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Summary of the lectures (European Labour Law)
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Summary of the course 'European Labor Law' of the lectures including the case law.
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European Labour LawHoorcollege 1
European Union
- Art. 1
“This Treaty marks a new stage in the process of creating an ever closer union among the
peoples of Europe, in which decisions are taken as openly as possible and as closely as
possible to the citizen.”
- A lot of discussion, UK wanted looser bounds, whereas Germany wants closer bounds
- Art. 2
“The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy,
equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons
belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which
pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and
men prevail.”
- No discussion about this topic, as they are covering key topics such as human dignity
Social Policy
Social Policy
- Implies a vision on the good society
- Political project what determines what is good for the people (less poverty, more freedom)
Definition
- Developing and maintaining a welfare state
- Government action
- For the benefit of citizens
The EU doesn’t make any social policy, but it makes labour law which involves social policy.
Theories
1. Neo-liberal theory
- Methodological individualism
- Rationality
- Supremacy of the free market (represents exchange relations)
- Humans beings are selfish and smart. It makes you a person that is always calculating, what is
the best for myself? The only interest in another person is what have the other person to
offer to me (basis proposition)
- I have someone for you, you have something for me
- Relationships between people are based on exchanges (employer and employee)
- Labor laws are a problem for neo-liberals as they hinder the free market
, 2. Social democratic theory
- The “common good”
- Human nature can not be found in selfishnism, human beings are people who are in basics
needs
- Not all your needs can be fulfilled by yourselves, therefore other people should help you to
fulfill your needs
- The role of a collective actor is very important (give rights to workers to give them a certain
level of security)
3. Marxism
- Humans are creative and economic beings
- Humans are becoming much more efficient in their producing methods and are producing
much more than they need (surplus)
- However the power and the factories are settled in a small segment of the society the
kapitalists
- Workers are exploited by the kapitalists, in order to turn over the power from the kapitalists
to the workers, is to start up a revolution
- Labor law is an instrument of kapital holders who can keep the workers quit and stop them
complaining
- If the workers start to complain, you will give them a holiday in order not to have them start
up a revolution
European Social Policy
Social dimension of the EU
- Shared competence: measures of EU solicy policy both national and Union level
- Is it additional to the economic dimension?
- Does the EU have a social policy?
- Shared field of responsibilities
- EU law always goes first
Historical development
1. Neo-liberalism
- 1957-70’s
- 25 March of 1957: Establishment of the EEC
Free movement of persons, goods, services and capital (internal)
Treaty of Rome
Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands
No social policy
Jean Monnet (French politian): the creation of the United States of the European Nations
- Laissez-faire
- Embryonic social policy
Improved standard of living for workers
Cooperation in the field of employment
Equal pay
Free movement of workers
2. Social action
- 1970’s (oil crisis)
- Coordination of economic intregration with social harmonisation
- Human face and social justice
- 1972: Paris Declaration
, EU should not only focus on economic progression, but also social progression (coherent)
such as labor law
- 1973: Joining of Denmark, Ireland and the UK to the EU
- 1974: Social Action Programme (SAP)
Focus on labour law
- Results:
Sex equality directives
Restructuring of entreprises
- How can we make legal laws as we are a economic community?
3. Flexibility and deregulation
- 1980s
- Global competition
- Lack of concensus on social policy
4. Internal market
- Revitalising the idea of ‘human face’ Europe
- 1984: new Commission
- Jacques Delors: l’Europe Social
Europe should not only be about economic cooperation, but economic and social
development go hand in hand
- Economic and social
5. New dynamics but no model
- Maastricht Treaty (7 February 1992)
- U.K. opted out
- Protocol and Agreement
The protocol was only telling which countries were involved in the Agreement
- Amsterdam Treaty (17 June 1997)
- U.K. opts in
- Social Chapter
- Employment
- EMU
6. 1990’s and 2000’s
- Increasing pressure on economic reform agenda
- Policy documents
Green Paper on Social Policy (1993) Labour Law
White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and Employment (1993)
White Paper on European Social Policy
Lisbon Agenda (2000)
Green Paper on modernisation of labour law (2006)
Europe (2020)
- Development
From socially acceptable economic integration towards economically acceptable
social integration
Labour law that you make, should note kill the economic but support economic
competetiveness! (Does it kill jobs? Does it allow flexibility in the labour market?)
Social integration as long as it economically acceptable
Green paper: Different problems in the countries which you are going to face
White paper: Actual actions and policies how you are going to solve problems
, White Paper on European Social Policy
- However, the labour law in the Member States should be more flexible whereby the
employment protection reduced.
- Furthermore the labouw laws of the Member States were also written into industrialized
societies, which were not presentend anymore in economies.
The Green Paper of 2006 never became a White Paper as it was reducing the employment
protection. The unions and a lot of Member States never signed the Paper.
In the Europe Paper, what we are trying to establish, is still containing some aspects of the Green
Paper of 2006.
Note:
- 1 May 2004: Joining of Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta,
Poland, Slovkia and Slovenia
- 1 January 2007: 2 more countries join the EU: Bulgaria and Romania
- 1 July 2013: Croatia
7. Evolutions
- Brexit
U.K. Referendum, 23 June 2016
European Unions (Withdrawal) Bill 2017-19
Brexit negotiations
- European Pillar of Social Rights
17 November 2017
The UK did not sign the Maastricht Treaty which is the Treaty of 1957 with a social chapter, as they
were only willing to cooperate on economic level. However, the UK got the possibility to opt out the
social chapter. Therefore the social chapter was not included in the Maastricht Treaty but was
annexed with a document which countries followed up the social chapter (so without the UK).
However in 1997, there were elections in the UK whereby eventually the UK opted in and signed the
Amsterdam Treaty (including the social chapter). So therefore the annex could be throwed away.
Lecture 2
Social dialogue and collective labour law
- Body of rules on the relations between employee(s) and the employer or a group of
employers
- Content: trade union freedom, worker participation, right to collective bargaining, strike and
lock-out
Social dialogue vs collective bargaining
1. Broad definition: all sorts of bipartite or tripartite discussions
- Concerning labour problems involving both sides of industry and governmental authorities
- Aimed at wider understanding, resolutions, preparing or implementing policies
- Which may lead to (not necessarily) binding agreements (communication between social
partners See Work programma EU social partners)
2. Narrow definition: discussions and negotiations between both sides of industry
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