Call for Proposals:

At the Crossroads of Transitions: What Compromises Are Needed to Ensure Quality Work and Employment?

The Canadian Industrial Relations Association (CIRA) 64th Annual Conference

June 8-10, 2027

Gatineau, Québec, Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO)

The world of work is currently undergoing several transitions at once. Artificial intelligence and automation are transforming tasks, occupations, and forms of control. The ecological transition calls for a rethinking of production methods and skill sets. Demographic shifts are changing workforce availability and the relationships between diverse groups and generations. Hybrid work is blurring the boundaries between work locations and work schedules. Added to this are trade tensions, the reconfiguration of value chains, and the resurgence of industrial policies. These transitions do not proceed at the same pace or in the same direction, but they converge on one point: work and employment.

The history of industrial relations shows that many actors have mobilized during these transformations—some of which are not new—through experimentation, negotiation, or conflict, laying the groundwork for new arrangements among employers, workers, unions, public authorities, and other stakeholders.

Against this backdrop, what compromises will enable us to govern these transformations at various levels—organizational, sectoral, institutional, and others—while considering the inequalities they may reproduce, exacerbate, or generate? How do we balance innovation, productivity, autonomy, health and safety, well-being, participation, and power in the workplace to foster a high quality of life at work—one that provides meaningful work, economic, physical, and psychological security, and individual and democratic fulfilment?

The Canadian Industrial Relations Association (CIRA) invites you to take part in this important discussion on the compromises needed to achieve quality work and employment at its 64th annual conference, to be held at the Department of Industrial Relations at the Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO) in Gatineau, QC, June 8, 9, and 10, 2027. Coinciding with the 35th anniversary of the founding of UQO’s Department of Industrial Relations, we invite you to a unique opportunity to share insights from our respective research and professional practices and to reflect collectively on how we wish to approach and act on the compromises involved in achieving quality work and employment.

True to our interdisciplinary tradition, we believe that the various fields of industrial relations can offer valuable perspectives in this regard. We will also hold a graduate school session on June 8, 2027.

Conference Themes

Proposals may address, but are not limited to, the following themes:

1-    Public policies and governance of ecological, digital, and social transitions: what role of democracy? (Interdisciplinary Dialogues)

2-    Geopolitical tensions: a new reality or a resurgence of old configurations?

3-    Compromises within Organizations: Challenges and Innovations in Human Resource Management and Work Organization.

4-    Employment, Management, and Challenges in the Public Sector

5-    Democracy at Work: Rights, Voice, Participation, and Negotiation

6-    Occupational Health, Safety, and Sustainability in the Workplace

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES AND DEADLINE: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2027

Scientific Paper Presentations

Proposals for scientific paper presentations must be submitted by January 20, 2027, in the form of abstracts of 500 words (excluding references). Submissions must further include the title of the presentation, as well as the names and institutional affiliations of all authors.

Please indicate, where applicable, the conference theme(s) to which your proposal relates and the language in which you would prefer or are able to present. Submissions from master's and doctoral students are also encouraged.

Panels or Symposia

We also welcome proposals for workshops or symposia, to be submitted by January 20, 2027.

Panel proposals should include 3 to 5 paper presentations, while symposium proposals should consist of 7 to 8 presentations organized across two sessions. Panels and symposia may also include a designated discussant to provide comments on the presentations.

Each proposal must include:

• An overview of the panel or symposium: A 200-word description (excluding references), including the title, the name(s) of the organizer(s), and their institutional affiliation(s).

• Individual presentation abstracts: A 500-word abstract (excluding references) for each presentation included in the workshop or symposium, specifying the title, name(s), and institutional affiliation(s) of all contributing authors.

• Discussant information (if applicable): The name, professional title, and institutional affiliation of the designated discussant.

Panels and symposia may also feature joint contributions from researchers and practitioners, including trade union representatives, human resource managers, employees of public sector organizations, NGOs, and community representatives.

All proposals will undergo peer review under the supervision of the Scientific Committee. Proposals should be submitted to the following email address: acri-cira2027@uqo.ca

Notification of acceptance will be sent by mid-March 2027.

GÉRARD DION AWARD. Deadline: April 1, 2027, for nominations

For more than 40 years, CIRA has awarded the Gérard Dion Award to a person or organization that has made a remarkable contribution to our field of study or the world of work, and we invite you to participate in the consultation process by nominating candidates for shortlisting. Nominations should be sent no later than April 1 to the following address: acri-cira2027@uqo.ca

ALLEN PONAK BEST STUDENT PAPER AWARD. Deadlines: January 20, 2027/ April 30, 2027

Following acceptance of their scientific paper proposal by the Organizing Committee, students wishing to be considered for the Allen Ponak Award for Best Student Paper must submit a full paper to acri-cira2027@uqo.ca by April 30, 2027.   

To be eligible for this award, students must be enrolled at a Canadian university or be Canadian students enrolled at a university elsewhere in the world.  Student papers in both French and English are welcome. See the criteria here: https://www.cira-acri.ca/en-awards.  The recipient receives a $500 prize.

CIRA BEST CONFERENCE PAPER AWARD. Relations industrielles/Industrial Relations (RI/IR) Journal – Deadline: April 1, 2027

Following acceptance of their scientific paper proposal by the Organizing Committee, participants in the Annual Conference are invited to submit a full paper (7,000 to 10,000 words, including title, abstract, and references) by April 1, 2027, to acri-cira2027@uqo.ca for consideration for the CIRA Best Paper Award.

The competition is open to all researchers affiliated with Canadian universities, as well as Canadian researchers affiliated with institutions elsewhere in the world.

Submitted papers must be original and must not be under review by another journal. Submissions will be evaluated by a four-member selection committee composed of representatives from the CIRA Executive Committee and the editors of RI/IR.

The award recipient will receive a $500 prize and an invitation to submit their paper to RI/IR for consideration through the journal's peer-review process.

The award recipient must present their paper at the Annual Conference. Acceptance for publication will remain subject to the journal's standard double-blind peer-review process.

STUDENT TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIP for Students Enrolled in Academic Programs in Canada or Canadian Students Studying Abroad – Application Deadline: April 30, 2027.

Up to eight (8) student travel scholarships will be awarded based on the excellence of the applications received. Selected recipients will receive up to $750 for their travel expenses.

Payment of the scholarship will be made after the conference upon presentation of receipts for expenses incurred, up to the amount awarded. Interested persons are invited to submit their proposals, in either English or French. All proposals will be subjected to peer review, under the responsibility of the organizing committee. Selected applications will be communicated prior to the conference.

To apply, please send the following information to acri-cira2027@uqo.ca by April 30, 2027:

• Name of the current academic program and educational institution

• An up-to-date curriculum vitae (CV)

• Copies of current university transcripts

• A brief description of other sources of funding (excluding the CIRA grant), as well as any additional funding applications submitted or approved

• An abstract, in English or French, of the paper proposal submitted as first author to the CIRA 2027 Annual Conference

SUMMARY – KEY DATES AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION

General email address for submissions and inquiries: acri-cira2027@uqo.ca