Research Interests

• Global Political Economy;
• Global Trade Unionism;
• Politics and Trade Unionism;
• Sector Restructuring and Decomposition – steel, public services, ports and logistics;
• Workplace and Union Learning and Training.

• Publications
• Projects
• Biography

Additional Information

Links
Centre For Global Labour Research
CRIMT

Book Series
Routledge Studies in ‘Employment and Work Relations in Context’

Related Resources
Colloquium: Farewell 28th January 2009, Cardiff University

Publications

Selected Publications

Peter Fairbrother and Al Rainnie (eds) (2006) Globalisation, State and Labour, London: Routledge (ISBN: 0 415 37551 7).

Peter Fairbrother and Charlotte Yates (eds) (2003) Trade Unions in Renewal: A Comparative Study London: Routledge (ISBN: 0826454372/ ISBN: 0826454364)

Peter Fairbrother, Michael Paddon, and Julian Teicher (eds) (2003) Privatisation, Globalisation and Labour, Sydney: Federation Press (ISBN 1 86287 405 0)

Peter Fairbrother (2000) Trade Unions at the Crossroads, London: Mansell (ISBN 0-7201-2202-3)

Peter Fairbrother (1996) Organize and Survive: unions and health and safety - a case study of an engineering unionized workforce, Employee Relations, vol. 18, issue 2, pp. 88.

Simon Clarke, Peter Fairbrother and Vadim Borisov (1995) The Workers’ Movement in Russia Aldershott: Edward Elgar (ISBN: 1 85898 063 1)

Peter Fairbrother (1994) Politics and the State as Employer, London: Mansell (ISBN: 0  7201 2137 X)

Simon Clarke, Peter Fairbrother, Michael Burawoy, Pavel Krotov (1993) What About The Workers?, London: Verso (ISBN 0 86091 402 X; 0 86091 666 9)

Peter Fairbrother (1984) All Those In Favour: The Politics of Union Democracy, London: Pluto Press (ISBN: 0 86104 763 X).

Recent Papers

Ruth Barton and Peter Fairbrother (2008) ‘The Politics of Union-Government Relations: Public Transport in Two Australian States’, Work Organisaiton, Labour and Globalisation, 2 (2): 56 – 72

Dean Stroud and Peter Fairbrother (2008) ‘Training and Workforce Transformation in the European Steel Industry: Questions for Public Policy’, Policy Studies 29, 2 (April), pp. 145 – 161

Dean Stroud and Peter Fairbrother (2008) ‘The importance of workplace learning for trade unions: A study of the steel industry’, Studies in Continuing Education, 30 (3): 231 - 245

Peter Fairbrother (2008) ‘Social Movement Unionism or Trade Unions as Social Movements’, Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 20 (2).

Dean Stroud and Peter Fairbrother (2008) ‘Training and Workforce Transformation in the European Steel Industry: Questions for Public Policy’, Policy Studies 29, 2 (April), pp. 145 – 161

Dean Stroud and Peter Fairbrother (2008) ‘Workplace Learning: A Trade Union Failure to Service Needs’, Journal of Workplace Learning 20, 1, pp. 6 - 20

Ruth Barton and Peter Fairbrother (2007) ‘ ‘We’re here to make money. We’re here to do business’: Privatisation and Questions for Trade Unions’, Competition and Change, , 11 (3): 241 - 259.

Peter Fairbrother and Glynne Williams (2007) ‘Unions Facing the Future: Questions and Possibilities’, Labor Studies Journal, 31 (4): 31-53.

Dean Stroud and Peter Fairbrother (2006) ‘Workplace learning: dilemmas for the European steel industry’. Journal of Education and Work, 19 (5): 455 – 480.

Peter Fairbrother and Nikolous Hammer (2005) ‘Global Unions: Past Efforts and Future Prospects’, Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations, 60 (3): 405 – 431.

Projects

Peter Fairbrother leads three research projects, which involve four sets of researchers, in Europe and Australia.

The first research programme focuses on union renewal and revitalisation. Peter has been at the forefront of debates about union renewal. This research began with a sustained enquiry into the processes and significance of workplace unionism. Building on this early research he contributed the definition and scoping of union renewal in the recent period. This enquiry has led into debates about social movement unionism (see ‘Social Movement Unionism or Trade Unions as Social Movements’, Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 20 (2): forthcoming), and the changes that may be taking place in relation to globalisation (see ‘Do Unions Matter in a Global Economy?’, presentation to Cardiff School of Social Sciences Public Seminar Series, 1 November 2007 - Related Resources section of this page). This research builds on the work of international trade union research network, bringing together research teams from Australia, New Zealand, United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. One publication is ‘Trade Unions in Renewal: A Comparative Study’ (Employment & Work Relations in Context Series- Related Resources section of this page).

Second, Peter is developing a series of focused projects in Australia. The first one, titled ‘local and global trade unionism’, and co-led by Dr Ruth Barton aims to develop a programme of research on the transport and logistics industries, defining key aspects of the impact of globalisation with respect to labour. It involves studying a proto-typical case, three remote and local transport unions, in Victoria, Australia that has developed a Victorian Group of the International Transport Federation. The research involves a study of union leadership, practices of solidarity, information exchange and institution building. This project is being extended to include a broad set of researchers, focusing on a range of unions in different sectors, all dealing with the tension between local activity and global developments. Complementing this work, a preliminary project is being developed focusing on the implications for labour of the restructuring and recomposition of port workforces in the Asia Pacific region.

The second Australian project is jointly led with Darryn Snell [hyperlink] is developing a new project focused on trade unions and climate change. While debate remains about the causes, timetable, and impact, it is accepted that the world now faces a major challenge, and that questions relating to climate change are likely to dominate policy debates. With this in mind two themes are being studied, on in relation to a prototypical case, union responses and initiatives in relation to policies and practices in the energy generation in the Latrobe Valley in the State of Victoria. These generators contribute to the carbon emissions on a scale the registers world wide. In this small geographical area, four coal burning power generators, utilise brown coal (lignite) in the production of a substantial proportion of the total energy requirements of the state of Victoria. After the depredations of privatisation and neo-liberal reform, the unions in this area have rebuilt and relocated themselves. They are addressing policy questions relating to climate change and the future of these generators. The second theme focuses on green jobs and the prospects of developing a green economy. Here the research explores the policies of unions towards green jobs and a green economy, the alliances that may be in the process of development between trade unions and environmental groups, and the skills base and requirements for a green economy.

Third, Peter has undertaken public services research in the UK and Australia. This work is currently focused on a joint project studying the public sector restructuring in Australia and Britain involves work with research staff from the University of New South Wales and the Australian National University. This work examines trade union organisation and responses to the restructuring that has taken place in the public services, examining the core administrative departments and agencies in each country, as well as work and employment in these areas in both countries. Core themes that are addressed include the depoliticisation process in public sector restructuring and processes of union renewal. One recent publication on these themes is P. Fairbrother and Al Rainnie (eds) (2006) Globalisation, State and Labour,  London: Routledge. Another publication is in the process for development with colleagues from the Institute for Sociology, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle: Fairrbrother, Peter, Jonda, Bernadette, Sackmann, Reinhold (eds.): Varieties of public sector labour markets. A comparison between Western countries and transition countries.

Fourth, under the auspices of the Regeneration Institute Cardiff University, Peter, together with Dr Dean Stroud (Cardiff School of Social Sciences) is completing a set of projects focused on the European steel industry, addressing redundancy and resistance, restructuring and recomposition in the European steel industry, redundancy and the regeneration of social identities, forms of union resistance and reorganisation. These researches are funded under the EU Leonardo da Vinci programme, SKOPE, and the ESRC social identities programme Regenerating Identities|: subjectivity in transition in a South Wales workforce (ESRC RES-148-25-0033). Two books are planned from this research

Peter is a founder member of the Global Labour University Project, and led the teaching contribution from Cardiff University between 2004 and 2006. The project offers the MSc in Labour Policies and Globalisation and Cardiff University presents the Module: ‘Trade Unionism in a Global Economy’, Semester: Winter 2004, 2005, and 2006. The programme is sponsored by the ILO, GUFs, and ICFTU. Funded by FES and Hans Bockler Foundation.

Peter is an Adjunct Professor in the Industrial Relations Research Centre, The University of New South Wales and an International Investigator of the Centre de recherche interuniversitaire sur la mondialisation et le travail (CRIMT).

Peter is committed to teaching and research interests in the area of global political economy. Prospective research students (particularly on questions relating to trade unionism) can email peter.fairbrother@rmit.edu.au. Peter is willing to advise on draft research proposals and help facilitate both PhD work as well as research. .

You can e-mail: peter.fairbrother@rmit.edu.au

You can access Peter Fairbrother’s CV here.

Biography

Career Profile

Current:

Professor of International Employment Relations, School of Management, RMIT University (2009 onwards)

Previous:

Research Professor, Cardiff School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University (1999 – 2009)

and

Director (Joint with Professor Ed Heery), Centre for Global Labour Research, Cardiff University – details(2007 – 2009)

Reader, Department of Sociology, University of Warwick (1997 – 1999)

Senior Lecturer, Department of Sociology, University of Warwick (1994 – 1997)

Lecturer, Department of Sociology, University of Warwick (1978 – 1994)

Course Tutor, Workers' Educational Association (1977 – 1978)

Lecturer, Department of Sociology, University of Warwick (1975 – 1977)

Teaching Fellow, Faculty of Economics and Politics, Monash University (1971)

Farmer (1965 – 1966)

Honorary Research Fellowships

• National Key Centre in Industrial Relations, Monash University (1998 – 1999)
• Public Sector Research Centre, University of New South Wales (1998 – 1999)

Honorary Professorships

• National Key Centre in Industrial Relations, Monash University (2000 – 2002)
• Industrial Relations Research Centre, University of New South Wales (2004 – 2005)
• Adjunct Professor and Associate of the Industrial Relations Research Centre, University of New South Wales (2006 – 2009)

Editorial Boards

• International Advisory Board Member, Labor Studies Journal (2007 onwards)
• International Advisory Board Member, Labor Studies Journal (2007 onwards)
• International Advisory Board Member, Global Labour (2008 onwards)
• Series Editor ‘Employment and Work Relations in Context’, Routledge (1993 onwards)

Expertise

• Expert Advisor, European Metalworkers Federation, Steel Sector Social Dialogue Committee (2006 – 2009)

Research Involvement

• International Professorial Researcher, Centre de recherche interuniversitaire sur la mondialisation et le travail (CRIMT) (2001 onwards)
• Director (with Professor Ed Heery) Centre For Global Labour Research, Cardiff University (2007 – 2009)
• Directorate Member, Regeneration Institute, Cardiff University (2007 – 2009)

Memberships/External Activities

• Founder Member of the Global Labour University project (2004 – 2007)
• Designer of Foundation Module for the Global Labour University, presented by Cardiff University (2003 – 2006)

Teaching Profile

Teaching Topics

• Global political economy
• Trade unionism in a global world
• Public services in a global world

Graduate Supervision

• Privatisation and labour resistance
• Global political economy
• Trade unionism in a global world
• Public services in a global world
• Commodity chain governance and labour
• Empowerment and democracy in poor communities
• Trade union renewal
• Working time
• Employment precarity
• Migrant work