The 7th Annual Conference of the Global Labour University (GLU) was held at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, from September 28 to 30, 2011. Over 200 experts, scholars, social activists, from universities, research institutions, and unions around the world and GLU students participated in this event. Professor Lin Yanling from the School of Labor Relations and Human Resources and Professor Wang Shufen from the Academic Affairs Office of the China University of Labor Relations (CULR) attended the conference.

With the theme of "The Politics of Labour and Development", this year's conference aimed to address globalization and discuss the crises and challenges faced by labor in the current financial crisis. Participants discussed the topic from different perspectives, including issues of collective bargaining in the workplace, potential issues of broader strategic alliances, new forms of power and influence, and the changing global landscape. More than 70 people submitted paper abstracts, with 34 submitting full papers. Over 70 scholars from universities and research institutions worldwide delivered keynote speeches at more than 20 parallel academic seminars, engaging in extensive exchanges with the teachers from CULR.

This year's conference can be described as a book launch event. During the plenary sessions of the conference, two book launch events were held, introducing a total of 8 books in the field of labor, including the publication of the International Labour Organization, "Trade Unions and the Global Crisis: Labour's Visions, Strategies and Responses", which collected the paper "Collective Actions Push Trade Union Reform in China" submitted by Professor Lin Yanling and Associate Professor Ju Wenhui at last year's conference held in Berlin, Germany.

(School of Labor Relations and Human Resources)