Does labour get online to mobilise young workers offline? A comparative analysis of trade union online presence and the impact on engagement of young workers in Europe and the Americas

Orientação: Hermes Augusto Costa

Programa de Doutoramento: Relações de Trabalho, Desigualdades Sociais e Sindicalismo

Financiamento: FCT

The importance of organised labour in securing worker's rights across the globe is incontestable. However, the rise of neoliberal globalisation has caused significant changes to the labour market, and trade unions have had to respond and adapt to this new reality in order to maintain membership levels, ensure succession and retain their influence. Based on this context and taking into account the increasing ubiquity of the internet in people's lives, this research will investigate the success of trade unions in engaging with young workers through Information and Communication Technologies, specially websites and social media. A comparative study between Brazil, Canada, Portugal and the United Kingdom will apply discourse analysis and political participation as the main theoretical frameworks, allied with a mixed approach of online mapping and qualitative fieldwork to analyse the impact that trade union online activity has had in mobilising young workers and integrating them into the organised labour movement.