Labour Struggles in Asia and the Diaspora

Call for Papers
Labour Struggles in Asia and the Diaspora
11-12 June 2009, Staff Club, University of Nottingham
Keynote Speaker: Vice-Chancellor Professor David Greenaway,
University of Nottingham

According to one Asian Development Bank’s report, in the second half of 2007, the average economic growth in major East Asia countries was higher than 5%. This economic performance indicated that the Asian economy has not only recovered from the 1997 economic crisis but also prospered robustly. As a result, it is important for us to explore the foundation of economic development and the situation of the working class in Asia. The main question of this conference is: The main question of this conference is: In this period of dynamic economic development, how much have Asia-Pacific countries been influenced by emerging labour movements, as civil society?
This conference welcomes scholars from interdisciplinary realms, such as politics, communication studies, law, anthropology, gender studies, cultural studies, sociology, geography and social work, as well as labour/NGO practitioners with a research or policy focus. The conference board especially encourages PhD candidates to participate. Two travel grants of £100 will be awarded to the PhD candidates who submit the best conference papers. All well researched conference papers will have the opportunity of being considered for publication in a special issue of a peer-reviewed journal and/or to be published in edited books flowing from the conference.   
There are various issues we would like to discuss; currently we would welcome papers addressing (but not limited to) the following key themes of the conference: 
 Trade unions and labour conflicts
 Gender, diversity and equality
 The role of local NGOs in protecting labour rights
 The connection between local and transnational actors (unions, NGOs, solidarity campaigns, the International Labour Organization (ILO), etc.)
 Communication and mobilization of workers
 Identity of migrant workers
 The impact of the ‘War on Terror’ on the diaspora
 Problems and conflicts of domestic workers

Deadlines: proposal submission (250-300 words) by February 1st 2009, with accepted conference papers to be submitted by May 10th 2009. Submissions and enquiries should be sent to: labourconference2009@googlemail.com