Decent Work in Times of Economic Crisis: Threats and Lessons Learned

Abstract

The article analysis the concept of decent work and its elements as well as declared fundamental rights of employees. The concept of decent work is defined according to the international labour law standards and labour law doctrine. Also, the article discusses the economic crisis that began in 2008 and its effects on employment relations and measures which were made to eliminate them. Moreover, there is the evaluation of impact of such measures on the principle of decent work. ĮvadasPasaulį sudrebinusi 2008 metais prasidėjusi ekonominė krizė palietė valstybės, daugelio verslo subjektų ir paskirų asmenų socialinę ir ekonominę padėtį. Visos su ekonomikos sunkmečiu susidū-rusios valstybės ėmėsi pačių įvairiausių šios krizės padarinių įvertinimo ekonominių, teisinių ir socialinių priemonių, kuriomis buvo siekiama skatinti darbo rinką ir mažinti neigiamus krizės padarinius. Daugelis valstybių tuo tikslu netgi priėmė specialius įstatymus 2 , kitos valstybės, siekdamos kuo efektyviau prisitaikyti prie susidariusių darbo rinkos sąlygų, įgyvendino kolektyvinių derybų decentralizavimo modelius ar netgi ėmėsi drastiškų priemonių, kaip antai socialinių partnerių eliminavimo iš sprendimų priėmimo 3 . Visa tai vienaip ar kitaip nulėmė ir darbuotojų, o ypač darbo netekusiųjų, socialinę, ekonominę ir teisinę padėtį. Prasidėję teismų procesai 4 , pilietinės 1 Mokslinis tyrimas finansuojamas Europos socialinio fondo lėšomis pagal visuotinės dotacijos priemonę (Projekto

Some aspects of improving the legal regulation of labour relations: Thirty years of experience in the Baltic States

“…(Nekrošius 2004). Despite this, as researchers note, the adoption of the Labour Code did little to change attitudes towards entrepreneurship, the idea of owning a business, or more attractive and flexible forms of work (Petrylaitė 2015;Davulis 2011;Gruževskis et al 2011). When the legislators agreed on the provisions of the Labour Code, they failed to take into account the fact that the structure of Lithuanian economic entities had already changed: the majority of economic units were small-and medium-sized enterprises that found such cumbersome regulation unappealing.…”

“…There also appears to have been a lack of political will, and indeed courage. According to Petrylaitė (2015), "during the four years of the crisis, there were at least three attempts to reform the regulation of labour relations and to move to a more liberal system (as suggested by the Council of the European Union (Council recommendation on the Nation Reform Programmeand delivering a Council opinion on the Convergence Programme of Lithuania, 2013 and 2014)), but the resulting changes of the legal norms were mainly editorial and superficial, and did not create a more business-friendly and flexible work environment".…”

“…(Nekrošius 2004). Despite this, as researchers note, the adoption of the Labour Code did little to change attitudes towards entrepreneurship, the idea of owning a business, or more attractive and flexible forms of work (Petrylaitė 2015; Davulis 2011; Gruževskis et al. 2011).…”