Labour, the Environment and International and European Law: One journey or worlds apart?

Abstract

The transition to an environmentally sustainable economy raises Herculean challenges for labour law. From a labour law perspective, perhaps the biggest question is the extent to which the environment is an interest that is and should be recognised and protected by labour law. Although the answer to this question is different for each national legal system, the influence of international and European law cannot be ignored. Starting from this assumption, the author analyses to what extent international and European law may influence the recognition of the environment as an interest of national labour law. To this end, the author analyses the overarching principles that characterise the interrelation between labour and the environment in the hard and soft law of the UN, ILO and EU. Subsequently, three areas of national labour law which may be influenced by the supranational framework are identified and discussed: job transition, work-related mobility of employees and remuneration. The author finds that the supranational framework provides arguments to assert that the environment has a place in labour law and is a legitimate interest in the balancing exercise between employer and employee. Nevertheless, a substantive place for labour law in the supranational framework seems lacking. The supranational framework is primarily concerned with compensating employees for the negative effects of the green transition and offers limited support for a broader integration of the environment into the employment relationship. Consequently, it makes few connections with labour law and contains few (hard or soft) obligations for both employers and employees. In the view of the author, this is a missed opportunity.