Conflict over Conflict: The Right to Strike in International Law

Authors

  • Diane F. Frey Murphy Institute for Worker Education & Labor Studies, City University of New York San Francisco State University-Adjunct Faculty

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15173/glj.v8i1.2649

Abstract

The existence of a right to strike under international law has been challenged by the International Organization of Employers since the late 1980s. The employer group claims that no such right exists under international law and has been moving to undermine recognition of the right at the International Labour Organisation (ILO). This article examines the right to strike in international human rights law. It considers specifically the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and finds that the right to strike exists in both of these treaties. Further, the article demonstrates that while the ILO employers group may challenge the existence of the right to strike, its government members have overwhelmingly ratified international human rights treaties contradicting the employer group's position that there is no such right.

Author Biography

Diane F. Frey, Murphy Institute for Worker Education & Labor Studies, City University of New York San Francisco State University-Adjunct Faculty

Diane Frey is currently a lecturer in Labour Studies at San Francisco State University and an adjunct lecturer in negotiation at Harvard University Extension School. She was previously the Director of Labor Studies at the National Labor College. For over twenty years she was a labour organiser and representative for several unions in the United States. She received her PhD in Comparative Employment Relations from the London School of Economics.

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Published

2017-01-31

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 1: January 2017

Section

ARTICLES

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