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Italian Labour Law e-Journal
Book Review: The power of the collective: a remarkable book on European collective labour law, Edited by Beryl ter Haar and Kun Attila (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2021)
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Péter Sipka
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Book Review: The power of the collective: a remarkable book on European collective labour law, Edited by Beryl ter Haar and Kun Attila (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2021)
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Péter Sipka                                                                     Italian Labour Law e-Journal
sipka.peter@law.unideb.hu                                                              Issue 2, Vol. 15 (2022)
                                                                                             ISSN 1561-8048
                                                              https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.1561-8048/16075




                                         Book Review


   The power of the collective: a remarkable book on
   European collective labour law, Edited by Beryl ter
  Haar and Kun Attila (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2021)

                               Reviewed by Péter Sipka*



 1. Introduction

     It would be difficult to answer the question of what is currently considered the greatest
 challenge in labour law. Many authors publish on this topic, where digitalisation, the change
 in the forms of work, questioning the very existence of labour law, the eternal battle between
 social aspects and economic interests, the impact of migration on labour law, etc. are
 recurrent themes.
     In the light of the above, the book "EU Collective Labour Law", published in 2022 and
 edited by Beryl ter Haar and Attila Kun, is particularly noteworthy, as it organises the high-
 level studies on collective labour law by Europe's renowned labour lawyers into a well-
 defined conceptual framework.
     The authors highlighted four of the abovementioned issues: as the result of the effects of
 digitalisation, the current form of the regulation on occupation has been questioned,1
 furthermore, the COVID-19 epidemic has led to the fact that masses of people suddenly
 started to work from home in an underdeveloped (partly unregulated) manner, and
 subsequently, the issue of safety at work (including the issue of mandatory testing and
 vaccination) has come under the spotlight. In addition to the above, the issue of climate
 protection is also being passed through in the world of work, moreover, a growing number
 of international documents are concluded to combat poverty and promote sustainability.2

 * Assistant ProfessorAssistant Professor, University of Debrecen (UD)
 1 See Explanatory memorandum of point 1 of the proposal for a Directive on improving working conditions

 in platform work.
 2 E.g. European Pillar of Social Rights, the proposal for a directive on adequate minimum wages in the

 European Union.
 Péter Sipka                                                              Italian Labour Law e-Journal
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                                                                                        Section: Review




The effects described above could individually have the potential to strongly transform an
area of law, however, their joint emergence in a relatively short period clearly calls for a
profound reform of labour law.
    The professionals currently dealing with labour law starts to think in several directions
when examining the above problems: on the one hand, it is fundamentally questionable
whether the autonomy of labour law can be maintained in the long term, i.e. whether it can
retain the characteristics (e.g. the enforcement of social aspects, the instrumental nature of
the labour market, etc.) that make it remarkably different from other areas of law. If so, will
they remain regulated by Member States or will EU legislation have an even stronger
influence in certain areas? The related question, independently of the answer to the first
question, is by what means current (and future) forms of work should/may be regulated: can
the current triple system of normative acts, collective agreements and individual agreements
be maintained or will new forms of regulation (e.g. GTC) also become widespread with the
new forms of work? Another question that should not be neglected is the legal status of the
workers: will the "employee" – "subject to civil law contracts" dichotomy be maintained, or
will an interim solution emerge, and certain legal relationships take on a "hybrid" nature?
    Although the above issues may be addressed by very different proposals, the common
feature of most of them is that they rely heavily on collective labour law, as the majority view
is that structural problems should be addressed through collective labour law instruments.
The concerned book intends to support this position as it does not seek to provide a long
and immensely deep dogmatic analysis of a monographic nature, but rather to link together
a logical chain of separate studies, each focusing on a specific sub-area and that are excellent
in themselves.
    Due to this methodology, it can be stated with certainty that the reader will encounter all
the important issues of current (European) collective labour law, i.e. the book contains the
results of the areas of labour law covered in a coherent and thoroughly processed manner.
In the following, I will intend to justify this statement by presenting the work in more detail.


2. The concept of the volume: the theoretical and practical result of collective
collaboration.

    In the course of a job, it is exceptionally advisable if a person has a good relationship, one
might say, friendship with the colleagues, since this is often reflected in the results. In present
case, this state of grace was maintained, as both the editors and the authors are close friends,
each with a clear passion and dedication to their own area, therefore, the cover image of the
book is a manifestation of the authors' commitment to the book (subject) as well as a
manifestation of the power of the collective. The authors of the volume clearly support the
ideas of collective labour law even in their editorial methodology: just as a great book on
labour law is likely to be the result of collective cooperation, the labour law problems raised
in the volume can also be answered with such method, using the ideology of collective labour
law.


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  Péter Sipka                                                                                   Italian Labour Law e-Journal
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                                                                                                              Section: Review




    According to the starting point of the editors (authors), the achievements of collective
labour law at EU level (including social dialogue, EU social and employment policies and
other employment-related financial programmes) are an unquestionable consequence of the
development of the EU, which, even in the absence of specific legislative competence in this
area, established the European collective labour law in the broad sense. This became de facto part
of the EU acquis3 and gradually broadened the areas concerned by interpreting the rights
enshrined in the founding treaties.4 This raises the appropriate question of the extent to
which the “resulting” body of law can respond to the specific challenges that labour law
faces, and to what extent the approach of the acquis in this area can be applied to labour law
as a whole?
    It is beyond doubt that today collective labour law provisions are unavoidable in both EU
and national legal systems, however, the choice of topic is certainly interesting from the point
of view of whether collective labour law will have an increasing or a decreasing influence on
regulation in the future. The development of law in this area is beyond doubt, as the
European Pillar of Social Rights has a definite impact on the exercise of collective rights in
the context of fair working conditions,5 however, it may be questionable whether this is the
most appropriate way to address the issues described in the introduction and raised in the
following sections.
    Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, we have undoubtedly seen an effort on the part of
both the EU and the Member States to maintain (strengthen) collective dialogue and
consultation with the social partners during the pandemic, although, in my view, labour law
could not provide truly convincing protection concerning this issue. The
shutdown/restructuring caused by the epidemic was ultimately an economic-financial
burden on the employers' side, which was settled either independently or with state support
(through public acts). This has taken the form of various financial aid packages and policy
decisions at EU level, in which social partners indeed played a significant role, but this role
was in the form of decision support, where the social dimension was taken into account.
Consequently, it can be stated that the labour law-institutional structure made a significant
contribution to crisis management, which is to be considered as success, however, there is
still considerable room for development.
    The second issue, the emergence of digitalisation and artificial intelligence, will lead to an
irreversible transformation of labour law in the long term, and may also fundamentally
challenge our current rules and knowledge of occupation.6 In this process, collective labour
law has an unavoidable role and responsibility, not only at Member State level, but also at
European level, as it is clear that the issue cannot be accurately addressed by individual labour
law instruments due to individual isolation. Therefore, if we aim to preserve labour law values

3 Chapter     “Introduction” p. 17.
4 Bercusson      B., European Labour Law, II ed., Cambridge University Press, Oxford, 2009, 329.
5 Zaccaria M. L., Perspektívák és kihívások - a Szociális Jogok Európai Pillérének potenciális hatása a magyar munkajogra

[Perspectives and challenges - the potential impact of the European Pillar of Social Rights on Hungarian labour law], in Közjogi
Szemle, 1, 2018, 43.
6 Hajdú J., A mesterséges intelligencia hatása a munkaerőpiacra, avagy elveszik-e a robotok az ember munkáját [The impact of

artificial intelligence on the labour market, or will robots take our jobs?], in Infokommunikáció és Jog, 2, 2020, 9.

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    Péter Sipka                                                                          Italian Labour Law e-Journal
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                                                                                                       Section: Review




for the future, we can most likely do so through collective means.7 In this context, it is
noteworthy that a draft of the directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on
platform work is now available has already become available, which draft defines, for
example, the notions of platform work8 and platform workers9, which can be considered as
the first major legislative step in the field of the legal protection of such persons. The explicit
aim of the proposal is to preserve and improve the protection of people working in this
manner by, fostering social dialogue on algorithmic management systems, introducing
collective rights regarding information and consultation on substantial changes related to use
of automated monitoring and decision-making systems. 10
   The authors also raise the possibility of using European collective labour law in further
problem area, namely the area of climate change, as it is part of the post-COVID relaunch
programme of the European Union.
   Although, at first sight, the link between the two areas may appear as distant, the authors
argue that social dialogue is essential in technological change, which is obviously primarily
economic, thus it helps to manage change. From this aspect, it seems that the authors
consider not only the set of instruments of collective labour law to be followed, but also the
approach of problem management.
   At first reading, among the challenges raised by the volume, the issue of the fight against
poverty might be the least classically labour law-related. In this context, the authors themselves
point out that this issue is indeed primarily a global problem, however, that it has unavoidable
labour law implications such as the issue of adequate minimum wages11 to be provided in the
European Union, or the fight against poverty mentioned in the Social Pillar.12 From this
context alone, it is clear that the authors of the volume use the notion of (European)
collective labour law in the broadest possible sense, while at the same time claiming that we
can, with the tools and approach of this area of law, contribute to addressing not only labour
law (sectoral) but also global problems.




7  For example, the European Pillar of Social Rights, explicitly emphasises, in addition to economic
development, social development based on equal opportunities, fair working conditions, social protection and
social inclusion. – see, for further detail in Jakab N., Robotika és a jog – A robotika munkajogot érintő kapcsolódása
[Robotics and the law - Robotics in relation to labour law], in Miskolci Jogi Szemle, 15, 2020, 1. 55.
8 Any work organised through a digital labour platform and performed in the Union by an individual on the

basis of a contractual relationship between the digital labour platform and the individual, irrespective of whether
a contractual relationship exists between the individual and the recipient of the service.
9 Any person performing platform work who has an employment contract or employment relationship as

defined by the law, collective agreements or practice in force in the Member States with consideration to the
case-law of the Court of Justice.
10 Explanatory memorandum of the proposal, nt. (1), 4.
11 See e.g.: Proposal for a directive on adequate minimum wages in the European Union, Brussels, 28.10.2020,

COM(2020) 682 final, 2020/0310 (COD).
12 Preamble, Point 9; Article 6(b); Articles 12-14.



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     Péter Sipka                                                            Italian Labour Law e-Journal
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                                                                                          Section: Review




3. The structure of the book and the main topic of each study.

   The volume can be divided into four structural units, which on the one hand provides a
framework, and on the other hand a logical chain for the writings: the first one contains a
theoretical foundation of collective labour law, presenting its most important sources and
fundamental values. The main topic of the second part is social dialogue, the third one
focuses on employee participation and collective bargaining, while the fourth and final
chapter looks ahead.
   Studies were carried out on the following topics:
   In his initial study, Eduardo Ales13 presents the basic institutions of collective labour law
and its relationship (interplay) with EU law, systematically reviewing the sources of law by
which the area concerned is strengthened. In the paper, the author also makes a special
reference to the relevant case law of the CJEU, thus supporting the hypothesis of the editors
that the institutions of the European collective labour law have, through the case law of the
courts, a broad impact on the development of law at both national and EU level.
   In the following paper, Jerome Porta and Tatiana Sachs14 discuss the importance of the
representation of employees and the solidarity, pointing out that the development of a
unified European collective labour law is somewhat prevented by the differences between
each national regulation, but that a common minimum is essential for the socially
strengthening Europe.
   In his work, Vincenzo Pietrogiovanni15 discusses the right to collective bargaining as a
fundamental right. In the course of it, he describes the relevant legal environment of the EU
and the changes (developments) in the content of the right, highlighting that there is still
considerable progress to be made in this area.
   Piotr Grzebyk16 discusses the enforceability of the right to strike as a fundamental right,
taking into account the reasoning in the Viking and Laval cases, presenting the specific
interpretation of the CJEU.
   At the end of the first part, two short studies step outside the narrowly interpreted
framework of EU law: in their paper, Elena Gerasimova and Elena Sychenko17 examine the
impact of the European Social Charter and the European Convention on Human Rights on
the development of European collective labour law, furthermore, they present the influence
of such documents on the Member States. Subsequently, Valérie Van Goethen and Vongai
Masocha18 analyse the relationship between the European Union and the ILO reflected in
institutional and legal texts from the perspective of the ILO.




13 Eduardo Ales: EU Collective Labour Law: if any, how?
14 Jerome Porta és Tatiana Sachs: Conceptual issues on representation and solidarity.
15 Vincenzo Pietrogiovanni: Collective bargaining: (not just) a fundamental right.
16 Piotr Grzebyk: The right to strike as a fundamental right.
17 Elena Gerasimova, Elena Sychenko: European Social Charter and European Convention on Human Rights.
18 Valérie Van Goethen és Vongai Masocha: Collective labour law and the European Union: an ILO

perspective.

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     Péter Sipka                                                                 Italian Labour Law e-Journal
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                                                                                               Section: Review




    The second structural unit (Social Dialogue) begins with a synthesis study in which Paul
Copeland19 presents the social dialogue policy of the EU from its inception through the
obstacles to its development, and then refers to the potential for future developments.
    This is followed by a remarkable paper by Natalie Videbaek Munkholm20 on the sources of
law of social dialogue and the documents that are the results of its implementation. A
particular value of the work is that the author highlights some problematic topics that need
to be developed in the future.
    Looking at the challenges of tripartism in the EU, Jozef Kšiňan21 concludes that, although
the notion has a significant impact primarily in national law, it is also often present at EU
level and it will become an increasingly important part of the decision-making mechanism in
the long term.
    In the next chapter, Manuel Antonio Garicía-Munoz Alhambra22 analyses European sectoral
social dialogue. In his study, which includes both qualitative and quantitative elements, he
points out in which cases sectoral social dialogue can be a useful instrument, without hiding
its negative prognoses.
    For those concerned with (European) labour law, the social dialogue emerging in nations
of “associated country” status associated with the EU can be of particular interest. The study
of Zakaria Shvelidze23 on this topic points out that in such countries, the status of EU associate
offers the possibility to reflect the EU values already acquired/accepted as strongly as
possible in domestic law, although, the author argues that the desired level is still far from
being reached.
    In the following paper, József Hajdú presents the role and impact of social partners in the
EU level problems of pensions and unemployment.24 In his study, Professor Hajdú points
out that the EU with its current structure, does not have the resources to make meaningful
progress on these issues, and can therefore act primarily by promoting coordination and
cooperation between Member States.
    Subsequently comes the writing of Attila Kun,25 who examines the links between social
responsibility and social dialogue in the EU, pointing out that soft law instruments (CSR,
RBC, due diligence) are increasingly becoming hard law in certain areas, such as human
rights.
    The third part of the book is organised under the general term collective bargaining and
employee’s involvement. In the first essay, Elisabeth Brameshuber26 presents the background
and functioning of information and consultation rights, as well as the relevant CJEU case
law, moreover, at the end of the article, the author also proposes a rethink of the scope of
the legislation.

19 Paul Copeland: The politics of EU Social Dialogue.
20 Natalie Videbaek Munkholm: Social Dialogue in the EU (legal).
21 Jozef Kšiňan: EU issues on tripartism.
22 Antonio Garicía-Munoz Alhambra: European Sectoral Social Dialogue.
23 Zakaria Shvelidze: European Social Dialogue and Associated Countries.
24 Hajdú József: Social Partners’ involvement in the EU-level social policy issues, focusing on pensions and

unemployment.
25 Kun Attila: Social Dialogue and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the EU.
26 Elisabeth Brameshuber: Information and consultation rights.



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    The next paper is written by Iacopo Senatori and Angela Rauseo,27 who produced a summary
of the European Works Council, including a case study, in which the achievements and
shortcomings of the practical effectiveness of the Directive on the European Works Council
are presented.
    Subsequently, the study of Beryl ter Haar,28 one of the editors of the volume, on the
regulation of transnational company agreements (TCAs) within the EU can be read, in which
she reviews the content of the documents, the issue of enforceability and the results of the
analysis of the ILO.
    This is followed by the writing of Alexander De Becker29 on the different models of
collective bargaining in the public sector and their international legal framework. In the
writing, the author points out that Article X of TFEU does not distinguish between the
labour law of private and public sector, therefore, on this basis (taking into account Article
152) the possibility of social dialogue is open to the parties. The author, using comparative
methods, compares the Scandinavian and Franco-Belgian models, however, she does not see
any realistic possibility of applying them uniformly.
    Diana Haas and Wolfhard Kohte30 examine participation and representation rights in the
field of occupational health and safety in the light of the framework directive, pointing to the
need to strengthen such right in small and medium-sized enterprises in particular.
    This is followed by the work of Daniel Ulber31 on board-level representation. The author
describes the development of employee representation in detail, its sources, the challenges
arising from the interconnection of labour law and company law, and subsequently, makes
de lege ferenda proposals for the development of the law.
    The importance of employee participation is also emphasised in the following study by
Teresa Coelho Moreira and David Carvalho Martins,32 in which study the authors focus on the
representation that arises in the restructuring of firms. In this context, they cover the main
stages in the development of EU legislation on collective redundancies, the evolution of the
current notions of employee/representative of employee /company, pointing out that such
rules are essential for adequate legal protection.
    In the following paper, Lukasz Pisarczyk and Katarzyna Wieczorek33 examine the role of the
transfer of undertakings on collective agreements and employee representation. They present
the positive impact of the development of European law in this area and emphasise the
importance of the law-developing interpretation of the CJEU.
    No volume on collective labour law can be written without mentioning competition law.
Accordingly, the study by Teun Jaspers34 an in-depth analysis of the collision of competition

27 Iacopo Senatori, Angela Rauseo: European Works Councils.
28 Berylter Haar: The EU and transnational company agreements.
29 Alexander De Becker: Collective bargaining in the public sector: different models in a distinct international

framework..
30 Diana Haas, Wolfhard Kohte_ Occupational health and safety – representation and participation
31 Daniel Ulber: Board-level representation.
32 Teresa Coelho Moreira, David Carvalho Martins: The role of employees (and their representatives) in

company restructuring.
33 Lukasz Pisarczyk, Katarzyna Wieczorek: The influence of a transfer of undertaking on collective agreements

and employee representation.
34 Teun Jaspers: Collective bargaining and EU competition law.



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law formulas with collective labour law, as well as the EU law governing this area. In the
latter context, the author points out that, although the non-application of competition law
rules is the precondition of exercising fundamental social rights, there is still much to be done
on the path to a social Europe.
    In the following study, the challenges to equal treatment arising in the course of collective
bargaining are discussed by Petra Herzfeld Olsson.35 In the introduction to the paper, the author
states that, although equal treatment is, in essence, the cornerstone of social policy, its
enforcement is still very difficult. Supporting this, the author analyses the challenges arising
in the course of collective bargaining processes, concluding that the implementation of equal
treatment is the most important task of the social partners.
    In the paper concluding the part, Pieter Pecinovsky and Mariagrazia Lombardi36 examine the
enforceability of the social dimension of the EU, presenting the levels of labour inspection,
two specific examples of cooperation as good solution and the role of the European Labour
Authority.
    The final chapter of the book focuses on future perspectives and challenges. Davia
Pertylaité37 provides a synthesis study of the opportunities and challenges for the development
of European collective labour law. In her paper, she presents the achievements of European
collective labour law until today, analyses the instruments of national and EU collective
labour law, highlighting the fact that further development in the future, based on common
values and principles, may lead to institutional and economic development.
    In her concluding essay, Tonia Novitz38 presents European collective labour law as a new
representation of the "human face" of labour law. In her work, she describes the
development of European collective labour law until today, and stresses that Europe in crisis
is specifically in need of collective labour law instruments (protection) to address economic
challenges, expressing the hope that their strong manifestation will restore the “human face”
of law at the same time.


4. Final thoughts.

   Summarising the above, it can be seen that the book, with its chapters, covers a very broad
spectrum, with each of the analyses dealing with a specific area being a serious and in-depth
work, therefore it can be said that it presents and analyses all of the essential elements of
current European collective labour law. Consequently, the book is likely to become an
essential part of the own library of the professionals dealing with European collective labour
law, moreover, for university students, it can also serve as a useful textbook that is easy to
learn. I hope that the readers of this book will, after reading it, adopt the values and attitudes



35 Petra Herzfeld Olsson: Collective bargaining and equal payment.
36 Pieter Pecinovsky, Mariagrazia Lombardi: Social partners, labour inspectorates and the enforcement of the
EU’s social dimension.
37 Davia Pertylaité: Overview of common issues and evolution of EU Collective Labour Law
38 Tonia Novitz: Re-introducing a human face – the future of EU Collective Labour Law.



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of the editors and authors, and consequently that the objectives pursued by themselves will
hopefully be more likely to be put into practice

Copyright © 2022 Sipka Peter. This article is released under a Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International License




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