Working Lives Research Institute Annual Report 2009

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Working Lives Research Institute

9 0 0 2 T R O P E ANNUAL R


WLRI Aims The WLRI undertakes academic, applied and socially committed research emphasising equality and social justice into all aspects of working lives. We work for and in partnership with trade unions and other social movements and for charities and research councils and government departments internationally, within Europe and in the UK.

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Contents Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Director’s introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 How the WLRI works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Staff and associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 WLRI Executive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 WLRI Research and Teaching Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Support Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 PhD Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Research at WLRI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Researching labour markets – restructuring, segmentation,  migration and the employment relationship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Researching identities, representation and organisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Researching the quality of work and working lives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Publications Summer 2008 to Autumn 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Journal articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Book Chapters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Other publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Book reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Key events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Teaching at the WLRI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Some WLRI partners in 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 WLRI Financial Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 www.workinglives.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

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S T H G I HIGHL The WLRI conducted research across the whole of the 27 EU member countries and in seven candidate countries on major new European projects about discrimination at work; one investigated on the effectiveness of the 2000 Racial Equality Directive upon trade unions and employers and racism; the second mapped trade union responses to all forms of discrimination.

WLRI staff published four significant books on work, employment trends and migration and 26 journal articles.

A successful conference in London marked the end of a major European research project on Undocumented Worker Transitions. 4  Working Lives Research Institute  Annual Report 2009

WLRI hosted a key conference at Londonmet in November 2008 on trade union organising jointly with the London Organisers’ Network.


We conducted a new fivecountry EU study, including ACAS as a UK partner, on the changed context for national conciliation processes.

We completed key research work for the trade union movement on equality reps, union learning, migrant workers and organising.

We continued to work on the six-country SPHERE FP7 project in the UK and France, looking at historical and contemporary articulations of regional, national and European identities through work and community in areas undergoing restructuring. Two successful conferences in Paris formally ended the French Labour Ministry threeyear project on service sector multinationals in Central and Eastern Europe.

The WLRI launched a new Professional Doctorate in Researching Work. Working Lives Research Institute  Annual Report 2009  5


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Director’s introduction 2009 has been another successful year for the WLRI, with important contributions being made by WLRI staff to many of the major debates of the day about restructuring, the use of agency workers and mobilising for fairness at work. Two major pan-European projects saw the WLRI taking the lead in conducting comparative international research into the impact EU social policy directives have had in encouraging trade unions (and employers) to stand up and fight discrimination. A significant project for the French Ministry of Labour raised new questions about the roles multinationals are playing in Central and Eastern Europe. Two new books by Allan Williams focused on other aspects of globalisation: Tourism and Innovation: villagers and visitors in the Asia Pacific shows how tourism plays a role in knowledge transfer, and International Migration and Knowledge argues the need to recognise the ‘diversity dividend’ that results from migration. Sonia McKay’s book, Refugees, Recent Migrants and Employment: Challenging barriers and exploring pathways, addressed the problems faced by refugees and recent migrants in accessing work. This was launched at a widely-attended European conference held at Londonmet.

The view that collective organisation and responses to economic and social crises have not passed their sell-by dates was challenged by two major events organised with WLRI support by Jane Holgate on behalf of the Critical Labour Studies group. In November 2008, the Organise 2008! Conference that was jointly sponsored by the London Organisers’ Network saw Jane launch her jointly-authored report ‘Ten years on: the impact of the Organising Academy on the UK union movement’. This was published by the TUC while the research was funded by the Nuffield Trust. In November 2009 another CLS two-day symposium saw trade union activists and academics exchanging ideas about challenging the neo-liberal agenda against the background of the world’s biggest financial crisis for 60 years. During 2009 Professor Mary Davis, one of the 2002 founders of the WLRI, left after a long career committed to labour movement history and to teaching trade unionists. We wish her a full and equally committed retirement. Four other colleagues also headed elsewhere, Sarwar Quamer, Ursula Huws, David Tarren and Taulant Guma, but in their places we offer a warm welcome to new staff members Nick Clark, Janet Emefo, Leroi Henry and Leena Kumarappan.

Dozens of other publications by WLRI staff have appeared during the year. At the start of 2009 the fruits of our earlier efforts were rewarded with the WLRI and Londonmet’s ISET research institute being ranked in joint ninth place among all UK universities for European Studies research in the country-wide Research Assessment Exercise.

Steve Jefferys

Our research and the launch of our new Professional Doctorate in Researching Work were made more difficult by the fact that the University itself was in deep crisis for nearly the whole year. The irony of the situation was not lost on us: the WLRI organised a highly successful one-day event in July 2009 on the health risks of restructuring at the very moment the University was down-sizing without taking into account any of the good practice guidelines the WLRI has developed. These suggest proper consultation and involvement of staff in restructuring are very important to safeguard future employee health. Working Lives Research Institute  Annual Report 2009  7


How the WLRI works The Institute was established in August 2002 as an independent multidisciplinary unit within the London Metropolitan University. It has the status of an independent department and one-third of its salary costs are met by the University. Its purpose is to undertake socially committed academic and applied research into all aspects of working lives, emphasising equality and social justice. The WLRI bridges the academic and non-academic worlds and has close links with the TUC Library Collections and the Women’s Library, both Special Collections at the University. The WLRI’s researchers work on projects within London, nationally within the UK, across Europe and internationally. These focus on the following interdisciplinary and interlocking issues around three main themes:

Researching labour markets – restructuring, segmentation, migration and the employment relationship ●●Labour market divisions on the basis of gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality; ●●Discrimination; ●●Employment practices and employment law; ●●Migrant workers, refugees, asylum seekers and work; ●●Changing organisations in the global economy; ●●Changing forms of work in a knowledgebased society.

Researching the quality of work and working lives ●●Health (especially in restructuring) and psycho social issues in work; ●●Training and lifelong learning; ●●Work/life balance. At any one moment the Institute is involved in around twenty externally-funded research projects. These projects are funded by a wide range of academic and non-academic organisations, including EU Framework 7 (DG Research) and the EU DG Employment, the UK Research council the ESRC, as well as by the Trades Union Congress and Britain’s largest trade unions, Unite and Unison, and many others including PCS, the CWU and the RCN and by several charities. The outputs of the Working Lives Research Institute’s research may be written reports for the funders, photographic exhibitions, films, seminars and conference presentations, newspaper or academic journal articles and training sessions. Outputs are also fed back into the Institute’s associated teaching programmes, in particular into a CPD course on Union Learning, MA courses in Trade Union and Labour Studies, Human Resource Management and PhD research and, from 2010, a new Professional Doctorate programme in Researching Work and a new MA programme in Work and Social Change.

Researching identities, representation and organisation ●●The histories of working people, minorities and social movements and their organisations; ●●Industrial relations, accommodation and conflict at work; ●●Employee representation and voice at work; ●●Social dialogue and partnership; ●●Organisation and management including human resource management.

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Staff and associates In December 2009 the Institute had 25 staff and a further 15 internal and external research associates. Most staff work full-time and the others are either parttime appointments or are seconded part-time from other departments of the university.

Support Staff

WLRI Executive Steve Jefferys

Director, Professor of European Employment Studies

Sonia Allouache

Finance Officer

Jawad Botmeh

Administrative Assistant

Linda Butcher

Senior Finance Officer

Janet Emefo

Administrative Assistant

Max Watson

Research Administrator

PhD Students

Sonia McKay

Deputy Director, Professor of European Socio-Legal Studies

Olgu Karan

Full-time (supervisors: Kahveci, Williams, Moore)

Sian Moore

Deputy Director, Reader

Jane Copley

Nigel Morter

Principal Lecturer, Centre for Trade Union Studies

Full-time (supervisors: Holgate, Moore)

Erol Kahveci

Professor of Seafarers’ Working Lives

Leon Walton

Part-time

Janet Miller

Part-time

Allan Williams

Professor of European Integration and Globalization

Krzystof Boroch

Part-time

Roger McKenzie

Part-time

Paul Hampton

Part-time

WLRI Research and Teaching Staff Nick Clark

Senior Researcher

Fiona Colgan

Leroi Henry

Senior Lecturer, Director (COERC) Senior Researcher (Europe) Senior Researcher

Jane Holgate

Senior Researcher

Janroj Keles

Researcher

John Kirk

Senior Researcher

Leena Kumarappan

Researcher

Eugenia Markova

Researcher

Anna Paraskevopoulou

Researcher

Cilla Ross

Reader

Christine Wall

Senior Researcher

Andrea Winkelmann-Gleed

Senior Researcher

Tessa Wright

Senior Researcher

Sylvie Contrepois

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Research at WLRI The research under way at any one time at the Institute is always diverse in terms of its funding, scale and focus, but reflects our concern for socially committed academic and applied research into all aspects of working lives – contemporary and historical. Gender, race, ethnicity and class – as well as other social divisions and bases for mobilisation – are central to our research. The breadth and interdisciplinary nature of this research is demonstrated by our contribution to three broad and overlapping areas at regional, national, European and international levels. The examples listed below are not exhaustive, but hopefully give a flavour of the research into working lives we carried out this year.

Researching labour markets – restructuring, segmentation, migration and the employment relationship Research on the organisation, segmentation and restructuring of labour markets is supported by a wide range of funding bodies. Migration is an important theme under this heading and a major project has been the DG Research (EU) Framework Six project on Undocumented Worker Transitions. From 2007 to 2010 we provided the EU-level reports

for the European (Dublin) Foundation EIROnline’s continuously updated analysis of employment relations. The WORKS project, which ended in mid-2009 and was funded under EU DG Research Framework Six, involved co-operation between 17 partner research institutions, examining how changes in global value chains impact on the use of skills and knowledge, flexibility and the quality of work, as well as for occupational identities and learning. A smaller UK-focused project currently investigates the impact of the fragmentation of healthcare provision on the experiences of nurses working in prisons. One long-term study for the French Ministry of Labour ended in November 2009 with a successful meeting in Paris. This DARES project examined whether French service sector multinational companies exported the French social model to Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland when they invested there. Research on labour market discrimination is central to the Institute’s research. Building on earlier research on age as a factor in the labour market experiences of both older men and women we are currently involved in a European project disseminating the findings on how to avoid age-related discrimination at work.

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Funder

Project title

Current or final results in brief

French Ministry of Labour – DARES

The transferability by French Multinational companies of the social model to Eastern Europe

French MNCs rarely export the French social model. But where host country union organisation exists, or where they see the possibility of reinforcing MNC culture, the MNCS are more likely to seek to integrate host country employees into European Works Councils

European Foundation

EU Level correspondent for Observatories

We led the EU level team for the three Observatories, reporting on European industrial relations, working conditions and restructuring as well as developing and updating the European Industrial Relations Dictionary

DG Employment (EU)

Health in Restructuring (HIRES+) network

The health of both the victims and the survivors of restructuring is adversely affected by redundancies. The worst effects can, however, be mitigated through introducing genuine consultation and other measures to protect workers’ self‑esteem.

DG Research (EU)

PIQUE – privatisation and productivity

A six country EU study found little evidence to support the argument that the quality of services was improved through privatisation. It is the case that job losses led to some productivity gains, but most of these gains resulted from technological or product developments, and occurred even where privatisation had not taken place

ESF6 INTERREG IVC and European Regional Development Fund (EU)

ESF6 CIA – Capitalising Innovative Approaches towards Demographic Change. Exchange of best practices related to the management of older workers across regions in 8 EU Member States.

Completion of regional sensitisation workshops raising awareness among stakeholders. Midterm conference organised by WLRI with representatives of all project partners, the European Commission and stakeholders from the East of England. Discussion of approaches to promote active aging. Currently, interregional thematic seminars focus on specific policy aspects. Outcomes of these seminars feed into the development of regional action plans.

DG Research (EU)

WORKS – work organisation and restructuring in the knowledge society

In general, value chain restructuring may be an additional trigger for the flexibilisation of the work force. Higher levels of contingent and precarious work can be found at the bottom of the value chain. The most comprehensive effects of value chain restructuring observed in the case studies are increased temporal pressure, resulting from an increased impact of costumers, time zone differences, increased market pressures, and acceleration of businesses. Quantitative work also experiences an increase in temporary work, shift work and part-time work in most countries.

Framework Six

Framework Six

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Funder

Project title

Current or final results in brief

DG Research (EU)

UWT – Undocumented Worker Transitions

This seven country study found that everywhere there has been a trend towards tightening the controls over family reunion, restricting economic migration through quota or special permits systems and containing ‘illegality’. These were accompanied by restrictions on freedom of movement and on the right to work. In all seven countries the researchers observed a growing restrictive regime in relation to welfare rights and to social provision in relation to undocumented migrants, with increasing emphasis on the denial of basic rights, including healthcare rights. These restrictive regimes have not halted undocumented migration. The researchers concluded that workers without papers have been driven into the most marginal and dangerous jobs, but that the imperative for them to seek work makes even these difficult conditions ‘acceptable’.

ESRC

International migration and innovation in the London hotel sector and SMEs

International migrants constitute more than half the managers/ owners of small hotels in inner London. They contribute to raising overall formal skills levels in the sector, and are generally more likely than non-migrants to be innovative. All managers consider that the main value of migrant employees to their enterprises is their availability and willingness to work flexibly and at relatively low costs; however, there is limited evidence that they are also valued as sources of innovation.

RCN

Working lives of nurses in HM Prisons

The new project investigates the implications for and effect on prison nurses of the development of a mixed economy in the supply of healthcare services within the prison services of the UK. The aim will be to identify the challenges posed by having a mix of employers and providers, examples of good practice in employment and management, as well as the implications for the future of nursing within this sector.

Framework Six

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Researching identities, representation and organisation Researching discrimination in the workplace and forms of representation and organisation that respond to it have constituted another major strand of this year’s research. Two major projects focus on the ways in which the trade unions and employers responded to the Equality Directives of 2000. The ESRC is funding a major three-year project on ethnic minority representation at work which examines the question of whom do ethnic minority workers turn to for help, support and representation when they have problems at work: people in the workplace community including unions, support organisations in the local community such as CABs, social networks within their ethnic communities, or other forms of community organisations such as faith or political groups. We completed research for UNISON to support their attempts to increase migrant worker participation in the democratic processes of the union, as a contribution to reducing the exclusion of migrant workers in the workplace. Another Union Modernisation Fund project evaluates UNISON’s pilot project establishing Equality Representatives. Workplace reorganisation, and how this influences worker representation, is a theme that runs through much of our work. For example, an EU DG Employment project, that finished half-way through the year, Outsourcing, considered the extent to which collective bargaining and social dialogue are able to regulate outsourcing in the light of growing sub-contracting in the automotive, construction and local government sectors. The impact of the law upon representation and organisation is explored under a new Leverhulme Fellowship on trade union recognition that started in December 2009, and the ESRC has provided the WLRI with a Case Studentship to research the continuing appeal of professional and white collar trade union membership. For the RCN we conducted a study of the issues for employers in agreeing or denying trade unions recognition. We are also leading, in partnership with ACAS and with colleagues in four other European countries, a project examining trends in individual and collective conflict and the responses of conciliation, arbitration and mediation processes (CAMS). The WLRI has undertaken a range of studies on the union learning programme, including a recent project for TUC unionlearn on the relationship between learning and organising.

Funder

Project title

Fundamental Rights Agency (EU)

A Survey of the Effectiveness of the 2000 Racial Equality Directive among trade unions and employers in 27 EU Member States.

DG Employment (EU)

Mapping trade union responses to discrimination in 34 European countries

ESRC

EMRAW – Ethnic minority workers’ experiences at work

DG Employment (EU)

Social dialogue and the changing role of Conciliation, Arbitration Mediation Services in Europe (CAMS)

UNISON – Union Modernisation Fund

Establishing Equality Reps in UNISON

NUT – Union Modernisation Fund

Fairer Futures: equal opportunities and NUT local structures

UNISON –

Migrant Workers Participation Project

Union Modernisation Fund Unionlearn (Trade Union Congress)

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Integrating Learning and Organising strategies


Current or final results in brief Awareness of the Directive was strongest in the EU15. Only a minority of unions had changed their policies in response to the Directive, but, however reluctantly, many employers believed they had to be seen to no longer openly practising racism.

The interim report notes limited evidence of trade unions collecting statistical data on their members, beyond gender and (in a few cases) ethnicity with some opposition to the collection of such data. Many union respondents identify equality issues as related to gender, but few had sought to gender mainstream their work or other strands of discrimination. Where unions had taken action on discrimination this principally involved changes to union internal structures, some collective bargaining around equality issues, limited engagement with equality bodies, NGOs and community organisations and minimal use of legal strategies. The research is based in three London boroughs among three minority ethnic groups and investigates the means by which workers attempt to resolve their problems at work. Interviews have taken place with 185 workers in local South Asian, Kurdish and Black Caribbean communities, as well as trade unionists, community organisations and advice agencies to see the level of support available for employment problems. Initial finding suggest there is a dearth of employment advice available and that the situation has got worse over time. In a five country EU study, academics and practitioners discussed the changing context faced by national conciliation processes. Thus falling numbers of strikes testify to this method of collective protest becoming more difficult, but workers are expressing high volumes of workplace grievances through other mechanisms, often involving industrial tribunals. The Equality Rep role has the potential to provide new routes to activism for UNISON members, although the absence of time-off is a barrier to effectiveness. Whilst their basis in the workplace may encourage mobilisation, the potential focus of Equality Reps upon individual issues and lack of involvement in collective bargaining could constrain their union role. Whilst motivated by a general notion of equality, in practice Equality Reps are an addition rather than a substitute for selforganisation. An evaluation of a project enabling local strategies to engage black and minority ethnic, lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans, disabled and women members in equal opportunities The key achievement of the project has been the engagement of a cohort of migrant worker activists. Yet, privatisation represents a structural barrier to participation and there is a danger that migrant worker activists do not become integrated into the union, although this may be as much a reflection of the absence of branch activity as exclusion.

There has been a shift in the role of union learning with unions increasingly seeing union learning as integral to the wider organising agenda and consciously promoting the relationship. Although union learning may be related to employer and government skills agendas, it also goes beyond individual employability and can offer a path to union activism.

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Researching the quality of work and working lives Researching working lives is a major strand in our research, and encompasses a range of contemporary and historical projects focussing particularly on the experiences of workers in the UK, Europe and internationally. In a project funded by the British Library we are supporting the collection and digital recording of trade union documents in the Sudan. The ITF Seafarers’ Trust is funding a major international project examining the work of port-based welfare workers and organisations with the aim of contributing to improvements in seafarers’ welfare. We have been researching agency work and workers’ experiences during the year for two projects, one concerned with the cross-border use of agency workers, commissioned by the European social partners, the other concerned with the extent of work commitment of agency workers. The latter is part of a study being organised by the Swedish university of Gothenberg. In another project we are piloting action research by training union representatives to explore the wider impact of low pay on their colleagues’ children and grandchildren. We are also key players in an EU FP7 project, SPHERE, which examines how historical and contemporary articulations of regional, national and European identities are being transformed in regions experiencing economic restructuring and regeneration. Here we are researching in South Yorkshire and in the Corbeil-Evry Essonnes region south of Paris, with other partners in Silesia (Poland), Zonguldak (Turkey), Alicante (Spain) and in Nuremberg (Germany). This research aims to assess the consequences of transformatory economic restructuring for the workplace, family and locality, demonstrating how such changes impact upon individual and collective identities, traditions and customs.

Funder

Project Title

International Transport Workers Trust

Port Welfare-workers Review

UNISON

UNISON’s Children – the wider impact of low pay on the children of UNISON members

British Library

Sudanese Trade Union Archives

Unionlearn

Integrating Learning and Organising strategies

TUC

Quality of Work

UNI-EUROPA and EUROCIETT

Cross Border Agency Workers

University of Gothenberg

Commitment and Agency workers

EU DG Research

SPHERE – Space, place and the historical and contemporary articulations of regional, national and European identities through work and community in areas undergoing economic restructuring and regeneration

Framework 7

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Current or final results in brief The maritime ministries now represent the main and almost exclusive welfare support for seafarers in foreign ports. Originally providing services of an evangelical kind, today they perform a predominantly secular function, constituting a worldwide network highlighting the abuses and illegalities which seafarers are subject to. The services they provide vary according to their parent organisation and the regions they work in. Low pay has a wider impact upon UNISON members’ children in terms of parenting and social and political engagement.

Hundreds of trade union records have been photographed and are now being processed ready for filing in the British Library. There has been a shift in the role of union learning with unions increasingly seeing union learning as integral to the wider organising agenda and consciously promoting the relationship. Although union learning may be related to employer and government skills agendas, it also goes beyond individual employability and can offer a path to union activism. The quality of work is influenced as much by expectations and social relationships at work and the latter are challenged by work intensification. Very little data exists about the extent of cross border agency working. Evidence collected suggests it has declined during the recent crisis, but remains an option for employers that often allow working conditions to fall below collectively agreed norms. The research seeks to understand the extent of commitment by agency workers to their agency and to their actual employer.

A six country study of how changes in work and who is working affect the way people identify collectively – in their workplace, their neighbourhood or in their area. Early findings suggest the presence of residual beliefs linked to class or gender identities in tension with the dominant notions of what is called individualism, but approximates more closely to individuation.

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Publications

Summer 2008 to Autumn 2009 Books ●●

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Davis, M. (2009). Comrade or Brother? The History of the British Labour Movement 1789-1951. 2nd & revised edition. Pluto Press. ●●

Jefferys, S. and Appay, B. (eds.) (2009). Restructurations, précarisation, valeurs. Toulouse: Octares. McKay, S. Morris, G. and Oates S. (eds.) (2009). Financial Directors’ Handbook, London: Elsevier.

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McKay, S. (ed.) (2008). Refugees, recent migrants and employment: challenging barriers and exploring pathways. New York and London: Routledge. Williams, A.M. and Baláž, V. (2008). International Migration and Knowledge. London: Routledge.

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Williams, A.M. and Hall, C.M. (2008). Tourism and Innovation. London: Routledge. ●●

Journal articles ●●

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Coates, C. (2009). Union History Online: Digitization Projects in the Trade Union Congress Library Collections. International Labor and WorkingClass History, 76 (Fall 2009). Colgan, F., Wright, T., Creegan, C. and McKearney, A. (2009) Equality and diversity in the public services: moving forward on lesbian, gay and bisexual equality? Human Resource Management Journal, 19: 3: 280-301. Colgan, F., Creegan, C., McKearney, A., and Wright T. (2008). Lesbian Workers: Personal Strategies amid Changing Organisational Responses to “Sexual Minorities” in UK Workplaces. Journal of Lesbian Studies, Vol 12, No 1. Contrepois, S., Rigby, M. and O’Brien Smith, F. (2009). The Establishment of Enterprise Works Councils; Process and Problems. European Journal of Industrial Relations., Vol 15: pp 71-90.

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Henry, L., Bornat, J. and Raghuram P. (2009). ‘Don’t mix race with the specialty’: interviewing South Asian overseas-trained geriatricians. Oral History Journal, 37, 1: 74-84. Henry, L., Bornat, J. and Raghuram, P. (2008). Overseas-trained South Asian doctors and the development of Geriatric Medicine. Generations Review. 18 Holgate, J. and S. McKay (2009). Equal opportunities policies: how effective are they in increasing diversity in the audio-visual industries’ freelance labour market?, Media, Culture and Society, 31(1), pp.151-163. Holgate, J. Pollert, A and Keles, J (2009) Union decline, minority ethnic workers and employment advice in local communities. Industrial Law Journal 38:3. 412-6 Keles, J.K. (2008). Turks in the UK: Problems of Definition and the Partial Relevance of Policy. (coauthored with R. King R, M. Thomson, N. Mai). Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 6 (3), pp. 423 – 434. Kirk, J. (2009). Using Intersectionality to Examine the New Complexities of Work Identities and Social Class. Sociology Compass, March. pp 234-248. Kirk, J. (2008). “I don’t think that does leave you, because it’s about where you come from”: Exploring class in the classroom. Sociological Research Online, March. Kirk J. and Wall C. (2009). Resilience and loss in work identities: a narrative analysis of some retired teachers’ work-life histories. British Education Research Journal. June. Markova, E. (2008). Trabajadores bulgaros en Madrid: Situacion legal y actuacion en el mercado de trabajo. Revista CIDOB d’Affers Internacionals, 84, December, pp. 153-181.

Working Lives Research Institute  Annual Report 2009  19


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Markova, E and Reilly, B. (2008). The determinants of labour market earnings for Bulgarian migrants: Some micro-level evidence from Madrid, Spain. Migration Letters, 5 (2), pp. 177-188. Markova, E and Black, R. (2008). The experiences of ‘new’ East European immigrants in the UK labour market. Benefits: The Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, 16(1), pp. 19-32.

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McKay, S. (2008). Employer motivations for using agency staff. Industrial Law Journal, September. McKay, S. (2008). Making equal opportunities work: equal opportunities, employee attitudes and workplace performance – findings from WERS 1998, Industrial Law Journal, December. McKay, S. (2008). Trade unions and recent migration, Economia & Lavoro, Italy, September to December 2008, No. 3, pp 183-193.

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Moore, S. (2009) ‘No matter what I did I would still end up in the same position’: Age as a factor defining older women’s experience of labour market participation. Work, Employment, Society, 23:4. Moore, S and C. Ross (2008). The evolving role of union learning representatives. Journal of In-Service Education, 34 (4), December, pp. 423-440.

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Wall, C. (2008). Picturing an Occupational Identity: images of teachers in careers and trade union publications 1940-2000. History of Education, 37 (2), pp. 317-340. Williams, A.M. and V Balaz (2009). Low cost carriers, economies of flows, and regional externalities. Regional Studies 43(5), pp 677 – 691. Williams, A. M. (2009). International migration, uneven development and polarisation: an introduction. European Urban and Regional Studies, 16(3): 309-322.

Williams, A. M. and Shaw, G. (2009). Future play: tourism, recreation and land use – a Foresight review. Land Use Policy, Nov 2009. Williams, A.M. and V. Balaz (2008). International mobility, learning and knowledge transfer: a case study of Slovak doctors. Social Science and Medicine, 67, pp. 1924-33. Wright, T. (2008). Lesbian firefighters: shifting the boundaries between “masculinity” and “femininity”. Journal of Lesbian Studies, 12(1), pp. 103-112.

Book Chapters

McKay, S. and Moore, S. (2009). The Impact of Economic and Political Change upon Workplace Trade Union Representation in the UK. Bulletin of Comparative Labour Relations, Volume 70, pp. 97-112. McKay, S. and Wright T. (2008). Tightening immigration policies and labour market impacts. Transfer, vol 4.

Williams, A. M. and Shaw, G. (2009). Knowledge Transfer and Management in Tourism Organisations: an emerging research agenda. Tourism Management, 30 (3) 325–335.

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Coates, C. (2008). ‘A book that belongs to everyone’: curating the RTP manuscript and making it accessible. In: Cairnie, J. and Walls, M. (Eds). Revisiting Robert Tressell’s Mugsborough: New Perspectives on The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists. Cambria Press, Amherst, N.Y, USA. Contrepois, S. (2008). Transformations et recomposition du paysage syndical chez les libraires professionnels. In: Frédérique Leblanc et Patricia Sorel (dir.), Histoire de la Librairie Française. Paris, Éditions du cercle de la librairie. Henry, L. (2008). Disengagement and demoralisation: The roots of Ghanaian nurses’ responses to discrimination in the NHS. In Tschudin, V. ed The Globalisation of nursing: ethical, legal and political issues, Radcliffe Medical, Oxford. pp 116-125. Holgate, J. (2009). Contested terrain: London’s living wage campaign and the tension between community and union organising. In: J. McBride and I. Greenwood. The Complexity of Community Unionism: a Comparative Analysis of Concepts and Contexts. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Holgate, J., Stewart, P., McBride, J., Greenwood I., Stirling J., Tattersall, A., Stephenson, C. and Wray, D. (2009). ‘Understanding community Unionism.’ in McBride J. and Greenwood, I. The Complexity of Community Unionism: a Comparative Analysis of Concepts and Contexts. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

20  Working Lives Research Institute  Annual Report 2009


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Jefferys, S. (2009). Working hard to change the French Social Model: Is Sarkozy a French Thatcher? In : Jefferys, S. and Appay, B. (eds.) (2009). Restructurations, précarisation, valeurs. Toulouse: Octares.

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Jefferys, S. (2008). Trade Unions, Migration and Racism in France. In: S. McKay (ed.), Refugees, Recent Migrants and Employment: Challenging Barriers and Exploring Pathways. London: Routledge, pp. 121-138. Jefferys, S. (2008). Les relations professionelles prises comme objets de recherché: le role des enquêtes statistiques dans leurs contexts nationaux (France et Grande-Bretagne). In: T. Amossé, C. Bloch-London, L. Wolff (eds.), Les relations sociales en entreprise: un portrait à partir des enquêtes ‘Relations professionnelles et négociations d’entreprise’. Paris: La Découverte. pp 1-37. Jefferys, S. and Appay B. (2009). La précarisation, un défi majeur pour la démocratie. In Jefferys, S. and Appay, B. (eds.) (2009). Restructurations, précarisation, valeurs. Toulouse: Octares.

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Kirk, J., Wall, C., Jefferys, S. and Martin, J. (2009). Biography, Education and Civic Action: Teaching Generations and Social Change. In: M. Wetherell (ed.), Theorising Identities and Social Action, Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan. pp.38-56. McKay, S. (2009). The dimensions and effect of EU labour migration in the UK, In Galgóczi, B., Leschke, J. and Watt, A. (eds.) EU Labour Migration since Enlargement: Trends, Impacts and Policies Aldershot: Ashgate. McKay, S. (ed.) (2008). The commonalities of experience: refugees and recent migrants. In: Refugees, recent migrants and employment. New York and London: Routledge.

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McKay, S. (2008). Methodological challenges in researching the working experiences of refugees and recent migrants. In: S. McKay and P. Synder (eds.) Refugees, recent migrants and employment. New York and London: Routledge. McKay, S. (2008). Looking for work: exploring the job search methods of recent refugees and migrants. In: S. McKay (with P. Synder) (eds.) Refugees, recent migrants and employment. New York and London: Routledge.

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McKay, S. (2008). The future of work for recent migrants and refugees. In: S. McKay and P. Synder, (eds.) Refugees, recent migrants and employment. New York and London: Routledge. Markova, E. (2009). “The ‘insider’ position: ethical dilemmas and methodological concerns in researching undocumented migrants with the same ethnic background”, in: I.V. Liempt and V. Bielger (eds.) The Ethics of Migration Research Methodology: Dealing with vulnerable immigrants, Sussex Academic Press. Markova, E. (2009). “Bulgarian immigrants and community cohesion in London and Brighton”, in: J. Eade and Y. Valkanova (eds.) Accession and Migration: Changing Policy, Society and Culture in an Enlarged Europe, Ashgate: Aldershot. Moore, S. (2008). Market driven restructuring: the case of the UK. (With G. Luton) in: Gazier, B. and Bruggeman. F. (Eds) Work and Employment in Europe: Managing Change in an Era of Globalisation, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. Moore, S. (2008). The role of European trade unions in organisational restructuring processes – obstacles or facilitators?. (with G. Thomson and G. Luton) in: Gazier, B. and Bruggeman. F. (Eds) Work and Employment in Europe: Managing Change in an Era of Globalisation, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. Moore, S. and Ross, C. (2009).The evolving role of union learning representatives. In Alexandrou, A. (Ed) Union Learning Representatives: Challenges and Opportunities, London: Routledge. Perkins, S. J. (2009). Managing executive reward. In: G.White and J. Druker (eds., 2 nd edition) Reward Management: A Critical Text. London: Routledge. Perkins, S.J. and Festing, M. (2008). Rewards for internationally mobile employees. In: Brewster, C., Sparrow, P. and Dickmann, M. (eds., 2nd edition) International HRM: A European Perspective. London: Routledge. Williams, A.M. (2008). International retirement migration, a northern European perspective. In: C. Balkir (ed), International retirement migration to Turkey, Antalya.

Working Lives Research Institute  Annual Report 2009  21


22  Working Lives Research Institute  Annual Report 2009


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Williams, A.M. (2008). Employability and international migration: theoretical perspectives. In S McKay (ed), Refugees, Recent Migrants and Employment: Challenging Barriers and Exploring Pathways. Oxford: Routledge, pp 23-34.

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Wright, T. and McKay, S. (2008). Legal Frameworks Regulating the Employment of Refugees and Recent Migrants. In: S. McKay (ed.) Refugees, Recent Migrants and Employment: Challenging Barriers and Exploring Pathways. Routledge.

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Reports ●●

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Clark, N., Rogers, A. and Anderson, B. (2009). Recession, Vulnerable Workers and Immigration: a background report, Oxford: COMPAS Report, April.

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Clark, N. (2009). UK National Background Paper on Restructuring. ARENAS Restructuring Seminars, Turin: ILO-ITC.

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Clark, N. (2009). A survey of Social Partners in Member States on cross border activities within temporary work agencies. Brussels: EUROCIETT-UNI Europa. Colgan, F., Bond, S., and Hollywood, E. (2009) Integration in the Workplace: A Study of Age, Religion or Belief and Sexual Orientation. Research Report 36, Equality and Human Rights Commission.

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Contrepois, S., Nackphouminh, K. and Lada, E. (2009). Mise en œuvre de l’accord pour la mise en œuvre et l’égalité professionnelle entre les hommes et les femmes à la SNCF. Le cas de la Région Bretagne. Paris : Emergences. February.

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Contrepois, S., Jefferys, S., Kwiatkiewicz, A., Szabo, M. and Vladimirov, Z. (2009). Dans quelle mesure le modèle de relations sociales français est-il transférable? Les multinationales françaises et leur influence sur l’évolution des relations professionnelles en Bulgarie, en Hongrie et en Pologne. London : WLRI.

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Henry, L., Bornat, J. and Raghuram, P. (2009). Overseas-trained South Asian doctors and the development of geriatric medicine. Open University: Milton Keynes.

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Henry, L., Herron-Marx, S., Bayliss, H., Staniszewska, S., Bagley, P. and Tritter, J. (2008). A baseline assessment of the current state of Patient and Public Involvement in English NHS Trusts: Findings of the National Survey 2007, Warwick: NHS Centre for Involvement, University of Warwick. Jefferys, S. and McKay, S. (2009). The impact of the Racial Equality Directive: a survey of trade unions and employers in the Member States of the European Union. Vienna: Fundamental Rights Agency. Kahveci, E. (2008). Port based welfare services for seafarers. Addendum, ITF Seafarers’ Trust, London. McKay, S. (2009). Employer use of migrant labour – motivations, experiences and HR responses. London: ACAS. 03/09. McKay, S. (2009). Developments at EU level. In Industrial relations developments in Europe, Dublin: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. McKay, S. and Markova, E. (2008). Understanding the operation and management of employment agencies in the UK labour market. London: TUC Commission on Vulnerable Employment. Markova, E. and McKay, S. (2008). Agency and migrant workers literature review. London: TUC Commission on Vulnerable Employment. Markova, E. and Monastiriotis, V. (2009). Maximising the benefits of migration in a small island economy: the case of the island of Rhodes. Hellenic Observatory. London: London School of Economics and Athens: John S Latsis Benefits Foundation. Moore, S. (2009). Establishing Equality Reps in UNISON: An Interim Evaluation. UNISON, London. Moore, S. (2009). Integrating union learning and organising strategies. London: TUC unionlearn Research paper 8. Moore, S. and Watson, M. (2009). UNISON Migrant Workers Participation Project – Evaluation Report. London: UNISON. Paraskevopoulou, A. (2008). PIQUE: UK Health case study Report. WLRI, London. Paraskevopoulou, A. (2008). PIQUE: UK Electricity sector case study report. WLRI, London.

Working Lives Research Institute  Annual Report 2009  23


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Paraskevopoulou, A. (2008). PIQUE: UK Transport sector case study report. WLRI, London.

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Ross, P. (2009). A Review of Lifelong Learning in PCS. London: PCS-WLRI. Ross, P. (2008). A Review of PCS Trade Union Education, London: PCS-WLRI. Ross P. (2008). Learning Together: Designing the UNITE CPD. London: UNITE-WLRI. Tarren, D. (2009). Improving Trust within Central Government. EPSU-EUPAN: Brussels. Tarren, D. (2009). Demographic change, age management and competences in the light of challenges facing the European Gas Sector. EMCEF-EPSU: Brussels.

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Williams, A. M., Chaban, N. and Holland, M. (2009). Return Migrants in New Zealand, London: IPPR. Winkelmann-Gleed, A and Jefferys, S. (2008). Creative Approaches to Workforce Ageing. (CAWA) ESF Article 6 funded project. Final project report. London: WLRI.

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Other publications ●●

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Holgate, J. and M. Simms (2008). Ten years on: the impact of the Organising Academy on the UK union movement. London: Trades Union Congress. Holgate, J, Pollert, A., Keles, J. (2009) Union decline and the lack of employment advice for minority ethnic workers in the UK: can community support organisations help to fill the gap? WLRI: working paper

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Holgate, J, Pollert, A., Keles, J. (2009) The influence of identity, ‘community’ and social networks on how workers access support for work-based problems. WLRI: working paper

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Holgate, J., Pollert, A., Keles, J. (2008) Ethnic minority representation at work: An initial review of literature and concepts. WLRI: working paper

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Keles, J.Y. (2008). Turks in London: Shades of Invisibility and the Shifting Relevance of Policy in the Migration Process. (Co-authored with King R, Thomson M, Mai N). Working Paper, Sussex Centre for Migration Research. University of Sussex.

Keles, J. Holgate, J, Pollert, P. (2009) To whom do I turn when I am invisible? The experiences of Kurdish workers who have problems at work. WLRI: working paper. Moore, S. and Ross, C. (eds.) (2009). The goose that lays the golden egg? ULR case studies of the wider impact of union learning from the WLRI CPD in Union Learning. London: WLRI. McKay, S. (2009). Agency and migrant workers, London: Institute of Employment Rights. McKay, S. (2009). Existing in a twilight world. Labour Research, May 2009 pp.21-34. McKay, S. (2008). Economic impacts of labour migration – opening new channels. City to City, Developing new approaches to migration policy, Thematic Report 2, Econonmic integration (with Rudzite, M. Runkovska, L. Raubiska, A. and Smilga, J). McKay, S. (2008). Maximising the professional potential of migrants. City to City, Developing new approaches to migration policy, Thematic Report 2, Econonmic integration (with Skyers, S. Burrows, S. Ashdown, L. Grande, V, di Bechi, C. and Hieronymus, A). McKay, S. (2008). The drive towards agency employment – why employers favour agency staff, UIN, July 2008. Tarren, D. (2008). Restructuring in the Electricity Industry. EPSU-EMCEF-Eurelectric: Brussels. Winkelmann-Gleed, A. (2009). Demographic change and implications for workforce ageing in Europe – raising awareness and improving practice. WLRI Working Paper. Williams, A. M. (2009). Crossing Cultural Borders: Analyzing Experiences of NZ Return Migrations from the EU, ISET Working Paper Series No. 12, pp 81. Williams, A.M. and V. Baláž (2008). International return mobility, learning and knowledge transfer: Slovak doctors. London Metropolitan, ISET Working Paper Series, No1, pp33

24  Working Lives Research Institute  Annual Report 2009


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Williams, A.M. and V. Baláž (2008). Air travel reregulation and regional economies in Europe: unintended and unforeseen consequences for productivity, London Met, ISET Working Paper Series No 3, pp 31. Williams, A.M. (2008). It’s not what you know, but where you know: human capital, knowledge and international migration. London Metropolitan, ISET Working Paper Series No 7, pp32.

Book reviews ●●

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Holgate, J. (2009). New Geographies of Race and Racism, by Claire Dwyer and Caroline Bassey ed(s). In: The Geography Journal. Holgate, J. (2008). The Dirty World of Neoliberalism. Cleaners in the Global Economy, by Luis Aguiar and Andrew Herod. London: Blackwell. Work and Occupations. Jefferys, S. (2008). Industrial Relations in the New Europe: Enlargement, Integration and Reform, eds. Leisink, Steijn and Veersma. In Industrial Relations Journal, November. McKay, S. (2008). Economic foundations of law and organisation. In: Industrial Relations Journal, June. McKay, S. (2008). Exploited: migrant labour in the new global economy. In: Transfer, December. Moore, S. (2009). Trade Unions in a Neoliberal World: British Trade Unions under New Labour. In: THES, 21 May. Moore, S. (2009) Shafted: The Media, the Miners’ Strike and the Aftermath. In: THES 28 May.

Mary Davis and David Tarren have left the WLRI staff since the works listed above were published. They are now external associates of the WLRI, as is Stephen Perkins, a former internal associate who has also left London Metropolitan University.

Working Lives Research Institute  Annual Report 2009  25


Key events Date

Person

Project

18 December

Sian Moore

Migrant Workers Participation project

3 December

Nick Clark

21-22

Nos.

Comment

2009 50

Keynote speaker at UNISON report launch on International Migrant Day

Cross border temporary agency workers

100

Keynote speaker to joint meeting of European-level representatives of employers and trade unions, Brussels, Belgium.

Jane Holgate

6th Critical Labour Studies Symposium

70

Speaker at and organiser of two-day CLS workshop at SOAS, London.

11 November

Sonia McKay

ESRC Seminar Series on Migration

40

Invited speaker and joint organiser at first seminar at Keele University, Staffordshire.

26 October

Leroi Henry

Contribution of South Asian doctors to geriatric medicine in UK

60

Keynote speaker at project finale in House of Lords, London, served to highlighting the findings of the research to an audience including politicians, civil servants, representatives of employers, unions and the media.

27 October

Steve Jefferys

Fair Treatment at Work Survey

50

Invited speaker at BIS launch by government minister at Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Victoria, London

18 September

Sylvie Contrepois

Conciliation, Arbitration and Mediation Services

27

Speaker at and organiser of five-country day workshop of conciliation actors at GTMCNRS, Paris, France

3 September

Allan Williams

Universities Association for Contemporary European Studies

80

Opening speaker at Annual Conference in Nantes, France on ‘Challenging the mainstream in EU studies: critical and spatial perspectives’

11 June

Andrea WinkelmannGleed

Demographic change and workforce ageing

30

Speaker at and organiser of Mid-Project conference with EEDA, TAEN, Age Concern and EU representatives at Londonmet.

November

26  Working Lives Research Institute  Annual Report 2009


Date

Person

Project

Nos.

Comment

14 May

Sian Moore

Manchester British Universities Industrial Relations Association

50

Shirley Lerner Memorial Lecture on What’s the Point of Industrial Relations?

2 June

Jane Holgate

TUC Organising Academy 10‑year review

50

Keynote speaker at TUC, London, on ‘organising as a specialist or generalist function’.

18 February

Sian Moore

University of Leeds Lifelong Learning Institute

50

Speaker at seminar Putting Worker Perspectives back into Workplace Learning

4 February

Sonia McKay

Undocumented Workers Transitions

110

Speaker at and organiser of 5-country final dissemination conference at Graduate School, Londonmet showing the migrant workers are facing increasing challenges to the quality of life.

27 November

Sylvie Contrepois

Transferring Europe’s social models to Central and Eastern Europe

40

Speaker at and organiser of concluding joint research workshop at Sciences Po, Paris, on the impact of the French representative model on French subsidiaries in CEE.

8 November

Jane Holgate

London Organiser Network and Critical Labour Studies

150

Speaker at and organiser of two-day event, Organise 2008!, held at the Graduate School, London Metropolitan University

24-25 September

Steve Jefferys

Norwegian Directorate of Immigration

50

Invited speaker at GDISC Expert meeting on European undocumented workers, Oslo, Norway

2008

Working Lives Research Institute  Annual Report 2009  27


Teaching at the WLRI 2009 saw the graduation of the first cohort of students from the Certificate in Professional Development (CPD) in Union Learning. The CPD was developed out of research done by the WLRI evaluating the impact of union learning on the trade union movement. This research was undertaken with unions and led to discussions on the need to locate union learning in wider union agendas, including organising and bargaining. The CPD was aimed at all union activists including Union Learning Representatives (ULRs) and the four modules pose issues concerning union learning as part of the struggle for workers’ education and history of trade union education; they locate learning in wider processes of change shaped by globalization; and they reflect upon how and why workers learn and upon how their practice as ULRs fits into union strategies and organisation at the workplace. As part of the Union Learning CPD module, The Learning Agenda: organising, communicating, bargaining, students engaged with recent debates about the value of union learning and drew upon their union activity to develop case studies that consider the wider impact of union learning on union recruitment, organisation and activity including collective bargaining. This work led to the publication by the WLRI in June of the first collection of case studies of union learning by union learning reps themselves: The Goose that lays the Golden Egg? ULR case studies of the wider impact of union learning from the WLRI CPD in union learning.

The modules being taught include: ●●Contemporary Work ●●Theories of research and work ●●Theories of Work and Globalisation ●●Social Action and Organisation ●●Applying research in work ●●Developing the doctoral thesis – proposals and presentations The Researching Work Professional Doctorate offers a stimulating and supportive group learning experience. It is delivered face-to-face through lectures, seminars and group work and students will become a part of the WLRI research community. 2009 has also seen the WLRI develop a new MA in Work and Social Change. This innovative MA programme will run from September 2010. Its aim is to provide a programme of research-based professional development for experienced practitioners in the trade union, social, community, non-governmental and voluntary sectors who are concerned with researching the changing phenomena of work and working lives at local and global levels.

In January 2010 the WLRI will start teaching its first postgraduate programme, a Professional Doctorate in Researching Work. Once again this arose out of the active research engagement of WLRI staff. Despite the University’s problems this year, places have been offered to 20 students, most of whom are engaged in the trade union movement, the social, community, non-governmental or voluntary sector. The programme involves six taught modules over two years followed by independent study leading to an original doctoral thesis in an area of direct professional interest. The modules are taught in five separate two and three day blocks every year, and all the students are supervised by active researchers from among the WLRI staff. 28  Working Lives Research Institute  Annual Report 2009


Some WLRI partners in 2009 Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS)

London

UK

Association Travail, Emploi, Europe, Société (ASTREES)

Paris

France

Aufbauwerk Region Leipzig GmgH

Leipzig

Germany

Communication Workers Union (CWU)

London

UK

East of England Development Agency (EEDA)

Cambridge UK

European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions

Dublin

Ireland

Forschungs- und Beratungsstelle Arbeitswelt (FORBA)

Vienna

Austria

Gabinet d’Estudies Socials

Barcelona

Spain

Genre, Travail et Mobilites (GTM-UMR-CNRS)

Paris

France

Göteborg University (Department of Working Life Science)

Goteborg

Sweden

Hoger Instituut voor de Arbeid (HIVA – K.U. Leuven)

Leuven

Belgium

International Center for Minority Studies and Intercultural Relations (IMIR)

Sofia

Bulgaria

Istituto di Ricerche Economiche e Sociali

Rome

Italy

Labour Asociados SLL Spain

Madrid

Spain

Middle East Technical University

Ankara

Turkey

Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS)

London

UK

Komisja Krajowa NSZZ “Solidarność”

Gdańsk

Poland

Trades Union Congress (TUC)

London

UK

UNISON

London

UK

UNITE the Union

London

UK

Università Ca’ Foscari – Dipartimento di Filosofia e Teoria delle Scienze

Venice

Italy

Université Libre de Bruxelles

Brussels

Belgium

Universidade de Lisboa

Lisbon

Portugal

Working Lives Research Institute  Annual Report 2009  29


WLRI Financial Summary 08-09 £000s

07-08 £000s

1,026

712

3

0

372

336

19

21

1,420

1,069

694

598

5

4

Central university staff salaries

372

336

Project-related costs

115

102

25

20

1,211

1,060

Balance before University overhead

209

9

Central university overhead

103

71

Surplus (deficit)

106

(62)

Income Research project income Fees from teaching Central university salary transfers Central university non-pay transfers Total income

Expenditure Project-funded staff salaries Doctoral students

Institute-related costs Total expenditure

30  Working Lives Research Institute  Annual Report 2009


www.workinglives.org The WLRI website has blossomed during the year. Many of the students who registered for our DProf found out about us through the site, and we are now getting hundreds of visitors every day. The Website now not only has all our current research listed and biographies and contact details for staff, as well as details of Courses available and Events coming up, but we also introduced new sections: Gallery: this section displays works taken by professional photographers and artists who visualise working life in a variety of ways. It also includes material produced directly by WLRI staff for our own research. The photographs used in this Annual Report are by Jim Hodson, in connection with the ESRC‑funded EMRAW project; by WLRI’s Cilla Ross

and Erol Kahveci; and by Deborah Littman for the UNISON Migrant Workers’ Participation Project. Audio Visual: this section includes digital recordings taken at seminars and other events hosted by the WLRI, and leads to the WLRI Films page. This contains three short films produced on projects led by WLRI researchers or where we were partners. WLRI Working Papers: this section includes the new WLRI working paper series, where colleagues submit papers arising from our research for discussion and debate. WLRI News: this section archives the special E-Newsletter we produce five times a year to keep our 1,000-strong contact list up to date with what we are doing.

Working Lives Research Institute  Annual Report 2009  31


Working Lives Research Institute www.workinglives.org workinglives@londonmet.ac.uk 31 Jewry Street London EC3N 2EY UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7320 3042 Fax: +44 (0)20 7320 3032


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