ILERA European Congress - The future of representation

The 11th ILERA European Congress will be held in Milan, Italy, from Thursday 8 September 2016 to Saturday 10 September 2016. The Congress will be hosted in the Faculty of Political, Economic and Social Sciences in Milan city centre.

The future of representation

The congress will discuss 'The future of representation'. Representation is a core element in labour and employment relations and one of the aspects which are more exposed to the changes in the socio-economic environment. Trade unions and employer associations are constantly influenced by developments in the labour market and employment structures and in the business and economic systems. They have to respond to a number of questions which shape collective employment relations and basically refer to some apparently simple issues: whom they shall represent and how. The increasing diversification in the labour market, due for instance to the growing importance of workers individual features and aspirations and to the variety of contractual frameworks, and in the economic environment, linked to the multiplication of business and organisational models, is challenging established representation structures and patterns.

Eurofound contributions and participation in workshops

As a corporate member of ILERA, Eurofound has played an active role in previous European and world congresses, contributing to the discussion and sharing information. The theme of this year’s European congress is particularly relevant to Eurofound’s work. 

Plenary session:

• Market integration, structural reform and European industrial relations: an increasingly fractured landscape? Paul Marginson, IRRU, University of Warwick, UK   - Chair: Erika Mezger

Workshops:

• Towards a meaningful social dialogue at company level - Chair: Erika Mezger - Presentations by: Isabella Biletta, Bernd Brandl, Volker Telljohann - Discussant: Ida Regalia
• Representativeness of social partners' organisations at EU and national levels - Chair: Erika Mezger - Presentations by: Peter Kerckhofs, Sigried Caspar, Birgit Kraemer, Camilla Galli da Bino

Presentations:

• Comparing the representativeness of social partners in 10 European sectoral social dialogue committees (Peter Kerckhofs, Pablo Sanz)
• Comparison of the concept of representativeness in 29 European countries: shifting towards more legal recognition? (Peter Kerckhofs, Sylvie Contrepois, Steve Jeffreys)
• National social partners’ organisations exploring new territories? (Isabella Biletta) - See also: Paper
• Future of work: is collective representation still in the picture? (Isabella Biletta)
• The regulation of labour market intermediaries and the role of the social partners in preventing trafficking of labour (Andrea Fromm, Anna Paraskevopoulou)
• Ownership, financialisation, and employment relations - Andrew Pendleton, University of Durham Business School, UK

Eurofound will hold a publications stand at the congress.

More information about the programme is available in Eurofound's congress leaflet and on the ILERA congress website.