In 1997, Fareed Zakaria wrote of illiberal democracies. His concern centred around the freedoms (such as speech, assembly, religion, property) that Zakaria termed ‘constitutional liberalism’. These natural rights held by human beings were to be respected by government. Illiberal democracies casually ignore constitutional limitations and undercut the aforementioned ‘basic’ rights. Zakaria’s observation has offered insight for…
The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) submitted an application to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) in order to be recognized for collective bargaining in North London. In November 2017, the CAC’s decision denied the “Roos” the right to negotiate their working conditions to the following extent: they are not workers. The reasoning developed…
We wanted to draw your attention to some interesting articles on Regulatory Innovation on Decent Work for Domestic Workers in the Light of International Labour Organization Convention No. 189 that appeared in International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations Volume 34, issue 3, 2018, edited by Guy Davidov. Adelle Blackett, Introduction (2018) 34, Issue 2,…
The evolution in understanding privacy and personal data Visitors to major cities will become familiar with colour coding of the various means of transportation: for example, yellow cabs in New York; black cabs in London. Supplanting these colourful vehicles are alternatives to the regulated taxi industry, such as Uber or Lyft. The present contribution focuses…
The United Kingdom Supreme court confirmed on 13 June 2018 in the case of Pimlico v Smith what another three lower courts had already decided in the same case: that attempts by employers to label workers as self-employed under elaborate contractual arrangements can be unravelled by the judiciary to benefit the individuals. This decision follows…
In April 2018, the Labour Tribunal of Turin, Italy, rejected a claim from six platform workers of the food-delivery company, Foodora, seeking to be reclassified as employees. In reaching his decision, the judge relied extensively on the fact that these workers were allegedly free to decide when to work and to disregard previously agreed shifts,…
Deepening Precarity Although it outlines rules for the workplace, employment regulation has also been imbued with perceived potential for economic stimulus. There has been an inherent tension in this dualism that sees the latter given greater importance. The certainty underlying these plans, however, does not match the unpredictability of economic changes. How can employment regulation…
On 19 and 20 March 2018 the XVIth annual Conference in Commemoration of Professor Marco Biagi took place in Modena, Italy. The conference is an interdisciplinary classic in the study of comparative labour law, labour markets and industrial relations. It is organized by the Marco Biagi Foundation at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia…
This the fourth post in a series of posts commenting on the NAFTA renegotiation process. For Part I click here, for Part II click here, for Part III click here. Reportedly, another thorny proposal being discussed in the renegotiation process is revamping or else doing away with the investor-State dispute settlement mechanism provided under Section B…
Introduction On 21 February 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union interpreted the notion of ‘working time’ mentioned in the European Working Time Directive (2003/88). The Court stated that stand-by time which a worker spends at home with the duty to respond to calls from his employer must be regarded as ‘working time’….
