On 23 and 24 October, 2025, the team of project A03 "Worlds of Labour: Coverage and Generosity of Employment Law" held a workshop in the International Labour Office (ILO) in Geneva. It aimed to communicate and discuss results of A03 eight years of research, including recent publications and the databases on the evolution of labour law.
A particular objective of the workshop was to present to ILO experts and to a broader audience, the recently published book "Constructing Worlds of Labour" edited by Ulrich Mückenberger, Heiner Fechner and Irene Dingeldey, within the CRC 1342-book series. It was co-organised by the CRC A03-team and the ILO-Research Department in cooperation with ILO´s International Labour Standards Department and the Labour Governance Unit.
The format of the workshop was twofold.
A more public part was a hybrid session headed by Aristea Konkiadakis (Research). Here, Irene Dingeldey, Heiner Fechner and Ulrich Mückenberger presented the CRC 1342, the book, and the further results stemming from the two phases of the A03-project. The focus was on the findings in how far employment law has a protective function and in how far it contributes to labour market segmentation – particularly from a gender perspective. From the Norms-Department, Naj Ghosheh commented. The following discussion was constructive. All participants recognised the rich results of the A03-work and the book. However, they underlined the practical und organisational difficulties to effectively overcome legal segmentation.
The second half day was a more internal deliberation on the content, value and future of the databases established by A03 and the WeSIS-team. Opening remarks were delivered by Caroline Fredrickson, Director of Research. Marina Carlino, Heiner Fechner (both CRC), and Jenny Hahs (Institute Institute for Work, Skills and Training, University of Duisburg Essen, but former member of A03) presented the databases (WeSIS, WoL, and HILODB <history of ILO-data base>) developed and used by the project. All three mentioned ILO-departments were attending. The assistant to Corinne Vargha (Director of the Norm Department with whom one of the A03-PIs had a meeting the day before) expressed her interest in the data bases. Claude Donald Loiselle (coordinator of the international cooperation in Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) described the history of an OSH-oriented electronical archive which started with enthusiasm and more and more lost ground due to lack of resources and support.
The visit in Geneva took place in a warm and welcoming atmosphere. It demonstrated the relevance of our research, from the point of view of the practical ILO-actors. The fact that the "Worlds of Labour" project, in its legal segmentation approach, is substantially critical of certain ILO-norms and activities, was well-accepted. Gender- and race-based normative segmentation seems to be recognised as an important problem in organisations like the ILO. It seems to be a question of both financial and power resources within this organisation to take effective steps against legal segmentation.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Irene Dingeldey
CRC 1342: Global Dynamics of Social Policy, Institute Labour and Economy
Domshof 26
28195 Bremen
Phone: +49 421 218-61710
E-Mail: dingeldey@uni-bremen.de
Dr. Heiner Fechner
CRC 1342: Global Dynamics of Social Policy
Mary-Somerville-Straße 7
28359 Bremen
Phone: +49-421-218-57070
E-Mail: hfechner@uni-bremen.de
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Mückenberger
CRC 1342: Global Dynamics of Social Policy, Faculty of Law
Universitätsallee, GW1
28359 Bremen
Phone: +49 421 218-66218
E-Mail: mueckenb@uni-bremen.de
