Comparative Industrial Relations

The aim of the course is to provide students with a conceptual and analytical framework for understanding the main trends and problems affecting the regulation of labour and industrial relations in a context of intensified economic internationalisation. In so doing, the course introduces the basic concepts for the analysis of industrial relations and their regulation in a comparative perspective, while at the same time focusing on key issues currently debated in industrial relations research.

By the end of the course, students will acquire knowledge and develop in-depth understanding of the systems of industrial relations, the challenges they are exposed to and their current transformations, as well as the effects of these changes on patterns of labour market inequalities and economic performance. Students will learn how to critically apply such knowledge to the analysis of recent developments in labour and industrial relations across different national contexts. They will also acquire the ability to use the specific terminology of industrial relations research and to critically examine employment relations issues