25 May 2017

By Gregor Gall, Professor of Industrial Relations, the University of Bradford

The Conservative Party manifesto was launched last Thursday, 18 May. In the first section, entitled ‘A strong economy that works for everyone’, one of the highlighted pledges on page 11 is that ‘Theresa May’s Conservatives will deliver ... Fairer corporate governance, built on new rules for takeovers, executive pay and worker representation on company boards’.

24 May 2017

Dave Lewis, Professor of Employment Law, Middlesex University

Dave Lewis, Professor Employment Law at Middlesex University and a whistleblowing expert looks at what is needed to strengthen the rights of whistleblowers and therefore the safety of workers and public alike. In our Manifesto for Labour Law - the Institute of Employment Rights' recommendations for reform - we argue that individual rights and protections like those covering whistleblowers are best strengthened through sectoral collective agreements, as well as at a statutory level. Our proposal that sectoral collective bargaining should be restored across the UK has been taken up by the Labour Party in their 2017 Manifesto.

23 May 2017

By Michael Ford, Professor Law at University of Bristol and QC at Old Square Chambers

Both the Labour Party and Liberal Democrats have included in their Manifestos a promise to scrap Employment Tribunal (ET) fees. But what has been the impact of the fees and how can the enforcement of workers' rights be improved?

23 May 2017

Miguel Martinez Lucio, Professor of International HRM & Comparative Industrial Relations, University of Manchester

The engagement of the current government with workers' rights has drawn the attention of the media. Much has been said about how the Conservatives are attempting to encroach on the heartlands of the Labour Party and this current push on workers' rights is seen as an important part of this strategy. Some are even saying the current Conservative Government is taking a post-Thatcherist direction – leaving behind the neoliberal and market-venerating approaches of the 1980s and 1990s Conservative governments – but beyond spin, there is scant evidence for any serious attempt to rebalance the power between employers and the workforce.

12 May 2017

Martin Upchurch, Middlesex University, London

We re-blog an article from the European Institute for Construction Labour Research on how the growing trend of automation is affecting workers’ rights.

12 May 2017

By John Hendy QC and Professor Keith Ewing, Chair and President of the IER

This is Part Two of a two-part series - see Part One for more on sectoral collective bargaining

The Labour Party has identified the restoration of Sectoral Collective Bargaining as a key element in its proposals for new laws at work. But what benefits will it bring?