Impact of Working Time Directive on Employment Relations

Impact of Working Time Directive on Employment Relations Working Title: Enough Hours in the Day? The Impact of the working time directive on the regulation of employment relationships within the UK and France. Research Question: What is the working time directive? How does it purport to effect employment relationships? Will it be implemented in the United Kingdom? How does France deal with it? What are the reasons the UK have such a conservative approach? Literature Review: The review is centred on the Working Time Directive and thus will build on a direct reading of this from primary sources such as the copy on europa.eu.int, this will be complemented by secondary sources such as those of Cooke Hey (1998), Ramsey (1994) and the House of Lord’s Select Committee on the European Union’s response to the Working Time Directive. In attempting to build up a more sophisticated and rounded understanding of the ideas and theories that inform working time in general and the working time directive in particular I will use sources such as Figart Golden (2000), Fagan (2001) and direct readings of the reports of the European Commission on Working Time including the outcome of the current review of the Working Time Directive Opt-Out. A detailed critique with wider European policy will be effected in particular using commentaries on EC Law and it’s emphasis on trade and industry concerns. In reviewing the current situation within the UK I will use reviews of the Working Time Regulations 1998 in particular drawing on Christie (1998), the Income Data Service’s Guide to Working Time (2002) and Rankin et al. (1999)’s excellent guide to the operation of the Regulations within the UK and the changes that they brought to the existing law. I will then review the current position within France, there are numerous sites through which to do research, I can certainly use Figart Golden (2000)’s section on French Working Time and although slightly dated Carley (1991)’s review will help get an understanding of French policy and how it has changed towards working time. There are also numerous academic articles on the web such as those on the Transport News Network website (www.tnn.co.uk), French Law Sites such as www.triplet.com and articles by Sarfati (1999). Further research will be required on this issue in particular looking at pressure groups and governmental responses. In doing this I’ll try and use French language sites such as www.35hh.travail.gouv.fr , www.medef.fr and trade union sites. Obviously these will be supplementary and will require translation. In reviewing the policy objections of the UK to the abolition of the opt-out we will draw on primary sources such as the DTI ‘s recent consultation paper on Working Time (http://www.dti.gov.uk / er / work_time_regs /) as well as the work of pressure groups such as the TUC, Transport General Workers Union, Employer’s Organisation for Local Government and other major employers that would be effected by a change such as Alfred McAlpine. These will give me statistics and sophisticated points of view which I can then critically assess in light of more academic work on working time such as Articles by Christie (1998), Grisenthwaite (1997) and Wynn (2000). We will contrast these to the positive experience of the French in its implementation of a fixed working time week. A detailed critique of the two positions will be required with more academic sources from the journals and books will be required. Further research is required to uncover academic work on the policy arguments in France, whilst Sarfati (1999)’s arguments do shed some light on the issue there is most definitely a need for more detailed research. I believe that research into journals such as the International Company Commercial Law Review and the European Law Review will reveal more information about the arguments. This will be on top of the substantive law information I extract from the sources mentioned above. In concluding I will attempt to draw together the policy stances and implementation methods of the two countries to develop a more holistic understanding of whether there is significant social differences to justify the diversion or whether there can be a unified theory of working time that can be agreed not just in the European context but in the worldwide sense. There will need to be more research done on this issue along the avenues of looking at pressure groups in America (such as the Canadian / American ‘Take Back Your Time’ initiative) and other countries building on the work in Figart Golden (2000) Methodology: There will be some reviewing of primary sources but the work will be academic and theoretical and therefore will largely draw on scholastic secondary sources as I have detailed above. Bibliography: Carley, Mark Working time in Europe : the duration and flexibility of working time in 17 European countries from European Industrial Relations Review Eclipse Group / 1991 Cooke, Peter Hey, Liz – Implementation of the Working Time Directive 1998 ICCLR 164 Christie, David A Brief History of Working Time 1999 SLT 315 Fagan, Collette Gender, employment and working time preferences in Europe Office for Official Publications of the European Communities / 2001 Figart, Deborah Golden, Lonnie Working Time: International Trends, Theory Policy Perspective Routledge / 2000 Grisenthwaite, Michael – Time Runs out on the UK Government for implementing the ’48-hour working time directive† ’ 1997 ICCLR 107 House of Lords Select Committee on the European Union The Working Time Directive : a response to the European Commissions review The Stationery Office 2004 / 9th Session 2003/2004 Income Data Service Working Time 2002 / London: Income Data Service Ramsey, L – The Working Time Directive 1994 EurLR 528 Rankin, Claire, Phillips, Annelise Warren, Martin Working Time Regulations 1998 : a practical guide London Stationery Office / 1999 Sarfati, Hedva – The 35-hour week legislation hotly debated in France www.newwork.com Wynn, Michael Derogations In The Working Time Regulations 2000 CL 166 http://www.dti.gov.uk / er / work_time_regs /) www.tnn.co.uk www.triplet.com www.35hh.travail.gouv.fr www.medef.fr europa.eu.int Signed†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9th June 2005 Date Rec’d.Supervisor:

View on Intellectual Property Rights :: essays research papers

Intellectual Property RightsA Through the years history has documented amazing men and women which have contributed much of their ideas to improving society. Intellectual Property Rights plays a vital role in not just safeguarding the individual to protect the use of their ideas from misuse but it was meant to promote inventiveness and creativity. Intellectual Property Rights has evolved with the emergence of new technologies its scope has grown and several factors including globalization of economies as well as changes in the way businesses operate and politicization of IPR issues have been factors influencing its direction. If one were to asses the Philippine setting it would appear that our progress is slow compared to our other neighbors. Our earliest record of laws on intellectual property rights dated back in 1947. We joined the World Organization (WIPO) in 1980 only after 10 years after it was established and our Intellectual Property code has only taken into effect during 1987. Furthermore the country is viewed as one of the nations that are weak in enforcing laws governing Intellectual Property. Resulting in Millions lost in revenue for corporations and the government in taxes. Consistent enforcement is critical because of the reality that there are people who do not respect the Intellectual property rights of others. The reason may vary from greed, lack of awareness, perceived necessity, criminal intent or even an innocent mistake. When illegal copies take market share or even kill a potential market the enforcement mechanisms become vital to not only protect the players and the entities but also the general public as well. Most of the industries that are affected include computer software, music, films, luxury goods and fashion, perfumes, books, watches, medicine among others. According to World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) the factors that influence the increase include a significant gap in the consumer purchasing power, inability to meet the market demand and emergence of new technologies making it easier to produce volumes of illegal copies at faster rate.

Animals in circus Essay

Is it normal for a bear to dance in a ball?, for an elephant to keep her weight in two legs?, or for a tiger jump through a ring of fire?, this is considered the worst feat that the animals have, actually we don’t realize it, circuses would quickly lose their appeal if more people knew about the cruel methods used to train the animals, instead, the circus makes us think that all of this methods are natural for them and they ‘’no suffer at all’’, at least this is what they said when they’re accused of mistreating this animals. Circus like Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus all of them are so hypocrites because they deny about what is evident, the abuse and the mistreating of the animals that they trap. According to PETA, thousand of these animals are used to perform silly, confusing tricks under the threat of physical punishment; are carted across the country in cramped and stuffy boxcars or semi-truck trailers; are kept chained or caged in barren, boring and filthy enclosures and are separated from their families, and all this suffer, all this pain, it’s for the sake of human ‘’entertainment’’, even many of these animals pay with their lives. The tricks that animals are forced to perform such as when bears balance on balls, apes ride motorcycles, and elephants stand on two legs are physically uncomfortable and behaviorally unnatural. The whips, tight collars, muzzles, electric prods, bullhooks, and other tools used during circus acts are reminders that the animals are being forced to perform. These â€Å"performances† teach audiences nothing about how animals behave under normal circumstances, they are being removed from their habitat, they don’t deserve that. Wild animals are meant to live free, they have every right to live their lives in freedom in their homeland, they haven’t committed any crime that justifies their imprisonment for life, their mistreatment, and their humiliation during the shows. Some circuses have chosen not to use animals: Australians â€Å"the Flying Fruit,† the Canadian â€Å"Cirque du Soleil†, the French â€Å"Les Colporteurs† Americans â€Å"Minimusâ⠂¬ , â€Å"Nuage†, â€Å"Hiccup† and many others, using the talent of the jugglers, trapeze artists, clowns, comedians, mimes, contortionists. This is the way to go, the only civilian.

Information About the Magic Mineral Shungite

Shungite is a hard, lightweight, deep black stone with a magic reputation that is well exploited by crystal therapists and the mineral dealers who supply them. Geologists know it as a peculiar form of carbon produced by metamorphism of crude oil. Because it has no detectable molecular structure, shungite belongs among the mineraloids. It represents one of Earths very first oil deposits, from deep in Precambrian time. Where Shungite Comes From The lands around Lake Onega, in the western Russian republic of Karelia, are underlain by rocks of Paleoproterozoic age, approximately 2 billion years old. These include the metamorphosed remains of a great petroleum province, including both the oil shale source rocks and bodies of crude oil that migrated out of the shales. Evidently, once upon a time, there had been a large area of brackish-water lagoons near a chain of volcanoes: the lagoons bred enormous numbers of one-celled algae and the volcanoes produced fresh nutrients for the algae and sediment that quickly buried their remains. (A similar setting is what produced the abundant oil and gas deposits of California during Neogene time.) Later in time, these rocks were subjected to mild heat and pressure that rendered the oil into almost pure carbon—shungite. Properties of Shungite Shungite looks like especially hard asphalt (bitumen), but its classified as a pyrobitumen because it does not melt. It also resembles anthracite coal. My shungite sample has a semimetallic luster, a Mohs hardness of 4, and a well-developed conchoidal fracture. Roasted over a butane lighter, it bursts into splinters and emits a faint tarry odor, but it does not easily burn. There is a lot of misinformation circulating about shungite. It is true that the first natural occurrence of fullerenes was documented in shungite in 1992; however, this material is absent in most shungite and amounts to a few percent in the richest specimens. Shungite has been examined at the highest magnification and found to have only vague and rudimentary molecular structure. It has none of the crystallization of graphite (or, for that matter, of diamond). Uses for Shungite Shungite has long been considered a healthful substance in Russia, where since the 1700s its been used as a water purifier and disinfectant just as we use activated carbon today. This has given rise over the years to a host of overstated and poorly supported claims by mineral and crystal therapists; for a sample just do a search on the word shungite. Its electrical conductivity, typical of graphite and other forms of pure carbon, has led to a popular belief that shungite can counteract the supposed harmful effects of electromagnetic radiation from things like cell phones. A producer of bulk shungite, Carbon-Shungite Ltd., supplies industrial users for more prosaic purposes: steelmaking, water treatment, paint pigments and fillers in plastic and rubber. All of these purposes are substitutes for coke (metallurgical coal) and carbon black. The company also claims benefits in agriculture, which may be related to the intriguing properties of biochar. And it describes the use of shungite in electrically conductive concrete. Where Shungite Gets Its Name Shungite gets its name from the village of Shunga, on the shore of Lake Onega.