The Regulation establishing the European Labour Authority (‘ELA’) was recently adopted by the European Parliament and the Council and will shortly come into force. It is expected that the ELA will be up and running by the autumn. The ELA is one of many measures which are being introduced as a result of the European…
By Valerio De Stefano & Mathias Wouters Should digital platforms be allowed to charge fees to workers to work? If ordinary rules were clearly applied to platform work, the answer would be a resounding “No”. Workers should, in theory, never be charged to get work. This norm stems directly from the principle that “labour is…
Those in industry (let alone anyone with an interest in world news) would be painfully aware that global trade is under massive pressure at the moment. Examples of these threats are everywhere and if they come to pass, the consequences will be uniformly bad. Trade and global integration has been a driver of financial and…
On 13 June 2019, the EU Council adopted the Directive on Work-Life Balance for Parents and Carers. The Directive was proposed in 2017 and it was one of the key legislative initiatives that the European Commission presented alongside its proposal for the European Pillar of Social Rights. It contains significant enhancements to existing EU legislation,…
The magnitude and success of 21st Century international trade would have been impossible without containerization and the long-haul container ship. Intriguingly, the innovation emerged not so long ago: Malcolm McLean made inter-modal transport with standardized containers a reality in the mid-1950s. Today, approximately 90 percent of international trade transport is done by container ship. The…
Introduction This blog constitutes the third instalment in a series of blogs about the nature of work and the purpose of labour regulation, with a specific focus on work in the EU. To recap, thus far I have argued that: All human activity is skilled activity; The hallmark of work is productivity, and hence work…
During each year we discuss various important decisions handed down by the Tribunals and Courts. Recently, this included the High Court appeal in Comptroller General of Customs v Zappia from late 2018 which has been covered in webinars and presentations to various groups. We can now report that the High Court has granted leave to appeal sought…
Now that the Australian Federal election has been run and won, attention will turn to the priorities of the Coalition Government once Parliament resumes, whether in relation to the introduction of new initiatives or pursuit of the agenda which had been on hold pending the election outcome. Implementation of FTAs signed but not in effect…
The recent second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRI) in Beijing received overwhelming attention and participation from heads of States and governments from 37 countries representing Central Asia, South Asia, ASEAN, Europe, Central Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and South America. This overwhelming response came in spite of criticism from the US and a…
I write this article on 12 April 2019, shortly after the announcement of the Federal Budget and the announcement of the date for the Federal election. As expected, this period encompassed the usual claim and counter – claim between the major political parties and the usual cynicism that even after the election, the political landscape…
Please find below the abstract of “Brexit Trade Impacts’ and Mercosur’s Negotiations with Europe” by Julio J. Nogués, published in Journal of World Trade, Issue 3, Volume 53 (2019) edited by Edwin Vermulst. We estimate that a hard Brexit (HB) would reduce UK agro-industrial-imports from the EU by around 50%. Following the dismantling of the…
What is the scope for freedom of expression in globalization? Regulating for Globalization focuses on its namesake with an emphasis on trade, labour and European Union law. Each of these topics can be discussed on their own. There are, additionally, topics which link each of them. It is contended that free speech is one of them….
Antonio Aloisi, Valerio De Stefano, Six Silberman* In 2017, Sarah O’Connor of the Financial Times published a sensible plea, gently chiding both doomsayers warning of a “jobless society” and “techno-fantasists” paying breathless homage to a digital future filled with exciting new professions. “We should worry less about the jobs that might be going,” wrote O’Connor—due,…
Introduction Earlier this month, I presented a paper at the Socio-Legal Studies Association Annual Conference at the University of Leeds, ‘On the Nature of Work and the Purpose of Labour Law’. A version of the paper as presented at the conference is available online here. In Part I of this two-part blog post, I concluded…
Introduction Earlier this month, I presented a paper at the Socio-Legal Studies Association Annual Conference at the University of Leeds, ‘On the Nature of Work and the Purpose of Labour Law’. A version of the paper as presented at the conference is available online here. In this blog, I begin to summarise some of my…
The Federal Budget 2019 was formally released by the Federal Government last night (2 April 2019). However, in an election year, the Federal Government took the unusual path of confirming that the government would not be seeking to pass new legislation implementing that Budget in the remaining Parliamentary sitting days. Instead, the Budget legislation would…
As many readers would be aware, when the New Zealand Customs Act 2018 (Act) commenced on 10 October 2018, not all of its provisions come into force on the same day. I had been working with Custom Brokers & Freight Forwarders Federation of New Zealand (CBAFF) and other members of the Stakeholders Reference Group (Group) established by…
This is the third of three posts where I comment on Mexico’s “new” agricultural policy. For Part I click here, for Part II click here. In this post I discuss at length what might be the market effects of price support through the guaranteed prices program. A key factor as to whether guaranteed prices can substantially…
On 18 and 19 March 2019 the XVIIth annual Conference in Commemoration of Professor Marco Biagi took place in Modena, Italy. The conference is an interdisciplinary classic in the study of comparative labour law, labour markets and industrial relations. It is organized by the Marco Biagi Foundation at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia….
This is the second of three posts where I comment on Mexico’s “new” agricultural policy. For Part I click here. In the first post I have presented evidence that, in constant prices, the 2019 budget allocations to the “mainline” subsidy programs in agriculture are at historically low levels. [1] In particular, acreage-based payments (irrespective of production levels)…
