Research Recent Labour Market Developments

Tender description

Consistent with section 11(1)(a) of the Workplace Relations Act 2015, the WRC Strategic Plan commits the WRC to conduct research pertaining to workplace relations. In this regard, the WRC wishes to carry out research as to how the dynamics of the workplace and the labour market have been affected by the impact of Covid-19 and the widespread introduction of remote working across many economic sectors and within businesses. These changes have come about in circumstances where geo-political tensions globally are affecting trade, labour markets have become tight, supply chains are not always reliable and the inflation/interest-rate parameters which informed many business decisions are not as stable as experienced over the last decade and the growth of artificial intelligence is already impacting job content and volume. In terms of research the Board would like to identify, from national and international experience, 1. Is the significant shift experienced of the last three years a reliable guide to the future of work or is there evidence of a return to more traditional patterns? 2. What is the impact of remote working on employment relationships/wage bargaining/job content? 3. What impact will the inflation/interest rate movements have on businesses and wage bargaining over the next two years? 4. Are recruitment and retention/attitude to work issues going to have a medium-term impact on labour markets? 5. How will artificial intelligence (AI) and climate change transition affect employment? 6. What is the downstream impact on the management of the workplace, productivity and will recent developments have implications, not only for the representative bodies and those who represent individuals in terms of collective voice and the types of workplace issues that are likely to arise, but also for bodies such as the Workplace Relations Commission who must deal with these issues as they come to dispute resolution level.