In Latin America, women's ability to participate in the paid workforce on equal terms as men is constrained by many cultural and political obstacles, and this reinforces women's unequal citizenship status. Even though unions have rarely supported women's rights historically, and are currently losing political power in the neoliberal economic context, I argue that union women have a crucial role to play in the social struggle to expand women's labor rights. Building on theories about the social construction of citizenship, I develop an original theoretical framework suggesting that civil society acts on three levels to expand citizenship rights: the individual level (working with individuals to make them more rights-conscious), within social institutions (working to ensure that policies within social institutions actually reflect the rights of individuals), and at the level of the state, where civil society contributes to the construction of new citizenship discourses. / The framework is then applied to the Mexican case. Examining the rise of working class feminism in the context of the debt crisis and transition to economic liberalism in the 1980s, and the subsequent democratic transition in 2000, I show how these contexts led union women to participate in civil associations active at each of these three levels of citizenship construction. More specifically, this participation has been important in raising awareness of women's labor rights among women workers, challenging patriarchal union structures, and bringing the issue of women's labor rights into the debate over reform of Mexico's Federal Labor Law. I ultimately conclude that in the absence of support from a broad women's labor movement, the chances that women's labor rights will be supported by the Mexican government and Mexican unions will be low.

Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 92-95). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Queensland, 2006. / Includes bibliography.

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Whenever legal disciplines overlap interesting scenarios occur and differences in opinions create intellectual tension. One such interesting scenario occurs when employees’ rights are affected during a company’s liquidation or business rescue. The employees of a company are normally the last persons to find out that a company is struggling financially. They are also the only stakeholders who are in no position to negotiate their risk should the company be liquidated. It is therefore necessary to evaluate the rights given to employees during a company’s liquidation and business rescue. The fundamental ideologies of company law, insolvency law and labour law are challenged and examined to attempt a harmonizing result that respects the core of each discipline. It is crucial to determine whether an appropriate balance is struck between the interests of all the stakeholders of the company during these procedures. The aim of this thesis is to evaluate whether South Africa manages to strike this balance. If employee rights are protected whilst a company is restructured back to solvency and success, this balance will be struck. An evaluation will also be made whether employees are always better protected during business rescue than in liquidation. The study analyses employee rights in a company’s liquidation and during a company’s restructuring process. The comparative study of employee rights in liquidation and rescue is done with the jurisdictions of Australia and England – countries with similar procedures. Important conclusions show that South Africa protects employee rights during business rescue procedures the best. An appropriate balance is indeed struck between the interests of all stakeholders of a company during business rescue procedures and employees are most of the time better off after a restructuring than in a liquidation. Should the recommendations for law reform be implemented in our legislation, South Africa will overcome the few obstacles currently in its way to be seen as a world leader where employee rights are concerned in liquidation proceedings as well as business rescue. / Mercantile Law / LL. D.

The focal point of this treatise is the procedural requirements relating to suspensions. For a suspension to be fair it must be for a fair reason and in accordance with a fair procedure which is commonly referred to as substantive and procedural fairness. The Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 does not tell or provide guidance in terms of what these procedural requirements for a suspension are. The Act is completely silent on this matter. The Act only requires that any disciplinary measure instituted against an employee must be done in terms of a fair procedure. Suspensions have been described by our courts as the employment equivalent of arrest. It is normally used as a preventative measure pending internal disciplinary investigations or as a disciplinary sanction for an employee who repeatedly engages in misconduct. This treatise highlights the impact of arbitrary suspension of employees and suspensions of employees for inordinate periods of time. Suspensions are not intended for purposes of punishment. The Labour Court has on numerous decisions cautioned employers on issues of unfair suspension because of its detrimental impact on the employee’s reputation, advancement, job security and other grounds. Situations have often arisen where an employer suspends an employee without following any procedure. This practice was particularly prevalent under the common law and before the judgment in Mogothle v the Premier of the Northwest Province and Another when employers were suspending employees as they saw fit. Following the principles in this case, bearing in mind that each case is judged on its own merits and the detrimental effect of a suspension. A suspension should only be warranted in circumstances where: The employer has a justifiable reason to believe prima facie at least that the employee has engaged in serious misconduct; There is some objectively justifiable reason to deny the employee access to the workplace based on the integrity of any pending investigation into the alleged misconduct or some other relevant factor that would place the investigation or the interest of affected parties in jeopardy. The employee is given the opportunity to state a case or to be heard before any final decision to suspend is made. Although the right to be heard is not a formally defined process, case law has developed this concept to such an extent that it will be regarded as unfair labour practice if not adhered to. A suspension of an employee can therefore never be justified without adhering to the audi alteram partem principle. This does not mean that an employer cannot suspend an employee. Our courts accept that suspension is necessary especially for purposes of good administration and is justified, following the correct procedure and where the employer continues to pay the employee. Despite the fact that the courts are playing a more active role with regards to the issue of suspensions, suspensions are often open to abuse. In this regard the treatise focused on the notion of special leave versus suspensions. We note how in the last few years, employers especially those in the public service sector, misconstrued and misused their power for a purpose not authorised in law, and continue to do so despite applications to the courts alerting it to the illegality of this practice. Employers are resorting to special leave with the aim of side stepping the procedural requirements laid down by our courts in respect of section 182 (2) of the Labour Relations Act. In this regard the courts vehemently criticised this practice and ensured that employers who are acting maliciously without adhering to their own policies and procedures are held accountable. The court held that in the event where special leave is imposed on an employee for the purposes of discipline, that special leave is regarded as a suspension. Lastly, it is quite evident that the courts are playing a much more active role pertaining to the issue of suspensions. A number of court decisions discussed in this treatise show how the courts come down hard on employers who hastily resort to suspending an employee where there is no valid reason to do so or where the procedure was manifestly unfair.

This research was undertaken to investigate the challenges faced by employees at the Home Affairs Department, the transport Department and the Department of Education at King Williams Town in the Eastern Cape Province. A quantitative approach was used in this research. The sample consisted of 100 respondents of whom 98 returned completed questionnaires. The answers of the respondents were the data of this study and these were analyzed and interpreted in respect of the hypotheses of the research. The research involved the collection of detailed career, personal and structural perceptions of 98 employees. The data was used to establish the disparity among employees, from lower management to top management. It was found that even though there was a problem of discrimination in the olden days there has been a change in the sense that employment equity, affirmative action and diversity management have been introduced since 1994.

Canada is currently experiencing the transition to a post-industrial society as the result of the wide spread introduction of information related technologies. This thesis focuses on the legal rights to information of skilled employees who work with modern computer technology. The objective is to assess the adequacy of existing laws to meet the needs of employers and employees and to serve the public interest. The initial chapters concentrate on the legal principles of trade secrets and breach of confidence as applied to the employment relationship. Patent and copyright protection for software is briefly reviewed but not emphasized. Against this background, the major portion of the thesis examines the delicate balance between the legal interests of the employer, the employee and the public. Any attempt by employers to limit post employment use of information by employees invokes the doctrine of restraint of trade. This doctrine recognizes an employee's right to use the knowledge and skills developed during employment for the benefit of other employers. The thesis examines the elements of the restraint of trade doctrine as applied to skilled employees in the computer industry. The creation and development of software is used throughout the thesis to illustrate legal principles. Employers such as software developers are extremely vulnerable to misappropriation of confidential information by their employees. Such employers rely heavily upon the use of restrictive covenants in employment agreements to limit disclosure and to prevent future competition. The remedies for an employee's breach of confidence are reviewed. This chapter concludes that the legal principles governing interlocutory injunctions are inadequate to properly protect the information employer. The thesis concludes that the present Canadian law is increasingly inadequate to protect a computer industry employer against an employee's unauthorized appropriation of confidential information. In short, the law has not yet recognized the social and technological changes that have greatly increased the vulnerability of the information employer. If neither the courts nor the legislatures take action, information employers will have to further increase their reliance on the limited and uncertain protection of restrictive covenants in employment agreements. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

The South African workforce has been transforming over centuries. Post -1994 South Africa brought about liberal changes in labour laws and policies, which saw women getting a four months maternity leave but there was a shortfall when it came to fathers in the workplace. The laws are mute about the father’s time off during birth of the child; the only provision made is the three days family responsibility leave. The purpose of this research was to explore the perceptions and experiences of fathers with regard to the absence of paternity leave in the legislation and their experiences in early child care with new-borns. The study used a qualitative strategy and a case study design to better understand the perceptions and experiences of employed fathers. A purposive and convenience sampling procedure were used, with a sample of 15 fathers with reproductive age ranging from 25 to 55. The fathers that were interviewed came from three different companies, where a semi structured interview was employed to collect data. Data was analysed using thematic analysis that allowed the researcher to identify the recurring themes. The findings of the study demonstrated a need for paternity leave to allow fathers to be involved with their new-borns. Various factors that came up during the analysis include bonding, the helper and supportive partner, and emotionally absent. These factors contributed to an emphasised need for paternity leave as participants narrated their experiences and challenges. With the implementation of paternity leave participants felt that ten days of leave provision in South Africa would be the first steps to moving towards gender equality in the workplace and strict measures need to be put in place to ensure that fathers do not misuse the paternity leave. The study recommends further research to be conducted on the mother’s perspective on paternity leave. It is also anticipated that the result may support the amendment of Basic Conditions of Employment Act, or develop progressive policy which can equally cater for both men and women in equal terms. Keywords: Basic Conditions of Employment Act, Paternity leave, Fatherhood, Family. / GR2018

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