Association canadienne des relations industrielles

The theme of the 54th annual CIRA conference is "The Changing Nature of the Workforce and the Workplace". The world of work has evolved dramatically over the last several decades. Internationalization, trade liberalization and technological change have dramatically altered patterns of production and organizational structure. Concurrently there have been various shifts in the organization of work and employment, including growth in both organizational “fissuring” and various forms of so-called “non-standard” employment relations and the increasing prevalence of work/employment precarity. Deregulation and privatization, changing cultural values, and various forms of public policy may also influence these dynamics. Changes in the nature of work have stimulated strong reactions among various social actors. Negative implications for workers and society have been critically highlighted. Unions are actively attempting to renew themselves within this new environment. New social actors may also be coming to the forefront in fostering workers’ rights. We support the continued scholarly exploration of these developments from a diverse range of theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches. What are the factors that are driving these changes? What are their consequences? How are social actors responding and adapting to these changes? What are the relationships between these developments and existing labour/employment policy, and what are the implications for policy reform? The 2017 CIRA conference will seek to explore these questions, drawing from a gamut of analytical perspectives and methodological approaches concerning the world of work. As in other years, CIRA also welcomes proposals that address other themes and issues related to the broad and interdisciplinary field of work, employment, labour studies, human resources and industrial relations. We consider our annual event as a setting in which researchers, practitioners and public policy-makers exchange on all issues related to work and employment and want it to be a venue for the best contemporary research.