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There is an inherent tension between progress in the European Union's marketization agenda on the one hand, and the agenda for the development of European social citizenship on the other. Although markets internalise and manage many aspects of economic activity, the process of marketization also creates and ignores negative social and economic consequences. Focussing on uncertainty and insecurity in labour markets, the research by Crouch, Marginson and Meardi addressed the capacity of public and private employee relations and corporate governance arrangements, including collective bargaining and immigration, to offset these negative consequences. European policy makers are now gaining an interest in mitigating the effects of marketization. As a result, this timely research has challenged conventional wisdom that marketization promises unqualified gains and has stimulated significant ongoing policy and trade union debate across Europe.
Research on the post-apartheid South African labour market showed high levels of economic inactivity among black people concentrated in certain areas and high employee turnover among these groups. An integrated development programme was developed in and around Port Elizabeth tailored to address specific failings in labour market supply and demand identified by the research findings. This brought greatly improved employment rates for over 3,000 participating job seekers, with more than 80% achieving a positive outcome in terms of employment or further training. Furthermore, the programme reduced turnover rates for those employers involved in the project, and built the capacity of Union workforce representatives. The development programme comprising integrated training workshops and employer support is now being rolled out across South Africa.
Over a decade of innovative comparative research has made a significant contribution to international debates on the future of education, employment and the labour market in the global `knowledge' economy. Prior to this research it was commonly assumed that the demand for high skilled workers would increase in the developed economies as emerging economies including China and India, entered the global economy. Research led by Cardiff University is the first to (a) show how this underestimated the way emerging economies were rapidly entering the competition for high skilled work and (b) outline its far-reaching implication for education, skills and economic policies in the West. The impact of this research is demonstrated in the way policy-makers in transnational organisations including the International Labour Office (ILO) and national governments are rethinking their policy agendas in this crucial area of public policy
As evidenced in policy documents and practitioner testimonies, the case study has had a significant impact on European Union (EU) and national VET (vocational education and training) policy through: modifying the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and associated terminology — including learning outcomes, skills, and competences — and influencing implementation in terms of sectoral alignment and the establishment of Zones of Mutual Trust (ZMTs). Based on two major research projects, the case identifies the difficulties and possibilities to establish equivalence of occupational qualifications and has been widely disseminated to reach major stakeholders, including the European Commission (EC), trade unions, employers and VET organisations.
Fieldwork commissioned by Cadbury/Kraft, undertaken at the University of Manchester (UoM), and carried out in Ghana, the Dominican Republic and India (2006-11), considers whether small scale farmers and workers have the social and economic capacity to sustain and expand their output of quality cocoa. The research has been instrumental in shifting the strategies of Cadbury and other major chocolate producers towards the sourcing of Fairtrade cocoa. Specific impacts include: the launch of the £45m Cadbury Cocoa Partnership (CCP); Cadbury/Kraft converting its main product lines to certified Fairtrade; and the launch of the (US$400m) `Cocoa Life' programme by Mondelēz/Kraft, building on the success of CCP. Spill-over impacts are also evident: both Nestlé and Mars have adopted similar partnership strategies, and a subsequent increase in exposure has seen Fairtrade chocolate sales rise twelvefold over a four year period.
A model for organisational change in the world's ports has been developed for the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the only tripartite agency of the United Nations. The model, based on Cardiff Business School (CBS) research on social dialogue, has been used to guide the social partners (employers, trade unions and the state) through the processes of structural adjustment and private sector participation in ports in several countries around the world. It has also been used to bring national and international organisations together alongside Cardiff researchers, to develop guidelines for port-worker training, designed to promote competency-based training systems and improve efficiency, safety and health in the world's ports. These Guidelines were recently approved by all 185 member States of the ILO and adopted by the European Commission (EC) as a framework to promote mutual recognition of port-worker qualifications across the EU.
The regulation of labour immigration and the rights of migrant workers are among the most contested public policy issues in high-income countries. Oxford research by Ruhs and Anderson, in conjunction with Martin (UC Davis), on how labour markets, welfare states and other public policies shape the demand for migrant workers, has directly impacted on: labour immigration policymaking in the UK (via the recommendations of the Migration Advisory Committee); the development of legislation for comprehensive immigration reform in the US; and policy debates in the Netherlands. The related research by Ruhs on the trade-offs between openness and rights in labour immigration policymaking has also informed debates and proposals about the global governance of international labour migration at the United Nations and other international institutions.
This case study focuses on the impact of research undertaken within the European Research Centre (ERC) and the Centre for the Study of International Governance at Loughborough University between 1993 and 2009, primarily by Professor Linda Hantrais (1993-2008 and now Emeritus). The impact of the research has been created through high quality cross-national socio-demographic analysis which has underpinned policy formation and delivery at the European and national levels, with particular reference to social policy, citizenship and family policy. It has had a substantial further impact by generating advances in international comparative research methods and training.
This research into the experiences of Polish and European migrant workers has enabled impact in four main areas: i) Through contributing to the organisational strategic decision-making of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), helping Polish workers in the UK; ii) By enabling the Polish Trade Union NSZZ Solidarność to collaborate more closely with major UK unions, such as GMB, TUC and Unison, and contribute more effectively to joint trade union strategies to represent migrant workers in the UK; iii) By influencing policy at European, national and regional levels, for example contributing to the posted workers draft enforcement Directive; and iv) By supporting individual Polish workers to access training, support and legal advice, helping workers integrate more effectively into their local community.