5th ISA Forum of Sociology (6-11 July 2025)

The transformations of work in recent years have led to numerous debates in various fields of sociology regarding their implications and impacts. Phenomena such as the digitalization of work, the platformization of social relations, and the incorporation of AI into everyday experiences have resulted in the proliferation of new conflicts or the updating of traditional conflicts in the realm of capital-labor contradictions. The new realities of work and emerging forms of precariousness have given rise to alternatives to traditional forms of unionism, aiming to overcome the bureaucratic tendencies of traditional union structures and incorporating elements such as horizontality and intersectionality . However, these new conflicts are characterized not only by a discursive and value shift but also by the significance of more direct, contentious, and movement-based forms of collective action. The field of work is not immune to political and social fluctuations. The expansion of neoliberal discourses and governance, the weakening of the labor movement, and the growth of exclusionary populist and far-right options shape a scenario in labor conflict that deserves careful attention. The emergence of new organizations and discourses on work, along with the recomposition of the capital-labor conflict scenario, make this issue fertile ground for research and debate.

The session will focus on:

Implications of precarization

Feminization of digital labor and conflicts of precariousness

Unionism, class dynamics, and migration

Digitalization and labor conflict

The emergence of the far right in labor conflict

Transforming labor subjectivities

Labor conflicts under socio-ecological transformation

Social and labor movements in post-growth capitalism.