THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS: A PRAGMATIC APPROACH TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF LABOUR RIGHTS AS HUMAN RIGHTS

Abstract

our rights are increasingly being constructed as human rights. Whilethis construction is gaining popularity, there is still considerable opposition to it.Recently, the debate has made its way to the pagesofJust Labour. Building upona pragmatic approach utilized by feminist legal scholars, the present article seeksto continue this important dialogue and offers an alternative that combineselements of both rights-based pluralism and critical legal scholarship. Itcontends that the labour movement ought to employ amulti-faceted strategy toprotect and promote the rights of working people.Such a strategy recognizes thelimitations of rights-discourse, but also recognizes its potential benefits. Thepaper argues that the labour movement cannot rely solely on rights-discourse toprotect its interests but that it should also not be dismissed out of hand. Thus,the construction of labour rights as human rights can be only part of the labourmovement’s broader fight back strategy