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WLRI News Issue 4, September 2009
Welcome to our Electronic Newsletter for Autumn 2009. Once again, we’ve plenty of exciting news to share: Two new Leverhulme Awards have been granted to WLRI researchers recently: one about union recognition agreements, and the other on lives of construction workers between 1950-70. We also report here on fatalities in the construction industry, a workshop on demographic change, and the final publication of the WORKS project. Unfortunately the lecturer’s union, UCU, has ‘grey-listed’ London Met, and both our great seminar series have had to be postponed.Sadly for us, we say good bye to Professor Mary Davis this month, but we also welcome Leroi Henry to our vibrant research community. Finally we announce some exciting new features of our website and a competition for labour photographers.
Please forward this newsletter to your work colleagues, fellow students and interested contacts, and encourage them to subscribe to WLRI news themselves by going here.
We encourage your feedback and comments on this service, so feel free to email us
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Leverhulme research award on union recognition deals 2000-2008 |
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 WLRI has been awarded another esteemed Leverhulme Trust award. Sian Moore successfully applied for a Research Fellowship to assess the impact of the Employment Relations Act 1999 on union recognition between 2000 and 2008. Dr Moore had worked on the Leverhulme Future of Unions programme, assessing the first three years of the new law, and this project continues and expands on that research.
Read the full story here |
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Constructing Post-war Britain: building workers’ stories 1950-70 |
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 Christine Wall, WLRI Senior Research Fellow, has also been awarded a prestigious Leverhulme bid in collaboration with Prof Linda Clark at Westminster Business School, to document the life stories of post-war building workers. This unique project focuses on important examples of post-war, modernist architecture that were regarded as integral to social welfare and how these projects impacted on the builders: their work and family lives, their wage relations, housing and living conditions, union organisations, training and apprenticeships and their working environment; as well as industrial techniques and design concepts.
Read the full story here
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One death is too many |
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 As well as exploring historical working lives of workers in the building industry, WLRI has also recently been involved in an inquiry into contemporary working lives – and fatalities – in construction. The inquiry into underlying causes of fatal accidents was commissioned by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in December 2008. As we reported in January, the inquiry was chaired by Rita Donaghy CBE FRSA and Dr (now Professor) Sonia McKay, of WLRI, was appointed as an Academic Peer Reviewer. The inquiry arose from concern over the number of construction deaths, to examine what more could be done to tackle the underlying causes.
(Photo: UCATT's 'Building Worker' statue (C) WLRI)
Read the full story here
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Workshop to explore innovative approaches to ageing workforce |
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The ESF-CIA project, which explores demographic change and innovative practices in tackling workforce ageing, recently held a workshop hosted by WLRI in June. Representatives of all project partners, the European Commission and stakeholders from the East of England met on 11 & 12 June 2009 at the Women’s Library in London’s East End. While the second day was reserved for internal discussion to coordinate the next project activities, the first conference day was used to discuss approaches to promote active aging. Examples were presented, among others, by British Telecom and Apton, a transport company, from Belgium.
Read the full ESF-CIA project page, including the newsletter as a pdf download here
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Professional Doctorate in Researching Work to start in January 2010 |
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 The Prof.D in Researching Work, taught at London Metropolitan University’s Working Lives Research Institute, will now start in January 2010, so there’s still time to apply (before 31 October). This new course encourages you to reflect and draw upon your professional experience, to develop your own theoretical approach and practical research skills. Studied part time, it is delivered flexibly to fit around your own working life. Our Prof.D course integrates your doctoral level research into the vibrant WLRI community and provides you with full support, rather than leaving you to the isolation that is typical of PhD studies.
See here for more details.
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WLRI launches film collection on website |
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 We’ve established a new section of the Working Lives website, devoted to films that have been created by or in partnership with WLRI. One of the first films available is ‘All by myself', which explores the lives of three refugees to the UK, in their own words telling the story of why they were forced to flee, what they found when they arrived and of their difficulties in accessing suitable work. There are also two films from the Creative Approaches to Workforce Ageing (CAWA) project, presenting four case studies and a ‘good practice guide’ on adapting to the ageing workforce of Europe. The internet itself is maturing fast, and film is now an integral part of the web, version 2.0. Working Lives recognises the importance of this development and we increasingly utilise film to disseminate our work. We hope to see more films freely available to watch soon. In the meantime, go here to browse the new section.
(Image: BME Recruitment and Employment in the Audio Visual Sector in London with thanks to BECTU)
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Striking Women |
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 The Working Lives Research Institute has a close working relationship with The Women’s Library, so we’re proud to announce their new foyer exhibition called ‘Striking Women’: Voices of South Asian women workers from Grunwick and Gate Gourmet.’ The exhibit will run from 7 October, 2009, marking 30 years of South Asian women’s political involvement in workplace struggles in the UK, focusing on the strike at Grunwick between 1976 and 1978 and the dispute at Gate Gourmet that erupted in 2005. (Photo: (C) TUC Library Collections, www.unionhistory.info)
Read the full story, including Ruth Pearson's statement regarding the UCU 'Grey-listing' of London Met, and download the press release here
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Work Organisation Restructuring in the Knowledge-Based Society |
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 After four years of intensive work, the WORKS project, led by Professor Ursula Huws - Work Organisation Restructuring in the Knowledge-Based Society - has finished. Starting in June 2005, the WORKS consortium, involving partners from seventeen different institutes across fourteen EU member states, including WLRI for the UK, carried out an ambitious programme of theoretical and empirical work to better understand value chain restructuring and changes in work.
Read the last newsletter on the WORKS project page here
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LabourStart Photo of the Year competition |
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Our Gallery section features photos of working lives with the aim of showcasing new photographers as well as established artists. LabourStart’s Labour Photo of the Year Contest does a similar thing, and we helped to promote the winner of last year's competition (Photo: Robert Day, 'Trade Unions are Fun'). The competition has become an annual event, so Working Lives would like to encourage worker-photographers around the world to take part in the competition. See here for details. We look forward to seeing the results and being able to promote the winners’ work again in the new year.
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Mary Davis - Congratulations on retirement |
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 We are sad to announce the early retirement of Professor Mary Davis, Deputy Director of WLRI, Head of Centre for Trade Union Studies, British Labour Historian and activist of many years. Whilst sorry to see her leave Working Lives, we organised a joyous celebration of Mary’s working life on 23rd September at Toynbee Hall. The standing-room only hall saw speakers lining up to pay tribute to Prof Davis’ major contribution to the labour movement. Professor Steve Jefferys, Director of WLRI, said:
“Mary Davis's contribution to the Working Lives Research Institute has been truly amazing: she was one of founders of the Institute, and as Deputy Director for seven years she has led by example. Her research, writing and teaching has helped cement the WLRI's strong relationship with the whole trade union movement and all those fighting for social justice."
You can listen again to a recording of Mary’s second book launch of the second edition of Mary's revised and updated 'Comrade or Brother, a History of the British Labour movement', here. (Photo: Mary Davis speaking at FBU’s International Women’s Day celebration 2008, with thanks to Kerry Baigent). You can still contact Mary through her staff page here
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WLRI welcomes Leroi Henry |
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Working Lives is delighted to welcome Dr Leroi Henry. Leroi completed his doctorate in International Development, which focused on the relationships between migration, ethnic identities and collective action in the oldest and most successful indigenous development organisation in Ethiopia. His research interests include: the intersection of differing axes of privilege and marginalisation (ethnicity, gender, class etc) in the workplace; the role of patronage networks in career progression for BME professionals; the material effects of discursive and other responses to perceived discrimination; the role of mainstream organisations and other support networks in combating discrimination; and Managing migration for the benefit of sending countries.
To contact Leroi, visit his staff page here |
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