Labour/employment law, Labour Relations & Human Resource Management

ABSTRACT
Poverty and child labour are closely linked, Child labor has been a major global issue affecting children around the world (Hindman 2009). Many children under the age of 18 are working in different sectors. The main cause for child labor in many countries, particularly in Zambia, is the high levels of poverty. Children are forced out of school and into labour to help their families to make ends meet and are denied schooling opportunities and skills needed for gainful future employment, thereby perpetuating the cycle of poverty in the family. Poverty, therefore has not only constituted a serious up-scaling of child labour, it has also aided the violation of the rights of the children concerned in Zambia. It has been observed over decades that, poverty forces poor families to send their children to work, which results in a serious problem the world is facing nowadays. Child labour can leave many severe consequences on children and their families. When children work, it does not mean as a standard, they support their families economically, neither all of them get paid for their work since many of them work as bonded labour or as slaves. In addition to that, they face many problems which may cause permanent damage to their childhood.  The study established that poverty greatly contributes to child labour practices in George Township of Lusaka district. This was because 91% affirmed that poverty indeed contributes to child labour backed by the 76% of the respondents saying that nature of poverty and child labour in George Township are so high and alarming. On one hand 87.8% of the respondents ascertained and attributed that household poverty was the root cause of child labour in George Township. Hindman (2016) posits that the majority of these households and child laborers have little or no basic source of incomes and most of them come from poor families in these overpopulated residential compounds or rural areas. Although the Zambian government provides for policies against poverty and child labour, these policies have not yielded the intended outcomes and these policies do not mount to economic avenues for the vulnerable households. Parents have no other means of providing for their children but to render their children into unhealthy economic activities, hence child laboring is one of them. In terms of research methodology, the study deployed both mixed research methodology (quantitative and qualitative), which offers a critical lens in analyzing the relationship between poverty and child labor in George compound. The researcher conducted interviews using an interview guide and and a translator from English into Icinyanja to the identified set of respondents from the area of study.

The aim of this contribution is to outline a three-pillar trade union strategy for dealing with atypical work in the digital age. How can the pitfalls of the gig economy be avoided, the negative consequences be mitigated and the advantages captured by trade unions and their members? What must trade unions do to remain relevant?

Generally, statutes which regulate labour relations like the Nigerian Labour Act ('the Act') stipulate that employment contracts are to be provided by an employer during a certain period from the date of employment. The Act provides that such contracts should be in form of a written statement and delivered to the employee no later than 3 months from the time of hiring the employee. As it is with all contracts, the intention to create and honor legal relations can be distilled therefrom and a demand may be placed for performance of the contract terms by either of the parties. Under the Act, the written statement is expected to contain: the nature of employment, whether the contract is for a fixed term or not, period of notice in the event of termination, rate of wages, terms and conditions relating to work hours, and holiday periods to be enjoyed by the employee. See sections 7 (1), 7 (6) and 15 of the Act. It is thus advisable to always request for a written contract of employment whether the period of probation is more than three months or not. Section 7 states that-(1) Not later than three months after the beginning of a worker's period of employment with an employer, the employer shall give to the worker a written statement specifying-(a) the name of the employer or group of employers, and where appropriate, of the undertaking by which the worker is employee; (b) the name and address of the worker and the place and date of his engagement (c) the nature of the employment; (d) if the contract is for a fixed term, the date when the contract expires; (e) the appropriate period of notice to be given by the party wishing to terminate the contract, due regard being had to section 11 of this Act; (f) the rates of wages and method of calculation thereof and the manner and periodicity of payment of wages; (g) any terms and conditions relating to-(i) hours of work, or (ii) holidays and holiday pay, or (iii) incapacity for work due to sickness or injury, including any provisions for sick pay; and (h) any special conditions of the contract.

*This is a pre-edited version of an article that has been accepted for forthcoming publication in the International Journal of Comparative Labour and Industrial Relations in 2016.

In Commonwealth Bank Australia v Barker the High Court of Australia refused to impose an implied duty of mutual trust and confidence into the employment contract, reasoning that doing so would take the Court beyond its legitimate authority.  Issued a bare two months later, the Supreme Court of Canada went in a different direction. In Bhasin v. Hrynew, the Court acknowledged good faith as a central organizing principle of contract law, and announced a new duty of honest performance applicable to all contracts. A few months later the Court applied the new organizing principle of good faith to circumscribe the exercise of an employer’s discretion in Potter v. New Brunswick Legal Aid Services Commission.  This paper will assess the potential impact of Bhasin and Potter on the shape of Canadian employment law. In particular, it will reflect on whether these two cases open to the door to greater judicial oversight of the day-to-day interactions between employers and employees, an area as yet relatively unregulated by the Canadian common law.

ÖZ
Türk iş hukukuna göre toplu işçi çıkarma ülkemiz iş hukukunda uygulama alanı bulmuş bir iş ilişkisidir. Yasaya göre işyerinde çalışan işçi sayısı, 20 ile 100 işçi arasında ise, en az 10 işçinin; 101 ile 300 işçi arasında ise, en az yüzde on oranında işçinin, 301 ve daha fazla ise, en az 30 işçinin işine süreli fesih yoluyla fesih bildirimi süreleri içerisinde yâda bir aylık süre içinde aynı tarihte veya farklı tarihlerde son verilmesi toplu işçi çıkarma sayılır. Toplu işçi çıkarma müessesesi keyfi olarak kullanılamaz, ekonomik, teknolojik, yapısal ve benzeri işletme, işyeri veya işin gereklerine dayanmalıdır. Kanun mevsimlik ve kampanya işleri toplu işçi çıkarma hükümlerinin dışında tutulmuştur. İş barışını tehdit edebilme niteliğinden dolayı özel düzenlemeye tabi tutulan toplu işçi çıkarma düzenlemesine başvurmak isteyen işveren, bu durumu en az otuz gün önceden bir yazı ile, işyeri sendika temsilcilerine ve ilgili Çalışma ve İş Kurumu İl Müdürlüğüne bildirmek zorundadır. Sendika temsilcileri ile yapılacak görüşmede toplu işçi çıkartmanın engellenmesi yada etkilerinin azaltılması amaçlanır. Yargıtay toplu işçi çıkartma prosedürüne aykırılığın fesih bildirimlerini geçersiz kılmayacağı görüşündedir. Öte yandan yüksek yargının, işten çıkarmanın işletme, işyeri ve işin gereklerinden kaynaklanan geçerli bir nedene bağlı olarak yapılması gerektiğine hükmettiği ve toplu işçi çıkarmanın son çare olması ilkesini benimsediği görülmektedir.

A few years ago, in a dialogue with Cornelius Castoriadis, Octavio Paz wrote," Democracy is based on a plurality of opinions, which, in turn, depends on a plurality of values. Advertising and the market destroy this plurality by reducing all values to price.

El proceso de descaracterización del Derecho del Trabajo en su dimensión ordinaria o clásica pasa por una evolución que depende de una serie de nuevos modelos contractuales, con varias repercusiones en su esfera individual y colectiva.
En lo que se refiere a la descentralización productiva, existe una variada metodología de utilización de servicios y adquisición de bienes que se distancian cada vez más de la cadena interna de producción que dio lugar al modelo industrial de relaciones de trabajo.
En el momento actual se está ante un gran dilema en el Derecho del Trabajo brasileño, debido a reformas en la legislación laboral.  Por lo tanto, si hubo una efectiva preocupación del legislador con la inserción del trabajador – con dignidad – en la dinámica productiva, conforme los postulados constitucionales y previstos por la propia Organización Internacional del Trabajo - OIT se constata una dificultad de comprensión y regulación de las relaciones de trabajo derivadas del fenómeno de la "descentralización productiva”.
No obstante, si la preocupación fue sólo la de insertar al trabajador como mera herramienta para el ejercicio de la actividad empresarial, como un insumo productivo, la reglamentación parece ser la más simple y sencilla, para adaptar las normas jurídicas a los meros elementos de producción y a la estabilización formal en el sentido de reducción de costos de producción, descaracterizando en definitivo tanto el modelo ordinario de relaciones de trabajo como también su finalidad de integración social a él designada como disciplina jurídica.
Teniendo eso en cuenta el presente trabajo se propone a abordar lo que hay de más reciente en Brasil con relación a la externalización de mano de obra, ya que en el año 2017 se publicaron dos leyes : la Ley  nº13.429/15 , que alteró varios artículos de la Ley nº 6.019/74 , añadiendo otros, ampliando las posibilidades de utilización de la mano de obra por medio de empresas de trabajo temporal, en evidente adecuación al modelo descentralizado de utilización de servicios; y la Ley nº 13.467/2017 , que promovió una amplia y profunda alteración en la legislación laboral brasileña. Esa ley modificó incluso las Leyes nº 6.019/74 , nº 8.036 , nº 8.212  y el Decreto-Ley nº 5.452,  que instituyó la Consolidación de las Leyes del Trabajo  (CLT ) brasileñas, promoviendo esas alteraciones para – segun consta en su texto – "adecuar la legislación a las nuevas relaciones de trabajo.

Thirty-five years ago, the late Arthur Larson of Duke University, the pre-eminent workers’ compensation scholar in the United States, argued that states should adopt a new compensability regime. In place of the widely-adopted increased-risk doctrine, Larson lobbied for the positional-risk doctrine, under which virtually all injuries occurring “in the course of” the employment are deemed compensable. Despite Larson’s stature and eloquence, however, states have not heeded his call for change, and with good reason. First, the positional-risk doctrine ignores the “arising out of” component of the statutory language. Additionally, the positional-risk doctrine inefficiently allocates liability for industrial accidents. Finally, the exceptions to the increased risk doctrine are not significant enough to warrant a new rule. Courts should recognize that newer is not always better and continue to apply the increased-risk doctrine.

Spirituality provides descriptions that represent relevant psychological phenomena which can be discretely measured. Because of the requirements of the 1978 Federal Uniform Guidelines, the relationship between spirituality and job-related traits and characteristics need to be well understood in the event they are used for decisions affecting personnel . The merit of any metric associated with performance must be established through a validity study (Uniform Guidelines, Sec. 60-3.2 Scope. B, 2000). Accordingly, we consider the construct validity of the aforementioned measures in the context of the uniform guidelines. As hypothesized, religiosity and spirituality instruments are independent of measures commonly used for personnel selection purposes or measures of workplace deviance. We also establish the impact of gender on the measures and provide implications for recruitment and selection.

The UK Employment Tribunal System (ETS) is 'broken' and in need of reform according to the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) (2011) and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) (2011). This resulted in a number of governmental reviews and significant changes to how employment tribunals operated, in particular the increasing use of Judges working alone and the implementation of tribunal fees. Through analysing these historical changes Lord and Redfern (2013) identified elements of the Employment Tribunal System (ETS) that could be improved to increase its overall effectiveness, ability to minimise justice and various factors that affected their claim. From these variable factors this paper focuses upon the three dimensions of a claim; (1) the year, (2) the jurisidction and (3) the geographical location of where the claim was heard between 2013-2017. The analysis of the data reveals that London has the least chance of success for a claimant, with the NorthEast being the region with the greatest chance of success. 2016-17 offered the least chance of success whilst 2014-15 offered the greatest chance of success for a claim. Redundancy had the greatest chance of success whereas Discrimination suffered from the least chance of success. From these findings, this paper goes onto conclude that where the tribunal claim is held could have a potential impact upon the success of case. The paper also suggests that this could be related to the social and political nature of the area, or the demographics of the tribunal panel from these locations. Finally the paper concludes that judicial decions can be affected by personal, social and political infleunces depending on where, when and nature of the case.

RESUMO
Analisa o tratamento dado à dignidade da pessoa humana pelo ordenamento jurídico brasileiro, no âmbito constitucional, enquanto valor intrinsecamente ligado aos direitos humanos. Reflete sobre a importância do trabalho enquanto destinatário de normas jurídicas externas e internas. Exemplifica apontando sua menção na Declaração Universal dos Direitos Humanos, no Pacto Internacional sobre Direitos Econômicos e Sociais. Indica, ainda, outras normas de direito internacional que tratam do trabalho, já no âmbito da Organização dos Estados Americanos. Reflete sobre o mercado de trabalho, o assédio moral e as relações não dialógicas. Discorre sobre a precarização do trabalho e seus reflexos no recrudescimento das relações interpessoais no trabalho. A partir dessa premissa se debruça sobre o assédio moral. Aborda a temática sob as óticas jurídica e dialógica. Apresenta posicionamentos da Justiça do Trabalho sobre o assédio moral e a responsabilidade do empregador. Pondera sobre essas questões e conclui que o assédio moral se constitui como mecanismo de violação dos direitos humanos do trabalhador.
Palavras-chave: Assédio moral. Dignidade humana. Efetivação dos direitos humanos.

ABSTRACT
Analyzes the treatment given to human dignity by the Brazilian constitutional law, while value intrinsically linked to human rights. Reflects on the importance of labor, as a focus of international and Brazilian law.. Exemplifies pointing his mention in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic and Social Rights. Also indicates other rules of international law  related to labor, as those of the Organization of American States. Reflects on the labor market, workplace bull and non-dialogical relations. Discusses the precariousness of work and their effects on recrudescence of interpersonal relationships at work. From this premise focuses on workplace bullying. Addresses the issue in the legal and dialogical optics. Demonstrate positions of Labor Courts on workplace bullying, and the employer’s responsibility. Ponders these questions and concludes that workplace bullying is constituted as a mechanism of workers' human rights violation.
Keywords: Workplace Bullying. Human Dignity. Realization of Human Rights

Hitherto before the inauguration of Nigeria’s democratic rule in 1999 until now, the country has administered her oil and gas industry with laws enacted in 1959 (the Petroleum Profits Tax Act, 1959), 1969 (the Petroleum Act 1969), and 1977 (the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Act 1977), and thirteen others. Besides, the petroleum laws are in about sixteen separate documents, which were difficult to access as a single-sourced document. There are also difficulties in adequately interpreting the rules in some cases. These constituted constraints, challenges, and hurdles to the ease of doing business in the oil and gas sector. It was in trying to address these challenges, to reposition the oil and gas industry for optimum capacity utilization, and the need to benchmark with best practices that led the Obasanjo administration to the establishment of the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI), on 16 February 2004. The NEITI, established to implement the international principles of the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI). These principles were part of the institutional and governance reforms, which were to help reposition the oil and gas industry for optimum capacity utilization. Some of the set objectives are to improve Nigeria’s macroeconomic environment, pursuing structural reforms, strengthening public expenditure management, and implementing institutional and governance reforms.

Abstract: A widely held supposition is that goods and services are increasingly produced and delivered for monetised exchange by capitalist firms in pursuit of profit. The result of this view of an ongoing encroachment of the market is that there is only one perceived future for work and it is one characterised by an ever more commodified world. The aim of this paper is to evaluate critically this discourse.

Work life balance is becoming an important factor in the workforce choice of employer. The employee would like the opportunity to arrange their working time themselves and fit them in flexibility with current circumstance. The paper investigates the impact of flexible work model on the work life balance of workforce in Nigeria. The study draws its samples from a population of workforce within the banking sector. A sample of 50 respondents was selected using purposive sampling. Copies of questionnaires were administered to these respondents from which findings were deduced and analyzed using multiple regression tool of analysis. The study finds out that flexible work model has a significant impact on work life balance in Nigeria. This means that increase in one will lead to increase in the other. The study therefore concludes that employees are emotional being that needs the opportunity to balance their emotional feeling between family and work. The study recommends therefore that social securities that are necessities for human survival and decent living should be provided by the government so that the flexible work model can have a good moral soil to have a positive impact.

Analisa o conceito de dignidade da pessoa humana, em especial como fundamento constitucional republicano intrinsecamente ligado aos direitos humanos. Pondera sobre o trabalho: seu reconhecimento como direito humano pela Declaração Universal dos Direitos Humanos e sua condição de direito fundamental social no direito brasileiro. Reflete sobre o processo de globalização, de acirramento da competitividade nas empresas e de (re)organização do capital. Identifica que, como resultado desse processo, parece desenhar-se um crescente processo de precarização do trabalho e de recrudescimento das relações interpessoais. Aponta, como uma das consequências dessas dinâmicas, a terceirização de mão-de-obra. Discute, ademais, sobre a reação do direito do trabalho diante do novo cenário na realidade social, por meio do aperfeiçoamento do conceito de subordinação jurídica – do entendimento clássico, a partir do texto da CLT, até a atual subordinação jurídica estrutural. Utiliza revisão de literatura e análise documental para, estabelecidas essas premissas, debruçar-se sobre o Projeto de Lei da Câmara 30/2015, que versa sobre terceirização de atividade-fim nas empresas. Estabelece, assim, um panorama teórico e jurídico-normativo com vistas a evidenciar o referido projeto como um mecanismo de potencial recrudescimento das violações de direitos humanos no mundo do trabalho. Conclui que a terceirização, e o Projeto em especial, possuem impactos relevantes, e negativos, na realidade social: enquanto instrumentos que afronta fundamento constitucional republicano, como a dignidade da pessoa humana, e, ao final, a concretização dos direitos humanos no mundo do trabalho.

Although women constituted a significant part of the total labour force in the mines of India, yet till the end of the First World War very little was done to promote their health and welfare. In the absence of welfare legislation and voluntary work, women faced serious hardship and privation especially during the period of their confinement. Not only were they not paid any wages for the period of their absence, in some cases they lost their jobs and incurred heavy debts to defray the expenses of this critical period of their lives. The International Labour Organisation, founded at the end of World War I to secure and maintain fair and humane conditions for labour, in their very first conference held at Washington in 1919 recommended to its member states, including India, the necessity of providing adequate maternity benefit to their female labour employed in the industrial establishments. The main provisions of the draft convention (stipulated in articles 3 and 4) were: (a) rest periods of six weeks before and after confinement; (b) sufficient maintenance for the mother and child including the provision of free attendance by a doctor or a midwife; (c) an allowance of half-an-hour twice daily for nursing the child; and (d) security against dismissal on account of absence due to confinement. Ever since the adoption of this convention at Washington, the question of maternity benefit had become a subject of debate and discussion in India both inside and outside the legislature.

As it is not possible to study in detail all aspects of the issue in such a short paper, we intend to limit ourselves to certain aspects of it. Section I examines the working of voluntary maternity benefit schemes in the British Indian mines. Section II deals with the enactment of the Indian Mines Maternity Benefit Act, 1941, which was put in the statute book 'to regulate the employment of women in mines for a certain period before and after childbirth and to provide for payment of maternity benefit to them'. It also critically examines the main provisions of the Act. Section III is a study of the working of the Act.

Until 2010, the law of subordinate work relations in Hellas combines a number of historical trends, including a communal and mercantile collectivism that has flourished for many centuries and survived the Turkish occupation. After 2010, by the legislation of the years 2010–2013 a ‘new’ labour law has been ‘born’, which seems to abandon the principles of the ‘old’ one, meaning its protective principle and function, and to become a law of contracts governed by the principles of civil law, a law that goes back to the era of the principle of the absolute freedom of contracts. Labour law and labour relations are oriented towards a complete flexibility for the enterprise without security for the employee.