Dr Sonia McKay
Position
Comparative Discrimination Senior Research Fellow
Qualifications
- LL.B (Queens University, Belfast)
- Ph.D (Wolfson College, Cambridge)
Background/Career
Sonia came to the Working Lives Research Institute from the Labour Research
Department (LRD), the independent trade union-based research organisation,
where she held the post of employment law researcher from 1983. At LRD, she
undertook a large number of commissioned research projects mainly for trade
union organisations. Between 1993 and 1994, during a period of sabbatical
leave from LRD, she worked with Professor Brian Bercusson at the European
Institute in Florence, on a project examining the implications of the Maastrict
Treaty on collective bargaining. In 2002 and 2003 she also taught part-time
at London Metropolitan University, teaching Industrial Relations Law to undergraduates
in the Business School as well as teaching a post graduate Labour Law course.
After a law degree at Queens, Belfast Sonia completed a Ph.D at Cambridge
with a thesis on disciplinary penalties against strikers. She then worked
for Thomas Cook the travel company, where through union activity, was elected
as a representative on the union national negotiating body. From 1975 until
1982 she worked for the travel and rail union TSSA, first in its recruitment
and organising department, moving to work in the departments responsible for
railway staff in the London Midland Region, the docks and hotels sector and
finally working in the national negotiations department. Having left TSSA
to travel round South East Asia, (during which time she taught a short course
on UK employment law at the University of Srinigar) Sonia returned to take
up the post at LRD.
Sonia is currently working on four major projectsat the Working Lives Research
Institute. The first is a European Social Fund project, looking at labour
market discrimination experienced by refugees and comparing it with discrimination
faced by Black and ethnic minority workers in the UK. A second, commissioned
by the East of England Development Agency, has been looking at migrant workers
in the region and their contribution. A third is investigating discrimination
in the London Audio-Visual industry, while the fourth is a project on migrant
worker health and safety which has been commissioned by the Health and Safety
Executive. She has also beenworking with Dr Sian Moore on DTI and Acas funded
projects on union recognition.
Sonia has been a trade union activist all of her working life. She has held
branch and regional office, was a delegate to the GMB union conference on
a number of occasions and for some years was President of the union section
representing trade union and political staffs.
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Research interests
Sonia’s research interests include the impact of institutional racism
on the workplace, migrant workers, industrial action and the law, trade union
recognition and de-recognition, the role of the judiciary in industrial disputes,
collective issues in employment law, professional and managerial staff and
equal opportunities in a work environment.
Sonia has carried out a number of research projects for the TUC, including
its annual Trade Union Trends reports (on new union recognition deals, employment
tribunals, industrial action and industrial action ballots and legal action
against unions). In the last few years she has carried out commissioned research
for the public services’ union UNISON on institutional racism, with
surveys of employers in the public sector, trade union branches, union activists
and UNISON black members.
Contact details
s.mckay@londonmet.ac.uk
Working Lives Research Institute
London Metropolitan University
31 Jewry Street
London EC3N 2EY
Tel. 020 7320 1382
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Publications
Book Chapters
1994
- ‘Taking on the individual trade unionist: a new emphasis in legal
intervention’, in Human rights and labour law: Essays for
Paul O'Higgins edited by K. Ewing and C. Gearty, Mansell, London, pp240-256.
1996
- 'Representation or recognition' in The Future of Labour Law,
edited by A McColgan, Cassell, London, pp26-45.
- Contributor to Working Life – a new perspective on labour law,
edited by K. Ewing, Institute of Employment Rights, London.
1999
- Employment law chapter and updates in Tolley’s Finance Director’s
Handbook and Tolley’s Company Secretaries Services.
Updated quarterly since 1994.
2000
- ‘The British Judiciary’ in Human Rights at Work,
edited by K. Ewing, Institute of Employment Rights, London, pp 232-235.
2001
- ‘Problems of Derecognition’ in Employment Rights at Work
– reviewing the Employment Relations Act, edited by K. Ewing,
Institute of Employment Rights, London, (2001) (with G. Gall).
2003
- ‘Trade Unions and Individual Rights’ in Employment and
Human Resources Memo, FL Memo
2005
- ‘The nature of collective bargaining achieved through the statutory
procedure’, in The fruits of labour, ed G. Gall (forthcoming
September 2005) (with Dr Sian Moore)
- ‘Migrant workers and employment law’, in Migration and
workers’ rights, ed B. Ryan (forthcoming September 2005)
Journal articles
1994
- 'Trade union derecognition in Britain 1988-94' British Journal of
Industrial Relations, Vol. 32, No.3, 1994, pp433-448 (with G Gall).
- ‘Trade unions under Conservative rule’ Socio-Legal Bulletin
Vol. 13, Winter 1994, La Trobe University, Australia.
1996
- 'Research note: Injunctions as a legal weapon in industrial disputes'
British Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 34, No. 4, December,
pp 567-582 (with G Gall).
1999
- ‘Developments in union recognition and derecognition in Britain
1994-1998’ British Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol.
37, No.4, pp 601-614 (with G. Gall).
2001
- ‘Proposing a New Framework to Combat Discrimination’, in
Industrial Law Journal, March 2001.
- ‘Industrial Relations in 2000: between flexibility and regulation’
Annual Review Article, British Journal of Industrial Relations,
(June 2001).
- ‘Facing ‘fairness at work’: union perception of employer
opposition and response to union recognition, Industrial Relations Journal,
Vol 32 No 2 pages 94-113 (June 2001) (with G Gall).
- ‘Shifting the focus from tribunals to the workplace’ in Industrial
Law Journal, September 2001.
2004
- Union recognition agreements in the shadow of the law, Research
and Report, Industrial Law Journal , Vol 33 No. 4 December 2004 (with Dr
Sian Moore)
Other publications
(1995, 1996a, 1996b, 1997a, 1997b, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001)
- Trade union trends, TUC annual reports 1995, TUC, London.
(1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001,2002, 2003)
- Law at work booklet, LRD, London.
(1992, 1994, 1996)
- Nothing personal - an analysis of personal contracts, Unison.
1996
- The law on industrial action under the Conservatives, The Institute
of Employment Rights, London.
- Part of the union - the challenge of recruiting and organising part-time
workers, TUC, London.
1998
- Professional and managerial staff in the labour force, TUC, London.
2000
- Resisting Racism at work, TUC, London.
2002
- Facing the Challenges – the impact of the Stephen Lawrence
Inquiry report on practices in the public sector, UNISON, London
- Migrant workers – a TUC guide (with the JCWI), TUC, London
2004
- The content of new voluntary trade union recognition agreements 1998-2002
Vols 1 and 2 – An analysis of new agreements and case studies,
DTI Employment Relations Research Series No.26 (With Dr Sian Moore and Helen
Bewley)
2005
- Migrant workers in the East of England, East of England Development
Agency, forthcoming August 2005 (with Dr Andrea Winkelmann-Gleed
- Law at work 2005, LRD, London.
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Invited & other academic conference papers
1993
- ‘Derecognition revisited – developments since 1988’
Presented to the 11th Annual International Labour Process Conference, Blackpool
(with G. Gall).
1997
- ‘Unofficial strikes in Britain’ Paper presented to British
Universities Industrial Relations Association Conference, Bath (with G.
Gall).
- ‘Professional and managerial staff in the labour force’ FIET
world conference for P&MS staff, Geneva.
1998
- ‘Developments in trade union recognition and derecognition in Britain’
Paper presented to British Universities Industrial Relations Association
Conference, Keele.
- ‘Women and employment in the UK’ Freidrich Ebert Stiftung
Conference, Bonn.
1999
- ‘Employer opposition and response to union recognition’ Paper
presented to British Universities Industrial Relations Association Conference,
Leicester.
- ‘Race discrimination and the law’ TUC Black Workers’
Conference, London.
- ‘Future prospects for managerial and professional workers’
Communications International/FIET European Conference, Luxembourg.
2000
- ‘Activism at work: gender bargaining agendas’ Women, Work
and Trade Unions Seminar Series 1999/2000, Women, diversity and democracy
in trade unions.
- ‘Trade union recognition in Britain – the dawn of a new era?
Paper presented to British Universities Industrial Relations Association
Conference, Warwick.
2001
- ‘Atypical work’ New Developments in the Labour Law of the
European Union, Academy of European Law, Trier.
- ‘The implementation of the Fixed-term contracts directive in the
UK, Academy of European Law, Trier.
- ‘Collective Bargaining and Institutional Racism’ University
of North London.
- Invited discussant in session on ‘The Nature and Function of Fundamental
Social Rights’ at a conference on Fundamental Social Rights, University
of Cambridge.
2003
- ‘Issues of Working Time for Professional and Mangerial Staff’
EMCEF-European Mine, Chemical and Energy Workers Federation, Rome
2004
- Nailing blancmange to the ceiling?’ The conclusion and content
of collective bargaining agreements emerging from statutory trade union
recognition, BUIRA conference July 2004, with Dr Sian Moore and Hannah
Wood
- How effective are labour codes, European University of Work, Nantes August
2004
2005
- Motivations, skills and ambitions – new workers, recurring themes,
Association of Universities in the East of England, June 2005
- The relationship between legislation and industrial practice: a study
of the outcome of union recognition, Professional Standards Conference,
CIPD, June 2005 (with Dr Sian Moore)
- Migrant workers and employment rights, Institute of Employment
Rights conference, June 2005
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Professional activities
- Editor of the ‘Research and Reports’ section of the Industrial
Law Journal
- Member of the Executive Committee of the Institute of Employment Rights
- Member of the editorial advisory board Croner Human Resources and
Employment Review
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