LERA 2014 Interview: Sarosh Kuruvilla , Professor, Industrial Relations, Asian Studies and Public Affairs Department Chair, International & Comparative Labor , ILR School

Q: What is the focus of the panel on which you are speaking?

A: The first panel is with regard to Governance of Global Supply Chains, and the second panel is with regard to Strikes and Collective Bargaining in China.

Q: How does your current work or research connect to this panel?

A: Panel a) I published a paper on Global Value Chains and Employment Relations Theory last year and my current research continues on this theme. Panel b) My current research is on strikes and collective bargaining in China and I just published a paper on strikes in China. I am also part of an international project on collective bargaining in China.

Abstracts of current research:From the Firm to the Network Global Value Chains and Employment Relations Theory (PDF, 86 KB), The Changing Nature of Labor Unrest in China (PDF, 148 KB).

Q: What is significant about this work; how is it relevant to today’s issues in the workplace?

A: Strikes and collective bargaining are amongst the most important policy problems in the labor and human resources sphere in China.

Q: How will attending LERA help move your work forward?

A: Not sure if attending LERA moves anything forward, but it publicizes the research that we do.