|
Required Readings
|
|
Adams, R. (2008). From statutory right to human right: The evolution and current status of collective bargaining. Just Labour, 12, 48-67.
In its 2007 BC Health Services Decision the Supreme Court of Canada, much to the surprise of the Canadian labour relations community, affirmed the human rights status of collective bargaining. This article reviews the emergence and general characteristics of the modern international human rights regime, traces the evolution of collective bargaining as a human right, considers the extent to which Canada falls short of full compliance with international norms regarding collective bargaining as a human right, and suggests a way forward. |
|
Savage, L. (2008). Labour rights as human rights? A response to Roy Adams. Just Labour, 12, 68-75.
In recent years, a number of leading industrial relations scholars, including Roy Adams, have endeavoured to link labour rights and human rights in an attempt to shift the debate about the nature of labour relations in the North American context. In this reply to Adams, the author argues that the labour rights as human rights approach threatens to undermine class-based responses to neoliberal globalization by contributing to the depoliticization of the labour movement. He asserts that the workers’ rights as human rights approach tends to downplay or altogether ignore the material dimension of collective worker action and the central role of economic conflict in the employment relationship. He argues that the labour rights as human rights approach, although popular in both theory and discourse, is a potentially dangerous strategy for a labour movement which continues to fight a defensive battle in an era of neoliberal globalization. |
|
Supplementary Readings
|
|
Adams, R. (2008). I-mode, the new language of workers' rights: A rejoinder to Larry Savage. Just Labour, 12, 76-86.
This article is a rebuttal to the Larry Savage article. Here, Adams argues that Savage writes as if the “workers’ rights are human rights” theme is the creation of intellectuals musing in their ivory tower isolated from the struggles of workers and their organizations. According to Adams, nothing could be further from the truth. |
