Showing papers on "Labour law published in 2002"

Employment in Europe 2002

Abstract: Excerpt] This year’s Employment in Europe Report appears at a difficult time. After the strong, even dramatic, improvements in Europe’s job creation performance over the past 5 years, we face serious uncertainties about our economic and employment performance.

The Organisation of Employment: An International Perspective

Abstract: Diversity in the Organisation of Employment: An Introduction to the Subject.- Making Sense of International Differences: Some Methodological Approaches.- The Development of Employment and Production Regimes.- The State, the Family and Gender: From Domestic Work to Wage Employment.- Skilling the Labour Force.- Labour Market Flexibility and Labour Market Regulation.- Employment Policy and Practice: Implementation at the Workplace.- Multinationals and the Organisation of Employment.- Globalisation and the Future for Diversity.- Labour Regulation in a Global Economy.

Employment equity in South Africa: lessons from the global school

Abstract: South African companies employing 50 or more employees or those with a specified financial turnover, are required to comply with the provisions of the newly introduced Employment Equity Act. Prior to the introduction of the Act, large companies in the country had already introduced strategies of affirmative action to achieve employment equity. This paper highlights some of the strategic and operational concerns surrounding employment equity legislation in South Africa and reviews broad practices of employment equity in Malaysia, India, the USA, Canada, Britain and Zimbabwe. Lessons for the effective implementation of employment equity in South Africa are identified.

Labour Relations in South Africa

Abstract: 1. An introduction to labour relations 2. The historical development of South African labour relations 3. Comparative employment relations 4. Participants in South Africa's labour relations system 5. An introduction to labour economics 6. Contemporary issues in the South African labour market 7. The South African labour legislative framework 8. Managing labour relations in the workplace 9. Collective bargaining and organisational rights 10. Negotiation 11. Dispute resolution 12. Worker participation in South Africa 13. Industrial action 14. Ethics in labour relations 15. Labour relations in South Africa: Some future patterns and predictions

The Ossification of American Labor Law

Abstract: This article argues that the ineffectuality of American labor law and the shrinking scope of collective representation and collective bargaining are partly traceable to the law's "ossification" - to its having been essentially sealed off both from democratic revision and renewal and from local experimentation and innovation to a remarkably complete extent and for a remarkably long time. The elements of this process of ossification are various and familiar; yet, once assembled, they make up an impressive set of barriers to innovation. Most obviously, the National Labor Relations Act has been virtually unamendable for over forty years due to an exceptionally durable congressional deadlock. But the labor law scheme has also been effectively cut off from "market"-driven competition by employers; from the entrepreneurial energies of individual plaintiffs and the plaintiff's bar, and the creativity they can sometimes coax from the courts; from variation and experimentation at the state or local level by representative or judicial bodies; from the winds of changing constitutional doctrine; and from emerging transnational legal norms. Finally, the National Labor Relations Board - the designated institutional vehicle for adjusting the labor laws to modern conditions - is increasingly hemmed in by the age of the text and the large body of judicial interpretations that has grown up over the years. While the argument may seem to counsel only pessimism about the prospects for reform, it may also help to identify potential pathways of change that have not been fully appreciated. Indeed, some of those pathways are being paved by the process of ossification itself. By impelling private parties to find their own paths outside of the existing regime, the ossification of labor law may be setting in motion the very forces that may eventually lead toward legal change.

Global unions? : theory and strategies of organized labour in the global political economy

Abstract: List of Illustrations Acknowledgements List of Contributors Part I. International Political Economy and Organized Labour: Approaches and Theories Chapter 1. Introduction: Organized Labour and Global Political Economy Chapter 2. Work, Production and Social Relations: Repositioning the Firm in the International Political Economy Chapter 3. Towards an International Political Economy of Labour Chapter 4. Internationalization, Industrial Relations and International Relations Part II. National and Regional Strategies Chapter 5. Organizing Globally, Organizing Local: Geographical Scale and Union Spatial Strategy Chapter 6. Trade Unions, Training and Globalization: Initiatives in Britain and Brazil Chapter 7. The International Dimension of Labour Federation Economic Strategy in Canada and the United States 1947 - 2000 Chapter 8. Unions, States and Capitals: Competing (Inter)nationalisms in North America and European Integration Chapter 9. International Labour and Regional Integration: Asia-Pacific Part III. The Global Arena: Unions and Global Dynamics Chapter 10. The Constraints on Labour Internationalism: Contradictions and Prospects Chapter 11. Labour Movement Renewal in the Era of Globalization: Union Responses in the South Chapter 12. Peripheralizing Labour: the ILO, WTO and the Completion of the Bretton Woods Project Chapter 13. The Varied Paths to Minimum Global Labour Standads Chapter 14. Labour as a Global Social Force: Past Divisions and New Tasks References Index

Canada’s employment equity legislation and policy, 1987‐2000

Abstract: Over the past 16 years, a legislative and policy framework has evolved in Canada to address systemic discrimination in employment in the federal jurisdiction, and in organizations that sell goods or services to the federal government. Data collected pursuant to the Employment Equity Act, as well as published literature and government documents, are reviewed in order to provide a critical analysis of the federal policy framework as set out in 1987 and revised in 1996. This review is the basis for assessing both progress and lack of improvement in the employment status of racial minority, aboriginal, and disabled women and men, as well as white women, within the federal sector. Reasons for limited results are proposed, and issues posed by contemporary labour market trends are identified. It is argued that the results of employment equity policy are disappointing because the policy is not being implemented by employers and effectively enforced so that there are consequences for employers’ failures to comply. In other words, there is a persisting gap between employment equity policy and practice. This gap presents difficulties in evaluating the content of employment equity policy, since it is not possible to evaluate a policy that is not implemented.

The Labour Party: Continuity and Change in the Making of 'New' Labour

Abstract: Preface Introduction: What is 'New' Labour? Historicising 'New' Labour The Liberal Connection From Clause Four to Third Way: Labour's Ideological Journey Accommodating or Shaping? Labour's Electoral Dilemma Becoming Blair's Party? Labour Organization Managing the Economy Advancing Equality? The Death of 'New' Labour?

Ronald Reagan and the politics of declining union organization

Abstract: New union members in the United States are typically gained through workplace elections. We find that the annual number of union elections fell by 50 per cent in the early 1980s. A formal model indicates that declining union election activity may be due to an unfavourable political climate which raises the costs of unionization, even though the union win–rate remains unaffected. We relate the timing of declining election activity to the air–traffic controllers’ strike of 1981, and the appointment of the Reagan Labor Board in 1983. Empirical analysis shows that the fall in election activity preceded these developments.

The ossification of american labor law

Abstract: This article argues that the ineffectuality of American labor law and the shrinking scope of collective representation and collective bargaining are partly traceable to the law's "ossification" - to its having been essentially sealed off both from democratic revision and renewal and from local experimentation and innovation to a remarkably complete extent and for a remarkably long time. The elements of this process of ossification are various and familiar; yet, once assembled, they make up an impressive set of barriers to innovation. Most obviously, the National Labor Relations Act has been virtually unamendable for over forty years due to an exceptionally durable congressional deadlock. But the labor law scheme has also been effectively cut off from "market"-driven competition by employers; from the entrepreneurial energies of individual plaintiffs and the plaintiff's bar, and the creativity they can sometimes coax from the courts; from variation and experimentation at the state or local level by representative or judicial bodies; from the winds of changing constitutional doctrine; and from emerging transnational legal norms. Finally, the National Labor Relations Board - the designated institutional vehicle for adjusting the labor laws to modern conditions - is increasingly hemmed in by the age of the text and the large body of judicial interpretations that has grown up over the years. While the argument may seem to counsel only pessimism about the prospects for reform, it may also help to identify potential pathways of change that have not been fully appreciated. Indeed, some of those pathways are being paved by the process of ossification itself. By impelling private parties to find their own paths outside of the existing regime, the ossification of labor law may be setting in motion the very forces that may eventually lead toward legal change.

Informal Labour Market Governance: the Case of the British and German Media Production Industries:

Abstract: This article is concerned with labour market transactions in the occupational labour markets (OLM) of the media production industries of Germany and the UK. In both countries, labour markets are characterized by a high inter-firm mobility of workers and patterns of short-term employment and freelance work. In this environment, missing standards produce uncertainty about skill levels of workers and qualification needs of firms. As a result, co-operation costs increase and opportunism becomes possible. It will be argued that, in the absence of manifest labour market institutions such as apprenticeships or skill certificates, which traditionally safeguard OLM transactions, the use of intermediaries and restriction of access will take over as informal mechanisms for governing the labour market. Labour market data from interviews with media firms in Germany and the UK, and from surveys on German and British media professionals, are used in order to test this hypothesis.

Do labour market institutionsmatter in transition economies?An analysis of labour marketflexibility in the late nineties

Abstract: The objectives of this paper are to develop initiatives on how to measure the flexibility of the labour markets of transition countries and shed some light on the ongoing debate on the role of labour market institutions in labour market performances. Labour market regulations are introduced with the objectives of improving workers' welfare through benefits or/and social security programmes. But because benefits have costs, budget constraints need to be considered in policy choices: in a market economy benefits may then reduce employment, and employment protection may protect some workers (insiders) at the expense of others (youth, long-term unemployed, etc.). It is often argued for example, that the poor performance of European countries compared with that of the United States is due to labour market rigidities. It follows from this controversial argument that the road of maximal labour market flexibility should be taken (for example by weakening trade unions power and labour market regulations). This proposition has strong political implications, since it questions both the access to employment and the quality of this employment. While more emphasis is given in this paper to employment protection legislation (i.e. the limitations for employer to dismiss workers at will), other forms of labour market regulations are also considered, such as the unemployment benefit systems, wage setting institutions, active labour market policies and taxes on labour. It should be already noted, that the analysis of this paper deals with enterprises and workers in the formal sector, although the strong growth of the informal sector can be interpreted as part of the process of labour market flexibilization. As stated before, some of the institutional schemes have to do with the welfare state, as they provide income guarantees; when considered 'too generous', they are accused of creating unemployment through two mechanisms: work disincentives and wage behaviour. Others may influence the wage structure and/or the labour costs. The 'Eurosclerosis' debate (i.e. European labour market to be said 'sclerotic', because of their full range of labour protection) has renewed relevance with the possible enlargement of the European Union (EU hereafter) to Central and Eastern Europe countries (CEE countries). As the candidate countries are required to harmonize their laws and regulations with those of the EU (acquis communautaire), it is interesting to examine where CEE countries stand in terms of labour market flexibility/rigidities. The two key issues here are therefore: to first assess the extent to which these countries - and more generally the transition countries - have adopted the same labour market institutions as the EU; secondly, to assess the impact, if any, of these institutions on labour market performances. In a nutshell, this paper will try to answer the following question: do labour market institutions matter in transition countries and why? It opens with a presentation of a set of policies and labour market institutions during the 1990s for a group of nine transition countries (i.e. Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine). A special highlight is given to employment protection legislation, as new indicators are constructed following the methodology used by the OECD (1997; 1999). This makes it possible to compare the labour market institutions of the transition countries with those of the OECD countries, but also within transition countries. It should also be noted that this analysis is largely focused on numerical (external) flexibility, leaving aside other types of flexibility such as functional flexibility or flexibility in working hours. The second part presents some theoretical and empirical evidence based on western industrialized countries. The aim is to identify possible effects of the labour market institutions on the labour market performance of the selected transition countries. Finally, an econometric analysis is conducted to provide some preliminary evidence on the role played by these institutions in the context of the economic transition.

Labor Reform and Dual Transitions in Brazil and the Southern Cone

Abstract: The sequencing of transitions to democracy and to a market economy shaped the outcome of labor law reform and prospects for expanded labor rights in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. Argentina and Brazil experienced democratic transitions before market economic reforms were consolidated in the 1990s. During the transition, unions obtained prolabor reforms and secured rights that were enshrined in labor law. In posttransition democratic governments, market reforms coincided with efforts to reverse earlier labor protections. Unable to block many harmful reforms, organized labor in Argentina and Brazil did conserve core interests linked to organizational survival and hence to future bargaining leverage. In Chile this sequence was reversed. Market economic policies and labor reform were consolidated under military dictatorship. During democratic transition, employers successfully resisted reforms that would expand labor rights. This produced a limited scope of organizational resources for Chilean unions and reduced prospects for future improvements.

Report of the High Level Group of Company Law Experts on Issues Related to Takeover Bids in the European Union

Abstract: This document constitutes the High Level Group of Company Law Experts' first report, in conformity with the Group's terms of reference which were defined by the European Commission on 4 September 2001. The Group has been set up by the European Commission to provide independent advice in the first instance on issues related to pan-European rules for takeover bids and subsequently on key priorities for modernising company law in the European Union. The Group has been asked to consider the following three issues: - How to ensure the existence of a level playing field in the European Union concerning the equal treatment of shareholders across Member States; - The definition of the notion of an "equitable price" to be paid to minority shareholders; - The right for a majority shareholder to buy out minority shareholders ("squeeze-out right"). An important goal of the European Union is to create an integrated capital market in the Union by 2005. The regulation of takeover bids is a key element of such an integrated market. Currently there are many differences between the various Member States, in terms of such general and company specific factors. Annex [4] gives an overview of company specific barriers to takeover bids which are lawful or actually applied in the Member States and which the Group has reviewed.... This is what is generally referred to as the 'lack of level playing field' in the area of takeover bids in the European Union. In the light of available economic evidence the Group holds the view that the availability of a mechanism for takeover bids is basically beneficial. Takeovers are a means to create wealth by exploiting synergies and to discipline the management of listed companies with dispersed ownership, which in the long term is in the best interests of all stakeholders, and society at large. These views also form the basis for the Directive. This is not to say that takeover bids are always beneficial for all (or indeed any) of the parties involved. The mandate of the Group is to review whether and to what extent a level playing field for takeover bids should be created under company law in Member States. The Group acknowledges that any approach on this basis would leave the various general differences existing in Member States untouched. It believes, however, that its recommendations with respect to company law mechanisms and structures would, in addition to market driven changes, mark an important step forward in developing a general level playing field for takeover bids in the European Union. The Group believes that any European company law regulation aimed at creating a level playing field for takeover bids should be guided by two principles: 1. Shareholder decision-making In the event of a takeover bid the ultimate decision must be with the shareholders. They should always be able to decide whether to tender their shares to a bidder and for what price. It is not for the board of a company to decide whether a takeover bid for the shares in the company should be successful or not. This is not to say that the board has no responsibility at all in the context of a takeover bid. It is sometimes argued that allowing the board to frustrate a takeover bid can be justified as a means to help take into consideration the interests of shareholders and other stakeholders in the company, notably the employees. The Group rejects these views. Defensive mechanisms are often costly. Most importantly, managers are faced with a significant conflict of interests. Shareholders should be able to decide for themselves and stakeholders should be protected by specific rules (e.g. on labour law or environmental law). 2. Proportionality between risk-bearing capital and control In the Group's view, proportionality between ultimate economic risk and control means that share capital which has an unlimited right to participate in the profits of the company or in the residue on liquidation, and only such share capital, should normally carry control rights, in proportion to the risk carried. The holders of these rights to the residual profits and assets of the company are best equipped to decide on the affairs of the company as the ultimate effects of their decisions will be borne by them. This report will use the term 'risk-bearing capital' to refer to this concept. The holder of the majority of risk-bearing capital should be able to exercise control. Capital and control structures in a company which grant disproportionate control rights to some shareholder(s) should not operate to frustrate an otherwise successful bid for the risk-bearing capital of the company. The concept of risk-bearing capital used here does not include those preference shares which have no exposure to the surplus but only carry a limited right to distributions of profits and on liquidation.

The Political Economy of Collective Bargaining

Abstract: We construct a political equilibrium in which employers and labour unions bargain over labour contracts, wage-earners and profit-earners lobby the government for taxation and labour market regulation, and labour market legislation must be accepted by the majority of voters. We show that the voters rule out profit sharing, because otherwise the government would capture all the gain. Furthermore, if it is much easier to tax wages than profits, then the government protects union power by regulation in the labour market. In such a case, the political equilibrium is characterized by strong union power and right-to-manage bargaining, which causes involuntary unemployment.

Labour Market Flexibility in the Netherlands: Looking for Winners and Losers

Abstract: Almost two decades have passed since Dutch employers, unions and the government, in their struggle against unemployment, agreed on a policy to increase labour market flexibility. Over the years the share of flexible jobs in the Netherlands has gradually increased to around ten percent. According to some parties the introduction of more labour market flexibility would lead to more inequality and a division in the labour market between workers with permanent employment and an underclass of women, immigrant workers and poorly educated workers with temporary contracts.The Dutch government has always claimed that a special set of legal rules regarding labour market flexibility would prevent the development of such an underclass. In this article three questions are addressed: Who has a flexible labour contract and who is in permanent employment? What is the pattern of transition to permanent contracts? What are the consequences for wage rates for those on permanent or flexible contracts respectively? The answers to these questions are provided using panel data for the period 1986‐96.The results show that labour market flexibility has been introduced into the Dutch labour market without detrimental consequences for specific groups of workers.

Consultants, lawyers, and the ‘union free’ movement in the USA since the 1970s

Abstract: This paper provides a qualitative analysis of the services that the anti–union consultants and law firms have provided to American employers during the past three decades and an account of the campaign tactics of several ‘superstars’ of the union–free movement. It describes a multi–million dollar industry that has helped employers to circumvent the intent of federal labour law through a vast array of union–busting tactics, implemented before the union arrives and continuing until after it is defeated: tactics that are designed, at every juncture, to undermine employees’ free choice of bargaining representatives.

Law and Labour Market Regulation in East Asia

Abstract: 1. Sean Cooney, Tim Lindsey, Richard Mitchell and Ying Zhu Labour Law and Labour Market Regulation in East Asian States: Problems and Issues for Comparative Inquiry2. Tim Lindsay and Teten Masduki Labour Law in Indonesia after Soeharto: 'Reformasi' or Replay?3. Suhanah Sharifah Syed Ahmad Law and Labour Market Regulation in Malaysia: Beyond the New Economic Policy4. Froilan Bacungan and Rene Ofreneo The Development of Labour Law and Labour Market Policy in the Philippines5. Pip Nicholson Vietnam's Labour Market: Transition and the role of Law6. Ying Zhu Economic Reform and Labour Market Regulation in China7. Huei-ling Wang and Sean Cooney Taiwan's Labour Law: the End of State Corporatism?8. Cheol-soo Lee Law and Labour-Management Relations in South Korea: Advancing Industrial Democratization9. Sean Cooney and Richard Mitchell What is Labour Law Doing in East Asia?

The South African labour market in a globalizing world : economic and legislative considerations

Abstract: Outlines South Africa’s current economic environment and examines trends in employment and wages during the post-liberalization period, 1995-1999. Reviews the existing labour policy and regulatory framework in relation to the challenges of globalization.

Trade Unions and Global Governance: The Debate on a Social Clause

Abstract: Introduction - Trade unions and International politics: theoretical concepts and methodological approaches - Claiming positions: the theoretical and normative background of debates on labour standards - The fair trade discourse on international labour standards: the case of the USA - The neoliberal orientation on international labour standards: the case of India - Adjusting the ILO to global challenges - International labour standards in the EU's external policy - The OECD study on trade and labour standards - Conclusion

Organized labour in the 21st century

Abstract: This book addresses three major issues: the changing environment of labour and unions; trade union responses to these changes; and future perspectives for labour in society an in the global economy

The Costs of Wrongful-Discharge Laws

Abstract: We estimate the effects on employment and wages of wrongful-discharge protections in the United States. Over the last three decades, most U.S. state courts have adopted one or more common law wrongful-discharge doctrines that limit employers' discretion to terminate workers at-will. Using this cross-state variation with a difference-in-difference framework, we find robust evidence of a modest negative impact (-0.8 to -1.6 percentage points) of one wrongful-discharge doctrine, the implied-contract exception, on employment to population rates in state labor markets. The short-term impact is most pronounced for female, younger, and less-skilled workers, while the longer term costs appear to be borne by older and more-educated workers - those most likely to litigate under this doctrine. We find no robust employment or wage effects of two other widely recognized wrongful-discharge laws: the public-policy and good-faith exceptions. Published findings in the literature range from no effect to very large negative effects. We re-analyze the two leading studies and find the discrepancies can be explained by methodological shortcomings in the one case and limitations in the coding of key court decisions in the other.

Economic Consequences of Transfer Fee Regulations in European Football

Abstract: We discuss the effects of three different transfer fee systems in European football on contract lengths, wages, profits, education incentives and the number of talents being educated. The different regimes, being used until the Bosman judgement of 1995, currently in use, and recently proposed by the European Commission differ with respect to the transfer fee an initial club must accept in case of a transfer depending on whether a player has a valid contract or not. In particular, we argue that due to its averse effects on investment incentives, the Commission should refrain from its Suggestion of abolishing freely negotiable transfer fees. Our analysis also sheds some light on the issue under which circumstances binding long-term contracts should be allowed in general labor law.

Managing Employment Change: The New Realities of Work

Abstract: Deregulation and decentralization have placed organizations in the driving seat of employment change. Drawing on seven case studies of large organizations, this book examines how organizations as the architects of the employment system are restructuring their employment practices. Rich data on the experience of work collected from all seven organizations provide clear evidence of a general transformation of the wage-effort relationship based on cost cutting and increased work intensity. This increased work intensity is shown to be a consequence - intended and unintended - of changes to a variety of employment policies and practices, including changes to staffing policies (for example the trend towards 'lean staffing', and the use of new contracts), changes to the skills-mix and training provision associated with policies of 'delayering' and multi-skilling, and changes in working time arrangements towards more flexible and extended working hours. Such trends in employment practices have been interpreted as a return to the market as the institutionalized employment system, characteristic of bureaucratic organizations and strong trade unions, visibly crumbles. The analysis presented here rejects the notion of simple market determination and instead develops an integrated and interdisciplinary framework for understanding the processes shaping employment change. Managers are seeking solutions to increasing market or performance pressures through changes to employment policies. However, these responses to budget cuts and market pressures are shown to be mediated by the institutional, political, and social environment inside and outside the organization. Moreover managers are found in practice not to be able to control their environment or implement their desired policies with the expected outcomes. Despite the increased scope for managerial initiative and the greater opportunities for shifting the risk and responsibility of adapting to new conditions on to labour, the attempts of managers to develop a strategic approach to employment change are proving to be largely unsuccessful. The book ends by calling for a renewal and rebuilding of labour market institutions to kick-start the process of reversing this fragmentation of the employment system. * Based upon rich empirical data from seven employment sectors: banking; local government; healthcare; journalism and printing; pharmaceuticals; food retail; and telecommunications * Discusses the growth of employment policies based upon reduction in labour costs and intensification of work * Argues for a more coordinated policy approach based upon the renewal of labour market institutions * Looks at the realities of work in the New Economy * Engages with the work of leading North American academics such as Cappelli and Kochan

Essentials of sports law

Abstract: In this thoroughly revised Fourth Edition, Glenn Wong provides a comprehensive review of the various sports law issues facing professional, intercollegiate, Olympic, high school, youth, and adult recreational sports. Major topics include tort liability, contracts/waivers, antitrust law, labor law, constitutional law, gender discrimination, drug testing, intellectual property law, broadcasting laws pertaining to sports agents, business and employment law, Internet gambling, and athletes with disabilities. Significant additions here include new court decisions, agreements (contracts and collective bargaining agreements), and legislation (federal, state, association, and institutional rules and regulations). Discussions of legal concepts are supplemented with summaries and excerpts from hundreds of actual sports cases. Wong cites a variety of books, law review articles, newspaper articles, and Web links for those requiring further information on particular topics. This text-professional guide serves as an invaluable resource to those involved, or studying to become involved, in the vast industry of sports.

The effects and limits of anti-discrimination law in the Netherlands

Abstract: Dans cet article , l'A se penche sur les effets de la loi anti-discrimination aux Pays Bas. L'A explique ici les difficultes d'application de ce dispositif juridique restreint a certains domaines professionnels et le plus souvent d'une force symbolique, ainsi qu'une trop grande passivite du legislateur neerlandais