European Labour Law And Social Policy

In the realm of European employment law, tension exists between the concepts of 'economic policy' and 'social policy.' During recent years, a growing tendency to emphasize the 'economic' at the expense of the 'social' can be discerned. What this trend gives us'in the views of the leading figures in the field of European labour law and social policy whose considered analyses are presented in this volume'is a regime of 'grand declarations' about workers' rights, but with extremely limited enforcement potential. ,i>The Changing Face of European Labour Law and Social Policy presents some of the papers given at a series of colloquia sponsored by the Employment Law Research Unit at the University of Warwick in early 2002. In its assessment of the forces at work in European employment law today, these commentaries examine significant initiatives and issues, including:problems arising in the context of the Nice Charter;delivering 'equality' at the workplace under the new EU legal framework;the crisis facing workers' participation in practice;the prospects for trans-national collective bargaining;employment-related aspects of human rights under the ECHR; and,attempts to establish effective protections in relation to the working environment. Invaluable appendices include a report, as presented by the late Marco Biagi, of a high level group on reform of the European labour market; the text of the Social Policy Agenda, as approved at the Nice Summit of 2000; and the Commission's 'scoreboard' on the implementation of the Social Agenda as of 2002.With its down-to-earth analysis of the current status of the 'floor of rights' in the European work environment, The Changing Face of European Labour Law and Social Policy will be of inestimable value to all practitioners and scholars seeking to improve the quality of life for Europe's working population and the quality of regulation at the disposal of those charged with confronting the new challenges to social policy resulting from the radical transformation of Europe's economy and society.

This is the most comprehensive collection of primary source materials in the labour law and social policy of the European Community ever brought together. With documents and decisions reflecting the state of play at 1st June 2002, it includes: key legislative instruments in EC labour law and social policy; significant associated policy documents produced by the Commission; and important relevant decisions of the European Court of Justice. Since the first edition of this work in 1999, the pace of social policy change and innovation at the level of the European Community has increased dramatically. Indeed, developments during the past three years are little short of remarkable, with particularly important advances in relation to the promotion of information, consultation and participation for workers, along with growing concern for several much broader social policy issues. Recognition of the changes in emphasis and scale for European social policy, and the presence of substantially more material to be included, have caused this edition of the work to be divided into two volumes. Volume I covers social dialogue, industrial relations and labour law, while Volume II is concerned with a wide range of material touching "dignity at work" in the European Community. The arrangement of the material in two self-contained volumes also reflects a division of convenience. Thus, those whose main focus is upon the "labour law" aspects of European social policy may choose to utilise primarily the material contained in the first volume, while those who wish to concentrate more particularly upon fundamental social rights, equal opportunities, anti-discrimination, and dignity at work might wish to take advantage of the framework presented in the second volume. Advocates, judges, policy-makers, scholars and students will all appreciate this essential sourcebook in EC labour law and social policy.

This text is a collection of primary source materials in the labour law and social policy of the European Community in one volume. It includes documents and decisions up to May 1st, 1999, when the Treaty of Amsterdam came into force, along with key legislative instruments in EC labour law and social policy, significant associated policy documents produced by the Commission and important decisions of the European Court of Justice.

European Social Law at a glance The present book sets out – in a concise manner – the social law of the European Union. Apart from core areas of European labour law, the regulation of which is based on the EU’s competence in social policy, it covers notably the numerous rights based one the free movement of workers and other EU citizens, as well as the coordination of social security. Beyond that, the book refers to other fields of EU regulation which are prone to cause conflicts between the member states’ national social law and the relevant EU norms, which remain challenging to resolve to this day. Extensive reference is made to the case law of the European Court of Justice, which continues to have a paramount role in shaping the social law of the EU as it stands. The book is primarily aimed at students confronted with European social law for the first time. Besides, it should constitute a well-structured source of reference for law practitioners in the rising number of cases where EU law is of relevance for national legal practice.

In the 1950's when the EC Treaties were drafted, social policy was treated in a somewhat cursory way. Nonetheless, there are few lofty statements of social ambitions in the Treaties. This publication deals with the actual causes according to specific social issues from the 1950's up till now. All social pressure in Europe is still on the national level. National politicians are in continuous debate with national employers' representatives and trade unionists on desired changes in national labour law. Thanks to a modification of the EEC Treaty in 1987, there is now a framed text which says: 'In order to promote its overall harmonious development, the Community shall develop and pursue its actions leading to the strengthening of its economic and social cohesion'. It is therefore inevitable that the national structures of labor law will be surmounted by a set of substantional labor laws on the European level.

This unique book offers a comprehensive systematization and overview of the EU´s emerging ‘acquis’ and practice of Collective Labour Law. Although the core aspects of Collective Labour Law lie outside the EU’s competence to regulate, the laws and industrial relations systems of Member States are undoubtedly influenced by the EU, and the involvement of Social Partners, i.e. representatives of employers and workers, is essential for many aspects of EU law and policy.

This is an account of the development of European labour and social security law as it interrelates with the evolution of market integration in the European Union. Giubboni presents, from a labour law perspective, a case study of the changes the European Community/European Union has undergone from its origins to the present day and of the ways these changes have affected the regulation of European Welfare States at national level. Drawing on the idea of 'embedded liberalism', Giubboni analyses the infiltration of EC competition and market law into national systems of labour and social security law and provides a normative framework for conceptualising the transformation of regulatory techniques implemented at the EU level. This important, interdisciplinary contribution to research in EU social law illustrates how the vision of social protection and solidarity is changing.