The right to strike in the EU: the complexity of the norms and safeguarding efficacy, (Rome, 2011, Ediesse) by Carmen La Macchia (review)

Abstract

REVIEWS□ Publication round-up Forthisedition IURprovides brief overviews ofthree books,each of whichconcerns issues atthe forefront ofICTUR's work around international labour law,labour standards, and the protection oflabour rights innational lawand practice Reviews by Daniel Blackburn, Editor, IUR FromILO Standards to EU Law: The Case of EqualitybetweenMenand WomenatWork, byEve C. LandauandYves Beigbeder (Leiden, 2008,Mārtiņus Nijhoff). 340pages,ISBN978 90 04 157187 This book takesan under-utilised approachof examininghow legal concepts have evolved throughdifferent international organisations, including the UnitedNations,the International LabourOrganisation, theCouncilofEurope,and theEuropeanUnion.A seriesofoverview chaptersbeginwitha focuson each of theinternationalorganisations and thenexamineninethematic areas.Thesearefollowed byan assessment ofchallenges and trends forthefuture. Each of thethematic sections takea singleissue,suchas equal treatment, pregnancy and parentalleave, and affirmative action, and investigates thetreatmentofthatissuebyeach institution and itsvarious legal treaties and jurisprudential bodies. In several sections thenature oftheEUlegalprocess means thatissues are also traceddown into nationallegal principlesamong EU Member States. Conclusions ineach sectionillustrate how theauthors findthattheinstitutions have influenced one another, forexample:"...Convention No. 3 of 1919, adopted at the firstGeneral Conference ofthenew organisation, has defined thebasic principles oftheprotection developed bytheEU initsDirectives'. Theapproachis reallycompelling forthestudent ofinternational law whoseekstoknowmoreabouttheinter-relationshipsbetweentheinternational organisations. A realflawis thatthescale ofthework- tackling so manydifferent thematic areas- leavesverylittleroomineachchapter conclusion for theanalysisoftheinter -relationships tobe mappedout.In consequencesomeofthechapter conclusions are (as in thesectionquotedhere)lackingin depth anddetailon theintriguing question as tohowin practice thisinfluence operated. The ChallengeofChildLabourin International Law byFranziska Humbert (Cambridge, 2009, Cambridge University Press). 436 pages,ISBN:978 0 521764902 Franziska Humbert has conducted a usefulexercise in drawing together international legalstandardson childlabourand in attaching theseto morestrategic quasi-judicial and political efforts thatareunderway to achieveILO and UN goals. Chapter 2 providesa usefulsummary round-up ofthemajorinternational legal sourceson protection of childlabourprinciples, and Humbert coversnot onlyILO Conventions and the UN Covenants, butalso aspectsofILO and UNcomplaintsmechanisms and thepoliciesand initiativesofthetwoorganisations . The Chapter also givesattention to how theissueis dealtwithby customary law, as ius cogens , and as a general principle oflaw,notably an examination on how forcedlabourissuesweredealtwithbytheILO aroundMyanmar / Burma.In some ways the heartof the book is Chapter4 thatexamines trademeasuresforenforcement of childlabour principles. HereHumbert examines a widerange ofinitiatives before offering conclusions arounda possible ILO-WTO enforcement mechanism. Humbert is hereresurrecting discussionaround theglobalILO-WTOsocialclauseand itmaybe that inthewakeofrecent bi-lateral initiatives that we are overdueforsucha discussion. Foranybodyseekingan up to dateguideto keyissues and legal sourcesthisis an excellentguide.A reservation, however,is thatthe book failsto examinethe positionadoptedby a numberof southern activists, particularly from India,around thetimeof the 1999WorldTradeOrganisation talkson theproposedSocial Clause.Then significant voicesfrom theIndiantrade unionmovementinparticular expressedstrong dissent from what was otherwisea strongconsensusfrom organisedlabour,as represented by the then ICFTU.Itwouldbe unfortunate ifthissignificant and strongly voiceddissent, whichmanyat the timetried tobrushaside,weretobe forgotten. The right to strike in theEU: thecomplexity ofthenormsand safeguarding efficacy, byCarmen La Macchia(Rome,2011,Ediesse) 253pages,ISBN:97888 230 I663 7 (also availableinItalian) Thisbookcollates a seriesofshort overview articles on the right to strike in Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Poland,Romania, Spain,Sweden, andtheUK.Thebookopenswith an overview of howthequestion oftheright tostrike istreated in EUlaw(or,rather, howitisnottreated byEUlaw - '...thestrike is a matter excludedfrom EU competence ...')beforemovingon to moredetailed assessmenton a country-by-country bases of reports compiledby nationallegal experts. The question oftheEU'slackofcompetence tolegislate on theright to strike rather dominated the preparatory conferences fromwhichthisbook emerged, butthequestion didnotpermeate more fully intothestructure ofthebook. Europehad justrecently beenshakenbya seriesofdecisions from theEU'sCourt ofJustice that hadhada significant impact ontheexercise oftheright tostrike inseveral European jurisdictions andatthecrossborderlevel ,and yetwe have herea seriesof reports that continue totreat thequestion ofstrike regulations as a matter exclusively fordeterminationbythemember States. Thebook is matched bya seriesofmoredetailed reports from eachof thenational experts, againon a country-by-country basis.Thesemoredetailed reports willshortly be availableon theCGILwebsite. INTERNATIONAL union rights Page 28Volume 19Issue 1201 2 ...