The Centre for Labour Law and Equal Rights was founded at Bifröst University, Iceland (then Bifröst School of Business), in May 2005 in co-operation with the Ministry of Social Affairs. Head of the Institute is Elin Blöndal, professor at the Faculty of law.

Objectives of the Institute

According to the agreement establishing the Centre, its role is to include:

• Promoting and strengthening research on Labour law and Equality rights
• Encouraging co-operation between domestic and foreign researchers in the field of Labor law and Equality rights
• Providing impartial services in the field
• Integrating research and teaching in the field
• Providing students with facilities for research
• Publishing and presenting research on Labour law and Equality rights, as well as other educational material
• Organizing conferences on Labour Law and Equality right

Main projects in the field of Labour Law

The Centre has participated in and conducted several projects and research in the field of labour law, both in Iceland and Europe. The labour law day – where research in the field is introduced – is held annually by the Centre. Among the main areas in the field of labour law are the following:

• Employee participation – Draft legislation for the Ministry of Social Affairs (1) on Information and Consultation in Undertakings, (2) involvement of employees in European Cooperative Societies, and (3) involvement of employees in the case of cross-border mergers of limited liability companies. Participation in a research for the European Commission (2006)
• Temporary Agency work – Report for the Ministry of Social Affairs, publications and a conference, in participation of the Directorate of Labour
• Cross border Mobility of Employees – Posting of workers – Research paper and participation in a research project by the European Labour Law Network
• Freedom of Association – Several publications, research papers, and participation in conferences
• The Right to Bargain Collectively – Publications and research paper

Main projects in the field of Equal Rights at the labour market

The main projects conducted by the Centre in the field of equal rights at the labour market are the following:

• Equal pay – Several research papers and conferences held at the University of Bifröst. Participation in a public Committee (Elín Blöndal) on Equal Pay Certification, and research for the Committee
• The Icelandic Equality Index – a project based on annually gathering and publishing information on gender equality among the 100 largest companies in Iceland (based on turnover). The Equality Index project concerns also the development of measurement units for the assessment of Equal Rights in companies.
• Part time work – Research papers and advisory opinion on certain questions regarding part time work and gender equality (Elín Blöndal)
  Gender and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Reporting – a consultant team from the Centre is now participating in a nine month consulting project on Gender and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The project is managed and implemented by the IFC), in partnership with the The Global Reporting Initiative The objective of the project is to promote gender and CSR reporting at the global level with the intended impact that more companies understand the business case for gender inclusion and implement appropriate best practices to increase and optimize the contribution of women in their organizations. Elín Blöndal, professor, leads the consultant team but other members of the team are Ingibjörg Þorsteinsdóttir, Associate professor at the Faculty of Law and Birgir Óli Sigmundsson, expert at the Research Centre, as an assistant.

About Bifröst University

Bifröst University is one of the smallest but fastest growing universities in Iceland. It is a private, non-profit university, set on a rural campus outside Iceland’s capital city of Reykjavík. Founded in 1918, Bifröst is one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in Iceland. Historically the only specialized business school in Iceland, Bifröst now offers both undergraduate and graduate programs in three academic departments: Business, Law, and Social Sciences. Bifröst has always devoted itself to the education of future leaders.

References

This article is sourced from the website of The Centre for Labour Law and Equal Rights at Bifröst University.