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Sociology of Work and Labour Relations

Code: 100513 ECTS Credits: 6
2025/2026
Degree Type Year
Labour Relations FB 1

Contact

Name:
Mireia Bolibar Planas
Email:
mireia.bolibar@uab.cat

Teachers

Juan Miguel Garcia Nogueroles

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

No prerequisite is required.

 

Teaching will take into account the perspective of the Sustainable Development Goals.


Objectives and Contextualisation

This is a first-year, basic training course taught in the second semester.

This subject has to be contextualized within the development of sociological theories born around the process of industrialization and that have work and employment as main axis.

With this subject the student must acquire the basic knowledge (concepts and main interpretations) of the sociological analysis of the social relations in the company and the work environment.

The course has some specific objectives:

• Know the meaning of work and employment, social relations and their actors in the company from the sociological perspective.

• Understand and interpret the major transformations and trends regarding the processes that affect work and employment, as well as social and employment relations at company level.

• Know how to identify, analyze and propose solutions to specific problems in the area of study.

• Know the interrelations between work, social structure and functioning of societies, between social processes and work dynamics.

• Know how to identify and use the main sources of information about work and employment relations.

 


Competences

  • Applying the information and communication technologies to the different areas of action.
  • Contextualising the social events from a (geographical, historical, economic, ecological, sociopolitical or cultural) global point of view.
  • Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
  • Drawing up and formalising reports and documents.
  • Identifying, analysing and solving complex problems and situations from an (economic, historical, legal, psychological, and sociological) interdisciplinary perspective.
  • Organising and managing the available time.
  • Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
  • Students must demonstrate they comprehend the relation between social processes and industrial relations dynamics.
  • Working effectively in teams.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Applying the information and communication technologies to the different areas of action.
  2. Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
  3. Drawing up and formalising reports and documents.
  4. Explaining the labour divisions and labour cultures from a global point of view.
  5. Explaining the relation between social structure and labour.
  6. Identifying and analysing the groups, relations and social actors.
  7. Organising and managing the available time.
  8. Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
  9. Solving the problems related to labour and employment inequalities.
  10. Working effectively in teams.

Content

BLOCK I. INTRODUCTION TO THE SOCIOLOGY OF WORK AND EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS

Topic 1. Object of study of sociology

The social relations and their foundations. Basic sociological concepts for the study of work and employment relations: status, power, social norm, socialization, instrumental action; individual and group; social structure

Topic 2. Main sociological interpretations about work and social relations in the company

Labor and social relations from the perspectives of Marx, Durkheim and Weber.

 

BLOCK II. WORK, EMPLOYMENT AND LABOUR MARKET

Topic 3. The meaning of work

The social construction of the meaning of work. The conversion of labor into merchandise and the labor market. Productive and reproductive labor; work and employment.

Topic 4. Productive labor in industrial capitalist society

Technical and social division of labor within the modern factory. The main dimensions of the social division of labor. Class structure in the industrial society. Mass production and consumption. The construction of the welfare state: main models and functions. De-commodification of labor. Fordist employment norm and social citizenship rights. Labor market and employment relations.

Topic 5. Work and employment today

The transformations in work, employment and occupational structure: from stability to flexibility and labor fragmentation. Current trends in labor markets and the division of labor: the reclassification of labor and its effects on the welfare state. Towards a new alternative definition of the meaning of work and employment: productive and reproductive labor.

 

BLOCK III. INTRODUCTION TO EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS

Topic 6. Meaning, origin, actors and processes of employment relations

Meaning of employment relations.Procedures for regulating employment conditions and historical evolution. Main theoretical interpretations in the study of employment relations. Unions, union representation of workers. Entrepreneurs and business organizations. The state actor in employment relations. Collective bargaining and agreements: meaning and relevant characteristics. Labor conflict: the institutionalization of conflict and recent trends.

 


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Masters classes, students oral presentations, discussions in class, tasks in group 44 1.76 1, 2, 5, 4, 6, 7, 3, 9, 8
Type: Supervised      
Tutorials, preparation of tasks and oral presentation, readings 24 0.96 1, 2, 5, 4, 6, 7, 3, 9, 8
Type: Autonomous      
Studying, material organization, searching information, preparation of written tests 82 3.28 1, 2, 5, 4, 6, 7, 3, 9, 8

The main aspect in the learning process is the student's work, who learns whilst working, and the mission of the teaching staff is to help him / her in this task (1) by providing him with information and showing him the sources where he / she can get it (2) directing their steps so that the learning process can be carried out effectively. In accordance with these ideas, and in line with the objectives of the subject, the development of the course is based on the following activities:

 

a) Master classes: where the student reaches the conceptual bases of the subject attending the master classes and completing them with the personal study of the topics explained.

Lectures are the activities in which less student interaction is required: they are conceived as a fundamentally unidirectional method of transmitting knowledge from the teacher to the student.

 

b) Seminars and Presentations: where the students (by groups) present a reading and deliver a written report. 

In the seminars, the students (in groups of 5 or 6) will have to do an oral presentation in class and submit a brief report about a topic or issue related with one of the proposed readings. The presentation, in which all the components of the group have to participate, will last between 10 and 12 minutes. With audiovisual support, 5 to 8 slides will be displayed, including a conceptual map, some conclusions and a final question.

The composition of groups and the chosen reading allocated must be communicated before February 20. As of that date, the teacher will redistribute the readings so that presentations of all the readings are made and there is the minimum of repetitions possible. All the groups will have to have a meeting with the teacher. It will probably be held in the classroom, on a date that the teacher will determine. In this meeting the members of the group must deliver and explain a written conceptual map of the presentation they have been assigned.

Each group that presents will have to deliver two elements:

1a) A copy of the materials and slides used in the presentation, which will be delivered the day of the presentation.

2a) A written report about a socioeconomic and labour-related issue related to the reading that have been discussed in the seminar. This report will be submitted one week after the presentation.

All the students must attend each one of the seminars. On seminar days, a classroom assignment based on the readings will be given to everyone.

 

Seminar readings:

  1. Ritzer, George (1996). "Una introducción a la McDonalización" in La McDonalización de la sociedad. Un análisis de la racionalización de la vida cotidiana. Barcelona: Ariel, pp. 15-33.
  2. Barranco, Oriol (2007). "Condiciones de trabajo de las proletarias y los proletarios de la gran distribución comercial" in Vivas, E. & Montagut, X. Supermercados no, gracias. Barcelona: Icaria, pp.71-83.
  3. Cano, Ernest (2008).“La extensión de la precariedad laboral como norma social”. Sociedad y Utopía. Revista de Ciencias Sociales, n.29, pp. 117-138
  4. Moreno-Colom, Sara, Ajenjo, Marc & Borràs, Vicent (2018). "La masculinización del tiempo dedicado al trabajo doméstico rutinario". REIS: Revista española de investigaciones sociológicas,(163), 41-58.
  5. Parella, Sonia (2004). La interacción entre clase social, género y etnia. Mientras Tanto, n. 93, pp.83-100
  6. Fernández García, Tomás & Andrés, Sergio (2015). Crisis y Estado de bienestar: las políticas sociales en la encrucijada. Tendencias y Retos, 20(1), pp. 119-132.
  7. Hyman, Richard (1981). "¿Qué son las relaciones industriales?" in Relaciones industriales: una introducción marxista. Madrid: H.Blume, pp. 19-42.

 

c) Practical exercises that will be developed throughout the course.

Two types of practical work will be carried out: a group assignment involving the presentation of current news related to the course, and other individual activities or practical exercises in class. They will mostly take place in class but they might need previous preparation and autonomous work from the students. 

 

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Critical report of a text (in group) 10% 0 0 1, 2, 5, 4, 6, 7, 3, 9, 8, 10
Individual tests 60% 0 0 1, 2, 5, 4, 6, 7, 3, 9, 8
Participation in seminars 5% 0 0 2, 6, 9, 8
Practical exercises 15% 0 0 2, 5, 9, 8, 10
Presentation of a text (in group) 10% 0 0 1, 2, 5, 4, 6, 7, 3, 9, 8

ORDINARY ASSESSMENT SISTEM

The evaluation is composed of a group evaluation and an individual evaluation

 

GROUP EVALUATION

The work carried out in groups and the achievement of competences are evaluated [CE1.1, CT6, CT7, CT11.]

It includes:

- Seminars: 20%

This mark is subdivided as follows: 10% oral presentation; 10% written report.

- Practical exercises: 20%

This mark is subdivided as follows: presentation of a written press article: 7%; other exercises in class: 13%.

 

INDIVIDUAL EVALUATION

The conceptual and theoretical knowledge of the subject attained as well as their capacity for analysis of critical reasoning, is evaluated individually.

The individual assessment is carried out through three individual written tests carried out during the course. The sum of the three tests will be worth 60% of the mark of the course, worth each of them 20%. It will be necessary to obtain a grade of at least 4 out of 10 in each of the three tests to make the average of all, while the average of these must give a minimum of 4.

Students will be assessable as long as they have completed a set of activities whose weight is equivalent to a minimum of 2/3 of the total grade for the subject. If the value of the activities carried out does not reach this threshold, the subject teacher may consider the student as non-evaluable. 

 

REVALUATION

Three situations imply the right to carry out the revaluation or recovery test of the "individual evaluation": (a) those students who have failed one or several of the individual tests of the course can recover each of the necessary parts in a final exam; (b) people whose average of all individual tests is less than 4; (c) people who have a mark in one or several individual tests with a score of between 4 and 4'9 and the overallaverage of the course has a score that does not reach 5. The note of the re-evaluation test will replace the note of the failed tests. In this re-evaluation, however, you can get a maximum score of 6 out of 10.

 

 

UNIQUE ASSESSMENT

The single evaluation can be requested in the time, form and justification established by the regulations of the university and the faculty.

The single assessment will consist of a three-part test:

- An exam regarding all the contents of the subject, including all the readings of the seminars. 60% of the qualification. A minimum rating of 4 out of 10 will be required to validate the other parts of the test.

- A written assignment, delivered on the same day of the exam, which will refer to the contents and relationship between the different readings of the seminars. 25% of the qualification.

- An oral presentation, in video format, delivered on the same day of the exam, refering to a practical exercise. 15% of the grade.

The same recovery system and the same non-evaluable criteria valid for the continuous evaluation will be applied in case of unique assessment.

 

ABOUT THE USE OF AI:

For this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is restricted. It is permitted exclusively for support tasks, such as bibliographic or information searches, text correction or translation, or the search for images or examples. Students must clearly identify which parts have been generated using AI, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how these tools have influenced both the process and the final outcome of the activity. Lack of transparency regarding the use of AI in this assessed activity will be considered academic dishonesty and may result in a partial or total penalty in the activity's grade, or more serious sanctions in severe cases.

 


Bibliography

The references are divided in support readings, recommended readings and supplementary readings.

Bloc I

Required Readings:

  • Montoussé, M.; Renouard, G. (2001): Cien fichas para aprender sociología. Bellaterra: UAB [Part IV ‘La socialización’, pp. 78-97].
  • Köhler, H-D.; Martín Artiles, A. (2021, 3ª ed.): Manual de la sociología del trabajo y de las relaciones laborales. Madrid: Delta [cap. 6 ‘Los clásicos de la sociología de las relaciones laborales’, pp. 98-123].

 

Recommended readings:

  • Santos Ortega, A.; Poveda Rosa, M. (2001): Trabajo empleo y cambio social. València: Tirant lo Blanch [‘La centralidad del trabajo en la sociología clásica’, pp. 40-49].
  • Watson, T. (1994): Trabajo y sociedad. Manual introductorio a la sociología del trabajo, industrial y de la empresa. Barcelona: Hacer [‘La sociología y el análisis sociológico’, pp. 1-27].

BLOC II

Required Readings:

  • Köhler, H-D.; Martín Artiles, A. (2021): op. cit. [caps. 1 i 2 ‘Trabajo y empleo’ i ‘La empresa’, pp. 3-54; cap. 14.2 ‘Función de integración social. Origen del concepto de Estado del bienestar’, pp. 518-535].
  • Santos Ortega, A.; Poveda Rosa, M. (2001): op. cit. [‘Hacia una definición compleja de actividad laboral: tendencias y cambios recientes en el trabajo’, pp. 49-64].

 

Recommended readings:

  • Carrasquer, P. (2003): ‘Juventud, trabajo y género. Viejos y nuevos retospara una ciudadanía en igualdad’. Revista de Estudios de Juventud, edición especial [pp. 193-215].
  • Beechey, V. (1994): ‘Género y trabajo. Replanteamiento de la definición de trabajo’, a Borderías, C., Carrasco, C. i Alemany, C. (eds.). Las mujeres y el trabajo. Rupturas conceptuales. Barcelona: Icaria.
  • Prieto, C. (2000): ‘Trabajo y orden social: de la nada a la sociedad de empleo (y su crisis)’. Política y sociedad, n: 34 [pp. 19-32].
  • Maruani, M.; Rogerat, Ch., Torns, T. (dirs.) (2000) Las nuevas fronteras de la desigualdad. Hombres y mujeres en el mercado de trabajo. Barcelona: Icaria.
  • Miguélez, F.; Prieto, C. (2001): ‘Crisis del empleo y cohesión social’. Cuadernos de relaciones laborales, n. 19 [pp. 223-240].
  • García Calavia, M.A. (2008): Sociologia de les relacions laborals. València: PUV [Cap. 6. ‘Sindicalisme i representació d’interessos’ pp.121-142]
  • Santamaría López, E., & Serrano Pascual, A. (2016). Precarización e individualización del trabajo: claves para entender y transformar la realidad laboral. Editorial UOC.

Bloc III

Required Readings:

  • Jódar, P. (2000): ‘Relaciones laborales’, a F.G. Benavides, C. Ruiz-Frutos i A.M. García. A (eds.). Salud laboral. Conceptos y técnicas para la prevención de riesgos laborales, Barcelona: Masson [pp. 97-115]. 

Recommended readings: 

  • Alós-Moner, R.; Martín Artiles, A. (2002): Teories del conflicte i negociació laboral. Una perspectiva sociològica. Barcelona: UOC [pp. 37-62].
  • Alós-Moner, R. (2015) 'El sindicalismo ante un cambio de ciclo', Pasos a la izquierda, núm. 2 [https://pasosalaizquierda.com/el-sindicalismo-ante-un-cambio-de-ciclo/]
  • Köhler, H-D.; Martín Artiles, A. (2007): op. cit. [cap. 3 ‘Las relaciones laborales’, pp. 55-61; cap. 12 ‘Actores sociales: organizaciones sindicales y asociaciones empresariales’,pp. 425-486; cap. 13.3 ‘Función coordinadora del Estado en la negociación colectiva’, pp. 510-530; cap. 14 ‘Conflicto y negociación colectiva’, pp. 531-563].
  • García Calavia, M.A. (2008): Sociologia de les relacions laborals. València: PUV [Cap. 3 Els bons temps de les relacions laborals: la conformació d’una disciplina’ pp.61-86; cap. 5. ‘Treballadors i sindicats’ pp.101-120].
  • Lazar, S. (2019). Cómo se construye un sindicalista: Vida cotidiana, militancia y afectos en el mundo sindical. Buenos Aires: Siglo XXI
  • Moore, S. (2011): New Trade Union Activism. Class Consciousness or Social Identity? Palgrave Mc Millan

  

Supplemandatary readings: 

  • Finkel, L. (1994): La organización social del trabajo. Madrid: Pirámide.
  • Miguélez, F.; Prieto, C. (dir. i coord., 1999): Las relaciones de empleo en España. Madrid: Siglo XXI.
  • Meda, D. (1998). El trabajo. Un valor en peligro de extinción. Barcelona: Gedisa.
  • Santos Ortega, A.; Poveda Rosa, M. (2001): Trabajo empleo y cambio social. València: Tirant lo Blanch.
  • Serrano, A. et al. (2001). ‘La experiencia subjetiva del trabajo en una sociedad en transformación.’, a Agulló, E. (coord.): Trabajo, individuo y sociedad. Madrid: Pirámide.
  • Watson, T. (1994): Trabajo y sociedad. Manual introductorio a la sociología del trabajo, industrial y de la empresa. Barcelona: Hacer.

 


Software

None


Groups and Languages

Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 2 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 51 Catalan second semester afternoon
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 2 Catalan second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 51 Catalan second semester afternoon