Labour Law And Industrial Relations In Recessionary Times

The present volume includes a number of papers written in English and published in the last fifteen years in which the Italian labour market faced many changes. The intent here is not only to provide the international readership with a frame of reference - in both conceptual and legal terms - that helps to appreciate the Italian Labour Law currently in force. The real goal of this volume is to contribute to move beyond the self-referential nature of the Italian debate on the reform of labour laws. This would supply the reform process of the Italian labour market with an international and comparative dimension which - in accordance with the programmatic approach of Marco Biagi - should also feed the debate at a national level.

Social models are always contested and ambiguous. This is particularly evident in the field of human resources management, where decisions that ultimately affect the patterns of social relations are made every day. This collection of in-depth essays focuses on some central human resources elements – gender, youth, ageing, educational background, training, workers’ rights – providing an up-to-date summary and analysis of how employers are dealing – and should be dealing – with workforce characteristics under current globalized forces. The emphasis is on Europe, but valuable insights come also from Chile, Canada, and the United States. Sixteen experts discuss such important issues as the following: the shift from intervention in favour of workers’ rights towards corporate neo-liberal policies; importance of transnational framework agreements in countries where a trade union; tradition is lacking; evidence that provision of childcare promotes female labour market participation; short-time working, labour hoarding, and labour underutilization; enhancing training policies for employable skills; enforcement of corporate social responsibility; alarmingly high rates of precarious employment; worldwide decline of full-time permanent positions; pension system reform; over-exposure of young people to non-standard employment; discouraged workers; regional imbalances in employment policy; and weaknesses of education programmes in connection with the world of work. Industrial relations and human resources professionals as well as employment lawyers worldwide will welcome this incisive analysis, and academics everywhere are sure to benefit from its evidence, insights, and proposals. The book presents a selection of papers from the international conference in commemoration of Marco Biagi entitled Europe 2020: Comparative Perspectives and Transnational Action, held at the Marco Biagi Foundation in Modena, Italy. 17–19 March 2011.

This volume includes a number of papers written in English and published in the last fifteen years in which the Italian labour market faced many changes. The book not only provides the international readership with a frame of reference – in both conceptual and legal terms – that helps to appreciate the Italian Labour Law currently in force, but also represents a contribution to moving beyond the self-referential nature of the Italian debate on the reform of labour laws. As such, the book supplies the reform process of the Italian labour market with an international and comparative dimension which – in accordance with the programmatic approach of Marco Biagi – will also feed the debate at the national level.

This book reflects the enormous interest in work-life balance and current pressing concerns about the impacts of austerity more broadly. It draws on contemporary research and practitioner experiences to explore how work-life balance and related workplace and social policy fare in turbulent economic times and the implications for employees, employers and wider societies. Authors consider workplace trends, practices and employment relations and the impacts on work, care and well-being of diverse workers. A guiding theme throughout the book is a triple agenda of supporting employee work-life balance, workplace effectiveness and social justice. The final chapters present case studies of innovative processes and organizational practices for addressing the triple agenda, note the important role of social policy context and discuss the challenge of extending debates on work-life balance to include a social justice dimension. This book will be of interest to academics and postgraduate students of organisational psychology, sociology, human resource management, management and business studies, law and social policy, as well as employers, managers, HR managers, trade unions, and policy makers.

Social models are always contested and ambiguous. This is particularly evident in the field of human resources management, where decisions that ultimately affect the patterns of social relations are made every day. This collection of in-depth essays focuses on some central human resources elements - gender, youth, ageing, educational background, training, workers' rights - providing an up-to-date summary and analysis of how employers are dealing - and should be dealing - with workforce characteristics under current globalized forces. The emphasis is on Europe, but valuable insights come also from Chile, Canada, and the United States. Sixteen experts discuss such important issues as the following: the shift from intervention in favour of workers' rights towards corporate neo-liberal policies; importance of transnational framework agreements in countries where a trade union; tradition is lacking; evidence that provision of childcare promotes female labour market participation; short-time working, labour hoarding, and labour underutilization; enhancing training policies for employable skills; enforcement of corporate social responsibility; alarmingly high rates of precarious employment; worldwide decline of full-time permanent positions; pension system reform; over-exposure of young people to non-standard employment; discouraged workers; regional imbalances in employment policy; and weaknesses of education programmes in connection with the world of work. Industrial relations and human resources professionals as well as employment lawyers worldwide will welcome this incisive analysis, and academics everywhere are sure to benefit from its evidence, insights, and proposals. The book presents a selection of papers from the international conference in commemoration of Marco Biagi entitled Europe 2020: Comparative Perspectives and Transnational Action, held at the Marco Biagi Foundation in Modena, Italy. 17-19 March 2011.

Not all labour law and industrial relations scholars agree on the efficacy of the comparative approach - that the analysis of measures adopted in other countries can play a constructive role in national and local policy-making. However, the case deserves to be heard, and no better such presentation has appeared than this remarkable book, the carefully considered work of over 40 well-known authorities in the field from a wide variety of countries including Australia, France, India, Israel, Peru, Poland, and South Africa. The volume contains papers delivered at a conference sponsored by the Marco Biagi Foundation at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in March 2008.

How have employment relations evolved over the last decade? And how did workplaces and employees fare in the face of the longest recession in living memory? Employment Relations in the Shadow of Recession examines the state of British employment relations in 2011, how this has changed since 2004, and the role the recession played in shaping employees' experiences of work. It draws on findings from the 2011 Workplace Employment Relations Study, comparing these with the results of the previous study conducted in 2004. These surveys – each collecting responses from around 2,500 workplace managers, 1,000 employee representatives and over 20,000 employees – provide the most comprehensive portrait available of workplace employment relations in Britain. The book provides an in-depth analysis of the changes made to employment practices through the recession and of the impact that the economic downturn had on the shape and character of the employment relationship.

This monograph investigates current issues in labour law enforcement from a socio-legal perspective. It analyses how local Italian enforcement actors promote the protection of workers in Prato – a city that in recent decades has seen a significant influx of Chinese migrants who run small workshops as part of the local clothing industry. Many of the Chinese firms in Prato fail to live up to core labour standards, such as maximum working hours, health and safety at work and payment of social security contributions. The book analyses the strategies and practices employed by three local enforcement actors (labour inspectors, labour unionists and a new type of labour law consultant) in their efforts to assist Chinese firms in improving their level of labour law compliance. Combining documentary, interview and observational data, the book applies theories of legal culture and legal development to address the interaction between law and society. It focuses on the operational aspects of law by asking three interrelated research questions: How do local enforcement actors promote the protection of workers in Chinese firms in Prato? Which tools are employed, and which rationalities drive the initiatives? The book thereby sheds light upon processes of legal cultural adaptation, informing ongoing international and national debates about what can actually be done to combat contemporary gaps in the protection of workers.