Domestic Labour Law Research Articles

Reinforcing Regulatory Regimes: How States, Civil Society, and Codes of Conduct Promote Adherence to Global Labor Standards

Transnational business regulation is increasingly implemented through private voluntary programs - like certification regimes and codes of conduct - that diffuse global standards. But little is known about the conditions under which companies adhere to these standards. We conduct one of the first large-scale comparative studies to determine which international, domestic, civil society, and market institutions promote supply chain factories’ adherence to the global labor standards embodied in codes of conduct imposed by multinational buyers. We find that suppliers are more likely to adhere when they are embedded in states that participate actively in the ILO treaty regime and that have stringent domestic labor law and high levels of press freedom. We further demonstrate that suppliers perform better when they serve buyers located in countries where consumers are wealthy and socially conscious. Taken together, these findings suggest the importance of overlapping state, civil society, and market governance regimes to meaningful transnational regulation.

Labor Provisions in International Investment Agreements: Prospects for Sustainable Development

The purpose of the article is to examine the substantive labor standards that are found in various international investment agreements (IIAs), and assess their potential impact on investment law and investment arbitration in general. Part A positions labor rights within the concept of sustainable development – a concept which is of increasing importance also for the regulation of foreign investment. Attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) has long been recognized as critical to the ability of developing countries to achieve needed economic growth to improve the welfare of their populations and to meet their basic needs in a sustainable manner. But capital liberalization and the legal framework that has been set up to attract and protect FDI can lead to conflicts between economic interests on the one hand, and social or environmental concerns on the other. Part B then examines these conflicts in depth, as they provide the rationale for inclusion of labor provisions in IIAs. The debate on investment-labor linkage originates from the fear that liberalization of global capital flows leads to a 'race to the bottom' in labor rights. This part will assess the assumptions that substantiate this fear. Part C then analyzes the various labor provisions that can be found in IIAs. The number of IIAs that contain labor rights is limited, and there are significant discrepancies in the legal commitments undertaken. We discern three broad modes of regulation: state compliance with domestic and international labor law, social dialogue, and corporate social responsibility. Part D examines the different ways in which labor standards could be invoked in investment treaty arbitration.

EU Intervention in Domestic Labour Law – By Phil Syrpis

EU Intervention in Domestic Labour Law – By Phil Syrpis

What is International Labor Law For?

This Paper suggests that the answer to the question “what is domestic labor law for?”—commonly regarded as securing “justice against markets” or a justified tax on market activity—has informed the search for the answer for the question “what is international labor law for.” This is reflected in what this Paper refers to as P2, which provides that “the failure of any country to adopt humane conditions of labor is an obstacle in the way of other nations which desire to improve the conditions in their own countries.” P2 envisions a “race to the bottom” by rational states trapped in a Prisoner’s Dilemma game. The author maintains that this cannot be the objective of ILO which cannot stop “the race” given its deficient enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance. This Paper suggests an alternative raison d’etre for the ILO, which is called P1, namely social justice: “universal peace can only be established if it is based upon social justice.” P1 reflects what states actually seek to achieve. Following Sen, this Paper suggests that there is no tradeoff between social justice and economic efficiency. Therefore the promotion of labor rights by the ILO will contribute both to social justice and to economic success. Thus the ILO should promote international labor law so as to lead member states to pursue their self-interest which is consistent with the collective goal of humanity.

EU Intervention in Domestic Labour Law – By P. Syrpis

EU Intervention in Domestic Labour Law – By P. Syrpis

EU Intervention in Domestic Labour Law

EU Intervention in Domestic Labour Law

EU Intervention in Domestic Labour Law by Phil Syrpis (OUP, Monographs on Labour Law, 2007), 177 pages, 55, ISBN 9780199277209

EU Intervention in Domestic Labour Law by Phil Syrpis (OUP, Monographs on Labour Law, 2007), 177 pages, £55, ISBN 9780199277209 Elise Muir Elise Muir Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Yearbook of European Law, Volume 27, Issue 1, 2008, Pages 679–685, https://doi.org/10.1093/yel/27.1.679 Published: 01 January 2008

Labour Law Beyond Borders

Flexible forms of transnational production and processes of economic globalization are increasingly challenging the traditional capacity of domestic labour law to promote justice in the world of work. At the same time, three international and transnational modes of regulation are forming beyond the state. First, the International Labour Organization is promoting a set of core labour rights with which all states ought to comply as a matter of international law. Secondly, numerous institutions and actors are linking international labour rights with trade liberalization initiatives. Thirdly, corporations are increasingly relying on codes of conduct to govern their employment relations. This paper argues that these developments are establishing relatively firm footholds in international law and operate in tandem to provide international legal authority for innovative domestic regulation of transnational corporate activity. Together with more general principles of international human rights law, they authorize a state to require all corporations operating within its jurisdiction and all corporations operating outside its jurisdiction seeking domestic market access to comply with a domestically enforceable code of conduct that enshrines international labour rights. Such a requirement should be contained in legislation that institutionalizes core features of modern legality and extends financial assistance to foreign communities adversely affected by corporate compliance.

Labour Law Beyond Borders

Flexible forms of transnational production and processes of economic globalization are increasingly challenging the traditional capacity of domestic labour law to promote justice in the world of work. At the same time, three international and transnational modes of regulation are forming beyond the state. First, the International Labour Organization is promoting a set of core labour rights with which all states ought to comply as a matter of international law. Second, numerous institutions and actors are linking international labour rights with trade liberalization initiatives. Third, corporations are increasingly relying on codes of conduct to govern their employment relations. This paper argues that these developments are establishing relatively firm footholds in international law and operate in tandem to provide international legal authority for innovative domestic regulation of transnational corporate activity. Together with more general principles of international human rights law, they authorize a state to require all corporations operating within its jurisdiction and all corporations operating outside its jurisdiction seeking domestic market access to comply with a domestically enforceable code of conduct that enshrines international labour rights.