Commentary: Questionable Opinion About the Gig Economy

As OnLabor covered last week, the Department of Labor recently issued an “opinion letter” finding that the workers deriving income from an unnamed “virtual marketplace company” are independent contractors and …

Commentary: Jurisdiction, access to remedy in business and human rights cases, and the corporate structure: A tale of two cases

This note introduces two cases, both concerned with liability under a duty of care of parent companies, the obligation of ‘due diligence’ in supply chain operations and the obstacles presented …

Commentary: Jabir et al vs. KiK: Do EU companies have an extraterritorial duty towards suppliers in global production chains?

Multinational companies not only maintain subsidiaries in multiple jurisdictions but have increasingly outsourced production to independent suppliers. Industrial disasters like the Ali Enterprises (AE) factory fire in Karachi, Pakistan, or …

Commentary: How to Fight Sexual Harassment at Work? Empower Women Workers through Trade Unions

No-one was within earshot, but Roja (not her real name), a garment worker, spoke in whispers as we walked in a park on a Sunday, her day off, in Mysore …

Law and Politics in Employee Classification

As has been widely reported, the U.S. Department of Labor issued an “opinion letter” yesterday concluding that an unnamed “virtual marketplace company” does not employ the workers who make the company …

Zambian farmers can take Vedanta to court over water pollution. What are the legal implications?

Gabrielle Holly at Omnia Strategy LLP analyses the UK Supreme Court’s landmark decision. This morning, the Supreme Court delivered its much anticipated judgment in Vedanta Resources PLC and anor v Lungowe …

Protecting the right to strike in the ILO and the European Court of Human Rights: the significance of Appn No 44873/09 Ognevenko v Russia – Tonia Novitz

Freedom of association is a foundational principle of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Not only is this principle recognised in the ILO Constitution, first established as Part XIII of the Treaty of Versailles, a …

SCOTUS Decision in Jam et al v. International Finance Corporation (IFC) Denies Absolute Immunity to IFC…With Caveats

When it rains, it somehow pours. February 2019 ended up being such a landmark month for international law adjudication.  A day after the International Court of Justice released its landmark Chagos …

Foster parents and fundamental labour rights

The work of parenting is a labour of love. There is no work that is harder and there is no work that is more rewarding. How many parents have reflected …

Regulated working time is a must for all workers, especially those in the informal economy

“Recently, on May Day, we remembered the fallen heroes of the 1886 Chicago strike where workers demanded an eight-hour working day. We also celebrated the subsequent hard-won victories of employed …