Labour Law and Sustainable Development. WP CSDLE “Massimo D’Antona”.INT – 130/2016

Treu, Tiziano (2016) Labour Law and Sustainable Development. WP CSDLE “Massimo D’Antona”.INT – 130/2016. [Working Paper]

PDF - Published Version Download (224Kb)

Abstract

In the last years, labor law and industrial relations are under the pressure of many hostile factors: on one side job killing technologies and global competition on the other political instability and deregulatory policies. Economic crisis which has hit many developed and developing countries has enhanced the negative impact of these factors on the real economy and on the labor market. The increased unemployment is the most dramatic evidence. The traditional protective legislation is accused of being incapable of meeting the present economic challenges and even of representing an obstacle to innovation and development. Certainly many of the historical traits of labor law and of social policies have to be redefined in order to face the problems posed by the new economic and social context. Here I will stress the need of a major redirection of the focus of our discipline. Traditionally labor law was concerned mainly with the protection of workers and with the distribution of income, on the assumption that growth was a self-sustaining mechanism in a linear direction of development. This assumption has been contradicted by the recurrent crisis which have altered the once stable economic scenario, both in developed and developing countries.

Actions (login required)