Labour Law Reforms and Social Dialogue 1 February 2017, Turin Angelika Muller Governance and Tripartism Department International Labour Office, Geneva, Switzerland

Outline Labour Law and Social Dialogue Group exercises Main topics of reforms ILO standards Comparative trends Group exercises

Labour Law Reforms Worldwide ILO technical assistance for labour law reforms comments on draft legislation through tripartite social dialogue (+ judiciary, academics) adapted to the country’s economic context in respect of national legal traditions Reasons for labour law reforms Modernization Conformity with ILO standards Flexibility + Security = Flexicurity ?

Labour Law: Flexibility vs. Rigidity Employment Protection Legislation (EPL) Topical issue worldwide Controversy in policy and academic debate Increasing request for cross-countries comparisons EPLex Database - hiring/firing legal rules Probationary period Fixed-term contracts Fair and prohibited grounds for dismissals Procedures for individual and collective dismissals (notice period, severance pay) Compensation for unfair dismissals

International Indicators for Reforming Employment Protection Legislation (EPL) ILO standards ILO Convention No. 158 and Recommendation No. 166 on termination of employment World Bank: Doing Business Difficulty of Hiring and Redundancy Index removed from the annex in 2009

Fixed-term contracts (FTCs) Adequate safeguards against abusive recourse to FTCs Convention 158 and Recommendation 166 Reasons of conclusion of FTCs (not for permanent work) Limited duration of FTCs Limited number of renewals of FTCs Comparative labour law Frequent limitation to 3-5 years Case law on reasonable expectation of renewal of FTCs FTCs are one of the forms of precarious employment. Women and men are victims of such unstable employment relationship No limitation of FTCs in Nigeria In South Africa - No limitation of FTCs, bur reasonable expectation to be renewed. Malawi – no FTCs for permanent and normal activity Zambia – no distinction between FTC and CDI, but spme specific rules for contracts of FTC.

Dismissals for Economic Reasons Procedures in Convention 158 & Recommendation 166 Consultation with workers’ representatives Notification to the competent public authority (not authorisation) Definition of collective dismissals specified number or percentage of the workforce In South Africa – definition of collective dismissals for entreprises with more than 50 employees. Only consultation with workers’ representatives. Malawi – no legal definition. The case law established the 2 procedures. Zambia – 2 procedures applies for all individual dismissals for economic reasons Nigeria No definition of collective dismissals - Only information for trade unions

Comparative Review of Regulation of Collective Dismissals Selection criteria for redundancies In law and collective agreements (54% out of 110 countries) Controversy on criterion « Last In - First Out » Increase of case law (age and sex discrimination)

Group Work Tripartite social dialogue on labour law reform and employment policies

Conclusion Labour Law Reforms harmonisation instead of deregulation through tripartite social dialogue Goals for the ILO and tripartite social partners Rule of law, awareness of law, access to justice… … for economic prosperity and social justice for all