New Labour Laws in Old Member States
Trade Union Responses to European Enlargement

This book compares the ways in which trade unions in five EU member states have responded to increased migration.

Rebecca Zahn (Author)

9781108735261, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 20 December 2018

376 pages
23 x 15.3 x 2 cm, 0.46 kg

'… this book is an important contribution to labour law literature that is highly thought-provoking and an essential acquisition for labour lawyers and policy-makers operating in the area of labour market regulation.' David Cabrelli, Edinburgh Law Review

The enlargement of the EU in 2004 and 2007 has led to greatly increased free movement of workers from 'new' to 'old' member states. The unprecedented scale of this migration has had a profound impact on the regulation of labour law in Europe. This book compares the ways trade unions have responded to the effects of the enlargements, and in particular to the increased migration of workers across borders. It undertakes a contextualised comparison of trade union responses in Austria, Germany, Ireland, Sweden and the UK, and examines the relationship between trade unions and labour law at a national and European level. This analysis illustrates how trade unions can use law to better respond to changing regulatory and opportunity structures, and indicates the kinds of laws that would benefit trade unions at a national and European level.

1. Introduction
2. The national context: historical developments
3. Europeanisation and European labour law
4. Europeanisation and the CJEU
5. The national context: trade unions, migrant workers and the European Union enlargements
6. Austria
7. Germany
8. Ireland
9. Sweden
10. The UK
11. Analysis of trade union responses
12. Trade unions, new member state workers and Europeanisation: effects and opportunities
13. The kind of laws the unions ought to want
14. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Employment & labour law [LNH], EU & European institutions [JPSN2]