Laws against Strikes, comprising contributions from South African, Italian and British legal scholars, examines the right to strike in periods of socio-economic crisis. The book aims to contribute to the debates on this issue, by comparing, where a

For forty years the international watchword has been deregulation of labour law and of social security. Now, however, the rise in unemployment and lack of employment security, the dizzying inequality gulf, and the environmental disasters and mass migrations caused by this deregulation are generating an impetus that defines social justice no longer merely in terms of the equitable distribution of resources, but also – and often primarily – in terms of the just recognition of persons. This collection of incisive essays recognizes that the growing interdependence of all of the people of the earth demands that labour rights are understood as an aspect of human rights, and thus envisaged at the international level. Contributions by twenty outstanding labour law scholars from a range of countries worldwide provide in-depth analysis of such aspects of the debate as the following: – collective action in the interests of market effectiveness as well as fair outcomes for workers; - right to strike; - resilience of trade unions and collective bargaining as mechanisms of labour market regulation; - importance of national policy, despite the influence of global market forces, in shaping national outcomes; - work as the locus of the relationship between humans and nature; - search for a legal foundation for corporate social responsibility; - litigation as an alternative to collective bargaining; - the role of collective labour relations for immigrants and disabled people; - lessons that developed countries could learn from mechanisms pioneered in developing countries in coping with conditions of austerity; and - the trap of soft law and of declarations of intent that weigh lightly in the face of the power of the interests at play in international trade. The essays take stock of the dimensions of the current situation and also explore paths leading to a better achievement of social justice in labour law. These essays recognize that economic development and the pursuit of social justice are interwoven in a quest for social progress that includes mechanisms designed to eliminate unjustifiable inequality. For lawyers and other parties committed to the emerging political will to not only respect fundamental rights, but more broadly improve labour and environmental protection, this book opens abundant avenues that can be pursued in practice and in policy. The volume is based on a selection of papers presented at the 21st World Congress of the International Society for Labour and Social Security Law in Cape Town in 2015.

The Oxford Labour Law series has come to represent a significant contribution to the literature of British, European, and international labour law. The series recognizes the arrival not only of a renewed interest in labour law generally, but also the need for fresh approaches to the study of labour law following a period of momentous change in the UK and Europe. The series is concerned with all aspects of labour law, including traditional subjects of study such as collective labour law and individual employment law. It also includes works that concentrate on the growing role of human rights and the combating of discrimination in employment, and others that examine the law and economics of the labour market and the impact of social security law and of national and supranational employment policies upon patterns of employment and the employment contract. Book jacket.

This monograph was originally developed as a direct response to the claim made by members of the 'Employers Group' at the 2012 International Labour Conference, namely that the right to strike is not protected in international law, and in particular by ILO Convention 87 on the right to freedom of association. The group's apparent aim was to sow sufficient doubt as to the existence of an internationally protected right so that governments might seek to limit or prohibit the right to strike at the national level while still claiming compliance with their international obligations. In consequence, some governments have seized on the employers' arguments to justify new limitations on that right. The Right to Strike in International Law not merely refutes this claim but is the only complete and exhaustive analysis on this subject. Based on deep legal research, it finds that there is simply no credible basis for the claim that the right to strike does not enjoy the protection of international law; indeed, the authors demonstrate that it has attained the status of customary international law.

Inquisitive and diverse, this innovative Research Handbook explores the ways in which human rights apply to people at work, through national constitutional provisions, judicial decisions and the application of rights expressed in supranational instruments. Key topics include evaluation of the role of the ILO in developing and promoting internationally recognized labour rights, and the examination of the meaning of the obligation of business to respect human rights, considering the evolution from international soft law to incorporation in codes of conduct and the emerging requirement of due diligence.

No one will deny that labour standards comprise a necessary framework for balanced economic and social development. Yet on a global level such balanced development has not occurred, despite the existence of a rigorous body of international labour law that has been active and growing for almost one hundred years. The implementation of this law devolves upon states; yet many states have failed to honour it. If we are to take serious steps toward a remedy for this situation, there is no better place to start than a thorough, well-researched survey and analysis of existing international labour law - its sources, its content, its historical development, and an informed consideration of the barriers to its full effectiveness. This book is exactly such a resource. It provides in-depth interpretation of the crucial International Labour Organisation (ILO) instruments - Constitution, conventions, declarations, resolutions, and recommendations - as well as such other sources of law as the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and various model and actual corporate codes of conduct. Among the substantive areas of labour law covered in this book are the following: the relationship between international labour law and economic competition standards on industrial relations collective bargaining and dispute settlement procedures protection of trade unions prohibitions on enforced and child labour promotion of equal opportunity and treatment time and rest provisions wage determination and protection occupational health and safety provisions special issues on non-standard forms of employment foreign and migrant workers social security provisions privacy protection precarious work The presentation demonstrates that these rules and standards offer invaluable benchmarks to governments, judiciaries, employers, and trade unions. The book’s combination of detailed commentary and an overarching social policy will make it especially valuable to legislators, human resources managers, employers’ organizations, trade unions, jurists, and academics concerned with the role of work in our globalized social system. This seventh edition of the book by Jean-Michel Servais analyses the potential of those standards in a globalized world, and the necessary evolution. It examines the actual implementation of those rules in the national context, comparing different experiences. It integrates the latest instruments. It examines the most recent public debates on labour regulation (dealing with health and security at work, personal data, minimum wages, social security, strikes, etc.), updates the bibliography and opens some perspectives for the future work of the global institutions.

Labour Law Utopias: Post-Growth & Post-Productive Work Approaches engages with new socioeconomic ideas that look beyond the current growth-driven competitive market economy. Building on analysis of economic growth, as well as the limits of the logic of human productivity and competitivity for workers and the environment, it explores alternative approaches and what those will mean for work in general, and labour law in particular. The concept of 'post-growth' is used to rethink the purpose of the economy by looking beyond merely increasing wealth, consumption, and production, considering what this means for the position of work in society as well as the individual worker. The post-productive work approach is used to question the centrality of economically productive work and its regulation in labour laws. The chapters in this book take a progressive approach and discuss whether and how labour law can contribute to the emancipation of work from the constraints of growth and productivity by revisiting the value, organization, and impact of work. With these utopian ideas for labour law, the contributions in this book present inspirational 'dots on the horizon' that could guide the direction of changes in labour law as it navigates issues such as the implementation of digital and green solutions, the energy crisis, migration, rising inequality, and precariousness. This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read on Oxford Academic and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations.