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Dr Timothy ( Tim ) Connor

Work Phone (02) 4921 6363
Fax (02) 4921 6931
Email
Position Lecturer
Newcastle Law School
The University of Newcastle, Australia
Office MC165, McMullin

Biography

Tim Connor's research focuses on the relationship between voluntary and state-sanctioned governance of employment rights. From 1995 until 2010 he worked for Oxfam Australia, coordinating research and advocacy regarding workers' rights in corporate supply chains. This work involved frequent trips to Indonesia, Thailand and other Asian countries to conduct field research and to consult with workers and local civil society groups.

In 2010 Tim was appointed as a lecturer at Newcastle Law School. He teaches Employment Law, Finance Law, Company Law and Law of Business Organisations. He is currently one of the chief investigators on an Australian Research Council linkage project investigating the effectiveness of the redress mechanisms available when transnational corporations are involved in human rights violations.

Qualifications

  • PhD, University of Newcastle, 2008
  • Bachelor of Laws, University of New South Wales, 1994
  • Bachelor of Arts, University of Sydney, 1991

Research

Research keywords

  • Codes of Conduct
  • Corporate Accountability
  • Corporate Social Responsibility
  • International Labour Law
  • Sweatshops

Research expertise

TIm's expertise is in labour rights and corporate social accountability. In 2008 he completed a PhD which investigated whether corporate codes of conduct and multi-stakeholder initiatives are enhancing respect for labour rights in the supply chains of major transnational corporations. This research focused on the global sportswear industry, and in particular on the two largest global sportswear companies: Nike and Adidas. Tim has written a number of public reports on working conditions in this industry. He has also helped to facilitate a number of dialogue processes between companies, trade unions and non-governmental organisation regarding strategies for improving respect for workers' rights.

Collaboration

Between 2011 and 2014 Tim will be one of five chief investigators working on an ARC Linkage Project. This project involves investigating the effectiveness of the redress mechanisms available to vulnerable workers and communities when their human rights are violated as a result of transnational business activity (see http://corporateaccountabilityresearch.net/our-projects/evaluating-redress-mechanisms-project/ ).

Fields of Research

Code Description Percentage
180118 Labour Law 40
150303 Corporate Governance And Stakeholder Engagement 30
150106 Sustainability Accounting And Reporting 30

Centres and Groups

Centre

    Awards

    Recognition.

    2012 Vice-Chancellor's Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning
    University of Newcastle (Australia)
    Recognition for excellence in teaching
    2012 Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award for Law Teaching in 2011
    Faculty of Business and Law, University of Newcastle (Australia)
    Recognition for excellence in teaching.
    2002 Award for an outstanding presentation (postgraduate)
    Institute of Australian Geographers (Australia)
    Recognition for quality conference paper at an Australian academic conference - Institute of Australian Geographers (IAG) at the Australian National University in Canberra.
    2001 Best human rights paper at the 2001 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers
    Human Rights Committee of the Association of American Geographers (United States)
    Recognition for paper delivered at international conference.
    1992 Phillips Fox Scholarship in Law
    DLA Phillips Fox (Australia)
    Academic merit in the study of law at the University of New South Wales.

    Research Award.

    1999 Ronald Henderson Postgraduate Scholarship in Social Economics
    Ronald Henderson Research Foundation (Australia)
    Research Scholarship
    1998 Australian Postgraduate Award Scholarship
    ARC (Australia)
    PhD Research Scholarship

    Teaching

    Teaching expertise

    Tim teaches Company Law and Employment Law to students undertaking the Bachelor of Laws and Law of Business Organisations and Finance Law to students undertaking Bachelor degrees in Business and Commerce. The quality of his teaching was recently recognised by the University when he was awarded the Vice-Chancellor's Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning in 2012.

    Teaching interests

    • Employment law
    • Finance law
    • Company law/Law of business organisations

    Courses