<p class=copymedium>Even in an era of sweeping change in all walks of life, the ongoing transformation of the world of work stands out. With the convergence of globalized markets, multinational corporate employers, and new information technologies, the old secure and stable world of offices and factories has gone the way of the dinosaurs. Inevitably, the traditional legal regimes applicable to labour and industrial relations have been altered beyond recognition, and continue to undergo rapid change.
<p class=copymedium>In this connection, few legal resources have proven themselves as useful as the classic compilation of expert analysis here presented in its eighth and updated edition. With the overarching purpose of describing the salient characteristics and trends in labour law and industrial relations in the world today, the book¿s 23 chapters probe such crucial issues as the following:
<li class=copymedium>the new trade union movement; European Works Councils
<li class=copymedium>employers¿ organizations; European Union; International Labour Organisation
<li class=copymedium>human resource management;
<li class=copymedium>codes of conduct of multinational enterprises;
<li class=copymedium>conflicts of laws in employment contracts;
<li class=copymedium>self-employed workers;
<li class=copymedium>privacy; and
<li class=copymedium>¿employability.
<p class=copymedium>The approach throughout is comparative, whether the specific focus is national, regional, or international. The authors bring their perspectives from a wide range of contexts, including labour unions, employers¿ organizations, employment law practice, academic research, the European Commission, and the International Labour Organisation. They come from Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, Belgium, The Netherlands, Australia, Israel, Switzerland, Italy, and France.
<p class=copymedium>Clearly, this approach has an eye to the future. Labour law and industrial relations have already become de facto international concerns, and harmonization is proceeding rapidly at both formal and informal levels. This comparative and integrated treatment of the entire field as it currently exists marks trends that will be established in a matter of years. At the moment, with its huge fund of information and its many brilliant insights, this book is an invaluable asset to practitioners, officials, and academics in the field.
