Degree | Type | Year |
---|---|---|
Labour Relations | FB | 1 |
You can view this information at the end of this document.
No prerequisite is required.
Teaching will take into account the perspective of the Sustainable Development Goals.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
The references are divided in support readings, recommended readings and supplementary readings.
Bloc I
Required Readings:
Recommended readings:
BLOC II
Required Readings:
Recommended readings:
Bloc III
Required Readings:
Recommended readings:
Supplemandatary readings:
None
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 |