Currently, the traditional industrial relations are challenged by various new trends like digitalisation, self-employment, globalisation, environmental crises, ageing labour force. Service sector employment has become the dominant industry. Employment, trade unions, collective bargaining all have gradually become more female. Many important global institutions have started to promote decent work, labour protection and minimum wages. The Covid-19 pandemic might have made new divisions in the world of work, and amplified some undergoing trends. All these tendencies pose challenges but also opportunities for industrial relations.

The theme of the conference, New Turns in European Industrial Relations, is broad, open and optimistic. Empirical and theoretical approaches deliver interesting insights into the future trends in in European industrial relations. IREC is a multidisciplinary forum and welcomes empirical and theoretical contributions using imaginative and creative analysis as well as research with more traditional methodology.

The conference is organised by the Work Research Centre at the Tampere University in association with The Finnish Association of Work Life Research – Työelämän tutkimusyhdistys.