Glossary of labour law and industrial relations (with special reference to the European Union)
The Glossary of labour law and industrial relations, one of the first of its kind, provides a comprehensive and accessible overview of the development and current status of labour law and industrial relations issues, including globalization and international labour standards. Going a step further than simple definitions, this easy-to-use glossary provides substantive entries and cross-references between international labour standards, European Union Directives, resolutions and regulations. In this respect, definitions from the public domain are taken from legislative and specialized texts dealing with international standards and institutions in general. The glossary also explores the most relevant issues surrounding the global debate on the social dimension of globalization and includes entries on current achievements, debates, ideas and programmes, as highlighted in the 2004 Report of the Director-General of the ILO on the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization, A fair globalization: The role of the ILO. These issues are summarized in the substantive introduction for easy reference. Conceived as an education tool, this storehouse of practical definitions also provides practitioners and scholars with advice and suggestions that may be taken into account in their day-to-day work. Legal specialists, employers, workers and government officials will find recognized and accepted international labour practices in a number of domains of interest to them. A valuable addition to the current literature on the topic, this glossary aims to contribute to the overall development of a sound social dialogue and industrial relations system at different levels of the economy.
due to global economic integration, which weakens government’s intervention
in macroeconomic and social policies. One reason for this is that the number of
companies obliged to be competitive in a given location is becoming smaller,
and the number of locations competing on the international market to attract
capital is increasing. As a result, States are competing to offer transnational
economic actors the best tax, legislative and social conditions to attract
investment.
This progressive erosion of state sovereignty also affects the “rich countries”.
However, it should be noted that lowering labour costs and growing production
and taxation incentives are not the only factors guiding decisions by
multinationals to move capital from one country to another.