Freedom Of Collective Bargaining Research Articles

Libertarian principles of labor law in the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union

Objective: to define libertarian principles of labor law, to establish their place in the system of labor law, and to identify problems related to their implementation in the law enforcement practice of EAEU member states.Methods: dialectical approach to cognition of social phenomena, allowing to analyze them in historical development and functioning in the context of the totality of objective and subjective factors, which predetermined the following research methods: formal-legal, comparative-legal, and method of specific sociological research.Results: based of natural-law and libertarian concepts of legal understanding, the author formulates a definition of the “libertarian principles of labor law” concept as guiding ideas that embody freedom and underlie the labor law construction. The author determines the vector of its further development in the regulation of labor and associated relations. The main libertarian principles of labor law are proposed and analyzed: a) freedom of labor force movement; b) freedom of labor and the right to work; c) prohibition of forced labor; d) freedom of contract (specified as the principles of freedom of labor contract, freedom of collective bargaining, agreement); e) freedom of association; f) freedom of collective bargaining, freedom of choice in discussing issues within the sphere of labor, voluntariness of the parties’ taking obligations (as the main principles of social partnership). The study results are expressed in theoretical conclusions and assessment of labor legislation of the EAEU countries in terms of the libertarian principles of labor law completely reflected and guaranteed in them.Scientific novelty: the paper is the first to analyze libertarian principles of labor law as a separate group of principles of labor law in the EAEU member states and to reveal the legal nature and system of libertarian principles of labor law.Practical significance: the main provisions and conclusions of the article can be used in scientific, pedagogical and law enforcement activities when considering issues related to the consideration and resolution of labor disputes, in overcoming gaps and legal conflicts in labor legislation.

Wage setting and wage moderation in Belgium: A never-ending and already-old story in the wake of the ‘new European economic governance’

Wage setting can be defined as the procedures which determine the remuneration which needs to be paid to employees as the counterpart of their work. The ancillary relationship between wage moderation and the new economic governance has never been expressed as clearly as in the Europlus Pact. The new economic governance (NEG) of the European Union has fostered wage moderation. This approach to wage setting and wage moderation is analysed from the perspective of the freedom of collective bargaining as a fundamental right, and on the basis of a national case study (Belgium). In order to carry out this analysis, the national wage moderation policies adopted in Belgium prior to the era of the NEG need to be examined first. The recommendations addressed to Belgium to reform the wage-setting system will then be analysed, as well as the impact they had both in confirming the existing system of wage moderation and the attempts to strengthen the restrictions imposed on collective autonomy. In light of these findings, these restrictions of collective autonomy are assessed on the basis of the freedom of collective bargaining, understood as a fundamental right.

Will India Ratify ILO C87 and C98? A Riddle Unresolved…!

6 | International Union Rights | 26/3 TOWARDS UNIVERSAL RATIFICATION OF C87 AND 98 Will India Ratify ILO C87 and C98? A Riddle Unresolved…! ‘In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, such as ‘right to work’. It provides no ‘rights’ and no ‘works’. its purpose is to destroy labour unions and the freedom of collective bargaining. We demand this fraud be stopped’, Martin Luther King Jr. On 6 October 2019, K Chandrasekhar Rao, the Chief minister of the State of Telangana, in a highlevel meeting with officials of the transport department announced the dismissal of 48,140 employees of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) and said that ‘TSRTC will have only 1200 employees as its staff’. The announcement was in retort to the indefinite strike by different employees’ and workers’ unions of the TSRTC which began on 4 October 2019 across Telangana, following a call given by the Joint Action Committee of the corporation, demanding merger of the RTC with the government and recruitment to various posts, among other things. In India almost all genuine agitations and protests by the working class are seen as a challenge to the ruling governments. The working class constantly faces the wrath of the government. In a shocking response to the TSRTC workers’ agitation, the official release from the Chief Minister’s office stated — that the government would soon recruit new staff for the RTC and the new recruits would have to work on probation for a certain period and they should give an undertaking that they would not join any employees’ unions. Unionisation = Intimidation Forming unions or associations of the working class, is still considered an irritant, and if the unions are genuine, then starts the conflict with the workers, where the management and the government act hand in glove against them. They use every means available (brutal suppression, union busting, dismissal, attacks by bouncers, police brutality and jail) to break the morale of the workers. The eight year long, struggle for justice by around 500 permanent workers and 2000 odd contract workers of the multinational automobile giant Maruti Suzuki India limited1 — from its plant in Manesar, in the state of Haryana, still continues. The workers of many automobile industry plants — Honda, Bajaj, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hyundai Motors, Ricco …etc — have faced many such brutalities, in the last decade. Set aside the automobile sector, consider the garment sector in India, which is one among the world’s largest producers of textiles and garments. According to government sources 2 percent of India’s GDP, 27 percent foreign exchange and 11 percent of export earnings is from domestic textiles and apparel industry. A report of the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) released on 18 July 2018 on a garment factory operated by Shahi Exports in Bangalore, Karnataka, found that there had been a violent campaign against workers’ at Shahi’s Unit 8 factory, for their organising attempts with the Karnataka Garment Workers Union. WRC investigation found that they were subjected to physical beatings, sexual abuse, death threats, gender and caste based abuse, threats of mass termination, dismissals etc. This is one case that came to limelight due to WRC’s intervention. Numerous other garment workers, across India, face similar atrocities. These are not isolated incidents; similar is the condition of a large majority of the unorganised sector workforce in India. Much visible difference is not seen in the organised sector too, when it comes to issues of unionisation and rights of its workers. Constitutional Rights As per Article 19 of Indian Constitution, the Right to Freedom is a fundamental right for Indian citizens, which includes: (a) freedom of speech and expression; (b) assemble peaceably and without arms; (c) form associations or unions; (d) move freely throughout the territory of India; (e) reside and settle in any part of the territory of India; and (g) practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business. But, quashing a union/formation which is rightful under Article 19 (c), is done by pointing to clause 4 of Article 19 which states that ‘however, the State may by law impose reasonable restrictions on this right in the interest of...

Will India Ratify ILO C87 and C98? A Riddle Unresolved…!

6 | International Union Rights | 26/3 TOWARDS UNIVERSAL RATIFICATION OF C87 AND 98 Will India Ratify ILO C87 and C98? A Riddle Unresolved…! ‘In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, such as ‘right to work’. It provides no ‘rights’ and no ‘works’. its purpose is to destroy labour unions and the freedom of collective bargaining. We demand this fraud be stopped’, Martin Luther King Jr. On 6 October 2019, K Chandrasekhar Rao, the Chief minister of the State of Telangana, in a highlevel meeting with officials of the transport department announced the dismissal of 48,140 employees of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) and said that ‘TSRTC will have only 1200 employees as its staff’. The announcement was in retort to the indefinite strike by different employees’ and workers’ unions of the TSRTC which began on 4 October 2019 across Telangana, following a call given by the Joint Action Committee of the corporation, demanding merger of the RTC with the government and recruitment to various posts, among other things. In India almost all genuine agitations and protests by the working class are seen as a challenge to the ruling governments. The working class constantly faces the wrath of the government. In a shocking response to the TSRTC workers’ agitation, the official release from the Chief Minister’s office stated — that the government would soon recruit new staff for the RTC and the new recruits would have to work on probation for a certain period and they should give an undertaking that they would not join any employees’ unions. Unionisation = Intimidation Forming unions or associations of the working class, is still considered an irritant, and if the unions are genuine, then starts the conflict with the workers, where the management and the government act hand in glove against them. They use every means available (brutal suppression, union busting, dismissal, attacks by bouncers, police brutality and jail) to break the morale of the workers. The eight year long, struggle for justice by around 500 permanent workers and 2000 odd contract workers of the multinational automobile giant Maruti Suzuki India limited1 — from its plant in Manesar, in the state of Haryana, still continues. The workers of many automobile industry plants — Honda, Bajaj, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hyundai Motors, Ricco …etc — have faced many such brutalities, in the last decade. Set aside the automobile sector, consider the garment sector in India, which is one among the world’s largest producers of textiles and garments. According to government sources 2 percent of India’s GDP, 27 percent foreign exchange and 11 percent of export earnings is from domestic textiles and apparel industry. A report of the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) released on 18 July 2018 on a garment factory operated by Shahi Exports in Bangalore, Karnataka, found that there had been a violent campaign against workers’ at Shahi’s Unit 8 factory, for their organising attempts with the Karnataka Garment Workers Union. WRC investigation found that they were subjected to physical beatings, sexual abuse, death threats, gender and caste based abuse, threats of mass termination, dismissals etc. This is one case that came to limelight due to WRC’s intervention. Numerous other garment workers, across India, face similar atrocities. These are not isolated incidents; similar is the condition of a large majority of the unorganised sector workforce in India. Much visible difference is not seen in the organised sector too, when it comes to issues of unionisation and rights of its workers. Constitutional Rights As per Article 19 of Indian Constitution, the Right to Freedom is a fundamental right for Indian citizens, which includes: (a) freedom of speech and expression; (b) assemble peaceably and without arms; (c) form associations or unions; (d) move freely throughout the territory of India; (e) reside and settle in any part of the territory of India; and (g) practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business. But, quashing a union/formation which is rightful under Article 19 (c), is done by pointing to clause 4 of Article 19 which states that ‘however, the State may by law impose reasonable restrictions on this right in the interest of...

Employment relationships in the public sector – a balance between the state, local and autonomous regulations

This article analyses the role of the state as well as the roles of the regional and local authorities in the legal regulation of employment relationships with special attention on the public sector. The objective of this article is to identify the principles of international law that may serve as the demarcation line between the authoritative state regulation of employment relationships in the public sector and other kinds of regulation of these relationships. The main goal of the research is to present and evaluate the central international legislative acts with the aim to identify principles that can serve as a tool for evaluating the internal legislative processes. The main finding of the research is that the collective labour law of the public sector may not be proclaimed as being wholly in accordance with the modern labour law principles and standards, namely, that the important value of the freedom of collective bargaining is missing as are mechanisms for the effective prevention and resolution of collective labour disputes. In this regard, this article emphasises the role of decentralised social dialogue in the public sector including local levels, which is not present in Slovenia; however, the article may provide essential information, especially in the area of conflict prevention and resolution between public authorities and civil servants.

Papal Encyclicals: the social teaching of the Catholic Church

PHILOSOPHY OF TRADE UNIONRIGHTS□ NATURAL LAWANDRELIGIOUSINSPIRATION Papal Encyclicals: the social teaching of the Catholic Church FortheCatholicChurcha Papal encyclical is a letter, usuallytreating some aspectof Catholic doctrine, sentbythePopeand addressed either to bishops (ofa region orthroughout theworld)or more generally toa wider audience. TheThe based social oldest upon teaching a specific corpus ofthe encyclical of Catholic papal encyclicals. is Church Rerum is based upon a corpusof papal encyclicals. The oldest specificencyclicalis Rerum novarum (1891).Theencyclicals canbe classified atfirst sight on thebasisofan often explicit linkage either to Rerum Novarumor to Populorum progressio(1967). Whereas Rerum novarum assessesthe'socialquestion' atthemicro levelof the employment relationin a Nation State, Populorum progressio tacklestheissue of social justice atthemacroleveloftherelation between Nation States, constituting the'human family', The latest encyclical (Cantasinveritate , 2009)continues thetradition started byPopulorum Progressio. Bothapproachesneed to be construed as complementary , rather thanas twodistinct, letalone conflicting 'actionprogrammes'. Theofficial socialteaching oftheChurch does notcoincide withCatholic SocialThought orwith the Social Tradition of the Church.The papal encyclicals do constitute the mostauthoritative sourcefrom a hierarchical pointofview.Noneof theencyclicals has everbeen 'repealed'.In fact, thesubsequent Pontiffs havefrequently referred to previousencyclicals. For a moresystematic overview oftheSocialTeaching, tworecent documentsproduced by the Vatican'sPontifical Council for Justice andPeace,canbe very useful. A Compendium of the Social Doctrineof the Church (2004)provides a 'synthetic', but'exhaustive 'overview of thesocialteaching. It has not yetbeen updatedtointegrate theideasincluded inthelatest encyclical. Another useful tool,isthe Dizionariodidottrina socialedellachiesa(2005), an authorised dictionary whichhelpsto understandsomeoftheconcepts oftheCompendium. In countries markedby tradeunionpluralism based uponreligious, philosophical and political convictions,the encycical Rerum novarum (1891)is generally believedtohaveconstituted a starting pointfora Catholicor Christian labour movement. SincetheCatholic Church consistentlyrejected mostoftheideologies that marked the 19thand 20thCenturies, ittendsto contribute to maintaining identities based upon theseconvictions .Ever since otherEncyclicals have been adopted,whichhave shapedwhatis calledthe Social Teachingof the CatholicChurch.Ever sinceRerum Novarum ,theChurch hasdevoteda lotof attention to theroleof workers' associations ,especiallytradeunion and to industrial relationsand collectivelabour law in these encyclicals. In orderto highlight this, thiscontributionis focusing on threeintertwined workers' rights (rightto organise,freedomof collective bargaining and the rightto strike).For trade unionsofa catholic denomination, theyareconsideredto havebeen and to a lesserextent continuetobe a sourceofinspiration. The Churchand labour law Sincelabourlaw was primarily developedatthe leveloftheNationStates, theencyclicals which sprangfromRerumnovarumand subsequent encyclicalscontainmultiplereferences to the development ofdomestic labourlaw:freedom of association,collectivebargaining, the rightto strike, theright towork, right totheprotection of healthand safety, including theissueofworking time,theright to fairremuneration. Explicit referencesto labourlaw intheencyclicals arerare. In viewoftheobjectofsocialjusticewithin the 'humanfamily', itseemsobviousnevertheless to relatetheir messageto therecognition offundamentalworkers 'rights in international human rights cataloguesand to thegrowing awareness ofsomemulti-national (corporate) companiesof their social responsibility in a globalisedeconomy .These humanrights cataloguesare relevant fortheemployment relations within theNation States as well.In sum,itis essential nottodisregardthePopulorum progressio lineofencyclicals whilestudying issuesoftheemployment relation at microlevel;justas itis essential notto disregard the Rerumnovarumline of encyclicals while studying the issue of social justiceat a global level. Thus, 'caritasin veritate' is being construed as a generalprinciple underlying the entire SocialDoctrine oftheCatholic Church. In Sollicitudorei socialis John Paul II has definedthesocial teaching in a 'negative' way, disqualifying itas an ideology. Itsmainaimis to interpret theserealities, determining their conformitywithor divergence fromthe lines of the Gospel teachingon man and his vocation,a vocationwhichis at once earthly and transcendent ;itsaimis thustoguideChristian behaviour. Ittherefore belongstothefield, notofideology, butoftheology and particularly ofmoraltheology . However,the Churchhas not been very reluctant tocondemnideologies, especially liberal capitalism, socialism, andMarxist collectivism. Trade unions and trade unionfreedom Freedomofassociation is an essential condition for the developmentof industrialrelations. Rerumnovarumconsiders'thespirit of revolutionary change'as a disturbance ofa political and economicnature'. Paradoxically, trade unionsare notseenas a cause ofsuchdisturbance, butas a keyto the solutionof theproblemsprovoking sucha disturbance. Collectivelabour ■ has been a I recurring issue in I papal encyclicals. ■ Pontiffs have fl stressed the I crucial roleof I trade unionsand I have recognized I freedomof I association I FILIP D0RSSEM0NT is Professor of Labour Law in the Centre Droit, Entreprise et Société Jean Renauld at the Université Catholique de Louvain Page 3Volume 18Issue 4201 2 INTERNATIONAL union rights PHILOSOPHY OF TRADE UNIONRIGHTS□ NATURAL LAWANDRELIGIOUSINSPIRATION The stance adopted bythe Churchinrespect ofstrikeshas evolved from initialrepression to a fairly timid and heavily restricted recognition In line with its predecessorQuanta Cura (1864),Rerum novarum primarily contains a negativemessage ,id est the veryrejectionof res novae , such as the remediesproposedby 'the socialists'. Itthusrejects theresnovaeto which itstitlerefers. It ends witha moreconstructive approachto thesolutionofthesocialquestion. Leo XIII...

Right-to-Work Laws and Freedom of Collective Bargaining

For the past 14 years the right-to-work controversy has been waged throughout the United States, principally at the state level. Despite pressure from many sources, President Eisenhower failed to advocate a national right-to-work law in his proposed labor program in January, 1958. Furthermore, Secretary of Labor Mitchell in his speech before the AFL-CIO Convention in 1957 said that the administration not recommend a so-called national right-to-work law and we will oppose such legislation, if it is proposed. (N. Y. Times, 12/6/57 p. 20). Undoubtedly, this dispute will remain a serious problem for many years to come in the states. It is most unlikely that Congress will enact a federal right-to-work law and it is rather improbable that Congress will eliminate Section 14(b) of the National Labor Relations Act, which provides the authority for the states to enact broad right-to-work laws. Most of the analysis of right-to-work laws and their impact on the freedom of collective bargaining has been based on the pre? conceived labor philosophy of the individual analyst. As a result, the average analyst comes to a conclusion that such legislation is conducive or not conducive to free collective bargaining in a manner that could have been predicted after reading his first two paragraphs. As mentioned before, Section 14(b) of the National Labor Rela? tions Act provides the legal framework for the state right-to-work laws. This much-cited section simply says that nothing in the Act shall be construed as authorizing the execution or application of agree? ments requiring membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment in any State or Territory in which such execution or application is prohibited by State or Territorial Law. This section became part of the law in 1947 with the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act.