Portsmouth Business School

Profile

Dr Iona Byford

My academic career was preceded by many years in the catering and retail trades.  I have also been an active trade unionist for many years and have undertaken the role of shop steward or workplace rep in a number of workplaces.  I have been an academic for ten years, first at Bristol Business School and since 2007 at Portsmouth Business School.

I gained my undergraduate degree as a mature student from the Open University, followed by a Masters degree in Industrial Relations from the London School of Economics and a second Masters in Applied Social Research from the University of the West of England.  My PhD was undertaken at the University of the West of England and was titled 'A Comparative Study of Trade Union Renewal Strategies: Partnership, Organising and Social Unionism'.

I teach on a range of HRM, employment relations and research based courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.

My research interests are concerned generally with trade unions, trade union renewal, and conflict at work. I am currently working on a comparative union project with researchers from Australia and New Zealand, and a Health and Safety project with UNISON.

My most recent publications include:

Byford, I. (2011) 'The Effectiveness of the Organising Model in Higher Education', Employee Relations, 33(3).

Byford, I. (2009) 'Union revitalisation and the CAW: reconnecting unions with local communities' in McBride, J. and Greenwood, I. (eds). The Complexities of Community Unionism: A comparative analysis of concepts and contexts. London, Palgrave Macmillan.

Byford, I. (2009) 'Union renewal and young people: some positive indications from British supermarkets' in Gall, G. (ed). Union organising: current practice, future prospects, London, Palgrave Macmillan.