7th Regulating for Decent Work Conference, 6-9 July, 2021

Conference Programme

Meeting document | 06 July 2021

Tuesday, July 6: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world of work in 2020-21

Session 1: Gender, Youth and Inequalities

15h45 – 17h00 CET
Chair: Sangheon Lee

The consequences of the implemented COVID-19 measures on gender-specific labour market inequalities: A global perspective
Stephanie Steinmetz, Kea Tijdens, Pablo de Pedraza and Janna Besamusca
Presentation, Paper

Fighting to stay alive: Domestic workers resisting the COVID-19 crisis
Louisa Acciari

On the nature of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth labour markets: A cross-country analysis
Niall O’Higgins, Sher Verick and Adam Elsheikhi
Presentation, Paper

COVID-19 in the US: Poverty and wage inequality effects by race, gender and education
Borja Gambau, Juan César Palomino, Juan Gabriel Rodríguez and Raquel Sebastian
Presentation, Paper

Session 2: Divided world: Global supply chains, informality and telework

17h15 – 18h30 CET
Chair: Aguinaldo Maciente

The unequal impacts of COVID-19 in the global garment supply chain:
Evidence from India, Honduras, Ethiopia and Myanmar
Genevieve LeBaron, Penelope Kyritsis, Perla Polanco Leal and Michael Marshall
Presentation, Paper

COVID-19 and informal work: Distinct pathways of impact and recovery in 11 cities around the world
Martha Chen, Erofili Grapsa, Ghida Ismail and Marcela Valdivia
Presentation, Paper

COVID-19, informality and employability
Juan Chacaltana, Julio Perez and Sergio Quispe
Presentation, Paper

Working from home and the explosion of enduring divides: Income, employment and safety risks
Armanda Cetrulo, Dario Guarascio and Maria Enrica Virgillito
Presentation,Paper

Session will be in Spanish, with English translation

Latin America Session: Protection or precariatisation of workers in Latin America during COVID-19 pandemic

19h – 20h15 CET
Chair: Roxana Maurizio

Precarisation or Protection? The impact of digital platform labour for domestic workers in Argentina in times of pandemic
Francisca Pereyra, Loerna Poblete, Cecilia Poggi and Ania Tizziani
Presentation, Paper

Professional qualification and low-skilled youth: Analysis of policies in MERCOSUR Member-States in the COVID-19 pandemic
Maria Fonseca, Olivia Pasqualeto and Catharina Scodro
Presentation Eng, Presentation Spanish, Paper

The (di)protection of employment during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil
Valéria Mariscal, Fernanda Almeida and Isabela Barros
Presentation, Paper

Reconocer el trabajo de cuidado en Colombia: Una Deuda histórica con las mujeres
Yaneth Vargas
Paper

Wednesday, July 7: Labour and social protection policies in the crisis response

Asia Session: Innovative responses in Asia as a response to crisis

9h30 – 10h45 CET
Chair: Jeong-Hee Lee

Unfair dismissal and Coronavirus pandemic: Adaptations and creative responses from Australia’s Fair Work Commission
Gabrielle Elisabeth Golding
Presentation, Paper

Job seekers’ learning attitudes in the face of digital disruptions and the COVID-19 pandemic: Investigating an upskilling programme in Singapore
Peng Ho Oh, Brigid Trenerry, Sreeja Nair and et al
Presentation, Paper

Unemployment insurance and the future of social protection program for workers in Indonesia
Nabiyla Risfa Izzati
Presentation, Paper

Young Scholars Session 1: COVID-19 impacts on vulnerable workers

13h – 14h15 CET
Chair: Sarosh Kuruvilla

The pandemic and migration crisis in India: Stories from the hinterland
Pankaj Kumar Naik and Sonal Ann D'souza
Presentation, Paper

The perceptions and experiences of informal workers towards social protection: The case of the informal sector in the Western Cape Province, South Africa
Shaka Bob
Presentation, Paper

Session 3: Labour and social protection policies for certain groups of workers

14h30 – 16h00 CET
Chair: Jill Rubery

The Nordic COVID-19 relief packages for freelancers and start-up companies: When inclusive measures fragments
Trine Pernille Larsen and Anna Ilsøe
Presentation, Paper

The reaction of entertainment workers to the COVID-19: A cooperative case study
Francesca Martinelli
Presentation, Paper

Social protection amongst informal workers in Kenya and Tanzania: The role of informal worker associations during the COVID-19 pandemic
Nina Torm and Lone Riisgaard
Presentation, Paper

Are short-time work schemes protecting temporary workers? A dual labour market amid COVID-19 pandemic
Miguel Ángel Malo
Presentation, Paper

Session 4: Policies to protect workers during the pandemic

16h15 – 17h45 CET
Chair: Janine Berg

Giving aid to those most in need: Improving Brazil’s emergency COVID-19 benefit
Ana Virginia Moreira Gomes, Eduardo Rocha Dias and Anil Verma
Presentation, Paper

COVID-19 from Crisis to Response: Empirical evidence from readymade garment manufacturing sector in Bangladesh
Md Zohurul Islam, Md Mustafa Saroar and Md Mizanur Rahman
Presentation, Paper

Employers’ use of Furlough and Job retention support in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic
Mark Stuart, David Spencer, Christopher Forde and Christopher J Mclachlan
Presentation, Paper

Work from home practices in the era of COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia: A way forward?
Dzurizah Ibrahim, Kamsiah Mabaloh and Nur Ain Alifuddin
Presentation

Thursday, July 8: Governance, regulation and collective bargaining

Europe Session: Addressing wages and working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic

10h – 12h CET
Chair: Maurizio Bussi

Wage inequality and poverty effects of lockdown and social distancing in Europe
Juan César Palomino, Juan Gabriel Rodríguez and Raquel Sebastian
Presentation, Paper

Keeping wage low: In France, no real labour shortage but rationing of seasonal workers and occupational travellers during COVID
Arnaud Le Marchand
Presentation, Paper

Workers’ protection in COVID at the employer’s expense: Russian experience
Elena Sychenko
Paper

Organising an industrial action ballot to protect jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of a UK University and the University and Colleges Union
James Richards and Vaughan Ellis
Presentation, Paper

Discussants:
  • Christian Lyhne Ibsen, University of Copenhagen
  • Óscar Molina, Institute for Labour Studies, Barcelona

Young Scholars Session 2: Regulatory Institutions: Are there lessons from the pandemic?

13h – 14h15 CET
Chair: Deirdre McCann

Occupation safety and health and workplace health promotion: An essential area for a recovery from COVID-19 based on decent work
Silvia Fernández Martinez

Workers’ organisations responses to crisis: Examining the case of domestic workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico
Fernanda Teixeira
Presentation, Paper

COVID-19 and the work of trade unions: New challenges, adaptation and renewal
Tom Hunt
Presentation, Paper

Digital platforms and the world of work: Towards a fairer redistribution of risks
Despoina Georgiou
Presentation, Paper

Session 5: The continuing evolution of labour governance in global supply chains

14h30 – 16h00 CET
Chair: Arianna Rossi

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on garment workers and three labour governance mechanisms for addressing decent work deficits
Mark Anner
Presentation, Paper

"Re-sellers" as intermediaries implementing social standards in public procurement: Reconceptualising public governance in the electronics industry global production network
Helena Graef and Gale Raj-Reichert
Presentation, Paper

How the past of outsourcing and offshoring is the future of post-pandemic remote work: A typology, a model, and a review
Chris Erickson and Peter Norlander
Presentation, Paper

Session 6: Organising for improving labour regulation

16h15 – 17h45 CET
Chair: Susan Hayter

The impact of COVID-19 on private regulation: The case of the living wage
Edmund Heery, Deborah Hann and David Nash
Presentation, Paper

Nurses and Unionisation: What lessons can we draw from the COVID-19 pandemic?
Susana Barria, Ipsha Chaand, Indira Chakravarthy, Richa Chintan and et al
Paper

Towards a stronger EU approach on the trade labour nexus? Pre and post ratification impacts, domestic labour reforms and social struggles in the context of the EU Vietnam Free Trade Agreement
Kristoffer Marslev and Cornelia Staritz
Presentation, Paper

Friday, July 9: The post COVID-19 world of work: In search of a human-centred recovery

Africa Session: Impact of COVID-19 on workers in Africa

10h15 – 11h15 CET
Chair: Aminata Maiga

COVID-19’s impact on the labour markets in middle-income countries: The case of South Africa
Sher Verick
Presentation, Paper

Hope or despair? The resilience and efficacy of Botswana’s dispute resolution system in times of crisis, with reference to COVID-19 emergency regulations
Edward Aden Tswaipe
Presentation, Paper

COVID-19 pandemic, a war to win: Assessing its impact on the domestic work sector in Nigeria
Abigail Osiki, Taiwo Hassan, Prisca Osiki and Vincent Oniga

Session 7: Governance mechanisms to address world of work struggles during COVID-19 pandemic

14h – 15h15 CET
Chair: Kea Tijdens

Recognizing the imperative need to step up integration efforts of occupational health and safety provisions in trade and investment agreements
Ivan Williams Jimenez
Presentation, Paper

Why conflict between economic development and rights governance is inevitable
Desiree LeClercq
Presentation, Paper

Sliding scales of health and harm: Lessons from PPE procurement in a crisis
Olga Martin-Ortega, Martina Trusgnach and Cindy Berman
Presentation, Paper

From San José to Geneva: How the Inter-American System of Human Rights can inform the inclusion of safe and healthy working conditions within the ILO’s Fundamental Rights Framework
Mauro Pucheta and Renan Kalil
Presentation, Paper

Session 8: Policies for a post COVID-19 world of work

15h30 – 16h45 CET
Chair: Gerhard Bosch

Back to the future: Towards a fairer recovery with taking responsibility
Aelim Yun
Presentation, Paper

Corona pandemic and the world of work: Employment crisis and need of visible government hands
Farida Jalal
Presentation, Paper

The European Employment Strategy at 2021: Performance, perspectives and prospects post-COVID
Mark Smith and Paola Villa
Presentation

The road less travelled? Three different scenarios for the Decent Work Agenda after COVID-19
Mathew Johnson, Damian Grimshaw and Eva Herman
Presentation, Paper