Frank Hendrickx

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this monograph on Belgium not only describes and analyses the legal aspects of labour relations, but also examines labour relations practices and developing trends. It provides a survey of the subject that is both usefully brief and sufficiently detailed to answer most questions likely to arise in any pertinent legal setting. Both individual and collective labour relations are covered in ample detail, with attention to such underlying and pervasive factors as employment contracts, suspension of the contracts, dismissal laws and covenant of non-competition, as well as international private law. The author describes all important details of the law governing hours and wages, benefits, intellectual property implications, trade union activity, employers' associations, workers' participation, collective bargaining, industrial disputes, and much more. Building on a clear overview of labour law and labour relations, the book offers practical guidance on which sound preliminary decisions may be based. It will find a ready readership among lawyers representing parties with interests in Belgium, and academics and researchers will appreciate its value in the study of comparative trends in laws affecting labour and labour relations.

Collective Bargaining Developments in Times of Crisis discusses the evolution of collective bargaining systems (structure and content) since 2008 with a comparative perspective. In many EU Member States, the various economic crises of recent years provided grounds for a rarely equalled level of state intervention in the regulation of labour relations with an explicit aim: the decentralization of collective bargaining. An extensive body of research - summed up and analysed expertly in the chapters of this very important book - reveals that the process of decentralization has more often than not led to a situation where salaries and labour conditions are evermore frequently determined by direct negotiations between employer and employees, with the State becoming the sole guarantor of employee protection even as it encourages decreasing labour costs to ensure that companies remain competitive. What's in this book: The comparative approach offered in this book adds to the above-mentioned synthesis by providing examples of specific recent developments in fourteen Member States and Turkey. Among the numerous topics and issues that arise are the following: 'opt-out' clauses that derogate unfavourably from sectoral agreement standard extension of the employer's unilateral decision-making power; extension of the employer's unilateral decision-making power; 'memoranda of understanding' imposed by the 'troika' (EU, ECB, and IMF); and 'standby arrangements' imposed by the IMF. However, notwithstanding the strong emphasis on changing the structure of collective agreements by shifting the centre of gravity closer to the company, the research provided by this book finds promise in the reconstituted support for sector-level agreements increasingly present among small businesses, networked businesses, and work via digital platforms. How this will help you: This book aids readers to understand why sectoral collective bargaining is still an important aspect of labour regulations. Further, this book helps to gain insight into how the national legislations approach the crises that have affected collective bargaining and how the decentralization of collective bargaining occurs in the various countries. As the first book to take stock of the current state of collective bargaining in Europe, this book is an essential study for labour and employment law practitioners, and an exemplary analysis of immeasurable value to policymakers and academics in the field.

PROF. DR. anus PEETERS PRESIDENT- ExECUTIVE DIRECTOR, POLICY RESEARCH CORPORATION N. V. The "Strategies for Global and Regional Ports" confirms that container shipping in the wider Caribbean is in for tumultuous development in the years to come. One of the driving forces behind the momentous changes expected in the provision of maritime liner services in the region, is the growing reliance by major container carriers on multi-layered transhipment concepts and hub ports. Given its favourable location at the junction of North-South and East­ West trades, the Caribbean region is increasingly becoming a crucial factor in the service pattern of major carriers. As a result, global terminal operating companies such as Hutchison Port Holdings and Stevedoring Services of America, are already tapping the potential for developing port activity that was, until recently, dormant. In anticipation of the new shipping patterns to emerge in the coming months and years, major political decisions with respect to shipping and port development need to be taken by Caribbean Governments. Many of these decisions will be made under pressure of well­ meaning lobbies, but which do not always have the necessary insight into liner shipping developments. The Netherlands Antilles is one of those nations whose ports are at a crossroads and may either become regional hub ports or turn into feeder ports. In view of the changes in the Caribbean maritime geography, the Ministry of Traffic and Transport of the Netherlands Antilles commissioned Policy Research Corporation N.

Because labour and social security issues have arisen in many disparate ways since the inception of the European Communities, there has been no consistent classification of European law in this area. This book attempts to rectify that situation, presenting as complete a codification as possible of this body of law, with texts of the most important documents and direct reference to print and online sources of all relevant conventions, regulations, directives, decisions, recommendations and agreements. The codification encompasses European Union texts on labour and social security, as well as pertinent Council of Europe documents.

PROF. DR. anus PEETERS PRESIDENT- ExECUTIVE DIRECTOR, POLICY RESEARCH CORPORATION N. V. The "Strategies for Global and Regional Ports" confirms that container shipping in the wider Caribbean is in for tumultuous development in the years to come. One of the driving forces behind the momentous changes expected in the provision of maritime liner services in the region, is the growing reliance by major container carriers on multi-layered transhipment concepts and hub ports. Given its favourable location at the junction of North-South and East­ West trades, the Caribbean region is increasingly becoming a crucial factor in the service pattern of major carriers. As a result, global terminal operating companies such as Hutchison Port Holdings and Stevedoring Services of America, are already tapping the potential for developing port activity that was, until recently, dormant. In anticipation of the new shipping patterns to emerge in the coming months and years, major political decisions with respect to shipping and port development need to be taken by Caribbean Governments. Many of these decisions will be made under pressure of well­ meaning lobbies, but which do not always have the necessary insight into liner shipping developments. The Netherlands Antilles is one of those nations whose ports are at a crossroads and may either become regional hub ports or turn into feeder ports. In view of the changes in the Caribbean maritime geography, the Ministry of Traffic and Transport of the Netherlands Antilles commissioned Policy Research Corporation N.