Skip to main content

Special sessions

SPECIAL SESSION 1:

Workshop for Developing Papers on Gender and Industrial Relations

Organisers:

Keywords: Gender and industrial relations, industrial relations theory, feminist theory, gender equality.

Summary:

This special session focuses on developing papers for a forthcoming Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society special issue on Gender and Industrial Relations. The session provides a platform for authors to present extended drafts, receive constructive feedback from the guest editors (who are the organisers of this workshop), and refine their work for submission to the special issue.

Format: Paper development session.

Workshop for Developing Papers on Gender and Industrial Relations

————————————————————————————————————–

SPECIAL SESSION 2:

Implementation and Negotiation of AI in the Workplace

Organisers:

Format: Conference Stream and special issue paper development workshop.

Contributions are encouraged from a variety of perspectives, including empirical research, case studies and theoretical analyses. We look forward to your submissions that will enrich the discourse established in this critical area of study. Contributions to the special issue (in English or German) will be published in the German Journal Industrielle Beziehungen (= industrial relations; for more information at: https://www.nomos.de/en/journals/indbez/).

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact: [email protected] and [email protected]

Implementation and Negotiation of AI in the Workplace

————————————————————————————————————–

SPECIAL SESSION 3:

Social dialogue on care and cleaning platforms: impacts on job quality for a gendered workforce

Organiser & Chair: Associate Professor Anna Ilsøe, [email protected] (FAOS, University of Copenhagen).

Paper presenters:

  • Professor Ivana Pais, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart: Cooperative Platforms and Care Work in Italy: A Model for Fairer Labour Conditions?
  • Associate Professor Caroline Murphy, University of Limerick: ‘Playing ostrich’: the absence of digital platform work as a social dialogue concern in Ireland
  • Associate Professor Clémence Ledoux, University of Nantes: The role of the social partners in structuring the home care market in France
  • Associate Professor Anna Ilsøe, FAOS, University of Copenhagen: Collective bargaining on Danish cleaning platforms – effects of the Hilfr1 and Hilfr2 agreements for company and workers

Discussant: Professor Valeria Pulignano, KU Leuven.

Format: Paper presentation.

Social dialogue on care and cleaning platforms

————————————————————————————————————–

SPECIAL SESSION 4:

Comparative Industrial Relations Research: Towards Social Europe? An ETUI and Transfer research round-up

Organiser: Jane Parker, ([email protected]) ETUI, Belgium and Massey University, New Zealand

ETUI researcher:

  • Jane Parker
  • Kalina Arabadjieva
  • Béla Galgóczi
  • Agnieszka Piasna
  • Wouter Zwysen
  • Bart Vanhercke

Keywords: industrial relations, comparative, social Europe, research, ETUI.

Format: Panel discussion.

In this Special Session, we adopt a panel discussion involving short panellist presentations (5-6 minutes each) by ETUI researchers on key industrial relations features within and across the EU Member States as they relate to progress on Social Europe.

Comparative Industrial Relations Research – ETUI

————————————————————————————————————–

SPECIAL SESSION 5:

Power resources in contemporary employment relations

Organiser:

Keywords: Power resource theory; employment relations theory; industrial relations theory; unions; labour struggles.

This special session focuses on the application, potential and challenges of power resource theory. With its focus on power resource theory, the special session will be part of the agenda for the ILERA IR Theory Study Group.

Format: Paper presentations.

Power resources in contemporary employment relations

————————————————————————————————————–

SPECIAL SESSION 6:

Who cares for care workers? Challenges, dilemmas, and responses for employment and working conditions in the care sectors

Organisers:

Keywords: care services, care penalty, job quality, labour shortage, union responses.

List of participants:

  • Anna Mori – University of Milan. Chair
  • Mikkel Mailand, Mikkel Krogh – Employment Relations Research Center (FAOS), University of Copenhagen. Presenters of a research paper on Denmark
  • Frank Tros – University of Amsterdam. Presenter of a research paper on the Netherlands
  • Barbora Holubova, Marta Kahancová – Central European Labour Studies Institute (CELSI). Presenters of a research paper on Slovakia
  • Ruth Abramowski – University of Bremen. Presenter of a research paper on Germany
  • Oscar Molina, Joan Soler – Autonomous University of Barcelona. Presenters of a research paper on Spain
  • Monica Bolelli, Emmanuele Pavolini, Stefano Neri. University of Milan. Presenters of a research paper on Italy

Format: Presentation of research papers.

Who cares for care workers

————————————————————————————————————–

SPECIAL SESSION 7:

Work and employment in times of multiple transformations: implications for workers’ health and well-being as well as job quality

Session convenors:

  • Nadja Doerflinger (Federal Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Germany), [email protected]
  • Barbara Bechter (Durham Business School)

Keywords: work, transformation, health, well-being, job quality.

Format: Presentation of research papers.

Work and employment in times of multiple transformations

————————————————————————————————————–

SPECIAL SESSION 8:

The collective representation and regulation of work in the creative sectors

Organisers:

Keywords: Creative sectors, Representation, Collective bargaining.

The special session provides the opportunity to present and discuss recent and ongoing research on the collective representation and regulation of work in the creative sectors (performing arts, film and TV industry, fashion, design, videogames, etc.).

Type of special session: Presenting research papers.

The collective representation and regulation of work

————————————————————————————————————–

SPECIAL SESSION 9:

Geographies of Collectivism or Competition? Place-based communities in work and employment relations

Organisers:

Keywords: Place-based communities; Voice; Mobilisation; community capitalism; community studies as method

In this session, we revisit the strategic notion of ‘geographical sensitivity’ (Holgate et al 2011) that lead employment relations and trade union actions expand towards community trade unionism.

Format: Roundtable discussion.

Geographies of Collectivism or Competition

————————————————————————————————————–

SPECIAL SESSION 10:

Labour Law Re-Quantified: Business Ready, international labour regulation policy, and the future of labour indices

Organiser & Chair:

Keywords: labour law indices, B-READY, World Bank, ILO, international labour standards, Doing Business, labour law, leximetric, decent work.

Presentations: 

  • Sangheon Lee (Director, Employment Policy Department, International Labour Office, Switzerland),
  • Deirdre McCann (Durham University, UK)
  • Simon Deakin (University of Cambridge, UK)

Discussants: Bernd Brandl (Durham University, UK)

Format: The Session is organised as (1) 2-3 paper presentations followed by (2) contributions from 1-2 discussants and (3) extensive dialogue among Session attendees.

Labour Law Re-Quantified

————————————————————————————————————–

SPECIAL SESSION 11:

Introducing the project INTEGRATE-DIALOGUE: How to include non-standard workers in social dialogue

Organisers:

  • Anne Mette Ødegård, Kristin Jesnes, Kristin Alsos, Sissel Trygstad, Kristine Nergaard, Sigurd Oppegaard, Fafo, Norway

Contact info: [email protected] (Anne Mette Ødegård, Fafo) [email protected] (Kristin Jesnes, Fafo)

Keywords: non-standard workers, social dialogue, inclusion, labour rights, industrial relations.

In this Special session, we present the Horizon project INTEGRATE-DIALOGUE, where we aim to explore ways to include non-standard workers in social dialogue. The aim of the session is to flag the project and present the state of the art on the topic of including non-standard workers into social dialogue.

Format: 10 min presentation each and then a discussion with all the panellists.

Introducing the project INTEGRATE-DIALOGUE

————————————————————————————————————–

SPECIAL SESSION 12:

Migration and Employment: Policy Challenges and Interdisciplinary Insights.

Organiser: Guglielmo Meardi, Scuola Normale Superiore, Florence, Italy: guglielmo.meardins.it

Keywords: migration – employment – industrial relations – free movement – segmentation.

Chair: Guglielmo Meardi, SNS, Italy

Presenters (tbc):

  • Chris Forde, Gabriella Alberti (Leeds University): the role of employer associations
  • Stefania Marino, Miguel Martinez Lucio (Manchester University), Heather Connolly (Grenoble School of Management): the role of trade unions 
  • Camilla Devitt, Trinity College Dublin: migration policies
  • Alex Afonso, Leiden University: the role of the welfare state

Discussant: Pat McGovern, LSE.

Migration and Employment

————————————————————————————————————–

SPECIAL SESSION 13:

Institutional change in times of war – the case of Ukraine

Organisers:

  • Prof. Dr. Ivan Yatskevych, Faculty of Law, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Ukraine [email protected] 
  • Prof. Dr. Eva Kocher, Center for Interdisciplinary Labour Law Studies, Law Faculty, European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), Germany [email protected] 

Keywords: Labour law reforms – Wartime and transitory employment relations – Social dialogue – Worker protection and rights – EU accession.

The session presents first results of the collaborative project “Just Transition”, funded by the German and Ukrainian governments.

Format: Paper presentations.

Institutional change in times of war – the case of Ukraine

————————————————————————————————————–

SPECIAL SESSION 14:

What is the Future for Flexible Working after the Covid-19 Pandemic?

Organisers:

Keywords: Flexible Working Arrangements: Remote Working; Covid-19; Outcomes of Flexible Working; Future of Flexible working

This Special Session will take the form of a panel discussion where experts in the field, including the organisers, will address these questions sharing their own perspectives and research.  Contributions from the audience will be encouraged and the discussion will help shape the future agenda of the ILERA Flexible Work Patterns Study Group.

Tentative Participants:

  • Chair: Professor Greg Bamber, Monash University, Australia
  • Panellist: Professor Jill Rubery, Manchester University
  • Panellist: Dr Yvonne Lott, Hans Bockler Institute, Germany
  • Panellist: Dr Maria Adamson, Queen Mary University, UK
  • Panellist: Professor Pascale Peters, Nyenrode University the Netherlands

Format: Panel discussion.

What is the Future for Flexible Working after the Covid-19 Pandemic

————————————————————————————————————–

SPECIAL SESSION 15:

Friend or Foe? Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other New Technologies: What are the Implications for Labour and Employment Relations Policies, Practices and Theories? 

Organiser:

  • Greg J. Bamber is a Professor Department of Management, Monash Business School; Co- Director, International Consortium for Research in Employment & Work (iCREW), Research Theme Lead: Future of Work @ Monash Data Futures Institute, Monash University, Australia; and Associate Fellow, Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) led by Sussex University/Leeds University, funded by Economic and Social Research Council, UK (ESRC). Contact: [email protected]

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, New Technologies, Digitalisation, Workplace Change, Research.

This session is part of the Digit Artificial Intelligence Symposium (DAIS) series, an international academic collaboration focused on how AI is transforming work. DAIS aims to identify challenges, share the latest research findings, extend theoretical and policy debates, and consider potential solutions in a global context.

The three co-chairs are: 

  • Greg J Bamber, [email protected] , Professor& Co-Director, International Consortium for Research in Employment & Work (iCREW), Monash Business School, Monash University, Australia.
  • Jacqueline O’Reilly, [email protected], Professor & Co- Director, The University of Sussex Business School, UK; Co-Director: ESRC Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) (digit-research.org).
  • Professor Mark Stuart, [email protected], Pro Dean for Research and Innovation; Montague Burton Professor of Human Resource Management and Employment Relations; Director: Centre for Employment Relations Innovation and Change, Leeds University Business School, UK; Co-Director: ESRC Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) (digit-research.org).

Format: Roundtable discussion

Friend or Foe – Artificial Intelligence (AI)

————————————————————————————————————–

SPECIAL SESSION 16:

Collective Bargaining Between Transformation and Discontinuity – A Comparative Perspective on Southern and Northern Europe

Organisers:

  • Giorgio Impellizzieri,  Research Fellow, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia (Contact: [email protected])  
  • Niklas Selberg, Associate Professor, Lund University (Contact: [email protected]) 
  • Jari Murto, Associate Professor, University of Helsinki (Contact: [email protected]) 
  • Gloria Montes Adalid, Profesora Ayudante Doctora, Universidad de Málaga (Contact: [email protected])  
  • Raquel Castro Medina, Profesora Ayudante Doctora, Universidad de Málaga (Contact: [email protected])  

Keywords:  Collective Bargaining, Comparative Labor Law, Employment Relations, Labor Market Regulation, Social Dialogue.

Summary: Collective bargaining remains a fundamental pillar of labour market regulation, yet its role and effectiveness are being reshaped by profound economic, social, and institutional transformations. The fragmentation of production, the rise of atypical employment, and the increasing influence of supranational actors are redefining collective agreements’ impact in different national contexts.  

Format: Paper development session.

Collective Bargaining Perspective on Southern and Northern Europe

————————————————————————————————————–

SPECIAL SESSION 17:

Workers’ participation in challenging times

Organisers: 

Keywords: Workers’ participation, indie unions, community building, gig economy, diversity, power

Summary/call for submissions:

Workers’ participation broadly describes how, when and why power is shared with workers. Historically, worker participation has been theorised (and enacted) from a range of perspectives. For instance, scholarly literatures distinguish between worker participation as a transactional mechanism for exercising voice, or as serving deeper goals of industrial democracy. Its scale and scope diverge considerably across enterprise, regional, sectoral and national levels. Given that worker participation is fundamentally about power, power resource theory can provide a framework for analysing how worker participation both challenges and reflects the ways in which power is configurated and redistributed throughout societies (Refslund et al., 2022).

This session invites submissions from practitioners and researchers that focus on ‘new’ forms of worker participation that respond to the challenges of our times with a focus on how workers’ participation can address the power struggles of marginalised workers.

Topics could include:

  • Examples of traditional and emerging forms of worker representation and how these different forms of worker representation interact at national, sector and company level
  • How do unions and workers mobilise at the outskirts of the labour market and how do these forms of worker representation challenge, strengthen or weaken the more traditional institutional settings for worker voice and influence?
  • Is there a need to redefine the notion of power resources in the light of emerging and novel forms of worker representation?
  • What does worker participation manifest in the digital context?

This is an ILERA Study Group session we envisage this to be an open call for submissions, to revitalise interest in the study group.

Format: Paper presentations.

Workers’ participation in challenging times