Guy Standing defends the rights of the 'precariat' at the Faculty of Law

The lack of workers' rights in some sectors has led British economist Guy Standing to propose a political agenda for the precariat as a new social class. On 18 December at the Faculty of Law, Standing will talk about the subject with Eduardo Rojo and Antonio Martín.

04/12/2014

As part of a short tour through Madrid and Barcelona, British sociologist and economist Guy Standing will talk about a political agenda for the precariat on 18 December, at 12:30 pm, at the conference hall of the Faculty of Law. The event is organised by the UAB Institute of Employment Studies (IET) and will include the participation of Eduardo Rojo, professor in employment law, and Antonio Martín, professor of sociology and director of IET.

Standing, author of A Precariat Charter: from denizens to citizens (Bloomsbury Academic, 2014), calls out to different political groups to demand social reforms which can guarantee the right to financial security, given that the precariat (immigrants, the educated young, people who no longer form part of the traditional working class, etc.) not only are victims of job insecurity but also of a lack of social and democratic rights.

In Favour of a Basic Income

Guy Standing is Professor of Development Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, and co-founder of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN). From 1975 to 2006, he worked with the International Labour Organisation as a researcher in work insecurity and flexibility and is known to have created the index of decent work. His research focuses on labour economics, labour market policies, unemployment, flexibility in the labour market, and policies in structural adjustment and social protection. Currently, his studies are based on the emergence of the precariat as a social class and the need to advancing towards an unconditional basic income and a deliberative democracy.

More information: Institute of Employment Studies