A GLIMPSE INTO THE PRESENT AND FUTURE OF LABOUR LAW AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

2020 ◽  
Vol 551 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-28
Author(s):  
Cristina Mihes
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Employment Relationship ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
Collective Agreements ◽  
Policy Goals ◽  
The Future ◽  
Recent Trends ◽  
Standard Employment Relationship

This paper seeks to take a look at recent labour law reforms in a number of selected CEE countries, and to examine the manner, in which the equation of standard employment relationship and the dynamics of collective bargaining processes have changed. The 1st section discusses the policy goals as well as drivers of legal changes, which have aff ected and guided recent labour law reforms in the sub-region. External infl uences over shaping of the new policy visions and recovery policies are also examined here. The 2nd section examines recent trends in regulating standard and non-standard employment relationship, as well as the collective agreements as determinants of working conditions and terms of employment. It also analyses the new approaches in the implementation of the guiding principles of collective bargaining, including the autonomy of the parties, and the principle of favourability. Furthermore, the 3rd section seeks to explore what the future looks like by traveling the paths opened by the works of the ILO Global Commission on the Future of Work, with a special focus on the Universal Labour Guarantee. Finally, a number of conclusions are drawn on the basis of the analysed data and policies.

A shock to the system: sectoral bargaining under threat in Ireland

2021 ◽  
pp. 203195252110003
Author(s):  
Alan Eustace
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Significant Loss ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
Legal Principles ◽  
Collective Agreements ◽  
Meaningful Participation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Rule Out

In Náisiúnta Leictreach Contraitheoir Éireann v Labour Court, the Irish High Court struck down as unconstitutional a key component of Ireland’s industrial relations system for the third time in recent years. The Court determined that the extension of collective agreements erga omnes breaches the constitutional prohibition on the delegation of legislative power. This note explains the background to that decision and critiques the Court’s reasoning from the perspective of a ‘labour constitution’ model of labour law, and in light of international and European legal principles. The decision appears to misunderstand the place of collective bargaining at a sectoral level within European internal market and competition law. It also seems to rule out any form of meaningful participation by workers, employers and their representatives in collective bargaining on a sectoral basis or through dedicated industrial relations machinery. According to the vision of Irish constitutional law put forward in this case, decisions relating to the administration of production and economic life more broadly must be reserved to the legislature. This is a significant loss for the autonomy of the social partners and represents an impoverished understanding of democracy and legitimacy within the constitutional order, and risks leaving Ireland even more of an outlier in Europe than it already is on the issue of sectoral collective bargaining.

scholarly journals Research Needs in Canadian Industrial Relations: Emerging from the Solitudes

2005 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 358-363
Author(s):  
Mark Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Research Needs ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
Labour Economics ◽  
The Future ◽  
Labour History ◽  
Distinguishing Features ◽  
Conditions Of Work

To focus this discussion, "industrial relations" is defined as the organizations and processes through which wages, hours and conditions of work are determined for employees who are represented collectively. This definition excludes topics such as labour history, labour economics and labour law, frequently incorporated into industrial relations research, but separate here. Research should address and attempt to explain the significant features of Canadianindustrial relations, as well as provide the bases for predictions of the future. The distinguishing features of the Canadian industrial relations System for these purposes are its fragmentation, extensive legal regulation and pattern of strikes. Research needs should be based on this description of Canadian industrial relations, including the environment of the System, major actors within it, the processes of industrial relations and the results of negotiation.

scholarly journals Equality through precarious work regulation: lessons from the domestic work debates in defence of the Standard Employment Relationship

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 507-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deirdre McCann
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Work ◽  
Employment Relationship ◽  
Precarious Work ◽  
Standard Work ◽  
Contractual Arrangements ◽  
Substantive Equality ◽  
Recent Trends ◽  
Temporal Dimensions ◽  
Standard Employment Relationship

AbstractPrecarious work is a crucial impediment to substantive equality. This paper examines the regulation of precariousness in the light of two recent trends: the casualisation of employment in the wake of the crisis, and global efforts to regulate domestic work (e.g. ILO Domestic Workers Convention (No 189)). It takes these developments as an opportunity to explore the effective regulation of contemporary labour markets, and in particular the role of the Standard Employment Relationship (SER). The paper returns to two prominent accounts of the SER: Vosko's critique of SER-centrism in non-standard work regulation and Bosch's notion of the flexible-SER. It argues that the domestic work debates confirm the value of a modernised SER in its temporal dimensions. Yet the literature on precarious work tends to focus on regulatory settings in which the standard model remains dominant. The key contemporary challenge is to identify strategies that will embed this model in settings in which it is in decline or was never deep-rooted. Drawing on the notion of ‘reconstructive labour law’, the paper argues for innovative legal mechanisms that prompt the construction of flexibilised SER-type relationships. It concludes, however, that for these strategies to be effective, casualisation must be identified not only in contractual arrangements but also in working-time practices.

scholarly journals The future of the standard employment relationship: Labour law, new institutional economics and old power resource theory

2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 374-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judy Fudge
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
Institutional Economics ◽  
New Institutional Economics ◽  
Employment Relationship ◽  
Resource Theory ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
Manufacturing Firm ◽  
Power Resource ◽  
Power Resource Theory ◽  
Standard Employment Relationship

This article addresses two questions about the standard employment relationship that have become prominent in labour law literature: Does it exacerbate inequality? Is its decline inevitable? The focus is on the second question and emphasizes the extent to which the standard employment relationship was both embedded in, and the outcome of, an institutional ensemble that was fashioned out of the post-war capital–labour compromise in industrialized democracies. The analysis proceeds in three steps. The first is conceptual and stresses the distinctive nature of labour as a fictive commodity, and the recurring regulatory dilemmas that arise in any attempt to institutionalize a labour market. The second step historicizes and contextualizes the employment relationship, emphasizing politics and conflict (power resource theory) over rational choice and coordination (new institutional economics) as the basis for its institutionalization. The emphasis on politics, power and labour leads to the third step, which focuses on how the broad process of financialization influences three key institutions – the large manufacturing firm, the democratic welfare state and autonomous trade unions – that have been crucial for the development of the standard employment relationship.

scholarly journals Industrial Relations as a Source of Solidarity in Times of Welfare State Retrenchment

2007 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTINE TRAMPUSCH
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Social Benefits ◽  
Public Benefits ◽  
Collective Agreements ◽  
State Research ◽  
State Restructuring ◽  
Market Liberalisation

Within the literature on retrenchment policies, the ‘solidarity-decline thesis’ is discussed. It is argued that current welfare state restructuring leads to a decrease in the actual social cohesion of society because redistributive public benefits are cut. The article addresses this thesis by presenting empirical evidence on social security based on collective bargaining. In Denmark, France, Germany and the Netherlands, collective agreements are increasingly used to regulate and finance social benefits. These collectively negotiated benefits may compensate to a certain degree for solidarity losses caused by retrenchment policies. The article reviews concepts of solidarity used in the literature and develops a two-dimensional scheme of four different concepts. The conclusion for comparative welfare state research is twofold. First, when viewing policies of welfare state retrenchment, the research should systematically include industrial relations in its frame of reference. Second, further studies should analyse the politics as well as the outcomes of collectively negotiated benefits more systematically. Under certain conditions, which are worth specifying, collective bargaining may lead to complex public–private mixes that shift welfare states in other directions than outright market liberalisation, not only in factual but also in normative terms.

Unions and collective bargaining in Australia in 2018

2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Bray ◽  
Johanna Macneil ◽  
Leslee Spiess
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Coalition Government ◽  
Collective Agreement ◽  
Employment Relations ◽  
Federal Election ◽  
Non Union ◽  
Collective Agreements ◽  
Industrial Disputes ◽  
Wage Outcomes

There is a storm brewing over the roles of unions and collective bargaining in Australian employment relations. Unions, frustrated with what they see as practical and legislative restrictions on protection of workers’ rights, seek to ‘change the rules’. Employers, on the other hand, have been successful in restricting or rolling back bargaining rights, supported by their associations, the Coalition government and an assertive interpretation of the Fair Work Act. Add to this the impending federal election and the scene is set for a tempest that could bring industrial relations back to the centre of Australian politics in 2019. The review explores the various elements contributing to the coming storm, including trends in union membership, structure and strategy. It also surveys trends in the number and coverage of collective agreements, wage outcomes and industrial disputes. Two idiosyncractically Australian versions of collective agreement making are also discussed: cooperative bargaining facilitated by the Fair Work Commission and non-union collective agreement making.

Solving the ‘Gig-saw’? Collective Rights and Platform Work

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 352-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Doherty ◽  
Valentina Franca
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Employment Status ◽  
Employment Relationship ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
Collective Rights ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Partners ◽  
Platform Economy

Abstract There are few topics in contemporary labour law scholarship that have generated more literature than work in the so-called ‘platform economy’. To date, much work has focussed on the question of defining the personal scope of the employment relationship and on the problems of using existing classifications of employment status in the context of work organised via platforms. This article seeks to address the much less-discussed issue of how collective bargaining may function in the ‘platform economy’, and the role of collective labour law actors, most notably the social partners. The article argues that, rather than focussing on individual employment status and litigation, it is by developing a regulatory framework supportive of, and that involves key stakeholders in, strong sectoral collective bargaining that work in the ‘platform economy’ can be adequately regulated to the benefit of workers, business and the State.

The Crisis and National Labour Law Reforms

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Clauwaert ◽  
Isabelle Schömann
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
Social Dialogue ◽  
Minimum Standards

This paper1 maps the labour law reforms in various European countries either triggered by the crisis or introduced using the crisis – falsely – as an excuse. Such reforms generally render existing labour law provisions more flexible and loosen minimum standards, shifting the emphasis to soft law (deregulation). In some countries it consists only of piecemeal although significant deregulatory measures, while in others it involves far-reaching overhauls of the whole labour code. Furthermore, in several countries fundamental changes are being made to industrial relations structures and processes which might jeopardise social dialogue and collective bargaining there. The authors critically address this large-scale deregulation of labour law currently taking place, in particular the lack of democratic foundations underlying the reforms and their negative impact on fundamental social rights and workers' protection.

scholarly journals Frontal assault versus incremental change: A comparison of collective bargaining in Portugal and the Netherlands

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Hijzen ◽  
Pedro S. Martins ◽  
Jante Parlevliet
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Incremental Change ◽  
Collective Agreements ◽  
Gradual Evolution ◽  
The Global Financial Crisis

Abstract Collective bargaining has come under renewed scrutiny, especially in Southern European countries, which rely predominantly on sectoral bargaining supported by administrative extensions of collective agreements. Following the global financial crisis, some of these countries have implemented substantial reforms in the context of adjustment programmes, seen by some as a ‘frontal assault’ on collective bargaining. This paper compares the recent top-down reforms in Portugal with the more gradual evolution of the system in the Netherlands. While the Dutch bargaining system shares many of the key features that characterise the Portuguese system, it has shown a much greater ability to adjust to new challenges through concerted social dialogue. This paper shows that the recent reforms in Portugal have brought the system more in line with Dutch practices, including in relation to the degree of flexibility in sectoral collective agreements at the worker and firm levels, the criteria for administrative extensions, and the application of retro- and ultra-activity. However, it remains to be seen to what extent the top-down approach taken in Portugal will change bargaining practices, and importantly, the quality of industrial relations.

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