CRIMT is pleased to invite you to its upcoming hybrid seminar, which will be held on Tuesday, December 2. On this occasion, Chris F. Wright, Professor at the University of Sydney, will give a talk entitled: The Nascent Revival of Multi-Employer Collective Bargaining in Liberal Market Economies. Lessons For Canada
The claim that industrial relations systems are defined by a common neoliberal trajectory of expanding employer power has been influential in comparative scholarship for the past decade. This claim seems especially apt in relation to liberal market economies where employers’ interests are prioritised, union legitimacy is relatively weak and the institutional foundations for collective bargaining are fragile. However, governments in several liberal market economies with decentralised systems and low collective bargaining coverage, such as Australia, Chile, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, have recently taken steps to support multi-employer bargaining. This presentation draws upon power resource theory and political science scholarship on ideational power to explain this nascent revival of multi-employer bargaining in liberal market economies. With particular attention to recent industrial relations reforms in Australia, it examines how progressive governments and unions can develop successful campaigns to strengthen collective bargaining and workers’ collective power. The findings are instructive for understanding how worker-protective reforms might be achieved in Canada and elsewhere.
This hybrid seminar will take place on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. (Montreal time), either in person at the Université de Montréal (CRIMT offices, Suite 411, Pavillon 3744 Jean-Brillant) or via Zoom.
Registration is free but required, whether you plan to attend in person or online. To register, click on the button below, enter your contact information, and specify your preferred mode of participation. Regardless of your choice, a Zoom link will be sent to the email address you provide, allowing those who may ultimately be unable to attend in person to join the seminar online.
Everyone is welcome!
