Comparative Labor Law

Economic pressure, as well as transnational and domestic corporate policies, has placed labor law under severe stress. National responses are so deeply embedded in institutions reflecting local traditions that meaningful comparison is daunting. This bo

A stimulating, authoritative account of international employment law written by a leading figure who for many years has shaped global policy, striving to implement fairer working conditions worldwide. We are expertly guided though the context and development of labour law, making this book ideal for study or research.

This comprehensive research review discusses an array of distinguished papers from within the sphere of comparative labour law, covering the subject's most compelling and thought-provoking questions. Topics include the uses and limits of comparative labour law, the enforcement of labour rights and the methods of comparative labour law. Prefaced with an original introduction by the editor, this collection promises to be a useful research tool for scholars and practitioners, as well as a fascinating read for those interested in the field.

While legislation protecting employees exists in most advanced countries, the notion of who actually is an employee has become unstable. Moreover, the decentralization of traditional collective bargaining is clearly under way everywhere, and the all-important balance between workers' security and employers' flexibility continues to change radically, either retreating toward individual statutory rights or seeking new forms of employee representation. Labour Law in Motion reprints sixteen reports originally submitted to the seventh Comparative Labor Law Seminar (Tokyo Seminar) sponsored by the Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training in March 2004. Eleven expert authors describe the situation in their respective countries with regard to issues such as the following:criteria used to determine whether a person is an employee;what categories of non-employee exist, and what measure of statutory protection is afforded to such persons;variations in the concept of employee among labour law, tax law, and social security law;regulation of terms and conditions of employment; the forms and legal nature of employee representation;current trends in deregulation or `re-regulation' of labour laws;mechanisms permitting deviation from legal norms; and,the manner and extent of labour law intervention in the labour market. All eleven authors emphasize recent and ongoing changes in their countries' labour laws and evaluate the factors that have contributed to such changes. Each author concludes that reform of traditional labour laws is indeed necessary. However, the book as a whole clearly demonstrates that the content of such reform differs from country to country, particularly in the extent to which labour law entrusts the regulation of working conditions to the market. Offering as it does a clear and concise summary of the recent and current experience of labour relations in eight major industrialized countries, Labour Law in Motion is an essential resource for professionals and officials engaged in any aspect of labour law or regulation in any country.

Labour law has traditionally aimed to protect the employee under a hierarchy built on constitutional provisions, statutory law, collective agreements at various levels, and the employment contract, in that order. However, in employment regulation in recent years, ‘flexibility’ has come to dominate the world of work – a set of policies that reshuffle the relationship among the fundamental pillars of labour law and inevitably lead to degrading the protection of employees. This book, the first-ever to consider the sources of labour law from a comparative perspective, details the ways in which the traditional hierarchy of sources has been altered, presenting an international view on major cross-cutting issues followed by fifteen country reports. The authors’ analysis of the changing hierarchy of labour law sources in the light of recent trends includes such elements as the following: the constitutional dimension of labour rights; the normative intervention by the State; the regulatory function of collective bargaining and agreements; the hierarchical organization of labour law sources and the ‘principle of favour’; the role played by case law in both common law and civil law countries; the impact of the European Economic Governance; decentralization of collective bargaining; employment conditions as key components of global competitive strategies; statutory schemes that allow employees to sign away their rights. National reports – Australia, Brazil, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States – describe the structure of labour law regulations in each legal system with emphasis on the current state of affairs. The authors, all distinguished labour law scholars in their countries, thus collectively provide a thorough and comprehensive commentary on labour law regulation and recent tendencies in national labour laws in various corners of the globe. With its definitive analysis of such crucial matters as the decentralization of collective bargaining and how individual employment contracts can deviate from collective agreements and statutory law, and its comparison of representative national labour law systems, this highly informative book will prove of inestimable value to all professionals concerned with employment relations, labour disputes, or labour market policy, especially in the context of multinational workforces.

The first casebook covering both international and comparative labor and employment law is characterized by its authorship by prolific, respected scholars, all of whom have taught law outside the United States. A solid conceptual framework compares national laws dealing with individual collective employment rights, including antidiscrimination law and privacy law, and considers the systems used to resolve labor and employment disputes in the context of international labor law. A sweeping coverage of international labor law considers the International Labour Organization, NAFTA and other bilateral trade agreements that include labor standards, and the European Union. In addition, The Global Workplace explores transnational corporations' self-regulatory efforts (or codes of conduct,) and the mechanisms for pursuing international labor standards in United States courts. Comparisons are drawn among the laws of the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, China, Japan and India. Exploring the similarities and the differences among various approaches to the employment relationship allows students to better understand and evaluate the approach each country takes, and helps them develop a normative approach to labor and employment law. National legal materials are presented within historical and cultural context. Hallmark features of The Global Workplace: International and Comparative Employment Law: First casebook covering both international and comparative labor and employment law Authorship o prolific, respected scholars o all of the authors have taught law outside the United States Conceptual framework o compares national laws dealing with individual collective employment rights o including antidiscrimination law and privacy law o considers the systems used to resolve labor and employment disputes in the context of international labor law Broad coverage of international labor law o International Labour Organization o NAFTA and other bilateral trade agreements that include labor standards o the European Union o comparison of the laws of the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, China, Japan and India o transnational corporations' self-regulatory efforts (or codes of conduct) o mechanisms for pursuing international labor standards in United States courts Explores the similarities and the differences among various approaches to the employment relationship o allows students to better understand and evaluate the approach each country takes o helps develop a normative approach to labor and employment law o national legal materials are contextualized with historical and cultural issues