The Manchester Industrial Relations Society (MIRS) is a well-established and important forum for the discussion of industrial relations and employment issues within Britain.
Founded in 1964, the Society has mounted a continuous annual programme of meetings addressed by distinguished speakers from the industrial relations, human resource management and trade union world. We now have over 160 members from across the north-west of England, drawn from the trade unions, management, Acas, Industrial Law Society, and Universities.
December 11, 3-4.30pm at The Penthouse, Alliance Manchester Business School
BWEI (Work & Equalities Institute) and MiRS Lecture 2025 with Professor Virginia Doellgast
Virginia Doellgast (Cornell University, USA), Tobias Kämpf (University of Labour, Germany), Barbara Langes (Institute for Social Science Research, Germany)
This paper compares works council initiatives to influence the adoption and deployment of AI-based tools in three German Information and Communications Technology (ICT) companies, with the aim of investigating the conditions for workers to establish collective voice in these decisions.
In all three case studies, works councils strengthened worker voice in decisions concerning the use of management-automating AI technologies in areas such as performance monitoring and workforce analytics. However, they faced more challenges in encouraging alternative approaches to skill development and employment restructuring associated with work-automating AI. Institutional and discursive power resources help to explain both their overall success in strengthening voice and different outcomes across AI applications.
The lecture will be held on Thursday 11th December from 3pm in the Penthouse, Alliance Manchester Business School. This will be followed by a small drinks and canapes reception in the room.
Please register attendance via Eventbrite.