Labour law beyond national borders: major debates in 2018-2019-2020
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The present work constitutes the result of the reflections shared by its authors. More precisely, section 1 is the product of the combined reflections of the authors; the authorship of sections 2 and 3 belongs to Cinzia Carta, while 4 and 5 correspond to Gratiela-Florentina Moraru.
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- 1 More information on this is available on the website: www.labourlawjournal.com.
- 2 The authors were assisted by a team of colleagues, who guided their work and helped them listing an (...)
1The present overview aims for a selection of the major topics appeared in the last three years’ issues (2018-2020) of the IALLJ’s members journals. The International Association of Labour Law Journals is an increasingly expanding international consortium that now consists of thirty-one journals from all over the world1. Since 2012 a group of editors have periodically collaborated to provide (usually annual) overviews of the most relevant scientific trends in the publication appeared on the IALLJ’s member journals2.
2Since the present overview will consider three years, the choice of the articles addressed is particularly selective and leaves inevitably more topics aside than usual. All in all, the articles reviewed - more than 700 per year - concern a huge variety of subjects, ranging from the most typically theoretical labour law issues to the recent challenges or country-specific ones.
3Once classified into categories, the choice of the articles followed a twofold logic. On the one hand, topics that appeared more frequently have been preferred. On the other hand, the selection has been narrowed to the articles that could help drawing a piercing and coherent picture of the doctrinal trends as well as of the challenges currently faced by the labour law legal frameworks.
- 3 Also in a philosophical perspective: A. Paz-Fuchs, « The Practice of the Theory of Labour Law: A Re (...)
4Another clarification is required before introducing the topics in more detail. The matters related to the Covid-19 pandemic have been cast aside, because most of the literature on this appeared in 2021. Also, all clearly linked topics - for instance remote work, health and safety, unemployment - have been left out from the present article. If compared to the previous years, the labour law scholarship between 2018 and 2020 seems less concerned than before with the controversial couple composed by reforming labour law, on the one hand, and overcoming the economic crisis, on the other. Differently, a huge amount of material focuses on the identity and tools that characterize labour law institutions in themselves3.
- 4 M. Méda, « Three scenarios for the future of work », ILR, 4, 2019, p. 627.
5Ultimately, the main concern of the literature seems the ability of the national and international labour law frameworks to face several structural challenges to the world of work, produced by the increasing digitalization and globalization of the economy. The question is to what extent they can guarantee decent, fair, and non-discriminatory working conditions4.
- 5 A. Baylos Grau, « Las relaciones colectivas de trabajo en el cambio de época », RDS, 86, 2019, p. 1 (...)
6It is worth noticing that this statement does not imply that the scientific debate ceased analyzing the consequences of the last economic crisis in terms of statutory reforms and collective bargaining dynamics. To this respect, quite a few authors highlight the negative outcomes of the last neo-liberal turn in the regulation of labour relations. They mostly observe that, beyond preserving economic stability, austerity policies caused the degradation of individual and collective guarantees of labor law5.
7However, it clearly appears that, despite the great impact of the so-called austerity policies and their persistence over time, the concern of the doctrinal voices that are reflected in the journals that integrate the IALLJ has partially changed its gravity center, which shifted from the contingency of the austerity measures to more structural challenges in terms of labour law’s goals, scope of application, and effectiveness (I). The present overview will focus in the first place on the notion of worker in the digitalized era (II) and on the issues related to the de-territorialization of the enterprise (III). In both cases, the problem addressed by most authors is the ability of the business organization to bypass the respect of labour law standards. Moreover, the present contribution also aims at testifying the ongoing debate on the role destined to be played, in order to address the current challenges, both by labour law collective institutions - the oldest core of the working conditions’ regulation - (IV) as well as by newer fields of the legal framework, such as anti-discrimination law (V).
I - Labour law’s boundaries
A - The qualification of the employment relationship facing the digitalization
- 6 M. Aimo, R. Buschmann, D. Izzi, « Labour law beyond national borders: major debates in 2017 », LD, (...)
8Whereas the last overview6 highlighted that in 2017 many contributions on dependent employment focused on precariousness and atypical work, in the following three years a significant share of essays on this subject shifted to challenges of more general nature.
- 7 M. A Cherry, « Back to the future: A continuity of dialogue on work and technology at the ILO », IL (...)
- 8 S. Deakin, C. Markou, « The law-technology cycle and the future of work », DLRI, 158, 2018, p. 445.
- 9 M. A Cherry, « Back to the future: A continuity of dialogue on work and technology at the ILO », op (...)
- 10 Ibid. The author focuses broadly on the relationship between technology and labour, especially when (...)
9Most authors retain that this sort of move back, towards fundamental questions, is triggered by the current success of an entrepreneurial model which dismantles the Fordist foundations of labour law7; even though this simplification can be contested or at least problematized8. With statements of this kind - on the crisis of the traditional paradigm of the current labour law model - Cherry mainly intends to highlight the « limited commitment and extreme flexibility »9 required by employers in the contest of the so-called platform economy. The latter consists of a variety of online and anonymous matches between workers and tasks, the economic model of which is based on a two-sided pattern: on-demand business organization and digitalized workforce management. Combined, they make the classical « steady 40-hour work week, hierarchical structure, advancement and benefits » no more a main feature of the working relationship10.
- 11 J. R. Bellace, « The changing face of capital: the withering of the employment relationship in the (...)
- 12 A. Yun, « Reconstructing Labour Law Actors beyond Employment », IJCLLIR, 34, 4, 2018, p. 435. Accor (...)
- 13 M. Delfino, « Work in the age of collaborative platforms between innovation and tradition », ELLJ, (...)
- 14 M. Freedland, H. Dhorajiwala, « UK response to new trade Union strategies for new forms of employme (...)
10It has been argued that these changes not only interplay with employers’ request of work flexibility but, also, have a relevant impact on labour law’s basic features11. One above all, the most common but also radical question addressed in the literature is whether the dichotomy between dependent and self-employment as well as their requirements are radically outmoded12 or should be merely adjusted to the new forms of employment13, through a better regulation of intermediary categories14.
- 15 V. De Stefano, « Masters and Servers’: Collective Labour Rights and Private Government in the Conte (...)
- 16 Which can vary from the concept of employee-like workers or almost-subordinate employment to the fo (...)
- 17 C. Courcol-Bouchard, « Le livreur, la plateforme et la qualification du contrat », RDT, 12, 2018, p (...)
- 18 Once addressed the incomplete EU legal framework to this respect, N. Countouris conceptualizes a br (...)
11Lately the concept of dependent employment has been re-analyzed with a view to renew the theory behind the labour law’s scope of application, its collective dimension, and the thereby attached core standards15. Looking at the European countries (the articles reviewed cover at least Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, Austria and the UK), the national and comparative analysis show a steady tendency to pierce the dichotomy between self-employment and dependent employment to ensure protection to all forms of work: both national courts’ efforts to broaden the notion of dependent work and the legislative creation of intermediate categories16 aim at providing all forms of work with some labour law protections17. The focus on the EU legal system and on the case-law of the ECJ confirms the trend towards an extended notion of worker when it comes to the interpretation of the EU directives, even though the EU legal framework is lacking an overall definition to this respect18.
- 19 J. Cabeza Pereiro, « The rights of the self-employed worker in the new economy », RDS, 86, 2019, p. (...)
- 20 J. Cruz Villalón, « El concepto de trabajador subordinado frente a las nuevas formas de empleo », R (...)
12The articles examined display some agreement upon the need, on the one hand, to enlarge traditional labour laws’ protections to all forms of employment, irrespective of their qualification in terms of self-employment19, and, on the other, to soften the requirements of subordinate employment20. According to J. Cruz Villalòn, qualifying different forms of employment both implies rethinking the main features of subordination in a more flexible manner and reshaping the ones that allow the application of legal protections to economically dependent self-employed worker.
- 21 Generally, platforms have been framing similar sentences using a different grammar, according to wh (...)
- 22 The author provides an account of the zero-hours contracts’ use and regulation in the UK and sheds (...)
- 23 Some essays focus on specific fields of the legal framework, such as equality law: A. Blackham, « W (...)
13Even though the issue can be generalized to the whole world of work, the problem is particularly acute, as already mentioned, in case the working environment is hit by the process of digitalization. When gig - or crowd - workers employed by digital platforms are concerned21, working arrangements range from zero-hours contracts to different « shades of self-employment » (real, dependent, or bogus own-account work). This variety casts serious doubt on the adequacy of the traditional labour law institutions to capture the reality of employment relationships22 and, also, leads some authors to analyse whether at least some ancillary protections might be applied to these workers, regardless of the fact that the formal qualification puts them outside the boundaries of dependent employment23.
- 24 V. De Stefano, « Masters and Servers’: Collective Labour Rights and Private Government in the Conte (...)
14An impressive number of articles concerned with the protections for platform workers highlights that their vulnerability may not ever be solved with the mere instrument of the statutory legislation, first and foremost because - assuming the availability of labour law protections for them - workers are typically too precarious to access and vindicate their legal rights. Thus, several authors analyse whether the collective dimension can be a suitable tool to foster their employment conditions. Most articles on this across Europe (in particular, with respect to France, Spain, Italy, the UK, Sweden and the so-called « Nordic » countries) focus on trade unions’ strategies as well as on the legal availability of the freedom of association and the right to strike for non-standard dependent workers, looking both at the national and international legal framework, with an eye to the human right perspective and to the boundaries between collective rights and EU competition law24.
B - Invisible workers in developing countries
- 25 S. Marshall, « A Comparison of Four Experiments in Extending Labour Regulation to Non-Standard and (...)
- 26 H. Villasmil Prieto, « World report on informal workers », BCLR, 105, 2019, p. 61
15The same debate on labour law’s scope of application, means and purposes that concerns platform and other precarious workers in the so-called Global North is also the one that concerns the workers employed in the so-called informal economy of the so-called Global South. The latest issues of the IALLJ’s members journals show a spreading interest on the problem of informal work, understood as «work that is not regulated »25, mostly referring to developing countries26. The purpose of these studies is to shed some light on the lacking regulatory framework for those who are formally placed outside the horizon of labour law and thus invisible to any legal protection.
- 27 For instance, A. Osiki addresses the problem of street vendors in Nigeria: A. Osiki, « Property Rig (...)
16Broadly speaking, most literature on informal work in developing countries tends to examine concrete examples of formalization instead of striving to achieve general statements about the nature of the employment relationships (as it is the case, on the contrary, for the literature about workers of the digitalized economy). The need to focus on each contest-inherent complexity is indeed unsurprising, given the huge diversity among countries, sectors, political and legal frameworks that are often roughly put together under the umbrella of the expression « Global South »27.
- 28 S. Marshall, « A Comparison of Four Experiments in Extending Labour Regulation to Non-Standard and (...)
- 29 Ibid., p. 281.
- 30 Ibid., p. 282.
17Offering some insights for a unitary theory on informal work, Marshall28 points out that the problem of the absence or inadequate coverage of labour law protections is a global one: according to the ILO’s estimates, it concerns over half of the working population all over the world. If one includes not only the so-called informal economy but also the use of non-standard contracts and the poor enforcement of the law in case precarious workers are concerned, the withdraw of labour law protections affects « both richer, industrialized nations as well as poorer ones »29. However, the same author also points out that in the EU, Central and South-Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States « around eight in ten workers are employees »30, whereas in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, three workers out of four are formally own-account workers or figure as merely contributing to the activities of the household. The author then presents some national examples focusing on head load workers in India, immigrant industrial clothing outworkers in Australia, garment workers in Cambodia, and Bulgarian workers performing several homebased activities. This article exemplifies the trend in the IALLJ’s publications on informal work: instead of suggesting how an ideal labour law framework should be fashioned, the analysis highlights that the success of the regulating experiments occurred in some developing countries - in other words, the attempts to make workers visible to the legal system - depends on complex local, national, and international political dynamics which deserve close examination.
II - Invisible responsibilities along global supply chains?
A - The major challenges to labour law raised by global businesses
18Several articles published by the IALLJ’s member journals show to what extent the fundamental features of labour law are challenged by the increasing globalization of the economy.
- 31 M. Borzaga, M. Mazzetti, « Core labour standards e decent work: un bilancio delle più recenti strat (...)
- 32 T. Kizu, S. Kühn, C. Viegelahn, « Linking jobs in global supply chains to demand », ILR, 2, 2019, p (...)
- 33 V. Brino, E. Gragnoli, « Le imprese multinazionali e il rapporto di lavoro », RGL 2, 2018, I, p. 21 (...)
- 34 With reference to the Rana Plaza tragedy (see further in the text of this very paragraph), it has b (...)
- 35 The reference here is to the internationally recognized ILO core labour standards. The spreading me (...)
- 36 M. R. Ferrarese, « Le imprese multinazionali tra finanza e transnazionalità », RGL, 2, I, 2018, p. (...)
19In particular, many studies focus on global supply chains and multinational corporations’ ability to bypass the application of labour standards. These analyses highlight the constant violations of the ILO core labour standards31 concerning workers who are not directly employed by multinational corporations - nor employed within the countries where these corporations are registered - but still work to some extent the interest of the multinational’s holding. Notoriously these workers represent the workforce on the ‘cheap’ labour of which these international businesses can count32 without having any responsibility thereby attached. In fact, even though the production of goods and services in the Export Processing Zones33 is necessary to the economic purposes of multinational corporations34, working conditions around the globe and corporations’ responsibility appear as drifted apart. The duties on the employers’ side35 are indeed hidden through complex chains of sub-contracting across national borders36.
- 37 B. Langille, « How To Think (As Labour Lawyers) About Supply Chains », E&E, 2-3, 2018, p. 212.
- 38 On the following Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety, see M. Croucher, M. Houssart, L. Mi (...)
- 39 On damages asked by the victims before national courts for severe violation of their fundamental ri (...)
20Finding a suitable solution to this problem might reveal that the contractual backbone of the labour law traditional model will always have a hard time dealing with the globalised economy. As B. Langille points out, despite the fact that the expression global supply chain « has entered common discourse (…) we have very little understanding of the pervasive complexity of the actual processes and mechanisms involved »37. According to the author, in most cases labour lawyers witness the violation of workers’ rights but have a barely sketchy idea of how these processes can be legally tackled. National labour law systems are indeed used to link the rights and duties of the parties to the contract and thus can be totally bypassed by global businesses, for the ability of the latter to pulverise their traces around the globe. The author moves from the unfortunately famous example of the Rana Plaza tragedy, occurred in Bangladesh - on the 24th of April 2013 the collapse of several garment factories killed at least 1,132 workers and injured more than 2,500 - in order to display the difficulty of identifying « who is to blame » in such cases38. The thesis suggested is that is necessary abandoning the usually contractual labour law perspective; a non-contractual but rather functional manner to conceptualize multinational corporations’ liability would be more suited to solve the problems at stake39.
- 40 A. Lyon-Caen, « Verso un obbligo legale di vigilanza in capo alle imprese multinazionali? », RGL, 2 (...)
21As A. Lyon-Caen40 observes, the inadequacy of labour law institutions occurs for at least two reasons, clearly outlined by the publications on the IALLJ’s member journals.
- 41 G. Reinecke, A. Posthuma, « The link between economic and social upgrading in global supply chains: (...)
22First, as already said, the difficult reconstruction multinational corporations’ liability for violations of workers’ rights along the global supply chains, inasmuch workers are employed by sub-contractors of transnational corporations. To this respect, other than the literature focused on the limits of the legal framework, it is worth considering publications that aim at reconstructing the economy that lies underneath the problem as well. Several articles reviewed aim at understanding concretely how the economic pressures are passed on workers employed around the globe41.
- 42 V. Brino, « Lavoro dignitoso e catene globali del valore: uno scenario (ancora) in via di costruzio (...)
- 43 Ibid. Which raises obviously difficult questions about law that can be applied to the case, for the (...)
- 44 In the sense that States might prefer not enforcing international labour law standards in order to (...)
- 45 V. Brino, E. Gragnoli, « Le imprese multinazionali e il rapporto di lavoro », op. cit.; M. Weiss, « (...)
23Second, one has to consider the territorial nature of the law and the global dimension of these corporations42. On the one hand, State’ limited power to their territory generally impedes to bring actions against corporations for employment relationships placed outside the territory of the State43. On the other, States’ sovereignty cannot be easily overcome by other States to pretend the enforcement of labour rights44. It is not by chance that States’ responsibility for the respect of internationally recognized human rights is the first pillar of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights45.
- 46 F. Pantano, R. Salomone, « Tra free trade e protezionismo: l’importanza del sistema OIL nel nuovo o (...)
- 47 Since the Rana Plaza tragedy has been mentioned above, is worth also mentioning that afterwards, on (...)
- 48 More generally, one article focuses on the features and difficulties of the ILO monitoring systems: (...)
24This limitation might be overtaken in case international instruments are used to this purpose, such as the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work of 1998, which requires to all ILO Member States to abide by the core labour standards thereby internationally recognized46. Despite being a necessary route, the ILO attempts to promote decent working conditions around the globe47 face several difficulties in terms of enforcement48.
B - Legal tools improving the respect of core labour standards along the supply value chains
- 49 V. Brino, « Lavoro dignitoso e catene globali del valore: uno scenario (ancora) in via di costruzio (...)
25As legal instruments are concerned, the examined literature often focuses on the framework elaborated by international bodies. Above all, the already mentioned ILO Declarations on decent work or on social justice and fair globalization (respectively, of 1998 and 2008, the latter revised in 2017) and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, endorsed unanimously in 2011 by the United Nations Human Rights Council49.
- 50 On the difficulties and challenges faced by this institution: A. Supiot, « The tasks ahead of the I (...)
- 51 A. Perulli, « L’OIL e la globalizzazione », op. cit.
- 52 F. Pantano and R. Salomone mention NAFTA, UMSCA and CETA: F. Pantano and R. Salomone, « Tra free tr (...)
- 53 A. Perulli describes the increasing relevance of ILO core labour standards within these instruments (...)
26Confirming the relevance of the ILO attempts50 to challenge a merely economic view of labour relations in the neo-liberal era51, several articles point out the increasing relevance of social clauses referring to the ILO core labour standards within Free Trade Agreements52 as well as the inclusion of these standards in Transnational Company Agreements or Global Framework Agreements53.
- 54 They must not be confused with collective agreements. About the challenge of organizing workers col (...)
- 55 About informal workers and supply chains see also M. Von Broembsen, « Constitutionalizing Labour Ri (...)
- 56 S. Scarponi, « Imprese multinazionali e autoregolamentazione transnazionale in materia di lavoro », (...)
27Beyond these agreements - which are bilateral forms of regulation but have no binding force54 - a clearer example of self-regulation is represented by multinational corporations’ codes of conduct imposing the respect of decent working conditions all along the value chain. The main problem outlined by the literature is that, once settled a better image of the business in ethical terms, their implementation seems quite disappointing. Even in case the latter were effective, these codes would not apply to informal workers55 employed along the supply chain56.
- 57 V. Brino, « Imprese multinazionali e diritti dei lavoratori tra profili di criticità e nuovi “esper (...)
- 58 A. Kun, « How to Operationalize Open Norms in Hard and Soft Laws: Reflections Based on Two Distinct (...)
28With reference to the Guiding Principles, some of the literature reviewed addresses the second pillar too, on « corporate responsibility to respect » – in other terms, acting with due diligence. One author57 deals in depth with the meaning of due diligence, pointing out its limits in case it is left to privates’ implementation and suggesting the necessary intervention of national governments and international institutions. Another interesting perspective58 contributes to the general theory of law, reconstructing due diligence as « open norm ». The thesis is that the « essence » of open norms elaborated by soft-transnational legislation depend on the effective overall impact, regardless of their legal form.
- 59 A. Lyon-Caen, « Verso un obbligo legale di vigilanza in capo alle imprese multinazionali? », op. ci (...)
29The literature overviewed also focuses on the hard law instruments provided to tackle the violations of workers’ rights along the global supply chain. The main reference is made to the French law no. 399/2017 on the duty of supervision of the parent holding and client companies. This law aimes at curtailing the absence of multinational holdings’ responsibility in case workers fundamental rights and freedoms are infringed as a result of their business organization59. The core feature of the law is the holding’s duty to provide a plan in order to foresee all risks to the violation of workers’ rights resulting from their business. The law also imposes a duty of supervision to sub-contractors in order to ensure some effectiveness.
- 60 For instance, on the need to regulate the freedom of association in Bangladesh: M.M. Rahim, S.S. Is (...)
30Other articles published by the IALLJ’s member journals about working conditions along the global value chains focus on a variety of contests in which their violation is particularly severe, such as the extremely exploitative working conditions in the Bangladeshi garment industry60.
III - The challenge of trade unions in guaranteeing a minimum wage and working conditions
- 61 M. Engler, « New legislation on employee representation in France », IALLJ, 1, 13, 2020, p. 123.
- 62 M. Aimo, R. Buschmann, D. Izzi, « Labour law beyond national borders: major debates in 2017 », op. (...)
- 63 V. Zwinger, « Collectively Agreed (Minimum) Labour Conditions as “Protection Boosters”», IJCLLIR, 2 (...)
- 64 P. Pascucci, « Giusta retribuzione e contratti di lavoro, oggi », DLRI, 161, 2019, p. 59.
- 65 S. Kolbe, « Vom Nachweis zur Transparenz der Arbeitsbedingungen », IALLJ, 1, 2020, p. 35.
31The bilaterality of labor relations implies a constant process of consultations and exchange of proposals and, in this sense, social dialogue plays a fundamental role. Collective subjects represent the collective interests of workers and employers and communication between them can adopt many forms of expression61. In this vein, the authors of this overview have considered it necessary to include in the theme of this analysis the prominent role of trade unions in the space of regulation of working conditions and the achievement of collective bargaining62. The articles reviewed have focused on the contemplation of collective bargaining as a source for the delimitation of the interprofessional minimum wage63. In this sense, the authors reviewed have tried to highlight the relevance of the different mechanisms for determining the minimum wage, making special reference to collective agreements as an instrument for setting minimum wage standards. The authors show in their studies the direct connection between precariousness and the need for a « fair » salary64. The implications of collective agreements in determining working conditions are evident in the different studies analyzed65.
- 66 T. Novitz, « Multi-level Disputes Relating to Freedom of Association and the Right to Strike: Trans (...)
- 67 M. C. Palomeque López, « Sulla titolarità del diritto di sciopero: (note per una relazione) », DLRI (...)
32Another issue that has received special attention has been the right to strike and its connection with freedom of association66. The right to strike is approached by the various journals as an instrument to conduct the collective conflict67, with several aspects being addressed by the authors.
A - Determination of the minimum wage and collective bargaining
- 68 S. Bellomo, « Tutela costituzionale dei diritti previdenziali e retributivi e riforma dell’art. 81 (...)
- 69 A. Baylos Grau, « Constitución y trabajo », RDS, 84, 2018, p. 27.
33One of the most controversial issues is undoubtedly represented by the determination of a minimum wage and its importance for economic and social development in an egalitarian society. We must not lose sight of the fact that the years marked by the economic and financial crisis have imposed a rule of budgetary balance and reduction of public spending implemented by many Member States of the European Union, an aspect that has paralyzed the rise in minimum wages68. From Spain, Baylos Grau appreciates, in this sense, that the principle of budgetary stability weakens political and social pluralism and forgets the political nature of citizen rights contemplated from the guiding principles of social and economic policy, promoting a legal configuration of the same arbitrary and reductive69. The centrality of this issue for the social partners derives from the need to adopt annually a minimum wage, a wage that responds to the social changes of each moment. Social dialogue constitutes one of the main channels for the regulation of the minimum wage. However, it is not always an easy task to harmonize the different positions of the social partners.
- 70 A. Bobovnik, « Minimum Wage Act - From its Adoption to the Present », E&E, 1, 2019, p. 67.
34Authors such as Bobovnik, point out the position of economists who have argued since time immemorial that raising the minimum wage has a negative impact on the employment rate and on the creation of new jobs, a trend that has impeded progress towards a wage dignified and equitable70. To the above, it must be added that the period of economic crisis has had a negative influence on the unionization rate, an aspect that translates into a weakening of the power of collective bargaining, leading to a decrease in the coverage of collective bargaining in many Member States of the European Union.
- 71 G. Kennedy, « From Competitive Corporatism to Embedded Austerity: Neoliberalism and Structural Refo (...)
- 72 M. Magnani, « The Role of Collective Bargaining in Italian Labour Law », EJICLS, 2, 7, 2018, p. 1.
- 73 A. Baylos Grau, « Constitución y trabajo », op. cit.
35In connection with the above, the case of Greece shows that, under the auspices of austerity, its legal system has undergone negative transformations in collective bargaining with the corresponding weakening of the protection of the labor market. In this vein, sectoral collective bargaining has been severely affected and Greek unions suffered a significant setback in the face of labor reforms imposed by new forms of governance71. In Italy, the economic and financial crisis has led to a more centralized collective bargaining carried out by the most representative unions in the country. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the current panorama is evolving in the Italian legal system towards a more decentralized negotiation as a consequence of the current internalization72. Another interesting case is the Spanish one, where the labor reform has given a prominent role to company collective agreements73.
- 74 V. Zwinger, « Collectively Agreed (Minimum) Labour Conditions as “Protection Boosters”», IJCLLIR, 2 (...)
- 75 S. Charlesworth, J. Howe, « The Enforcement of Employment Standards in Australia: Successes and Cha (...)
- 76 V. Zwinger, « Collectively Agreed (Minimum) Labour Conditions as “Protection Boosters”», op. cit.
36We find a reinforced unanimity between the different doctrinal voices on Labor Law when considering that collective bargaining is a fundamental pillar to guarantee fair working conditions and, among them, the delimitation of wages. It should be noted that within the European Union is considered the introduction of a legal minimum wage and the adoption of minimum labor standards through collective bargaining74. It should be noted, in this sense, as an example, that the effectiveness of the minimum labor fees in Austria has been subject to the adoption of a « strategic » model adopted by the Ombudsman75. Furthermore, in Germany there is a legal minimum wage, while in Scandinavian countries collective bargaining takes on a predominant role in this matter76.
- 77 F. D’Amuri, R. Nizzi, « Recent Developments of Italy’s Industrial Relations System », EJICLS, 2, vo (...)
37In general, collective bargaining is exercised by unions and employers’ associations that hold the status of « most representative », a particularity that allows them to operate within the legal framework, being able to negotiate wages and the organization of work in each sector. The current world productive organization invites us to reflect on the role of decentralized negotiation with regard to wage setting, as it could provide wage growth and increased productivity. There are many countries that do not have a legal minimum wage, proposing instead the determination of the proportionality of wages to the quality and quantity of work77.
1 - Minimum wage and dignity
- 78 M. Choko, I. Martin, « The Minimum Wage as a Matter of Tangible Human Dignity: A Comparative Consti (...)
- 79 G. De Simone, « La dignità del lavoro e della persona che lavora », DLRI, 164, 2019, p. 633.
38A fundamental axis in the study of the minimum wage is its intense connection with human dignity. Human dignity has often been analyzed in conjunction with other prominent fundamental rights. Other aspects of dignity have been contemplated and in what interests us here, we will focus the following lines on what has been a constant demand from the ILO: wage dignity. Some doctrinal currents have not hesitated to emphasize the direct relationship between salary aspects and human dignity, proposing the study of salary sufficiency in light of human dignity78. Some authors raise the relevance displayed by the dignity of work and the dignity of the worker observed from the legal and economic system. Attention is focused on the declarations of the ILO and the Charter of Fundamental Rights to determine an effective and concrete recognition of dignity at work. On the contrary, reality reveals the existence of numerous jobs where individual dignity is not recognized, and the salary level does not ensure a free and dignified existence79.
- 80 M. Choko, I. Martin, « The Minimum Wage as a Matter of Tangible Human Dignity: A Comparative Consti (...)
- 81 M. Martone, « Austerity and remuneration between the collective bargaining system’s reform and the (...)
- 82 A. Garnero, C. Lucifora, « The erosion of collective bargaining in Italy and the debate on the lega (...)
39Most of the Constitutions of the States Parties of the European Union have been concerned with enshrining the right to remuneration that allows « satisfying the needs » of working people. The references to the minimum wage established by the public power do not reflect the true significance of the mandate contained in these constitutional provisions, which requires sufficient remuneration in any case and does not discriminate between women and men. These constitutional mandates take on special relevance for collective bargaining as the main mechanism for regulating the wage exchange in labor relations, even more so in a context of wage devaluation caused by austerity policies, which have caused an irregular distribution of wages and vulnerability of the most vulnerable categories of the workforce80. Numerous bills have been formulated throughout the years of crisis with the purpose of achieving a legal shield of « fair remuneration » through the adoption of a legal minimum wage. Modification of the collective bargaining system is also proposed in order to achieve greater participation of the social partners81. In Italy the possibility of adopting a legal minimum wage is being debated, position that clash with the position of the unions that defend the adoption of a formula that allows combining the presence of collective bargaining in the establishment of the legal minimum wage82.
40The delimitation of the salary is combined together with the Welfare State and with the right to Social Security benefits. The salary base is essential for the determination of benefits and, very importantly, of pensions. In this sense, the nexus between fair contributions and pensions has also been addressed by legal journals (Tursi 2019).
2 - Wage differences and precarious workers
- 83 S. Marshall, « A Comparison of Four Experiments in Extending Labour Regulation to Non-Standard and (...)
- 84 U. Alfarhan, S. Al Busaidi, « Migrant earnings gaps in Gulf Cooperation Council countries: Employer (...)
41These reflections are especially relevant considering the widespread precariousness of workers globally, as well as the deficient application of labor standards. Informal work, as well as atypical forms of work, constitute realities that reflect the low wages and the increasingly acute poverty of workers83. Another context in which wage poverty abounds is that of agricultural workers, a labor situation to which must be added another essential parameter represented by immigration. The wage differences between nationals and immigrant workers are evident, revealing the profound inequality that exists in terms of wages on a global scale84.
- 85 S. Routh, « Revisiting Social Reproduction: Migrant Care Workers and Their Entitlements in Canada »(...)
- 86 R. Casey, L. Vosko, E. Tucker, « Enforcing Employment Standards for Temporary Migrant Agricultural (...)
- 87 E. Rodríguez Rodríguez, « El sistema británico de representación de los trabajadores en el centro d (...)
42The observance of working conditions represents an objective in which the social partners can intervene efficiently and effectively to avoid the vulnerability of migrant workers in the agricultural sector. Countries such as Canada annually host a significant flow of immigrant workers for the agricultural sector, which is why greater labor protection is required85 guaranteeing basic rights such as salary, work and rest time, and vacations and permits86. It is worth mentioning the pronouncement of the ECHR in the case Unite the Union v. United Kingdom, case in which the legality of the abolition of the minimum wage agreement in the agricultural sector was questioned. It should be remembered that the Unite union alleged that this action represented interference by the government in collective bargaining and the right to freedom of association contemplated in article 11 ECHR. The ECHR judgement establishes that states are obliged to facilitate collective bargaining between social parties but is limited to recognizing it as a positive right87.
- 88 F. Suleman, M. Figueiredo, « Wage differentials within a female-dominated occupation: Domestic work (...)
- 89 C. Sanz Sáez, « La discriminación en contra de las empleadas de hogar como forma de manifestación d (...)
43The list of workers affected by wage discrimination continues and domestic workers demand the formality of their employment relationships in order to put an end to exploitation and insecurity. In particular, doctrinal views have stopped on the case of Portugal, where statistics show that the impact of the formality of domestic workers, whether with a temporary or permanent contract, translates into better working conditions and better wages88. Regarding this, C. Sanz Sáez denounces the concurrence of multiple discrimination against domestic workers as a consequence of being subjected to a special employment relationship in Spain. The previous conclusion is reinforced with the existence in the Spanish labor market of a marked occupational segregation, low income, fewer opportunities for professional development and insecurity or future economic insufficiency, since Social Security contributions are lower89.
- 90 M. L. Molero Marañon, « Las trabajadoras del cuidado por un futuro de trabajo decente », RDS, 89, 2 (...)
44Domestic work is defined by a pronounced decent work deficit as defined by the ILO, such wage earners being victims of exploitation and abuse in the most developed societies of the 21st century, highlighting the north / south antithesis in the globalized world since the vast majority of female employees are immigrants. Therefore, domestic workers suffer worse working conditions in the workforce dedicated to providing care, which makes them especially vulnerable to exploitation90.
- 91 A. Baylos Grau, « Las relaciones colectivas de trabajo en el cambio de época », op. cit.
45We observe, therefore, that the wage issue acquires very unique nuances depending on the group of workers in question, but all wage discrimination must be alleviated through reinforced collective bargaining. Within the framework of the European Union, has been raised the need to guarantee a minimum wage that fosters a decent level of income and avoids social dumping and discrimination in wages and working conditions among the citizens of the European Union. The future of work requires solving the difficulties for collective and union action in the face of new forms of work. The existence of precarious wages has not translated into a breach of the fundamental collective rights of workers. The current labor paradigm must not entail the annulment of the rights of workers to organize collectively and « the right to collective bargaining » in accordance with Spanish law91.
B - Working conditions and union action
- 92 F. Guarriello, « Il decennio perduto del diritto del lavoro », RGL, 3, I, 2019, p. 531.
46Among the aspects most addressed by the journals we find the persistence of the damage caused in working conditions by the labor reforms driven by the economic and financial crisis. Most of these reforms have pursued the flexibilization of working conditions, the dismantling of the different systems of collective bargaining, as well as the weakening of the role of the unions92. The influence of company fragmentation on labor conditions and union strategies is also evident.
- 93 L. Dorigatti, A. Mori, « Condizioni di lavoro e relazioni industriali nelle catene del valore della (...)
- 94 G. Grappi, « La governance delle catene del valore e le sfide per l’organizzazione dei lavoratori: (...)
- 95 J. Fudge, J.-C. Tham, « Unsavoury Employer Practices: Understanding Temporary Migrant Work in the A (...)
47This aspect prompts the authors of the reviewed journals to affirm and point out the impact of the transformations of business chains on the different union responses, which try to counteract regulatory evasion of working conditions by companies93. The new production processes expand their consequences, and the authors point out the new challenges for the organization and conflict of workers in value chains94. There are sectors that predominantly employ immigrant workers, a justified preference for the cost reduction strategy. This minimization of costs together with precarious labor standards for these types of workers leads to a high demand for foreign labor95.
- 96 P. Campanella, « Nuove sfide per le relazioni industriali in Europa: il caso della industria della (...)
- 97 On the transformations of trade unionism, also see : B. Janice, « ILO Convention no. 87 and the Rig (...)
48Labor relations in the meat industry are portrayed by various authors who manifest the precarious working conditions derived from outsourcing and relocation. The difficulties of union organization and action in the meat sector derive from the low unionization rates96. The difficulties of negotiating dignified working conditions are also evident in the agri-food sector97.
- 98 P. Koncar, « Decent work and migrant workers », BCLR, 103, VII, 2018, p. 247.
- 99 S. Bologna, S. Curi, « Relazioni industriali e servizi di logistica: uno studio preliminare », DLRI(...)
- 100 L. Ticar, « Review of Minimum Requirements for Working Conditions under Directive (EU) 2019/1152 in (...)
49One of the fundamental axes addressed in the different journals is the need for decent working conditions for immigrant workers in the labor market. A reality that must necessarily have the role of unions in terms of negotiating working conditions98. However, illegal practices regarding the working conditions of immigrant workers are linked to false cooperatives as possible spaces for labor breaches. Unions and business associations can play an important role in regulating conflicts and curbing abuse in working conditions99. The transposition of Directive (EU) 2019/1152 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of June 20, 2019, on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union acquires special relevance100.
C - Social dialogue and collective bargaining as formulas for the articulation of labor relations
- 101 J. K. Pocivasek, « Topical Issues in the Social Dialogue and a Role of Trade Union in the Future », (...)
- 102 M. A. Cherry, « Back to the future: A continuity of dialogue on work and technology at the ILO », o (...)
- 103 H. Johnston, « Labour geographies of the platform economy: Understanding collective organizing stra (...)
50The current challenges experienced by labor relations impose a necessary updating of the existing legal regulations. In this environment of constant changes, the role of social dialogue and trade unions is of special relevance101. The changes that have taken place in the world of work must be seen as an opportunity to advance towards the achievement of equality, and it is very important to prevent poorly managed technological change from generating inequalities of all types. The potential job destruction caused by information technology has been warned for a long time. From the ILO, many current policy proposals have been made, but it is necessary to reopen the dialogue with the social partners in order to address current challenges and achieve the work that we all want for the future102. A subject in which the intervention of social dialogue is necessarily required is work on digital platforms. The adoption of new regulatory frameworks that enable the collective struggles of workers by creating bonds of solidarity must necessarily lead to better working conditions on the platform103.
- 104 U. Rani, D. Grimshaw, « Introduction: What does the future promise for work, employment and society (...)
- 105 S. Bagari, « Content of Non-standard Forms of Work in Sector Collective Agreements », E&E, 4, 2018, (...)
- 106 M. Rusciano, « Sul metodo delle riforme del Diritto del lavoro », DLM, 2, 2018, p. 199.
51In this sense, it is essential to rethink regulatory frameworks together with social actors since representative institutions and social dialogue are central elements for a just transition104. In this new employment context, the appearance of many atypical work formulas poses a series of challenges for collective bargaining processes105. The experience of the economic and financial crisis of 2008 indicates that legislative changes or reforms that affect workers’ rights require greater participation from the social partners, which would translate into certainty in the representation of interests and the applicability of collective agreements and conventions106.
- 107 I. Boix Lluch, « L’Accordo quadro globale di Inditex: un modello di azione sindacale globale: Un bi (...)
- 108 L. Pérez Ortiz, C. Fernández Rodríguez, R. Ibáñez Rojo, A. Ferrer Saís, L. E. Alonso, S. M. Ruesga (...)
52Global union action has to assume a transcendental role in the absence of a global legal system, in whose formation the union techniques of negotiation and dialogue with multinational companies acquire importance107. Social dialogue, institutional participation and collective bargaining are basic tools to channel the interaction of social agents with the aim of responding to social problems. Therefore, the interaction of social actors represents the channel to define labor market policies, solve exclusion and precariousness and introduce the gender perspective in collective agreements108.
D - Freedom of association and the right to strike
53The period marked by the economic and financial crisis has been highlighted, as has been argued so many times throughout this text, by the austerity policies and by the restrictions on social rights. The international protection of social rights and its impact on national laws have gained special relevance. The different events prosecuted throughout these years have made it possible to conclude that the « multilevel » protection of fundamental rights must be considered as a powerful construction, but whose elements have to work in their entirety for it to be effective.
- 109 S. Borelli, M. Rocca, « Et soudain ce silence entre nous. Histoires de dialogues interrompus entre (...)
- 110 F. Durán López, « The right to strike in the doctrine of European Court of Human Rights », TL, 145, (...)
54Two interesting cases that support the idea reflected above are represented by the Italian and Belgian cases. In Italy, the well-known FIAT case highlights that the intervention of the Freedom of Association Commission of the International Labor Organization has not led to an improvement in trade union rights in this country as a consequence of procedural difficulties and the uncertain value of the ILO Convention in Italy. On the other hand, in Belgium there is interest in the request made by the national judicial instances for a decision of the European Committee of Social Rights in which the granting of precautionary measures prohibiting picket activities on the occasion of a strike is called into question109. It should be remembered that, although the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms does not expressly include this right, the literality of article 11 of the Convention proclaims the right of association and, particularly, the right of association and trade union action110.
- 111 B. Millefort Quenum, « Les professions interdites du droit de grève au Bénin et en France », RDCTSS(...)
- 112 M. Debelak, « Problems regarding implementation of the Strike Act », E&E, 2-3, 2018, p. 354.
- 113 M. C. Palomeque López, « Sulla titolarità del diritto di sciopero: (note per una relazione) », op. (...)
55With regard to the right to strike, the different magazines that contribute to the realization of this overview include definitions of this fundamental right of workers. On strike, an evolution in the recognition of this right is observed in the vast majority of legal systems. The numerous social changes, as well as the successive transformations in the framework of labor relations, make necessary some modifications in the regulation of this right. This is the case of Slovenia, where the implementation of the Strike Law does not fit, according to some doctrinal currents, to the constitutional framework of that country and the postulates contained in the European Social Charter. Each legal system presents its unique characteristics and special regimes for certain groups of workers111. There is still a broad debate around the defining elements of the strike, as well as its organization and execution112 delimiting the right to strike as a channel through which to channel the collective conflict113.
- 114 J. D. Ruiz Resa, « Inerties et transformations du droit de grève dans l’Espagne contemporaine », RD (...)
- 115 H. Traoré, « Les formes d’action collective des travailleurs au Burkina Faso », RDCTSS, 1, 2020, p. (...)
56Countries like Spain analyze the changes produced in the organization of the right to strike after 40 years since the adoption of the 1978 Constitution and after its criminalization during the Franco dictatorship. The successive strikes produced in the year of the Spanish labor reform (2012) have concluded with the imputation of numerous trade unionists for exercising the right to strike showing the resistance in Spain of some old ideas114. In other legal systems, such as Burkina Faso, the modalities of collective actions of workers are governed by the regulation contained in its Labor Code and the Public Sector Law of 1960, legal texts that regulate the right to strike and the prohibition of the occupation of the workplace. Faced with the above, international voices denounce the violation of the right to strike and collective action by this country115.
- 116 W. Sanguineti Raymond, « La garantía extracontractual del derecho de huelga: una reconstrucción sis (...)
57The incisive changes in our productive reality have highlighted the need to create new forms of protection of the right to strike, which make it possible to continue fulfilling its constitutional role. One of the changes is represented by the loss of hegemony of the traditional model of vertical integration of productive activities and its replacement by horizontal collaboration formulas between formally independent subjects in the different stages of the production process116.
- 117 M. V. Ballestero, « Interesse collettivo e conflitto », LD, 3, 2018, p. 411.
- 118 T. Novitz, « Multi-level Disputes Relating to Freedom of Association and the Right to Strike: Trans (...)
58Another issue that has deserved special attention has been that relating to the ownership of the right to strike debating the theory that empowers unions to declare a strike through the consideration of the collective interest. This thesis acquires its own nuances when it comes to essential public services and the legitimacy for the proclamation of the right to strike117. The links between freedom of association and the right to strike118 have given rise to many debates and it is that the insertion of the union as a natural instance of the strike has very broad projections both on the requirements of the declaration and calling of the strike as on the objectives pursued by it.
IV - Prohibition of discrimination and decent working conditions for women
- 119 M. E. Casas Baamonde, « La igualdad de género en el Estado constitucional », RDS, 88, 2019, p. 13.
59The current global paradigm aims to rebuild the situation prior to the crisis and establish a new framework for labor relations. A topic widely addressed by journals is the dimension of labor discrimination against women, a discrimination that is projected on access to the labor market, working conditions and many other aspects of the employment relationship. There is a broad consensus among the different authors in denouncing violations of women’s rights and demanding the achievement of gender equality in the workplace119. Once again, we have to remember the dire consequences of the 2008 economic crisis and, in terms of equality, its effects have been negative. Austerity policies have been projected on participation in the labor market, affecting more women than men.
- 120 H. Périvier, « Recession, austerity and gender: A comparison of eight European labour markets », IL (...)
- 121 S. Kushi, I. McManus, « Gendered costs of austerity: The effects of welfare regime and government p (...)
- 122 R. Castellano, A. Rocca, « Gender disparities in European labour markets: A comparison of condition (...)
60The spirit of the legislative measures adopted during this period has not taken gender equality into account120. As has been remarked, the crisis has had a significant effect on the levels of social spending and on the dynamics of public employment, being the group of women the main affected121. There is no doubt that the participation of women in the labor market has increased, but disparities continue to have a woman’s face, the gender gap at work being evident through lower wages and precarious working conditions122.
- 123 L. Lazzeroni, « Parità di trattamento e divario retributivo (di genere) », RGL, 2, 2019, p. 257.
61Of course, the complexity of adopting tools to reduce women’s inequality is illustrated in different articles, but one of the ways to achieve equality and, in this sense, there is agreement among the reviewed authors, is, without any trace of doubt, the participation of social partners and regulation in collective agreements123.
- 124 U. Draksler, « Regulating the Position of Women in Employment: Conventions and Recommendations of t (...)
62One of the main pioneering international bodies in the fight for equality of women in employment is the International Labor Organization, which has contributed to the adoption of international standards aimed at promoting gender equality in employment since early times124.
63It should be noted that in recent years there have been several countries that have oriented their policies towards the contemplation of policies that make it possible to reconcile paid work and unpaid care.
- 125 A. Masselot, R. Russell, « Why Do We Care? The Shifting Concept of Care in New Zealand and in the U (...)
- 126 A. Hiessl, « Caring for Balance? Legal Approaches to Those Who Struggle to Juggle Work and Adult Ca (...)
- 127 A. Trebilcock, « Challenges in Germany’s Implementation of the ILO Decent Work for Domestic Workers (...)
64Policies must be formulated away from traditional conceptions linked to the home and women, trying to promote more universal models of care and not only supported by women. As an example, A. Masselot and R. Russell analyze the employment situation in two major countries: New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Among the legal measures aimed to facilitating conciliation, in the United Kingdom it has been possible for women to transfer care leave to men, while in New Zealand the concept of dependence on gender identities has been decoupled by conferring care leave to whoever is the primary caregiver125. The so-called « informal » or family care represents an essential aspect to be able to reconcile personal and work life, the role of social policies being of vital importance. Legislative approaches should not only focus on the care of minors, but also on the care of the elderly and persons with disabilities. All of the above cares fundamentally weigh on women, so it is important to counteract gender inequality126. Doctrinal studies on the need to ratify ILO Convention no.189, as well as the aforementioned advances towards a more egalitarian society that respects the labor rights of women and regulates the care work generally undertaken by women abound in all the journals of Labor and Social Security Law127.
- 128 U. Rani, D. Grimshaw, « Introduction: What does the future promise for work, employment and society (...)
65It is clear that gender equality and the prohibition of discrimination is a constant concern for the vast majority of labor doctrine. However, it is worth mentioning a common idea that is detected in the articles subject to revision: the future of work must be built by observing all the changes that affect labor relations, reinforcing the protection of workers, always from an egalitarian spirit128.
Notes
1 More information on this is available on the website: www.labourlawjournal.com.
2 The authors were assisted by a team of colleagues, who guided their work and helped them listing and sorting all articles into categories. The members of this team were Mariapaola Aimo, Gian Guido Balandi, Milena Bogoni, Silvia Borelli, Matteo Borzaga, Nunzia Castelli, Isabelle Daugareilh, Sebastián de Soto Rioja, Manuel Antonio García-Muñoz Alhambra, Eva Maria Hohnerlein, Daniela Izzi, Eri Kasagi, Barbara Kresal.
3 Also in a philosophical perspective: A. Paz-Fuchs, « The Practice of the Theory of Labour Law: A Review of Philosophical Foundations of Labour Law », IJCLLIR, 2, 2019, p. 221.
4 M. Méda, « Three scenarios for the future of work », ILR, 4, 2019, p. 627.
5 A. Baylos Grau, « Las relaciones colectivas de trabajo en el cambio de época », RDS, 86, 2019, p. 17.
6 M. Aimo, R. Buschmann, D. Izzi, « Labour law beyond national borders: major debates in 2017 », LD, 2, 2019, p. 343.
7 M. A Cherry, « Back to the future: A continuity of dialogue on work and technology at the ILO », ILR, 159, 1, 2020, p. 1.
8 S. Deakin, C. Markou, « The law-technology cycle and the future of work », DLRI, 158, 2018, p. 445.
9 M. A Cherry, « Back to the future: A continuity of dialogue on work and technology at the ILO », op. cit.
10 Ibid. The author focuses broadly on the relationship between technology and labour, especially when it comes to the impact of automation and platform economy on working activities. The article highlights that the concerns about new waves of technology-driven unemployment date back to the sixties as well as the ILO’s early work on automation. Even though most policies suggested at the time but never adopted in practice seem particularly adequate to the currently emerging issues of work and technology, they need a renewal. In fact, the ILO did not predict neither trade unions’ decline nor the international crowdwork platforms and their global workforce; both of them raise new concerns and require a new theorisation to be addressed.
11 J. R. Bellace, « The changing face of capital: the withering of the employment relationship in the Information Age », BCLR, 100, I, 2018, p. 11; G. Dosi, M. E. Virgillito, « Whither the evolution of the contemporary social fabric? New technologies and old socio-economic trends », ILR, 4, 2019, p. 519; E. Menegatti, « Taking EU labour law beyond the employment contract: The role played by the European Court of Justice », ELLJ, 1, 2020, p. 26. Despite acknowledging that the fourth industrial revolution (which involves the rise of platforms, AI and machine learning) challenges the application of the legal framework, S. Deakin and C. Markou (supra) point out that the current model actually originates from the early stage of the industrialization, since then the law would have been both responding and creating the premises for its further development at once.
12 A. Yun, « Reconstructing Labour Law Actors beyond Employment », IJCLLIR, 34, 4, 2018, p. 435. According to this author, labour law should extend its boundaries outside the realm of standard-employment « understood as a full-time, indefinite, subordinate and bilateral employment relationship » (p. 435). Workers and employers should be identified looking at the entire value chain, and labour rights, especially collective ones, should be extended beyond the boundaries of standard employment.
13 M. Delfino, « Work in the age of collaborative platforms between innovation and tradition », ELLJ, 4, 2018, p. 346.
14 M. Freedland, H. Dhorajiwala, « UK response to new trade Union strategies for new forms of employment », ELLJ, 3, 2019, p. 281. To this respect, the paper of these authors collects the answers to the questionnaire circulated among academics to the purpose of the ETUC publication « New trade union strategies for new forms of Employment ». A particular interest is showed towards intermediate forms of employment (pp. 285 ff.) while describing work relationships in English law.
15 V. De Stefano, « Masters and Servers’: Collective Labour Rights and Private Government in the Contemporary World of Work », IJCLLIR, 4, 2020, p. 425; M. Doherty, V. Franca, « Solving the “Gig-saw”? Collective Rights and Platform Work », ILJ, 3, 2020, p. 352.
16 Which can vary from the concept of employee-like workers or almost-subordinate employment to the focus on self-employees’ economic dependency.
17 C. Courcol-Bouchard, « Le livreur, la plateforme et la qualification du contrat », RDT, 12, 2018, p. 812; A. Perulli, « The legal and jurisprudential evolution of the notion of employee », ELLJ, 2, 2020, p. 117; M. Vincente, « Les coursiers Deliveroo face au droit anglais », RDT, 7, 2018, p. 515; M. Wouters, « The classification of employment relationships in Belgium », ELLJ, 3, 2019, p. 198.
18 Once addressed the incomplete EU legal framework to this respect, N. Countouris conceptualizes a broader notion of worker, taking the fundamental rights perspective into account, with reference to the Social Charter, the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Labour Organization. The article suggests the possibility to establish a broad and autonomous concept of worker within the EU labour law: N. Countouris, « The Concept of “Worker” in European Labour Law: Fragmentation, Autonomy and Scope », ILJ, vol. 47, 2, 2018, p. 192. Several authors focused on the Matzak decision on the notion of worker under the Working Time Directive and the position of volunteers to this respect, C-518/15: A. Sagan, « Sagan The classification as ‘worker’ under EU law », ELLJ, vol. 10, no. 4, p. 353; M. A. García-Muñoz Alhambra, C.Hiessl, « The Matzak judgment of the CJEU: The concept of worker and the blurring frontiers of work and rest time », ELLJ, vol. 10, no. 4, p. 343; A. Hiessl, « Caring for Balance? Legal Approaches to Those Who Struggle to Juggle Work and Adult Care », IJCLLIR, 1, 2020, p. 55; M. Risak, « The position of volunteers in EU-working time law », ELLJ, 4, 2019, p. 362.
19 J. Cabeza Pereiro, « The rights of the self-employed worker in the new economy », RDS, 86, 2019, p. 63.
20 J. Cruz Villalón, « El concepto de trabajador subordinado frente a las nuevas formas de empleo », RDS, 83, 2018, p. 13.
21 Generally, platforms have been framing similar sentences using a different grammar, according to which workers would be employed through and not by them. This way of picturing the platform economy is mostly contested both in the literature and by the case-law of national courts all over Europe. On this, with respect to the Italian and French system: S. Bini, « À la recherche de l’employeur dans les plateformes numériques », RDT, 7, 2018, p. 542. On the unbalance of power between platforms, on the one hand, and workers or consumers, on the other hand: G. Smorto, « La tutela del contraente debole nella platform economy », DLRI, 158, 2018, p. 423. The problem qualifying workers and platforms is also addressed by McGaughey, where the author theorises to what extent platforms have a duty not to misrepresent the reality of the working relationship: E. McGaughey, « Uber, the Taylor Review, Mutuality and the Duty Not to Misrepresent Employment Status », ILJ, 2, 2019, p. 180. From a different perspective, with reference to the possibility to consider platform work in the light of temporary agency work: A. Rosin, « Applying the Temporary Agency Work Directive to Platform Workers: Mission Impossible? », IJCLLIR, 2, 2020, p. 141.
22 The author provides an account of the zero-hours contracts’ use and regulation in the UK and sheds also some light on the issues faced by their qualification by the means of the case-law analysis. A. Esteve-Segarra, « Zero-hours contracts: hacia la flexibilidad absoluta del trabajo en la era digital », RDS, 82, 2018, p. 37; J. Gorelli Hernández, « Indicios de laboralidad en el trabajo a través de plataformas (“crowdsourcing offline”)», RDS, 86, 2019, p. 39.
23 Some essays focus on specific fields of the legal framework, such as equality law: A. Blackham, « We are All Entrepreneurs Now: Options and New Approaches for Adapting Equality Law for the “Gig Economy” », IJCLLIR, 4, 2018, p. 413.
24 V. De Stefano, « Masters and Servers’: Collective Labour Rights and Private Government in the Contemporary World of Work », 2020, op cit.; E. Dockès, « New trade union strategies for new forms of employment », ELLJ, 3, 2019, p. 219; M. Doherty, V. Franca, « Solving the “Gig-saw”? Collective Rights and Platform Work », op. cit.; M. Lundberg, « Answers to the New trade union strategies for new forms of employment questionnaire », ELLJ, 3, 2019, p. 271; E. Gramano, G. Gaudio, « New trade union strategies for new forms of employment’: Focus on Italy », ELLJ, 3, 2019, p. 240; G. A. Recchia, « Alone in the crowd? La rappresentanza e l’azione collettiva ai tempi della sharing economy », RGL, 1, 2018, p. 141; M. Schlachter, « Trade union representation for new forms of employment », ELLJ, 3, 2019, p. 229; G. Smorto, « La tutela del contraente debole nella platform economy », op. cit.; M. Vincente, « Collective Relations in the Gig Economy », EJICLS, 8, 1, 2019, p. 83; A. Westregård, « Digital collaborative platforms: A challenge for both the legislator and the social partners in the Nordic model », ELLJ, 2, 2020, p. 142.
25 S. Marshall, « A Comparison of Four Experiments in Extending Labour Regulation to Non-Standard and Informal Workers », IJCLLIR, 3, 2018, p. 282.
26 H. Villasmil Prieto, « World report on informal workers », BCLR, 105, 2019, p. 61
27 For instance, A. Osiki addresses the problem of street vendors in Nigeria: A. Osiki, « Property Rights as a Pathway to Labour Law Protection in the Nigerian Informal Economy », IJCLLIR, 4, 2018, p. 457 (The study stresses that not only they are not formally recognized as workers but also criminalized). P. Bamu focuses on organizing migrant domestic workers in the Zimbabwe-South Africa Global Care Chain: P. Bamu, « A Pluralistic Approach to Organizing Migrant Domestic Workers: The Case of the Zimbabwe- South Africa Global Care Chain », IJCLLIR, 3, 2018, p. 313. The article considers the difficulty to implement the ILO Conventions on decent work (no. 189) and the following ILO programme on decent work for migrant domestic workers, for the weakness of trade unions in this area. R. Lorente Campos and A. Guamán Hernández examined the labour formalisation in Ecuador in the last decade : R. Lorente Campus, A. Guamàn Hernàndez, « The Process towards Labour Formalisation in Ecuador over the Last Decade », EJICLS, 7, 2018, p. 1. The authors focus on the issue of providing self-employed workers and unpaid home workers with social security rights.
28 S. Marshall, « A Comparison of Four Experiments in Extending Labour Regulation to Non-Standard and Informal Workers », op. cit.
29 Ibid., p. 281.
30 Ibid., p. 282.
31 M. Borzaga, M. Mazzetti, « Core labour standards e decent work: un bilancio delle più recenti strategie dell›OIL », Lavoro e diritto, Rivista trimestrale, 3/2019, p. 447; M. Weiss, « International Developments in Labour Law in the Last 20 Years », ILJ(SA), 4, 2018, p. 693.
32 T. Kizu, S. Kühn, C. Viegelahn, « Linking jobs in global supply chains to demand », ILR, 2, 2019, p. 213. These authors focus on the global-supply-chain-related jobs. Their work points out that the way in which the production is organized in the global economy is constantly more and more fragmentated into activities that are performed along global supply chain, due to reduced transport and information costs. The impact on the labour market is huge and implies both direct and indirect commercial relationships that link labour markets of different countries. In this scenario, the relevance of the Chinese economy as a demand generator is increasing. S. Kühn, C. Viegelahn, « Foreign trade barriers and jobs in global supply chains », ILR, 1, 2019, p. 137. These authors complete the picture by analysing the impact of barriers to trades of goods and services that impact on the labour market of other countries or sectors, showing how deeply they are interconnected through global supply chains. M. Anner, « Predatory purchasing practices in global apparel supply chains and the employment relations squeeze in the Indian garment export industry », ILR, 4, 2019, p. 705. M. Anner highlights how predatory purchasing practices can severely worsen working conditions in developing countries, taking the Indian garment export industry into account. Other essays focus on national or regional cases. For instance, some authors refer to the “localized global economy” of Morocco (A. Trinidad Requena, R. M. Soriano Miras, F. Barros Rodríguez, « Employment conditions in the export industry of northern Morocco », ILR, 2, 2018, p. 307), studying the power exerted my multinational enterprises and their impact on the worsening working conditions. In this case the adoption of the 2004 Labour Code did not lead to a generalized amelioration of working conditions in the country (in a political perspective, a general enforcement of these rights would have resulted in a loss of competitiveness of the country), but rather to a jeopardization of them depending on different multinationals’ policies, which might have even reinforced their relevance as social actors in the country. Another study concerns the Southern Cone, addressing the relationship between supply chains and their supposed effects in terms of economic or economic and social upgrading of working and living conditions in developing countries, finding that this is generally the case when lead firms are part of the chain but not for suppliers of inputs and intermediary goods based in developing countries: G. Reinecke, A. Posthuma, « The link between economic and social upgrading in global supply chains: Experiences from the Southern Cone », ILR, 4, 2019, p. 677.
33 V. Brino, E. Gragnoli, « Le imprese multinazionali e il rapporto di lavoro », RGL 2, 2018, I, p. 215.
34 With reference to the Rana Plaza tragedy (see further in the text of this very paragraph), it has been observed that even though « the factories in the Rana Plaza complex were manufacturing clothes for many western corporations » (A. Salahuddin, « Rana Plaza Tragedy: Who is to Blame? », ILJ (SA), vol. 39, 1, 2018, p. 52) and thus economically important to the success of multinational corporations, the workers employed there were with no doubt formally engaged solely by local employees, under the Bangladesh legislation. Given the lacking enforcement of labour protection in developing countries, chains of sub-contracting around the globe clearly obstacle the promotion of decent working conditions as a matter of fact (M. Borzaga, M. Mazzetti, « Core labour standards e decent work: un bilancio delle più recenti strategie dell›OIL », op. cit.).
35 The reference here is to the internationally recognized ILO core labour standards. The spreading mention to them by social clauses included within free trade agreements. For instance: NAFRA, UMSCA, CETA is seen by F. Pantano and R. Salomone as the necessary route towards a better compromise between social justice and globalisation (even though they do not consider globalisation as the primary cause of social injustice, referring to the work of Elhanan Helpman): F. Pantano, R. Salomone, « Tra free trade e protezionismo: l’importanza del sistema OIL nel nuovo ordine giuridico globale », LD, 3, 2019, p. 535. According to the authors, this would be an alternative to protectionist approaches (the reference is to the moderate protectionism suggested of Dani Rodrik) based on the idea that this compromise is in essence not possible.
36 M. R. Ferrarese, « Le imprese multinazionali tra finanza e transnazionalità », RGL, 2, I, 2018, p. 220.
37 B. Langille, « How To Think (As Labour Lawyers) About Supply Chains », E&E, 2-3, 2018, p. 212.
38 On the following Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety, see M. Croucher, M. Houssart, L. Miles, P. James, « Legal Sanction, International Organisations and the Bangladesh Accord », ILJ, 4, 2019, p. 479. The dynamics of the Rana Plaza accident are indeed clear enough: the building was so unsafe that thousands of workers refused to enter but were forced to do so through beatings and threatening: A. Salahuddin, « Rana Plaza Tragedy: Who is to Blame? », op. cit.
Rather, it can be agreed that the comprehension of global supply chains’ contractual and economic connections is often unclear, both with reference to specific chains and in theoretical terms. To this latter respect, aware of the lacking taxonomy to describe similar concepts (global production networks, global value chains and global supply chains): B. Langille (« How To Think (As Labour Lawyers) About Supply Chains », op. cit., p. 214) wisely uses the ILO definition, according to which « the term “global supply chains” refers to the cross-border organization of the activities required to produce goods or services and bring them to consumers through inputs and various phases of development, production and delivery. This definition includes foreign direct investment (FDI) by multinational enterprises (MNEs) in wholly owned subsidiaries or in joint ventures in which the MNE has direct responsibility for the employment relationship. It also includes the increasingly predominant model of international sourcing where the engagement of lead firms is defined by the terms and conditions of contractual or sometimes tacit arrangements with their suppliers and subcontracted firms for specific goods, inputs and services » (ILO, Report IV, Decent work in global supply chains, 2016).
39 On damages asked by the victims before national courts for severe violation of their fundamental rights as workers (respectively, on corporations’ liability for workers health and on the duty of France to respect the prohibition of forced labour), see: F. Jault-Seseke, « Les actions dirigées contre les multinationales », RDT, 11, 2018, p. 780; B. Lavaud Legendre, N. Martin, « La France respecte-t-elle ses obligations internationales en matière de lutte contre la traite et le travail forcé? », RDT, 9, 2019, p. 528. On the possibility to bring a claim against multinational corporations before national High Courts: C. Nivard, « L’invocabilité des conventions internationales du travail devant les hautes juridictions françaises », RDT, 12, 2019, p. 808.
40 A. Lyon-Caen, « Verso un obbligo legale di vigilanza in capo alle imprese multinazionali? », RGL, 2, I, 2018, p. 240.
41 G. Reinecke, A. Posthuma, « The link between economic and social upgrading in global supply chains: Experiences from the Southern Cone », op. cit.; A. Trinidad Requena, R. M. Soriano Miras, F. Barros Rodríguez, « Employment conditions in the export industry of northern Morocco », op. cit.
42 V. Brino, « Lavoro dignitoso e catene globali del valore: uno scenario (ancora) in via di costruzione », LD, 3, 2019, p. 553; A. Mattei, R. Salomone, « Conflict of laws e tutela del lavoro nelle imprese multinazionali », RGL, 2, I, p. 272; A. Perulli, « L’OIL e la globalizzazione », LD, 3, 2019, p. 387; M. Weiss, « International Developments in Labour Law in the Last 20 Years », op. cit.
43 Ibid. Which raises obviously difficult questions about law that can be applied to the case, for the discrepancy between the country where multinational corporations are based and the ones where workers’ rights violations take place.
44 In the sense that States might prefer not enforcing international labour law standards in order to be competitive and attract foreign investors, as already pointed out with reference to the study on working conditions in Morocco: A. Trinidad Requena, R. M. Soriano Miras, F. Barros Rodríguez, « Employment conditions in the export industry of northern Morocco », op. cit.
45 V. Brino, E. Gragnoli, « Le imprese multinazionali e il rapporto di lavoro », op. cit.; M. Weiss, « International Developments in Labour Law in the Last 20 Years », op. cit., p. 698.
46 F. Pantano, R. Salomone, « Tra free trade e protezionismo: l’importanza del sistema OIL nel nuovo ordine giuridico globale », op. cit.
47 Since the Rana Plaza tragedy has been mentioned above, is worth also mentioning that afterwards, on 15 May 2013 global brands, trade unions and the ILO signed the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh to build a safe ready-made garment (RMG) industry in the country. The agreement addressed only this specific sector and country with respect to workers’ health and aimed at ensuring independent inspections and corrective plans. More than 200 companies adhered to the agreement, which expired in 2018 (M. Weiss, « International Developments in Labour Law in the Last 20 Years », op. cit.).
48 More generally, one article focuses on the features and difficulties of the ILO monitoring systems: G. Minet, A. Guamán Hernández, « Controverse: L’OIT peut-elle relever le défi des multinationales? », RDT, 2, 2020, p. 84; S. Borelli, S. Cappuccio, « Chi monitora e come? Appunti sui meccanismi di supervisione dell’OIL », LD, 3, 2019, p. 514; M. Weiss, « International Developments in Labour Law in the Last 20 Years », op. cit.
49 V. Brino, « Lavoro dignitoso e catene globali del valore: uno scenario (ancora) in via di costruzione », op. cit. Among others: A. Perulli, « L’OIL e la globalizzazione », op. cit.; A. Perulli, « The legal and jurisprudential evolution of the notion of employee », op. cit.; M. Weiss, « International Developments in Labour Law in the Last 20 Years », op. cit.
50 On the difficulties and challenges faced by this institution: A. Supiot, « The tasks ahead of the ILO at its centenary », ILR, 1, 2020, p. 117; S. Borelli, S. Cappuccio, « Chi monitora e come? Appunti sui meccanismi di supervisione dell’OIL », op. cit.; M. Weiss, « International Developments in Labour Law in the Last 20 Years », op. cit.
51 A. Perulli, « L’OIL e la globalizzazione », op. cit.
52 F. Pantano and R. Salomone mention NAFTA, UMSCA and CETA: F. Pantano and R. Salomone, « Tra free trade e protezionismo: l’importanza del sistema OIL nel nuovo ordine giuridico globale », op. cit.; On the latter, see J.R. Rivera Sánchez, « Los fundamentos de la cláusula social en el acuerdo de libre comercio entre la Unión Europea y Canadá (CETA) », RDS, 1, 2018, p. 71; On the one between US and Peru, see M. E. Rodriguez-Florez, « Trade Mechanisms as a Way to Improve Labor Rights Compliance and Its Policies. A Case Study from The United States-Peru Free Trade Agreement », EJICLS, 2, 2020, p. 100.
53 A. Perulli describes the increasing relevance of ILO core labour standards within these instruments and notices the lack of enforcement measures. M. Kaltenborn, C. Neset and J. Norpoth examine the case of the GFA of the global fashion brand H&M in Cambodia: M. Kaltenborn, C. Neset, J. Norpoth, « Implementation of the H&M Global Framework Agreement in Cambodia: Producing Outcomes for Industrial Democracy Despite a Challenging Context », IJCLLIR, 2, 2020, p. 169.
54 They must not be confused with collective agreements. About the challenge of organizing workers collectively in a global economy, see G. Grappi who considers Amazon as case-study: G. Grappi, « La governance delle catene del valore e le sfide per l’organizzazione dei lavoratori: una prospettiva globale », RGL, 3, I, 2020, p. 368.
55 About informal workers and supply chains see also M. Von Broembsen, « Constitutionalizing Labour Rights: Informal Homeworkers in Global Value Chains », IJCLLIR, 3, 2018, p. 257.
56 S. Scarponi, « Imprese multinazionali e autoregolamentazione transnazionale in materia di lavoro », RGL, 2, I, 2018, p. 250.
57 V. Brino, « Imprese multinazionali e diritti dei lavoratori tra profili di criticità e nuovi “esperimenti” regolativi », op. cit., p. 172.
58 A. Kun, « How to Operationalize Open Norms in Hard and Soft Laws: Reflections Based on Two Distinct Regulatory Examples », IJCLLIR, 1, 2018, p. 23.
59 A. Lyon-Caen, « Verso un obbligo legale di vigilanza in capo alle imprese multinazionali? », op. cit.
60 For instance, on the need to regulate the freedom of association in Bangladesh: M.M. Rahim, S.S. Islam, « Freedom of association in the Bangladeshi garment industry: A policy schizophrenia in labour regulation », ILR, 3, 2020, p. 423. On the Minimum Wage policy drafted by the Bangladesh Labor Act, 2006 and in comparison with other countries: R. Syed, « Mechanisms implementing Minimum Wage Policies and Compliance with the ILO’s Provisions: The Case of Bangladesh’s Garment Global Supply Chain », EJICL, 2, 2020, p. 56. On the Zimbabwe-South Africa global care chain: P. Bamu, « A Pluralistic Approach to Organizing Migrant Domestic Workers: The Case of the Zimbabwe - South Africa Global Care Chain », op. cit.
On the care chain in Canada: S. Routh, « Revisiting Social Reproduction: Migrant Care Workers and Their Entitlements in Canada », in IJCLLIR, 2, 2019, p. 201. More generally on the problem of regulating working conditions for a global migrant workforce, see: J. Fudge, J.-C. Tham, « Unsavoury Employer Practices: Understanding Temporary Migrant Work in the Australian Food Services Sector », IJCLLIR, 1, 2019, p. 31; X. Bada, S. Gleeson, « Institutionalizing a Binational Enforcement Strategy for Migrant Worker Rights », IJCLLIR, 2, 2019, p. 255; Å. O. Ekman, S. Engblom, « Expanding the Movement of Natural Persons Through Free Trade Agreements? A Review of CETA, TPP and ChAFTA », IJCLLIR, 2, 2019, p. 163.
61 M. Engler, « New legislation on employee representation in France », IALLJ, 1, 13, 2020, p. 123.
62 M. Aimo, R. Buschmann, D. Izzi, « Labour law beyond national borders: major debates in 2017 », op. cit.
63 V. Zwinger, « Collectively Agreed (Minimum) Labour Conditions as “Protection Boosters”», IJCLLIR, 2018, p. 77.
64 P. Pascucci, « Giusta retribuzione e contratti di lavoro, oggi », DLRI, 161, 2019, p. 59.
65 S. Kolbe, « Vom Nachweis zur Transparenz der Arbeitsbedingungen », IALLJ, 1, 2020, p. 35.
66 T. Novitz, « Multi-level Disputes Relating to Freedom of Association and the Right to Strike: Transnational Systems, Actors and Resources », IJCLLIR, 4, 2020, p. 471.
67 M. C. Palomeque López, « Sulla titolarità del diritto di sciopero: (note per una relazione) », DLRI, 157, 2018, p. 175.
68 S. Bellomo, « Tutela costituzionale dei diritti previdenziali e retributivi e riforma dell’art. 81 della Costituzione », DLM, 2018, p. 265.
69 A. Baylos Grau, « Constitución y trabajo », RDS, 84, 2018, p. 27.
70 A. Bobovnik, « Minimum Wage Act - From its Adoption to the Present », E&E, 1, 2019, p. 67.
71 G. Kennedy, « From Competitive Corporatism to Embedded Austerity: Neoliberalism and Structural Reform in Greece during the Eurozone Crisis », EJICLS, 1, 7, 2018, p. 1.
72 M. Magnani, « The Role of Collective Bargaining in Italian Labour Law », EJICLS, 2, 7, 2018, p. 1.
73 A. Baylos Grau, « Constitución y trabajo », op. cit.
74 V. Zwinger, « Collectively Agreed (Minimum) Labour Conditions as “Protection Boosters”», IJCLLIR, 2018, p. 77.
75 S. Charlesworth, J. Howe, « The Enforcement of Employment Standards in Australia: Successes and Challenges in Aged Care », IJCLLIR, 2, 2018, p. 111.
76 V. Zwinger, « Collectively Agreed (Minimum) Labour Conditions as “Protection Boosters”», op. cit.
77 F. D’Amuri, R. Nizzi, « Recent Developments of Italy’s Industrial Relations System », EJICLS, 2, vol. 7, 2018, p. 19.
78 M. Choko, I. Martin, « The Minimum Wage as a Matter of Tangible Human Dignity: A Comparative Constitutional Law Analysis », IJCLLIR, 3, 2018, p. 231.
79 G. De Simone, « La dignità del lavoro e della persona che lavora », DLRI, 164, 2019, p. 633.
80 M. Choko, I. Martin, « The Minimum Wage as a Matter of Tangible Human Dignity: A Comparative Constitutional Law Analysis », op. cit.
81 M. Martone, « Austerity and remuneration between the collective bargaining system’s reform and the le-gal minimum wage », DLRI, 163, 2019, p. 499.
82 A. Garnero, C. Lucifora, « The erosion of collective bargaining in Italy and the debate on the legal minimum wage », DLRI, 166, 2020, p. 295.
83 S. Marshall, « A Comparison of Four Experiments in Extending Labour Regulation to Non-Standard and Informal Workers », op. cit.
84 U. Alfarhan, S. Al Busaidi, « Migrant earnings gaps in Gulf Cooperation Council countries: Employers’ perceptions or opportunity costs? », ILR, 2, 2019, p. 273.
85 S. Routh, « Revisiting Social Reproduction: Migrant Care Workers and Their Entitlements in Canada », op. cit.
86 R. Casey, L. Vosko, E. Tucker, « Enforcing Employment Standards for Temporary Migrant Agricultural Workers in Ontario, Canada: Exposing Underexplored Layers of Vulnerability », IJCLLIR, 2, 2019, p. 227.
87 E. Rodríguez Rodríguez, « El sistema británico de representación de los trabajadores en el centro de trabajo tras los últimos cambios normativos », TL, 142, 2018, p. 147.
88 F. Suleman, M. Figueiredo, « Wage differentials within a female-dominated occupation: Domestic workers in informal and flexible jobs in Portugal », ILR, 1, 2018, p. 129.
89 C. Sanz Sáez, « La discriminación en contra de las empleadas de hogar como forma de manifestación de las discriminaciones múltiples », RDS, 83, 2018, p. 92.
90 M. L. Molero Marañon, « Las trabajadoras del cuidado por un futuro de trabajo decente », RDS, 89, 2020, p. 33.
91 A. Baylos Grau, « Las relaciones colectivas de trabajo en el cambio de época », op. cit.
92 F. Guarriello, « Il decennio perduto del diritto del lavoro », RGL, 3, I, 2019, p. 531.
93 L. Dorigatti, A. Mori, « Condizioni di lavoro e relazioni industriali nelle catene del valore della logística », RGL, 3, I, 2020, p. 388.
94 G. Grappi, « La governance delle catene del valore e le sfide per l’organizzazione dei lavoratori: una prospettiva globale », op. cit.
95 J. Fudge, J.-C. Tham, « Unsavoury Employer Practices: Understanding Temporary Migrant Work in the Australian Food Services Sector », op. cit.
96 P. Campanella, « Nuove sfide per le relazioni industriali in Europa: il caso della industria della carne in cinque contesti nazionali », DRI, 4, 2020, p. 935.
97 On the transformations of trade unionism, also see : B. Janice, « ILO Convention no. 87 and the Right to Strike in an Era of Global Trade », CLLPJ, 3, 39, 2018, p. 495; A. Baylos Grau, « Las relaciones colectivas de trabajo en el cambio de época », op. cit.; V. Doellgast, « Transformations of Trade Unionism: Comparative and Transnational Perspectives on Workers Organizing in Europe and the United States, Eighteenth to Twenty-First Centuries », CLLPJ, 2, 2019, p. 41; F. Marinelli, « Attività sindacale e identità etnica: riflessioni sui possibili scenari futuri », DLRI, 164, 2019, p. 673; I. Senatori, « Filiera agroalimentare, tutela del lavoro agricolo e modelli contrattuali di regolazione collettiva: una geografia negoziale dello sviluppo sostenibile », DLRI, 164, 2019, p. 593.
98 P. Koncar, « Decent work and migrant workers », BCLR, 103, VII, 2018, p. 247.
99 S. Bologna, S. Curi, « Relazioni industriali e servizi di logistica: uno studio preliminare », DLRI, 161, 2019, p. 125.
100 L. Ticar, « Review of Minimum Requirements for Working Conditions under Directive (EU) 2019/1152 in the Light of ZDR-1 », E&E, 2-3, 2020, p. 245.
101 J. K. Pocivasek, « Topical Issues in the Social Dialogue and a Role of Trade Union in the Future », E&E, 2-3, 2018, p. 369; M. Riminucci, « Industry 4.0 and Human Resources Development: A View from Japan », EJICLS, 1, 7, 2018, p. 1.
102 M. A. Cherry, « Back to the future: A continuity of dialogue on work and technology at the ILO », op. cit.
103 H. Johnston, « Labour geographies of the platform economy: Understanding collective organizing strategies in the context of digitally mediated work », ILR, 2, 2020, p. 25.
104 U. Rani, D. Grimshaw, « Introduction: What does the future promise for work, employment and society? », ILR, 4, 2019, p. 577.
105 S. Bagari, « Content of Non-standard Forms of Work in Sector Collective Agreements », E&E, 4, 2018, p. 633.
106 M. Rusciano, « Sul metodo delle riforme del Diritto del lavoro », DLM, 2, 2018, p. 199.
107 I. Boix Lluch, « L’Accordo quadro globale di Inditex: un modello di azione sindacale globale: Un bilancio dopo la firma del rinnovo e dell’ampliamento del 2019 », DLRI, 166, 2020, p. 227.
108 L. Pérez Ortiz, C. Fernández Rodríguez, R. Ibáñez Rojo, A. Ferrer Saís, L. E. Alonso, S. M. Ruesga Benito, « Aspectos conceptuales sobre el diálogo social. Algunos apuntes », DRL, 6, 2018, p. 617.
109 S. Borelli, M. Rocca, « Et soudain ce silence entre nous. Histoires de dialogues interrompus entre Cours nationales et supranationales », RDCTSS, 2, 2018, p. 96.
110 F. Durán López, « The right to strike in the doctrine of European Court of Human Rights », TL, 145, 2018, p. 317.
111 B. Millefort Quenum, « Les professions interdites du droit de grève au Bénin et en France », RDCTSS, 1, 2018, p. 46.
112 M. Debelak, « Problems regarding implementation of the Strike Act », E&E, 2-3, 2018, p. 354.
113 M. C. Palomeque López, « Sulla titolarità del diritto di sciopero: (note per una relazione) », op. cit.
114 J. D. Ruiz Resa, « Inerties et transformations du droit de grève dans l’Espagne contemporaine », RDCTSS, 1, 2019, p. 41.
115 H. Traoré, « Les formes d’action collective des travailleurs au Burkina Faso », RDCTSS, 1, 2020, p. 82.
116 W. Sanguineti Raymond, « La garantía extracontractual del derecho de huelga: una reconstrucción sistemática », RDS, 90, 2020, p. 15.
117 M. V. Ballestero, « Interesse collettivo e conflitto », LD, 3, 2018, p. 411.
118 T. Novitz, « Multi-level Disputes Relating to Freedom of Association and the Right to Strike: Transnational Systems, Actors and Resources », op. cit.
119 M. E. Casas Baamonde, « La igualdad de género en el Estado constitucional », RDS, 88, 2019, p. 13.
120 H. Périvier, « Recession, austerity and gender: A comparison of eight European labour markets », ILR, 1, 2018, p. 1.
121 S. Kushi, I. McManus, « Gendered costs of austerity: The effects of welfare regime and government policies on employment across the OECD, 2000-13 », ILR, 4, 2017, p. 557.
122 R. Castellano, A. Rocca, « Gender disparities in European labour markets: A comparison of conditions for men and women in paid employment », ILR, 4, 2017, p. 589.
123 L. Lazzeroni, « Parità di trattamento e divario retributivo (di genere) », RGL, 2, 2019, p. 257.
124 U. Draksler, « Regulating the Position of Women in Employment: Conventions and Recommendations of the International Labour Organization between 1919-1939 », E&E, 4, 2019, p. 561.
125 A. Masselot, R. Russell, « Why Do We Care? The Shifting Concept of Care in New Zealand and in the United Kingdom », IJCLLIR, 1, 2020, p. 81.
126 A. Hiessl, « Caring for Balance? Legal Approaches to Those Who Struggle to Juggle Work and Adult Care », op. cit.
127 A. Trebilcock, « Challenges in Germany’s Implementation of the ILO Decent Work for Domestic Workers Convention », IJCLLIR, 2, 2018, p. 149; L. Poblete, « The Influence of the ILO Domestic Workers Convention in Argentina, Chile and Paraguay », IJCLLIR, 2018, p. 177; A. Blackett, Introduction, in IJCLLIR, 2, 2018, p. 141; T. Tiemeni, « Regulatory Innovation in the Governance of Decent Work for Domestic Workers in South Africa: Access to Justice and the Commission on Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration », IJCLLIR, 2, 2018, p. 203.
128 U. Rani, D. Grimshaw, « Introduction: What does the future promise for work, employment and society? », op. cit.
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