European Union
The new “work-life balance” directive on parental, paternity, and carer’s leave: A step forward for Social Europe?
Catherine COLLOMBET and Antoine MATH
This article focuses on the new directive on “work-life balance for parents and carers.” It looks at the European context and the steps leading to the directive being adopted. It then outlines its advantages and disadvantages, particularly in terms of its principal measures: parental leave, paternity leave, carers’ leave, and the right for employees to request flexible working.
Keywords: work-life balance, directive, parental leave, paternity leave, carers’ leave, flexible working.
United Kingdom
Demanding a Living Wage: A new generation of activism, collective bargaining, or corporate social responsibility?
Jacques FREYSSINET
Calls for a living wage found new vigor in the United Kingdom in the early 2000s. The campaign was initially made by social movements, before being picked up by activists. At the same time, major institutions launched a drive to persuade employers to voluntarily introduce a living wage. The two competing movements led to tensions between the representatives of civil society organizations and trade unions.
Keywords: Living wage, social movements, corporate social responsability, trade union movement.
Brazil
The 2017 labor law reform
Rodrigo CARELLI
This article analyzes the labor law reform in Brazil in 2017 in the light of the events that have occurred since the president was removed from office in 2016. It points to the active role played by the supreme court, as well as anti-democratic procedures of the reform. It discusses the main points modified in the new law and the elements that suggest that the work is incomplete and just one step in the program of Brazil’s new far-right government.
Keywords: Reform, labor law, supreme court, authoritarianism.
Turkey
Governing trade unionism: State intervention in unionism after 1980
Isil ERDINÇ
This article focuses on the changes to trade unionism led by the government of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP). The first section analyzes the party’s policies on collective labor relations in the 1980s and 1990s. The second part focuses on transformation of trade unionism under the AKP government.The third part studies the consequences of AKP policies on union organizations.
Keywords: Turkey, trade unionism, union rights, coup d’État, social and economic policy, AKP.
Japan
Major reforms to resolve individual labor disputes
Hiromasa SUZUKI
The deterioration of the labor market from the 1990s onwards led to a sharp rise in individual labor disputes. The public authorities became aware of a major institutional shortfall in this area and, in 2001, adopted major administrative and legal reforms. The most important of these were the establishment of prefectural offices for advice, conciliation, and mediation, the creation of a new labor tribunal, and the adoption of a law on work contracts. Despite these pro-employee reforms, the number of people using them remains relatively low, probably due to the costs involved in court procedures.
Keywords: individual labor disputes, unfair dismissal, labor tribunal, labor market, precarisation.