Labour Justice A Constitutional Evaluation of Labour Law

This book argues that the imagination of the worker-citizen, inherent in citizens' constitutional duty to work, is the very foundation of constitutional citizenship and its social justice agenda. The design of social justice in the constitution takes labour as its core ideological and political commitment, seeking to treat workers fairly for their social contribution through work. Employing this constitutional design, this book evaluates the recently repealed labour law against the constitutional metric of social justice. Drawing on the components of social justice, the book evaluates the new labour law in its capacity to promote market-based distribution, respecting basic individual liberties; the complementary redistribution of public goods, upholding the principle of solidarity; and worker participation in decisions about the operation of the market and the state. In offering such evaluation, the book conceives of work in its wider social relationship in contrast to its narrower private exchange rationale.

Acknowledgement; Preface; Introduction; 1. Labour's Constitution: Pursuing Economic, Social, and Political Justice; 2. Individual Autonomy, Freedom of Contract, and the Labour Market; 3. Solidarity and Social Welfare; 4. Industrial Democracy and Republican Citizenship: Collective Action in Resource Redistribution; Conclusion.

Supriya Routh is an Associate Professor of Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Victoria. His research interests include theoretical conceptualizations of work and labour law, workers' organization initiatives, international labour law, atypical and informal workers in the global South, human rights, and human development and sustainability. Supriya has an internationally-recognized research agenda in labour and employment law with an emphasis on the legal exclusion of the vast majority of non-industrial workers in the global South. He often engages the disciplines of law, political philosophy, and sociology in his socio-legal research. His research agenda combines empirical investigation with theoretical exploration.