Seminar by Professor William Brown
Posted on: June 23rd, 2011 by Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences
In April, NILS hosted an open seminar by Professor William Brown professor of Industrial Relations at Cambridge University. Prof Brown’s research is internationally influential in such fields as: collective bargaining, pay determination, incomes policy, payment systems, arbitration, minimum wages, and the impact of legislative change. For more info on his work visit www.econ.cam.ac.uk/faculty/brown/publications.htm
Professor William Brown addressed on ‘How shall we protect the wages of the weak?’ In his address he looked at how trade union influence has been collapsing in countries across the world, caused by the intensification of competition, especially of international competition. There are profound implications for the maintenance of decent labour standards which, for most of the past century, have depended upon private sector collective bargaining. Professor Brown discussed how the consequences might be mitigated, and the role played by statutory minimum wages.
The seminar was chaired by Professor Sue Richardson, National Institute of Labour Studies, who is also a Member of the Minimum Wage Panel of Fair Work Australia.
