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The Information and Consultation Directive and its transposition in Great Britain through the Information and Consultation of Employees Regulations 2004 will add a new facet to collective employment law in this country. This paper analyses the characteristics of the new voice given to employees and how it will fit with the existing legal framework. It aims to demonstrate that the government has adapted to the new Directive by undertaking a thorough process of preparation for the final regulatory norms. Nevertheless, the resulting 'voice' will not be revolutionary as it will not be based on a set of minimum requirements and will also lack strength to influence decision-making. The regulatory choices have given priority to flexibility at the expense of the universal right to reformation and consultation. This paper explores further the ideas expressed in an earlier article on the potential impact of the Information and Consultation Directive in the United Kingdom, published in this journal in 2003. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the beginning of the 1990s successive Australian national governments (from both right and left of the political spectrum) have overseen a shift in the regulation of employment relations from one based on centralised arbitrated awards to one of enterprise bargaining. The ostensible purpose of this policy was to facilitate the development of workplace-focused systems of regulation which were sensitive to the need for flexible production and employment systems in the context of the global economy. The evidence suggests that whilst many of the objectives of the enterprise bargaining project have been attained (particularly the goal of greater flexibility in employment systems), the law has been less effective in protecting the interests of workers, particularly their power to influence decision-making at the place of work. The major impact of enterprise bargaining upon the workplace, the paper proposes, has been the restoration of managerial prerogative which previously had been mediated through arbitration or the power of trade unions. Finally, the paper draws conclusions on the changing role of the institutions which regulate Australian industrial relations. Historically, Australian industrial tribunals have combined the features of judicial bodies and regulatory agencies. The paper concludes that a shift is occurring in Australian labour law from a mixture of self-regulation and centralised 'command and control', to 'enforced self-regulation', thus signalling a systemic and profound reorientation in regulatory policy and technique in Australian labour market regulation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses workplace privacy regulations in Australia in relation to developments in the U.S., Great Britain and selected European countries. The U.S. market-based approach favors the employer while the Great Britain approach emphasizes human dignity and autonomy. The authors argue that Australia should reject the market-friendly model exemplified by the United States approach and adopt the more comprehensive and integrated approach found in Europe.

This paper considers the likely impact of the European Information and Consultation Directive on French labour law. Examining the main provisions of the Directive, it aims to demonstrate that French law will not require substantial changes, as the national institution of comité d'entreprise already performs the functions of information and consultation, generally within the parameters of the Directive. The paper therefore provides a comprehensive overview of the composition, role and powers of the comité d'entreprise in order to see how they measure up to the requirements of the Directive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effectiveness of "top-down" EU policies and processes with regard to new forms of work organisation in Greece. It argues that, at the EU level, work organisation has lacked a stable policy framework and work organisation has been a contested terrain. On national policy-making and implementation the analysis of the European Employment Strategy (EES), the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) in relation to the Greek National Action Plans (NAPs), and the weak coordination of the EES and the European Social Fund, explains why work organisation issues continue to be neglected. The reciprocal influence of the national social partners in work organisation in Greece is also considered. In spite of the supposed benefits arising from new forms of work organisation, and successive national legislation initiatives, traditional work organisation persists. In the context of weak and conflicting interaction between the EU and national policymakers and the social partners, modern work organisation continues to be lacking from convergence policies in Greece. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the labour dispute mediation and arbitration data in the China Labour and Social Security Statistical Yearbook, this paper analyses and describes the development of labour disputes in China since the Labour Law came into effect. It shows that under the influence of many factors, labour disputes in China will continue to increase and be characterized by an increase in collective disputes and antagonism, and conflict between competing interests. This paper puts forward some suggestions and policy ideas for directing and regulating labour relations effectively and improving the labour dispute resolution system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Labour law historians rarely write about the theoretical and methodological foundations of their discipline. In response to this state of affairs, this article adopts a reconnaissance strategy, which eschews any pretense at providing a synthesis or authoritative conclusions, but rather hopes to open up questions and paths of inquiry that may encourage others to also reflect on a neglected area of scholarship. It begins by documenting and reflecting on the implications of the fact that labour law history sits at the margins of many other disciplines, including labour history, legal history, labour law, industrial relations and law and society, but lacks a home of its own. It next presents a short historiography of the writing of labour law history, noting its varied and changing intellectual influences. Next the article notes some of the methodological consequences of different theoretical commitments and discusses briefly the possibilities opened up by computer technologies as revealed by two interesting projects that rely heavily on the construction of sophisticated data bases. Finally, the article reflects on the methodological challenges the author has experienced in his current project on labour law's recurring regulatory dilemmas and conclude with some thoughts on the contribution labour law history can make to our understanding of the dynamics that shape the law's current challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented wherein the author discusses several articles published within the issue on topics including social rights and economic freedoms, free movement within the European Union (EU), and the links between labour law and social security law and the need for interdisciplinary research.

This paper discusses the divergent approaches towards age discrimination in employment and mandatory retirement in the EU and the US. It challenges the perception that older workers seeking to work beyond the retirement age enjoy a significantly higher degree of protection from discrimination in the US. Even though US law strictly outlaws mandatory retirement, it does not adequately protect older employees form employer practices that are indirectly discriminatory and that may have the same effect as mandatory retirement provisions. When aiming for substantive equality, which not only prohibits mandatory retirement by law, but also prevents the practical effect of older employees being forced to retire against their will, it appears that US employees are in a similarly vulnerable position to their European counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes developments in Swedish employment protection regulation like dismissals for reasons of redundancy, in light of European Union (EU) flexicurity discourse and the economic crisis. It is noted that Swedish labor law is built on self-regulation, cooperation between social partners and autonomous collective bargaining. It is stated that the 1997 Green Paper on a new organization of work and the 1998 Employment Guidelines constituted early EU flexicurity discourse developments.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue including a paper by Tayo Fashoyin on the driving forces of change in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, one by Silke Seeger which explores unfairness of terms in employment contracts in Scotland and Germany, and a feature on Australian Labour Law reform by Martin Vranken.

The article presents a journal paper about an analysis of labor law in the Czech Republic and Slovakia as of September 2008. It examines the recent developments, the present situation and future prospects for labour law in the countries. It mentions that it is based on findings from a comparative study on the evolution of Czech and Slovak labour law during the period 1995-2005. It deals with the elements of labour law in the areas of individual labour relations, collective bargaining and employment policy.

The article presents a paper about a critical assessment of European flexicurity policies. It discusses whether the principal ideas of flexicurity--the combination of labour market flexibility and security for employees--can potentially be regarded as the lowest common denominator of the European Social Model as the European Commission intends to implement flexicurity policies in all Member States. It evaluates whether and under what conditions the concept of flexicurity can be regarded as beneficial in attempts to solve labour market problems.

The article presents a paper about global employee information and consultation procedures in worldwide enterprises. It advocates a trans-nationalisation of employee information and consultation procedures in enterprises operating at worldwide level. It argues that international law should explicitly recognize the setting up of trans-national employee information and consultation procedures in worldwide enterprises to strengthen the efforts recently undertaken by global union federations in various International Framework Agreements.

The article discusses various papers published within the issue which includes Bernd Waas' analyses of the reinstatement of labour law from a point of view of civil lawyer, Thomas Kohler's standpoint on same issue but from a perspective of a common law scholar, as well as Barbara Grandi's discussion of labour issues concerning the classification of workers which is of interest to labour lawyers.

Turkey has recently been undergoing a period in which the laws have been changing rapidly to adapt legislation to European Union (EU) directives and International Labour Organization (ILO) standards. In this respect, the Employment Act, No. 4857/2003, attempted to introduce provisions parallel to EU regulations on the protection of employees who are pregnant, have just given birth or are breastfeeding. However, not only are there problems in the provisions of the Employment Act, but also in the situation of many women employees who are not covered by the Act and are subject to outdated legislation not complying with EU and international standards. In this paper, the situation of employees who are pregnant or have just given birth and are breastfeeding is analysed from a critical point of view, and possible solutions are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EC Transfer of Undertakings Directive (2001/23/EC) aims to protect the position of employees in the case of a transfer of undertaking. This paper discusses the way in which the Directive is to be applied to cross-border transfers of undertakings. The analysis indicates that, in principle, the Directive is applicable to such transfers. Since the Directive must be implemented under national law, this involves different national rules for transfers of undertakings, even if they are harmonised to some extent. As a result, one key issue concerns which country's law is to apply and which country's courts have jurisdiction to hear disputes arising from cross-border transfers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is generally considered that globalisation is creating pressures on employers toward a deregulation of labour relations. This paper explores how institutional advantages resulting from a labour relations policy may have benefits for employers that outweigh their costs. To that end, the author examines the building services sector in Quebec which is covered by the decree system, a working conditions extension mechanism unique in North America. The comparative institutional advantages of the decree system help employers to secure greater labour market stability and low-inflation wage settlements, which accounts for the relatively good economic performance of the sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary objective of this study is to intervene in the debate on methods to measure and compare legally mandated employment conditions by applying a recently devised numerical instrument to Federal labour standards in Australia in two points in time. In order to achieve this aim, non-parametric absolute indexes are generated for 1979 and 2000 to measure the strength of labour standards and associated changes over time. The numerical results suggest that two of the 10 standards measured, workers' compensation and collective bargaining, diminished while the indexes for equal employment opportunity/employment equity, unjust discharge, occupational health and safety and large-scale layoffs increased. The central tenet of the paper is that although the numerical data provide useful information, they should be interpreted in light of broader regulatory and policy developments that substantially reshaped the features of the Australian employment protection regime during the period considered. This is necessary because the method utilised is highly sensitive to the nature of the regulatory sources that are adopted to construct the statistical indexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the problems of equal treatment and discrimination in Belarus in the legal, historical and political context. While the main labour laws in Belarus concerning equal treatment appear to comply with its international obligations, in the absence of an independent judiciary and basic civil liberties, law enforcement remains a problem. The author argues that the Soviet legacy of industrial relations and the legal nihilism of that era have been taken by Belarusian authorities as a model for their policies: most unions are not independent but are controlled by the government and there is widespread discrimination against opposition activists and independent trade-union leaders. A key part of this picture is the transfer of employees to fixed-term contracts, very often concluded for one-year periods: as a result, workers are deprived of the most important legal guarantees relating to the termination of employment and non-discrimination. In his concluding remarks, the author underlines the close relationship between security of employment and discrimination in the workplace in Belarus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In April 2003 the UK Government introduced the right for working parents to request flexible working arrangements under the provisions of the Employment Act 2002. This legislation has been widely criticised as providing only weak rights for employees, as neo-institutionalist business systems theory would lead one to expect in Britain's 'Liberal Market Economy'. However, criticism of the law has to be tempered by understanding how it relates to practice in large companies and this paper investigates these practices. It finds that large companies have gone beyond the terms of the legislation, in order to establish themselves as 'employers of choice'. It is therefore argued that British practice, in reality, only partly conforms to the expectations generated by neo-institutionalist business systems theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of globalisation, certain ILO Conventions have assumed greater prominence in recent years. This paper focuses on ILO principles related to trade union rights and collective bargaining embodied in ILO Conventions No. 87 and No. 98. It is argued that some countries have enacted legislation and tolerated industrial behaviour incompatible with these standards. In the absence of effective international enforcement powers, governments in some countries have ignored the requests of the ILO for adherence to its principles with impunity. This issue is discussed in connection primarily with recent Australian experience and with brief observations on that of a number of English-speaking countries. The policy and practices of these countries on Conventions 87 and 98 are contrasted with those of the continental EU countries. Finally, the question is raised as to whether some of the ILO's principles underlying these Conventions need to be re-examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between industrial relations and social policy, using an Australian case study of labour law and social security law in the social protection of sole parents. It finds that social security law on sole parenthood increasingly links itself with labour market developments, but labour law is significantly less effective at connecting with sole parents' dealings with the social security system. The overriding international lesson is that legislators and policy-makers should seek to better integrate the two legal spheres, but in doing so should consider the broader national policy pattern underpinning integration. Though closer interplay between labour markets and social policies is often assumed to enhance social protection, the Australian case demonstrates that it can equally be used by governments to advance neo-liberalism by alternative means. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In view of recent evaluations of the European Employment Strategy (EES), the European Employment Taskforce urged the Member States to step up their efforts to implement the Lisbon objectives. In the absence of decisive action, it looks increasingly unlikely that these objectives will be achieved by 2010. In the opinion of the Taskforce, the EES is approaching 'the moment of truth', making the question of how to proceed even more pressing. Actors at European level tend to seek a solution in a combination of merely procedural reforms and a more comprehensive and intensified involvement of the relevant actors at the relevant levels. However, in the light of past experience, it is questionable to what extent this approach will lead to better results. This paper aims to provide an answer to the question of whether the proposed changes properly address the existing imbalance between the economic and social objectives of the EES, and to consider whether the EES needs another approach. A critical review is presented of the instruments and implementation methods of the EES for the purposes of a more effective delivery of the Lisbon objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the dominance of the economic approach (see the first part of this paper) the Treaty of Rome provided for only a small body of provisions concerning labour relations, with the emphasis on guaranteeing the free movement of labour. In the absence of a sound legislative basis in the Treaty, it is not surprising that European labour legislation has been adopted on a piecemeal basis. This is to a certain extent the result of the competition between the (pure) economic model and the social policy approach of European integration. The former favours abstentionism by member states, the latter, especially in the formulation of social rights, seeks a high level of employment rights protection. Against this background nearly all areas of European Labour Law are characterised by the need to strike a balance between economic and social objectives. Some examples of this are the respect for the freedom of contract, limited only by the duty not to discriminate against workers on grounds of sex, ethnic origin, age and other factors, and the safeguarding of entrepreneurial decision-making, limited only by information and consultation rights for workers. In examining the Directives on atypical work (part-time, fixed-term employment) it is evident that considerable efforts have been made to strike a balance between employers' and employees' interests. Clearly, not all the legislation commands universal support, but this is only to be expected in view of the heterogeneity of the 15 Member States. However, it seems that European Labour Law has achieved a considerable degree of success in the search for social cohesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports findings from a survey designed to estimate the numbers excluded from employment protection in the UK by the 'employee' test and to examine, through qualitative research, perceptions of the process of employment contracting. The survey evidence shows that approaching one third of the labour force does not fit neatly into the categories of 'employee' and 'self-employed'. The case studies suggest that there is a considerable disjunction between the assumptions of choice, control and risk which underlie the legal tests, and the perception of these issues by workers whose employment status is most in doubt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that the right to bargain collectively should be given to every person working for others for pay who suffers a significant degree of democratic deficit or economic dependency in the work relationship. This would constitute a much broader scope of application compared with the current situation in most countries. This change is justified by an inquiry into the purpose of laws allowing and promoting the practice of collective bargaining, on the one hand, and the purpose of laws preventing cooperation among potential competitors, on the other. Collective bargaining laws promote workplace democracy, redistribution of resources, and efficiency. It is shown that, with regard to the broadened group of workers suggested here, there is no contradiction with the goals of competition law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides an overview of the articles that were originally submitted to the Session on Industrial Relations and Global Labour Standards at the 2003 World Congress of the International Industrial Relations Association in Berlin, Germany. Impact of labor standards on regional trade treaties; Comparison between the labor law in the U.S. and in Europe; Article on the debate on labor standards.

In previous work, the authors have sought to demonstrate how a particular strand of contemporary political theory can be usefully adopted to shed valuable light on labour law. In short, the conception of 'non-domination' grounded in contemporary civic republican political philosophy and associated with scholars such as Philipp Pettit and Frank Lovett prescribes a sophisticated account of freedom and a socially just order. In the latter's framework, social justice is secured when laws and policies are introduced to subject private social relationships characterized by dependency and an arbitrary imbalance in social power to a measure of external control. As a subset of a socially just order, the previous work of the authors sought to sketch out how nondomination theory could act as a justification for labour laws. This would conceptualize labour laws as a set of measures that are designed to achieve a degree of 'non-domination' in the employment relationship. Labour law achieves this by introducing legal and policy controls limiting the employee's dependence on his/her employer and restricting the arbitrary power imbalance inherent in the relationship between the employer and the employee. By serving to tone down the level of arbitrary decision-making vested in the employer, the dependency of the employee on the employer, and/or by counterbalancing the degree of power wielded by the employer, it was argued that procedural and substantive labour laws such as unfair dismissal/discharge, minimum wage laws, working time controls, and collective labour and trade union rights can be perceived as measures that are consistent with a legal framework designed to secure a degree of 'non-domination' of the worker. In this article, the various advantages of nondomination theory as a justification for labour laws are summarized before the discussion turns to a detailed assessment of the range of objections that can be levelled at such a justificatory framework. In particular, the accusation that it is not descriptively accurate as a model, nor normatively useful as a conception for labour laws, is subjected to greater scrutiny. The article concludes with the general proposition that although Pettit's and Lovett's non-domination model is insufficient to act as an abstract justificatory theory for labour laws, it can act as a driver for specific labour laws; and more specifically, for a particular conception or form of labour law that promotes a distinctive set of regulatory techniques, and vision of the role and function of the central notion of the contract of employment. The primary significance of this article rests in the insight that domination-based narratives of civic republicanism have the capacity to act as a bridge between existing individual, relational, autonomous, substantive and procedural accounts of the regulation of the law of the contract of employment and political philosophy: a 'new normativity', albeit one that is restricted in scope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Populism is gaining ground in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), and Hungary and Poland are the best examples of this trend. The Hungarian Orbán government and conservative Polish coalition led by Kaczyński (PiS), widely considered in the literature as populist, have been in power for some time now, which allows us not only to evaluate their labour law policies, but also the results. Though there are evident similarities between these two countries, such as political motivated layoffs in public employment or significant wage increases, the discrepancies are far more numerous. These differences result from each country's specific socio-economic conditions and (almost) diametrically opposed political strategies with respect to employment matters. While Viktor Orbán believes in a workfare society, without social allowances and with flexibilized employment protection, in Poland PiS is pushing through a belated welfare revolution with expanded social benefits and employment rights. This article starts by describing populism as it has developed in Hungary and Poland in section 1, and the promises made by Orbán and Kaczyński before coming to power in section 2. Section 3 examines the main pillars of populist labour law policy, such as flexibilization, wages, collective rights, self-employment, social benefits and political motivated layoffs. Finally, we try to explain why and how these seemingly similar populist governments have adopted fundamentally different labour law reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern populism has developed in Scandinavia since at least the 1970s, first in Norway and Denmark but more recently also in Sweden. Populist political parties have been well-established in Scandinavian Parliaments for many years. However, from a labour law perspective, the populist impact, if any, has been limited and populist discourse has primarily focused on issues such as migration and the European Union (EU), and to some extent 'welfare tourism'. This article examines the development of populist movements in Norway and Sweden and analyses the possible impact of populist policies on national labour law. The conclusion is that Nordic industrial relations and labour market regulations, based on strong and representative trade unions and well-organized and responsible employer federations, act as a robust counterweight to populist policies on the labour market. Section 2 of the article consists of a discussion of how we understand the development of modern populism in a Norwegian and Swedish perspective. Section 3 explores the extent to which populist political ideas have directly impacted or indirectly influenced labour market regulations in the two countries. In concluding, section 4 monitors the potency of strong and well-established industrial relations as a countervailing force to populist political movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special edition of the International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations contains five articles, including this introduction. Their shared purpose is to explore the interrelationship between populism, labour law, social law and social policy. In particular, the articles investigate whether the recent rise in populism has had a direct impact, positive or negative, on the situation of the working class. The nexus of populism, labour law, social law and social policy will be examined in three perspectives, focusing on (1) the period when populists seek power, (2) the period when populists are in power, and (3) the consequences of populist rule. The specific research questions underpinning the articles in this issue are as follows. First, when may a politician or a leader be considered a populist? Second, once in power, do populists actually strive to address issues affecting 'the people', i.e., those who have suffered harm at the hands of the elites, and does that include issues that affect the working class? Third, if so, how are these issues addressed? Fourth, what indicators can be used to demonstrate a link between the populist reforms (changes) and populist slogans? In other words, is there a 'populist agenda' as far as social issues are concerned? Fifth, are populists effective at implementing their slogans on social issues? Sixth, do populist agendas and actions create (and later implement) a new conceptual model of social and economic relations that could serve as an alternative to the current liberal market economy model? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces a series of articles on comparative labor law and industrial relations.

Introduces a series of articles related to labor law and industrial relations.

The Directive on Seasonal Workers is aimed at combating exploitative practices vis-à-vis seasonal workers from outside the EU. After a thorough analysis of the conditions under which practices can be qualified as exploitative, this article assesses the extent to which the directive is equipped to combat such practices. It concludes that the directive has made progress by addressing situations that are prone to exploitation, using multiple legal approaches. However, it will largely depend on the willingness of the Member States whether the directive will achieve its aim to combat situations of exploitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers an assessment of the social protection granted to self-employed workers in the EU and Italian legal systems. It is structured as follows: first, the EU regulation currently in force is analysed to assess whether and to what extent self-employed workers can be considered entitled to social protection; second, self-employment under Italian law is analysed. The regulatory choices that set the Italian system apart from the current EU regulatory trends are highlighted, especially with regard to the use of self-employment as grounds for ad hoc regulation, and not only as the other side of the coin in relation to standard employment. In fact, since 2017, Italy has provided an ad hoc regulatory framework for self-employment, which, though not comparable to that for standard employees in terms of the level of protection, provides incipient protection specifically designed for self-employed workers. More recently, measures have been taken to support self-employed workers during market transitions and joblessness, especially in the acute phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, which in turn gave rise to the need for extraordinary income support measures self-employed workers. On the other hand, the EU continues to focus on related albeit clearly distinct issues: the fight against bogus self-employment and the extension of social protection to particularly vulnerable workers who fall outside the scope of protection of employment law. The proposed directive on platform work is the most recent evidence of this: by means of an unprecedented system of legal presumptions, it seeks to bring platform work within the regulatory scope of standard employment. In light of these developments, the concluding remarks argue that self-employment is worthy of attention on the part of the EU, not merely to avoid the circumvention of the obligations for standard employment, but above all to adopt ad hoc regulations that acknowledge and protect self-employed workers' interests while safeguarding their social citizenship and dignity. It is argued that there is no conflict between the extension of the protection granted to employees on open-ended contracts to new types of work with a view to strengthening protection for self-employed workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The essay seeks to frame the issue of Decent Work for All by means of Hannah Arendt's conception of freedom and liberty. In Arendt's view, liberty was the proper rationale for early labour legislation, which purported to liberate the individual from the chattels of slavery and exploitation by preserving the voluntary nature of the agreement to provide labour. In the stage of full development of labour law, a primary need in both Liberal Market Economies (such as the US) and Social Market Economies (such as Germany) was to strike a difficult but necessary balance between the employer's liberty to conduct the business and the workers' collective freedom. With the promotion of Decent Work, as a broad guideline for policymakers and not a binding regulation of any kind, labour law is reconsidering its focus on the person, with the aim of granting individuals the possibility to achieve their (neo)liberation from basic economic needs, as well as from the domination of others. Once liberated from those two constraints, individuals are in a position to effectively aspire to the collective dimension of freedom, which, in Arendt's terms, consists of the possibility of the individual to contribute on an equal footing to societal development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Situating legal mobilization within a wide-ranging conceptual framework of worker activity that goes beyond recent interest in 'strategic litigation' and related organizing in the gig economy, this contribution explores the fundamental relationship between 'laypeople', i.e., the non-professional subjects of law, and labour law. Notwithstanding a growing interest in empirical labour law research, there remains a lack of conceptual clarity and rigorous evidence pertaining to how workers, activists and employers think about law and how this has evolved over time. The idea, often implicit within policy discourses, that we have become increasingly 'legally minded', and the implications of this, remain particularly underexplored. This article develops understanding of what legal mobilization is, does, or potentially can do, mapping the range of ways in which 'laypeople' may invoke or engage with law at work, distinguishing between activities defined as (1) legal participation; (2) mobilization; and (3) consciousness. This schema goes beyond the more obvious ways in which laypeople engage formal legal institutions, 'strategically' or otherwise, towards everyday processes of constructing 'legalities'. The concept of legalities, meaning taken-forgranted assumptions about what is 'legal', provides a lens through which to view the ideological processes involved in the constitution of society and economic institutions through law and vice versa. Revisiting the theme of the worker and the law, this schema focuses as much on how the worker understands and acts upon the conceptions of law as much as how the law characterizes and protects the worker, and how the interrelations between the two may have evolved over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social movements of every stripe have mobilized law in order to confront contemporary injustices and redetermine social experiences and expectations. The multiple disciplinary literatures that track and evaluate these strategies provide a rich picture of legal and political mobilization at different scales and relative successes. This article draws together the shared concern for strategic litigation of labour law and legal mobilization scholars in order to confront and rationalize the factors that determine its effectiveness for labour movements. This article sets out three core tenets of strategic litigation to provide a framework for analysing its potential effectiveness: Effective legal arguments; state law's institutional capacity; and political objectives. Drawing on interdisciplinary insights, these tenets present a sober conception of the ways that law is mobilized by labour movements, to provide a critical conception of the opportunities and limitations of their strategic uses of law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article recommends strategies to ensure that the labor law curriculum keeps apace with the developments in the work environment and produces law reformers and law architects. Discussed are the influences of the traditional subjects, the International Labor Organization's conventions which promote the principle that labor is not a commodity and the laws of other jurisdictions. Stated is the need for law students to be equipped with the skills of critical thinking and legal research.

The article examines the meaning of autonomy in European context, particularly from the definition of social dialogue adopted by the European Commission and its social partners. The author discusses the applicability of collective autonomy parameters as developed by labour law and industrial relations theory. The author argues that autonomy should be considered as a primarily procedural issue and that autonomous agreements should be recognized as relevant to the European legal system.

The article discusses the reforms instituted by Estonia which had the greatest impact on the functioning of labor relation such as the form of employment contracts, engagement in fixed-term employment contracts and obligation of employers to provide training. It cites the new Employment Contracts Act enforced on July 1, 2009 which provided a legal basis for flexible labour relations and to carry out a reform of Estonian labour relations. It suggests attempts by the new Estonian law to provide equal weight to flexibility and security in the labour market.

The article analyzes the extension of protection to atypical workers in developing countries such as South Africa and India considering issues such as wage negotiations and bargaining. It discusses the role of mutual aid associations like the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) in India and the attempt to replicate this in South Africa. It offers an overview of the developments in labor law and industrial relations in Namibia and Tanzania and raises concern over the low level of ratification of International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions.

The article offers insights on flexicurity, an approach to labour market regulation that is aimed at combining labour market flexibility with individual security in the European Union (EU) countries, and globalization. It explains the emergence of the approach as a new and common model for social policy under the European Employment Strategy (EES). Also explored is the political association between flexicurity and globalization. Key components of flexicurity are tackled, including comprehensive lifelong learning (LLL) strategies.

Introduces a series of papers selected from the 2003 World Congress of the Industrial Relations Association featured in the December 2003 issue of "The International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations."

The hierarchy of labour law sources plays an important role in shaping the employment protection afforded by national labour law. This article provides a comparative overview of the global trends in the relation between the different layers of employment regulation. To this end, it considers three cluster of countries, respectively the European coordinated market economies, the liberal market economies and the European post-socialist countries. This analysis will make it possible to identify common patterns of transformation of the hierarchy of sources, indicating the current direction of labour law. Based on the three models, we discuss the following four trends and their interactions: (1) the increasing role of legislation; (2) the decentralization and decline of collective bargaining; (3) the growing importance of individual employment contracts based on waivers; (4) the erosion of the favourability principle by means of clauses allowing less favourable terms of employment. We argue that these parallel changes may lead to a worsening of employment conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzes the differences between the labor standards in the U.S. and the European Union (EU). Implications of labor standards on the economy of the U.S. and the EU; Definition of labor standards; Difference between the wage rates in the U.S. and the EU; Information on the working time regulations of the U.S. and the EU.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Tony Royle on the core labour standards and the evolution of the International Labour Organization policies, one on reflections on the topical issue of age discrimination by Julia J. A. Shaw and Hillary J. Shaw, and the role of women's groups in New Zealand, Great Britain and Canada by Jane Parker and Julie Douglas.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Michael A. Yanou on the rules for registration of trade unions in Cameroon, another by Jafar Suryomenggolo on the drafting process of Undang Undang Kerdja 1948 (Labour Act 1948) of Indonesia, and one by Catharina Callerman on family ties in Swedish employment law.