Labour Law and Climate Change: Towards a Just Transition

Studies in Employment and Social Policy # 57

About this book:

Labour Law and Climate Change, an extraordinarily significant book, with contributions by thirteen eminent labour law practitioners and academics, demonstrates how labour law not only can but absolutely must assume a grander role in the debate on the climate crisis and shift towards a new eco-friendly labour paradigm. Although the existential threat of climate change has at last been generally acknowledged, its influence on the labour market and the regulation of labour relations remains ambivalent at best.

What’s in this book:

Committed to the proposition that employment must come to terms with the natural environment and open a new chapter in the relationship between human work and the Earth, critical issues and perspectives on the role of labour law in a just ecological transition have been examined, focusing on the following aspects:

• negative externalities associated with the value chains production model;
• (in)effectiveness of corporate social responsibility and sustainability initiatives;
• protection of human rights from violations attributable to private sector activities;
• protection of whistleblowers;
• need for professional training in new occupations;
• environmental migrants;
• reskilling and active inclusion of workers and jobseekers;
• role of remote work and flexible working time; and
• evaluation and reward of employees.

How this will help you:

The impingement of the green transition on industrial activities is generating substantial tensions among the social parties, leading inevitably to a major restructuring of enterprises and the relocation of thousands of workers. This exhaustive analysis of the ramifications of climate change for the labour contract and the industrial relations system furnishes suitable tools to understand trends and possible solutions for the future. It will be highly appreciated by managers, consultants, corporate lawyers, judges, human rights experts, trade unionists, researchers, and professors placed at the nexus of labour, industrial relations, and social rights in Europe and worldwide.