Vulnerable Workers

The leading academic authorities contributing to this book have been involved in major studies carried out for international organisations, individual governments, and national trades' union organisations; in Vulnerable Workers they consider the growth of job insecurity, the prevalence of flexible or temporary work, and the emergence of precarious forms of self-employment. They look at the new market economies of post-communist Eastern Europe and China, where economic development may occur at the expense of workers' lives and health; 'misclassification' by employers of workers as 'contractors', denying them access to rights; and the plight of migrant, transient and 'invisible' workers. The impact of supply chain business strategies on the most vulnerable workers; and on the complex relationships between levels of job security and the presence of different kinds of risks are similarly assessed. The contributors also propose responses to the challenges they highlight. The role of employee representatives is examined, together with the potential to enhance worker capability through organisational change. New legislative approaches, and changes to traditional compensation and social security systems are considered. Academics and researchers, policy makers, regulators, trades unionists and occupational health professionals - and wise employers - will all find a use for this book.

Malcolm Sargeant is Professor of Labour Law at Middlesex University, UK, and author/co-author of Employment Law (Fifth Edition, 2010), Essentials of Employment Law (Tenth Edition, 2009), Questions and Answers on Employment Law (Third Edition, 2009), Age Discrimination in Employment (1999), Age Discrimination (2011) and Age Discrimination and Diversity (2011). In 2010 Professor Sargeant organised a major conference in London on vulnerable workers jointly between Middlesex University and the Association for the Study of International and Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations (ADAPT). Dr Maria Giovannone is lecturer at the Marco Biagi International and Comparative Study Centre, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, in Italy and is the ADAPT Research Fellow responsible for research into health and safety at work. She has a law degree and the topic for her PhD was industrial relations, on issues related to occupational health and safety in Italy and the UK. Dr Giovannone has worked for a firm specialising in labour law, undertaken research for the Italian Ministry of Labour and is a member of the Certification Commission established at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, to certify labour contracts in Italy.