The Manchester Industrial Relations Society (MIRS) is a well-established and important forum for the discussion of industrial relations and employment issues within Britain.
Founded in 1964, the Society has mounted a continuous annual programme of meetings addressed by distinguished speakers from the industrial relations, human resource management and trade union world. We now have over 160 members from across the north-west of England, drawn from the trade unions, management, Acas, Industrial Law Society, and Universities.
Annual Shirley Lerner Lecture
Thursday 15 May 2025, 6-7.30pm at Manchester Metropolitan Business School, Lecture Theatre 33 (and online)
This year's MIRS Shirley Lerner Annual Lecture will take place on May 15th, 6pm-7:30pm at Manchester Metropolitan Business School, Lecture Theatre 33 (and online). The lecture will be followed by a social event.
Between 2022-23 the UK saw a wave of strike action unprecedented since the 1980s, with 3.9 million working days lost in the 12 months to May 2023 compared to an average of 450,000 per year during the 2010s. This lecture reports on research investigating the 2022-23 strikes in three public services, rail, health, and teaching. The research will explore the narratives of those taking part and the 'vocabularies of motive' and meanings those taking strike action attached to their activity.