This book considers the previously neglected intersection between work and development and considers how protection of labour standards may be understood in development terms. Examples are given of concrete achievement in anti-discrimination, child labour, trade relations and social dialogue.

This book is an exploration of arguments about the economic and social effects of the regulation of labour, and whether it is likely to be helpful or harmful to development. Authored by contributors from a variety of fields, primarily legal as well as development studies, economics and regulatory studies, the book presents both empirical and theoretical analyses of the issues. With authors from several continents, this collection is unique in that it focuses on labour regulation in poor and middle-income countries rather than industrialised ones, therefore making it a significant contribution to the field.

Since the introduction of structural adjustment policies in the 1980s, the ILO has expressed concern that their implementation should be consistent with basic ILO standards, particularly certain core human rights conventions.

This collection considers the previously neglected intersection between work and development and considers how protection of labour standards may be understood in development terms. Examples are given of concrete achievement in anti-discrimination, child labour, trade relations and social dialogue.

Change is a permanent feature of market economies. What is new in today's world is the pace, breadth and depth of economic change and the industrial restructuring that this entails. Over the past two decades, industrialized countries have witnessed a level of industrial restructuring which, in its scope and tempo, has probably been without historic precedent.[...] A central question has become whether labour standards impede necessary changes in economic units, industrial structures, and employment groth, as the well-established current of neoliberal thinking would maintain or whether, on the contrary, labour standards and the institutions through which they are delivered constitute viable channels for industrial innovation, economic dynamism, and sustainable development, as another school of academics, policymakers and practitioners would hold. The present volume directly addresses this debate and contains a number of contributions which lay out the arguments for and against labour standards in relation to economic performance [...] provides analyses of industrial restructuring at the firm, industry, regional, national and international levels, and includes detailed case studies of experiences in Germany, Sweden, France, Italy, the United States, Canada and Australia [...] develops conceptual perspectives on labour standards, provides comparative overviews of their impact, and trace the evolution of labour standard-setting at the level of the European Community and in the international economy.

This open access book explores the role of the ILO (International Labour Organization) in building global social governance from multiple and mutually complementary perspectives. It explores the impact of this UN ́s oldest agency, founded in 1919, on the transforming world of work in a global setting, providing insights into the unique history and functions of the ILO as an organization and the evolution of workers’ rights through international labour standards stemming from its regulatory mechanism. The book examines the persistent dilemma of balancing the benefits of globalization with the protection of workers. It critically assesses the challenges that emerge when international labour standards are implemented and enforced in highly diverse regulatory frameworks in international, regional, national and local contexts. The book also identifies feasible ways to achieve more inclusive labour protection, putting into perspective the tension between the economic and the social in the ILO’s second century of operation. It includes reflections on the work of the ILO World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalisation by Tarja Halonen, who as President of Finland co-chaired the Commission with Benjamin William Mkapa, President of Tanzania. Written by distinguished experts and scholars in the fields of international labour law and international law, the book provides an insightful and in-depth analysis of the role of the ILO as an international organization devoted to decent work and social justice. It also sheds light on tripartism and its particular role in the work of the ILO, examining the challenges that a profoundly changing working life presents in terms of labour protection and social justice, and examining the transnational dimension of labour law. Lastly, the book includes a postscript by Nobel economics laureate Professor Joseph E. Stiglitz.

Labour law has long been upheld by the ILO as an essential pillar of development and peace, within member States, as well as between States. This book offers valuable insight on the application of the ILO's international labour standards.