Global Union Research Network - GURN
| Global Union Research Network - GURN
|
 |
Call for Resarch Papers (Now closed)
|
||||||||
|
Organized by the Global Union Research Network (GURN) in Porto Alegre, Brazil, January 23-25, 2005
Successful policies for development and poverty alleviation require the involvement of civil society in policy development and implementation. Trade Unions play an important role in organizing and representing worker's interest. They are a crucial partner in promoting the ILO Decent Work agenda and to ensure a fair globalization. To engage effectively in the struggle for transparent governance, implementation of core labour standards, employment creation, social protection and poverty alleviation (including meeting the UN's Millennium Development Goals) and gender equality they - like all civil society organizations - need convincing and thorough research on globalization and development as a basis for their arguments. Trade Unions throughout the world are facing the challenges of rapid economic and social changes through a globalization process that is undermining existing regulations and arrangements without providing an adequate new regulatory framework. On national and global level trade unions need to strengthen their analytical capacity, their organizational efficiency and their political ability to represent working people effectively in social and economic policy debates in general and to promote economic and social justice. The issues of good governance, civil society development and people's involvement of development programs within the PRSP process or similar restructuring initiatives require a prominent role of workers' organizations. They are also reflected in the follow up activities to the Report of the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization which was established by the ILO. In response to this, the GURN launches a call for papers to incite research on trade unions, globalization and development. The GURN workshop will take place immediately before the World Social Forum (WSF) in Porto Alegre. This allows creating important synergy effects with the participants of the WSF. The GURN workshop participants are encouraged to present their papers also in the sessions of the WSF. Special attention will be focused on the following themes, which are priority topics of the GURN: Trade Unions and Bilateral and Regional Trade Agreements Abstracts can be linked to one or several of these themes. The focus of all papers should be on the impact of the issues on labour and trade unions. Contributions can be specific to one particular country or region, or proposals can be generic and theoretical and relate to a number of different issues. Participants are encouraged to choose a specific aspect of the theme which fits into their existing work. Researchers are not expected to undertake primary research for this call for papers. All submissions will be subject to a review by a Scientific Committee composed of trade union researchers and academics. Proposals should be 2-3 pages in length and should outline the nature of the study, the methodological approach and the main lines of the argument to be developed. The deadline for the submission of research proposals is November 1, 2004. Authors will be notified by the end of November about the outcome of the peer review. Authors will have eight weeks after the workshop to submit the final version of their papers. These will be considered for publication in a GURN publication. Trade Union researchers, and/or female researchers and/or those from the South are especially encouraged to make proposals. A limited amount of researchers from non OECD countries whose papers are selected will have their travel and accommodation to the conference covered and they will be reimbursed with 500 US$ for incidentals to carry out the research upon completion of the final draft. Please submit proposals to: International Workshop on Trade Unions, Globalization and Development
Last update: 8 November 2004
|