Labor law

The law has many branches and one of them is labor law . This right is made up of norms and rules that must be complied with in order to provide protection to workers, who are seen as the weakest part of a worker-employer relationship .

What is labor law?

Labor law consists of a series of principles and legal norms whose main objective is to protect work and the productive worker . In this way, it regulates the relationships that exist between business owners and their workers.

Characteristics of labor law

The main characteristics of labor law are the following:

• It is a relatively new law and it is constantly expanding .
• Its meaning is merely protective .
• It protects the worker because it considers that it is the weakest part of the company.
• It is a mandatory right but it is outside the law.
• It only protects individuals who have a working relationship .

Beginning

The principles of labor law are as follows:

• Tutelary or protective principle : establishes protection for the working party against the unequal normative treatment of the subjects.
• Principle of the continuity of the employment relationship : seeks that employment relationships are stable . It ensures the continuity of the worker’s permanence in the company, protecting him from layoffs and limiting the employer’s powers to terminate him.
• Principle of supremacy of reality : it tells us that documents or agreements are more important than what is given in practice.
• Principle of reasonableness : establishes reasonableness as an interpretive criterion in situations in which, as a result of errors, confusion, simulation or fraud, it is necessary to establish the true scope of the clauses or legal situations, so as not to generate arbitrariness or injustices that are not reasonable .
• Principle of the inalienability of labor rights : gives the legal impossibility of voluntarily depriving oneself of one or more advantages granted by Labor Law .
• Principle of freedom of association : it is the application and interpretation of the Collective Labor Law .

Sources

The sources of labor law are the following:

• Constitution : It is the place where all the guarantees and freedoms that individuals enjoy in addition to the protection they have against the State are contemplated
• The law : it is the legal norm that comes from the legislative power.
• The collective agreements : occur as a result of agreements between representatives of workers and employers.
• The international treaties : are a direct source on the regulation of labor rights, guaranteeing all workers in countries the same rights as the states that sign.
• The custom , the law , the contracts between workers and employers.
• The conventions and recommendations given by the International Labor Organization.
• The law internationally .

Background

After the fall of the Roman Empire , the work culture passed to new generations who grew up in environments where work was necessary and was also considered a social good . It should be remembered that in the Middle Ages feudalism arose and between the feudal lords and the Catholic Church the work of the workers was divided.

At the end of the Middle Ages the Industrial Revolution arose and with it a new ideology that said that wealth could also be obtained when there were opportunities to grow and enrich oneself.

In modern times, labor law has antecedents such as the industrial revolution itself, competition , liberalism and communism . At the end of 1940, the labor law emerged, which is the main antecedent of the labor law that we enjoy today.

History

In the early 1980s, strong voices in human rights , labor, academics and religious communities formed a coalition to fight for workers’ rights in international trade. In 1984, the coalition succeeded in establishing legislation linking the granting of US trade and investment benefits.In 1986, the group launched the International Labor Rights Education and Research Fund to monitor the application of these laws and develop other means to protect workers’ rights around the world.

Many of the successes in labor law today have been the result of the participation and leadership of different groups; close collaboration with trade unions and other partners around the world, including religious and consumer organizations ; and an ongoing dialogue with governments and companies.

Importance of labor law

Labor laws or labor law is very important because it is in charge of giving structure to the workplace, of saying what employees and employers are responsible for and, in some cases, they describe federal regulations to give both parties direction necessary to resolve conflicts in the workplace. These laws are important because they allow companies to focus more attention on productivity and profitability rather than giving constant energy and resources to solving problems.

It also helps preserve organizational integrity ; It is useful for developing business principles and ethics in the workplace. It is also important to remind owners that they must be good corporate citizens.

Examples

Some examples of labor law are the following:

• Holidays
• Individual employment contract
• Non- discrimination
• Personal data protection
• Maternity
• Payment of utilities
• Dignified retirement