Showing papers on "Labour law published in 2008"

Toward managed flexibility: The revival of labour inspection in the Latin world

Abstract: Examining the role of labour inspection in the context of the revival of labour market regulation, the authors distinguish between the Latin model, where inspectors have authority to tailor enforcement to firms' exigencies, and the less flexible Llnited States approach. The Latin model can reconcile regulation with economic flexibility and transform inspectors into the shock troops of a campaign for decent work. But its vulnerability to arbitrary behaviour on their part needs to be addressed through: management of organizational cultures; exposure and sys- tematization of the tacit knowledge underpinning inspectors' judgements; and research into the relationship between labour standards and business practices.

Informal employment: Two contested policy issues

Abstract: This article addresses two contested issues of crucial importance to policy, namely: formal labour regulations as a cause of informal employment, and so-called "voluntary" informal employment. The authors provide theoretical overviews on both issues and an extensive survey of empirical studies on the effects of formal labour regulations on informal employment. The article closes with observations on the relevance of the ILO's four decent work objectives for informal employment and economic development, with particular emphasis on the significance of - and poten- tial for - organizing workers in the informal economy. here are at least ten publications to date whose titles tell us that informal T employment is being "revisited". With so many visits and revisits, one risks a worn out welcome. Yet disaccord persists on such fundamental issues as the causes and quality of informal employment. Against this background, this article addresses two contested issues, both of policy importance: so-called voluntary informal employment, and formal labour regulations as a cause of informal employment. Perhaps the most essential work on voluntary informal employment is Fields (1990), but the issue has received renewed attention with the contribu- tions of Maloney (1999 and 2004) and his co-authors (e.g. Maloney and Bosch, 2007). The basic idea is that informal employment is heterogeneous, character- ized by what Fields calls "easy-entry" and "upper-tier" informal employment, and that "upper-tier" informal employment is "better" than and "preferred to formal sector employment" and is "voluntary" (Fields, 1990, pp. 50 and 66). Voluntary informal employment poses a challenge to conceptions concentrating

Promoting sustainable compliance: Styles of labour inspection and compliance outcomes in Brazil

Abstract: Can workers' rights and social protections be reconciled with firms' com- petitiveness and productivity? In contrast to current development policy advice, which emphasizes the "flexibilization" of labour laws, this article contributes to an ongoing debate about styles of inspection by exploring the causal links between dif- ferent regulatory practices and economic development and compliance outcomes. Findings from subnational comparisons in Brazil challenge established theories about the behaviours of firms and regulatory agencies, and indicate that labour inspectors have been able to promote sustainable compliance (legal and technical solutions linking up workers' rights with firms' performance) by combining punitive and pedagogical inspection practices.

Transition from Educational System to Labour Market in the European Union: A Comparison between New and Old Members

Abstract: Theoretically, the central research question of this article pertains to the way in which national institutional arrangements, namely educational systems, and related modes of labour markets and welfare provisions, affect the aggregate effectiveness of youth labour market integration in the new EU member states in comparison to the old EU countries. The study utilizes the European Union Labour Force Survey 2004. Results of the cluster analysis provide substantial support for distinct patterns of labour market entry in terms of the stratification of labour market exclusion, downgrading risk and labour market mobility of LM entrants in different CEE countries. Furthermore, the article reveals also new aspects of labour market entry in the EU-15 countries while considering not only educational signalling but also the labour market flexibility dimension.

Assessing the Long-Run Economic Impact of Labour Law Systems: A Theoretical Reappraisal and Analysis of New Time Series Data

Abstract: Standard economic theory sees labour law as an exogenous interference with market relations and predicts mostly negative impacts on employment and productivity. We argue for a more nuanced theoretical position: labour law is, at least in part, endogenous, with both the production and the application of labour law norms influenced by national and sectoral contexts, and by complementarities between the institutions of the labour market and those of corporate governance and financial markets. Legal origin may also operate as a force shaping the content of the law and its economic impact. Time-series analysis using a new dataset on legal change from the 1970s to the mid-2000s shows evidence of positive correlations between regulation and growth in employment and productivity, at least for France and Germany. No relationship, either positive or negative is found for the UK and although the US shows a weak negative relationship between regulation and employment growth, this is offset by productivity gains.

Improved Metrics for Workplace Dispute Resolution Procedures: Efficiency, Equity, and Voice

Abstract: Many debates surround systems for resolving workplace disputes. In the United States, traditional unionized grievance procedures, emerging nonunion dispute resolution systems, and the court-based system for resolving employment law disputes have all been criticized. What is missing from these debates are rich metrics beyond speed and satisfaction for comparing and evaluating dispute resolution systems. In this paper, we develop efficiency, equity, and voice as these standards. Unionized, nonunion, and employment law procedures are then qualitatively evaluated against these three metrics.

Labour Unions – To Unite or to Separate?

Abstract: In this paper we investigate trade union formation. To this end we apply a model with two types of labour where the interests of both groups of labourers are represented by either a joint (industry) labour union or by two independent group-specific (professional) labour unions. We investigate whether, and if so, under which conditions, it is beneficial for at least one group of labourers to form its own independent union; or whether it is in the interest of both groups to have a joint industry labour union. Applying the (asymmetric) Nash bargaining solution, we find that under reasonable conditions, it is beneficial for at least one group of labourers to form its own independent labour union. In this case a joint union must be considered as an unstable institution. The profit share, however, is always higher if the firm bargains with a joint labour union. This explains why employers vehemently oppose recent split offs of specialized labour groups from existing industry unions and from tariff unions.

Assessing the long-run economic impact of labour law systems: a theoretical reappraisal and analysis of new time series data

Abstract: Standard economic theory sees labour law as an exogenous interference with market relations and predicts mostly negative impacts on employment and productivity. We argue for a more nuanced theoretical position: labour law is, at least in part, endogenous, with both the production and the application of labour law norms influenced by national and sectoral contexts, and by complementarities between the institutions of the labour market and those of corporate governance and financial markets. Legal origin may also operate as a force shaping the content of the law and its economic impact. Time-series analysis using a new data set on legal change from the 1970s to the mid-2000s shows evidence of positive correlations between regulation and growth in employment and productivity, at least for France and Germany. No relationship, either positive or negative, is found for the UK and, although the United States shows a weak negative relationship between regulation and employment growth, this is offset by productivity gains.

The Emergence of a European Labour Protest Movement

Abstract: This article considers what a transnational, and specifically European labour movement, would mean in the context of European integration, and whether there are prospects for its development. There...

A strategic approach to labour inspection

Abstract: In a report released in 2006, the ILO highlighted the difficulties of labour inspection in its member States and advocated a number of measures to strengthen its effectiveness. The author argues that inspectorates must go beyond calls for more inspectors by adopting a clear strategic framework for reacting to incoming com- plaints and targeting programmed investigations in order to maximize effectiveness in the use of their overstretched resources. To do so, he proposes, their work must be guided by the principles of prioritization, deterrence, sustainability and achieving systemic effects. The article concludes with an outline of the requirements of a coher- ent regulatory strategy. he problem facing national governments in regulating conditions in the T workplace is daunting. Public policies on health and safety, discrimination and basic labour conditions often cover millions of workers, located in hundreds of thousands of workplaces across dispersed geographic settings. Conditions within those workplaces vary enormously - even within a single industry - and employers often have an incentive to make those conditions as opaque as pos- sible. Trade unions, which have been the traditional allies of government regula- tors in targeting and conducting inspections, are in sharp decline in many developed and developing countries. And, most challenging of all, government labour inspectorates face diminishing budgets, shrinking staff, and a more com- plicated and difficult regulatory environment. Recently, the International Labour Organization acknowledged the crisis in labour inspection nationally and internationally. In late 2006, the ILO called upon its member States to adopt a series of policies to strengthen and modern- ize labour inspectorates as a means of assuring implementation of fundamental workplace policies. In pursuing its broad "Decent Work Agenda" the ILO's Governing Body Committee on Employment and Social Policy noted:

Meeting the Challenges of Industrial Restructuring: Labor Reform and Enforcement in Latin America

Abstract: Despite a strengthening of collective labor rights in Latin America over the last 15 years, most labor movements in the region have lost power because neither the content nor the enforcement mechanisms associated with the labor reforms fully took into consideration the challenges presented by economic restructuring. Reforms facilitating union formation did not strengthen unions but instead increased union fragmentation. Collective bargaining structures did not respond to the exigencies of international outsourcing; and the initial round of reforms in the 1990s did not contemplate the need to strengthen labor law enforcement mechanisms at a time when heightened international competition created a need for greater state vigilance of labor standards. Recent reforms or proposed reforms hold more promise for labor, but truly union-friendly labor relations regimes require deeper changes. A review of several Latin American cases is followed by a closer examination of Brazil and El Salvador.

The World Bank's “Employing Workers” index: Findings and critiques – A review of recent evidence

Abstract: . This note provides an update on the ongoing debate over the World Bank's Doing Business project with a particular focus on its “Employing Workers” index, which is intended to measure difficulty of hiring, rigidity of working hours and difficulty of firing. The authors review the findings of studies that have used this index or been influenced by it and of those that inspired its construction. They go on to examine criticisms of this instrument, highlighting both conceptual and empirical problems. Their paper concludes with suggestions for alternative approaches and future research.

Legislating harmony: labour law reform in contemporary china

Abstract: In March 2006, the National People’s Congress (NPC) opened a thirty-day period of public comment on the draft labour contract law. The increasingly frequent process of public comment on draft laws is touted as part of the NPC’s ‘mass line’ in legislation, part of the NPC’s new commitment to public participation and social voice in the legislative drafting process. In recent years, at least a dozen laws have had a period of public comment during drafting.

Can a Plantation be Fair? Paradoxes and Possibilities in Fair Trade Darjeeling Tea Certification

Abstract: This paper explores interactions between the Indian government's colonially inspired Plantations Labour Act and TransFair USA's fair trade standards. Although fair trade makes claims to universalistic notions of social justice and workers' empowerment, what “fairness” means and how it is experienced varies by locale. In this paper, I discuss how state laws and fair trade certification agencies complement and contradict each other on Darjeeling tea plantations. I argue that by reinforcing neoliberal logic, fair trade undermines the state, which has maintained the responsibility of regulating the treatment of workers on plantations. Certification often leads to the dissolution of unions, which are regarded as a barrier to trade.

Legal Origin, Juridical Form and Industrialisation in Historical Perspective: The Case of the Employment Contract and the Joint-Stock Company

Abstract: The timing and nature of industrialization in Britain and continental Europe had significant consequences for the growth and development of labour market institutions, effects which are still felt today and which are visible in the conceptual structure of labour law and company law in different countries. However, contrary to the claims of the legal origin hypothesis, a liberal model of contract was more influential in the civilian systems of the continent than in the English common law, where the consequences of early industrialization included the lingering influence of master-servant legislation and the weak institutionalization of the juridical form of the contract of employment. Claims for a strong-form legal origin effect, which is time invariant and resistant to pressures for legal convergence, are not borne out by a growing body of historical evidence and time-series data. The idea that legal cultures can influence the long-run path of economic development is worthy of closer empirical investigation, but it is premature to use legal origin theory as a basis for policy initiatives.

Protection of mutual interests? : employment protection and skill formation in different Labour Market regimes

Abstract: The ‘varieties of capitalism’ school argues that firm-specific skills are more common in coordinated than in liberal economies and that appropriate training is facilitated by employment protection ...

Global economy contested : power and conflict across the international division of labour

Abstract: Part 1: Reworking the International Division of Labour 1. Power, Conflict and the Production of the Global Economy Marcus Taylor 2. Globalisation and the Uneven Subsumption of Labour under Capital in Russia Simon Clarke 3. Making the 'Workshop of the World': China and the International Division of Labour Etienne Cantin and Marcus Taylor Part 2: Commodity Chains, Labour Standards and Corporate Social Responsibility 4. Restructuring and Conflict in the Global Athletic Footwear Industry: Nike, Yue Yuen and Labour Codes of Conduct Jeroen Merk 5. Offshore Production, Labour Standards and Collective Organisation in the Globalizing U.S. Garment Industry Etienne Cantin 6. Corporate Social Responsibility and Labour Market Discipline: Contesting Social Reproduction in Low-Wage America Ryan Foster Part 3: Global Finance and Socially Responsible Investing 7. Pension Fund Capitalism, Pension Fund Socialism, and Dissent from Investment Paul Langley 8. Imposing Social Responsibility?: Pension Funds and the New Politics of Development Finance Susanne Soederberg Part 4: New Directions in Labour Organising 9. Challenging Labour Market Flexibilisation: Union and Community-Based Struggles in Post-Apartheid South Africa Marlea Clarke 10. After the Collapse: Workers and Social Conflict in Argentina Viviana Patroni 11. Globalisation, Contestation and Labour Internationalism: A Transformationalist Perspective Ronaldo Munck

The Impact of Enterprise Size on Employment Tribunal Incidence and Outcomes: Evidence from Britain

Abstract: Employment Tribunals are the formal means of adjudicating disputes over individual employment rights in the UK. This article hypothesizes that, because small firms favour informality over formality, they are more likely (i) to experience employee claims than large firms; (ii) to be subject to different types of claims; (iii) to settle prior to reaching a formal Tribunal; and (iv) to lose at a Tribunal. Data from the 2003 Survey of Employment Tribunal Applications are used to examine these hypotheses. They are generally supported, although in relation to the third there was no size effect. Furthermore, our results show that firms that have procedures and follow them are more likely to win than those firms that do not have any procedures. Recognizing the benefits of informality, while also ensuring that small firms follow proper standards of procedural fairness, is a policy dilemma that has yet to be resolved.

European Union Non-Discrimination Law: Comparative Perspectives on Multidimensional Equality Law

Abstract: Introduction: 1. Dagmar Schiek with Victoria Chege: From EU Non-Discrimination Law towards Multidimensional Equality Law for Europe Part 1: Assessing Legal Responses to Multidimensional Equality 2. Ruth Nielsen: Is EU Equality Law Capable of Addressing Multiple and Intersectional Discrimination Yet? 3. Oddny Mjoell Arnadottir: Multidimensional Equality from Within - Themes from the European Convention of Human Rights 4. Sandra Fredman: Promoting Multi-Dimensional Equality: Positive Duties and Positive Rights Part 2: Theorising Intersectionality from Different Disciplinary Angles 5. Ulrike M. Vieten: Intersectionality Scope and Multidimensional Equality within the European Union: Traversing National Boundaries of Inequality? 6. Iyiola Solanke: Stigma: A limiting principle allowing multi-consciousness in anti-discrimination law? 7. Morag Goodwin: Multi-dimensional Identities and Socio- Economic Exclusion: The Case of the Roma 8. Michael Orton / Peter Ratcliffe: From single to multi-dimensional approaches to equalities: the example of contract compliance Part 3: Comparative Approaches to Multidimensional Equality Law in Europe 9. Kevat Nousiainen: Utility based equality and disparate diversities - from a Finnish perspective 10. Susanne Burri / Sacha Prechal: Comparative Approaches to Gender Equality and Non-Discrimination in Europe 11. Kristina Koldinska: Multidimensional Equality in the Czech and Slovak Republics 12. Sylvaine Laulom: French Legal Approaches to Equality and Discrimination for Intersecting Grounds with a Focus on Labour Law 13. Hege Skjeie: Reorganising Institutions for Addressing Multiple Discrimination Part 4: A Symbol of Intersectionality in Legal Discourse - The Headscarf Enigma 14. Titia Loenen: The Headscarf Debate: Approaching the Intersection of Sex, Religion, and Race under the ECHR and EC Equality Law 15. Lynn Roseberry: Religion, Race, Ethnicity and Gender in the Danish Headscarf Debate 16. Ute Sacksofsky: Religion and Equality in Germany - the Headscarf Debate from a "Constitutional Perspective"

China's New Labour Contract Law: No Harm to Employment?

Abstract: In January 2008, China adopted a new labour contract law. This new law represents the most significant reform to the legislation on employment relations in mainland China in more than a decade. The paper provides a theoretical framework on the inter-linkages between labour market regulation, option value and the choice and timing of employment. All in all, the paper demonstrates that the Labour Contract Law in its own right will have only small impacts upon employment in the fast-growing Chinese economy. Rather, induced increasing unit labour costs represent the real issue and may reduce employment.

Employment law: Employment rights of lecturers seconded abroad:Dr G Williamsv.The University of Nottingham[2007] UKEAT/0124/07/RN

Abstract: IN SEPTEMBER 2000, Nottingham University opened the first genuine branch campus of a UK university: the University of Nottingham in Malaysia (\"UNMC\"). Since that time, a number of other universities have entered into branch campus arrangements, and the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education suggests that this trend is set to continue. There are a number of advantages in such arrangements for these universities; in particular they give institutions with a commitment to international provision greater corporate control than many other partnership arrangements with local institutions. Such branch campus arrangements also offer new and challenging pathways for academics to enhance their careers. However, lecturers should be aware that following the recent decision of the Employment Appeals Tribunal in Dr G Williams v. The University of Nottingham, the employment status of lecturers posted overseas in this way is far from clear. Indeed, it is possible that lecturers seconded to a branch campus abroad may not be able to take advantage of UK employment protection and may have to rely on the local enforcement of their employment rights.

Divergent Paths: Conflicting Conceptions of Employment Discrimination in Law and the Social Sciences

Abstract: Legal conceptions of employment discrimination have become increasingly narrow over the past two decades as the law has adopted a “perpetrator” model of discrimination that emphasizes purposeful intent. This tendency runs counter to social scientific research that documents the pervasiveness of unintentional bias and the persistence of organizational processes that generate workplace discrimination. This narrow legal conception, coupled with a system of employment discrimination litigation that emphasizes individual claims and individual remedies, fails to support the organizational approaches that are most promising for redressing workplace discrimination. We review the literature on employment discrimination law, discrimination litigation, continuing patterns of racial and gender inequality, the organizational bases of discrimination, and the impact of equal employment law on organizations. We conclude by discussing the reasons for and implications of this divergence between law and social science.

Neoliberalism, gender inequality and the Australian labour market

Abstract: Over the past 25 years neoliberal philosophies have increasingly informed labour market policies in Australia that have led to increasing levels of wage decentralization. The most recent industrial relations changes aim to decentralize wage setting significantly further than has previously been the case. We argue that this is problematic for gender equity as wage decentralization will entrench rather than challenge the undervaluation of feminized work. In this article we provide an overview of key neoliberal industrial relations policy changes pertinent to gender equity and examine the current state of gender equity in the labour market. Results show that women's labour force participation has steadily increased over time but that a number of negative trends exclude women with substantial caring responsibilities from pursuing a career track. The implications of increasing levels of wage deregulation are that gender wage inequality and the potential for discrimination will grow.

On the Social Deficit of the European Integration Project and its Perpetuation through the ECJ-Judgements in Viking and Laval

Abstract: The December judgments of the ECJ in Viking and Laval on the compatibility of national collective labour law with European prerogatives have caused a quite heated critical debate This paper seeks to put this debate in constitutional perspectives In its first part it reconstructs in legal categories what Fritz W Scharpf has characterized as a decoupling of economic integration from the various welfare traditions of the Member States European constitutionalism, it is submitted, is bound to respond to this problematique The second develops a perspective, within which such a response can be found That perspective is a supranational European conflict of laws which seeks to realize what the Draft Constitutional Treaty had called the motto of the union: unitas in pluralitate Within that framework the third part analyses two seemingly contradictory trends, namely first, albeit very briefly, the turn to soft modes of governance in the realm of social policy and then, in much more detail, the ECJ’s hard interpretations of the supremacy of European freedoms and its strict interpretation of pertinent secondary legislation The conflict-of-law approach would suggest a greater respect for national autonomy in particular in view of the limited EU competences in the field of labour law

Opportunities and Challenges of EU Accession: Industrial Relations in Romania

Abstract: This study examines the outcomes of EU accession for industrial relations institutions and workers' rights in Eastern Europe, using Romania as an example. It focuses on EU influence on labour law, the development of the social partners and collective bargaining as well as the impact of foreign direct investment and migration. EU enlargement resulted in both opportunities (improvement of statutory rights for workers) and challenges (labour shortages and difficulties in implementing labour law). Comparisons between the new member states suggest that the effects of the EU accession process vary across countries, depending on national macro-economic strategies and the strength of trade unions.

Globalization, flexibilization and working conditions in Asia and the Pacific

Abstract: This unique study reviews employment conditions in Asia and the Pacific in the context of globalization and the increasing pressures toward flexibilization. It focuses on the divergent experiences of individual workers regarding their employment conditions --employment status, wages/incomes, working time, work organizations, and health and safety. Along with thematic studies concerning the roles of workers' voices and labor regulation in determining employment conditions, the book includes country studies from Australia, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, China, and Vietnam that offer a rigorous comparative review. Key features - Systematic review of employment conditions in selected countries of the region - National-level analysis based on a common research framework - Highly analytical and timely analysis of workers' voices and labor regulation with respect to employment conditions - Microanalysis revealing a detailed picture of individual workers' conditions in the workplace - In-depth analysis of the ongoing debates on globalization and flexibilization

Defining child labour: a controversial debate

Abstract: While it is internationally agreed that the worst forms of child labour should be eliminated in order to promote children's welfare, the consensus breaks down when trying to define what constitutes ‘light work’. This article seeks to show why it is difficult to get everyone to agree on this issue, focusing on the definition of child labour proposed by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Grenzüberschreitende Arbeitsverhältnisse - Grundlinien des deutschen Internationalen Privatrechts für Arbeitsverträge

Abstract: In today's global economy, international borders are crossed by not only goods and capital, but increasingly by workers as well. This raises the question of the law governing these employment relationships. From the point of view of public international law there is a need to create international labour standards. However, since only certain areas are already covered by public international law, for example in the form of the ILO Standards and, in any case, these only bind States and not individual parties, national conflict of laws rules become essential for determining the applicable law. The following paper explores the basic structures of the German conflict of laws rules in the field of labour law. These rules are contained in the Introductory Act to the Civil Code (Einfuhrungsgesetz zum Burgerlichen Gesetzbuch). The paper focuses on the relationship between the freedom of choice principle and the many ways of limiting its scope. Through examining an employment contract which has connections with German, British and US law, the author shows how the different approaches taken by different national conflict of laws rules can influence the decisions as to the applicable substantive law.