North Korean labourers are still being forced to work in the European Union. According to researchers, including Professor of Korean Studies Remco Breuker at Leiden University, Dutch companies are buying ships from a dockyard that uses North Korean workers.

Leiden researchers discovered that North Korean labourers are being forced to work on a large scale in Poland. Professor of Korea Studies Remco Breuker will present a report on the abuses in Poland at the ‘Slaves To The System’ conference on 6 July.

Companies in Poland employ North Korean forced labourers on a large scale. Some of these companies are supported by the European Union. These are the findings of a research team headed by Leiden Professor of Korean Studies Remco Breuker and employment lawyer Imke van Gardingen. The study is still ongoing…

Conference

Conference

Conference

This thesis analyses the existence and the functioning of the urban labour market in the early Roman empire by looking at the crucial influence of social structures, such as the family and non-familial labour collectives.

Serhan Afacan defended his thesis on 23 June 2015

This paper written by Alexandre Afonso, Assistant Professor and Researcher at Leiden University, argues that gender norms and the political strength of the left were important structuring factors regarding why European countries choose migrant labour to expand their labour force in the decades that…

The first comprehensive and authoritative history of work and labour in Africa; a key text for all working on African Studies and Labour History worldwide.

Leiden University’s Master of Law in Global and European Labour Law (LLM) examines the various rules and mechanisms that exist to promote and safeguard labour rights from a purely legal perspective, taking account of differences in economic, social, political and cultural contexts.

Hart Publishing in Oxford has published the first book in a series entitled ‘Restatement of Labour Law in Europe’. This particular book deals with the question of which employees are protected by labour law (‘The concept of employee’).

SLAVES TO THE SYSTEM: Locating Responsibility for Forced Expatriate Labour Practices by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)

This book is part of a series which sets out a restatement of labour law in Europe. Its second volume looks at atypical employment relationships in Europe.

Professor Paul van der Heijden (international labour law Leiden University) has been appointed the honorary Marcel Storme chair at the University of Ghent. The Marcel Storme chair is a rotating professorship at the law faculty of the University of Ghent which according to the regulations is solely…

Clothes by big Western brands that are on sale in Dutch shops are sometimes made by North Korean workers. The Dutch state is co-financer of a motorway that is being built in Pakistan by exploited workers. These are the conclusions of a report published by the LeidenAsiaCentre on 2 April.

Labour is back as a significant social and political force in Indonesia, as was shown in the recent 1 May trade union demonstrations in Jakarta. Over the past years major changes have taken place in Indonesian labour law, leading to new forms of judicial and political resolution of labour disputes.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) was established in 1919 based on the premise that social justice is a condition for lasting peace. On February 2019 the ILO celebrated its 100th anniversary with an international symposium to consider the future of the ILO.

European labour law has an unmistakable influence on national law. This applies even more to the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), as it has implications for the application of European law in the Member States and with it the interpretation of national law. Collected Cases…

This monograph, written by dr. Dennie Oude Nijhuis and published by Cambridge University Press, discusses the postwar development of the welfare state.

Professor Paul van der Heijden (International Labour Law) has been awarded a grant of 50,000 euros by the city council of The Hague to start building a Business & Human Rights database.

This research investigates everyday lives and workplace experiences of Iranian workers employed at textile industry, which was the second biggest industry after oil following the latter’s discovery in 1908.

For many years, human rights have mostly been a theme where states constituted the most important actors. Influenced by globalisation and the worldwide integration of the economy, multinational corporations have grown to feel more responsible for compliance to human rights.

On 21 February 2019, Ruben Zandvliet defended his thesis 'Trade, Investment and Labour: Interactions in International Law'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. dr. N.J. Schrijver.

To what extent was labour-induced migration important to the functioning of the towns and cities of Roman Italy?

In his thesis Tjandra analuses the development of labour law in Indonesia. He focusses on the developments after the fall of the Soeharto regime (1998), the so called reformasi period.

This book sheds new light on domestic forced migration by examining the experiences of American-born slave migrants from a comparative perspective.

Promotor: T. H. Oosterkamp

For many years, human rights have been considered a playing field in which states were the most important actors. It is they who in multilateral relations, such as the United Nations (UN), the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), have written international…

From colonial times through to the present day, large numbers of Javanese have left their homes to settle in other parts of Indonesia or much further afield. Frequently this dispersion was forced, often with traumatic results.

The Leiden University Labour Law Department started a new cooperation with the Law School of the China University of Labor Relations in Beijing. The agreement was signed by Dean prof. Jiang Ying during the visit of her delegation on 19 September 2019 in Leiden. Also Vice-Dean prof. Li Wenpei and Lecturer…

French title: Communication et violences dans le Guéra et le Moyen-Chari (Tchad) de 1940 à 2010. This research investigates the relationship between the introduction of new means of communication and violence experienced by the local populations in the Moyen-Chari and the Guéra regions in Chad from…

Gerrie Lodder has published an article in the Dutch legal periodical Nederlands Juristenblad on the exploitation of labour migrants from the perspective of human rights.

On 19 and 20 May an international labour law conference is taking place in Stockholm. The theme is ‘New Foundations of Labour Law in the Globalised Market Economy’.

Guus Heerma van Voss, professor of Labour Law recently published: Restatement of Labour Law in Europe in coöperation with Bernd Waas professor of Labour Law at the Law Faculty of the University of Frankfurt.

From 15-19 July 2019, the department of Labour Law hosted the first Global & European Labour Law Summer School. Participants from 10 different nationalities and 3 different continents joined the Summer School.

Last week Hanneke Bennaars and Yvonne Erkens visited the World Congress of the International Society for Labour and Social Security Law (ISLSSL) which was held from 4 to 7 September 2018 in Turin, Italy. The theme of the congress was “Transformations of Work: Challenges for the National Systems…

Labour law is constantly changing. Concurrently, the laws dealing with workers address fundamental issues which are invariably of major significance and value. The research carried out at the Department of Labour Law and Social Security focusses on both the (constant) changes in labour law and social…

This research concerns a network of labour law specialists in the EU. The growing internationalization of the economic market and the employment market has a major impact on legislation and research of labour law. Particularly within the European Union labour law is subject to constant development…

In the Framework of the Leiden Social Justice Chair, a meeting was organised on June 7 and 8 2018 at Leiden University of a international study group of reputed labour law scholars from various countries.

Arbeidsrecht is a specialisation of the master’s programme Rechtsgeleerdheid (Law) at the renowned Leiden Law School of Leiden University.

On Thursday 11 January 2018, Xiang Li will defend her doctoral thesis: “Collective Labour Rights and Collective Labour Relations of China”. The defence will take place at 11:15 hrs at the Academy Building of Leiden University, Rapenburg 73. The supervisors are Professor Guus Heerma van Voss and Professor…

Roundtable

To ensure that the growing global flows of labour migrants are guided correctly, we need knowledge. Why do people leave home, why do they go to specific countries, and how can that choice be influenced? And what are the consequences of their leaving for the people who stay?

As part of the events to mark the 100th anniversary of the International Labour Organization, the Department of Labour Law of Leiden University has organized a film evening together with Kijkhuis cinema in Leiden.

In the Global and European Labour Law Programme you will study a combination of public international, European, and transnational private labour law, analysing their functioning and effectiveness from a comparative perspective.

This summer the department of Labour Law at Leiden University will start a new tradition of an annual summer school addressing current issues in labour law from an international, transnational and European point of view. With a mixture of lectures, seminars and a field trip, topics will be explored…

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) was established in 1919 based on the premise that social justice is a condition for lasting peace. On 7 February 2019 the ILO celebrated its 100th anniversary with an international symposium to consider the future of the ILO.

Under the invitation of Labour Law and Social Security Law Department of Faculty of Law of the "Higher School of Economics" (HSE) dr. Ter Haar delivered lectures in English for students of the bachelor programme "Jurisprudence", for students of the Master programme on "Legal security of personnel management",…

On 22 April 2016, the Social Justice Expertise Center (SJEC) hosted the first global conference for international labour law judges and other adjudicators themed ‘Ensuring Coherence in Fundamental Labour Rights Case Law: Challenges and Opportunities’ at the Academy Building of the University of Leid…