2nd International Conference: Work, Wages and Workforce - 2026
WageIndicator and FLAME University are organising the 2nd International Conference: Work, Wages and Workforce from 30 November to 1 December 2026 at FLAME University in Pune.
WageIndicator and FLAME University International Conference: Work, Wages and Workforce
The labour market transformation makes tracking changes in occupations, reassessing workers’ bargaining and wage setting, more critical than ever. Against this backdrop, WageIndicator Foundation and FLAME University are organising the second global conference that shall be a unique interface between academia, practitioners, and industry, aiming to advance scholarly discourse and encourage evidence-based practice and policymaking. Date and time: 30 November to 1 December 2026 Location: FLAME University, Pune, India
Special Session: Launch of the India Workforce Index
Learn more
WageIndicator Foundation, FLAME University and Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad (IIM-A) embarked on computing the labour-market dynamics of workers in India through its project titled ‘Index of Job Market Trends for Blue- and Grey-Collar Jobs in India’ from November 2025. The multi-year project will celebrate its first anniversary by launching the index during the conference.
The global labour market is undergoing a massive transformation due to rapid technological advancements, a surge in the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), trade tensions and policy uncertainty, climate change, and demographic shifts across countries. The transformations have affected countries differently. The 2026 World Bank Global Economic Prospects and ILO Employment and Social Trends 2026 show that while developing countries face challenges in creating sufficient new jobs for their working-age population, developed countries are facing labour shortages due to a higher share of an ageing population. In particular, women, youth, and vulnerable populations are facing the highest challenges in securing decent work, exacerbating gender inequalities across countries.
Submit your Paper
The conference welcomes papers. Applicants interested in presenting a paper at the conference should submit an abstract. Abstracts must be in English and no longer than 500 words. The application will be either accepted for a paper presentation, a poster presentation, or rejected. Each applicant can present a maximum of 1 paper at the conference. There are no submission limits on co-authored papers. All submissions must be completed by 11:59 PM IST, 31 July 2026.
Paper Submission
The conference welcomes papers under the following tracks. Applications are welcome to submit empirical, theoretical work or well-articulated case studies (preferably with cross-country evidence) on any of the following tracks, with gender, and the ‘twin transition’ (green and digital) being a critical aspect cross-cutting across tracks
- Capturing labour-market dynamics: Jobs, Workers and Wages
- Tracking changes in occupation and skills: The track invites papers that address the challenges of tracking changes in occupation and skills, driven by shifts in demographic trends, labour laws, climate change, the rapid advancement in technology and AI. We are interested in papers that capture and predict changes in demand, supply and wages in the economy by using different data sources.
- Social impacts of the twin transition and inclusive just transition policies on labour market: The track invites papers examining how the twin transition reshapes labour markets, occupations, and skills, as well as its broader social and employment impacts, with a particular focus on inclusive and forward-looking policy responses within a just transition framework.
- Platformization of work: The track invites papers related to the platform economy that address questions of worker rights in terms of pay and wage setting, collective bargaining, legislation and capturing workers’ perspectives. Papers that examine the changing nature of work driven by advances in technology and AI are also welcome.
- Ensuring decent work and social justice through wage-setting and collective bargaining
- Collective Bargaining Agreements and Wage Setting: The track invites papers that analyse Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) to draw insights into wage setting, wage levels, and the shifts in CBAs due to technological advancements and AI. Papers that demonstrate the use of CBA to advance worker rights and enhance job quality are welcome. We encourage authors to utilise WageIndicator’s CBA-database dataset. Scholarly work that advances the literature on enhancing bargaining coverage is also welcome.
- Estimating Living Wages, Living Tariff and Living Pensions: Papers that advance the literature on estimating living wages, living tariff and living pensions or demonstrate their impacts on the labour market are welcome under this track.
- Shift in demographic structures and implications for social security: This track welcomes papers that contribute to the literature on demographic shifts and changing work structures and social security provisions across countries. Papers that address questions on skill mismatch, working life after the official retirement age, and implications on social security are welcome here.
Please indicate the stream to which you are submitting your paper. Authors with papers that do not fit into these two tracks but are related are also welcome to submit their papers. If none of the streams fit your submission, please indicate 'Other'.
Extended Abstracts
For all proposals that are accepted by the organising committee, applicants must then submit extended abstracts of up to 1,500 words with a detailed description of their conceptual framework, hypotheses, methodology, conclusions, and contribution to discourse through this submission link.
Contact
In case of any queries, you can email the organising team of the WageIndicator Conference at wageindicator@flame.edu.in
Submission Requirements
