Call for Papers
European Labour History Network Conference 2026 – Barcelona
Session: “Extractive Industry under Dictatorship in the 20th Century: Social, Political and Environmental Issues”
Organizers: Labour in Mining Working Group

The mining sector occupied a central role in shaping the economic, political, and social history of many countries throughout the 20th century. As a strategic industry, mining was closely tied to national development agendas, regimes of labour control, environmental transformations, and the consolidation of state power.

by Mareen Heying, Alexandra Jaeger, Nina Kleinöder, Sebastian Knoll-Jung, Sebastian Voigt

The Maritime Labour History Working Group of the European Labour History Network (ELHN) invites submissions for its sessions at the 6th ELHN Conference, to be held in Barcelona from 16 to 19 June 2026.

The working group brings together scholars interested in the study of maritime labour across time and space. Since its inception, it has provided a transnational platform for sharing research on the transformation of maritime and port labour markets, and the conditions, struggles and agency of labouring communities connected to maritime economies.

We invite scholars to explore the complex entanglements between labour, sites of production, industrial geography and environments across historical contexts. We seek papers that examine how workplaces—whether factories, offices, shipyards, mines, farms, or digital infrastructures—function not only as sites of economic production, but also as dynamic ecosystems embedded in social, spatial, and environmental relations.

Call for Papers: The conceptions and contributions to Social Europe of European Trade Union Federations, the European Trade Union Confederation, and the Workers’ Group of the European Economic and Social Committee of the EU

Sixth European Labour History Network (ELHN) meeting

Barcelona-16-19 June 2026

Working Group: European Trade Unionism.

by Ariane Mak

« Il n’y avait pas de grèves pendant la guerre ! » Ce livre défie l’idée, solidement ancrée dans les représentations de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, d’une suspension des conflits sociaux au nom de la nécessaire unité nationale. De 1939 à 1945, le Royaume-Uni connaît plus de 7 000 grèves, la plupart dans l’industrie charbonnière. Qu’est-ce qu’implique la grève en temps de guerre ?

Faut-il être solidaire de la nation ou plutôt de la classe ouvrière ?