The WEI Sixth Fairness at Work Conference 2025

Fairness reimagined: Multidisciplinary perspectives about work

Date: 21 - 22 January 2025
Speakers: Professor Karen Niven, Professor Richard Hyman and Dr Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick, Professor Gary Younge
Venue: Alliance Manchester Business School, The University of Manchester

Overview

The conference aimed to bring together academics and practitioners to discuss how questions of fairness and equality are being reimagined to humanise and improve work in what remains a socially, politically and economically challenging landscape.

Fairness and equality are urgent matters in the changing context of work and are central to achieving growth, development and social justice. Against this backdrop, multidisciplinary dialogue between diverse actors and projects is essential to identify sustainable directions and discuss the challenges of articulating an inclusive and transformational language of fairness that is sustained by concrete initiatives, commitments and accountabilities to create a credible roadmap for positive, transformational change.

The conference looked to contribute to our understanding of these challenges, exploring and showcasing how workers, organisations, unions, regulatory actors and others are engaging with contested ideas about fairness and using windows of opportunity to mobilise views, approaches and action.

Programme and session updates

Day 1: Tuesday, 21 January 2025

  • 9.45am: Keynote Address
    “Tolerating Evil: The Role of Bystanders in Workplace Bullying”
    By: Professor Karen Niven (Sheffield University Management School)
    Explore the 'darker' side of workplace relationships, focusing on bullying and aggression.
  • 4pm: Launch of Work-Net International
    A global network of 31 research centers on work and employment will officially launch with:
    • Panel Discussions: The importance of interdisciplinary and comparative research.
    • 5.30pm: Formal launch by Professor Jill Rubery, Professor Duncan Ivison, and a senior ILO officer.
    • 6pm: Drinks reception and combined conference dinner.

Day 2: Wednesday, 22 January 2025

  • 10.45am: Plenary on Social and Political Change in Work and Regulation
    Part 1:
    • Professor Richard Hyman (LSE) & Dr Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick (Birkbeck)
      Topic: The evolving agendas of the European Trade Union Confederation.
    • Professor Damian Grimshaw (King’s College London) & Andrea Marinucci (ILO)
      Topic: Insights from the latest ILO Flagship Report on collective bargaining.
    • Watch the video
  • 4pm: Closing Keynote Address
    “Equal Opportunities, Not Photo Opportunities”
    By: Professor Gary Younge (University of Manchester)
    Dive into the role of diversity and representation as routes toward institutional change and equality.
    Watch the video

For full sessions, rooms and timings, please read the conference schedule.

View the Book of Abstracts.

If you have any questions, please contact fairwrc@manchester.ac.uk.