Postdoctoral Researcher Trade Union Access to the (Digital) Workplace
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Job Location:
Amsterdam - Netherlands
Monthly Salary:
Not Disclosed
Posted on:
30+ days ago
Vacancies:
1 Vacancy
Job Summary
Are you interested in research on labor rights worker representation and the digital transformation of workplaces Join us as a postdoc researcher to study how trade unions access physical and digital workplaces.
The project
This project studies how trade unions and other employee representatives communicate with workers in the modern doing so this project focusses on union access to workers in both traditional physical workplaces as well as in digital and digitally mediated workplaces. Access to workers is an important aspect of union organizing collective bargaining and worker representation. New EU rules on platform work require that digital labor platforms must enable representatives of these workers to contact or be contacted using the digital infrastructure of the platforms and refrain from accessing or monitoring these contacts and communications. This project studies the experiences of social partners with union communication and access to workers in both digital workplaces (labor platforms) and in traditional physical workplaces. The goal is to uncover the drivers barriers and outcomes of trade unions access. The study involves designing and fielding a survey among (Dutch) social partners (unions and employers) and qualitative interviews. Based on the project outline the Postdoc is encouraged to shape the project according to his or her own ideas. Also other methods (e.g. document or content analysis of digital communication) are possible depending on the candidates expertise research interests and data availability.
What will you do
You will be working on a sub-project of a larger this sub-project you will work in collaboration with prof. Agnes Akkerman and dr. Giedo Jansen. The project further includes prof Jaap van Slooten and Niels Jansen who carry out normative and comparative legal analysis on union access to the workplace. You will be placed at the interdisciplinary research instituteAIAS-HSI at the University of Amsterdam and participate in the vibrant academic life of our university. The project is also embedded in a larger interuniversity consortium studying platform work (Platwork-R).
Your tasks as a Postdoctoral researcher will include the following:
- Conducting a literature review on trade union communication and access to (digital) workplaces;
- Designing organizing and fielding an online survey among Dutch social partners on their experiences with union access to (digital) workplaces and communication channels;
- Interviews with social partners and experts;
- Publishing at least one article in a in peer-reviewed journal;
- Contributing to the development of a roadmap for social partners with guidelines for designing and managing communication channels facilitating union access to workers;
- Contributing to other outreach activities within the project and consortium;
- Participating in the intellectual life and contribute to the research profile of AIAS-HSI.
What we expect from you
- A PhD degree (or close to completion) in one of the social sciences such as sociology communication science political science or other social science discipline preferably on a labor-related topic; also candidates with a background in law who have an interest in (developing their skills regarding) empirical methods are encouraged to apply
- Experience in independently conducting research
- Proven track record of academic publications and/ or (public) outreach
- Experience with qualitative and/or quantitative research. Experience with survey design is considered an advantage
- Full professional working proficiency in English (speaking writing reading) and working knowledge of the Dutch language.
What can we offer you
We offer you the opportunity to work in an intellectually stimulating and teamwork-oriented environment. We are committed to offering tailor-made and careful supervision with the main aim of allowing you to grow and flourish academically and professionally.
We offer a 08 fte position (304 hours/week) as postdoctoral researcher for 15 years. Your salary depending on your relevant experience on commencement of the employment contract ranges between 3881 to 4728 gross per month on the basis of a full working week of 38 hours. This sum does not include the 8% holiday allowance and the 8.3% year-end allowance. The Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (CAO NU) is applicable.
About us
The University of Amsterdam is the largest university in the Netherlands with the broadest spectrum of degree programs. It is an intellectual hub with 42000 students 6000 employees and 3000 doctoral students who are all committed to a culture of inquiring minds.
Do you have any questions or do you require additional information Please contact: Agnes Akkerman () and Giedo Jansen ().
If you feel the profile fits you and you are interested in the job we look forward to receiving your letter and CV. You can apply online via the link below. We will accept applications until 26 October 2025. Applications received via email will not be taken into consideration. Your application should include:
- A letter of motivation (max. 2 A4);
- Your CV including education employment history publications and organizational experience;
- Names positions and email addresses of two referees (no reference letters); please list these on your CV rather than filling them out separately in the system.
- Please note: create one PDF document of your CV and motivation letter save it with your name in it and upload it via the link below.
The first round of application interviews will take place in October/ November 2025 either on-site or online.
Key Skills
- Intelligence Community Experience
- Python
- Spss
- Microsoft Word
- R
- Regression Analysis
- Windows
- Stata
- Microsoft Powerpoint
- Research Experience
- Data Modeling
- Writing Skills
