About this course
Times of Corona are times of change. Post-Corona is not only a crisis, but also a moment to explore new pathways for our societies towards greater equity, environmental sustainability and democratic participation.
This course offers a labour perspective on the main challenges and systemic deficiencies exposed by Covid-19. The course focuses on an agenda for change and explores policy debates on redirecting the economy towards services and infrastructure, which meets basic human needs and rights.
This course was first launched in 2020.
Key concepts
Covid-19, environmental crisis, health systems, social protection systems, global production chains, agenda for change
Course structure
Chapter I: Course Introduction
Chapter II: Resilient Health Systems: Responding to Pandemics and Beyond
Chapter III: Income Support and Social Protection for All Workers
Chapter IV: Securing Emergency Funding and Financing Recovery
Chapter V: Redirecting the Economy: A Socially and Environmentally Sustainable Future
Course materials and workload
This course has 4 content chapters. The chapter contains a series of units; each unit is composed of one video lecture, two quiz questions, a reflection question, a key reading, as well as additional reading materials. All these can be downloaded and used offline. Zoom workshops with the course contributors provide a space to dive deeper into the topic (wherever available, these are located under the video lecture).
The estimated workload for each chapter, including key readings, is around 8 hours.
Course Team
Dr. Jeremy Anderson, Head of Strategic Research, International Transport Workers’ Federation
Prof. Dr. Mark Anner, Associate Professor of Labor and Employment Relations, and Political Science, Penn State University, USA
Baba Aye, Health and Social Services Officer, Public Services International
Leo Baunach, Director, International Trade Union Confederation/Global Unions Washington Office
Ruth Castel-Branco, Research Manager, Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, Wits University
Dr. Bruno De Conti, Lecturer, Institute of Economics, University of Campinas, Brazil.
Prof. Dr. Trevor Evans, Professor Emeritus, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Germany
David Francis, Deputy Director, Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Mirko Herberg, Coordinator, Global Trade Union Programme, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
Prof. Dr. Hansjörg Herr, Professor Emeritus, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Germany
Dr. Frank Hoffer, Non-executive Director, Global Labour University Online Academy
Prof. Dr. Praveen Jha, Professor for Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India
Tendai Makanza, Regional Officer, IndustriALL Global Union, Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Office
Dr. Sulakshana Nandi, Co-Chair, People's Health Movement Global
Dr. Nicolas Pons-Vignon, Acting Director of the Corporate Strategy and Industrial Development Programme, University of the Witwatersrand
Angelo Salento, Associate Professor of Economic and Labour Sociology, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy
Prof. Dr. Christoph Scherrer, Professor for Globalization and Politics, Social Science Department of the University of Kassel, Germany
Prof. Dr. Martina Sproll, Professor for Social Sciences, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Germany
DR. Marlese von Broembsen, Director of the Law Programme, Women in the Informal Economy, Globalising and Organising
Prof. Karel Williams, Professor of Accounting and Political Economy, Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, United Kingdom
Prof. Dr. Markus Wissen, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Germany
Dr. Edlira Xhafa, Executive Director, Global Labour University Online Academy