PhD research student, Lydia Hayes, and Professor of Labour Law, Tonia Novitz, will be speaking at a conference on 'Reconciling fundamental social rights and economic freedoms after Viking, Laval and Rüffert' to be held in Brussels on 13-14 January 2011.

This conference marks the conclusion of a project on 'Viking Laval Rüffert - Consequences and Policy Perspectives', funded by the European Commission. The focus of this project was firstly to analyse the effects of these judgments on national systems of industrial relations and secondly to consider the prospects for reform. The study has included countries representing the Scandinavian, Anglo-Saxon, German and Romanic models of industrial relations as well as the situation in the new EU member states.

Lydia Hayes and Professor Novitz have provided an analysis of UK law in conjunction with Hannah Reed of the Trades Union Congress (TUC). Their joint findings will be presented at the conference. In addition, Professor Novitz will chair a discussion with MEPs at the European Parliament on the evening of 13 January.