48   Collective Bargaining, Discrimination, Social Security and the European Integration

 

Table of Contents

 

Editorial, Roger Blanpain

 

List of Contributors

 

I.      General Reports

A.        Collective Bargaining

1. The Autonomy of Collective Agreement, Niklas Bruun

2. Collective Bargaining and the Law in Central and Eastern Europe: Recent Trends and Issues, Giuseppe Casale

B.        Discrimination

EC law on Justification for Sex Discrimination in Working Life, Tamara K. Hervey

C.        Social Security

1. Freedom of Movement and Transfer of Social Security Rights, Ann Numhauser-Henning

2. Analysis of Cases of Application of Community Workers, Juan Antonio Sagardoy

 

II.     National Reports

A.        Belarus: The Relationship between the State and Trade Unions on the Labour Market: the Belarusian Case, Yaraslau Kryvoi

B.        China:     Role of the Trade Union in Negotiation on Collective Labour Contracts, Ke Chen

C.        Congo: The Autonomy of the Collective Agreement in the Context of Globalisation.  Views of the Congolese Labour Law, Arnauld Kayembe Tabu

D.        Croatia: Collectieve Agreements in Croatia, Ivana Grgurev

E.        Czech Republic: Basic Problems of Collective Bargaining in the Czech Republic, Petr Hurka

F.        Korea: The Situations and Improvement of Working Conditions of Foreign Workers in Korea, Hagchun Lee

G.       Romania: Collectieve Bargaining in Romania, Luminita Elena Dima

H.        Russia: The Autonomy of Collective Agreements, Zhanna Gorbacheva

I.           Serbia and Montenegro: The Autonomy of the Collective Agreement in Serbia and Montenegro, Senad Jasarevic

J.         South Africa: Justification of Sex Discrimination in the Workplace in South Africa, Darcy du Toit

J.         Spain

1.    Equal Opportunities for Men and Women and a Balanced Distribution of Family Responsibilities: A Collective Bargaining Perspective in Spain, Milagros Alonso Bravo

2.    The Inclusion of the European Collective Agreement as one of the Sources of Community Social Law, Laurentino Dueñas Herrero

3.    The Collective Agreement in the New Economic and Productive Context, Elias Gonzalez-Posada Martinez

4.    Pay Discrimination and the Health Rights of Working of Working Women: Legislative Regulation versus Regulation by Collective Bargaining in Spain, Azucena Escudero Prieto

5.    Sexual Harassment and Collective Bargaining in Spain, Ana Murcia Claveria

6.    Analysis of three Aspects of the Spanish Collective Bargaining from the Point of View of Equal Treatment for Men and Women: Access to Employment, Promotion and Training System, Noemi Serrano Argüello

K.         Turkey: Gender Equality in Labour Law, Kübra Dogan Yenisey

L.         Sweden: Misunderstanding the Swedish model, Svante Nycander

 

Proceedings of the Conference, Arturo Bronstein

 


Editorial

 

This Bulletin contains some of the most important papers, which were presented at the VIIth European Regional Congress of the International Society for Labour Law and Social Security, 4-6 September 2002 as well as the summary of its proceedings.

 

This Congress was organised by:

Michaël Koch, President of the Swedish Labour Court (Chairman)

Tore Sigeman, Professor emeritus Stockholm University

Eva Wrange, Chief Editor of Lag & Avtal

Ronnie Eklund, Professor Stockholm University

Kent Källström, Professor Stockholm University (Members)

and was held under the protection of an honorary committee consisting of:

Ms Mona Sahlin, Minister, Ministry of Industry, Employment and Communications

Göran Tunhammar, President, Confederation of Swedish Enterprise (Svenskt Näringsliv)

Wanja Lundby-Wedin, President, Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO)

Anna Ekström, President, Swedish Confederation of Professional Associations (Saco)

Sture Nordh, President, Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees (TCO)

 

General secretary of the congress was Professor Kent Källström,

 

May I thank again the organisers, President Koch, Professor Ronnie Eklund, Professor Kent Källström and their team for the enormous efforts they have put in the organisation of this conference. 

 

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The International Society for Labour Law and Social Security is composed of 61 national associations, which are the backbone of the Society, namely 25 associations from Europe, 18 from the Americas, 12 from Asia and 8 from Africa. 

 

We welcomed at the Stockholm Congress 10 young scholars, who received a fellowship from our international society in order to attend this conference.  They are coming from Belarus, Congo, Croatia, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Yougoslavia. 

 

Since September 2000, when the last World Conference took place, there have been successful regional conferences in Lima-Peru and Manila-The Philippines and now Stockholm.

 

The next World Conference will take place in Montevideo-Uruguay, September 2003; then follow Mexico and Taipei, 2004, Bologna, 2005 and then the World Conference in Paris in 2006. 

 

We were extremely honoured and felt privileged that this European Conference was taking place in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden.  Sweden has always been a model of social policy with a strong tradition of social dialogue and an important role for labour and social security law, which has inspired so many around the globe. 

 

Many of us have special relations with this country, with our Swedish colleagues and universities.  I remember e.g. the World Conference, which our Society held in 1967, here in Stockholm under the dynamic leadership of the unforgettable Professor Folke Schmidt and the many occasions we could work together.

 

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We live in challenging times.  There is a new world of work characterised by globalisation, new technologies, ongoing restructurations, financial disruptions, growing informal labour markets, migration, dualisation, the growing gap between rich and poor, increasing poverty and social exclusion.  Rules, practices and expectations of yesterday are less and less relevant for tackling the problems of today and tomorrow in the new world of work.  In a sense we need to start from scratch.

 

As scholars of labour law and social security we have the immense task to try to grasp the trends this new world offers, analyse their implication for the world of work and beyond and see whether the legal solutions, the notions and the structures which are on the books or in practice are still adequate to tackle the challenges which we are confronted with.  As the rule of law should run closely to the rule of life.  We have to modernise our legal systems.

 

Of the greatest importance in this exercise is the affirmation of fundamental social rights, not only in the books but also in reality: of fundamental human rights like freedom of association and collective bargaining, equal treatment and the banning of child- and forced labour, which are contained in the ILO declaration of 1998 on the fundamental principles and rights at work, and also in the Charter of Fundamental Rights as adopted by the European Union at the Nice Summit in December 2000.  I do hope that these fundamental rights become strongly entrenched in a European constitution, which may be the outcome of the European Convention, which is actually taking place. 

 

Also the enlargement of the EU, which involves quite a number of Central and Eastern European countries is of the greatest significance for the development of labour and social security law and should keep our ongoing attention.  Here the acquis communautaire is of the greatest importance, especially in the area of workers' involvement but also the fact that from then on we will be working together with some 25 nations in order to elaborate a more consistent European social model opens news frontiers and possibilities. 

 

This VIIth European Conference, here in Stockholm, dealt e.g. with fundamental rights as the right to collective bargaining and social security within the framework of the ongoing European integration.

 

We are extremely grateful to the general rapporteurs and the national reporters for their contribution as well as the summing up of the proceedings of the Conference by Arturo Bronstein of the ILO, Secretary General of the International Society for Labour Law and Social Security. 

 

 

Roger Blanpain,

President of the International Society for Labour Law and Social Security

List of Contributors