Human Rights at Work
Perspectives on Law and Regulation
1st Edition
Published on 12. October 2010
Book
Hardback
636 pages
978-1-84113-999-9 (ISBN)
Description
Concerns associated with globalisation of markets, exacerbated by the 'credit crunch', have placed pressure on many nation states to make their labour markets more 'flexible'. In so doing, many states have sought to reduce labour standards and to diminish the influence of trade unions as the advocates of such standards. One response to this development, both nationally and internationally, has been to emphasise that workers' rights are fundamental human rights. This collection of essays examines whether this is an appropriate or effective strategy. The book begins by considering the translation of human rights discourse into labour standards, namely how theory might be put into practice. The remainder of the book tests hypotheses posited in the first chapter and is divided into three parts. The first part investigates, through a number of national case studies, how, in practice, workers' rights are treated as human rights in the domestic legal context. These ten chapters cover African, American, Asian, European, and Pacific countries.
The second part consists of essays which analyse the operation of regional or international systems for human rights promotion, and their particular relevance to the treatment of workers' rights as human rights. The final part consists of chapters which explore regulatory alternatives to the traditional use of human rights law. The book concludes by considering the merits of various regulatory approaches.
The second part consists of essays which analyse the operation of regional or international systems for human rights promotion, and their particular relevance to the treatment of workers' rights as human rights. The final part consists of chapters which explore regulatory alternatives to the traditional use of human rights law. The book concludes by considering the merits of various regulatory approaches.
Reviews / Votes
Each national case study contains an outline of the country's labor laws and systems for implementing those laws. As on essayist commented, these outlines cannot capture the depth and complexity of these laws and their administration. They do provide, however, not only excellent starting points for those learning about labor regulation in those countries but also perceptive insights into the state of workers' human rights in each country studied. This excellent volume makes it clear that human rights, particularly human rights in the workplace, are not of primary concern at either the macro or micro level anywhere in the world. This book goes beyond that, however, to explain why that is and also to begin an exploration of what to do to achieve human rights in the workplace. James A. Gross Comparative Labour Law and Policy Journal Volume 33: 187 This is a text that will undoubtedly become a key resource for future discussions and debates on the utility of human rights discourse in addressing the many social and economic challenges of this age. Fenwick and Novitz have organized and edited a fine collection of essays that make important contributions to our thinking on the contradictions within capitalism and regulation and that raise critical questions of the usefulness of human rights law discourse to advance workers' interests in a globalized world. ...this is an outstanding text - challenging, critical and scholarly - and one that is sure to become an important reference. Peter Waring Journal of Industrial Relations April 2012More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 49 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-84113-999-9 (9781841139999)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
10/2010
1st Edition
Hart Publishing
€106.90
Shipment within 15-20 days
Persons
Colin Fenwick is an Associate Professor, and a member of the Centre for Employment and Labour Relations Law, at Melbourne Law School. Tonia Novitz is Professor of Labour Law at the University of Bristol.
Content
1. Introduction The Application of a Human Rights Discourse to Labour Relations: Translation of Theory into Practice TONIA NOVITZ AND COLIN FENWICK PART I: NATIONAL PERSPECTIVES 2. Workers' Human Rights in Australia COLIN FENWICK 3. Legal Protection of Workers' Rights as Human Rights: Brazil ANA VIRGINA MOREIRA GOMES 4. The Growing Impact of Human Rights on Canadian Labour Law CHRISTIAN BRUNELLE 5. China's Legal Protection of Workers' Human Rights LIU CHENG AND SEAN COONEY 6. Workers' Human Rights in English Law ACL DAVIES 7. Enforcing Labour Rights through Human Rights Norms: The Approach of the Supreme Court of India RAMAPRIYA GOPALAKRISHNAN 8. Legal Protection of Workers' Human Rights in Nigeria: Regulatory Changes and Challenges CHIOMA AGOMO 9. Constitutionalisation of South African Labour Law: An Experiment in the Making STEFAN VAN ECK 10. Legal Protection of Workers' Human Rights: Regulatory Changes and Challenges The United States LANCE COMPA PART II: INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL PERSPECTIVES 11. UN Covenants and Labour Rights SARAH JOSEPH 12. Taking Social Rights Seriously: Is There a Case for Institutional Reform of the ILO? JILL MURRAY 13. The ILO, Freedom of Association and Belarus LISA TORTELL 14. Protection of Workers' under Regional Human Rights Systems: An Assessment of Evolving and Divergent Practices TONIA NOVITZ 15. Is There a Human Right Not to Be a Union Member? Labour Rights under the European Convention on Human Rights VIRGINIA MANTOUVALOU 16. Giving with One Hand and Taking with the Other: Protection of Workers' Human Rights in the European Union TONIA NOVITZ AND PHIL SYRPIS PART III: REGULATORY POSSIBILITIES 17. Core Labour Standards in the GSP Regime of the European Union: Overshadowed by other Considerations JAN ORBIE AND FERDI DE VILLE 18. Decent Working Hours as a Human Right: Intersections in the Regulation of Working Time DEIRDRE MCCANN 19. Justice without the Rule of Law? The Challenge of Rights Based Industrial Relations in Contemporary Cambodia DANIEL ADLER AND MICHAEL WOOLCOCK 20. Australian Textile Clothing and Footwear Supply Chain Regulation SHELLEY MARSHALL 21. Conclusion: Regulating to Protect Workers' Human Rights COLIN FENWICK AND TONIA NOVITZ