News and Blog

Rhys Davies explores how he uncovered problems with official UK government figures on trade union presence and coverage – and how the government recognised and corrected the error.  In a time when trade union membership is decreasing in both the UK and the USA, The decline in union membership has been well documented for many…

The Equality Act Regulations 2017 required all firms with over 250 employees in the UK to publish their gender pay gap (GPG) annually. This paved the way for employers to focus on causes of and solutions to gender-related wage discrimination. Mandatory GPG reporting was designed to be the first step in helping firms identify their…

“Just think about it, next year, both the Durham Miners’ Gala and the Notting Hill Carnival will take place in seats represented by Conservative MPs” Michael Gove, December 2019. The Durham Miners’ Gala, established in 1871, is the largest annual gathering of trade unionists in the UK. Despite the last coal mine in County Durham…

WISERD researchers will continue to support the development of data repositories for strategic use within NGOs, having successfully obtained funding from the ESRC under the NGO Secondary Data Analysis Call. Dr. Jean Jenkins and Dr. Katy Huxley will build on previous work with partners the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC), who campaign for decent work and…

Today, WISERD launches a new interactive service allowing users to access data on union membership for over 400 unitary authority and local authority districts of Great Britain. UnionMaps allows users to produce area reports of union membership for a particular location or explore how different measures of union membership vary across Great Britain. Since its…

On Monday 9th September, a team of WISERD researchers from Cardiff University, Helen Blakely, Wil Chivers, Rhys Davies, Steve Davies and Katy Huxley, will share the latest findings from our research on trade union membership in the UK, to the TUC Congress. The 151st annual congress event will take place at the Brighton Centre and attract hundreds of delegates representing every…

On the 3rd and 4th July, WISERD held its 10th Annual Conference in the Medrus Conference Centre at Aberystwyth University. This year’s theme was Civil Society and Participation, and as Wales’ largest social science conference, the event attracted over 100 delegates from across academic, policy, public, private, and third sectors. The conference began with two…

In two weeks’ time, WISERD will be holding its Annual Conference in the Medrus Conference Centre at Aberystwyth University. This year’s theme is Civil Society and Participation. Delegates will have the opportunity to discuss cutting-edge, inter-disciplinary research from Wales and beyond, focusing on approaches to civil society and participation that have been adopted in a…

  Professor Kevin Morgan from the School of Geography and Planning at Cardiff University presented research on the Foundational Economy at the UK2070 Commission: Wales Stakeholder Event, which took place at the Cardiff Business School this week. The UK2070 Commission is an independent inquiry into city and regional inequalities in the UK. Chaired by Lord…

On Tuesday 28th May, Dr Jean Jenkins presented her research on employment rights at one of the world’s best-known literature festivals. Her talk, ‘Fashion – an Industry of Gross Exploitation’ explored the history of an industry that was long ago described as a ‘parasite industry’ as a result of the shocking mistreatment of its workers….