Industrial Relations in a Changing World of Work

Learn more about LISER’s departments, shaping our contributions to societal and scientific challenges.

Discover research that examines key challenges in employment, economic trends and social dynamics within the labour market, offering valuable insights into these important areas.

Living Conditions

Engage with research that investigates the factors influencing living standards, with a focus on income distribution, housing conditions and social inclusion, providing evidence-based insights into these crucial areas.

Urban Development and Mobility

Studies urban dynamics to identify pathways of actors to stimulate sustainable urban transitions.

Appel à Communications: Les relations industrielles dans un monde du travail en mutation

Learn more about our cross-departmental programmes, which combine interdisciplinary expertise to tackle transversal challenges.

Crossing Borders

Discover how our research into the complexities of cross-border mobility is advancing knowledge, shaping policy, benefiting society and addressing global challenges.

Health and Health Systems

Engage with research dedicated to enhancing public health, improving healthcare accessibility, and promoting equitable and efficient health solutions at a global scale.

Discover LISER's initiatives, driving scientific progress and fostering meaningful collaborations with stakeholders.

Doctoral programmes

Meet a dynamic community of researchers addressing critical societal challenges through innovative and interdisciplinary studies. Our doctoral programme offers exceptional training, mentorship and opportunities to shape impactful policies and drive innovation in diverse fields.

Data Science and Simulation

The Centre of Competence for Data Science and Simulation (DSS) is a cross-departmental initiative. Our ambition is to develop infrastructure, tools and competences in in machine learning, big data, microsimulation and geoexperimentation to conduct excellent research and advise policy-makers as well as stakeholders.

Policy Lab

The LISER Policy Lab is an innovative initiative that integrates rigorous scientific research into policymaking to support decision-makers in tackling major challenges in areas like the economy, climate, health, digitalisation, housing, education, and social cohesion.

cc-EXPAR - Competence Centre in Experimental and Participatory Research

The Competence Centre in Experimental and Participatory Research (EXPAR) is a cross-departmental initiative. Our ambition is to improve awareness of and skills in experimental and participatory research methods to strengthen LISER’s position at the forefront of internationally high quality, scientifically rigorous and societally relevant research.

Industrial Relations in a Changing World of Work

WORKSHOP

Labour Market

16 APR 2025

In recent years, there has been a discernible shift in the discourse on industrial relations in Europe. Contentious collective bargaining in response to surging inflation, tighter labour markets leading to a stronger bargaining position for workers, renewed strike activity in many countries and organising drives in the low-wage service sector have been noticeable developments. These changes contrast with the preceding decades marked by the erosion of sectoral collective bargaining and associated institutions.

At the same time, new challenges have emerged. Many governments have imposed new restrictions on trade union action, particularly strikes. The rise of (temporary and platform) on-demand work across the world challenges established modes of regulating employment relations. Digitalisation leads to changes in job roles and skills requirements, creating new jobs while simultaneously displacing existing ones. Industrial relations actors also confront the need to address the impact of climate change on the world of work. Decarbonisation and tightened climate policies have an impact on jobs in manufacturing and power generation, and require job transitions and reskilling. Rising temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events make it necessary to adapt workplaces, in particular regarding occupational health and safety. Emerging collective actors may take up the issues of digitalisation and climate change either in alliance or in competition with the established trade unions.

The effects of digitalisation and climate change vary among different groups of workers. This risks creating further disparities in working conditions across socio-economic categories, gender, ethnicity and race, raising the issue of the inclusiveness of trade unions, workplace representation bodies and collective bargaining institutions. The electoral successes of the far right across Europe pose the question of trade union action aimed at safeguarding the rights of migrant workers and refugees.

Call for Papers

We invited innovative papers that reflect on the current state and future of industrial relations in Europe. In particular, authors were encouraged to address questions related to the following main topical clusters:

- The role of social dialogue in the twin transitions (digitalisation and decarbonisation).
- Enacting a Just Transition in regional and sectoral settings.
- Temperatures rises, extreme weather events and occupational safety and health.
- Well-being at work in changing times: remote and hybrid work, hyper-connectivity, the right to disconnect, and the rise of platform work.
- Adjusting legal frameworks and collective bargaining for digitalisation and emerging types of work (platform work).
- State regulation of collective bargaining and trade union activity.
- The role of employer organisations and trade unions in multi-employer collective bargaining.