Avant le début de la pandémie de Covid-19, le marché du travail québécois était déjà touché par une pénurie de main-d’œuvre. Puis, les mesures de restrictions imposées par le gouvernement pour freiner la propagation du virus à partir de mars 2020 sont venues changer la donne. Par exemple, dans les services jugés prioritaires, la pénurie de main-d’œuvre s’est aggravée. Au contraire, dans d’autres secteurs comme l’hébergement et la restauration de même que les arts et la culture, des mises à pieds massives ont eu lieu et des surplus de main-d’œuvre temporaires ont été observés, avant de laisser place à des pénuries de main-d’œuvre à nouveau. C'est dans ce contexte que notre recherche vise à déterminer quels sont les effets de la disponibilité de la main-d’œuvre sur les relations de travail en milieu syndiqué et sur la vie syndicale. Afin de répondre à cette question, nous avons conduit 13 entrevues au cours desquelles nous aurons rencontré 15 représentants d’employeurs privés et de syndicats œuvrant à différents niveaux (sectoriel et entreprise) dans quatre (4) secteurs affectés de diverses manières par la pandémie: le secteur manufacturier, l’entretien ménager, les marchés d’alimentation et l’hébergement. L’analyse de nos résultats indique qu’au niveau des relations patronales-syndicales au quotidien, la pénurie de main-d’œuvre peut générer certains conflits et/ou enjeux comme par exemple une charge de travail trop importante, du temps supplémentaire à répétition, des jours de vacances refusés, de la frustration chez les plus anciens qui trouvent injuste que les nouveaux et nouvelles obtiennent des gains qu’eux-mêmes n’ont pu obtenir qu’après plusieurs années en poste, ainsi que des difficultés au niveau de la communication et de la santé-sécurité au travail avec les travailleurs étrangers. La pénurie de main-d’œuvre a aussi contribué à changer la dynamique de la négociation collective et à modifier les conditions de travail. En effet, la pénurie de main-d’œuvre a fait pencher le rapport de force en faveur du syndicat, ce qui a permis à plusieurs groupes d’employés de bénéficier d’augmentations de salaire d’une ampleur jamais vue auparavant. Dans plusieurs des secteurs étudiés, des demandes de réouverture de convention collective avant terme émanant des employeurs ont été observées afin qu’ils puissent offrir des conditions de travail plus avantageuses pour augmenter leur capacité d’attirer et de retenir la main-d’œuvre. Enfin, en raison de la capacité des salariés à changer relativement facilement d’emplois en raison de la pénurie, leurs attentes sont très élevées, ce qui a pu entraîner à l’occasion des difficultés à faire ratifier les ententes de principe, voire à des rejets d’entente. Finalement, au chapitre de la vie syndicale, la pénurie de main-d’œuvre soulève différents enjeux. Par exemple, les travailleurs étrangers ne sont pas toujours familiers avec le fonctionnement d’un syndicat, ne connaissent pas nécessairement leurs droits et sont particulièrement craintifs à s’impliquer au syndicat. Une même frilosité à participer aux activités syndicales est aussi observés chez les nouveaux travailleurs dont la proportion a augmenté en raison des départs à la retraite des dernières années et du taux de roulement élevé causé par la pénurie de main-d’œuvre. De plus, alimentés par ce qui est dit dans les médias à propos de la pénurie, sans compter leurs craintes par rapport à l’inflation, les attentes des membres en ce qui concerne les salaires sont croissantes. / Before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Quebec labor market was already affected by a labor shortage. Then, the sanitary measures imposed by the government in March 2020 to limit the spread of the virus changed the situation. For example, in essential services, the labor shortage has become worst. On the other hand, in other sectors such as accommodation and restaurants as well as arts and culture, massive layoffs took place and temporary labor surpluses were observed, before giving way to labor shortages again. It is in this context that our research aims to determine what are the effects of labor availability on labor relations in a unionized environment and on union activities. In order to answer this question, we conducted 13 interviews during which we met 15 representatives of private employers and trade unions in four (4) sectors affected in various ways by the pandemic: manufacturing, housekeeping, grocery stores and accommodation. The analysis of our results indicates that at the level of day-to-day labor-management relations, the labor shortage can generate certain conflicts and/or issues such as, for example, an excessive workload, repeated overtime, denied vacation days, frustration among seniors who find it unfair that new employees are getting payoffs that they were only able to get after several years in the job, as well as difficulties in terms of communication and occupational health and safety with foreign workers. Labor shortages have also contributed to changing the dynamics of collective bargaining and modifying working conditions. Indeed, the labor shortage tilted the balance of power in favor of the union, which allowed several groups of employees to benefit from significant salary increases. In several of the sectors studied, requests from employers for the early reopening of collective agreements have been observed so that they can offer more advantageous working conditions to increase their ability to attract and retain workers. Finally, due to the ability of employees to change jobs relatively easily because of the shortage, their expectations are very high, which may have led on occasion to difficulties in having agreements ratified, or even to agreement rejections. Finally, in terms of union activities, the labor shortage raises various issues. For example, foreign workers are not always familiar with how a union works, do not necessarily know their rights and are particularly fearful of getting involved in an union. The same reluctance to participate in union activities is also observed among new workers, whose proportion has increased due to retirements in recent years and the high turnover rate caused by the labor shortage. Additionally, fueled by media reports about shortages, not to mention fears about inflation, members' expectations for wages are growing.

Several interesting findings emerged from this study. First, strong labour movements still failed to successfully bargain for employment protections due to resistance from employers to encroachments on their institutionalized managerial prerogatives. Second, governments favoured a policy of abstentionism and acquiescence to the collective-laissez-faire tradition until the critical juncture of the 1960s and 1970s. Third, the increasing power resources of trade unions and a deteriorating socio-economic climate created a window of opportunity for bold government action to improve industrial relations, albeit without the consent of employers, and at first, unions. Fourth, contrary to the liberalizing pressures one would expect to find in an archetypical free market economy, the UK has implemented far more statutory protections than deregulatory reforms. Fifth, in contrast to its traditional non-intervention in industrial relations and reputation for worker-protective regulations, Swedish governments have enacted numerous statutes, both restricting and freeing managerial prerogatives in the hiring and firing process. Sixth, statutory employment protections became an independent set of institutional power resources for unions in the long run, serving their organizational and representational interests in important ways. Seventh, unions and left parties consistently defended and advanced the policy preferences of their core constituencies in secure employment by privileging the job security of regular contracts. Eighth, employers and parties on the right of the political spectrum consistently opposed restrictions on the managerial capacity to hire and fire at will, especially for small businesses. Nineth, to increase flexibility without threatening the stability of regular contracts, reforms over the years had to foster atypical forms of work, creating a regulatory gap between permanent and temporary employment, particularly in Sweden. Tenth, differences exist between job security in the statute books and job security in action, particularly in the UK where this gap pervades all aspects of the unfair dismissal system. These findings suggest employment protection legislation has developed in ways far more complex, dynamic and contradictory than is commonly assumed by prominent theories of comparative political economy. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This thesis examines how and why employment protection legislation developed in the United Kingdom and Sweden in the ways that it did from its early beginnings to the present period. It hopes to offer answers to questions about the initial impetus for statutory regulation, the number, content and impact of significant legislative changes and the preferences of key stakeholders with material interests in the policymaking process. It does this by drawing on a variety of both primary and secondary source materials, including employment protection databases, parliamentary records and research publications. At the same time, it assesses the explanatory merit of dominant theories in the political economy literature by testing them against voluminous empirical evidence and provides a multi-factorial account to fill the gaps in the existing body of knowledge.

Recently, South African company law underwent a dramatic overhaul through the introduction of the Companies Act 71 of 2008. Central to company law is the promotion of corporate governance: companies no longer are accountable to their shareholders only but to society at large. Leaders should direct company strategy and operations with a view to achieving the triple bottom-line (economic, social and environmental performance) and, thus, should manage the business in a sustainable manner. An important question in company law today: In whose interest should the company be managed? Corporate governance needs to address the entire span of responsibilities to all stakeholders of the company, such as customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers and the community at large. The Companies Act aims to balance the rights and obligations of shareholders and directors within companies and encourages the efficient and responsible management of companies. The promotion of human rights is central in the application of company law: it is extremely important given the significant role of enterprises within the social and economic life of the nation. The interests of various stakeholder groups in the context of the corporation as a “social institution” should be enhanced and protected. Because corporations are a part of society and the community they are required to be socially responsible and to be more accountable to all stakeholders in the company. Although directors act in the best interests of shareholders, collectively, they must also consider the interests of other stakeholders. Sustainable relationships with all the relevant stakeholders are important. The advancement of social justice is important to corporations in that they should take into account the Constitution, labour and company law legislation in dealing with social justice issues. Employees have become important stakeholders in companies and their needs should be taken into account in a bigger corporate governance and social responsibility framework. Consideration of the role of employees in corporations entails notice that the Constitution grants every person a fundamental right to fair labour practices. Social as well as political change became evident after South Africa's re-entry into the world in the 1990s. Change to socio-economic conditions in a developing country is also evident. These changes have a major influence on South African labour law. Like company law, labour law, to a large extent, is codified. Like company law, no precise definition of labour law exists. From the various definitions, labour law covers both the individual and collective labour law and various role-players are involved. These role-players include trade unions, employers/companies, employees, and the state. The various relationships between these parties, ultimately, are what guides a certain outcome if there is a power play between them. In 1995 the South African labour market was transformed by the introduction of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995. The LRA remains the primary piece of labour legislation that governs labour law in South Africa. The notion of industrial democracy and the transformation of the workplace are central issues in South African labour law. The constitutional change that have taken place in South Africa, by which the protection of human rights and the democratisation of the workplace are advanced contributed to these developments. Before the enactment of the LRA, employee participation and voice were much-debated topics, locally and internationally. In considering employee participation, it is essential to take due cognisance of both the labour and company law principles that are pertinent: the need for workers to have a voice in the workplace and for employers to manage their corporations. Employee participation and voice should be evident at different levels: from informationsharing to consultation to joint decision-making. Corporations should enhance systems and processes that facilitate employee participation and voice in decisions that affect employees. The primary research question under investigation is: What role should (and could) employees play in corporate decision-making in South Africa? The main inquiry of the thesis, therefore, is to explore the issue of granting a voice to employees in companies, in particular, the role of employees in the decision-making processes of companies. The thesis explores various options, including supervisory co-determination as well as social co-determination, in order to find solutions that will facilitate the achievement of employee participation and voice in companies in South Africa. / LLD, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Recently, South African company law underwent a dramatic overhaul through the introduction of the Companies Act 71 of 2008. Central to company law is the promotion of corporate governance: companies no longer are accountable to their shareholders only but to society at large. Leaders should direct company strategy and operations with a view to achieving the triple bottom-line (economic, social and environmental performance) and, thus, should manage the business in a sustainable manner. An important question in company law today: In whose interest should the company be managed? Corporate governance needs to address the entire span of responsibilities to all stakeholders of the company, such as customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers and the community at large. The Companies Act aims to balance the rights and obligations of shareholders and directors within companies and encourages the efficient and responsible management of companies. The promotion of human rights is central in the application of company law: it is extremely important given the significant role of enterprises within the social and economic life of the nation. The interests of various stakeholder groups in the context of the corporation as a “social institution” should be enhanced and protected. Because corporations are a part of society and the community they are required to be socially responsible and to be more accountable to all stakeholders in the company. Although directors act in the best interests of shareholders, collectively, they must also consider the interests of other stakeholders. Sustainable relationships with all the relevant stakeholders are important. The advancement of social justice is important to corporations in that they should take into account the Constitution, labour and company law legislation in dealing with social justice issues. Employees have become important stakeholders in companies and their needs should be taken into account in a bigger corporate governance and social responsibility framework. Consideration of the role of employees in corporations entails notice that the Constitution grants every person a fundamental right to fair labour practices. Social as well as political change became evident after South Africa's re-entry into the world in the 1990s. Change to socio-economic conditions in a developing country is also evident. These changes have a major influence on South African labour law. Like company law, labour law, to a large extent, is codified. Like company law, no precise definition of labour law exists. From the various definitions, labour law covers both the individual and collective labour law and various role-players are involved. These role-players include trade unions, employers/companies, employees, and the state. The various relationships between these parties, ultimately, are what guides a certain outcome if there is a power play between them. In 1995 the South African labour market was transformed by the introduction of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995. The LRA remains the primary piece of labour legislation that governs labour law in South Africa. The notion of industrial democracy and the transformation of the workplace are central issues in South African labour law. The constitutional change that have taken place in South Africa, by which the protection of human rights and the democratisation of the workplace are advanced contributed to these developments. Before the enactment of the LRA, employee participation and voice were much-debated topics, locally and internationally. In considering employee participation, it is essential to take due cognisance of both the labour and company law principles that are pertinent: the need for workers to have a voice in the workplace and for employers to manage their corporations. Employee participation and voice should be evident at different levels: from informationsharing to consultation to joint decision-making. Corporations should enhance systems and processes that facilitate employee participation and voice in decisions that affect employees. The primary research question under investigation is: What role should (and could) employees play in corporate decision-making in South Africa? The main inquiry of the thesis, therefore, is to explore the issue of granting a voice to employees in companies, in particular, the role of employees in the decision-making processes of companies. The thesis explores various options, including supervisory co-determination as well as social co-determination, in order to find solutions that will facilitate the achievement of employee participation and voice in companies in South Africa. / LLD, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Trade unions have been in existence for many years. Although their introduction was generally met with resistance, since their establishment trade unions have been important agents of social change worldwide. Over the years, trade unions have been involved in politics and other societal activities. In South Africa, trade unions for many years not only fought for worker’s rights within the workplace but also beyond the workplace. Trade unions started as friendly societies aimed at assisting their members with various matters, including offering financial help for education purposes and also in cases of illnesses. Although the main purpose of trade unions is to regulate relations between employees and their employers, trade unions perform other functions in society which can be broadly referred to as their social responsibility role. Unlike corporate social responsibility, which is recognised and formalised, trade union social responsibility is not, with the role and importance of social responsibility for trade unions having been largely ignored. This thesis aims at changing this by investigating their core responsibilities and their social responsibilities and subsequently making recommendations on how trade unions could recognise and accommodate their social responsibilities in their activities. It also considers factors that could assist trade unions in fulfilling their social responsibilities. Trade unions generally obtain legislative support for their core responsibilities, but not their social responsibilities; however this should not obstruct trade unions in such endeavours. As modern organisations it is high time that trade unions make a contribution towards sustainable development through their social responsibility role. / Private Law / LLD

為落實勞工團結權、團體協商權及爭議權，我國於2007年起陸續修正《工會法》、《團體協約法》及《勞資爭議處理法》，於2010年5月1日起施行，且參考美國與日本之立法，建立不當勞動行為裁決機制，以保障勞工權利不受侵害。 勞動三法修正對於集體勞資關係帶來重大影響，其中一項即為誠信協商制度之導入。根據修正後《團體協約法》第6條第1項之規範：「勞資雙方應本誠實信用原則，進行團體協約之協商；對於他方所提團體協約之協商，無正當理由者，不得拒絕。」規定今後勞資任一方若向他方請求協商時，他方不僅有回應的義務，且須以誠實信用原則為之。由於此制度我國尚處於起步之階段，許多問題須進一步檢討釐清。 因此，本文首先說明目前《團體協約法》所規範之團體協商制度，再從裁決委員會之裁決決定書當中，整理及分析我國實務上拒絕誠信協商之態樣。另外，再輔以說明美國法上誠信協商義務以及協商事項之重要類型、提供協商中必要資料義務之範圍，作為對我國誠信協商制度之啟示。 / To implement the right of employees to organize, bargain collectively, and strike, the government has revised “Labor Union Act”, “Collective Agreement Act” and “Act for Settlement of Labor-Management Disputes” since 2007, and finally has been in place since May 2011. In addition, the Labor Dispute Resolution Scheme for unfair labor practices also be structured by reference to the legislation of United States and Japan, to protect people from unfair labor practices. One of the biggest influences in the collective labor-management relations after the Legal amendments is to establish the principle of bargaining in good faith. According to Section 1 of Article 6 of the newly amended Collective Agreements Act, both the labor and the management shall proceed in good faith when bargaining for a collective agreement; any party without justifiable reasons cannot reject the collective bargaining proposed by the other party. Because it’s the first time to implement the institution in Taiwan, there are many questions in need of clarification. Therefore, this Article intends to introduce the collective bargaining scheme under the current Collective Agreements Act, and also sort out the decision of the Labor Dispute Resolution Scheme for unfair labor practices, attempt to analysize of the aspect of refusing to bargain in good faith in the practice. Moreover, the article is supplemented by the obligations and the important types of bargaining in good faith, the obligation of providing information necessary for the bargaining in the process in Unites States labour law, expected to have implications in Taiwan.

Trade unions have been in existence for many years. Although their introduction was generally met with resistance, since their establishment trade unions have been important agents of social change worldwide. Over the years, trade unions have been involved in politics and other societal activities. In South Africa, trade unions for many years not only fought for worker’s rights within the workplace but also beyond the workplace. Trade unions started as friendly societies aimed at assisting their members with various matters, including offering financial help for education purposes and also in cases of illnesses. Although the main purpose of trade unions is to regulate relations between employees and their employers, trade unions perform other functions in society which can be broadly referred to as their social responsibility role. Unlike corporate social responsibility, which is recognised and formalised, trade union social responsibility is not, with the role and importance of social responsibility for trade unions having been largely ignored. This thesis aims at changing this by investigating their core responsibilities and their social responsibilities and subsequently making recommendations on how trade unions could recognise and accommodate their social responsibilities in their activities. It also considers factors that could assist trade unions in fulfilling their social responsibilities. Trade unions generally obtain legislative support for their core responsibilities, but not their social responsibilities; however this should not obstruct trade unions in such endeavours. As modern organisations it is high time that trade unions make a contribution towards sustainable development through their social responsibility role. / Private Law / LLD

No description available.

This thesis examines the measurement, applications and properties of consumer inflation expectations in the context of eight European Union countries: France, Germany, the UK, Spain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden. The data proceed mainly from the European Commission's Consumer Survey and are qualitative in nature, therefore requiring quantification prior to use. This study first seeks to determine the optimal quantification methodology among a set of approaches spanning three traditions, associated with Carlson-Parkin (1975), Pesaran (1984) and Seitz (1988). The success of a quantification methodology is assessed on the basis of its ability to match quantitative expectations data and on its behaviour in an important economic application, namely the modelling of wages for our sample countries. The wage equation developed here draws on the theoretical background of the staggered contracts and the wage bargaining literature, and controls carefully for inflation expectations and institutional variables. The Carlson-Parkin variation proposed in Curto Millet (2004) was found to be the most satisfactory. This being established, the wage equations are used to test the hypothesis that the advent of EMU generated an increase in labour market flexibility, which would be reflected in structural breaks. The hypothesis is essentially rejected. Finally, the properties of inflation expectations and perceptions themselves are examined, especially in the context of EMU. Both the rational expectations and rational perceptions hypotheses are rejected. Popular expectations mechanisms, such as the "rule-of-thumb" model or Akerlof et al.'s (2000) "near-rationality hypothesis" are similarly unsupported. On the other hand, evidence is found for the transmission of expert forecasts to consumer expectations in the case of the UK, as in Carroll's (2003) model. The distribution of consumer expectations and perceptions is also considered, showing a tendency for gradual (as in Mankiw and Reis, 2002) but non-rational adjustment. Expectations formation is further shown to have important qualitative features.

L’entreprise transnationale s’impose comme un pouvoir économique puissantdans le contexte de mondialisation. Dénuée de personnalité morale, elle n’est appréhendéeque partiellement par les droits internes. En dehors du droit supranational qui présente descarences et n’assure qu’une régulation partielle, les relations de travail dans l’entrepriseglobalisée restent largement appréhendées par les droits nationaux et les paradigmes dudroit du travail n’ont guère évolué pour s’ajuster à leur singularité. La nature du droit quisaisit ces rapports n’est donc pas commensurable à leur réalité transnationale.L’insuffisance du cadre d’analyse actuel oblige alors à dépasser le doublecloisonnement des systèmes juridiques et des personnes morales afin de développer dessolutions globales. Une analyse tant positiviste que prospective du droit révèle l’existenced’un processus d’adaptation en cours, celui-ci devant toutefois être renforcé et étendu.Il s’agit donc de mettre en place un principe d’ajustement du droit à ces relations de travail,lequel révèle l’identité du transnational : la transnationalité est une expression du pluralisme.L’adaptation du droit suppose, d’une part, que l’entreprise soit recomposée en tantqu’organisation et qu’elle soit mise en synergie avec les autres acteurs de la gouvernancemondiale. Le mouvement d’adéquation implique, d’autre part, qu’un droit global, « postmoderne» et pluraliste, reposant sur un socle de droits fondamentaux, voit le jour. Ainsi,c’est au prix de ces évolutions que l’on parviendra à une régulation adaptée des relations detravail dans l’entreprise transnationale ainsi qu’à l’émergence d’un droit social de lamondialisation. / Transnational companies now stand as leading economic powers in aglobalisation context. Stripped of any legal personality, they are only partly bound by thenational laws. Aside from supranational law, which is incomplete provides only partialregulation, labour relations within globalised companies remain largely bound by nationallaws while the paradigms of labour law have barely evolved in order to adjust to theirsingularity. The nature of the law that governs those professional relations is therefore notcommensurate to their transnational reality.The deficiencies of the current framework for analysis thus compel researchers to gobeyond the twofold boundaries of legal systems and legal entities in order to develop suitableglobal solutions. A positivist, forward-looking analysis of the law reveals the existence of anadaptation process that is already underway but which must also be extended andstrengthened.It is therefore a matter of establishing a legal adjustment principle within those labourrelations, which reveals the identity of the transnational: transnationality is an expression ofpluralism. Legal adaptation assumes, on the one hand, that companies be reconstructed asorganisations and that a synergy be established with other players in the field of globalgovernance. The alignment trend implies, on the other hand, the birth of a "post-modern",pluralist global law, resting on a foundation of fundamental rights. It is thus at the cost of suchdevelopments that an adapted regulation of labour relations will be achieved withintransnational companies, together with the emergence of a globalised social law.