08 June 2017

As the electorate goes to the polls today, our Chair John Hendy QC and President Professor Keith Ewing, explain why trade union rights are an important factor for workers' future.

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’.

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.

18 May 2017

By Alex Just, employment law specialist

A Conservative Prime Minister has been in Number 10 since the Coalition government formed in 2010. Although Theresa May has described her party as "the party of workers", its track record on employment law has largely revolved around weakening protections at work. Here, we look at some of the rights workers have lost over the last seven years.

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?

05 May 2017

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

The Labour Party has identified the restoration of Sectoral Collective Bargaining as a key element in its proposals for new laws at work. Our chair John Hendy QC and President Professor Keith Ewing explain how sectoral collective bargaining workers.

This is Part One of a two-part series - see Part Two for the purposes and benefits of sectoral collective bargaining