Decent Work and the city

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Promoting decent work standards is increasingly considered an essential element in policy agendas to achieve more sustainable and inclusive growth. However, the implementation of decent work standards in a fragmented global economic system has proven to be challenging, and there is evidence of widening inequalities and poverty within and across countries linked to disparities in employment standards and conditions. In short international and national policies do not seem to be delivering on decent work and this in turn has reanimated local policy debates, mainly evident in cities and urban areas, about how to tackle issues of precariousness and inequality. Although they are potentially significant in their own right, there is a clear need to scale up, connect and learn from these localised developments.Through comparative mixed methods research I will explore the different approaches taken to enhancing working conditions in cities and the ways in which a range of actors interact across different geographical spaces to promote fundamental notions of justice, decency and dignity at work. By focusing on six diverse cities around the world - Manchester (UK); Bremen (Germany); Buenos Aries (Argentina); Montreal (CA); New York (USA); and Seoul (South Korea); this project will explore how the type and quality of jobs on offer in different local contexts have direct and indirect effects on wider issues of inequality and social justice, and how different actors respond to issues of labour market exclusion, poverty and insecurity. All of these cities have engaged in decent work initiatives, including local political commitments to tackling low wages and precarious work, and have seen trade union and worker mobilisation around specific issues such as labour rights and workplace democracy. At a time of continued volatility and uncertainty in the global economy, the current project seeks to both recognise and highlight good practice in respect of improving the quality of work, while also exploring the conditions under which a decent work agenda can be developed and sustained. In this sense, 'Cities' provide a theoretical lens through which to view long-run changes in the global economy and the labour market and to examine closely the 'winners and losers' of greater financial integration and increased capital and labour mobility. By combining high quality academic research outputs with ongoing impact and knowledge exchange activities, the project seeks to provide both theoretical and practical answers to pressing global concerns around low pay, inequality and insecurity. The UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship represents an excellent opportunity for me to build on my existing research activities and contacts to and to establish a distinct and innovative international research agenda encompassing the global north and south, that has a direct impact on policy and practice.