Freedom at, through and from work: Rethinking labour rights

Abstract

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 protecting workers in the labour market, not at expanding freedoms and in particular 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.

From Productive Work to Capability-Enhancing Work: Implications for Labour Law and Policy

“…The debate over capabilities in work has then more specifically focused on freedoms and choices at the workplace. It resonates with debates outside the capability approach on autonomy in work (Veltman 2016, 84;Supiot 2015, 164;2016, 28;Bueno 2021), which includes the autonomous control of a worker over working processes, working time and work location. In this respect, jobs that allow workers little or no discretion reduce these capabilities (see UNDP 2015, 36;Laruffa 2020, 5).…”

“…In this respect, there exists only a rhetoric right to freely chose work in international labour and human rights law, 6 but this right is only limited to the prohibition of forced labour (Sarkin-Hughes and Koenig 2011; Bueno 2017). Although it would be impracticable to guarantee everyone personally meaningful work (Veltman 2016, 197;Weidel 2018) a right to freely choose work according to the capability approach should go beyond the prohibition of forced labour and beyond a right to choose a good quality job (Bonvin 2014, 181) if this work is meaningless for the worker (Bueno 2021).…”

“…Identifying these two aspects could lead to a more efficient creation of capabilities through work. Ultimately, creating capabilities more efficiently could reduce the need to work to achieve them and therefore expand our freedom from work (Bueno 2021). Indeed people currently work in the first place to have central capabilities as outlined above under the concept of capabilities through work.…”

“…Liberating from the economic need to work is currently overlooked in existing labour policies. In this regard, the capability-informed labour policy proposed in this article shows that by wasting the potential of those willing to create capabilities for others and by sometimes selecting socially capability-reducing work, the way we currently create capabilities (for which we must work) is inefficient (Bueno, 2017;2021). Labour policies oriented towards productive work might well make us work more than necessary.…”

Labour law in a changing world

“…In Raworth's work this can be linked to the idea that, with a move from income redistribution to wealth redistribution, work will no longer be the most important source of income. Others, like Chamberlain (2018), Bueno (2021)…”