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.

Comparativism is no longer a purely academic exercise but has increasingly become an urgent necessity for industrial relations and legal practitioners due To The growth of multinational enterprises And The impact of international and regional organizations aspiring to harmonize rules. The growing need for comprehensive, up-to-date and readily available information on labour law and industrial relations in different countries led to the publication of the International Encyclopaedia for Labour Law and Industrial Relations, In which more than 70 international and national monographs have thus far been published. This book, Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations in Industrialized Market Economies, goes a step further than the Encyclopaedia in as much as most of the chapters provide comparative and integrated thematic treatment. The aim is to describe the salient characteristics and trends in labour law and industrial relations in the contemporary world. This book is obviously not exhaustive, with respect to the coverage of countries and topics. The authors limit themselves mainly to the industrialized market economies. The book is divided in three main parts: an introduction relating to methodology and documentation, including the use of Internet. The second part concerns international actors, like the International Employerrsquo;s Organisations And The International Trade Union Movement, As well as Human Resources Management. The third concerns the sources of regulation, concentrating on International and European Labour Law, as well as on Codes of Conduct for Multinational Enterprises and describes also the rules in case of conflict of laws. The last part deals with international developments and comparative studies in not less than 15 chapters. The IXth edition, will like the previous editions, serve as a textbook and reference work to facilitate the task of teachers and students of comparative labour law and industrial relations. it will also provide labour lawyers with the necessary insights to cope with a world which is increasingly international.

Studies in Employment and Social Policy Volume 56 Digitalization, far from being solely a technological issue, has broad implications in the social, labour, and economic spheres. It leads to dangers as well as to new chances for the workforce, and thus labour law must develop effective ways to both protect workers and allow them to profit from new technological developments. The most thorough book of its kind, this collection of expert essays provides an abundance of well-thought-out material for understanding the consequences of digitalization for the labour market and industrial relations. Recognizing that only an international perspective can make it possible to face the challenges of the present (and the future), renowned authorities from the International Labour Organization and the International Society for Labour and Social Security Law, as well as outstanding labour law professors, examine in depth such salient issues as the following: transformation of production systems; the spread of artificial intelligence; precariousness and exploitation in the gig economy; lessons learned from COVID-19; employment status of platform workers; new cross-border issues; rights to trade union association and collective bargaining; role of the State in the new digital labour market; and blurred lines between work and private life. Thanks to the international team of contributors, the issues are dealt with from a variety of overlapping perspectives and points of view, combining aspects of labour law, commercial law, corporate governance, and international law. Highlighting the need to adapt, especially through the right to training, work, and professionalism with respect to the new technological landscape, the book draws on legislative, judicial, and theoretical initiatives suggesting ways of responding positively to the requests for protection that arise in the new forms of production. A uniquely valuable tool for study and reflection for policymakers and academics, the book is also sure to be valued by entrepreneurs, managers, consultants, corporate lawyers, judges, human rights experts, and trade unionists who are interested in the issues of labour, industrial relations, and social rights in European and international contexts.

Now in its third edition, this text explains the labour and industrial laws such as the Industrial Disputes Act, the Factories Act, and the Contract Labour Act. While giving a broad perspective of the subject, the text brings out the objectives behind the enactment of each piece of legislation, and discusses the relevant case laws, and shows how the Constitution is related to labour laws.

Labour Law and Industrial Relations in Germany gives the reader a broad understanding of German labour law covering all important aspects. The book deals with the sources of labour law, individual employment relationships, collective bargaining, remuneration, working conditions, and dispute settlement.

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the new methods of transnational labour regulation that are emerging in response to globalisation.

"This book was originally published as a monograph in the International encyclopaedia of laws/Labour law and industrial relations."