Study title

This project investigated the impact of privatisation and social partnership on the labour process and trade union organizing, using the Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union as a case study. In-depth one-to-one interviews were conducted with postal workers and local and regional trade union representatives across Wales during the strike period from August 2022 to June 2023. Follow up interviews were conducted with Communication Workers Union representatives following the cessation of the strike and the signing of the agreement during the summer of 2023.WISERD celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Over time it has grown into an international research institute that develops the next generation of research leaders. Our research brings together different disciplines (geographers, economists, sociologists, data scientists, political scientists) to address important issues for civil society at national and international levels. Our social science core provides a strong foundation for working with other disciplines including environmental science, engineering and medicine to transform our understanding and approaches to key areas of public concern. Our aim is to provide evidence that informs and changes policy and practice. This Centre will build on all previous WISERD research activities to undertake an ambitious new research programme. Our focus will be on the concept of civic stratification. This is a way of looking at divisions in society by focusing on the rights and obligations and practices of citizens and the role of civil society organisations in addressing inequalities in those rights and obligations. We will examine and analyse instances where people do not have the same rights as others (for example people who are migrants or refugees). We will also look at examples of people and groups working together within civil society to win new rights; this is referred to as civic expansion. Examples might include campaigns for animal rights or...