This incisive comprehensive volume addresses global issues and trends in the industrial relations field by examining five key subject areas: the role of the state, trade unionism, human resource management, labor market policies and practices, and the role of industrial relations in political transformation. Apart from a survey overview, the comparison and contrast of so many disparate policies and systems offers a uniquely crystallized vision of this subject in a broad, international scope.
The Role of the State and Industrial Relations', using a comparative approach (the European Union, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Japan, China, the United States, Brazil, South Africa and India), reconstructs the general framework of global industrial relations considering challenges and future prospects and proposing a new agenda for the state. The new era of industrial relations that has been stealthily changing the world of work in recent decades seems to have reached a stage where it can be systematically monitored and analyzed, in great part because the "creeping renationalization" that has been noted since the financial crisis of 2008 has reinvigorated state intervention in essential economic structures. In the globalized word, with the internationalization of the economy and increasing competitive pressures, industrial relations are developing in new directions. The contributions in this book provide important new perspectives on the many challenges inherent in the present and future of the relationship between industrial relations and the state.
First published in 1984, Industrial Relations in the Future highlights probable developments in Britain’s system of industrial relations into the 1990s. It also provides a basis for further and detailed analysis and debate of issues central to the nation’s future. Written by distinguished scholars in their respective fields, the three main sections give reviews from three contrasting traditions- mainstream industrial relations, industrial sociology and management, and labour economics. These accounts are highly complementary in the ways in which, in each and every case, issues of collective bargaining, managerial strategy and union response, and the behaviour of governments are all set against a broad backcloth of economic, political, and social changes. The authors see the ultimate outcome as depending greatly on the policies and types of action of organised labour, managements and governments, and possibly of wider social movements as well. This book will be an essential read for scholars and researchers of labour economics, industrial sociology, economics, and public policy.
The renowned international labour law scholars contributing to this incomparable volume use the term ‘game changers’ to refer to evolutions, concepts, ideas and challenges that are having, or have had, major impacts on how we must understand and approach labour law in today’s global economy. The volume derives from an international conference organized by the Institute for Labour Law at the University of Leuven, Belgium in November 2017. This initiative is pursued in the spirit and with the methods of the late Emeritus Professor Roger Blanpain (1932–2016), a great reformer who continuously searched for key challenges in the world of work and looked as far as possible into the future, engaging in critical reflection and rethinking the design of labour law. While seeking to identify the main game changers, the authors explore new pathways and answers which may help to understand and shape the future of work. This is the 100th of Kluwer’s Bulletin of Comparative Labour Relations, a series Professor Blanpain launched nearly fifty years ago. The contributors address, and reflect on, such vital issues and topics as the following: – the ‘gig’ economy; – core labour law values; – freedom of association; – non-standard employment; – the rise of the service sector; – employment and self-employment; – the European Pillar of Social Rights; – app-based work; – algorithms as controls in the workplace; – collective bargaining rights and the right to strike; – the role of temporary employment agencies; and – termination of the employment relationship. There are also chapters devoted to specific issues in France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Estonia, China and the United States. Roger Blanpain consistently reminded us that labour relations are power relations. Although this book shows that the power balance is tipped towards employers in today’s world, what is nevertheless very clear is that labour law can play a crucial role in re-enlivening equitable outcomes, fairness, decent work and social justice in our contemporary and future societies, and that academia can help to understand, guide and shape that future. For this reason, this book will be invaluable to professionals in labour relations, whether in the academic, policy or legal communities.
Industrial relations is critically important for economic performance as well as the social cohesion of a nation. In Australia, industrial relations has been subject to numerous reforms by both Labor and Liberal-National Party Coalition governments during recent decades.This book critically analyses recent changes in work and employment relations and their policy implications for Australia. Scholarly essays by prominent experts in the field examine the lessons that can be learned from previous attempts to reform industrial relations by governments with different political agendas and challenges which may lie ahead.Some of the key questions addressed in this book include:What can be learned from past attempts to reform the industrial relations system?What have been the impacts of recent legislative reforms from the Howard government's 'WorkChoices' to the Rudd/Gillard government's 'Fair Work Australia' and the recent Abbott/Turnbull government's policies on industrial relations?How does politics influence proposals for industrial relations reform?What reforms are required in relation to women, work and family issues?How should collective bargaining and dispute settlement systems be reformed?How have wages and productivity been affected by reforms of the industrial relations system?What are the key issues facing Australia in relation to immigration and workforce skills?The book is based on a symposium which celebrated the outstanding contributions of Professor Joe Isaac to scholarship and the practice of industrial relations in Australia and at the international level for more than seven decades.In the media...What has happened to collective bargaining since the end of WorkChoices?, The Conversation, 2 May 2016 Read article...
Studies in Employment and Social Policy Volume 56 Digitalization, far from being solely a technological issue, has broad implications in the social, labour, and economic spheres. It leads to dangers as well as to new chances for the workforce, and thus labour law must develop effective ways to both protect workers and allow them to profit from new technological developments. The most thorough book of its kind, this collection of expert essays provides an abundance of well-thought-out material for understanding the consequences of digitalization for the labour market and industrial relations. Recognizing that only an international perspective can make it possible to face the challenges of the present (and the future), renowned authorities from the International Labour Organization and the International Society for Labour and Social Security Law, as well as outstanding labour law professors, examine in depth such salient issues as the following: transformation of production systems; the spread of artificial intelligence; precariousness and exploitation in the gig economy; lessons learned from COVID-19; employment status of platform workers; new cross-border issues; rights to trade union association and collective bargaining; role of the State in the new digital labour market; and blurred lines between work and private life. Thanks to the international team of contributors, the issues are dealt with from a variety of overlapping perspectives and points of view, combining aspects of labour law, commercial law, corporate governance, and international law. Highlighting the need to adapt, especially through the right to training, work, and professionalism with respect to the new technological landscape, the book draws on legislative, judicial, and theoretical initiatives suggesting ways of responding positively to the requests for protection that arise in the new forms of production. A uniquely valuable tool for study and reflection for policymakers and academics, the book is also sure to be valued by entrepreneurs, managers, consultants, corporate lawyers, judges, human rights experts, and trade unionists who are interested in the issues of labour, industrial relations, and social rights in European and international contexts.
A concise, introductory overview of the current state of industrial relations, this book includes chapters on Japanese techniques, excellence, and organization culture, and argues that effective industrial relations is a key feature of long-term success in delivering high-quality products and services.
This cutting-edge book charts the latest ideas and concepts in employment relations research. Mapping out the intellectual boundaries of the field, The Future of Work and Employment outlines the key research and policy outcomes for work and employment in the age of digitisation and artificial intelligence.
