As Japanese companies establish overseas production facilities at an ever more repid pace, it is increasingly important for people in the host countries to understand the preconceptions upon which the Japanese approach to industrial relations is based. This book traces the development of Japanese labour law and shows how labour law has been related to the prevailing social, economic and political circumstances.

The complexity of employment arrangements in various countries tends to make it difficult to understand them. Nevertheless, it is important to 'take stock' periodically, particularly from an internationally comparative perspective. This remarkable book is a giant step in that direction. It is especially valuable in the context of increasing globalisation. For each of nine key jurisdictions - the European Union, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of America, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Japan - experts present detailed information and analysis on key issues, shedding valuable light on trends in such specific areas of employment relations as the following: * atypical work and flexible work arrangements; * dispute settlement procedures such as negotiation, conciliation, mediation, arbitration and other forms of governmental or judicial intervention; * job security, anti-discrimination and gender equality; * recognition of unions and employers' associations and forms of employee representation; * how collective bargaining is regulated, whom the collective agreements cover and what they contain; * parental leave and childcare policy; * the capacity of individual agreements to override or not override collective agreements; * minimum wage levels; * overtime and shift work; and * paid leave entitlements. As a general framework, Part 1 offers an insightful summary of the underpinnings of current analysis of globalization, including discussion of the varieties of capitalism thesis, the divergence/convergence debate (with its models of bipolarization, clustering and hybridization), and elements of historical and political-economic path dependency in various cultures. The information gathered here furthers understanding of the increasing 'disconnect' between the prevailing institutional framework for employment relations and the sweeping changes that are taking place in the world of work. With this book's analysis, practitioners and policymakers will be able to overcome their dated assumptions and more effectively accommodate each others' interests in the face of the complex mix of continuity and change that they are confronting. The team of authors are experts in these countries. They are active in policy or legal analysis, business and/or scholarship.

The conventional picture of industry and industrial relations in Japan is of a number of very large firms providing extremely attractive working conditions for their happy and contented workforce. Norma Chalmers shows that there is in fact another, very different side to the picture, which occurs in the the peripheral sector. Here, conditions are often poor, wages very low and continuity of employment virtually non-existent. There are many small firms where the effectiveness of worker organisation and bargaining declines as the firm's size and proximity to the industrial centre decrease. Moreover, as Chalmers shows, the peripheral sector is very large, and the conventional picture of the model workforce should probably be confined to a few flagship companies. The book argues that the model nature of the large firms may stem in part from the fact that they are able to off-load problems onto smaller firms who produce the components necessary for the large firm sector at disadvantageous subcontract terms.

As Japanese companies establish overseas production facilities at an ever more repid pace, it is increasingly important for people in the host countries to understand the preconceptions upon which the Japanese approach to industrial relations is based. This book traces the development of Japanese labour law and shows how labour law has been related to the prevailing social, economic and political circumstances.

Thirty-three distinguished authorities in the field of labour and industrial relations law gather here to enhance and complement the work of the late Marco Biagi, a man who, at the time of his violent and untimely death, had shown himself to be the most insightful and committed international scholar in this complex and controversial and, as it proved, even dangerous field. The topics covered range over many of Professor Biagi's special interests, including the following: the formulation of a new basis for labour law that could resolve new issues; employee protection in corporate restructuring; the trend toward individual 'enterprise bargaining'; a new European employment policy and what it might entail; the growing phenomenon of 'flexibilisation'; the effects of an aging workforce; the crucial nexus of free trade, labour, and human rights; the promise of EU enlargement; and protection of part-time workers. There is a lot of insight, innovation, and just clear thinking in this wide-ranging and far-reaching book. It will be of exceptional value to scholars, lawyers, and others concerned with the extensive and unpredictable changes under way in today's world of work.

Breaking new ground and drawing on contributions from the leading academics in the field, this volume in the Global HRM Series specifically focuses on industrial relations.

This book addresses the theme of collective bargaining in different legal systems and explores legal framework of collective bargaining as well as the role of different bargaining models in domestic labour law systems in altogether twenty-one jurisdictions throughout the world. Recent development of collective bargaining regimes can be viewed as part of a larger development of labour law models that face increasing challenges caused by globalization and transition of work and workplaces. The book places particular emphasis on identifying and examining most important development trends affecting domestic labour law regimes and collective bargaining and regulatory responses thereto. The analysis offered extents to transnational dimension of collective bargaining. As the chapters analyse the influence of the legal frameworks of collective bargaining in different countries they provide unique comparative insight into the topic which is central to understanding the function of labour law.