THE International Lawyers Assisting Workers (ILAW) has launched a bi-annual law journal to serve as a global forum for its members as well as labour and employment law practitioners.
ILAW, a global network of about 600 legal practitioners, academics and advocates in over 70 countries, dedicated to the promotion and defense of the rights of workers and their organisations; said on its website that the journal, titled; Global Labour Rights Reporter (GLRR), is meant to advance international labour solidarity by being a forum for labour and employment law practitioners globally, including ILAW Network members and to assist them to “grapple with the legal and practical issues that directly affect workers and their organizations today.”
It further states: “We see the strength of the journal being its comparative approach, given the worldwide composition of ILAW’s membership. Each issue of the journal will be organized thematically and will highlight notable cases and judicial opinions, trends in the regulation of labour, and analytical pieces which help to envision how practitioners can expand the protection of law, enhance accountability and obtain full and effective remedies. We intend for the journal to be published bi-annually, summer and winter, with the possibility of additional articles or contributions being posted on the journal’s website between issues.”
The first edition of GLRR, with the cover displaying a picture from a minimum wage campaign by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and which is currently hosted on ILAW’s website in English, Spanish and French, including a PDF copy, focuses on obstacles and potential redress affecting those seeking to vindicate workers rights. It contains nine articles and two case notes written by authors from countries all over the world, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, the Republic of Georgia, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, the U.K., the U.S., and Zimbabwe.
In the introductory editorial, Jeff Vogt, ILAW’s Network Chair, highlights “the significance of the access to justice theme for worker rights advocates, particularly since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has only served to expose and intensify the pre-existing weaknesses in existing labour justice systems, while at the same time creating major new challenges for workers.”
ILAW also announced that it will virtually launch GLRR on February 2, 2021 where some of the authors are billed to speak on issues of access to labour justice in a broader global context in a discussion to be moderated by Jeff Vogt, Chair of ILAW.
Among speakers lined up to speak at the February launch include Shawna Bader-Blau, Executive Director of the Solidarity Center; Colin Fenwick, Head of Labour Law Unit of the ILO; Munyaradzi Gwisai, Senior Lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe; Raisa Liparterliani, Deputy Chairperson of the Georgian Trade Union Confederation; Matias Cremonte, Regional Vice-President of the Latin American Association of Labour Lawyers; Maria Paula Lozano, Vice-President Association of Labour Lawyers (Argentina).
ILAW enjoins participants from across the globe to join the February 2nd discussion by registering at: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5sWLS_ICSPaGp6zQrFDZhQ
