Activation Policies for the Unemployed, the Right to Work and the Duty to Work

Since the 1990s, Western social protection systems have all experienced a turn towards activation. If the realisation of the «right to work» is often stated to be the aim of those who promote activation, activation measures often induce in practice a reinforcement of the duty to work of the unemployed. The book offers a multidisciplinary analysis of the relationship between activation policies for the unemployed, the right to work and the duty to work.

Since the 1990s and the 2000s, Western social protection systems have experienced a turn towards activation. This turn consists of the multiplication of measures aimed at bringing those who are unemployed closer to participation in the labour market. These measures often induce a strengthening of the conditions that must be met in order to receive social benefits. It is in this well known context that the authors gathered in this book decided to take a closer look at the relationship between activation policies for the unemployed and the right and the duty to work. If activation measures are likely to increase transitions towards the labour market, we can also make the assumption that they may, particularly when they are marked with the seal of coercion, hinder or dramatically reduce the right to freely chosen work. In such circumstances, the realisation of the «right to work», which is often stated to be the aim of those who promote activation, tends in practice to be reduced to an increasing pressure being exerted on the unemployed. In this case, isn't it actually the duty to work that is particularly reinforced? After an historical and philosophical perspective on the issue, this assumption is confronted with the developments observed in the United States and in France, and then with the guidelines laid down in international human rights instruments. What follows is a discussion of two alternatives to the dominant activation model: the basic income guarantee and the employment guarantee.

Autorentext

Elise Dermine is research fellow of the Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research, within the Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium). Daniel Dumont is professor of social security law at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium).

Inhalt

Contents: Elise Dermine/Daniel Dumont: Activation Policies for the Unemployed, the Right to Work and the Duty to Work: Which Interactions? - Fernand Tanghe: 1848 and the Question of the droit au travail. A Historical Retrospective - Renaat Hoop: Political-Philosophical Perspectives on the Duty to Work in Activation Policies for the Unemployed - Daniel Dumont: Activation Policies for the Unemployed in the United States: Work First - Diane Roman: Activation Policies for the Unemployed in France: «Social Debt» or «Poor Laws»? - Elise Dermine: Activation Policies for the Unemployed and the International Human Rights Case Law on the Prohibition of Forced Labour - Elise Dermine: Activation Policies for the Unemployed and the International Human Rights Case Law on the Right to a Freely Chosen Work - Jean-Michel Bonvin/Eric Moachon: Right to Work and Individual Responsibility in Contemporary Welfare States. A Capability Approach to Activation Policies for the Unemployed - Yannick Vanderborght: The Tensions of Welfare State Reform and the Potential of a Universal Basic Income - Philip Harvey: Securing the Right to Work and Income Security - Olivier De Schutter: Activation Policies for the Unemployed: Redefining a Human Rights Response.