La Jurisprudencia del Tribunal de Justicia de la Unión Europea en materia laboral y social: del concepto de trabajador al ejercicio de derechos de acción colectiva

Abstract

The Court of Justice of the European Union case law in labour and social affairs, very abundant after almost half a century, has had a great impact in the formation of the systems of labour relations in Europe. Its first steps were focused on the free movement of workers and the principle of equality and non-discrimination on grounds of sex, but over the years it has dealt with many other dimensions of employment and the labour market. The CJEU has decided on issues such as the transfer of undertakings and the most recent grounds of discrimination (age, disability, ideas or personal convictions). Its doctrine is also very relevant in relation to many other aspects of the employment relationship: working time, annual leave, temporary employment, part-time contracts, reconciliation of work and family life, collective dismissal, workers participation, the role of collective agreements in a context of economic freedoms or trade union action, including the right to strike. On the other hand, the concept of worker has been very present in all this case law. The Court has always sought to combine the powers of the Member States in order to identify the personal scope of Labour law with the search for common criteria contributing to the harmonization of national systems and the effectiveness of EU Law