Quebec. Labour relations during a labour shortage
Patrice JALETTE
Quebec is grappling with a labour shortage, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and still in progress, much like that observed in other advanced economies. After laying out the situation with regard to the labour shortage, the article illustrates several of its repercussions on the dynamics and strategies of collective bargaining as well as on the local unions operating in a decentralized system oflabour relations.
Keywords: Quebec, labour shortage, Covid-19, collective bargaining, union.
United Kingdom. Immigration: a matter of politics or economics?
Jacques FREYSSINET
In the United Kingdom, immigration has been at the heart of current affairs for some years. Attitudes to immigration, whether those of the public authorities, economic and social actors or in public opinion, can be accounted for historically by the accumulation of a large, diverse foreign-born population. Contradictions abound between the economic rationale of mobilising labour resources and the political rationale of managing the xenophobic reactions of a fraction of the population.
Keywords: United Kingdom, immigration, discrimination, Brexit, Covid-19, Rwanda.
United States. Collective bargaining constrained in rail freight sector
Catherine SAUVIAT
The dispute in the rail freight sector in the second half of 2022 surrounding the renewal of the sector-wide collective bargaining agreement, revolved not only around wages but also, and in particular, working conditions (including paid sick leave). The dispute took a peculiar turn owing to collective bargaining in the sector being governed by the Railway Labor Act (RLA). Pursuant to this act, dating back to 1926, given the impasse in negotiations and federal mediation of the dispute, President Joe Biden decided to call on Congress to intervene, amounting to a de facto denial of the right to strike for a number of unionized workers in the sector.
Keywords: United States, rail freight, Railway Labor Act (RLA), dispute, sector-level collective bargaining agreement, working conditions, right to strike.
Switzerland. Implications of the trend toward greater working time flexibility in the mechanical, electrical and metal industry
Aris MARTINELLI
The working time flexibility introduced as part of the collective labour agreement (CCT) of the Swiss mechanical, electrical and metal (MEM) industry following the economic crisis of the 1990s is emblematic of the trend of increasing flexibility in the Swiss labour market. This article aims to show the concrete effects of these measures on working conditions, in this key sector for the Swiss economy, in order to highlight the current implications for employees and unions.
Keywords: Switzerland, collective labour agreement (CCT), working time, working conditions, flexibility, industry.
Switzerland. The ability to waive the recording of working time: the implementation of health protection measures
Nicola CIANFERONI
In Switzerland, the waiver of the recording of working time entails obligations for employers to, on the one hand, negotiate with social partners as to compensation measures aimed at guaranteeing the protection of employee health; and, on the other hand, establish an internal department to handle questions relating to working time. This article offers a critical evaluation of these arrangements as they appear in the collective labour agreements in order to suggest a number of pathways to more effective health protection.
Keywords: Switzerland, working time, recording of working time, health protection, collective labour agreement (CCT).
Switzerland. The struggle of precarious workers in logistics: the ‟DPD system”
Nicolas PONS-VIGNON and Enrico BORELLI
Poor working conditions and sub-contracting make union mobilisation difficult among Swiss employees of the logistics giant DPD, which has objected to a movement among delivery workers demanding free choice of union membership. Indeed, the sector’s growth is founded on an organisation designed to thwart union representation, which is made easier by the weak level of protection offered by Swiss employment legislation.
Keywords: Switzerland, logistics, last mile, unionisation, sub-contracting