In the framework of the 50th anniversary (1973-2023) of the creation of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), the ETUI (European Trade Union Institute) has launched a history project in 2022 and 2023. To carry out this task the ETUI is promoting a series of activities related to the history and memory of European trade unionism. One of the major aims is to profit from this anniversary to enhance the public knowledge about the history and memory of the ETUC with the creation of a network of researchers working in these topics. To that aim, the ETUI and the European Labor History Network (ELHN)-Working Group on history of European trade unionism are bringing together in a regular manner those scholars from various disciplines who are currently researching about the distant or recent history of European trade unionism in the context of European integration.

We would like, therefore, to invite scholars who would like to contribute to this project with papers derived from their past or present research on this topic. We would like to receive abstracts in English (500 words) for papers (5,000-8,000 words) which would deal in any aspect of the history of the European Trade Union Confederation. We particularly encourage submissions which deal with the action of the ETUC in the context of European integration, but also papers focusing on ETUC’s members (national federations or industry federations) in their relationship to the ETUC.

The deadline for submitting abstracts is until 30th May 2023. You will receive an answer as soon as possible after your submission and an invitation to present (in presential or on-line depending on your choice) a first draft paper at the European Trade Union Institute in Brussels. Based on these first versions of the papers, we will be able to organize the panels, suggest potential changes, and decide whether we had a complementary set of papers for a potential publication in this framework. The acceptance of these papers would depend on the scientific originality of the papers and their capacity to unveil novel aspects or periods of the history of the ETUC.

For specific questions about the project or the conference you can contact the two coordinators of this ETUI project. In case of need, the ETUI can contribute to the expenses associated with your participation in the panels dedicated to this project.

Claude Roccati (Historical research coordinator of the ETUC 50th Anniversary, European Labor History Network (ELHN)- Working Group History of European Trade Unionism) claude.roccati@orange.fr
Christophe Degryse (Internal coordinator of the ETUC 50th Anniversary, European Trade Union Institute) CDegryse@etui.org