and an academic transcript.

Applications are invited from UK or EU students with a Master’s degree or good first degree (First, 2:1 or equivalent) in History. Doctoral scholarships
are available for up to three years full-time study starting October 2016 and provide a bursary of ca. £14,296 pa in addition to University tuition fees.

Please quote ref:  DMU Research Scholarships 2016: BAL FB2.

CLOSING DATE: Tuesday 29th March 2016. Interviews for shortlisted candidates will be held by Friday 29th April.

15th February 2016

Fast Food Rights: Hungry for Justice

Manchester Industrial Relations Society Meeting

Speaker: Ian Hodson

President, Bakers’, Food and Allied Workers’ Union (BFAWU)

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

Thursday 18 February 6pm
Lecture Theatre LT35, Ground Floor
Manchester Metropolitan University Business School
All Saints, Oxford Road, Manchester M15 6BH
Map:  http://www.mmu.ac.uk/travel/allsaints/

Recent announcements from hugely profitable global fast-food companies regarding their use of unpaid labour as part of the government’s ‘workfare’ scheme, the abundant use of zero hours contracts and the payment of wages that are so low employees are dependent on state handouts to exist, have gone largely unnoticed in the mainstream media. But the continued existence of this exploitation is a shocking indictment of employment relations in the 21^st century.

In response, the Fast Food Rights campaign was set up in 2014 by the Bakers’, Food and Allied Workers’ Union (BFAWU), Unite the Resistance and Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, to demand £10 an hour, the right to join a trade union, and secure contracts of employment. Inspired by the growing movement in the United States - involving widespread fast food workers’ strikes alongside other low paid workers campaigning for $15 an hour and union rights - the UK’s own Fast Food Rights Campaign has helped to kick-start a fight to address the lack of fairness. Direct action protests have taken place outside McDonalds, Pret a Manger and other companies across the country. Come and hear Ian Hodson relate why fast food workers are ‘hungry for justice’.

For further details of the Manchester Industrial Relations Society please  contact:

Professor Ralph Darlington, Salford Business School, University of Salford, Salford M5 4WT

Phone: 0161-295-5456; email: r.r.darlington@salford.ac.uk

Manchester Industrial Relations Society website: www.mirs.org.uk

Twitter: @ManchesterIRS

8th February 2016

Warwick-Acas Lowry Lecture: 11th April 2016, 5.00pm

You are invited to attend the 2016 Lowry lecture, organised by the Industrial Relations Research Unit together with Acas, in memory of Sir Pat Lowry. The speaker for this fifteenth lecture in the series will be John Cridland, former Director General at CBI. The provisional title for his lecture is ‘Reflections on employee relations’.

We do hope that you will be able to join the invited audience of senior employment relations practitioners, policymakers and academics for the lecture, commencing at 5pm on Monday April 11^th. The lecture will be held at WBS London at the Shard and will be followed at 6.30pm by a reception. Attendance at the lecture is by invitation only and numbers are restricted.

Could you please email irruoffice@wbs.ac.uk by Monday 21^st March to confirm your attendance.

Details of the location of the lecture at the Shard and how to reach WBS in London will be provided nearer the time.

8th February 2016

IR&HR Subject Area Research Seminar Series UCD

Dear Colleagues, 

We are pleased to invite you to the IR&HR Subject Area Research Seminar Series

Semester 2, 2015-2016

Room:  N202 & N203 University College Dublin

Time:  12.00pm – 13.30pm

Faculty, Graduate Students and Practitioner’s Welcome   

For further information, please, contact:

 Dr. María J. Belizón 

Lecturer in International Human Resource Management

UCD School of Business, N307

Carysfort Avenue, Blackrock

Co. Dublin

Tel: +353 (0) 17168975

maria.belizon@ucd.ie

8th February 2016

Central London BUIRA Seminar: European integration, free movement and migration:

Prof Bernard Ryan (University of Leicester) on EU migration and regulation in the UK labour market and Dr Eugenia Markova (University of Brighton) The impact of migration regulations on third-country nationals

Room M303 (lunch M304)

Friday 29 April 2016, 10.30am – 13.00pm, followed by buffet lunch

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

(opposite Madame Tussauds and nearly opposite Baker Street tube)
Room M303 (lunch M304)

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

This regular monthly seminar is focussed on the roles of migration and free movement in European integration, an area critical to understanding the direction of employment and industrial relations. Bernard Ryan from the University of Leicester will discuss the impact of EU labour migration and regulation, whilst Eugenia Markova from the University of Brighton will draw on a recently completed empirical study of the transnational mobility and integration patterns of Bosnians-Herzegovinians, Ukrainians, Filipinos and Indians in the UK to discuss the impact of migration regulations on third-country nationals.

Bernard Ryan has been Professor of Migration Law at the University of Leicester since 2013 and is co-chair of the Migration and Law Network, which aims to promote the field of migration law in British universities. His research has focused on; the inter-relationship of labour migration and the law; international law relating to migration; the legal framework relating to irregular migration; and the implications of diversity for migration law and policy. He is editor of Labour Migration in Hard Times: Reforming Labour Market Regulation?, published by the Institute of Employment Rights. 

Eugenia Markova is Senior Lecturer in Economics at the Brighton Business School, University of Brighton, UK. She has an extensive research, consultancy and publication record on the economic and social aspects of labour migration, having covered the UK, Greece, Bulgaria and Spain. Most recently she investigated and coordinated the UK part of the EU-funded study ITHACA: Integration, Transnational Mobility and, Economic and Social Capital Transfers. Her publications include (with S. McKay and A. Paraskevopoulou (2011) Undocumented workers’ transitions – legal status, migration and work in Europe, London: Routledge.

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

Please note too the following seminar (details attached) on

27^th May 2016 European integration and the role of trade unions with Dr Torsten Müller, (European Trade Union Institute) Strategies to counter crisis-related attacks on trade union rights and Dr Aristea Koukiadaki (University of Manchester), Continuity and Change in Joint Regulation in Europe: Structural Reforms and Collective Bargaining in Manufacturing

Discussant: Professor Richard Hyman (LSE)

8th February 2016

BUIRA Conference 2016: abstract by end of February please

BUIRA 2016: Employment relations towards 2020 and beyond: reflection, prospects and opportunities

Last call for abstracts 29 February 2016

The aim of the BUIRA 2016 conference (29 June to 1 July) will be to discuss the prospects and opportunities for employment relations as we approach 2020.

The year 2020 has been used by policy makers, academics and commentators on work and employment relations as a basis for reflection, measurement and assessment. At EU level, 2020 is the point at which many of the neo-liberal informed agenda around change and growth are expected to reach fruition.

For many, 2020 will be seen as a point at which an assessment of the consequences and permanent legacies of austerity regimes and restructuring can reasonably take place. In the UK, 2020 will see the next general election, with the first three months of the current Conservative government having already had a profound impact on the regulation of employment, work and welfare.

For those who have long speculated about the changing nature of work, employment and employment relations, 2020 is also a key moment, in which long predicted changes and continuities in the nature of work might be examined and reassessed.

What are the prospects for collective bargaining and organising towards 2020? How can labour movements respond to the growing fragmentation of work, regulatory challenges and processes of restructuring? Do green agendas offer new opportunities, or threats to organised labour? Are we seeing a new social settlement between labour, employers and the state, and how is this being manifested through employment law and regulation? In what ways is work being reconfigured, and what are the implications for workers of different races, classes, genders and ages?   What are the experiences of work for those in the margins of the economy, for those in low paid jobs, for migrants, and for those in the growing shadow and informal economy?

We welcome contributions that offer reflections and assessments of employment relations as we approach 2020. We welcome empirical (both quantitative and qualitative), analytical, conceptual and methodological papers. The themes below are indicative rather than prescriptive and we welcome any papers likely to be of interest to BUIRA members. We are looking to continue the inclusive and welcoming atmosphere that has characterised recent BUIRA conferences, and we very much welcome submissions from new researchers including doctoral students.

Papers addressing the issues below will be particularly welcomed:

Perspectives on employment relations: researching employment relations; methods in employment relations; inside the world of work; quantitative and qualitative research in employment relations 40 years after Donovan.

New visions for employment relations towards 2020 and beyond: protest and resistance in work; new and old actors in the employment relationship; movements of labour; labour organising.

Bargaining and the bargaining agenda towards 2020*: the prospects for and challenges of bargaining; bargaining for the green economy; bargaining for restructuring and skills; new bargaining agendas and actors

A new social settlement? Employment law and regulation towards 2020: employment systems and employment relations; changing landscapes of social protection and labour rights; challenges to the EU social model

The (changing?) experience of work and welfare: poverty and work: contingent and non-standard forms of employment; work in the shadow and hidden economy; race, class, gender and age divisions in work and welfare; work, unemployment, inactivity and welfare.

Equality and diversity towards 2020: equality and diversity under austerity; deregulation and equality; equality, diversity and labour organising

Innovation in presentations

For 2016, we are looking at innovative ways of organising sessions at the conference. Alongside the usual 20 minute presentation of papers in a standard session, and plenaries, we will be looking to organise other sessions involving more innovative methods of delivery to facilitate wider discussion and debate. These will include: