Freedom ‘at’, ‘through‘ and ‘from’ Work : Rethinking Labour Rights

Nicolas Bueno

doi:10.1111/ilr.12192

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Freedom at, through and from Work_Rethinking Labour Rights- Published Version

Journal article

Freedom ‘at’, ‘through‘ and ‘from’ Work : Rethinking Labour Rights : 160 (2) International Labour Review (2021) 311-329

Nicolas Bueno ORCID

2021

Published in:

International Labour Review. - 2021, vol. 160, no. 2, p. 311-322

English To what extent do labour rights promote freedom in relation to work? Methodologically, the article defines three freedoms: freedom “at”, “through” and “from” work. Despite freedom-oriented approaches to labour law, it shows that fundamental labour rights have traditionally aimed and continue to aim at pro- tecting workers in the labour market, not at expanding freedoms and in particu- lar freedom “from” work. In this respect, it outlines limits in current proposals, such as the basic income, to liberate from work. It discusses instead new rights in the human economy framework, concluding that, in order to expand freedoms in relation to work, not fewer but more fundamental labour rights are required.

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