| 1. |
- Thörnqvist, Christer, 1961-, et al.
(författare)
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When tender turns tough : posted workers and the tendering regime in the Swedish construction industry
- 2012
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Ingår i: Construction Management and Economics. - : Taylor & Francis Group. - 0144-6193 .- 1466-433X. ; 30:7, s. 525-533
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The outcome of the so-called Laval case and related judgments of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has led to a debate about the future of the European social model. Although several analyses have focused on the downside of the judgments, in particular on the risk of ‘wage dumping’, one important but overlooked aspect is the connection to tendering regimes. This lacuna is crucial to labour recruitment practices in the construction industry because of the important role of public authorities as buyers of large construction services within the European Union. The research question is whether rigidity in how public authorities are required to tender contracts strengthens downward pressure on wages and induces a deterioration in working conditions. Case study material from Sweden is used in the context of extensive previous research and preliminary findings from an ongoing research project. Because of the short time span since the rulings of the ECJ there is only anecdotal evidence for establishing a mutually reinforcing connection between the system for awarding tenders in Swedish construction and the wider impacts of Laval on the labour market. Nevertheless, new evidence suggests that labour recruitment and human resource management practices are being shaped by a tendering regime governed by requirements of ‘cost flexibility’.
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| 2. |
- Woolfson, Charles, 1946-, et al.
(författare)
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The Swedish model and the future of labour standards after Laval
- 2010
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Ingår i: Industrial relations journal. - Oxford, UK : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0019-8692 .- 1468-2338. ; 41:4, s. 333-350
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article reflects on the European Court of Justice ruling in the case of Laval, involving Latvian posted workers in Sweden. It analyses the implications of the ruling and ensuing debate over the Laval case for the future of the ‘Swedish model’ and labour standards. It suggests that profound dilemmas now face trade unions both at Swedish national and European level as to appropriate strategies to adopt to defend national pay and working conditions in the light of the European Court decision and especially in the Swedish context due to the subsequent ruling by the Swedish Labour Court. Nevertheless, a human rights discourse is emerging in which the European Court of Human Rights may act as a counterbalance to the European Court of Justice, especially in the context of the Lisbon Treaty.
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| 3. |
- Woolfson, Charles, et al.
(författare)
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Forced Labour and Migrant BerryPickers in Sweden
- 2012
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Ingår i: International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations. - : Kluwer Law International. - 0952-617X .- 1875-838X. ; 28:2, s. 147-167
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Groups of migrant berry pickers arriving annually in Sweden from both Asia and the newer European Union Member States have been subject to exploitation over the years. The problem appears to persist in spite of public and international concern and successive regulatory reforms. An examination of this problem from a forced labour perspective suggests inadequate implementation and application of international norms in Swedish law, as well as deficiencies in the application of criminal-law and in regulatory oversight. Policy recommendations regarding the labour conditions for seasonal migrant workers in Sweden are put forward.
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| 4. |
- Woolfson, Charles, 1946-, et al.
(författare)
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Forced Labour in Sweden? Case of Migrant Berry Pickers : A Report to the Council of Baltic Sea States Task Force on Trafficking in Human Beings: Forced Labour Exploitation and Counter Trafficking in the Baltic Sea Region
- 2011
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Rapport (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- The legal transposition in Sweden of international law on forced labour is analysed and important weaknesses in the implementation and application of such law are identified. These deficiencies are illustrated by the treatment and means of redress available to foreign berry pickers who annually gather wild berries in the forests of Sweden. A case study of the recruitment and employment of Thai berry pickers is presented, exemplifying serious deficiencies in labour protection both in terms of legal recourse and regulation through the labour market. As a result groups of berry pickers have been subject to various illegal forms of detriment amounting to evidence of forced labour. A number of policy recommendations are made for strengthening the legal and labour market regulatory framework to enable effective control of forced labour in this sector of work in Sweden.
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| 5. |
- Woolfson, Charles, 1946-, et al.
(författare)
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Where next for European trade union rights?
- 2008
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Ingår i: CLR News (Construction Labour Research News). - : European Institute for Construction Labour Research. - 1997-1745. ; :3, s. 5-10
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The European Court of Justice, since the end of 2007, has delivered a series of rulings in the Viking, Laval, Rüffert and the Luxemburg cases, which directly address issues of the right to defend existing standards against erosion by workers prepared to work for lower wages and under inferior conditions. The series of hostile judgments has come as a shock to many in the European labour movement. The Court has clearly privileged the economic priorities of the European project, in particular, European treaty provisions on freedom of provision of services and the freedom of establishment of undertakings over the ‘social dimension’ of the European project.
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