Workers Collectivism And The Law

Workers, Collectivism and the Law offers a captivating historical account of worker democracy, from its beginnings in European guild systems to present-day labor unions, across the national legal systems of Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. Analysing these legal systems in light of a Habermasian concept of participatory democracy, Laura Carlson identifies ways to strengthen individual employee voice in claims against employers.

This book aims to revitalise the link between social justice and labour law through exploring the issue of personhood and the 'subject' of the law. Rodgers argues that incorporating a more 'relational' notion of self into labour law not only provides a fresh normative perspective through which to evaluate existing labour laws, but will also make us more able to respond to labour market 'shocks' and labour market change into the future, including the introduction of AI. It is only by embedding relationality into our law that can we really respect the humanity of workers and construct a legal framework through which social justice can be achieved at work.

This collection of essays explores the evolution of anti-discrimination law in European civil law jurisdictions. Historically, scholarship in this area has focused on the common law, which has also taken the lead in developing the theory and practice of anti-discrimination law. This volume breaks new ground by offering a sustained, critical, legal and socio-legal, comparative look at how anti-discrimination is faring in European civil law environments. While it is true that anti-discrimination law is seen as a foreign transplant in some regions, it does not fare poorly across the board. As shown by the case studies herein, the success of anti-discrimination law is found to vary according to its national context, the actors involved, and the evolution of the particular concept or ground of discrimination in question.

In a series of illuminating essays, the renowned Harry Glasbeek unpacks how law has been used to ensure that workers' aspirations are kept in check. Law at Work uncovers how the legal system, through its structures and mechanisms, legitimizes and reinforces the exploitation of workers. Using historic and contemporary examples, Glasbeek illustrates how conscious manipulations of law are part and parcel of how law protects capitalists at the expense of workers. He proves how the very laws designed to safeguard rights and freedoms often act as invisible shackles, compelling readers to reflect on their own struggles as they navigate a world where the legal system fails to serve their interests. These manipulations are made to look innocent because the underlying structures and ideology which give rise to specific rules are not challenged or challengeable. This thought-provoking book is an indispensable resource for those seeking to understand the hidden dynamics of worker oppression, empowering readers to question prevailing narratives and envision a future where the law truly serves the interests of all.

Taking readers through the nature and realities of employee voice across the Global North, this book identifies the significance and effects of contexts, cultures, web and social media, and dissimilarity of institutional factors in enhancing employee voice or promoting silence. It addresses general issues affecting employee voice across the globe to give readers an understanding of employee relations that is country-specific. Readers will also have an understanding of the unique nature of employee voice in three continents – thus broadening the readers’ understanding of the subject. Covering employee voice in different countries of Europe, North America and Australasia, each chapter draws out the unique and diverse nature of employee voice in each country. The chapters discuss issues ranging from culture, activities of trade union, institutional factors, web and social media, social and organisational justice and their effects of employee voice. This book provides an invaluable resource for students and researchers of human resources and international business. It will also be of great interest to HRM practitioners, policymakers and business managers across the globe.

The “European Whistleblowing Directive” (Directive (EU) 2019/1937) is the most far-reaching piece of whistleblowing legislation in history with an unprecedented impact on countries all across the European Union. To transpose the Directive, all 27 Member States were required to enact their own national whistleblowing laws by 17 December 2021, in many cases leading to the creation of an entirely new field of law previously unknown to many national legal systems. The papers included in this book are the result of the “2nd European Conference on Whistleblowing Legislation”, providing readers with a first in-depth look into the emerging field of research that is European Whistleblowing Law.

This book is an unconventional reappraisal of Soviet law: a field that is ripe for re-evaluation, now that it is clear of Cold War cobwebs; and, as this book shows, one that is surprisingly topical and newly compelling. Scott Newton argues here that the Soviet order was a work of law. Drawing on a wide range of sources – including Russian-language Soviet statues and regulations, jurisprudence, legal theory, and English-language ‘legal Kremlinology’ – this book analyses the central significance of law in the design and operation of Soviet economic, political, and social institutions. In arguing that it was an exemplary, rather than aberrant, case of the uses to which law was put in twentieth-century industrialised societies, Law and the Making of the Soviet World: The Red Demiurge provides an insightful account of both the significance of modern law in the Soviet case and the significance of the Soviet case for modern law.

Age is a critical issue for labour market policy. Both younger and older workers experience significant challenges at work. Despite the introduction of age discrimination laws, ageism remains prevalent. Reforming Age Discrimination Law offers a roadmap for the future development of age discrimination law in common law countries, to better address workplace ageism. Drawing on theoretical, doctrinal, and empirical legal scholarship, and comparative perspectives from the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, the book provides a socio-legal critique of existing age discrimination laws and their enforcement and proposes concrete suggestions for legal reform and change. Building on legal and interdisciplinary insights, it examines the challenges and limitations of existing legal frameworks and the individual enforcement model for addressing age discrimination in employment. It also maps the stages of claiming, negotiation, or alternative dispute resolution, and hearing and judgment, using mixed-method case studies of the enforcement of age discrimination law in the United Kingdom and Australia. This volume puts forward a four-fold model of reform which aims to improve the individual enforcement model, strengthen positive equality duties, bolster the roles of statutory equality agencies, and enhance collective enforcement. It goes on to critically consider how these options might address the limits of existing laws, and the practical measures necessary to ensure their success and to move beyond the individual enforcement of age discrimination law.