Human Rights at Work

Perspectives on Law and Regulation

Colin Fenwick, Tonia Novitz, Colin Fenwick, Tonia Novitz

• Publisher: Hart Publishing
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN:
  9781841139982
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781847315977
• Topic: Law
• Subtopic: Labour & Employment Law
• Index: Law

Concerns associated with globalisation of markets, exacerbated by the 'credit crunch', have placed pressure on many nation states to make their labour markets more 'flexible'. In so doing, many states have sought to reduce labour standards and to diminish the influence of trade unions as the advocates of such standards. One response to this development, both nationally and internationally, has been to emphasise that workers' rights are fundamental human rights. This collection of essays examines whether this is an appropriate or effective strategy.

The book begins by considering the translation of human rights discourse into labour standards, namely how theory might be put into practice. The remainder of the book tests hypotheses posited in the first chapter and is divided into three parts. The first part investigates, through a number of national case studies, how, in practice, workers' rights are treated as human rights in the domestic legal context. These ten chapters cover African, American, Asian, European, and Pacific countries. The second part consists of essays which analyse the operation of regional or international systems for human rights promotion, and their particular relevance to the treatment of workers' rights as human rights. The final part consists of chapters which explore regulatory alternatives to the traditional use of human rights law. The book concludes by considering the merits of various regulatory approaches.

Table of contents

• Prelims
• Foreword
• Contents
• List of Contributors
• 1 The Application of Human Rights Discourse to Labour Relations: Translation of Theory into Practice
• Part I National Perspectives
• 2 Workers’ Human Rights in Australia
• 3 Legal Protection of Workers’ Rights as Human Rights: Brazil
• 4 The Growing Impact of Human Rights on Canadian Labour Law
• 5 China’s Legal Protection of Workers’ Human Rights
• 6 Workers’ Human Rights in English Law
• 7 Enforcing Labour Rights through Human Rights Norms: The Approach of the Supreme Court of India
• 8 Legal Protection of Workers’ Human Rights in Nigeria: Regulatory Changes and Challenges
• 9 Constitutionalisation of South African Labour Law: An Experiment in the Making
• 10 Legal Protection of Workers’ Human Rights: Regulatory Changes and Challenges The United States
• Part II International and Regional Perspectives
• 11 UN Covenants and Labour Rights
• 12 Taking Social Rights Seriously: Is there a Case for Institutional Reform of the ILO?
• 13 The ILO, Freedom of Association and Belarus
• 14 Protection of Workers under Regional Human Rights Systems: An Assessment of Evolving and Divergent Practices
• 15 Is There a Human Right Not to Be a Trade Union Member? Labour Rights under the European Convention on Human Rights
• 16 Giving with the One Hand and Taking with the Other: Protection of Workers’ Human Rights in the European Union
• Part III Regulatory Possibilities
• 18 Decent Working Hours as a Human Right: Intersections in the Regulation of Working Time
• 19 Justice without the Rule of Law? The Challenge of Rights-Based Industrial Relations in Contemporary Cambodia
• 20 Australian Textile Clothing and Footwear Supply Chain Regulation
• 21 Conclusion: Regulating to Protect Workers’ Human Rights
• Index