27. Freedom of association

2019 ◽  
pp. 481-496
Author(s):  
Stephen Taylor ◽  
Astra Emir
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Employment Law ◽  
Equal Protection ◽  
Freedom Of Association ◽  
The Law ◽  
Taking Action ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter provides an introduction to collective employment law. Collective employment law concerns the regulation of the relationship between trade unions and employees in their capacity as trade union members. In order to be able to enforce these rights it is often necessary for a union to be listed by the Certification Officer, recognised by an employer or for its members to be acting ‘officially’ in the name of the union. Freedom of association is protected by laws which deter employers from dismissing employees or taking action short of dismissal against them for a trade union reason. The law gives equal protection to people who suffer the same detriments because they are not union members or because they have left a union.

9. Collective labour law

2019 ◽  
pp. 635-703
Author(s):  
Ian Smith ◽  
Aaron Baker ◽  
Owen Warnock
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Freedom Of Association ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
The Law

This chapter considers the laws that affect trade unions and employment relations at a collective level, with the exception of strikes and other industrial action which are examined in Chapter 10. The chapter begins by considering the legal status of a trade union and the statutory concept of trade union independence. The applicability of trade union law to workers in the gig economy is also considered. The focus then shifts to the ways in which the law seeks to secure freedom of association, by provisions which protect and support union membership and activities including giving protection against discrimination and providing rights to time off for union duties and activities. The chapter then turns to the concept of recognition of unions for collective bargaining, and the legal rights that come with recognition. It also examines the statutory system for securing recognition. The relevance of the European Convention on Human Rights is considered throughout as are the changes made by the Trade Union Act 2016. The law relating to domestic and European works councils is also considered.

AMENDMENTS TO THE TRADE UNIONS ACT AND THE RIGHT TO WORK

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (XIX) ◽  
pp. 371-382
Author(s):  
Łukasz Łaguna
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Current System ◽  
Labor Law ◽  
Employment Law ◽  
Paid Work ◽  
Contract Of Employment ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Right

On 1 January 2019, the amendment to the Trade Unions Act enters into force. It introduces a kind of revolution in the current system of employment law. The law extends the law of the trade union coalition, creating and joining union organizations for non-employees.Article 1 establishes a normative category of persons who perform paid work, including employees and persons providing work for remuneration on a basis other than the employment relationship. Thus, the legislator extends the statutory right of the trade union to persons who are not considered employees. In relation to the above, in the context of analyzing this legal act, it is not justified to use the traditional “labor law” as a too narrow term for the needs of new regulations. The term “employment law” appears in the latest publications of the doctrine as a broader term than the above. Finally, it should be noted that the effect of changes may be that people who work on a different basis than an employment contract and who have a number of the same rights as those working on a contract of employment may stop trying to conclude such a contract. And this will have a negative effect on the whole society, for example due to the lack of the possibility to enforce labor law functions.

9. Collective labour law

2019 ◽  
pp. 649-719
Author(s):  
Ian Smith ◽  
Aaron Baker ◽  
Owen Warnock
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Freedom Of Association ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
The Law

This chapter considers the laws that affect trade unions and employment relations at a collective level, with the exception of strikes and other industrial action, which are examined in Chapter 10. The chapter begins by considering the legal status of a trade union and the statutory concept of trade union independence. The applicability of trade union law to workers in the gig economy is also considered. The focus then shifts to the ways in which the law seeks to secure freedom of association, by provisions which protect and support union membership and activities including giving protection against discrimination and providing rights to time off for union duties and activities. The chapter then turns to the concept of recognition of unions for collective bargaining, and the legal rights that come with recognition. It also examines the statutory system for securing recognition. The relevance of the European Convention on Human Rights is considered throughout, as are the changes made by the Trade Union Act 2016. The law relating to domestic and European works councils is also considered.

29. Industrial action

2019 ◽  
pp. 512-530
Author(s):  
Stephen Taylor ◽  
Astra Emir
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Employment Law ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
Industrial Action ◽  
The Law ◽  
Practical Implications

The law on the organisation of industrial action is mainly contained in the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. This chapter sketches out the broad principles and their practical implications. It looks separately at three distinct topics: firstly, the law relating to trade unions and trade union officials organising industrial action; secondly, the law relating to individual workers taking industrial action; and, thirdly, the law relating to picketing (ie, demonstrating support for a strike outside an employer’s premises). This is an area of employment law which is both complex (some would say unnecessarily so) as well as controversial in a number of respects.

9. Collective Labour Law

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Smith ◽  
Aaron Baker ◽  
Owen Warnock
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Freedom Of Association ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
The Law

This chapter considers the laws that affect trade unions and employment relations at a collective level, with the exception of strikes and other industrial action which are examined in Chapter 10. The chapter begins by considering the legal status of a trade union and the statutory concept of trade union independence. The focus then shifts to the ways in which the law seeks to secure freedom of association, by provisions which protect and support union membership and activities including giving protection against discrimination and providing rights to time off for union duties and activities. The chapter then turns to the concept of recognition of unions for collective bargaining, and the legal rights that come with recognition. It also examines the statutory system for securing recognition. The law relating to domestic and European works councils is also considered.

Legal Expertise: A Critical Resource for Trade Unionists? Insights into the Confédération Française Démocratique du Travail

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cécile Guillaume
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Institutional Power ◽  
Collective Redress ◽  
Critical Resource ◽  
The Law ◽  
Legal Expertise

Abstract Based on in-depth qualitative research conducted in one of the major French trade unions (the CFDT), this article explores to what extent and under what conditions trade unions adopt different legal practices to further their members’ interests. In particular, it investigates how ‘legal framing’ has taken an increasingly pervasive place in trade union work, in increasingly decentralised industrial relations contexts, such as France. This article therefore argues that the use of the law has become a multifaceted and embedded repertoire of action for the CFDT in its attempt to consolidate its institutional power through various strategies, including collective redress and the use of legal expertise in collective bargaining and representation work.

scholarly journals The changing face of union action put to the test by neo-liberal reforms in France

Tempo Social ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-156
Author(s):  
Baptiste Giraud
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
Union Action ◽  
The Relationship

This article reviews how French trade union are coping with the neo-liberal policies since the early 1980s. It shows their divergent reactions, and how these liberal reforms are implemented in a context of transformation of trade union action: the use of strikes is more difficult at the same time as the relationship between trade unions and collective bargaining is transformed in a logic of depoliticizing their strategies of action. These developments did not prevent a resurgence of strikes in the 2000s. It reveals the limits of the trade unions’ power of political influence, that implies the use of collective action. However, strikes have declined further in recent years, revealing the weakening of trade union mobilisation power.

16. Wrongful Dismissal

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Astra Emir
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Employment Law ◽  
Employment Protection ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Right ◽  
Employment Rights ◽  
Wrongful Dismissal

Under the law which existed prior to 1971 an employer was entitled to dismiss an employee for any reason or no reason at all. In 1971 the Industrial Relations Act created the right for many employees not to be unfairly dismissed, and though that Act was repealed, the relevant provisions were substantially re-enacted in the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974, and further changes were made by the Employment Protection Act 1975. The Employment Rights Act 1996 (as amended) contains most of the relevant statutory provisions currently in force. This chapter discusses the ways in which wrongful dismissal may occur; collateral contracts; summary dismissal; and employment law remedies.

scholarly journals The Impact of the Labour Relations Act on Minority Trade Unions: A South African Perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 284
Author(s):  
Johan Kruger ◽  
Clarence Itumeleng Tshoose
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
South African ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Freedom Of Association ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
Labour Standards ◽  
International Labour Standards ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

The advent of the new political dispensation in 1994 heralded the coming of a new labour dispensation. Labour relations and labour policies changed significantly from that which prevailed under the previous government. The review of the labour legislation framework was at that stage a priority for the new government, with specific focus on the review of the collective bargaining dispensation. The abuse of trade unions under the previous government gave rise to a unique entrenchment of labour rights in the Constitution. The drafters thereof were determined to avoid a repetition of this abuse after 1994. Section 23 of the Constitution goes to great lengths to protect, amongst others, the right to form and join a trade union, the right of every trade union to organise and the right of every trade union to engage in collective bargaining. In furtherance of section 23(5) of the Constitution, the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 was promulgated. One of the most significant changes of the LRA was that it now provided for legislated organisational rights. Commentators have often viewed the LRA as favouring larger unions and as conferring clear advantages on unions with majority support at the establishment or industry level.  It is within this context that this article examines the impact of section 18 of the LRA on the constitutionally entrenched right of every person to freedom of association, the right of every trade union to engage in collective bargaining, and the right of every trade union to organise. Furthermore, this article explores the justifiability of the impact of section 18 on minority trade unions in terms of international labour standards and the Constitution. In part one the article examines the concept of majoritarianism, pluralism and industrial unionism in the context of South African Labour market. Part two deals with the impact of section 18 of the LRA on minority Trade Unions. Whilst part three explores the concept of workplace democracy. Part five investigates the applicability of international labour standards in the context of the right to freedom of association. Part four ends up with conclusion and recommendations on the impact of section 18 of the LRA.

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