This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the new methods of transnational labour regulation that are emerging in response to globalisation.

The global economy poses major new questions for employment and social policy on an international scale. Governments worldwide face dilemmas; whether to liberalize trade and investment or opt for protectionism; and whether to create flexible or tightly regulated labour markets. These same questions are hotly debated within the World Trade Organization, the International Labour Organization, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and also within regional blocs such as the European Union, NAFTA, MERCOSUR, APEC and SADC. For neo-liberals, as for old-style labour protectionists, the choices may appear to be relatively simple. But most Governments and policy makers are striving to achieve a balance between free trade and investment on the one hand and high employment and raised social standards on the other. This book, written by a leading authority on international labour law, provides a thorough and comprehensive analysis of the complex policy and legal choices which face those wishing pursue a broadly social democratic response to the removal of barriers to trade and investment in a globalized market economy dominated by transnational corporations.

Review
a considered and complex assessmenta thoughtful analysis of the lessons which can be drawn on and provides an insight into the way forward.Naomi CervinNew Zealand Law JournalJune 2006...introduces the reader to the primary sources and to the vast critical literature, and converts a daunting subject into an accessible one. This book is essential reading for anyone-academic, student, policy maker or activist-concerned with issues of labour law and globalisation.A.C.L. DaviesIndustrial Relations Journal, Vol 37, Issue 3May 06...an encyclopedic work that is well written and readablea must-read for the international labour lawyer..Reagan WalkerInternational Trade Law and Regulation, Vol 12, Issue 2March 2006likely to be a seminal text with a long shelf life, which will shape the thinking of a new generation of labour lawyers.K.D. Ewing, King's College, LondonIndustrial Law JournalDecember 2005Le lecteur ne manquera pas de tirer profit de toute l'experience acquise par l'auteur dans les diverses institutions qu'il a servies. Il trouvera ici les analyses penetrantes, les critiques pertinentes et les prises de position lucides qui lui permettront de mieux comprendre le droit du travail de demain.Xavier Blanc-JouvanExtrait de la Revue Internationale de Droit Compare2005...an absolute pleasure to read..It truly deserves a prominent place in the library of any serious international labour lawyer, and more generally, of anyone who earnestly wishes to contribute to making today's unfolding transnational world a better place to live -for all. Jean-Michel ServaisInternational Labour Review, vol.144(2005) Hepple's 'Labour Laws and Global Trade' provides the most comprehensive map of transnational regulation produced to dateDavid M. TrubeckThe American Journal of International LawVol 100

Sir Bob Hepple QC,FBA is Emeritus Master of Clare College; Emeritus Professor of Law in the University of Cambridge, and Honorary Professor of Law in the University of Cape Town. He has acted as an independent expert for the ILO and EU.