LAU33191 Workplace Democracy and the Law

Module Learning Outcomes with embedded Graduate Attributes  

On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:  

• Explain important elements of Irish industrial relations 
• Critically analyse how Irish law regulates trade unions and other forms of worker representation 
• Engage with theoretical approaches to the employment relationship and worker organisation and representation 
• Compare models of industrial relations across jurisdictions 
• Communicate research on industrial relations and the law

Module Content

This module examines how the law treats the means by which workers organise collectively and participate in decisions about their working conditions. It will appeal to anyone with an interest in the determination of working conditions, working-class political empowerment, and the relationship between governance of business enterprises and pursuit of social policy goals like income equality, economic security and accountability for environmental and social impacts.  

Students will engage with theories of the labour relationship, worker representation and workplace democracy to compare and critique legal regimes applying to trade unions, collective bargaining and other forms of worker empowerment. There will be a particular focus on Irish industrial relations within their European and transatlantic legal and economic contexts, but students will also have the opportunity to engage with workplace democratisation in emerging economies and the Global South. This will include examination of international law and human rights law on freedom of association, collective bargaining and strikes, and the operation of Irish, European and international organisations in the field of industrial relations.   

Recommended Reading List

Sources used during this course include:  

• Bogg et al, Human Rights at Work (OUP 2024) 
• Dukes and Streeck, Democracy at Work (Polity 2023) 
• Cornell and Barenberg (eds), The Cambridge Handbook of Labour and Democracy (CUP 2022) 
• Forsyth, The Future of Unions and Worker Representation (Hart 2022) 
• Kelly and Tham (eds), Democracy, Social Justice and the Role of Trade Unions (Anthem 2021) 
• Collins et al (eds), Philosophical Foundations of Labour Law (OUP 2018)  

Teaching and Learning Methods (including details of supervision)

Teaching and Learning will consist of weekly lecturers deliver to the students by the lecturer. Participation in class will be encouraged (but not assessed) by the lecturer covering key themes of each weekly topic.