The Eurasian Model of International Labour Legislation in the Context of Globalization

Abstract

The current article seeks to provide a comparative legal analysis of the Eurasian model of international labor legislation. It explores the multi-layered nature of contemporary international labor law in the context of globalization and regionalization, emphasizing the growing importance of cross-border legal labor standards in regional structures in the early 21st century and defines how global and regional cross-border legislation is incorporated on the basis of in favorem. The authors propose their own original concept of international labor legislation, based on the four characteristics: 1) The overall aim of legal regulation; 2) The extent of integration within those regulations; 3) Sources of labor law and their characteristics; 4) Systems of international control over labor rights. To define an original model for the legal regulation of labor, the authors investigate case studies of labour legal regulation in inter-state regional organizations including the European Union, the Council of Europe and ASEAN. The authors’ theoretical model identifies the defining features of Eurasia’s model of labor regulation. The research also follows the establishment and development of Eurasian labor law and attempts to give an informed judgment about its future path. In their conclusions, the authors assert that modern Eurasian labor law is a ‘live law’, still under development as it incorporates the non-uniform integration between the former Soviet Republics. Two primary trends leading regional co-operation in the labor market are identified: 1) A social model, implementing international labor rights across Eurasia; 2) An economic model, built on the free movement of labor in a common market. In today’s environment, the Commonwealth of Independent States goes some way toward representing the first trend through its attempts to serve as an international coordinating organization. The second trend is supported by supranational organizations promoting international integration, emphasizing the economic priorities of a common labor market (in this case, the EAEC) above social policy. The authors believe that, in the long term, Eurasian labor law at a supranational level should be developed via the EAEC to ensure a good balance between these social and economic models. This would include integration standards adopted in accordance with international labor rights, and the best practices of national labor legislation of its member states.