The 11th Annual NERI Dónal Nevin Lecture in association with the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work at Queen's University Belfast took place on Monday 16 October, 2023 from 11am - 1pm. The venue was the Canada Room (and Council Chamber), Lanyon Building, Queen's University Belfast.
Mr. Torsten Bell, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation delivered the Annual Lecture as the keynote speaker. He presented on 'Good work across the UK's nations, regions and industries'. Find the video from the Lecture.
Lecture Format:
Mr. Torsten Bell, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation made his presentation for 45 minutes. This was followed by a 15 minute respondent discussion by Mr. Owen Reidy, General Secretary, Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU). The chairperson. Ms. Clodagh Rice, BBC then chaired the Q&A session and put forward questions to both Torsten and Owen.
Abstract:
Torsten Bell focused on the nature of work in the UK. For most of us our experience of the economy is dominated by the job we do. Rising wages and widespread good work are the precondition of a good economy, the backbone of a promise of shared prosperity – which in advanced democracies, where deference is rightly long gone, underpins our social contract.
But wages in the UK have stagnated, no higher today than they were as we entered the financial crisis. And while good work is essential, too many lower earners do not have it. Their job satisfaction has fallen even as the minimum wage has risen. Too often they are not treated with dignity and respect, with delivery drivers forced into self-employment and hospitality workers having no protection from unexpected changes to the shifts they work and the wages they take home.
The lecture documented how the nature and quality of work varies across industries and the UK’s nations and regions, before it turned to the policy implications. The minimum wage has seen the lowest earners receive the fastest pay rises for the past few decades, but far less progress has been made elsewhere. Admiration for our flexible labour market’s ability to create a high quantity of work too often turns into fear of any innovation to address its quality. In contrast other Anglo-Saxon labour markets – from New Zealand to Ireland and California – are ahead of us in using such institutional innovations to raise standards.
Speakers details:
Torsten Bell is the Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation. He has a background in economic policy, with a current research focus on how to renew the UK’s economic strategy to raise growth and reduce inequality. Prior to leading the Resolution Foundation, Torsten worked in HM Treasury, as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers during the financial crisis, and as Director of Policy for the Labour Party. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, school governor, and trustee of the Child Poverty Action Group. He is an Honorary Professor at the UCL Policy Lab.
Respondents details:
Owen Reidy was appointed General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions in October 2022. Before taking up this role he was the Assistant General Secretary with responsibility for Northern Ireland since 2016. A union official with over 24 years full-time experience in the Irish trade union movement he started his union career as an official with SIPTU in Mayo in 1998. During his 18 years in SIPTU, he represented and organised workers across the Republic of Ireland in the aviation, state and related agency, finance, contract cleaning and security services sectors. From 2013-16 he was a member of the SIPTU management team leading one of the Union's 5 Divisions, the Transport, Energy, Aviation and Construction (TEAC) Division. He led several significant industrial disputes during that period including the Greyhound lockout, the Luas dispute and disputes in the CIE transport group. He is a father of 2 and from Donegal.