introduction to international labour law Flashcards
In the context of labour law the most important international instruments of universal character are
the Conventions adopted by the International Labour Organization
What is the link between international labour law and world trade?
“Regional Trade Agreements and Preferential Trade Agreements may contain
social and labour provision aimed at aimed at ensuring compliance with certain
standards in trade between two or more countries.”
What are some examples of soft law in international labour law:
“declarations and recommendations adopted by international organizations;
—› codes of conduct and guidelines promoted by international organizations
(examples: ILO, EU, OECD), especially those regarding CSR;
—› atypical instruments, like codes of conduct adopted on a voluntary basis by
companies, social labelling initiatives and transnational collective agreements”
What happens if a treaty is implemented after or before a conflicting national norm?
international treaties and European Union law prevail over conflicting national rules, even if adopted later, affecting and binding the national legislator.
What is the hierarchy of labour law norms in Italy?
“1. International and EU sources
- Constitution
- Ordinary law and regional law
- Regulations
- Custom and practices
- Collective agreements
- Employment contract”
What are Collective labour agreements?
“Collective labour agreements result from the collective bargaining which is a process involving negotiations between collective subjects (workers’trade unions and employers’s organizations)”
Which is the legal value of the collective agreement?
”* it is a private law contract within the meaning of Art. 1321 of the Civil
Code (Book IV, Of Obligations - Title II, Of Contracts in General);
- it is an autonomous source: is not a source of legislative production;
- it cannot be considered a source of law in the formal sense,
nevertheless it must be considered a source in the material sense; - it is subordinate to the law, but it is hierarchically superior to the
employment contract (Articles 2077 and 2113 of the Civil Code):
—› mandatory law cannot be derogated by collective agreements, unless they
provide for an improvement in working conditions (favor prestatoris principle).”
what is the relationship between ILO Conventions and Italian labour law?
“according to Art. 117, para. 1, Constitution, ILO Conventions which have been ratified by the Parliament prevail over conflicting national rules, even if adopted later, affecting and binding the national legislator;”
what is a labour contract?
“It is an agreement concluded directly between the employer and the employee
and expresses their autonomy in order to rule some aspects of the
employment relationship:
- it has to be compliant with the mandatory regulations provided for by
the law and the collective agreement:
—› mandatory nature, except for the improvement of workers’ conditions:
favor prestatoris principle; - it has a marginal role within the hierarchy of sources compared to the
law and the collective agreement in order to avoid the employer in establishing worse conditions for employees, taking advantage from their negotiating and social inferior position.”
What is the favor prestatoris principle?
“it is always possible to derogate from an ILO Convention when better working conditions are provided than those guaranteed by the Conventionitself,which aims to set minimum standards.”
What is the non-recourse principle?
“ratification and implementation of ILO Conventions does not, under any circumstances,justify pejorative changes in national legislation”
Does labour law cover all kind of labour?
“Labour law does not cover work in general, but essentially subordinate or dependent work, i.e. the work of ““a person who
is obliged for remuneration to collaborate in the enterprise, performing intellectual or manual labour, and under the direction of the entrepreneur”” (Art. 2094 of the Civil Code)”
What is subordination?
“functional subjection of the employee to the employer’s directive power (specific orders, binding direction, supervision and control.”
“What is the reason that self-employed workers only enjoy certain protections
typical of labour law ?”
“while employees are hetero-directed, self-employed workers are autonomous
in the performance of their work activity: they are not subject to the power of
others:
——› for this reason, self-employed workers only enjoy certain protections
typical of labour law, not at all comparable to those granted to employees.”
“Is the ILO competent to adopt international labour standards
concerning self-employed workers ?
“
“From the perspective of the ILO, fundamental social rights must
be applied without distinction between employed and self-employed workers because the dignity of work must be ensured regardless of the contractual nature of the related relationships and whether or not there is a contractual bond”
