REVUE EUROPÉENNE DU DROIT SOCIAL · Revue europénnee du droit social 2 Maison d’édition Bibliotheca • Atestée par le Ministère de la Culture et des Cultes avec l’avis no

Revista europeană de drept social

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REVUE EUROPÉENNE

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DROIT SOCIAL

Revue europénnee du droit social

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Maison d’édition Bibliotheca

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REVUE EUROPÉENNE

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DROIT SOCIAL

Volume XXXIII • ISSUE 4 • Year 2016

Édition Bibliotheca Târgovişte, 2016


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La Revue est reconnuée par le Conseil National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNCS)

categorie B+ avec avis no. 828/2007 en évidence BDI Copernicus, CEEOL, EBSCO Publishing,

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Comite scientifique/ Scientific Board:

Mohamed-Larbi ARIBOU, Professeur, Université Abdelmalek Essaâdi de Tanger, Maroc; Antonio BAYLOS, Professeur, Université de Castilla La Mancha, Espagne; Gabriela Mendizábal BERMÚDEZ, Professeure, l’Université Autonome d’État Morelos au Mexique; Sophie BOUTILLIER, Maître des conférences, Université du Littoral-Côte d'Opale, France; Martha Elisa Monsalve CUÉLLAR, Professeure, l’Université La Gran Columbia, Columbia; Carmen DI CARLUCCIO, Charge de cours, Universita Seconda di Napoli, Italia; Luis Serrano DIAZ, Professeur, Université du San Marcos (UNMSM-FCC, Ceups) Lima-Perú; Rafael Junquera de ESTÉFANI, Professeur, UNED Madrid, Espagne; Guillermo FERRIOL, Professeur, Université de Havana, Cuba; Cristina MANGARELLI, Professeure, l’Université de la Repúbliaue, Montevideo, Uruguay; Silvia Fernández MARTÍNEZ, Université de Bergamo, Italie; Lourdes Mella MĖNDEZ, Professeur, Université de Santiago de Compostela, Espagne; Ana R. Martín MINGUIJÓN, Professeure, UNED Madrid, Espagne; Raul Vergara MIRELES, Professeur, Université Autonome d’État Morelos, Mexic; Ángel Guillermo Ruiz MORENO, Professeur, Universidad de Guadalajara, México; Maria ORLOV, Maitre de conférences: Université d’Etat „Alecu Russo” Balti, République de Moldova; Juan Carlos PAULUCCI, Professeur, Centre interaméricain d'études de sécurité sociale, Argentina; José Alvarez PESTANA, Professeur, UNED Madrid, Espagne; Hans-Joachim REINHARD, Professeur, Institut Max Planck, Allemagne; Ana Teresa RIBEIRO, Professeur a l’Université Catholique du Porto, Portugal; Marcelo RICHTER, Professeur, Université de San Carlos de Guatemala, Guatemala; Rodrigo Garcia SCHWARZ, Professeur, Université del Oeste de Santa Catarina, Brésil; Ahmed SMAHI, Maître des conférences, Université de Tlemcen, Algérie; Krassimira SREDKOVA, Professeur, Université de Sofia, Bulgarie; Carlos Luiz STRAPAZZON, Professeur, Université del Oeste de Santa Catarina, Brésil; Ana ŞTEFĂNESCU, Maître des conférences, Université,,Dunărea de Jos” Galaţi, Roumanie; Edvana TIRI, Charge de cours, Professional Business Academy, Tirana, Albania; Kamil TUGEN, Professeur, Université du „Dokuz Eylul” Izmir, Turquie; Alexandru ŢICLEA, Professeur, Université Ecologique Bucarest Roumanie; Marioara ŢICHINDELEAN, Maître des conférences, Université „Lucian Blaga”, Sibiu, Roumanie; Dimitri UZUNIDIS, Professeur, Université du Littoral-Côte d'Opale, France; Vlad BARBU, Professeur, Académie de Police „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” Bucarest, Roumanie.

Comite de rédaction/Editorial Board:

Rédacteur en chef / Editor responsible: Dan Ţop, PhD Executive Editor: Marc S. Richeveaux, PhD Rédacteur en chef adjoint / Editor assistant: Radu Răzvan Popescu, PhD Secrétaire de rédaction / Editorial Secretary: Pedro Fernandez Santiago, PhD

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SOMMAIRE

GENDER EQUALITY AND FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF PARTICIPATION: THE IMPORTANCE OF WOMEN WORKERS’ PARTICIPATION IN THE TRADE UNIONS IN BRAZIL (Candy Florencio Thomé, Riva Sobrado de Freitas, Rodrigo García Schwarz) / 7 NEW REGULATORY ABOUT THE LEAVE AND MONTHLY ALLOWANCE FOR INCREASING CHILDREN (Dan Ţop) / 36 TIC ET GAP DE CROISSANCE ENTRE NATIONS: CAS DE LA RÉGION MENA (Najeh Aissaoui, Lobna Ben Hassen) / 41 MIGRANT WORKERS IN THE NORTHEN PART OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL (BRAZIL): INTEGRATION AND (DIS) RESPECT OF THE RIGTHS RELATED TO PERSONALITY (Thaís Janaina Wenczenovicz, Rodrigo Espiúca dos Anjos Siqueira) / 60 CIVIL LAWSUIT IN CRIMINAL PROCESS (Enkeleda Methalia-Softa) / 77 THE LEGAL NATURE OF THE CONTRACT CONCLUDED BY SOLDIERS AND GRADUATED PROFESSIONALS (Lavinia Savu) / 90 ALGUNOS ASPECTOS DE LA ORDENCIÓN DEL TIEMPO DE TRABAJO EN EL DERECHO DE LA UNIÓN EUROPEA (Tatsiana Ushakova) / 95 ISSUES REGARDING THE UNCONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE PROVISIONS OF ART. 52 PARAGRAPH (1) SUBPARAGRAPH B) OF THE LABOUR CODE (Anca Lăcraru) / 113


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ETUDE EMPIRIQUE DE L’APPLICATION DE LA METHODE DES EQUATIONS STRUCTURELLES SUR LE MODELE BALANCED SCORECARD (Abdelmadjid Ezzine, Yassine Ali-Belhadj) / 123 LES DÉFIS DE L'ENSEIGNEMENT D'UNE LANGUE ÉTRANGÈRE DANS LE CONTEXTE PLURILINGUE AFRICAIN: QUELLES APPROCHES PÉDAGOGIQUES POUR LE PROF DU FLE FACE AU MULTILINGUISME SCOLAIRE AU GHANA? (Koffi Ganyo Agbefle) / 137 BRIEF CONSIDERATIONS ON DIFFERENCES BETWEEWN THE LEASE AND BAILMENT (Loredana Adelina Pădure) / 146 COMPARED ASPECTS ON INJURY AND THE THEORY OF UNPREDICTABILITY IN NEW CIVIL CODE (Adina- Lorena Codeia) / 151

European Journal of Social Law

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GENDER EQUALITY AND FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF PARTICIPATION: THE IMPORTANCE OF WOMEN

WORKERS’ PARTICIPATION IN THE TRADE UNIONS IN BRAZIL

Candy Florencio THOMÉ* Riva SOBRADO DE FREITAS** Rodrigo García SCHWARZ***

Abstract: This article aims to study the importance of women workers’ participation

in the governing bodies of trade unions as a way to combat gender inequality in the labor market. There is a significant number of legal rules applicable in the Brazilian legal system in order to combat gender inequality, with a repressive approach. However, the negative consequences of the sexual division of labor persist, perpetuating stereotypical gender roles. It is imperative, therefore, not only the guarantee of equal wages and working conditions and protection against negative discrimination, but also to guarantee women's access to the labor market, through affirmative actions. In this sense, women workers’ participation in trade unions activities is a major way to ensure this access, as it enables women's empowerment, providing greater possibility for women to exercise power and citizenship in the public sphere in which democracy is constructed, and greater legal legitimacy of conventional norms regarding gender equality, given the normative role of unions. For that, the implementation of affirmative actions is necessary in order to combat the difficulties in women's participation in these decision-making bodies.

Keywords: fundamental rights; gender; positive discrimination; trade union; women.

Introduction This article aims to study the importance of the participation of women

workers in trade union organizations as a way to combat gender-based inequality, by analyzing the configuration of international and national legal norms for the protection of the principle of equality and the study of the persistence of these gender-based inequalities, especially in the labor market.

In this paper, we analyze the principle of equality and its effects on gender relations, from the viewpoint of their insertion in the field of human and social rights, the relationships between social rights and human rights, the characteristics of indivisibility, universality and the interdependence of these rights, the relationships between social rights and equality in gender relations and the consequent need for specification of the subjects of human rights as well as the relationships between the Welfare State, social spending cuts and gender-based inequality.

* Dr., University of São Paulo, Brazil. ** Dr., Professor, University of the West of Santa Catarina, Brazil *** Dr., Professor, University of the West of Santa Catarina, Brazil


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For a better understanding and location of the subject in time and space, the main theories of feminism are studied, as well as the various consequences of the sexual division of labor, such as the existing wage gap, vertical discrimination, horizontal discrimination, the relationship models among work and family, the precariousness and insecurity of women's work and the sexualization of unemployment, direct discrimination and indirect discrimination, as well as the intersectionality of discriminations.

Finally, the importance of work and collective struggle in the effective scope of the gender equality law is examined, as well as the foundations that underlie the need to promote women's participation in decision-making bodies of trade unions.

Given the need to promote women's participation in trade unions, especially in their governing bodies, the main actions that unions take and can take to promote women's participation in leadership and deliberating bodies of unions are analyzed from the point of view of its effects on the achievement of gender equality and of their compliance with the Brazilian legal system, with respect to the features of the Brazilian trade union organization.

1. Human rights, social rights and the principle of gender equality

Human rights are rights enshrined in the international treaties and considered,

in such international norms, as rights to which all people are subject by the simple fact of their humanity (COMPARATO, 2003, p. 12). Such rights are paradigms and ethical frameworks that guide the contemporary international order (PIOVESAN, 2007, p. 118).

Human rights stem from the basic principle of human dignity, introduced by the Universal Declaration of 1948 and subsequently consolidated by the Declaration of Human Rights in Vienna, in 19931. Such rights are a consequence of a symbolic space of struggle and social action in the struggle for human dignity, making up an emancipatory axiological construct (PIOVESAN, 2007, p. 110), for, as Comparato notes (2003, p. 21), human dignity consists of the fact that the human being is a being regarded and treated as an end in itself, and never as a means to achieve a result, and the fact that, by their own rational will, only human beings live in conditions of autonomy, that is, as being able to be guided by the laws that they modify.

Sarlet, after warning that the definition of human dignity is quite complex due to its ambiguity, porosity and its necessarily polysemic nature, states that some basic outlines can be given, while noting that said concept is constantly under construction

1 According to Piovesan (2007, p. 137), "Human dignity as the foundation of human rights and intrinsic

value to the human condition is a conception that, later, came to be incorporated by all human rights treaties and declarations, which went on to integrate the so-called International Human Rights Law“.


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and development2. Thus, the author asserts that human dignity is the intrinsic quality of the human person, unable to be renounced and inalienable – an element that qualifies the human being, that can not be removed. Said human dignity implies that it would be violated in the case that indispensible goods for life were taken away, if deep and lasting physical or mental pain were inflicted to any person, or if their status as a subject of rights were denied or diminished (SCHWARZ, 2011, p. 31), resulting in unsubmissiveness to oppressive or humiliating living conditions, while connected, meanwhile, to the satisfaction of needs that allow one to achieve their own objectives and participate in the construction of social life, constituting a central element in modern justifications of human rights (Pisarello, 2007, p. 39).

Human rights, among which is included the right to equality, have as core characteristics universality, indivisibility and interdependence, established by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, when putting together the list of civil and political rights with economic, social and cultural rights, combining the value of freedom with the value of equality3.

All human rights are founded on the principle of human dignity and are universal, indivisible and interdependent. The satisfaction of social rights is essential for the existence of civil and political rights, which require having achieved a situation of basic human needs in order to be fully exercised. In turn, civil and political rights are essential as control mechanisms of the fulfilment of obligations arising from social rights. The development of a human right facilitates the development of other rights, and the lack of one right also affects the others. Thus, the violation of social rights generates a reflexive violation of civil and political rights, to the extent that economic and social vulnerability leads to the vulnerability of civil and political rights, with the same occurring in the violation of civil and political rights, implying the vulnerability of social rights.

In short, for the effective guarantee of human rights, it is necessary that both civil and political rights as well as social rights are accessible to all human beings, as human rights are an integral, single and indivisible complex (PIOVESAN, 2007, p. 142), reaching even the social groups that do not usually have access to such rights, paving the way for a non-exclusive, democratic citizenship, and with a project of social transformation (SCHWARZ, 2011, p. 39).

Social rights can be defined as those related "to the protection of economically weakened individuals with aim of obtaining social balance, the common good, the right to satisfy the vital needs of the individual as a member of the community, with a joint effort of legal institutes for the efficiency and effectiveness of the

2 Sarlet (2007, p. 40-43) further states that the difficulty in conceptualizing human dignity must not be a

hindrance nor a foundation for its lack of conceptualization, for "when trying to assess the existence of violations to dignity, there is no way to do without (...) a clarification as to what is meant by a person’s dignity, precisely so that we can observe and (...) curb any potential violations”.

3 Piovesan (2007, p. 137-141). According to the author (2007, p. 134) in a session that created the Human Rights Council on April 3, 2006, the UN reiterates its acknowledgement that human rights are interrelated and interdependent.


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norms of social rights," with collective interest prevailing over private interest, for social rights (CARVALHO, COSTA, 2010, p. 11-13). They are, in large part, products of the criticism of the inadequacies and distortions of the liberal model (ABRAMOVICH, COURTIS, 2006, p. 12).

According to Pisarello (2007, p. 11), social rights are rights that are linked to expectations of satisfying the basic needs of people in various areas, such as in employment, housing, health, food and education. The recognition of these expectations entails positive and negative obligations, for both the public authorities as well as for individuals. To the extent that the goods protected by social rights are related to the survival and enjoyment of material conditions that enable the effective exercise of liberty or autonomy, the revindication of social rights are of interest, potentially, to all people. However, in a special way, it is of interest to the society members who are in vulnerable situations, whose access to resources for said survival and enjoyment is generally residual, or even non-existent.

Despite the universality, indivisibility and interdependence of human rights, social rights are often treated as rights that are not part of human rights or, when treated as such, are labeled as a specific form of human rights that does not imply the same analysis, application and effectiveness of other rights. Much of the doctrine tends to regard them as mere letters of informative principles or as programmatic rights, without being exigible on the part of their owners.

The persistent violation of social rights is mainly related to the material inequality of power existing in contemporary societies, but the perception of social rights as rights that are not part of human rights or that have less importance than civil and political rights also plays a considerable role in this violation4. This is because the perception of social rights is founded on a number of theses that delineate the perception of social rights and ultimately undermine their effective application and protection, with the main ones being the theses of historical perception, of philosophical perception, theoretical perception, and dogmatic perception5. However, these human rights had different configurations throughout history, taking into account the society in which they arose and their subjects, with no linearity in the emergence of human rights. In addition, all human rights are related either with the right to freedom or with the right to equality, and all human rights, without exception, are of ambivalent nature.

They are, therefore, all the human rights of complex configuration, partially positive, in part negative, partially costly, in part inexpensive, partially individual, in part collective, partially universal, in part specific (Pisarello, 2007 p. 75).

4 According to Pisarello (2007, p. 16), "if in current media societies human decisions depend in large

part on the perception that one has of reality, an essential requirement to remove obstacles preventing the exercise of social rights consists in counteracting the biased political and legal view that one has of said obstacles, and in offering an alternative view”.

5 For an in-depth critique of this split between social rights and civil and political rights, see Pisarello (2007). The author warns, however, that although these theses belong to different planes of the dominant legal and political discourse, they are not expressed in rigid limits, nor in a totally differentiated way (Pisarello, 2007, p. 16).


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Human rights, and more specifically, social rights, in the past three decades have become permeable to a new type of revindication, not only linked to income distribution access, but linked mainly to demands of recognition. They are collective claims in sectors that are generally discriminated against; they demand the removal of legal, economic and social barriers that prevent or limit their participation or access to social spheres such as political representation, education or employment. Such "demands of recognition" have, among their main objectives, the visibility of this particular social group, with the recognition of their specific differences and the removal of those supposedly neutral guidelines that, in fact, turn out to represent the vision of the dominant groups and hinder access of discriminated groups to these guidelines. These demands have emerged, primarily, by the movements of women, blacks, indigenous people, homosexuals and ethnic minorities and/or religious minorities (ABRAMOVICH, COURTIS, 2006, p. 18).

Regarding the differences between the demands of redistribution – classic social rights demands – and demands of recognition, Fraser warns that all redistribution demands assume an implicit conception of recognition and that many demands of recognition assume an implicit conception of redistribution and that, in reality, any struggle against injustice, when properly understood, implies demands for both redistribution and for recognition, affirming, finally, that the groups formed by communities of sex and race are paradigmatic examples of groups that tend to claim both types of demands (FRASER, 1997, p. 12-19).

For the scope of the principle of gender equality, demands of both recognition and of redistribution are needed6. With the recognition of claims and the process of specification of the subjects of human rights, international organizations and their norms have gone on to address gender discrimination issues, establishing the principle of gender equality in various international treaties and conventions.

In the specific gender context, the Welfare State is intrinsically linked to issues of the sexual division of labor and combating discrimination against women at work, as the existence of this State facilitates the implementation of gender equality.

Therefore, how each State deals with the issue of care7 has direct

consequences on gender equality. Bjornsdottir examines the growing trend in many countries of the transformation of care into a problem of family responsibility, reducing its focus as a public policy, and how this shift to a conservative position affects gender equality given that, when the State begins to make the family responsible for the care of children and people in situations of dependence, this

6 Fraser (1997, p. 18). In later work, Fraser (2010) adds a third dimension of justice, the political

dimension; as such, with regards to the demands for justice, there are: demands of redistribution, of recognition and of representation, setting a three-dimensional conception of justice – that is, the economic, cultural and political dimension.

7 Studies on care in Brazilian literature, as per Hirata (2010, p. 44-47), are still limited, with most studies done by the knowledge areas of nursing and gerontology. In this work, care is understood as the work, professional or not, paid or unpaid, for the care of children, elderly and people who need help to maintain their basic activities.


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responsibility is aimed toward women, given the existing prejudice of a woman's vocation to care for others (BJORNSDOTTIR, 2009, p. 735).

Global inequalities have increased due to the limiting of free access to public services, with women being the ones who most suffer the consequences of the shrinkage of services covered by the State, since when the State cuts funds for the care of the young, sick and elderly, those who will shoulder such care in most cases are women, who are traditionally assigned these responsibilities, thus generating subsequent problems of inequality, since women who have the financial possibility will pay others to perform such services8, maintaining their careers and job opportunities, while those who do not have such financial possibility will work a double shift, excessively costly to their health and job opportunities9. Bertolin and Carvalho (2010, p. 192) also note that when there are public spending cuts imposed in areas such as education and health, women doubly suffer the effects of this instability, not only as users of such services, but also as professionals, since the totality of women working in the education and health sectors is very large.

Public policies whose objectives or outcomes are spending cuts in social rights put women as the hidden axis of balance or social compensation, since the decrease in public spending and reductions in social programs and privatization of services intensify the domestic work of women. By failing to take into account reproductive work, public policies increase women’s workload within society to compensate for this decrease in provision of public services (CELIBERTI, MESA, 2010, p. 16).

This is due to the fact that a large part of the services provided by the State, in a Welfare State, is assistance, which in Brazil is part of the social security system provided for in art. 196 of the Constitution, together with Health and Social Security. This assistance, when it is not provided by the State, is often attributed to women, given the existing gender division of work in our society, which, in the form of domination, assigns women the care of family, children and dependents, with the argument that they have a "born vocation" for such services. Thus, when the State provides assistance and health care to citizens free of charge and effectively, the possibility for women to participate in public life increases. The reduction of these services thus ends up increasing gender inequalities, as it hampers women's access to work and public life.

Although the existence of social rights is necessary for the achievement of gender equality, their mere existence is not enough, because, among other reasons, of the fact that the main theories of the Welfare State have not taken into account the unequal position between men and women and its consequences in the provision of social services, and if the State has in some way improved the socioeconomic conditions of women, it has in another way ended up helping to perpetuate a series of gender-based prejudices. Women are the most affected by social spending cuts, even in a social State, given the dualization of the system,

8 In this sense, see Crenshaw (2002). 9 In this regard, see also Heinen (2000, p. 150).


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with a social security system that reaches men more than women and a system of social assistance whose target is a larger number of women, given capitalism’s current male breadwinner paradigm.

Most social security systems10 were originally designed based on the male breadwinner model. This model is based on the perception of the male as head of the family and its provider, and the perception of women as mainly responsible for unpaid care work. In these systems, women were granted a form of protection derived from the protection that her husband had. Their gains from professional activities were considered additional to her husband's earnings. This attitude began to change only in the eighties, with the influence of the Welfare State of the Scandinavian countries (HEINEN, 2000, p. 148-149). Current legislation still tends to reflect this model, even if there are many improvements in present times.

The principle of equality, which is founded on the dignity of the human person, is a fundamental underpinning of the democratic State and a crucial principle in the structuring of a political and legal system, with one of its consequences being the principle of gender equality (LIMA, 2011, p. 45-49).

The UN has produced several standards on the right to gender equality; the following can be cited as such: the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others, of 1949, the Convention on the Political Rights of Women, which obliges Member States to allow women to vote, be voted and to hold public office on the same terms as men, of 1952, the Convention on the Nationality of Married Women, which is aimed at the protection of married women's right to keep her nationality, of 1957, the UNESCO Convention Against Discrimination in Education, which enshrines equality in educational opportunity for men and women, including girls, the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) of 1979, and the UN Declaration of 1993 for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which considers that violence against women is a crucial mechanism by which women are forced into a subordinate position compared with men.

The UN treaties on gender equality consecrate this principle in a general manner, as well as the need for women to be part of all decision-making processes, and consequently, the need to adopt positive measures with regard to the participation of women at all levels of government and in all public spaces, including the labor market.

The ILO also has a number of specific norms for women's work. The first ILO Conventions on maternity protection and on nocturnal work were intended to protect women from exploitation in the workplace and protect their health,

10 Social Security has several meanings, but in general, it can be defined as the protection which society

provides for its members against the economic and social setbacks that would otherwise cause the decline or even the extinction of forms of income such as illness, maternity, work accidents, unemployment, age, death, etc., as well as protection for medical care and subsidies for families with children.


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especially with regard to their reproductive role. These parameters were intended to protect women workers, seen as the weakest and most vulnerable, who needed special attention and consideration. Currently, the ILO norms have two basic concerns: equal opportunities, in order to ensure equal opportunities and access to training, employment promotion, organization and decision making, as well as ensuring equal conditions of remuneration and benefits of social security, provided due to the use and protection of women workers, especially with regard to working conditions that can pose risks to their reproductive health.

The main ILO norms on gender equality are: Convention no. 100 on equality of remuneration, Convention no. 111 on discrimination in employment and occupation, Convention no. 156 on women workers with family responsibilities, and Convention no. 183 on maternity protection. Other conventions, not yet specifically directed towards women, are important for gender equality, such as Convention no. 175 on part-time work, Convention no. 177 on household work, and Convention No. 189 for domestic work, since the majority of people working in such conditions are women.

International ILO conventions are very important tools in the fight against gender inequality. However, although there is a profusion of ILO norms on these matters or related to gender issues – demonstrating a concern from this international organization with regards to this issue – it is difficult to implement these norms in countries due to a lack of knowledge of these norms, as well as resistance to them.

Regarding MERCOSUR, there are not many norms establishing gender equality, just a few resolutions that point to the need for better research and analysis on the issue. Thus, the MERCOSUR Social and Labor Declaration provides, in the chapter on Individual Rights, art. 3, equal treatment and opportunities between women and men and the commitment to ensuring such equality of treatment through labor norms and practices, with some resolutions also setting forth provisions on gender equality, such as Resolution no. 84 of December 7, 2000, MERCOSUR/GMC/RES. no. 84/00, which states that the incorporation of a gender perspective involves establishing a clear and effective framework for supervision, monitoring and evaluation in order to achieve the objective of equality of opportunities, considering that such initiatives are essential to eliminate disparities and discrimination against women in the region (art. 1) and Resolution no. 20 Common Market Group (CMG) that created the MERCOSUR Specialized Women’s Conference (SWC; [REM, Portuguese acronym]) in 1998 with the objective of "establishing a framework for the analysis of the situation of women in relation to the current legislation in the MERCOSUR Member States, as regards the concept of equal opportunities”. Despite the existence of laws that recognize the importance of the transversality of gender in the preparation, implementation and assessment of the public policies of MERCOSUR member countries and that provide for transversal studies of gender with data disaggregated by sex in relation


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to the labor market, there are no other measures that protect or promote the labor market for women.

As for Brazilian national legal framework, the rules on women's work began to emerge more significantly with the Federal Constitution of 1934, which was the framework of the internalization of international social precepts, the beginnings of social constitutionalism in Brazil, and the constitution upon which the authority to legislate on labor rights passed onto the Union.

The principle of equality is provided in the Brazilian Federal Constitution of 1988, in a broad sense, in the preamble and art. 3, (sections I, III and IV). Its art. 5 states that all are equal before the law, without distinction of any kind, guaranteeing to Brazilians and foreigners residing in the country the inviolability of the right to life, liberty, equality, security and property, affirming that men and women have equal rights and obligations under this Constitution (section I), that the law shall punish any discrimination violating fundamental rights and freedoms (section XLI) and that the practice of racism is a criminal offense non-bailable and imprescriptible, subject to imprisonment pursuant to the law (section XLII).

In the specific context of gender equality and in the context of labor rights, the Brazilian Constitution in art. 7 establishes for workers: the right to the protection of the labor market for women (section XX) by means of specific incentives in accordance with the law and the right to prohibit any discrimination in terms of wages, exercise of functions and admission criteria on the grounds of sex, age, color or marital status (section XXX).

The Consolidation of Labor Laws contains a specific chapter for the protection of women's work, but it is a norm that was established in the 1940s, steeped in multiple protection [heterotutelares] characteristics, and therefore should be considered in conjunction with the principles of gender equality enshrined in the Federal Constitution of 1988, and with some related norms following the Constitution.

2. The sexual division of labor and inequality on the grounds

of gender in the labor market The number of applicable norms which provide for gender equality in Brazil is

significant, but such equality is still far from being achieved. Despite the existence of numerous norms at the international, community and national levels expressly prohibiting negative discrimination, inequalities still remain.

As per the 2005 Report of the United Nations on the Millennium Development Goals, women's access to employment is lower than men’s in most developing countries: women have less chances of obtaining paid and stable employment, and work more often in the informal economy. These disadvantages have a negative impact on the development process and on the possibility of equalizing gender inequalities in every sector of life.


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Work is allocated differently among occupations in all societies. As in other areas, the labor market has very strong gender segregation, even taking into account the differences between regions and cultures.

Inequalities between men and women are essentially based on the sexual division of labor between productive work and reproductive work. This form of sexual division has two organizing principles: the principle of separation and the principle of hierarchy. The principle of separation concerns the existence of work considered feminine, in the reproductive sphere, and work considered masculine, in the productive sphere. The principle of hierarchy defines work typically considered as male as of higher value than work typically considered female11. There is no free choice of roles, as the determination of the functions of each gender is performed antagonistically, through the domination of men over women.

The sexual division of labor structures gender relations in society and establishes a naturalized division of the reproductive areas assigned to women and of the productive areas assigned to men. Thus, in addition to attributing to women the responsibility for reproduction, establishing their inclusion in production only secondarily, the sexual division of labor labels reproductive work as non-work, not giving it value and marginalizing it as an object of study of the economy.

The problem of reconciling between family life and professional life has always been crucial in establishing effective equality between men and women, since gender differences are a reflection of the differentiation of roles within the family. According to data from the Perseu Abramo Foundation/SESC [Social Service of Commerce] from 2010, out of the total number of women interviewed, 69% reported being responsible for housework, whereas out of the total number of men surveyed, only 3% answered that they were responsible for such work12. In terms of the average weekly time spent on housework in 2009, according to data from IBGE/PNAD [Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics/National Household Sample Survey], economically active women spent on average 22.4 hours a week on housework, while men spent only 9.8 hours. There are differences between men and women not only as regards the number of hours, but also in the type of work done in the home. When performing household work, men perform very specific tasks, such as maintenance and repair of appliances, care for children, shopping, taking children to the doctor or cooking a more sophisticated dish, which are tasks that lie exactly on the border between the public and private space (BRUSCHINI AND LOMBARDI, 2007, p. 52).

Wage inequality is one of the most persistent forms of gender discrimination in the labor market. According to Santos, women are systematically victims of pay discrimination. In practice, they are denied the fruition of the principle of equal pay

11 Kergoat (2000, p.35-36). Reproductive work is understood as all the activities necessary for

maintenance and human survival, such as care and education of children, food preparation, cleaning clothes, etc.

12 Data from the Perseu Abramo Foundation/SESC [Social Service of Commerce] (2010).


17

for equal work laid down in the legal systems of most countries (SANTOS, 2005, p. 304).

Women have the highest percentage of people who have more than twelve years of studies in relation to the total population, with a total average of 6.3% of women and 5.9% of men, as of 2009, as well as in terms of the employed population, with a total of 8.7% of women and 7.7% of men13. Similarly, among women are the most people who have completed higher education, with 10.9% of women versus 10% of men in the metropolitan region, 6.8% of women versus 5.1% of men in the non-metropolitan area, 9.2% of women versus 7.8% of men in urban areas, and 1.8% of women versus 1.1% of men in rural areas14.

Despite the greater amount of education, the wage gap between men and women remains high in Brazil. According to data from DIEESE/SEADE, MTE/FAT and PED of 2010, in Belo Horizonte, black male employees earned on average R$1,243.00, non-black male employees R$1,812.00, black female employees R$966.00 and non-black female employees R$1,428.00; in the Federal District, black male employees earned on average R$1,961.00, non-black male employees R$3,151.00, black female employees R$ 1,731.00 and non-black female employees R$2,626.00; in Porto Alegre, black male employees earned on average R$847.00, non-black male employees R$1,218.00, black female employees R$847.00 and non-black female employees R$1,218.00; in Fortaleza, black male employees earned on average R$899.00, non-black male employees R$1,209.00, black female employees R$794.00 and non-black female employees R$1,041.00; in Recife, black male employees earned on average R$908.00, non-black male employees R$1,269.00, black female employees R$818.00 and non-black female employees R$1,088.00; in Salvador, black male employees earned on average R$1,129.00, non-black male employees R$1,980.00, black female employees R$994.00 and non-black female employees R$1,417.00; and in São Paulo, black male employees earned on average R$1,164.00, non-black male employees R$1,824.00, black female employees R$942.00 and non-black female employees R$1,417.0015.

These data demonstrate the persistence of the wage gap between men and women, regardless of the number of years of education that women have, emphasizing the differentiated value that is given to men’s work and women’s work.

Another one of the best-known pernicious effects of the sexual division of the work is vertical discrimination, also known as the “glass ceiling.” The glass ceiling

13 Brazil (2010). Data from IBGE/PNAD [Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics/National

Household Sample Survey] 14 Brazil (2010). Data from IBGE/PNAD [Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics/National

Household Sample Survey] 15 Brazil (2010). Data from DIEESE [Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socio-Economic

Studies]/SEADE [State System of Data Analysis Foundation], MTE [Ministry of Labor]/FAT [Worker Protection Fund] and PED [Survey of Employment and Unemployment].


18

refers to the existence of a smaller number of women in positions of higher pay and decision-making as compared to the number of men in such positions.

Although women in Brazil have a greater number of years of schooling than men, this higher amount of education has not translated into a greater ability to obtain gainful employment, as it is not enough to break the difficulty in access to jobs and promotions for women. Rather, what is observed is that wage inequality between men and women increases with the amount of education16.

Another adverse effect of the sexual division of labor is the unequal distribution between men and women in different branches of economic activities, causing the concentration of a particular sex in a given branch. This form of distribution is, in fact, a consequence of the idea of the "maternal instinct," establishing the definition of so-called feminine tasks under the false naturalization of tasks that require "thin fingers," agility, concentration and discipline. With these occupational ghettos, differences in career progress are also explained by biologized arguments or arguments stating that women relate to work differently and are less competitive.

In Brazil, occupational ghettos are unchallenged and there are no mechanisms to incentivize women to take technical courses, generating an underutilization of female enrollment (SOUZA-LOBO, 2011, p. 282-283). Thus, according to 2009 data from IBGE, employed women are more concentrated in domestic services (17%), in commercial and repair activities (16.8%), and in education, health and social service activities (16.7 %). In these sectors, male employment rates are 0.9% for domestic services, 18.5% in commercial and repair activities, and 3.9% in education, health and social service activities. The sectors of economic activity in which there is less concentration of women are construction (0.5%), transport, storage and communication sectors (1.5%) and accommodation and food (4.8%)17.

The insertion of women in the labor market has always been strongly marked by precariousness, but the feminization of unemployment and the instability of women’s employment relations has been increasing over the years, with less regulation of their guarantees of working conditions, lower wages and an increase in forms of homeworking, even if in general they have a higher educational level than men. This increase in women's participation in the formal and informal labor market occurs mostly in unstable jobs that are socially devalued and with almost no possibility of promotion and career, and with limited or no social rights, both in Asia and in Europe and Latin America (HIRATA, 2009, p. 88-89).

This flexibility perpetuates the sexual division of labor to the extent that, in most cases, stable work with an employment connection (formal work) is reserved for men, with management positions; meanwhile, women are assigned flexible

16 Brazil (2010). Data from DIEESE [Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socio-Economic

Studies]/SEADE [State System of Data Analysis Foundation], MTE [Ministry of Labor]/FAT [Worker Protection Fund] and PED [Survey of Employment and Unemployment].

17 The sectors of "other industrial activities" (0.3%) and "ill-defined activities" (0.0%) were left out.


19

(precarious) work, often without employment connection (informal), and without a management attribution.

One of the similar and problematic points of the two forms of precariousness of women's work – whether it is part-time hiring, typical in northern countries, or whether it is informal work, typical of southern countries – is the difficulty that women who exercise such activities have in associating, forming groups and joining trade unions, due to their isolation or the conditions of work time flexibility imposed by companies.

Women also constitute a majority in one of the most precarious jobs that exist: domestic employment. In 2009, 17% of working women were in the domestic service sector, while 0.9% of working men were in the domestic service sector18. In absolute numbers, out of the 7,223,000 domestic workers in Brazil in 2009, 6,719,000 were women and only 504,000 were men. In addition, out of these men, nearly half had a formal contract (226,000), whereas for women, only 1,769,000 had an employment record book issued; that is, in addition to already being a majority in precarious work such as domestic work, most female domestic workers do not even have an employment record book issued19. Since domestic work is identified and naturalized as a female role and not as work, domestic employment is regarded as a particular form of employment in which relations are not regulated in the same way as in other employment relationships, thus the Brazilian legal system itself denies various rights to female domestic workers.

A woman already suffers a series of discriminations at the time of looking for a job. Recruitment policies often demand requirements that are not indispensable to work in certain jobs, and certain actions or requirements in selections for job openings end up harming more women than men, creating a sort of discrimination called indirect discrimination.

Direct discrimination tends to occur due to legal issues or religious norms that prohibit women from participating in work activities in the same way that men participate, with laws that prohibit or restrict the participation of women in employment contracts or that determine that a woman should be paid less than a man.

Indirect discrimination based on gender, in turn, is the situation whereby an apparently neutral provision, criterion or practice puts people of one sex at a particular disadvantage with respect to people of the other sex, unless that provision, criterion or practice can be objectively justified in consideration of a legitimate objective and that the means to achieve said objective are necessary and appropriate. This discrimination may be unclear in a preliminary analysis, but may be perceived after analyzing the actual effects of such situations20.

18 Brazil (2010). Data from IBGE/PNAD [Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics/National

Household Sample Survey] 19 Brazil (2010). Data from IBGE/PNAD [Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics/National

Household Sample Survey] 20 ILO (2007, p. 50).


20

When analyzing the issue of gender in labor relations, one should take into account that certain groups of women are more affected by discrimination than others. This normally occurs with socially vulnerable groups, such as women's groups working in rural areas, black women, migrant women, girls, elderly women or those with a disability. In such cases, the discriminations are potentiated by the presence of other types of discrimination. This phenomenon is called, among other names, multiple discrimination or discrimination of intersectionality (CRENSHAW, 2002, p. 171). In Brazil, the most common cases of intersectionality of discrimination are of gender and race.

Although there are many legal norms aimed at combating gender-based inequality, with a repressive approach, the harmful consequences of the sexual division of labor persist, perpetuating stereotypical gender roles. The precariousness and insecurity of women's work ultimately reinforce the attribute of naturalness applied to the characteristics required of the female labor force, which are for that very reason not considered as a professional qualification.

Faced with the persistence of gender-based inequalities in Brazil, it is necessary for all social actors, including the State and labor unions, to act in the fight against inequality through other instruments in addition to the traditional mechanisms of negative sanction against discrimination. It is essential, therefore, not only to guarantee equal pay, working conditions and protection against negative discrimination, but also to guarantee women’s access to the labor market through affirmative action measures.

Affirmative action is provided for in the Brazilian legal system, as the Constitution of 1988 lists, as a fundamental principle among the objectives of Brazil, the construction of a free society, with justice and solidarity, through the reduction of social inequalities and the promotion of the good of all, without any form of discrimination (article 3, sections I, III and IV). Likewise, the fundamental norm establishes the right to the protection of the labor market for women (art. 7, section XX), through specific incentives according to the law and determination by means of law that will define its criteria of acceptance, of percentage of reservation of public office and public sector employment for people with disabilities (art. 37, sec. VIII).

The principle of equality is a complex principle that has two sides, that is, the positive side and the negative side. Thus, we must make a distinction between negative discrimination, which is prohibited in international and national norms in most countries, and positive discrimination. The latter is related to preferential treatment for underrepresented groups, in order to achieve the principle of equality. Piovesan considers that equality presupposes forms of social inclusion, and negative discrimination involves violent exclusion and intolerance to difference and diversity, thus a prohibition of exclusion does not result, automatically, in inclusion. Therefore, it is necessary to have a promotional approach towards equality in order to guarantee de facto equality, with the effective social inclusion


21

of groups that have suffered and suffer a consistent pattern of violence and discrimination (PIOVESAN, 2007, p. 189-191).

Although more commonly advocated and implemented by the executive and legislative branches and configured as public policy, in these cases, positive discrimination measures may also be implemented by other social actors, such as labor unions, associations and companies, as already occurs, for example, with the labor unions, since many of them stipulate quotas on their boards.

Positive discrimination measures go far beyond the determination of public policies that guarantee the entry of women into the labor market, as they also concern access to vocational training and positions of responsibility and more refined qualification; however, for this, it is necessary to have the participation of all social actors involved in a committed way, since the effectiveness of a norm, especially a promotional norm, depends on the maturity of cultural sensitivity and on the ability of labor unions to effectively address the issue of women's work as one of their problems.

3. The role of trade unions in the fight against gender-based inequality

The study and appreciation of a democratic citizenship that recognizes the

diversity and plurality of women's citizenship is important, since the realization of social rights is only possible through the consolidation of democracy. This democracy, in turn, can not do without citizenship, since legal institutions can end up becoming instruments of social oppression when there is no participatory democracy and strengthening of citizenship (SCHWARZ, 2011, p. 8-9). Thus, not only the construction of social rights is necessary, but also that of instruments of citizenship protection in an inclusive context and in permanent construction.

With regards to defining the content of the norms on gender equality, Habermas (1997, p. 159-160) states that the feminist movement, having experienced the specific limitations of both paradigms mentioned above, would now be in a position to deny blindness with respect to the factual inequalities of the paternalistic social model.

Habermas (1997, p.169) goes on to state that "no regulation, no matter how sensitive it is to the context, can adequately realize the equal right to an autonomous configuration of private life, if it does not at the same time strengthen the position of women in the public political sphere, promoting their participation in political communication, in which it is possible to clarify relevant aspects for a position of equality. Having become aware of this link between private and public autonomy, present-day feminism has reservations against the model of a policy oriented towards instrumental, short-term successes; this explains the importance that feminism attaches to identity politics, that is, the forming effects of awareness, derived from the political process itself”.


22

For the German philosopher such a legal paradigm is inconsistent, however, with the projects of an "identity of the sexes in a just society," mandatory for all. The fact that the legal regulations regarding women are designed in an androgynous way or within an essentialist dualism of the sexes, under the sign of femininity or motherhood, does not change things. On the other hand, a proceduralist understanding of law opens a perspective for the determinate negation of identifiable injustice here and now, "even though we can not know a priori how the good society will be, we know more than enough about what it will not be, in order to establish a plan of action. It will not be a society with large disparities between the sexes in terms of status, power and economic security. Nor will it be a society that limits the freedom of choice of women with respect to reproduction, that tolerates poverty, violence, racial injustice, nor structures jobs without regard to the needs of families. Finally, and fundamentally, it shall not be a society that refuses to many of its members the substantial power of defining their daily existence. To cover all of its potential, feminism must hold a vision that is concerned not only with the relations between men and women, but also with relations between men and between women. Engagement in favor of gender equality, which gave birth to the women's movement, is necessary but not sufficient to express the basic values of this movement" (HABERMAS, 1997, p. 168-169).

The author concludes that to resolve the tension between equality and differences in gender relations, it is necessary that all those involved are heard, in order not to run the risk of prejudging or speaking on behalf of anyone21. So, the way in which the identity of the sexes and their relations will be interpreted will depend on constant public discussion, in which those concerned can themselves reformulate the issue or subject in question to be recognized, and they themselves may decide what needs they require to be corrected through law. In his work The Inclusion of the

Other, the author reiterates the broad outlines of his thought concerning women's movements and women's rights (HABERMAS, 2004, p. 303-306).

It shares Habermas’ idea that the subjects involved must themselves organize the protection of their rights, also emphasizing the importance of the role of women in unions for the legitimacy of gender rights equality. His analysis, however, is not sufficient to account for the whole transversal issue of gender and of perpetuated domination that permeates various fields. The author also does not reflect on the sexual division of labor and women’s much larger load with reproductive work, restricting their ability to participate in political decisions and resulting in a greater need on the part of women for social benefits provided by the State such as

21 Habermas (1997, p. 178-169). In the same sense, see Pisarello (2007, p. 52): "the only way of

distancing the ghost of arbitrariness is by using the resource of intersubjectivity and democratic deliberation. Thus, the inclusive and plural guarantee, both of basic as well as instrumental needs, both of those that ensure social homogeneity as well as those that facilitate cultural diversity, appear as inseparable from an ambitious conception of democracy, concerned about making audible, at all times, the voice of those involved in its construction, beginning by those who, for whatever reason, are in a position of specific vulnerability”.


23

maternity leave, child care, aid and nursing homes, etc., since this universality is defined by the identification of experiences of a specific group of people as a paradigmatic argument of humans in general (white people, adult, male, Western, owners or liberal professionals).

Two scholars of feminist movements that analyze Habermasian discourse theory, pointing out problems of androcentrism and ethnocentrism and starting from a specifically masculine neutral-universal model, are Fraser and Benhabib. It is stated, in accordance with the opinion of Fraser and Benhabib, that Habermas’ theory is a necessary starting point, since communicative rationality, despite its demanding requirements, speaks the language of inclusion but lacks the recognition of alternative publics and the recognition of several public spheres, that is, the recognition of not only a social pluralism, but of a legal pluralism as well22.

Habermas builds his theory based on the existence of a public sphere and a private sphere, which together constitute what the author calls the two institutional orders in the world of modern life, based on division, on the part of modern societies, between system and life-world, placing on the one hand the official capitalist economy and the modern administrative State, and on the other hand placing the family unit and the public sphere. The life-world is thus separated into two spheres which, in turn, provide complementary environments suitable for both systems: the private sphere, the family unit, which is linked to the official economic system, and the public sphere, that is, the space for political participation, debate and opinion, which is linked to the State administrative system. Fraser (1997, p.85-89) considers that there can be no a priori definition of this concept and that even the determination of what is and what is not public should be placed under discussion, since determining the family unit in advance as something private perpetuates male dominance, and it should be considered as a problem of common interest exactly what is decided.

Fraser (1997, p.85-89) also considers that the characterization of the family as a field of symbolic reproduction that is socially integrated compared to the place of paid work as a field of material reproduction that is systemically integrated, tends to exaggerate the differences and obfuscate the similarities between them, blurring, for example, the fact that both within the family and in the context of paid work there is labor and the fact that both within the family and in the context of paid work, women tend to be targeted for occupations that are sexualized, ghettoized and focused on the service sector.

Nor does Habermas consider the subordination of women to men both within the family and in the context of paid work, and does not take into account the gendered roles in society when criticizing the Welfare State, not looking at the fact that those most affected by social spending cuts and the reduction of social rights in the liberal model are women, nor perceiving the dualization of the social State, with a social security system that serves men more, and a welfare system that

22 In this sense, see Fraser (1985; 1995; 1997) and Benhabib (1992; 2007).


24

serves a larger number of women, given the existing male breadwinner paradigm in capitalism (FRASER, 1985, p. 107 and 122).

Fraser also points out another issue on which Habermas does not see the issue of gender in his theory: for the German scholar, the exercise of citizenship lies basically in political participation in debates and formation of public opinion. Thus, citizenship depends crucially on the ability to speak, the ability to participate, on an equal footing with others in dialogues and discussions. In classical capitalism, however, these capabilities are connected with masculinity. They are abilities that are denied to women in many ways23; there is, thus, a clear dissonance between femininity and dialogical skills that are central to Habermas’ concept of citizenship, making the citizen's role primarily a male one (FRASER, 1985, p. 115-116).

In addition, Fraser (1997, p. 83) considers that Habermas's theory excludes women because networks of cafés, casinos and discussion clubs that acted as highways of communication and dialogical rationality, which gave rise to the appearance of the concept of public opinion and institutionalizing the public sphere as res publica, had the practices and ethos of a male elite.

The author believes that the reconstruction of the gender issue, with an emancipatory transformation of capitalist societies with male dominance, requires a transformation of gender roles and institutions that mediate them. To the extent that the male/female worker role and the male/female caregiver role are so fundamentally incompatible with each other, the universalization of one or the other is not possible for the inclusion of both genders (FRASER, 1985, p. 119).

Benhabib, in turn, acknowledges that there is a fundamental moral right which is the "right to have rights" of every human being, in the sense that every human being has the right to be recognized and protected as a legal person by the global community, understanding human rights as moral principles articulated in such a way as to protect the communicative freedom of individuals, with these distinct moral principles being different from the legal specification of rights, although there is a necessary connection between human rights as moral principles and their legal forms24. The "right to have rights" involves recognizing one’s identity with both a "Generalized Other" as well as with "Concrete Other”. The view of the "Generalized Other" requires that each one holds the same rights and obligations, since the point of view of the "Concrete Other" requires that each person is seen as an individual with an affective-emotional constitution, both in their individual and their collective identity.

Benhabib, however, criticizes Habermas’ position that these norms can be properly articulated in terms of a dialogue between the "Generalized Others" (CANADAY, 2003, p. 52) and proclaims the need for a universalism that is interactive, non-legislative, aware of gender differences and not gender-blind, contextually

23 These abilities are very important for union activity. 24 Benhabib (2007, p. 9-11). The author acknowledges that she took the phrase “right to have rights,”

which was first coined by Hannah Arendt, but with a different meaning from the one used, initially, in political rights, identified as the right to be a member of a political community.


25

sensitive and not indifferent to the situation. Thus, the "Generalized Other" is associated with an ethic of justice and a moral category of rights. The "Concrete Other," in contrast, is a unique individual with a history and particular needs (CANADAY, 2003, p. 58-59). Thus, one should not yield to the tension between universalism and specificities, choosing one and denying the other, but rather should negotiate their interdependence by placing the universal in concrete contexts.

Both Fraser as Benhabib consider that the strict limits established by Habermas between the public and private spheres perpetuate stereotyped gender roles and male dominance, considering that the public sphere should also cover issues of well-being, as well as taking into account the particular needs of the "Concrete Others”. They also advocate a model in which the discursive power in the public sphere is not centralized, but allocated to multiple places.

If, at first, Habermas' discourse theory does not specifically address the gender issue in law, in his work Between Facts and Norms, the author specifically addresses the issue of gender and feminist movements. His analysis, however, is not sufficient to account for the whole transversal issue of gender and of perpetuated domination that permeates various fields. The author also does not reflect on the sexual division of labor and women’s much larger load with reproductive work, encumbering their emancipation to participate in political decisions and resulting in a greater need on the part of women for social benefits provided by the State such as maternity leave, child care, aid and nursing homes, etc., since this universality is defined by the identification of experiences of a specific group of people as a paradigmatic argument of humans in general (white people, adult, male, Western, owners or liberal professionals).

With respect to reproduction, Habermas believes that it is a responsibility only of the mother and that, therefore, any social protection would generate a reflex discrimination, although he clarifies that he considers that this responsibility was attributed by means of a pragmatic-contextual interpretation, rather than a natural or biological matter. The author does not take into account that the State can also be responsible for children, and, moreover, he does not take into account that such protection should be seen not only from a maternity approach but also of paternity, generating duties and right for fathers. While salaried productive work constitutes the system, the reproductive, domestic and care work, performed in the private sphere of life, incorporates the concept of the life-world, legitimizing the sexual division of labor (FRASER, 1985, p. 102 and 115).

This article does not seek to defend the unilateral establishment of rights and policies. We ratify the opinion of Fraser and Benhabib, stating that Habermas' theory is a necessary starting point, since the communicative rationality, despite its demanding requirements, speaks the language of inclusion25. However, Habermas'

25 On this point, see Bittar (2011, p 672-673.): “The organization of the traces of repressed demands

that have been communed by a set of social actors allow certain issues to appear and become visible in the political sphere, tending to point to a growing effervescence of demands for justice, which include the need to intensify communication, sharing and the universalization of inclusion”.


26

discourse theory lacks the recognition of alternative publics and the existence of various public spheres, namely, the recognition of a pluralism that is not only social but also legal. Additionally, an emancipatory transformation of male-dominated capitalist societies requires a transformation of the roles and institutions that mediate them. While the roles of "worker" and "caregiver" continue to be fundamentally incompatible, it will not be possible to universalize either role for both genders, thus requiring some form of rapprochement between the two roles (FRASER, 1985, p. 118). Thus, in the words of Santos (2005, p 272.), "The politicization of domestic space – and therefore the feminist movement – is a key component of the new theory of democracy”.

Society as a whole and women in particular should participate in the process of elaborating norms and policies in a democratic way, serving as a collective subject; however, we can not allow, as a result of power imbalances, for such participation to be merely formal, without taking into account the real needs and the realization of the principle of equality.

In this sense – and having such factual inequality, a fact recognized by the author – Habermas does not settle the issue of how to make the affected subjects – in this case, women – participants in the political process of delineating such rights. In other words, how these women will be part of the determination of the law and participate in the decision-making process, while being excluded a priori from the political process in a general way.

There is not, in Habermas' theory, a definition regarding who and how women's empowerment will be realized, as Habermas's public sphere is exclusive in practice, making access difficult for certain groups of race, class and gender. To the extent that such women should be part of the delineation of such rights, they should have the ability (training), independence and strength in so-called decision-making. However, the author himself points out the alarming feminization of poverty and the fact that this problem creates a vicious circle in decision-making, since the higher female poverty is, the less women are able to speak out about their rights, and the less that they have a chance to outline their needs and rights, the poorer they will be.

Brazil is currently in 80th place in the UNDP’s gender inequality index (GII), in which the first place is Sweden, as the country with the least gender inequality,26 and the last country (146th) is Yemen27.

The problem of gender equality is found today in the distribution of power expressed both in access to material resources and economic life, such as cultural

26 The first position in the world ranking does not guarantee absolute gender equality, and UNDP (2012)

alerts that although some countries have managed to reduce many inequalities between men and women, they persist in all countries.

27 UNDP (2012). This index takes into account data such as maternal mortality rates, fertility rates, seats in the national parliament, the number of people with at least secondary education completed disaggregated by sex, participation rate in the labor force disaggregated by sex, contraceptive prevalence rate and prenatal care. Note that Brazil fell from 70th place to the 80th position from 2008 to 2011, although the absolute values of this index have improved with regard to Brazil.


27

issues as well as the decision-making bodies and leadership in society; that is, it concerns the issues of economic justice, as well as cultural and political justice, thus requiring a three-dimensional conception of justice, according to which the distribution demands correspond to the economic dimension of justice, the demands of recognition correspond to the cultural dimension of justice and the demands of representation correspond to the political dimension of justice.

Regarding the political participation of women, both in state policy and in other arenas of the public space such as labor unions, the issues related to election and their gender-insensitive rules, together with maldistribution and false recognition based on gender, deny parity of political participation to women, and such problems belong to the sphere of the demands of representation and problems of injustice of political-common misrepresentation28. Thus, the claims for gender quotas, as well as other forms of positive discrimination that promote the participation of women in public spaces and decision-making processes, seek to remove the political obstacles that block the equal participation of those who, in principle or at least formally, are already included in the political community (FRASER, 2010, p. 20-22).

One of the ways to empower women and enable their participation in decision-making processes and in the control of their own lives can occur with the participation of social groups. The actions of women in unions and in their leadership positions is one way of enabling women's empowerment, as well as to provide greater legitimacy of legal norms regarding gender equality, through an amalgamation process between union organizations, with the private sphere and non-state movement and the instances of decision-making.

Women’s participation in unions provides a greater possibility for women to exercise power and citizenship in the public space in which democracy is built, enabling women to participate more in decision-making processes, while enhancing their political capital, since the participation of women in such sorts of social movements, besides serving as a regrouping space, also serves as a base and training for those women to participate in larger public spaces.

The workers’ organizations can act in deliberative spheres in various ways: in addition to their specific role as a form of pressure against employers for better working conditions and through the establishment of collective norms, they participate in society, including the establishment of various public policies. In this vein, trade unions have a seat and a voice, for example, in the process of establishing public policies for women nationwide. As an example of participation in gender policy, the following workers' organizations can be mentioned, which had representatives when drafting the Second National Policy Plan for Women, as representatives of civil society organizations: Articulação Nacional de Mulheres

28 At least within the Brazilian legal system, these are issues of injustice of ordinary-political

misrepresentation, since women are not excluded, a priori, from the decision-making processes of such organizations.


28

Trabalhadoras Rurais – ANMTR, Central Única dos Trabalhadores – CUT, Confederação Geral dos Trabalhadores – CGT, Confederação Nacional dos Trabalhadores em Educação – CNTE, Confederação Nacional dos Trabalhadores na Agricultura – CONTAG, Federação Nacional das Trabalhadoras Domésticas – FENATRAD and Força Sindical.

Freedom of association is a right that is linked to the construction of workers' citizenship as well as the construction and maintenance of democracy, and emerges as a basic premise for the organization of union bodies, in the Democratic State based on the Rule of Law, and the right to freedom of association must be designed as a fundamental human right, as it enables the balance of forces necessary to guarantee working conditions and to build an efficient production system (SILVA, 2008, p. 66-67). Thus, the freedom of association, the right to information and the right to be heard by the government allow the holders of such rights to make themselves visible and audible in the very process of constructing rights, and constitute themselves as social guarantees of rights (SCHWARZ 2011, p.162).

One of the consequences of freedom of association is the guarantee to unions of their negotiating function, enshrined in Convention no. 98 of the ILO, highlighting the need to adopt appropriate measures to encourage workers and employers to develop negotiation procedures (SILVA, 2008, p. 70).

Although there is no express agreement in this regard, ILO has various documents declaring the importance of increasing women's participation in decision-making bodies of unions. Among these documents is the Resolution on gender equality at the heart of decent work, in 2009, product of the 98th International Labour Conference that deals specifically with the centrality of gender equality in the search for decent work and stresses the need for measures that increase the number of women in social dialogue, in unions, in collective bargaining and in all decision-making processes.

Despite the acknowledged importance of women's participation in the activities of unions and in their deliberative and decision-making bodies, this participation has always been small.

The discussion of gender issues among the working class in Brazil emerged in the seventies, primarily in some unions of the state of São Paulo. During that period, the number of women strikers was significant and in some factories, where the percentage of women was high, the strike movement was in fact triggered by them. Despite the significant participation of women in strikes that emerged in that period, their participation in union assemblies and meetings was insignificant29.

In the eighties, unions began to be more concerned about the issue of working class women and the participation of women in trade union structures, causing the first women’s commissions or secretariats of the union federations to be created with the purpose of both discussing discrimination in the labor market within the union movement, as well expanding the role of women in union organizations.

29 In this sense, see Souza-Lobo (2011).


29

Nevertheless, the number of women in union leadership positions remained small and the conditions of their participation were disadvantaged compared to men’s30.

In the nineties, gender issues continued to be discussed in the union space, although in a period that was not very conducive to union demands in general. Some issues were incorporated into union policies, but several others experienced difficulty in their implementation31.

Despite the undeniable advances in women's participation in trade unions, in general, the participation of female workers in decision-making bodies remains low. In 1992, the percentage of unions chaired by women in all of Brazil was 6%. By 2001, that number had increased to only 10%32. Regarding the participation of women on the boards of trade unions, in 2001, out of a total of 15,961 trade unions, 5,667 had no women on their boards, 5,579 had up to 25% women on their boards, 3,280 had 26% to 50% women on their boards, 912 had 51-75% women on their boards, 499 had 76-100% women on their boards and 24 unions did not disclose33. Out of those 15,961 unions, in 2001, only 1,618 had women in a position of presidency, 3,907 had women in a position of 1st secretary, and 2,558 had women in a position of 1st treasurer34.

The difference between the sexes is not just regarding the number of management positions in unions, but also the type of positions that men and women occupy in union bodies, with positions related to care, which is considered typically female work, leaving men with positions with more valued tasks that require and generate higher levels of political capital.

As for the union federations, some of these organizations stipulated affirmative action measures to combat the lack of women in their decision-making bodies in the nineties: CUT, CTB, UGT and Força Sindical. Although there are minimum quotas set aside in most union federations, currently only two of the unions have the minimum percentage of 30% of women in leadership positions. Moreover, in none of the unions analyzed above do women occupy positions in presidency, treasury or general secretary. They generally occupy positions in women’s secretariats, labor relations, communication, race and environment, citizenship and human rights, employment and professional training, training and culture, racial equality, environment, welfare and retirement, and public services.

Actions in favor of gender equality within unions have been historically hampered by various barriers. Some of these barriers occur due to reasons of gender biases outside the unions which have repercussions on trade union actions, such as the concentration of women in low-skilled functions with high turnover, the inclusion

30 In this sense, see Souza-Lobo (2011) 31 In this sense, see Leone and Teixeira (2010). 32 Brazil (2010). IBGE data. Latest available data, noting that such data are from 2001, therefore there is

a large gap in statistical studies on the subject of women's presence in decision-making bodies of trade unions.

33 Brazil (2010). IBGE data. Latest available data. 34 Brazil (2010). IBGE data. Latest available data.


30

of women in the labor market, mainly, in unipersonal production units, including those who work on their own behalf and in domestic employment, besides other precarious forms. This precariousness of labor relations influences the union movement and contributes to the lack of new forms and strategies to attract affiliated women workers and encourage women's participation in union life.

Other difficulties, however, are born within the unions themselves, as a result of the sexual division of labor in society which defines the roles of men and women in a stereotypical manner. The union movement, in general, continues to maintain the concept that identifies workers as a homogeneous group with identical interests and claims, with the argument that the gender issue atomizes the class struggle.

Furthermore, the very organization of the union, based on the daily life of males, excludes women, as it does not take into account the overburden with household chores and unfavorable conditions for most women workers to participate in union life, such as the lack of nurseries in union events and the times of union activities, which are incompatible with the double shift on which women work.

Finally, the union space is essentially masculine, also, in terms of dynamics of participation, speech, language and interests, as they have leadership styles, participation dynamics, speech, language and uses of time that are opposed to the behaviors that the women have been taught and to which they are accustomed, requiring them, therefore, to adapt to these contexts.

Women's participation in union negotiations and in their boards is important not only with regard to the direct results of their participation in the norms agreed to by the unions, but it also has an impact on women’s accumulation of political capital, since the union arena plays an important role in shaping the personalities that occupy the political spaces of decision-making.

It is therefore necessary to increase women's participation in the existing dialogue structures that are still dominated by men, such as unions and other worker organizations, in order to achieve economic, cultural, and political equality. Thus, to ensure that women workers can effectively exercise decision-making positions in unions, affirmative action measures must be taken in order to combat existing difficulties in the possession and exercise of these positions, both within and outside of these unions.

ILO supports the need for the effective participation of all groups in society in decisions affecting their future, in order to reach an authentic and lasting development based on social justice35. In 1998, this organization pointed to the measures below as those which unions should take in order to encourage women’s participation in union activities: adoption of policies that seek to improve working women’s situation and incentivize women to seek leadership positions in unions, self-evaluation by the union to identify factors affecting women's participation in union activities at all levels, establishment of women's units and gender equality committees, reservation of positions for women in the executive body, inclusion of

35 ILO (2005, p. 45).


31

women in candidate lists for union elections, reservations of positions for women in union conferences, educational programs aimed at providing women development of their leadership skills, and information campaigns to raise the awareness of all employees with regard to gender issues36.

Given the need to promote women's participation in unions and especially in their governing bodies, the main actions that these organizations take and can take to promote women’s participation in leadership and deliberation bodies are: actions to increase the number of unionized women working in informal sectors; promotion of unionization of male/female workers without employment connection; greater openness on the part of unions for the creation of mechanisms aimed at expanding women’s union association by organizing an appropriate structure for female union activists to participate in union activities; the creation of strategic alliances with other unions; formation of women's commissions, committees or departments, particularly in union federations and confederations; development of original or autonomous organizational initiatives; drawing up maps of the gender issue; establishing clauses on situations specific to the female workforce in conventions and/or collective agreements; instituting quota policies to integrate women into unions; formation of institutional spheres linked to the labor world, of bipartite or tripartite integration; the right to be heard and the right of expression in union assemblies and in collective bargaining; training offers to female union leaders; among others. Among such measures, some are more used by Brazilian trade union organizations, such as the establishment of quotas for women in the elections of these organizations; the organization of female workers in the informal economy through the creation of strategic alliances with other types of associations; the creation of specific instances of gender issues within the unions; instances of bipartite or tripartite integration; and the female workers’ right to be heard and the right of expression in union assemblies and in collective bargaining.

The measure of establishing quotas or goals, adopted by the majority of Brazilian unions, along with the increase of women in the labor market, has enabled an increase of women as union directors, which raises the number of women leaders in unions.

The establishment of quotas signals the recognition of the existence of gender as a political principle, but it is not enough to end inequalities, since "this simple introduction can compromise the emptying of cultural content if it does not manage, in an organization composed of men and women, to produce multiple political renovations." In such case, unions, in addition to implementing quotas, must carry out innovations in the modalities of gender relations within their own organizations (CAPPELLIN, 1994, p. 287).

Although quotas have their effectiveness and importance, other instruments should be implemented for the participation of women in trade union organizations, such as women's training courses for exercising union leadership positions to

36 ILO (1998, p. 5-6).


32

provide knowledge and training regarding union matters, the framework of linguistic discourse and of other technologies of power necessary to achieve the satisfactory performance of the activities in leadership positions, in order to avoid or reduce the risk of female union leaders not acting effectively. Additionally, for effective results, the quotas established must be complied with by these organizations, which does not usually occur, for example, with all of the Brazilian unions that have stipulated quotas.

Another way of increasing women’s participation in union life and in their decision-making bodies that has been implemented is the organization of female workers in the informal economy, through the creation of strategic alliances with other associations, such as cooperatives and non-governmental organizations, as well as the use of the union structure not only by members of the category.

Due to the limited participation of women in union activities, various organizations have created specific instances in order to strengthen their presence and to propose policies to deal with labor problems resulting from the gender issue. Although there is controversy regarding the potential of such instances to promote and insert gender issues into unions, these organizations generally end up being necessary spaces for the development of reflection and proposals regarding the demands of the workers. They create the risk, however, of isolating or segregating women's demands within the union structure, not transcending and not having an impact on the totality of workers and trade union culture.

A different, very useful way of promoting the participation of women workers is the development of original or autonomous organizational initiatives of women workers, parallel to the unions themselves, with the possibility of mutually benefitting from such parallel women's organizations and traditional trade unions by means of a coalition of these organizations.

The bipartite or tripartite integration instances are a space for the female worker union leaders to enter and activate women workers’ issues within the framework of an equal opportunity policy, in dialogue with the state power, and a tripartite commission on gender and race has already been created in Brazil.

Unions can and must ensure the right to be heard and the right of expression in union assemblies and in collective bargaining, so that the group of women within that category can manifest themselves regarding their interests. For this, there must also be a guarantee of the right to information that unions have regarding labor relations in that category.

It should be noted that the role of the measures presented herein is merely exemplary, as affirmative action may take various forms, ranging from the more traditional – with more rigid mechanisms, with the establishment of quotas – to the wider and more promotional approach, such as offering women training courses for union leadership. There are, therefore, a number of measures that can be implemented by unions for the promotion of women's participation in their deliberation bodies, and several of these have already been implemented by some international union organizations, foreign and/or Brazilian.


33

Conclusion

Given this study, it can be concluded that although there is a significant

amount of applicable legal norms providing for the right to gender equality in Brazil, these inequalities continue to persist, especially in the labor market. In order to bring effectiveness to the legal norms regarding women’s human rights, it is therefore necessary to take affirmative action measures to enable women workers to effectively participate in political life and in processes of deliberation and decision-making.

One way to encourage this participation in political life is the participation of women workers in union organizations and in their deliberating bodies, as these unions are collective organizations that may increase the political capital of these women and improve their employment conditions through the effective participation of women in the preparation of conventions and collective bargaining agreements, which are legal norms applicable to these women workers by the unions, and set up, in turn, deliberative instances in systems of legal pluralism.

This female participation, however, is still scarce and fraught with many difficulties in its implementation. Thus, the various measures of affirmative action as ways to promote women’s participation in union life and in their deliberating bodies should be taken into account in order to increase this participation.

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36

NEW REGULATORY ABOUT THE LEAVE AND MONTHLY ALLOWANCE FOR INCREASING CHILDREN

Dan ŢOP* Abstract: Law no. 66/2016 amended Government Emergency Ordinance no.

111/2010 on leave and monthly allowance for raising children, setting a new legal regime in this area. Under the old regulations, the person entitled to parental leave could opt differentiate for a period of 1 year or for a period of two years, at present such an option is excluded, possibly only leave two years. The time during which the employee could realize taxable income to be included in the calculation of the monthly allowance is extended to 24 months. Delete maximum monthly amount of the allowance and incentive insertion is not equivalent to the value of the reference social indicator, but with half the minimum parental allowance. The new law envisages the extension of the grant of the incentive to child turns age 3 years and 4 years, in case of disabled children

Keywords: leave and monthly allowance for raising children; unpaid leave; social indicator of reference; incentive insertion; seniority.

Parental leave and childcare leave is,,a category consisting of the time the

employee / employee does not perform work as dealing with development, child care and education until the age of 1 year, 2 years or 3 years in the case of disabled children"1.

Government Emergency Ordinance no. 111/2010 on leave and monthly child2 allowance in Article 2 point 1 to provide that any person who derives income subject to tax, benefits optional parental leave aged up to one year or two years, and a monthly allowance3.

Leave and allowance increase may be requested either by the mother or the father for each birth, provided that the applicant:

• is a Romanian citizen, foreign citizens (ie without citizenship); • domicile / residence in Romania; • living in Romania together with the child / children for demanding rights and

educates and caring for him / them. The period of parental leave is seniority and service, as well as specialized and

it is envisaged to establish rights to be granted in respect thereof.

* Ph.D. Professor, Faculty of Law and Administrative Sciences, University of Valahia Târgovişte. 1 Monica Gheorghe in Individual labor law, Juridical Universe Publishing House, Bucharest, 2015, p. 211 2 Published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 830 of 10 December 2010, approved by Law

no. 132/2011 and 124/2011 as amended by Ordinance. 3 Dan Ţop, Treaty of employment, Bibliotheca Publishing House, Targoviste, 2015, p. 267


37

Law no. 66/20164 amended Government Emergency Ordinance no. 111/2010 on leave and monthly allowance for raising children, setting a new legal regime in this area.

If according to the old regulations, the person entitled to parental leave could opt differentiate for a period of one year or for a period of two years5, aiming to encourage mainly requesting leave to a year,,thus saving on the total funds allocated for payment of allowances"6 from July 1, 2016 is excluded such an option is permitted only leave two years.

Disappears and the possibility unpaid leave of one year, you can ask the person who originally opted for a period of 1 year and decide that you can not return to work.

The time during which the employee could realize taxable income to be included in the calculation of the monthly allowance is extended to 24 months, there is therefore the possibility that employees who have earned income subject to taxation 12 months, consecutive or broken during this period 2 years to receive monthly child allowance.

Apart from the money earned from wages, self-employment, farming, forestry and fisheries, the 12 months of revenue to be accomplished before the child's birth can be constructed entirely and in periods where, for example, the applicant obtained unemployment, sick leave, pension disability or parental leave without pay.

Delete the maximum allowance for raising children, which according to the old regulations was 3400 lei and 1200 lei.7

Although not all revenue achieved in the last 12 months will receive an allowance of 85% of the gross minimum wage guaranteed payment, so that these people will receive a monthly allowance of 1062.5 lei.

The compensation is not capped by the amount of social reference indicator8. In the old regulation, minimum and maximum limits allowance is determined by reference to the reference social indicator (ISR), and is determined in the amount of 75% of the average net income achieved in the last 12 months and can not be less than 1.2 ISR and ISR can not exceed 6.8, and 2.4 ISR

However, according to art. 5,,the monthly allowance... shall be increased to 85% of the gross minimum wage guaranteed payment for each child born of a twin pregnancy, triplets or multiples, since the second child came from such a rise. "

The previous regulation provided that persons in the period they are entitled to benefit from parental leave and monthly allowance receive income subject to tax, before the child turns age of one year are entitled to an incentive insertion in

4 Published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 304 of April 20, 2016 5 Alexandru Ţiclea, Laura Georgescu, Social security law, Juridical Universe Publishing House,

Bucharest, 2015, p. 63 6 I.T.Ştefănescu, Theoretical and practical Treaty of labour law, Edition III, Universe Publishing Law,

Bucharest, 2014, p. 405 7 Dan Ţop, Labour Law – Social Security Law, second edition, revised and enlarged, Publishing

Bibliotheca, Targoviste, 2013, p. 178 8 The value of the social reference indicator (ISR) is 500 lei


38

monthly amount of 1 ISR for the period remaining until the child turns 2 years of age. The incentive is granted insertion and persons receiving parental leave with disabilities aged up to 3 years, anytime, throughout the period.

According to Law no. 66/2016, the monthly incentive insertion is not equivalent to the value of the reference social indicator, but with half the minimum parental allowance. So, the incentive increases from 500 to 531.25 lei per month.

With regard to the new regulation provides incentive insertion in para. 1, art. 7: People in the period they are entitled to benefit from parental leave provided for in art. 2 para. (1) receive income subject to tax according to art. 3 are entitled to a monthly incentive insertion in the amount of 50% of the minimum salary established in Art. 2 para. (2) and in para. 2,, For people who have income subject to tax according to art. 3, at least 60 days before the child turns 2 years old and 3 years in case of disabled children, granting incentive insertion is extended as follows:

a) until the child turns 3 years old; b) until the child turns age 4 years if disabled child without benefit during this

period of art. 31 para. (1) and (2). " Article 8 para. 1 introduces a necessary clarification, that the monthly

allowance and incentive,, insert provided for this emergency ordinance receive any of the natural parents of the child meets the conditions for the grant under this emergency ordinance. "

When both parents qualify for leave growth, at least one month of the total period of leave shall be allocated to the person who requested not right.

During the other person entitled to parental leave of their own for at least a month, right the other parent to the child allowance is suspended.

If dad does not require leave to enter at least one month, the mother may opt for unpaid leave. According to par. 3 of art. 11 newly introduced,, where the person who originally requested parental leave and allowance opt for unpaid leave, this is equivalent period "

For people who are already in the parental leave allowance will be recalculated9 according to art. III, as follows:

a) persons who are on leave for child aged up to one year or pay incentive

insertion and for those on unpaid leave for child aged up to 2 years, modification

option is realized based application and supporting documents on the suspension

of achieving taxable income for the period remaining until the child turns age 2

years or 3 years if disabled child;

b) persons who are on leave for child aged up to 2 years, the monthly

allowance related change is performed in office, based on documents that have

been granted the right;

c) incentive payment for people in insertion, regardless of the option initially

expressed leave, and that is not in the situation referred to in subparagraph

9 Dan Ţop, Dreptul securităţii sociale, ediţia a II-a, revizuită şi adăugită, editura Zven, Târgovişte, 2016,

p. 115


39

d) extend the granting of the incentive until the child turns 3 years old and 4

years in the case of a disabled child is in office.

Extension of granting incentive to child turns age 3 years and 4 years, if a disabled child is in office for people in insertion incentive pay, regardless of the option initially expressed leave.

An important clarification is found in Article 21: paragraph 1,, whereby the

period during which receive the allowance provided for in Art. 2 para. (1),

respectively art. 5 and art. 9 paragraph. (4) and (5) pay health insurance

contribution for these individuals be provided from the state budget "and para. 3,,

that the period during which a person entitled to the allowance provided for in art.

2 para. (1), respectively art. 5 and art. 9 paragraph. (4) and (5) is equivalent

period length in order to establish health insurance benefits provided by the

Government Emergency Ordinance no. 158/2005 on leave and health insurance

allowances, approved with amendments by Law no. 399/2006, as amended and

supplemented."

It must be emphasized that, as held by the doctrine10 of parental leave period is not only seniority and length of service but also specialized.

Changing art. 24 as a new following:,, where the period of parental leave

provided for in art. 2 para. (1) they were achieved income above the level specified

in art. 16 para. (3) c) recovery of sums unduly received is performed by calculating

the difference between the monthly parental allowance received, set out in Art. 2

and the insertion monthly incentive that would have been entitled. The flow is

established only for the months in which the work was carried out "and,, where

undue amounts received by way of parental allowances provided for in art. 2 para.

(2) result from the fault of the person who has cashed materialized in use by this

intentionally, of documents which it knew were issued with violation of the law,

declaration by it of false data or withholding some information, the provisions of

par. (2) does not apply. "

The employer has an obligation to approve parental leave under article. 25 para 1 and the period of the award is determined by agreement with the employee. It is a provision related to Article 51 of the Labour Code, which provides for the suspension of the individual employment contract employee11.

Previously analyzed changes in doctrine stated that "the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 111/2010 does not exclude any category of persons, identified by the nature of the individual employment contract, so any employee entitled to the rights covered by this act... the employer is not able to assess the appropriateness of the request for leave by the employee. Is essential employee will benefit from this vacation and finality law requires to be exercised without any intervention from the employer... it can not rely on reasons relating to the necessity

10 Ana Ştefanescu Some explanations and considerations regarding leave to raise children in 2012 in

Review Romanian labor law no. 1/2012, p. 66 11 Dan Ţop, Treaty of employment, op.cit., p. 267


40

of employee workplace to postpone the request. The law also stipulates a deadline similar to that of notice the employee to inform the employer about their intention to request leave "12.

Paragraph 1 of article. 32, letter c and d provide new regulation following: monthly support in the amount of 45% of the minimum amount of compensation

determined in art. 2 para. (2) given to the person with severe disability or

pronounced no income other outside social assistance benefits for people with

disabilities, to child turns age 3 years and 35% of the minimum amount of

compensation set at art. 2 para. (2) for children aged 3 to 7 years; ie monthly

support in the amount of 35% of the minimum amount of compensation determined

in art. 2 para. (2) for the person who does not meet the legal conditions for

granting parental leave and related monthly allowance until the child turns age 3

years and 15% of the minimum amount of compensation determined in art. 2 para.

(2) for children aged between 3 and 7 years.

By changing art. 32 para. 2,, provides that person with severe disability or

pronounced, which has care of a child who does not meet the legal conditions for

granting parental leave and the allowance corresponding monthly benefit monthly

support in the amount of 45% of the minimum the allowance established in art. 2

para. (2) until the child turns the age of 2 years and 15% of the minimum amount

of compensation determined in art. 2 para. (2) for children aged between 2 and 7

years. "

Severance pay shall cease on the day following that on which the child reaches the age of two or three years for a child with disabilities.

Needless to say, by Decision no. 449/2016 amending and supplementing the Methodological Norms for the application of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 111/2010 on leave and monthly allowance for raising children bring important clarifications13 on the provisions analyzed above.

12 Georgeta Daniela Enache, Discussions on some of the rights the employee has benefited from

parental leave, the Law no. 3/2015, p. 125-126 13 Published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 473 of June 24, 2016


41

TIC ET GAP DE CROISSANCE ENTRE NATIONS: CAS DE LA RÉGION MENA

Najeh AISSAOUI∗ Lobna Ben HASSEN**

Abstract: This paper examines, in the context of MENA region, the impact of

information and communication technology on the growth and dynamics of international income inequality. It checks whether the technology could be a means reducing the income gap between these countries from developed countries or contrary it allows increasing it, and examine the inter-relationship between ICT and economic growth. The results highlight the non-existence of a causal relationship between ICT investment and economic growth and emphasize a key role of ICT in increasing the international gap between the countries of MENA and OECD countries.

Keywords: ICT, economic growth, gap growth, MENA, human capital.

Introduction Depuis les années quatre-vingt, l’économie mondiale a connu des mutations

profondes caractérisées par la diffusion des nouvelles technologies de l'information et de la communication. Cette révolution informationnelle peut être classée parmi les plus importants mouvements sismiques de l'histoire économique, au même niveau que la révolution industrielle et l'invention de l'électricité. En effet, elle a fait chuter le coût des biens d'équipement. Ces pressions à la baisse sur les prix, exercées par l’application des nouvelles technologies, ont conduit à une intensification de la concurrence et une accélération de la croissance économique. Cette combinaison de facteurs contribue au maintien d'une économie saine, sans excès. Un tel environnement favorise l'accroissement de la productivité et du rendement des entreprises et stimule l'activité boursière, propulsant certains secteurs, à commencer par celui de la technologie, vers de nouveaux sommets.

Toutefois, cette révolution informationnelle s’est accompagnée d’une hausse des inégalités entre Nations, en termes de revenus ou encore de croissances économiques. La dispersion à la hausse des revenus moyens a favorisé certains pays vis-à-vis des autres qui restent en retard. Ceci, concerne aussi bien les pays développés que les pays en voie de développement. Il s’agit, bien entendu, d’un phénomène universel et inéluctable. Connaître les causes potentielles de ce

∗ CODECI (unité de recherche) et Docteur à Faculté des Sciences Economiques et de Gestion de Sfax.

[email protected]. Télephone: 00216 97 189 457. Tunisia. ** CODECI (unité de recherche) et Professeur à la Faculté des Sciences Economiques et de Gestion de

Sfax. Tunisia.


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phénomène constitue l’un des principaux intérêts des économistes universitaires et des meneurs des politiques.

L’analyse de l’écart de croissance entre les Nations-Unies et les autres pays développés a suscité de nombreuses controverses quant aux facteurs responsables de l’élargissement de cet écart au cours des années 90 (Aghion et Howitt, 2006; Gust et Marquez, 2004; Nicoltti et Scarpetta, 2003). La plupart des études récentes attribue cette dynamique d’écart de croissance aux technologies de l'information et de la communication (Schreyer, 2000; Dewan et Kramer, 2000; Pohjola, 2000; Daveri, 2002; Colecchia et Schreyer, 2002; Jalava et Pohjola, 2002; Oliner et Sichel, 2003). En effet, la diffusion inégale des TIC entre régions et entre pays engendre une fracture numérique qui creuse davantage l’écart de croissance entre les pays capables de profiter des opportunités apportées par les nouvelles technologies et ceux qui ne le sont pas. Dans ce sens, Seo et al. (2009) soutiennent que les pays qui ont pris plein d’avantages de ces opportunités en 1990 (comme l’Amérique, Finlande et Irlande) ont montré des résultats supérieurs en terme de croissance économique par rapport aux autres, par exemple par rapport au Japon.

Nous formalisons, dans cet article, un modèle original de croissance cumulatif avec des équations simultanées afin d’étudier le rôle joué par les TIC dans l’explication de la croissance et de la dynamique de l’écart de croissance entre Nations.

Les travaux internationaux existants qui comparent les effets économiques des TIC entre les Nations souffrent de trois limites essentielles. En premier lieu, la majorité des études sont des travaux de convergence (ont pour objet principal d’analyser la convergence des économies et non pas de chercher les effets des TIC sur l’inégalité). En deuxième lieu, ceux consacrées aux pays en voie de développement sont encore très limités (surtout à la région MENA) et montrent souvent des effets non significatifs (Pohjola, 2000; Lee et al., 2005), entre autres). En troisième lieu, ces travaux visent seulement la relation unilatérale (dans un seul sens: si les TIC affectent la croissance économique).

Notre travail consiste à franchir ces trois limites, ce qui le distingue des travaux existants. Il étend, essentiellement, l’étude développé par Seo et al. (2009) si l’on considère les deux dimensions suivantes: Primo, nous travaillons sur un groupe de pays de la région MENA (12 pays) pour une période plus longue et plus récente; en faisant référence à une analyse de données en panel. Secundo, nous introduisons une nouvelle équation avec une nouvelle variable qui reflète l’interaction entre le capital humain et les TIC. Ceci va nous permettre de mieux expliquer la dynamique d’inégalité et de trouver un effet indirect par lequel les TIC peuvent réduire l’écart qui sépare les pays de la région MENA de l’OCDE.

Ce papier poursuit deux objectifs. Il vise, d’une part, à analyser la relation d’interdépendance entre croissance économique et investissement en technologies de l’information et de la communication, et d’autre part, à examiner le rôle joué par les TIC dans l’explication de la dynamique d’inégalité de revenus entre les pays de l’espace MENA et l’OCDE.


43

Pour ce faire, dans la première section nous présentons un cadre théorique d’analyse de la relation TIC, croissance et convergence économique et qui inclut un survol des théories de la croissance, des canaux de transmission des TIC sur la croissance économique et une revue de la littérature. Dans la deuxième section, nous appliquons empiriquement ces relations pour la région MENA en se basant sur notre modèle de croissance cumulative et sur certains faits stylisés. Nous commençons cette section par discuter du fonctionnement des canaux de transmission présentés dans la partie théorique. Ensuite, nous présentons notre modèle empirique, les résultats d’estimation et une discussion. Nous finissons notre article par une conclusion.

Changement technologique, croissance et convergence économiques des Nations: une revue de la littérature

Sur le plan empirique, la relation entre les TIC et la croissance économique a été

étudiée par une multitude de travaux empiriques. Nous présentons dans ce qui suit une revue de la littérature représentative mais non exhaustive des principales études empiriques pour identifier l’approche la plus appropriée pour notre recherche.

1. TIC et croissance économique Il existe deux approches différentes qui étudient l’impact du changement

technologique sur l’output et la croissance de la productivité (Martinez et al., 2010). La première, qui est la plus utilisée des deux, est la comptabilité de la croissance (Jorgenson et Stiroh, 1999; Oliner et Sichel, 2000; Daveri, 2002; Colecchia et Schreyer, 2002; Jalava et Pohjola, 2002; Timmer et al., 2003, entre autres). La deuxième approche utilise les modèles d’équilibre général dynamiques pour quantifier la contribution du changement technologique à la croissance (Greenwood, 1997, 2000; Kiley, 2001; Pakko, 2005; Martinez et al., 2010, entre autres). Grâce à ces deux approches, une multitude de travaux empiriques ont essayé de détecter le rôle joué par les TIC dans l’accélération du potentiel de croissance dans les pays.

En utilisant un échantillon de 12 pays de l’Asie-Pacifique durant la période 1984-1990, Kraemer et Dedrick (1994) montrent une forte corrélation entre l’investissement en TI et la productivité. Et soutiennent que l’investissement en TI peut stimuler la productivité de deux façons différentes: par la stimulation directe de la productivité du travail (par la substitution du travail ou l’amélioration de la productivité des travailleurs), et/ou par l’augmentation de la productivité du capital (en complétant les autres investissements). Dans le même contexte, une étude effectuée par Pohjola (2000) a révélé que l’investissement en TI a une forte influence sur la croissance économique dans les pays développés mais pas dans les pays en développement. A l’aide d’un modèle néoclassique standard de croissance


44

comptable, Oliner et Sichel (2000) trouvent que l’usage des technologies d’information contribue positivement à la production et à la productivité, ces effets sont visibles surtout dans la 2ème moitié des années 90. Egalement, la production des ordinateurs contribue fortement à la croissance économique.

Plus récemment, Jalava et Pohjola (2002) considèrent que les TIC sont à la fois un output pour les industries productrices des TIC et un input pour les industries utilisatrices des TIC. Ils ont utilisé un modèle de croissance comptable pour évaluer la contribution des TIC à la croissance économique. Ce modèle leur a permis de détecter trois chemins fondamentaux par lesquels les TIC peuvent stimuler la croissance économique. Primo, la production des biens et services TIC contribuent directement à la valeur ajoutée totale d’une économie. En effet, l’avancement technologique rapide augmente la productivité des industries productrices des TIC. Secundo, l’usage du capital TIC en tant que facteur de production des autres biens et services peut avoir un effet significatif sur la croissance économique. En maximisant leurs profits, les firmes répondent à la baisse des prix des TIC par la substitution du capital équipement et des structures par les équipements en TIC et software. L’accroissement de l’intensité capitalistique qui résulte va augmenter la productivité du travail des industries utilisatrices des TIC. Oliner et Sichel (2000) montrent que la moitié de la productivité du travail dans les Etats-Unis est dû à l’accroissement de l’usage du capital TIC dans la production. Tertio, les TIC peuvent stimuler la croissance économique via l’impact des industries productrices des TIC sur la productivité multifactorielle.

Les principaux résultats dégagés de l’étude de Jalava et Pohjola (2002) sont que la production et l’usage des TIC sont les facteurs derrière l’amélioration de la performance économique des Etats-Unis au cours des années 90 et que la production des TIC n’est pas une condition nécessaire pour subir les effets de croissance des TIC. En effet, en Australie la contribution des TIC à l’output a augmenté au cours des années 90 d’environ 0,6%, pourtant elle n’était pas un producteur significatif des TIC au cours de cette même période. Colecchia et Schreyer (2002) confortent cette idée et indiquent que l’existence d’une large industrie productrice des TIC est une condition ni nécessaire ni suffisante pour bénéficier des effets de croissance des TIC.

En outre, l’étude de Colecchia et Schreyer (2002) montre que le taux d’investissement en TIC augmente dans tous les pays étudiés (Australie, Canada, Finlande, France, Allemagne, Italie, Japon, Royaume-Uni, Etats-Unis) et que la baisse relative et absolue des prix engendrée par l’accroissement de la demande de l’investissement en TI a entraîné un effet de substitution au profil des biens en TI. En plus, les Etats-Unis ne sont pas les seules qui ont bénéficié des effets positifs de l’investissement des TIC sur la croissance économique, mais les effets ont été plus clairs aux Etats-Unis suivi par Australie, Finlande et Canada.

Pareillement, Lee et al. (2005), à l’aide de la méthode du résidu de Solow et des séries temporelles, trouvent que l’investissement en TIC contribue


45

positivement à l’amélioration de la productivité nationale dans plusieurs pays développés et les économies industrialisées récemment (EIN), mais non pas dans les pays en développement.

Récemment, Ahmed et Ridzuan (2012) et Vu (2013) montrent sur des données asiatiques une forte association positive entre l’intensité d’usage des TIC, la productivité du travail et la croissance économique.

Pour le cas des pays de la région MENA, l’impact des TIC sur la croissance économique n’a pas été beaucoup traité et les travaux qui avaient pour objet de détecter les déterminants de la croissance économique ne sont pas assez nombreux (voir par exemple, Hakura, 2004; Guetat, 2006; Ouled Aoudia, 2006).

Le fait que de nombreux travaux ont détecté un effet positif des TIC sur la

croissance économique dans les pays développés et un effet négatif ou non

significatif dans les pays en voie de développement, un constat se dégage: il

consiste à considérer que les TIC constituent une nouvelle source qui creuse

l’écart de croissance entre les PD qui ont pu bénéficier des bienfaits générés par

ces technologies génériques et les PVD, au cours des années 90.

2. TIC et convergence des Nations Etant donné que les Technologies de l’Information ont été considérées comme

une source de croissance économique à long terme, il existe encore une inquiétude concernant sa contribution à l’aggravation de l’écart de croissance entre les Nations (Kiiski et Pohjola, 2002).

Dans ce sens, le Fond Monétaire International (FMI) a insisté sur le fait que les pays en retard doivent bien bénéficier des retombées des nouvelles technologies puisque ces dernières peuvent avoir des impacts inverses1. Dans le même ordre d’idées, Seo et al. (2009) analysent l’effet d’interaction entre l’investissement en TIC et la croissance économique sur l’écart de croissance entre Nations en utilisant un modèle de croissance cumulatif et relient la montée du gap de croissance entre les pays aux TIC. Ces auteurs, soulignent que l’accès inégal à ces technologies entre pays et entre régions donne naissance à une fracture numérique qui peut expliquer cette montée.

Les théories existantes portant sur les différences des revenus internationaux mettent l’accent sur le transfert technologique (Basu et Weil, 1998; Parente et Prescott, 1999; Acemoglu et Zilibotti, 2001; Acemoglu et al., 2002…). S’inscrivant dans cette lignée de recherche, Howitt et Foulkes (2002) avancent trois arguments par lesquels le changement technologique peut expliquer l’accroissement du gap de croissance entre les pays. Le premier argument focalise l’attention sur l’investissement technologique. En effet, et vue que le transfert technologique est un processus difficile intensif en compétence, il n’est pas

1 Quatrième chapitre du World Economic Outlook « Globalization and inequality ».


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possible aux pays récepteurs de recevoir les technologies étrangères et les implanter sans coût. Ces pays doivent investir dans la matière afin de pouvoir maîtriser et adopter les technologies étrangères, souvent circonstancielles et tacites, à leur environnement local. Bref, tout acte de transfert technologique nécessite une innovation de la part du pays récepteur, cette innovation demande un investissement en R&D et dans un sens plus large, demande de l’investissement en technologie.

Le deuxième argument suppose que l’activité d’innovation dans un pays nécessite un stock de « compétences effectives » qui dépend de son niveau de développement relatif à la frontière technologique mondiale de laquelle il reçoit les nouvelles idées. Ce stock de compétences se décompose en deux parties. La première partie est l’externalité du capital humain: dans un pays technologiquement en retard, les formations (quoi que ce soit scolaire ou non) vont produire des compétences faibles à cause du manque des équipements modernes. La deuxième partie est l’effet de la complexité croissante et le « fishing out ». Comme la frontière technologique mondiale est en train d’avancer et de devenir de plus en plus complexe, le pays en retard est obligé d’augmenter son niveau de connaissances afin de maintenir la même vitesse avec celle du pays de la frontière. La combinaison de l’effet de l’externalité du capital humain et de « fishing out » provoque, pour un pays qui ne suit pas le rythme de la frontière, un rattrapage de plus en plus difficile et une capacité d’absorption dégradante.

Le troisième argument derrière la divergence des Nations est l’apparition d’un nouvel ensemble d’idées scientifiques et attitudes associées à la révolution scientifique. La montée de la croissance économique moderne suite à la première révolution industrielle a été étroitement associée avec ces idées et attitudes créatrices d’une nouvelle ère de changement technologique. Ce mouvement qui est apparu au 19ième siècle s’est accompagné avec l’introduction des laboratoires de R&D exploitant l’interconnexion entre la science et la technologie et l’apparition de nombreuses institutions telles que les laboratoires de recherche gouvernementaux, les universités liées à l’industrie et le commerce,…).

Dans le même contexte, certains travaux supportent l’idée que les TIC peuvent avoir des effets négatifs sur la convergence des pays en développement (Guetat et Drine, 2007). En effet, ils facilitent l’attraction et l’ouverture de nouveaux marchés par les pays développés (pays dominants grâce à leurs avantages comparatifs) au détriment des pays non développés. Ces derniers ne seront pas seulement moins compétitifs sur le marché international, mais seront menacés aussi dans leurs marchés locaux. Par conséquent, ce processus peut creuser le fossé existant entre pays développés et pays en voie de développement.

La notion de convergence dans la région MENA a été étudiée récemment (relativement) et les travaux empiriques concernés restent encore limités (Rey, 2005; Guetat et Serranito, 2008; Erlat, 2007; Duasa, 2008; Serranito, 2009). Ces travaux indiquent, qu’en dehors de la période 1973-1984, les revenus des pays de la région MENA ne convergent pas vers celui de l’Europe de sud. Serranito (2009)


47

modélise une fonction logistique de diffusion du progrès technique au niveau international et montre qu’on peut avoir un processus de rattrapage si le coefficient de diffusion est assez élevé. Il applique ce modèle à huit pays de la région MENA pour étudier leur rattrapage vers le niveau européen et montre que la Tunisie et l’Egypte sont entrés dans un processus de convergence (d’une faible vitesse entre 0,8 et 1%) depuis les années 70, alors que, l’Algérie, la Jordanie et la Syrie sont en phase de divergence. La Turquie, qui est un membre de l’Union Européenne, a connu une divergence importante depuis 1993.

Modèle empirique Afin d’évaluer l’impact des TIC sur la croissance et la dynamique d’inégalité

de revenu entre les pays de la région MENA et celui de l’OCDE, on va considérer une fonction Cobb-Douglas de la forme suivante:

(1) Y(t) = A(t) Lα(t) Hticβ(t) Ticθ(t) Où Y désigne le PIB, L est le travail, A est le niveau de la technologie, Htic est

le capital hors TIC et Tic est le capital TIC. La décomposition du capital en deux (selon qu’il s’agit du capital TIC ou non) est souvent adoptée dans la littérature économique sur le sujet (Jorgenson et Stiroh, 1999; Gilles et L’Horty, 2003; Ben Youssef et M’Henni, 2004). On va supposer que l’économie est composée de deux pays: le pays leader (ou pays de la frontière technologique, indiqué par l) qui a bénéficié pleinement des effets positifs des technologies et le pays receveur qui est le suiveur (indiqué par s).

En termes de productivité, l’expression (1) devient: (2) s/Ls = PROs = As Ls

α-1 Hticsβ Tics

θ

Si on passe aux taux de croissance, on obtient:

(3) pros = as + (α-1) s + β htics + θ tics

Avec pro, a, , htic et tic sont les taux de croissance de la productivité, du

niveau de la technologie, du travail, du capital non TIC, et du capital TIC respectivement.

Pour des raisons de simplification, on a supposé que le travail croit à un taux annuel constant (A l’instar de Dowrick et Nguyen, 1989).

D’après Dowrick et Nguyen (1989) et Seo et al. (2009), le changement technologique dépend aussi bien de l’innovation domestique (qu’on va noter Id), que des externalités technologiques étrangères (qu’on note C). On aura donc:

(4) As = Idsδ Cs

η En termes de taux de croissance, on peut écrire: (5) as = δ ids+η cs


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La protection des droits de propriété intellectuelle constitue l’un des principaux moyens d’incitation à l’innovation. Egalement, le capital humain est un facteur primordial pour cette activité. D’où:

(6) ids = δ0 + δ1secs+ δ2 terts + δ3 dpis Avec sec, tert et dpi sont, respectivement, le taux de scolarisation secondaire,

le taux de scolarisation universitaire et le degré de la protection des droits de propriété intellectuelle.

Conformément aux théories du rattrapage économique, on va attribuer aux externalités technologiques étrangères le retard relatif de croissance (qu’on note G) et la capacité absorptive du pays. Gs est définit par:

(7) Gs = Log(yl/ys) Avec ys et yl désignent la productivité du pays receveur et celle du pays leader

respectivement. De ce fait, on aura: (8) cs = c0 + Ω Gs Avec cs est le taux de croissance des externalités technologiques étrangères et

c0 et Ω sont des constantes. Les équations (3), (5), (6) et (8) nous donnent:

pros = δ [δ0 + δ1 secs + δ2 terts + δ3 dpis] + η [c0 + Ω Gs] + (α-1) s + β htics + θ tics

(9) pros= (δ δ0 + η c0) + η Ω Gs + δ δ1 secs + δ δ2 terts + δ δ3 dpis + (α-1) s + β

htics + θ tics Celle-là est notre première équation du modèle d’équations simultanées. Selon le principe d’accélération (Amable, 1993; Boyer, 1988; Dixon et

Thirlwall, 1975), l’investissement hors TIC est supposé influencé par le taux de croissance de la demande. Il est aussi une fonction du taux d’intérêt réel et des dépenses publiques.

D’ici émane notre deuxième équation: (10) htics = α0 + α1 ys + α2 rs + α3 govs + ε2 Avec y est le taux de croissance de la demande, r est le taux d’intérêt réel et

gov les dépenses publiques. Comme l’indiquent Kraemer et Dedrick (1994) et Caselli et Coleman (2001);

l’équation d’investissement en TIC est comme suit: (11) tics = γ0 + γ1 ys + γ2rs + γ3govs + γ4terts + γ5ouvs + γ6hts + γ7 dpis + γ8 rds + ε 3 Avec ouv est le degré d’ouverture commerciale, ht est la structure industrielle

et rd sont les dépenses en R&D. kiiski et Pohjola (2002), Baliamoune-Lutz (2003), Kraemer et Dedrick (1994),

et Caseli et Colemen (2001) font apparaître, à partir d’une analyse empirique, une corrélation positive entre l’investissement en TIC et les ressources humaines (tert), qui revient au fait que l’accroissement du capital humain entraîne un retour à l’investissement en TIC. L’ouverture commerciale joue également un rôle important dans l’accroissement de l’investissement en TIC. En effet, selon Grossman et Helpman (1991), Ben-David et Loewy (2000), et Baliamoune-Lutz


49

(2003), l’ouverture commerciale facilite la diffusion des nouvelles technologies via l’accroissement de compétitions intra-firmes. Caselli et Coleman (2001) montrent que la structure industrielle a une influence positive sur l’investissement en TIC. Pareillement, l’activité de la recherche et développement peut être un facteur important pour l’investissement en TIC.

Enfin, notre quatrième équation est la suivante: (12) Gs = λ0 + λ2 tics + λ3 htics + Ns + ε4 Avec N est l’interaction entre l’investissement en TIC et le capital humain. Nous avons formulé cette relation dans le but de détecter l’effet direct et

indirect (à travers une interaction avec le capital humain) des TIC dans l’explication de la dynamique d’inégalité de croissance.

Ainsi, notre modèle à estimer est le suivant: pros = β0 + β1 Gs + β2 sec + β3 terts + β4 dpis + β5 ls + β6 htics + β7 tics + ε1 (13.1) hicts = α0 + α1 ys + α2 rs + α3 govs + ε2 (13.2) icts = γ0 + γ1ys + γ2rs + γ3govs + γ4terts + γ5ouvs + γ6hts + γ7 dpis + γ8 rds +ε 3 (13.3) Gs = λ0 + λ1 tics + λ2 htics + λ3 Ns + ε4 (13.4) Il s’agit d’un modèle à quatre équations simultanées dont la première équation,

elle-même, est un modèle de croissance cumulatif. Son originalité réside dans sa capacité, à la fois, à détecter les déterminants de l’investissement en TIC et de l’investissement non TIC, d’analyser la relation d’interdépendance entre croissance économique et investissement TIC et d’examiner le rôle des TIC dans l’explication de la dynamique d’inégalité entre pays.

Maintenant, on va revenir sur l’équation (9) et on va supposer que ys = pros + ls

(A l’instar de Seo et al. (2009). En remplaçant les équations (10) et (11) dans l’équation (9) on obtient:

pros (1 – βα1 – θγ1) = (δδ0 + ηc0 + βα0 + θγ0) + ηΩ Gs + (δδ3 + θγ7) dpis + dpis + δδ1 secs + (δδ2 + θγ4) terts + (α -1+ βα1 + θγ1) ls + (βα2 + θγ2) rs + θγ5 ouvs + θγ6 hts + (βα3 + θγ3) govs + θγ8 rds.

Donc:

pros = + dpis + secs +

terts + ls + rs + ouvs +

hts + govs + rds + Gs

On pose U1 = + dpis + secs +

terts + ls + rs + ouvs +

hts + govs+ rds


50

Et V =

On aura alors: pros = U1 + VGs

Figure I.9. La dynamique de l’écart de croissance entre Nations

Source: Seo, Lee et Oh (2009)

Pour le pays de la frontière G = 0, donc la croissance de sa productivité sera:

prol = U2

Avec, U2 = + dpil + secl +

tertl + ll + r + ouvl +

htl + govl + rdl

Et = prol – pros = U2 – U1 – VGs = U – VGs


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Avec U = U2 – U1 = a1 (dpil – dpis) + a2 (secl – secs) + a3 (tertl – terts) + a4 (ll – ls) + a5 (rl – rs) + a6 (ouvl – ouvs) + a7 (htl – hts) + a8 (govl – govs) + a9 (rdl – rds).

Comme U – VGs donc Gs= si

Gs= 0

Quatre cas de figures peuvent se présenter selon les signes de V et U: Pour le premier cas, il y a une convergence mais le pays suiveur ne peut pas

rattraper complètement le pays leader car à l’équilibre G*= U/V > 0. Par contre, dans le second cas le pays suiveur rattrape celui du leader technologique et G sera égal à zéro.

2.1 Méthodologie

2.1.1 Sources des données et mesures des variables

Les données utilisées dans cette recherche proviennent d’une seule source: la base de données de la Banque Mondiale (Indicateurs du Développement Mondial, WDI). Le panel formé porte sur 12 pays de la région MENA, qui sont: Arménie, Azerbaïdjan, Algérie, Egypte, Iran, Irak, Jordanie, Maroc, Syrie, Tunisie, Turquie, Yémen, et recouvre la période 2000-2012.

Dans la spécification du modèle, notre première variable endogène, qui est la productivité (pro), est mesurée par le PIB au prix courant divisé par le facteur travail (L). Celui-ci devrait être mesuré par le nombre d’heures travaillées mais, compte tenu du manque de données, on a utilisé un proxy qui est la force de travail.

En réalité, la méthode idéale pour estimer l’effet des TIC sur la croissance économique consiste à utiliser le stock de capital TIC comme variable explicative. Mais, la non disponibilité de cette variable pour les pays de la région MENA nous a amené à limiter notre étude sur l’examen du secteur de télécommunication en tant qu’indicateur de développement du stock de capital TIC.

En faisant référence à certains travaux empiriques (Kahouli, 2012; Ben Youssef et M’Henni, 2004), nous avons utilisé l’hypothèse suivante, afin de calculer notre deuxième et troisième variable endogène du modèle –le stock de capital non TIC « htic » et le stock de capital TIC « tic » –:

Où K, µ et FBCF sont, respectivement, le stock de capital, le taux de dépréciation du capital et la formation brute de capital fixe.

A l’instar de Vandenbussche et al. (2006), le stock de capital de l’année initiale (l’année 2000) correspond au ratio de la FBCF de la même année sur le taux de croissance annuel moyen des investissements durant la période d’étude plus le taux de dépréciation:


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Les taux de dépréciation du capital TIC ainsi que celui du capital hors TIC sont supposés égaux, respectivement, à 33% et 8%. Nous avons distingué entre le stock de capital TIC et le stock de capital non TIC. Ce dernier est calculé en faisant la différence entre le stock de capital physique total et le stock de capital TIC.

La dernière variable endogène utilisée est le gap de croissance entre le pays i de la région MENA et l’OCDE. Celui-ci est mesuré en faisant le rapport entre le revenu par personne employé du pays leader et le niveau du revenu par personne employé du pays i. Nombreux travaux empiriques ont utilisé cette spécification afin de mesurer l’inégalité internationale (Summers et Heston, 1991). Dans notre étude, on a choisi le revenu annuel moyen du groupe de l’OCDE en tant que revenu du pays leader (pays de la frontière technologique).

Concernant les variables exogènes du modèle, la mesure des variables est illustrée par le tableau ci-dessous:

Tableau I.2. Variables explicatives et leurs mesures

Variables Indicateurs

dpi l edu2

edu3 y

r gov ouv

ht rd

N

Demandes de brevet, résidents Taux de croissance de la population active Le taux de scolarisation secondaire (brute) Le taux de scolarisation universitaire (brute) Le logarithme népérien du PIB par tête (dollars US courant) Taux d’intérêt réel Les dépenses de consommation finale gouvernementale (%PIB) Mesurée par:[(exportations+importations)/PIB]*100 L’importation des biens TIC (% de l’importation totale des biens importés). Les dépenses en R&D (% de PIB) L’interaction entre le capital humain et l’investissement en TIC calculée par: tic*edu3

2.1.2 Estimation du modèle

Il existe deux types de méthodes d’estimation des modèles à équations simultanées. Le premier type regroupe les méthodes à information limitée qui ne s’intéressent qu’à une seule équation. Le second comprend celles à information complète qui s’intéressent à l’estimation du système dans son entier.

Le critère d’identification du modèle conditionne le choix de la méthode d’estimation (Bourbonnais, 2002). Si le modèle est sous-identifié, il n’y a aucune possibilité d’estimation des paramètres structurels et le modèle doit être respécifié. Pour les équations juste-identifiées, la méthode à employer est celle de moindre carré indirect. Dans le cas où les équations sont juste-identifiées ou sur-identifiées,


53

on peut appliquer par exemple soit la méthode de double moindre carré (2SLS)2 soit la méthode de triple moindre carré (3SLS)3.

Néanmoins, cette dernière est préférable puisqu’elle est en général plus précise que la première, s’intéresse à l’estimation du système dans son entier et permet des corrections pour rendre compte de la simultanéité possible de la variable à expliquer et certaines variables explicatives.

Si on revient sur notre modèle à équations simultanées et qu’on vérifie la condition d’ordre4 pour chacune des quatre équations, on peut constater que notre modèle est sur-identifié.

Ces effets justifient notre choix pour la méthode d’estimation utilisée: la méthode de triple moindre carré (3SLS).

2.2 Résultats économétriques et interprétations économiques

Le tableau I.3 présente l’output de notre estimation empirique (régression) du modèle, présenté ci-dessus, d’équations simultanées pour un échantillon de 12 pays de la région MENA couvrant la période 2000-2012. Basés sur la technique de régression de triple moindre carré (3SLS) (pour contrôler les problèmes d’endogénéité), nos résultats empiriques suggèrent que:

Dans la première équation, les coefficients estimés des variables « g », « l » et « dpi » sont négatifs et statistiquement significatifs. Ainsi, le renforcement des droits de propriété intellectuelle entrave la productivité dans la région MENA. Une explication plausible, comme le souligne Helpman (1993), dans les pays du Sud où l’imitation est le seul moyen de transfert technologique, le renforcement des droits de propriété intellectuelle accroît le coût d’imitation et restreint la diffusion des technologies. Ce résultat conforte celui obtenu par Seo et al. (2009). Egalement, un taux de croissance élevé de l’emploi est associé à un niveau faible de productivité. L’OCDE (2007) soutient ce résultat et stipule que les reformes qui accroissent l’emploi favorisent le développement des activités intensives en main d’œuvre et baissent le rendement du facteur travail. C’est exactement ce qui se passe ces dernières années dans plusieurs pays de la région MENA. Face à l’explosion sociale déclenchée par le taux de chômage élevé, des politiques stimulant l’emploi ont été entretenues par plusieurs pays de la région sans tenir compte de l’adéquation entre offres et demandes d’emploi. Par ailleurs, un accroissement du gap de 10% réduit la productivité de pays de 3,8. Ce résultat revient essentiellement aux données utilisées.5

A l’encontre du taux de scolarisation secondaire «edu2 », le taux de scolarisation universitaire « edu3 » affecte positivement et significativement le taux

2 Méthode à information limitée. 3 Méthode à information complète. 4 C’est une condition d’identification. Il s’agit de comparer le nombre de restriction dans chacune des

équations au nombre de variables endogènes moins 1. 5 Voir les mesures des variables endogènes.


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de croissance de la productivité, mais le coefficient associé est très faible. Les efforts gigantesques consacrés par ces pays à l’éducation pour atteindre les objectifs du millénaire pour le développement ont pu montrer de significativité mais la qualité de l’éducation plus au moins faible permet d’affaiblir cet effet.

Le stock de capital hors TIC, exerce un effet favorable déterminant dans l’accroissement de la productivité. En revanche, notre variable d’intérêt qui est le stock de capital TIC n’exerce aucun effet favorable sur la productivité et la croissance économique des pays de la région MENA. Ceci conforte les résultats obtenus par plusieurs études empiriques (Dewan et Kraemer, 2000; Lee et al., 2005) qui montrent que l’effet positif des TIC sur la productivité et la croissance économique n’est observable que pour le cas des pays développés. L’investissement en TIC relativement faible et la qualité du capital humain assez moyenne sont parmi d’autres problèmes structurels qui empêchent ces pays à profiter des bienfaits apportés par les nouvelles technologies.

Pour la seconde équation, le revenu par tête ainsi que le taux d’intérêt réel influencent l’investissement hors TIC. Un niveau élevé du produit par tête stimule l’investissement non TIC. Ce dernier provoque à son tour (selon l’équation 1) un accroissement de la productivité et ainsi de suite. Dès lors, une relation causale bidirectionnelle entre l’investissement non TIC et la croissance économique est identifiée par notre modélisation empirique. Ce résultat s’accorde avec celui de Seo et al. (2009). Le taux d’intérêt réel exerce un impact négatif significatif (signe attendu): plus le coût des emprunts contractés pour investir est faible plus l’investissement est élevé. Aucun effet significatif détecté des dépenses publiques sur le stock de capital non TIC.

A la différence de Seo et al. (2009), notre troisième équation montre que le PIB par tête n’exerce pas d’impact sur le capital TIC. Ce résultat un peu surprenant indique une marginalisation de l’investissement en TIC dans les pays étudiés et montre bien que ces pays n’investissent pas suffisamment en TIC qu’ils devraient le faire par rapport à leurs revenus. En outre, les variables « gov » et « dpi » ont des impacts positifs significatifs sur l’investissement en TIC. Ainsi, les dépenses publiques et le renforcement des droits de propriété intellectuelle stimulent l’investissement en TIC.

L’absence d’un impact significatif de l’importation des produits TIC sur l’investissement en TIC nous amène à penser que le transfert des technologies par les pays de la région MENA (qui sont en majorité des pays importateurs des TIC) n’est pas accompagné d’un investissement significatif en la matière, qui est primordial selon Howitt et Foulkes (2002) pour une meilleure maîtrise et adaptation des TIC. Egalement, le taux d’intérêt réel, l’ouverture commerciale et les dépenses en recherche et développement sont associés négativement au stock de capital TIC. L’ouverture commerciale rend les pays en développement non seulement moins compétitifs sur le marché international mais aussi menacés dans leurs marchés locaux. A cet effet s’ajoute l’important déséquilibre commercial avec l’Europe provoqué par les accords Euromed (Femise, 2011). Par-là,


55

l’ouverture commerciale peut ralentir l’investissement en TIC dans le groupe des pays étudiés. L’effet négatif fortement significatif des dépenses en R&D sur l’investissement reflètent clairement une déconnexion totale entre les deux. Les dépenses en R&D ne font qu’accroître les dépenses et donc gêner l’investissement en TIC. Cet effet s’assure lorsqu’on observe l’impact négatif et significatif de taux de scolarisation universitaire. Ainsi, on peut dire donc que les investissements en TIC effectués dans les pays de la région MENA ne sont pas intensifiés en compétences.

Dans la quatrième équation, la variable «tic » montre un effet positif fortement significatif sur le gap de croissance. Ainsi, l’investissement en TIC ne permet pas aux pays de la région MENA d’accélérer leur rattrapage économique, au contraire il n’est qu’une source de creusement de ce gap. Cependant, une interaction entre les deux variables « tic » et « edu3 » (exprimée par la variable « N ») montre un effet négatif et fortement significatif (à 1%). Dès lors, la variable N permet de réduire légèrement (le coefficient affecté est égal à 0.2%) la variable g.

Tableau I.3. Estimation du modèle à équations simultanées

Equation Obs Parms RMSE R2 chi2 P-value pro 28 7 0.0588 0.9732 1032.58 0.0000 ntic 28 3 1.1264 0.2812 14.32 0.0025 tic 28 8 0.5557 0.7301 90.50 0.0000 g 28 3 0.4729 0.7471 78.49 0.0000

Coef. Ecart-type Z P-value

Pro g -0.3859 0.0352 -10.96 0.000 edu2 -0.0004 0.0018 -0.22 0.830 edu3 0.0062 0.0016 3.82 0.000 l -0.024 0.0092 -2.61 0.009 dpi -0.0629 0.0147 -4.29 0.000 tic 0.0171 0.019 0.90 0.369 ntic 0.1239 0.0207 5.98 0.000 _cons 7.7174 0.4071 18.96 0.000 Ntic y 0.9467 0.4213 2.25 0.025 r -0.0496 0.0191 -2.60 0.009 gov -0.0093 0.0677 -0.14 0.891 _cons 17.3529 3.6095 4.81 0.000 Tic y 0.2507 0.2221 1.13 0.259 r -0.0205 0.0098 -2.08 0.037 gov 0.2489 0.0473 5.26 0.000 edu3 -0.0168 0.0091 -1.84 0.065


56

ouv -0.0251 0.0064 -3.91 0.000 ht -0.0892 0.0961 -0.93 0.354 dpi 0.4794 0.117 4.10 0.000 rd -6.0552 1.1581 -5.23 0.000 _cons 17.3369 1.9394 8.94 0.000 G tic 0.4808 0.123 3.91 0.000 ntic -0.012 0.1024 -0.12 0.907 N -0.002 0.0004 -4.88 0.000 _cons -5.5181 1.898809 -2.91 0.004 Variable endogènes: pro ntic tic g Variables exogènes: edu2 edu3 l dpi tic ntic y r gov ouv imptic rd N

Pour finir, revenons maintenant sur notre variable V qui est égale à

On trouve V = -0,4393 < 0 on a donc une divergence (soit le cas 3 ou 4, ça dépend du signe de U).

Conclusion L’objet de ce chapitre est d’analyser le rôle joué par les TIC dans l’explication

de la croissance économique et de la dynamique d’inégalité de revenus entre les Nations. Pour ce faire, nous avons testé par la méthode de triple moindre carré (3SLS) un modèle de croissance cumulatif à équations simultanées pour 12 pays de la région MENA durant la période 2000-2012. Nos résultats permettent de poser quelques constats qui doivent être gardés en mémoire.

D’abord, l’investissement en TIC joue un rôle déterminant dans l’accroissement de l’inégalité de revenus entre les pays de la région MENA et l’OCDE durant les années 2000. Par ailleurs, la relation de causalité cumulative dans les deux sens entre l’investissement en TIC et le taux de croissance de la productivité est absente: ni l’investissement en TIC permet d’accroître la productivité ni le produit par tête accélère l’investissement en TIC. La non visibilité de l’effet des TIC sur la croissance des pays étudiés est imputable à plusieurs facteurs structurels: un investissement relativement faible en matière des TIC, une qualité d’éducation plus ou moins faible, une déconnexion entre l’activité de R&D et le secteur industriel,... Ce qui fait que plusieurs pays de la région MENA n’ont pas encore atteint le stade qui leur permet de se baser sur les TIC afin de réduire leur gap de croissance.

Toutefois, une interaction entre le capital humain et les TIC montre un effet négatif et plus significatif sur cet écart. Ceci, montre que l’investissement en TIC est une condition nécessaire mais non suffisante (pour la région MENA) pour


57

bénéficier des bienfaits générés par l’économie numérique et par la suite rattraper les pays avancés et peut expliquer la légère tendance décroissante du gap de croissance. L’interaction peut se manifester sous différentes formes: une intégration des TIC dans l’enseignement supérieur, une concentration sur les formations en TIC afin d’améliorer les compétences numériques des salariés dans les entreprises, développer les branches technologiques dans le système éducatif, la création des laboratoires de recherche exploitant l’interconnexion entre la science et la technologie…

Ensuite, la relation bidirectionnelle entre l’investissement hors TIC et la productivité est apparente: le stock de capital non TIC stimule la productivité et donc la croissance économique et la production par tête, à son tour, accélère l’investissement hors TIC. Dès lors, l’incitation à l’investissement en TIC ne doit pas se faire au détriment des autres types d’investissement.

Puis, un renforcement des droits de propriété intellectuelle dans la région MENA via la stimulation de l’activité d’innovation peut constituer un canal important par lequel cette région baissera le gap de croissance qui la sépare de l’OCDE.

Signalons, pour finir, que les accords Euromed avec notre partenaire européen doivent être révisés afin de pouvoir bénéficier pleinement des effets positifs de l’ouverture commerciale sur la diffusion technologique et la croissance économique.

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MIGRANT WORKERS IN THE NORTHEN PART OF RIO GRANDE DO SUL (BRAZIL): INTEGRATION AND (DIS) RESPECT OF THE RIGTHS RELATED TO PERSONALITY

Thaís Janaina WENCZENOVICZ* Rodrigo Espiúca dos Anjos SIQUEIRA**

Abstract: This paper deals with the integration of Haitian immigrants along the

Brazilian society – specifically the northern region of Rio Grande do Sul – in view of their relationships with the material dimensions and concepts of labour guidelines. In this sense, we intend to demonstrate the factors that boosted the displacement of these immigrants and the process of adaptation in southern Brazil, as well as the extent to which immigration policies threaten the guarantee of human rights of individuals from countries with dependence on historical and intransigence on Civil and Social Fundamental Rights in their country of origin. This condition supports the analysis of the integration policies and denial of Human Rights. Over the last twenty years, Brazil has adopted a number of new policies for the management of trans-boundary movements and immigrants in Brazil, these policies that respond not only to the activism of migrants and their allies, but also to the Brazilian foreign policy strategy. As methodological procedure, this work utilizes the literature, alongside with of the description and interpretation of the reality of the subjects in understanding the theme discussed having used the technique of focal group. To represent the data from a closer perspective of the subject, were used some fragments of interviews and discourse analysis.

Keywords: Personality Rights; Haitian Immigrants; Integration.

Introduction Since the dawn of humanity, men have migrated for various reasons, driven by

endogenous and exogenous reasons. Migration happens by cultural, economic, political and socio-religious or environmental and climatic disasters such as the study group.1 Haitian immigration to Brazil is a migratory phenomenon that gained large proportions after the earthquake that struck the Caribbean country on 12 January 2010 and killed more than thousands of people and left many others on condition of Internally Displaced Persons.

It must be persistently said that affectation levels in natural disasters have evident correspondence with the class structure and those, in Haiti and according to

* Assistant Lecturer at the State University of Rio Grande do Sul (UERGS)/Brazil. ** Attorney at Law. Master in Fundamental Rights by the University of the West of Santa Catarina

(UNOESC). Lecturer at the Anglican Colleges of Erechim and of Tapejara/Brazil 1 The Haitian climate is characterized as tropical and is influenced by the sea, plus the condition of being

located in Hurricane circuit, often resulting in the incidence of tropical storms and hurricanes from June to October. The average minimum temperature is 20 ° C and maximum 34 ° C. The rainy season occurs twice a year from April to June and from October to November. These features contribute to the history of frequent flooding and environmental disasters. (AGENCY OFFICIAL WEATHER, HAITI, 2015)


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what official statistics show, have historically produced ethnic correspondence. Those who suffer less have incomplete accounts of the operating state shortcomings. Those who die, are those who have the best witnessing of indifference, failure, mistakes and unwillingness contained in the provisions for coordination of the devastated landscape. As the dead are, by definition, unable to self-express in the subject, are circumstantially saved the appearances in the line of duty.

While this, the providential silence of the dead also generates a narrative, accessible to those who have eyes to see: is expressed in the number of fatalities occurred in a town forgotten since long, by the provisions of the public entity, and is also expressed in the bodies that remain unburied for long time, those who are easily reported missing, those located with significant mutilations and traumas, those who are ignored without concern to rescue them.

The presence of Haitians in Brazil was inexpressive before the political instability that affected the country in 2003-2004. Since then, with the military presence of the UN peacekeeping force (formed mostly by Brazilians), Haitians have come to see in Brazil a reference point. After the earthquake of 2010, which triggered a major boost to the movement of medium and large groups, Brazil has become one of the preferred destinations for migrants. According to figures released by the Ministry of Immigration (2015), currently about 50-100 Haitians come illegally in Brazil daily, through the state of Acre and other states. These entries – official or illegal – trigger up relations and several contacts and consolidate up social contact zones between domestic and foreign citizens.

To Boaventura de Sousa Santos (2003, p.43), the contact areas are social fields in which different worlds of normative life meet and face. For the author, it is in these spaces that different legal cultures are facing highly asymmetric modes, that is, in clashes that mobilize very unequal power exchanges. The contact areas are therefore areas where ideas, knowledge, forms of power, symbolic universes and regulatory agencies and rivals are in unequal conditions and mutually repel, reject, assimilate, imitate and subvert in order to give rise to hybrid nature, political and legal constellations in which it is possible to detect the trail of inequality of exchanges.

Because of interactions that occur in the contact zone, both the nature of the different powers involved and the differences in power between them are affected. Understanding this concept is essential for this paper, since the integration – and Brazil is a multiethnic country – is one of many current examples of social groups that are involved and have been involved in asymmetric conflicts with dominant national cultures.

We start from the perception that Brazil has always been considered a country of easy coexistence between those who are different, including in the field of integration. However, in recent years, as society becomes increasingly plural in social, cultural and religious terms, paradoxically we have seen public demonstrations of stigma, intolerance, prejudice and xenophobia.

The immigrant inflow of experience in Brazil was given by the Portuguese, followed by Spanish, French and Dutch. In 1817 they enter in the Swiss country and in 1824 the first Austrian to reach further stimulate the inflow of Germans,


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Italians, Poles, Russians and Jews. After World War II there were several waves of Japanese who enter the country. Secondly the twentieth century can be seen the arrival of African and Asian considering the emancipation of the colonies to the state Independence Policy. The study group – Haitians – is included in the category economic boost and socio-political. (MAESTRI: 2001, 136-138)

This article is divided into five parts. The first covers a brief overview of immigration scenario in Brazil and its interrelations with human rights. The second part presents a report on the historical trajectory of Haiti – the country of origin of the group analyzed in this study. The third part sets out a brief overview of the Haitians in southern Brazil and the last two parts discourse on integration elements and understanding of the material dimensions of human rights and their relationship to the labor market by the Haitian immigrant residents in northern Rio Grande do Sul /Brazil.

1. Human rights and the migration of workers in Brazil Nowadays, one can point out that between 800,000 and 1.2 million foreigners

live in Brazil. The number is considered impaired if we consider the overall size of the population; however, the concentration of some groups in specific cities has contributed to greater visibility of migration issues in Brazilian society. (IBGE, 2010)

The Bolivian and Chinese communities in São Paulo and the Lebanese in Foz do Iguaçu – Paraná State are some emblematic cases. A "foreigner’s statute" regulating the entry and stay of immigrants in Brazil was established in 1980, even in the presence of the dictatorship in Brazil and is included in the logic of "national security" of the period. The preparation of this law was given at a time when the military regime was particularly unhappy with the "interference" of foreign religious individuals in internal matters and sought a mechanism to facilitate the expulsion of foreigners involved in political activities in the country. Indeed, the Catholic Church in Brazil was, since the beginning of the republican period (1889), one of the main critics of Brazilian law for foreigners, and continues today to be the basis for many of the organizations that defend the interests and rights of foreigners in Brazil. (REIS, 2011)

The main criticism of the organizations that represent the interests of immigrants in Brazil is the fact that many of the provisions in the law of 1980 are in step with those concerning the recognition of human rights present in the 1988 Constitution (UNHCR et al. 2007). The 1980 legislation inconsistency is identified as a weakness of the demands of the Brazilian state to address the issue of immigrants in negotiations and bilateral and multilateral forums.

Social movements, non-governmental organizations and researchers in Brazil over the years sought not only sensitize the Brazilian government to the demands of foreign migrants, but also build a consensus on the importance of changes in national immigration law and its connection with the needs of Brazilians abroad:


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[...] To defend a comprehensive migration policy, which includes both the migration of Brazilians abroad, the return of immigrants and immigration in our country, always from the standpoint of human rights, we realized the need of construction of a Department of Migration Policy, under the Office of the President of the Republic who can articulate and promote the implementation of a coordinated migration policy between these agencies and other public administration.

[...] Overcoming the dispersion of skills that sometimes hinders advancement, one of the main tasks of this new institution would undoubtedly further strengthen Brazil's position as a country example of welcome for immigrants and free of discrimination and xenophobia.

In institutional terms, the movement of people across Brazilian borders involves a wide range of ministries and authorities such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Justice, and the Federal Police, among others. In principle, the body that coordinates the actions of these various institutions regarding the entry of foreigners in Brazil is the National Immigration Council (CNIg), created by the law of August 19, 1980 and under the Ministry of Labor, and aims to, inter alia, "formulate immigration policy", "coordinate and guide immigration activities," survey the labor market needs in Brazil, conduct studies, collect information and "say in amending legislation on immigration when proposed by any organ of executive government "(PRESIDENCY OF THE REPUBLIC, 1993).

The debate on the need to modify the foreigner´s law is characterized by low repercussion on the varied scenery of political interests. In 2009, the government submitted to Congress the proposal of the New Status of Foreigners (PL 5,655 / 2009). Among other changes, the law provides for the transformation of CNIg in the National Council for Migration, formally extending its jurisdiction in matters concerning the emigration of Brazilians.

In this statement, it is important to note that three amnesties were held in Brazil: the first in 1988, then in 1998 and finally in 2009. In the latter, 43,000 foreigners were settled, including 17,000 Bolivians2 and more than 4,000 Paraguayans. If, on one hand, amnesties demonstrate the official "good will" to deal with the issue of undocumented foreigners, by contrast, it shows the persistence of the problem over the years, and the need for a more comprehensive policy. Ideally, with the implementation of the free movement agreements and the new legislation to foreigners, the number of undocumented foreigners in the country should fall. (REIS, 2011)

2 According to the IBGE (2013), the Bolivian immigration to Brazil is a migratory movements from the

last quarter of the twentieth century. It is one of the largest populations of 0.5% of the population that comes from the South American countries and is mostly located in Mato Grosso do Sul and São Paulo states. It is the fifth largest group of immigrants living in Brazil, overcome by Americans, Japanese, Portuguese and Paraguayans.


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2. Haiti: historical and cultural elements

Traditionally, the year 1804 is usually indicated as the mark of Haiti's

foundation, when was proclaimed the declaration of its independence from the French Empire.3 The history of the first independent Latin American country portrays an unstable path in its political, economic and social trajectory up to nowadays. Revolts, coups and repression have marked the Haitian people, which has survived the numerous human rights violations.

Today, the "Pearl of the Caribbean" became one of the poorest nations in Latin America and attracts international attention since 1991, due to the presence on its territory of several missions of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the United Nations (UN) driven by the internal situation of violence and misery installed in the country, plus the experienced environmental disasters after 2010.

Haiti occupies a western part of Hispaniola island and is bathed by the Atlantic Ocean; south by the Caribbean Sea (or Sea of the Antilles); west by the Bay of Gonaïves, Windward Passage and the Strait of Jamaica; and east, it shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, single land border about 360 km long. This insular characteristic of his area gives it a predominantly individual physical structure and gave it a territory facilitator character to the projection of air and sea routes to Europe and Africa.

Its economy centers on agriculture – accounts for 28% of GDP, industry (20%) and the services sector is 52%. In agriculture, the main products are coffee, sugarcane, mango, corn, sorghum and rice. Livestock farming is in its infancy, but it is developed with small herds of horses, cattle, goats and poultry. Because of its geographical feature, it is possible to point fishing as one of the elements that also contribute to the local economy.

The other sectors, such as mining activity that extracts marble, clay and limestone has almost inexpressive volume and the fragile industry is concentrated in the food areas (flour and sugar), textiles, and cement. As 2009 economic data, it is possible to point out that the trade balance shows a deficit of Haiti and thus is: exports of US $ 558.7 million and imports of US $ 2.048 billion and its main trading partners are the United States – 33.11%, the Dominican Republic – 23.53%, the Netherlands Antilles – 10.75% and China – 5.36%. (MINISTRY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, HAITI, 2013)

3 In 1492, Christopher Columbus, under the banner of the Kingdom of Spain arrives at the recently

discovered island, named “Hispaniola”. Initially, the Spanish established strongholds on the coast; after the second trip to the Caribbean Admiral, colonization was extended to the entire island, taking place in a first step the enslavement of Indians to work in agriculture and pottery. From 1520 to Spanish colonization in the region had its decay. During this time, virtually the entire native population, composed mostly by Arawak Indians and Caribbean, had been wiped out by the Spaniards. After the Spanish decadence, from 1625, the island had great French influence. In 1697 Spain and France signed the Treaty of Ryswick, which determines when the western third control Hispaniola (Haiti) to France. (C. L. R. James, 2000)


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As social condition, the Haitian population faces high levels of illiteracy, unemployment, disease, epidemics and violence leading the country to be seen as one where 70% of the population is classified as poor or vulnerable prone to go back into poverty every time a natural disaster or illness befall them. (USAID, 2015)

The UN and UNESCO indicate that from the total one million and a half camps created in 2010 to temporarily house the displaced families by the earthquake there are still 123 in use, and more than 85,000 people still live there. Those people are mostly without access to drinkable water, garbage collection or electricity, or are at risk of succumbing to the next natural disaster. In short, the poorest and most unequal country in the hemisphere, and its fragile democracy, are still trying to survive and because of that assertive, risk on travelling to try earning a living in a safer country and that offers them decent life.

Thus, it can be summarized that the thousands of people who left Haiti for Brazil are not the product of an imagined and alleged culture of migration, but of a decisive element: the lack of work with adequate remuneration, disease, hunger and several kinds of exclusion, thus challenging the dignity of the human person. The economic and social problems, plus the environmental disaster of 2010 and the dilemmas of colonial heritage – resulted in the disruption of the traditional organizations, as well as neo-colonialism of economic and financial profile that specifically subjects the cities of Port au Prince, Carrefour and Delmas.

3. Migration Process and Haitians in southern Brazil As already pointed out before, the state of Acre figures among the states that

received the first Haitian immigrants in Brazil. According to the Federal Police (2014), arrived in Acre – since December 2010 – about 130,000 Haitians using the border with Peru with the state, and settled down precariously also in the states of Amazonas, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and Pará. It is estimated that between January and September of 2011, the immigrants were 6000 and in 2012, there were 2,318 Haitians who illegally entered Brazil. Later the migration also entered through the states of the Southeast and South of Brazil – Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul.

In Rio Grande do Sul, the places of reception were the towns of Rio Grande and Porto Alegre, however, driven by the main objective – the work – migrant workers established residence in cities like Bento Goncalves, Caxias do Sul, Erechim, Marau and Passo Fundo.

In the city of Erechim, in addition to Haitians is possible to identify Senegalese, a small group of Ghanaians and some Angolans posing as labor force option to construction, sporadically. From 2012, the group of Haitians residing in Erechim totaled around 50 people, mostly men, aged 18 to 45, appearing mostly as labor force for the metalworking industry and construction. (SMED: Pedagogical Coordination – neja, 2013)


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According to Tedesco (2012), in economic terms, the Haitians, likewise the Senegalese, also have an entrepreneurial behavior, taking risks, selling trinkets and accepting temporary jobs to form funds and carry out life projects ("make my own venture in Senegal", "support family in Senegal"). The flow of remittances and the development of skills of those who have passed by Erechim and Passo Fundo (RS) confirm this view.

Amidst their insertions in local and regional community, it has become routine to see them roaming the city streets. As to social inclusion and citizenship, there are some actions, already in effect, related to Education and Health issues backed by government agencies. They attend classes on the night shift within the Municipal Literacy Program as a way to ensure better integration into national and regional society.4

The possibility of learning to read and write in Portuguese language also extends to other benefits such as accessibility and retention of the right to education. In this program, Haitians also receive food in the period between classes, transportation vouchers and teaching materials. This action, as pointed out before, is the result of a memorandum of understanding signed by the Anglican College of Erechim and the Municipality Government – Department of Education – that made it possible for other social demands to be met, such as access to health and help with the process of documentation legalization.

The movement of immigrants in new overseas communities, cause some new situations, interests and concerns as a result of their presence, because they establish informal networks of support and helps consolidate a dynamic that integrates and identifies the migration of Haitians in Brazil. Several respondents reported that they end up drawing the attention of local residents for their clothing, by moving in the streets and squares, for trading on the streets of big flow and formal trade concentration area and the estrangement to hear the language used by the majority – the Creole5 with little knowledge of Portuguese and concentrations in some city-specific spaces to develop some leisure and sightseeing activities. You

4 In September 2013 the Municipal Erechim municipal Education and the Anglican College of Erechim

have provided physical and pedagogical structure to students coming from Senegal to work in the city in Ceja category – with an emphasis on literacy process in Portuguese. The group started with 13 Senegalese adult learners. After six months, the first Haitians stepped into the group and later on, joined the immigrants from Ghana.

5 Haitian Creole, also known as Creole is a language spoken by most of Haiti's population (8.5 million), there is still about 3.5 million immigrants who speak Haitian Creole in other countries, such as Canada, United States, France, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Bahamas. It presents two distinct dialects: fablas and the plateau. Many Haitians speak four languages: Creole, French, Spanish and English. The other official language of Haiti is French, the language in which Haitian Creole is based upon, with 90% of its vocabulary coming from this language. Other languages also influenced Haitian Creole, among which the Taino (native of the island), some West African languages (Yoruba, Fon, ewe). Since 1961, by Felix Morisseau-Leroy and other efforts, Haitian Creole has been recognized as official language, alongside with French, that had been the only literary language since the independence that nation in 1804. Since the writer Morrisseau-Leroy, its literary use is growing though still small. Since the 1980s, activists, among them educators and writers have emphasized the pride of Creole literature. In the twenty-first century many newspapers, television and radio programs in the language appeared.


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can also see that some stepped into the religious eclecticism as well divulged in Brazil: they have become adherents of neo-Pentecostal churches. In our survey, the interviewees stated that they attend the following churches: Assembly of God – from the historic Pentecostalism branch – and the neo-Pentecostal Universal Church of the Kingdom of God and the International Church of the Grace of God.

With regard to cultural aspects, Haitians retain religious, eating and conviviality habits compatible to the group. Among them, in addition to the warmth and spontaneity, it is conserved the family hierarchy. In this respect, it is possible to signal that they adhere to regional integration with the community outside of the pragmatic work scope. And yes, they feel the merged estrangement with curiosity by those around them and see them.

In the cultural aspect, it is possible to see that they make use, almost solely, of free spots, during the days or weekends – when they are not working – to call friends and family in Haiti and Brazil, watch television and listen to music. Some state that are already attending clubs that offer dance activities.

It is known that the absence of contact with the community produces estrangement, indifference and lack of integrative factors and sociability. Beccegato (1995) and Sayad (2008) state that it is not enough just to get some information on uses, customs and learn foreign languages to make intercultural exchanges; one should get involved in the problematic of, even for the cognitive, affective, social issues, and develop an open mind, flexible, inclusive, which values the behaviors recognized on dialogue and encounter. The identities and identifications produced within the host societies (re)construct the indigenous and foreign from symbolic references (MEIHY; BELLINO, 2008).

4. Haitians in the north of Rio Grande do Sul: some methodological questions

As already signaled before, this study conducted direct contact with a group of

30 students duly enrolled in the municipal school system in the northern region of Rio Grande do Sul, more specifically in the city of Erechim. Out of the 30 students, 15 are Haitian and had direct contact with the proponents of the study. Five visits were carried out on the night shift at the premises of the Anglican College of Erechim – partner of the educational activity along with the City Department of Education / Erechim.

Among the various activities, interviews were conducted, exchange of ideas and knowledge, as well as moments of collective dialogue to discuss the factors that boosted the exit of their country of origin, travel, adaptation and initial visions of immigration status. The study adopted a qualitative approach and the kind of research used was action research and the universe was represented by 15 students – at literacy level and an educator.


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The collection technique was done through focus groups, whose function is to gather detailed information about the process of displacement, reception, denials and identities constructed in the receiving country.

The meetings were held during five (05) days with the duration of two (02) hours, accompanied by the teacher in office. After obtaining the data collected from the interview script, transcription and compilation of the data was performed. The analysis and interpretation of data were organized as theme x percentage.

Made structure, the data obtained were compared in order to trace minimally common features between them. From this analysis it was concluded 14 respondents are male and 1 a female; 75% had stable marital relationship when they left the country of origin, with the majority maintaining weekly contact with family through social networks. The use of technology has been noted by all respondents and these showed that the most used networks to effect communication are Facebook, WhatsApp, Viber and – all free of charge access.

The topic that requested information about the trip, 55% claimed to have experienced Central American countries such as Colombia, Peru and Venezuela and 1 witness claimed to have tried life in Spain before moving to Brazil. As means of transportation, they pointed out automobile transportation (short trips), public transport (bus and train) and airplane. The average investment dismissed from Haiti's departure to Brazil was around 10.000,00 to 15.000,00 Brazilian Reais (R$). This amount was signaled in many interviews was obtained through loans – with relatives or moneylenders.

Another element analyzed was access to communication technologies. 100% of respondents stated to use them on a daily basis. They are used primarily for entertainment and contact with family members. The acquisition of a mobile communication device is among the most coveted objects after receiving the first paycheck.

In addition, was analyzed point to questioning the relationship established in the workplace. Among the most used observations are the expressions: here I work a lot, but I am paid a salary; employers in Brazil are not bad, but often change the function of employees, and the difficulties in adapting to the work safety standards. Many testimonials claim that the training offered in order to grant work safety and protection are not well assimilated due to the difficulty imposed by language.

5. Haitians and the (dis)respect for the rights of personality

The conception of labor currently takes varying contours according to the

culture that uses it, allowing the individual or group of people, in the context of a specific culture, the construction of the notion that certain labor activity is valuable or worthless. Moreover, it confers desirable social status, whereas another culture assigns to the same kind of function, an undesirable character, and the people who play it, an "inferior" status of individuals.


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This cultural diversity, in which the employment relationship is inserted, is accentuated in the globalized world. In this regard, Teubner said that globalization should be understood as a global society, resulting from growing range of communication that goes beyond cultural or geographical barriers, and not as a national society that gradually and slowly moves towards integration with an established global society. According to this view of globalization, the internal organization of nation-states are mere expressions of regionalized global society. (TEUBNER 2003)

According to Bauman, it is also emphasized the role of communication in the transformation of contemporary society in a globalized society. The sociologist affirms that the mobility resulting from the creation of new media resources enables information to travel independently of their physical carrier or the object about which informs, that is, the development of technical means of communication that separate the movement of information from the movement of its bearer and object. Therefore, allowing the significance to no longer have full control of the signifier. Thus, the speed with which information is traveling is much greater than the physical bodies. Moreover, with the emergence of the World Wide Web, continues to assert Bauman, the very concept of distance has changed, therefore, the information is instantly available at all points of the planet. (BAUMAN, 1999)

And this constant movement of information also leads to migration of the labor force that, through improved access to information, are better qualified and thus seeks improvement in living conditions through migration. Such movement of workers causes certain conflicts.

It is in this global village context that the employment contracts serve as a pretext for serious disrespect to the fundamental right to decent work, since the corporations, owners of private centers of power, not in a few occasions, violate the most basic rights of the workers, disregarding their dignity.

This migration can also lead to the weakening of workers’ rights of the individual, since the entry of skilled labor force in the labor market provides employers a "best choice" of their employees. This choosing can happen in a way that privileges the hiring of migrant workers, which, in theory, have less knowledge about the legislation pertaining to labor standards and consequently will require less investment from the employers in terms of guarantees and rights, as well as, in the maintenance of a healthy work environment. This position entails serious violations of labor and personality rights.

The constitutional provisions dealing with the fundamental rights issue – among them the fundamental right to decent work – enshrine the prohibition of submission of the person to degrading situations and violating the individuals in their inherent and most striking feature, human dignity.

Among the various and most ordinary situations of violation of human dignity are degrading labor and poor working conditions. Just a quick look to periodicals


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and TV news is enough to realize the amount of situations in Brazil where workers, whether national or foreign, suffer violations of their dignity.

Necessary to mention here that the binding of individuals to the fundamental rights, called horizontal effect of the fundamental rights, is an indispensable element in the protection of individuals against the actions of their own peers. This is because private actors are responsible for violations of human dignity through abuse of right attitudes, exploration of labor, and discriminatory practices.

It happens that sometimes, on the grounds of the governing employer power, many partners or owners of corporations extrapolate their power and exceed when applying penalties to employees, and this happens because the great economic vulnerability of employees, who need to stay in jobs in order to earn the basic salaries to their own maintenance and their families. In this particular case, these are immigrant Haitian workers in Brazil.

However, one cannot forget to take into account that, before being a worker, every individual is a human being, and, therefore, must have his/her dignity granted in every circumstance of his/her life, and even in private relationships of employment and work.

Corroborating this understanding, Vecchi states: In addition, there is another serious problem that has shaken labor relations,

i.e.: the disregard of the worker as whole individual, as a human person with fundamental human rights that must be understood in their indivisibility, rights that the employee does not give up when becomes subject to an employment relationship, rights that cannot be left out "at the factory gate" waiting for the end of the working day. This problem also becomes global, i.e.: is faced by workers in various "corners of the Earth", being facilitated by the weakening of labor rights, which weakens more and more the position of workers. (VECCHI, 2009, p. 55)

Thus, the placement of workers’ rights in the list of fundamental rights prevents the weakening of the workers’ rights or even the lack of employer's scruples, from removing such special guarantees and strengthens workers’ position before the employer. It should be noted that provision and protection labor rights should be considered as such.

This is a result of what is called the "constitutionalization" of the Labor Law. The worker, as a result of this permeation of constitutional law, in particular of fundamental rights in private relationships, begins to no longer be seen as merely an employee, as one who by the employment contract makes available to other his labor force. The person who submits to the employment contract, understood as private legal business in this process of "constitutionalization" does not cease to maintain their human condition, and, therefore, cannot have his human rights mitigated or suppressed, as a direct result of the labor agreement. Now, we must pay special attention to the so-called "worker-citizen", to whom is assured the recognition of rights as citizen and enshrined in constitutional law, by requiring the employer and others involved in the employment relationship, to respect and the obligation to promote human dignity. (AMARAL, 2014)


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Amaral points out that this "constitutionalization" of labor law occurred in two phases. The first, in which the specific fundamental labor rights were highlighted, such as the rights to: go on strike, freedom of association, paid weekly rest, breaks for food and rest intra-day, time to rest between journeys, limiting the maximum daily working time, protection from arbitrary dismissal, prohibition of night, dangerous or unhealthy work for persons under 18 years and any work for persons under 16, except as an apprentice, and only after completing 14 years, protection of women's labor market, prohibition of discrimination between Intellectual, manual or technical work, among others. The second phase, in which the focus is no longer the guarantee of labor rights to the employee, but takes care of the conduct of the employer, the broader and more comprehensive way now. The company begins to be seen as a place of exercise of "citizenship", with more emphasis on so-called "non-specific labor rights." (AMARAL, 2014)

In this new context, gain more prominence, in addition to the fundamental social rights listed in art. 7, and its clauses of the 1988 Constitution, the employee's rights of personality, those that are very personal and that cannot be dissociated from the person, even during the term of the employment contract.

Understanding that employers’ rights cannot be seen as authorization to commit arbitrariness, injustice or personal discrimination, it is further consolidated this doctrinal path, which crystallizes the employee's condition as a citizen. The governing power of the employer will only be legitimate when it is directed, led and guided in order to work on a sense of unity, in achieving its economic goals – reason for its creation and existence – but without causing injury or threats to the rights of its employees.

This phenomenon of "constitutionalization of labor law" aims to prevent the transformation of the workers in "commodity" or "thing", intensifying the protection of the "working person", guaranteeing the same constitutional protection of all other subjects of law, going beyond the protection of the worker to protect the citizen. (AMARAL, 2014, p. 103)

Vecchi agrees on this direction, stating that the employees don´t lose their human condition when agreeing upon an employment contract, thus keeping their aspects and, especially, their personality rights intact, so it is not enough to guarantee and protect their social rights, but must also respect their dignity. (VECCHI, 2009)

That is why the "nonspecific labor fundamental rights" gain greater importance in this context of "worker-citizen." We must grant more than just labor rights to employees, they must have protected their status as human beings, and ensure their dignity as a person.

These called nonspecific labor rights, are those arising from the worker's human condition. These rights of the worker-citizen need to be exercised as personality rights impregnated of the employment relationship. We can cite, as examples: the right to privacy and to private life, right to freedom of expression, the right to protection of honor, right to ideological and religious freedom, the right


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to protection against discrimination, etc. Although they are not specifically connected to or arising from the employment contract, those rights are inherent to the human being, and therefore must be guaranteed during all time.

Noteworthy that the Federal Constitution of 1988 guarantees and protect labor rights in Brazil, whether specific or non-specific, to everyone in the country independent of birth or nationality of the worker.

In fact, we can say that is an addition to the contract, all the rights and duties to maintain the dignity of the human person, which affect the exercise of the contractual agreement between the parties. This is because the worker cannot waive those rights or their own dignity. Important to remember here that dignity cannot be withdrawn or given to any person, by any legal or judicial act, but it is merely recognized and protected.

From the above, it is impossible to sever one between the citizen and the worker; there is no excise from the employee his condition of human being in any activity that he/she is exercising. Much less, can the employer on the grounds of the worker's foreign status, deny him/her such guarantees.

Thus, the workers whatever their personal status, should be seen in their wholeness as human beings. Their natural condition as rights-holders, their inherent dignity directly linked to their human being condition, cannot be dissociated from their contextualized rights, namely, the specific labor rights, as well as their personality rights – here known as non-specific labor rights – deserve assurance and protection. In short, all the employee's rights and interests should be protected even in the context of the employment relationship.

This protection and security are essential to the maintenance of the democratic rule of law, where the "evolution and development of fundamental rights should be directed to the purpose of 'guarantee of freedom', as a 'power of self-determination' in all spheres of social life".(AMARAL, 2014, p. 104)

This should occur so that all rights related to the individual can be fully exercised, without any unjustified restrictions.

Gabriela Delgado Neves confirms this understanding proposed here: If the worker receives low income, if there are no minimum conditions of

health, for example, there is no room for the realization of dignity. The law is a mere abstraction. Understanding the worker as a mere instrument for the realization of a given task, tonic of contemporary civil society, compromises the greater understanding that man must be an end in himself. (DELGADO, 2006, p. 237)

Thus, the worker must have secured the minimum working conditions such as safety and health in the working environment and receive fair payment for the work done, without which one cannot speak of workers' dignity. The work should be taken as means of ennoblement and exaltation of the worker’s personal condition, in order to develop their full potential as human being. Moreover, this is independent of their nationality or personal condition.

The engagement of the person in a for profit entity should be developed in addition to the economic objectives of the owner, especially when it goes by


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migrating in search for better working conditions, and to facilitate the obtaining of personal desires of a working-class person, for it is there where they will apply their skills at the employer's service. However, that should happen by pecuniary compensation that should enable their personal and family development.

Thus, it is safe to assume that it is in the context of labor relations where we can find one of the most fertile fields for the proliferation of unwanted violations of fundamental social rights, on the one hand, but also, it is within the relationship between employee and employer where fundamental rights become increasingly important, on the other.

It is the nature of economic dependence of this relationship that makes it vulnerable to these attacks on the employee's dignity, since it is subject to the will of the employer through monetary compensation. Under this relationship of subjection, it is clear that the employee is most vulnerable in these labor relations than in other interpersonal relationships, both in employee status, as in the person's condition or citizen and should therefore be given special care in protection and guarantee of human dignity in this context.

Also noteworthy that Brazil ratified the Convention n. 155 from the International Labor Organization, ratification that was promulgated by Decree 1,254 / 94. Such Convention provides, in article 4, paragraph 1, that the signatory countries should formulate and implement a national policy on safety and health of workers and commit to protect the working environment.

Therefore, reducing inherent work risks is a provision from the constitutional rule in Article 7, item XXII of the 1988 Federal Constitution, through the development of safety standards. That rule requires all businesses and employers to provide such risk reduction, under penalty of being obliged to compensate victims of industrial accidents.

The lack of respect for life or moral and physical integrity of the worker, by the absence of minimum working conditions, i.e., the absence of a healthy work environment, are in frontal disrespect of the constitutional provision of social fundamental rights. Likewise, the discriminatory treatment of Haitian workers, whether because of their difficulties with the language, ethnic origin or skin color, or even ignorance of the rights guaranteed to workers in Brazil, should be considered as a violation of personal rights of the migrant worker.

Conclusion This study intended to discuss the elements of the relationship between the

arrival of Haitian immigrants in southern Brazil and their insertion process in the labor market linked to their personality rights.

Running away from squalid living conditions – and more specifically to the group of Haitians – and from environmental disasters, it was observed that hundreds of men from the peripheral economy countries seek refuge in the central


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market countries, but in most cases fail to free themselves from the poverty stigma. This is a new era of colonization, but this time, a colonization made by (and for the benefit of) capital.

The technological revolution brought about consequences in the labor market, which led to reflections on migratory masses of workers, who have left in search of work placement. The same technological revolution facilitates the information and people transit in the world, which also influences the migration in general.

Contact with the group of Haitians led us to conclude that when the immigrant is identified only by their ethnic characteristics and the labor market niche in which can be inserted, which occurs with some constancy, there is a negative identification, an identification that leads to a denial of recognition as human being in his/her entirety. His identity as an immigrant worker in society ends up serving as an obstacle to a better job placement, even in the case of skilled workers, frustrating their hopes of, after crossing borders, gain access to a better world.

Imperative to state that the employee is, and as such should be seen much more than mere instrument for meeting the needs and interests of the employer. They are actually persons, human beings, which, although subjects to certain restrictions on their personal freedoms – these limitations resulting from the employment contract – do not lose their personhood that must have respected their rights, private and very personal interests – the nonspecific fundamental labor rights – as well as social fundamental guarantees of the Labor Law, i.e., the specific labor rights. This statement is also based on the four principles of affirmative constitutional importance of the work under national law: the valorization of work, especially the work covered by the employment relationship; the social justice; the submission of the property to its social and environmental role; and the principle of human dignity.

It was found, in the interviews, that some basic working conditions are disregarded because of the immigrant condition of the Haitian workers. The denial of a healthy work environment constitutes a violation of human dignity. This negative of decent work, can be seen as lowering the human condition analogous to that of a mere object whose usefulness is only the satisfaction of the employer's interests, disregarding the employee's status as a subject of rights.

This distinction between domestic and foreign workers, and the unscrupulous attitude of employers who believe they can benefit from the status of immigrants who are unaware of the labor protective legislation, such as the Haitian workers, it is a true decrease in the status of the subject of rights. It is also a flagrant violation of their dignity that cannot be tolerated by society and government bodies of labor inspection, under the penalty of becoming accomplice with violations and failure to comply with constitutional obligations of protection and guaranteeing the decent work, incumbent to the state.


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refugiados. 2 ed. revista e atualizada. Brasília: ACNUR; IMDH; CDHM, 2007. AMARAL, Júlio Ricardo de Paula. Eficácia dos direitos fundamentais nas relações

trabalhistas. 2ª ed. – São Paulo: LTr, 2014. BAEZ, Narciso Leandro Xavier; LEAL, Rogério Gesta; MEZZAROBA, Orides (Coords.).

Dimensões Materiais e eficácias dos Direitos Fundamentais. São Paulo: Conceito Editorial: 2010.

BAUMAN, Zygmunt. Globalização: As consequências humanas. trad. Marcus Penchel. Rio de Janeiro: Jorge Zahar, 1999.

BRASIL. Constituição (1988). Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil. Brasília, DF. Senado Federal, 2011

BRASIL. Decreto n. 6.893/2009. Regulamenta a lei n. 11.961, de 2 de julho de 2009, que dispõe sobre a residência provisória para o estrangeiro em situação irregular no território nacional, e dá outras providências. Diário Oficial da União, Brasília, DF, 3 jul. 2009.

BRASIL. Ministério do Trabalho e Emprego. Estatísticas. Coordenação Geral de Imigração. Estatísticas, 2011.

BRITO FILHO, José Cláudio Monteiro. Trabalho Decente: análise jurídica da exploração, trabalho forçado e outras formas de trabalho indigno. São Paulo: LTr, 2004

C. L. R. James. Os jacobinos negros. Toussaint L'Ouverture e a revolução de São Domingos. São Paulo: Boitempo, 2000.

CMMI. Comissão Mundial sobre as Migrações Internacionais. As migrações num mundo interligado: novas linhas de ação. Relatório da Comissão Mundial Sobre as Migrações Internacionais. Trad. da Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, out. 2005.

DELGADO, Gabriela Neves. Direito fundamental ao trabalho digno. São Paulo: LTr, 2006. FREYRE, Gilberto. Interpretação do Brasil. Aspectos da Formação Social Brasileira como

Processo de Amalgamento de Raças e Culturas. Rio de Janeiro: José Olympio, 1947. GALEANO, Eduardo. La Maldición Blanca. Buenos Aires: Jornal Buenos Aires, 4 de abril de

2004, p.12. GILROY, Paul. O Atlântico negro. Modernidade e dupla consciência. São Paulo: Editora 34,

2001. MAESTRI, Mário. História do Rio Grande do Sul: a ocupação do território. Passo Fundo:

Núcleo de estudos Histórico Lingüisticos, 2001. MARTINS, Sérgio Pinto. Direito do Trabalho. 26ª ed. São Paulo: Atlas, 2010. MEIHY, J. C. S.; BELLINO, R. R. O estado dos imigrantes: o 28º estado brasileiro – um

mercado de US$ 50 bilhões. Rio de Janeiro: Elsevier, 2008. REIS, Rossana Rocha. Políticas de imigração nos Estados Unidos e na França. São Paulo:

Hucitec, 2007. *** Soberania, direitos humanos e migrações internacionais. Revista Brasileira de Ciências

Sociais, v. 19, n. 5, p. 149-164, jun. 2004. REPÚBLICA FEDERATIVA DO BRASIL. Congresso Nacional. Comissão Parlamentar Mista

de Inquérito da Emigração. Relatório final da Comissão Parlamentar Mista de Inquérito. Brasília, 2006. Disponível em: < http://www.diasmarques.adv.br/artigos/Relatorio_CPI_Emigracao_Ilegal.pdf >. Acesso em: 22 set. 2013.

Relatório de Desenvolvimento Humano (RDH) 2010. Disponível em: <http://hdr.undp.org>. Acesso em: 18 jul. 2013.

SALES, Teresa. Brasileiros longe de casa. São Paulo: Ed. Cortez, 1999. SARLET, Ingo Wolfgang. As dimensões da dignidade da pessoa humana: construindo uma

compreensão jurídico-constitucional necessária e possível. In: SARLET, Ingo Wolfgang. Dimensões da dignidade: ensaios de filosofia do direito e direito constitucional / Béatrice


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Maurer... (et al.); org. Ingo Wolfgang Sarlet; trad. Ingo Wolfgang Sarlet, Luís Marcos Sander, Pedro Scherer de Mello Aleixo, Rita Dostal Zanini. 2 ed. rev. e ampl. – Porto Alegre: Livraria do Advogado Editora, 2009.

SPRANDEL, Marcia Anita. Breve análise da relação entre o Estado brasileiro e seus emigrantes. In: FERREIRA, A. P. et al. A experiência migrante. Entre deslocamentos e reconstruções. Rio de Janeiro: Ed. Garamond, 2010.

TEDESCO, João Carlos e GRYBOWSKI, Denise. Dinâmica migratória dos senegaleses no norte do Rio Grande do Sul. Rev. bras. estud. popul. vol.30 nº.1 São Paulo Jan./June 2013.

TEUBNER, Günther. A Bukowina Global sobre a Emergência de um Pluralismo Jurídico Transnacional. In: Impulso. Revista de Ciências Sociais e Humanas. v. 14, n. 33, p. 1-191, jan./abr. 2003. Piracicaba: Editora UNIMEP.

VALENCIO, Norma; SIENA, Mariana; MARCHEZINI, Victor e COSTA, Juliano. Sociologia dos desastres – construção, interfaces e perspectivas no Brasil. São Carlos: RiMa Editora, 2009.

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International Labour Office, International Institute for Labour Studies. Geneva: ILO, 2013. Disponível em 20 de março de 2015.


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CIVIL LAWSUIT IN CRIMINAL PROCESS

Enkeleda METHALIA (SOFTA)* Abstract: One of the most important institutes that represents the personal element in

criminal procedure discipline is namely “civil lawsuit in the criminal process”. Which combined the public and private element, who has suffered material injury from the offense or his heirs and can raise civil action in the criminal proceedings against the defendants or civil defendant. The subjects in the criminal process can use the right subjective procedural filing civil claims, but prosecutors and judges, who have the power to accept or the proceeding may make not the civil lawsuit, the legitimization of the civil plaintiff until the review has not started judicial, Criminal Procedure Code Article 62/1. The problem of identification of a civil plaintiff in the criminal process and so closely related existential relationship with all procedural and has many difficulties in its implementation in practice. It provided legal not to be confused with the legitimacy to act, which consists in identifying the person who has a legal interest to a civil claim in the criminal process, but conceived related to the acceptance or rejection of the review of acts of civil along with unlawful criminal fact of a single process. As a general rule, civil plaintiff standing by the prosecutor to make a civil claim in the criminal proceedings until the court carries out preliminary and has not begun examination of the criminal case, legitimizing civil plaintiff may be made by the proceeding until you get started judicial review of Article 62 paragraph 1 of the CPC and, in a second moment, it is the court that makes a decision to review the civil lawsuit along with criminal acts.

Keyword: Civil Lawsuit, Criminal Process, Civil Plaintiffs, Res Judicata, Civil Defendant, Judging Court, Civil Law, Penal Law, Court Decision.

1. Introduction One of the most important institutes that represents the personal element in

criminal procedure discipline is namely “civil lawsuit in the criminal process”. Which combined the public and private element, who has suffered material injury from the offense or his heirs and can raise civil action in the criminal proceedings against the defendants or civil defendant, Article 61 Code of criminal Procedure.

This institute allows the creation of civil legal relationship inside the criminal process, and together with judicial review of the indictment made the claim. Civil legal relationship during criminal proceedings may not always coincide with the public nature of criminal law, but it happens to correspond with the criminal process where the parties evidenced private relationship.

Civil claim in criminal proceedings comes as a logical consequence of the proceedings of four conditions:

1. Civil court jurisdiction in criminal proceedings 2. Criminal Court jurisdiction to review the civil lawsuit

* Judge of Administrative Court of Appeal Tirana, Tirana, e-mail, [email protected].


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3. Private parties in criminal proceedings 4. Prejudiction (the principle of res judicata) Forming their functional unity precedes the validity of the criminal process is the

logical precondition for the existence of a civil lawsuit in the criminal process. When the court decision to cease the criminal case due to the lack of processing each of the conditions, effects weigh on procedural civil lawsuit are not always the same.

1. Lack of jurisdiction of the criminal justice causes invalidity of the process is the logical precondition for the existence of a civil lawsuit in this process. Identification of the legal situation makes it possible for the court not to consider civil actions and civil lawsuit automatically goes judicial jurisdiction because of the dismissal of the last. When the criminal court does not examine the civil claim, not hindered its establishment in civil court and acts can be sent in the situation that are competent civil court.

2. Lack of competence by the criminal court characterized, by examining the effects on the civil lawsuit, in the same way as the lack of jurisdiction of the criminal court. The incompetence of the court finding also applies to the civil lawsuit, as is the fact in the criminal process and as a result it does not examine the civil claim.

When announcing incompetence, the court had the case in court, the competent court sends the acts and criminal acts along with civil lawsuit sends, provided that the civil claimant is entitled by the last. Otherwise, civil claims can be raised or civil plaintiff to seek transfer of the documents to the competent civil court.

3. The absence of one of the parties or both parties, because the injured prosecution or the defendant1 has not reached the age of criminal responsibility or he is dead, does the criminal process invalid due to lack of conditions to proceed. So the civil lawsuit, which has a logical prerequisite criminal process can not be reviewed by a criminal court.

In such a case the civil lawsuit out of court civil jurisdiction in criminal proceedings, as the process itself does not exist due to the absence of the parties or their ability to operate. Subject to supplant natural person dead, comes to the quality of the party in legal relations substantive and procedural subject he replaceable and therefore the process will continue with it, which takes the place of the party is dead or not It exists.

When the criminal court does not examine the civil claim will not stumble or transfer its establishment on condition that the acts are competent civil court. However, consideration must be given establishment or transfer of the claim to the civil process, where one or both parties are dead. Article 199 of the Civil Procedure Code, which provides procedural passage with universal title, shall bind it.2

1 Article 47 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The death of the defendant.

1. When the resulting death of the defendant, the proceeding authority at any stage of the proceeding condition, after hearing the defense lawyer dismisses the case.

2. The decision does not preclude the exercise of criminal prosecution for the same fact and against the same person, when then proved that he is not dead, Article 47 of the CPC.

2 When one of the parties dies, the case continues or against her heirs.


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4. The principle of res judicata provided for in Article 34 of the Constitution of the Republic of Albania, which provides that no one may be punished more than once for the same criminal act nor be tried again, except when it is set trial the issue of a higher court, in the manner provided by law.

By Constitutional provisions it concluded that where an offense has been tried by another court with a final decision can not be prosecuted and tried again for the same act, which appears in Article 7 of the Criminal Procedure Code which states that no one may be tried anew for the same offense, for which he was sentenced by a final decision, except when it set the retrial of the case by the competent court.

When before another court has expressed the final decision on the same issue, the process that is built on that fact is invalid and thus considered a civil claim exceeds the jurisdiction of the court. Output from the civil court jurisdiction in criminal proceedings conducted after the criminal process itself is illegal due to the application of the principle of res judicata or prejudiction. If considering a civil claim during criminal proceedings, this does not prevent the establishment or sending the case to state who acts in civil process.

Provision 387 of the Criminal Procedure Code section 1 provides that...... where the offense has been extinguished, the court dismisses the case, indicating the cause, and the second paragraph of this provision is stated that the court decides in the same way when the existence of a cause that extinguishes the offense is doubtful.

During the judicial review of a civil lawsuit in the criminal proceedings, the court specifies or cause to suspect that there is a criminal offense in the trial died, stopped the process and did not examine the civil lawsuit. Consequently, the civil lawsuit civil del judicial jurisdiction in criminal proceedings due to prescription or amnesty offense provokes the allegations that criminal exercise of judicial power, which is the logical precondition for the existence of civil process.

When we talk about the prescription of the crime, we must consider that the civil rights material remitted for effect to prescription and deadlines provided for in the relevant laws. I think that this provision should be foreseen by the code (look at) the transfer of a civil lawsuit in civil court of competent jurisdiction; and, if the court finds that with the offense is extinguished and civil substantive law due to expiration of the deadline stipulated in the respective laws, to break down the civil lawsuit.

2. Characteristics of a civil lawsuit in the criminal process Presentation of civil legal relationship does not require the implementation of

civil procedural rules, as would be logical long civil process, following the decision of its reasoning based on evidence and criminal law... Article 382 of Criminal Procedure Code, but the civil legal relationship is interdependent on the facts and circumstances of the criminal case and in conclusion are those that provoke the exercise of judicial power.


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The subjects in the criminal process can use the right subjective procedural filing civil claims, but prosecutors and judges, who have the power to accept or the proceeding may make not the civil lawsuit, the legitimization of the civil plaintiff until the review has not started judicial, Criminal Procedure Code Article 62/1. Always not to hear the applicant on the merits of the claim, but to consider it subject to criminal acts.

“Joining the civil lawsuit judgment in the trial of the criminal case, not violates

neither the criminal proceeding nor civil. Both proceedings preserve their special

characteristics by regulating the respective provisions, but because of the common

elements as sides, etc...... necessary evidence, join in a common procedure3”. The

trial of a civil lawsuit along with that offense, creates opportunity for any eventuality to avoid giving contradictory criminal and civil judgments on the same issue.4

In this context the civil suit, is the requirement to appear in criminal proceedings by the injured party or his heirs against the defendant or civil defendant, who by law have civil liability for their actions, aimed at repairing the damage caused by offenses committed on property restitution and compensation.

From the interpretation of the content of the law, which refers to the return of property and compensation for damage, it appears that the decision of the civil liability that results from this trial is about as effective damage and loss of profit.

In the article “A civil claim in the criminal process”, expressed the opinion that "material liability is legally a variant of contradictory civil liability for

compensation of the damage."5 In addition, in legal literature, they appeared opinions that "responsible

materials is a civil-legal responsibility for compensation for damages under the general rules of civil law.... classic, it is responsible for damages and this responsibility is doomed to repair any damage"6.

Regarding the damage effectively caused by the commission of an offense as part of a civil lawsuit in the criminal proceedings in court practice cases are rare, but it was held that the legislature has provided a special protection law in terms of assets (property), the violation of which entails criminal liability. That a person to be responsible for a damage should exist four conditions:

– Action/actions of the person have caused harm to another property – Action to be illegal – Action to be performed with fault – To exist the casual link- the damage came to be due to the direct action of

the person. Court practice these cases identifies (accepted civil lawsuit trial in criminal

proceedings) for the offenses of “Theft” provided by article 134 of the Criminal Code. For the offense of "Fraud" as required by article 143 of the Criminal Code.

3 “Extract” Unifying Decision no. 284, dated 06. 10. 2000. 4 Abdiu, F. (2003). “Civil lawsuit in the Criminal Process of Albainia”, Publications Pex, p. 46. 5 Abdiu, F. (2003). “Civil lawsuit in the Criminal Process of Albainia”, Publications Pex, p. 49. 6 Ibid


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For the criminal offense of “Theft through abuse of duty” provided for by Article 135 of the criminal Code and a case for criminal delinquency of “Reproduction of the work of someone else”, provided by article 149 of the criminal Code.

Specifically, the statistics for the Judicial District of Tirana from 2009 onwards are as follows; for the offense of “Theft” provided by article 134/3 of the Criminal Code of the Tirana Judicial District Court decision 166, date 08.02.2012 upheld the decision nr.941, date 03.10.2012 Court of Appeal accepted the civil claim in the criminal process in the interpretation of any provisions laid down in Article 134 of the penal Code, Article 608, 609, 626 of the civil Code. So it is estimated that the actions of the defendants are unlawful, have appropriated the property of another person having treasured the crime of “Theft” has been completed, which means that the owner or occupier stripped of possession of the property item and the offender not It has appropriated only thing (in this case money) but I enjoyed or freely dispose of them.

For the offense of “Fraud” as required by article 143 of the Criminal Code, the District Court of Tirana decision nr.954, date 23.06.2009 upheld the decision nr. 263, date 26.03.2010 Court of Appeal and was not exercised the right of recourse to the Supreme Court of Tirana, has received a civil lawsuit in the criminal process, forcing the defendant (respondent civil) refund civil plaintiff the X value and the monthly interest to the execution of this decision. Among other court justifies its decision that the defendant's actions that are illegal to classify as a criminal offense provided by article 143 of the Criminal Code, so his actions the defendant has acquired the wealth of a person another injured party (civil claimant) to deceive (abuse of his faith), referring to this fact and unifying decision of the High Court with nr.284/2000.

In this case the judicial practice mention the fact that a civil claim is accepted that at the stage of preliminary investigation by the Prosecutor's Office of Tirana District Court after this suit was dismissed as a civil lawsuit filed for review with the Court of the Tirana Judicial District (Civil Chamber).

Also in 2012 there have been another case in trial, a fact proven by court decision no. 1300, date 28, 09.2012 the Tirana District Court upheld the decision nr.498, date 26.04.2013 Court of Appeal, which is still being tried in the High Court of Tirana.

Specifically under this decision is evidenced among other things that “The defendant was declared innocent by the court, then his actions were not contrary to the law as those that classify as a criminal offense”. If the defendant in this case not as a physical person but the quality of the legal representative of a legal person is obliged by the court to pay a liability classified as civil liability that has no connection with the offense.

For the offense of “Theft through abuse of duty” provided for by Article 135 of the Criminal Code, Tirana District Court decision nr.1487, date 13.06.2014 (still pending issue is not yet reviewed by the Court of Appeal Tirana) has accepted civil lawsuit in criminal proceedings by the injured party to claim that he (the injured)


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caused harm to property and non-property caused by the offense in the form of lower property and non-property damage in the form of violation of name best of the injured party (in this case a legal person). According to the reasoning of this decision it has proved that, proved considerable damage, the damage is caused by

the actions of the defendants, the actions of the defendants were committed with

guilt in the form of intent, the actions of the defendants have caused the violation of

property qualified as a criminal offense by law, subject of the offense it was

mentally accountable and have reached the age of criminal responsibility in this

case to have reached the age of 14, throwing down of other assets is made by the

defendant in order to obtain material for himself and for others, etc...

Likewise judicial practice has proved that the Tirana District Court civil lawsuit is accepted in criminal proceedings for the criminal delinquency of [Reproduction of the work of someone else” provided by article 149 of the Criminal Code. Specifically under this decision on its content turns “The damage civilian injured accuser, consisting of necessary expenses incurred by the party injured accuser / prosecutor for acquired rights in order to legitimate the contractor them for all series children's books authored, which corresponds to the contract price paid by the party injured accuser / prosecutor”. Likewise other damage has been injured accuser / prosecutor's failure to realize revenue from the distribution of a series of books which have acquired the rights, under the law and the contract. The following, inter alia justifies the court that the injured party / accuser is infringing sales market significantly, which means that active unlawful actions of the defendant has caused economic damage under the conditions provided by Article 640 of the Civil Code.

It is worth mentioning that this decision has been appealed to the Court of Appeal that the decision nr.304, date 27.03.2013 set to demolish the decision nr. 1198, date 07.09.2012 Court of Tirana District Court and dismiss the criminal case for the accused, charged with the offense of “Reproduction of the work of someone else”, provided by article 149 of the Criminal Code because law No. 107, date 08.11.2012, Article 5 “To grant amnesty”. The demolition of the above decision on the civil claim in the criminal proceedings and dismissed the case due to lack of its review.

Similarly it needs to be noted that case law has consolidated its position in relation to filing civil lawsuit in the criminal offense of murder provided by Article 76 of Penal Code victim's family. The civil lawsuit in the criminal proceedings in this case made by the families of victims who seek pecuniary and non-pecuniary, funeral expenses, etc., is not accepted to be tried together with the criminal case but, this kind of lawsuit judged by the District Court in which the criminal case was opened but civil room.

Based on the foregoing, other features of civil claim in the criminal process, are: a) The formation of an independent civil procedural report and different,

set inside a process which is prerequisite to criminal procedural report: Construction of Civil Law relationship serves to protect the interests and legal

rights of the party claiming to have been violated by the offense, a lawsuit may be, to seek the restoration of a right or legitimate interest is violated Article 32 of CPC.


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On the other hand, the establishment of a penal process aims punishment of the person who is presumed to have caused the illegal fact that brings legal effect, as the legal relationship which the allegations, as well as one in which all directly interested private parties. Hence, the private parties to build their relations based on the illegal fact, which is the logical prerequisite criminal proceedings.

These reports, based on the concept of normative anticipates together, interact in a single process, while respecting procedural guarantees basic relevant characteristics and rates, which create the necessary respectively space law, with all the differences that characterize the various disciplines.

b) secondary nature of a civil lawsuit in relation to criminal charges: The respective rates for the implementation of the process are provided in the

Code of Criminal Procedure. While the civil, which states the applicant's claim should be applied so as not impede the criminal process, and can serve for an interpretation more detailed institutes in the norms of criminal procedure related to the trial of a civil lawsuit in criminal proceedings.

In Article 61 of the CPC provided that he has suffered material damage from the offense...... can bring a civil action in the criminal proceedings against the

defendant or civil respondent....... So the person who has caused material damage from the commission of an offense, as a rule, represents itself of its rights substantive and procedural, when this fact illegal the court lifted a civil claim, that as a precondition logical procedural criminal proceedings.

But even this rule has its exceptions, when the defendant is a person under the

age of eighteen, when someone else is responsible for the damage caused by him or

caused offense in the capacity of a member of the public or private legal person.7 A

civil claim in criminal proceedings may be brought against any of the parties.

A minor who has reached the age of eighteen, answer it for the illegal

damage caused by him. Parents or guardian are responsible for damage above

when the minor does not earn income from work or own property there, unless

they prove that they could stop the damage caused, Article 614 of the Civil Code. In this case the minor does not have a legal background, so you can not perform themselves validly procedural acts. Besides the lack of causal legitimacy to act, i.e. that his actions acquire rights and obligations, on the

7 The content of the legal entity Article 24 The legal persons are public and private. Article 25 Public legal persons are state institutions and enterprises, financed itself or from the state budget and

other public entities recognized by law as a legal person. State agencies and entities that do not pursue economic purposes, not recorded. Article 26 Private legal entities are companies, associations, foundations and other entities of private character,

who acquire legal personality in the manner prescribed by law.


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other hand lacks formal legitimacy to participate in civil trial, therefore validly perform the procedural acts.

Legal representation in criminal proceedings is mandatory. The parent or guardian enter the process with the quality of the defendant, so that acquire the ability to act both procedural and substantive, after replacing the defendant in civil legal relationship subject to judgment in the criminal process. The civil lawsuit raised against a parent or guardian.

Teachers and others who have custody of minors or persons who teach others

a profession or skill, are responsible for the illegal damage caused to others by the

students or persons in custody, or people who learn a profession or skill at their

cause while they were under their direct supervision, unless they prove that they

could not avoid causing damage, article 615 of the Civil Code. People who supervise or teach minors enter the process with the quality of the responsibility of damage (legitimatio ad causum), and at the same time have full capacity to act only on the procedural depicting civil process. The civil lawsuit can be filed against the person who teaches or supervises.

The employer is liable for damages caused to third parties for the fault of the

employees that are in service, while performing the tasks entrusted to him, Article 618 of the Civil Code. In the Article 619 i of the Civil Code is provided, that if a

person who carries out activities within the office of another, according to his

instructions, without being his employee, is responsible for the damage caused

during the event to the third. Another person is also liable to such person. So, who can not speak for procedural capacity to act of the employee or the person who carries out activities under the duty of another, during the examination of a civil claim in the criminal process. In this case the legitimacy causal to act exceeds the employer or the person in whose name carries legal actions and as a logical consequence there has full capacity to act procedural protection of rights and civilian material interests which is subject to judicial review of the criminal process. A civil claim may be brought against each of the parties.

If the representative's activity in exercise of the powers assigned, bring a

wrongful liability to a third party, the represented is also liable to such person, Article 620 of the Civil Code as well as in the above case civil lawsuit may be brought against the represented as well as against representatives, who under this provision are jointly liable for the damage caused by the representative, then the represented legitimacy causal to act and his right in the process, possessing the capacity to act only for the civil procedural subject to judgment. The civil lawsuit can be filed against any of the parties.

Civil Code provides for liability derivative which lacks direct causal link

between the act or omission and the income effect,8 however, in case the owner or

8 Article 13 of the Penal Code Causal Relationship No criminal liability when there is between the action or omission and the consequences or the

possibility of their arrival, the causal link is missing.


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user of an animal, is civilly responsible for the damage caused by them. The theory of criminal law recognizes the direct responsibility of the owner or user of the illegal animal fact, considered as a (living) for committing the offense, when the behavior is intentional.

To make a civil claim in the criminal process must exist the same fact and this fact be considered by the adversarial party that is intentional. If the owner or user of the animals have the capacity to act and the law does not legitimize any other person to assume his duties, he represented himself in the process, thus having the ability to procedural act in criminal proceedings and in civil process.

Legal problems of this situation arises when a third person has causal legitimacy to act in civil process, which has a logical prerequisite criminal proceedings.9 For these cases should be referred to the procedural capacity to act discussed above.

In a criminal trial, the legal private person or the state can take part in only the plaintiff or civil defendant. In this context of criminal responsibility is always direct and falls on the person who commits illegal fact in excess of the duties provided which allow statute or law, while the legal person responsible derivative or indirect damage caused by persons in performing their duties.

For this reason, where a person appear as civilly sued, always precede the responsibility of derivative or indirect harm civilians, Article 618, paragraph 2 of the Civil Code provided that the legal person is responsible for damage caused by its organs in the performance of their duties.

So that the civil plaintiff may claim civil against a legal person who has the legitimacy causal to act under the provisions of the Civil Code, always when it is required by the civil plaintiff or by the legal entity, which is presented with the quality of civil defendant. The legal person has no procedural capacity to act in the process, but is represented by a legal representative under the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure. Specific is the case when the law legitimizes the State Attorney's intervention.10

3. Legitimization of civil plaintiffs The problem of identification of a civil plaintiff in the criminal process and so

closely related existential relationship with all procedural and has many difficulties in its implementation in practice. It provided legal not to be confused with the legitimacy to act, which consists in identifying the person who has a legal interest to a civil claim in the criminal process, but conceived related to the acceptance or rejection of the review of acts of civil along with unlawful criminal fact of a single process.

The moment in which legitimate civil plaintiff in the criminal process is theoretical and practical very important for private parties during criminal

9 Referring to Articles 614, 615, 618/1, 619 and 620 of the Civil Code. 10 Law No. 10 018, dated 13.11.2008 “On the State Attorney"”.


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proceedings. Legitimization of civil plaintiff in the criminal process two important important phases.

The right of the victim of the offense to claim legitimacy in the criminal process and raised in the preliminary investigation stage, which is defined in Article 58, paragraph 3 of the CPC, which provides, that the injured party has the

right to submit claims to the procedure authiority...... and one of the requirements that may present preliminary injured by the offense is the establishment of civil claim in the criminal process, which appears to the prosecutor.

The prosecutor on the other hand, upon request of the injured takes a decision regarding the legitimacy of the civil plaintiff, legitimization of civil plaintiff may be

made by the procedure authiority......, Article 62 Paragraph 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. In cases where the prosecutor rejects the legitimacy preliminary civil plaintiff, his decision is appealed, as foreseen in paragraph 3 of Article 58 of the CPC that express, that his claim is not accepted by the prosecutor,

he has the right to appeal in court within 5 days of notification. When prosecutor legitimizes civil plaintiff in the criminal process, asking the

court to a second phase of application receipt. This is not an exclusive right of the prosecutor, unless the request to the court of an injured party prosecution. For

preliminary requirements have the right to speak to the prosecutor, the injured to

the indictment, the defendant or his defense, and one representative for each

private party. Not allowed reply, paragraph 2 of Article 354 of the CPC. Acceptance of the application for the participation of the civil plaintiff in the

criminal process is a discretionary right of the court, which is provided in Article 354 paragraph 3 of the CPC. States that the preliminary requests the court disposes of the decision, then it is the court which, in the opinion its interior allows or allow consideration of a civil lawsuit along with criminal charges in a single process.

The law provides the legal basis that justifies refusal court legitimizing civil plaintiff in the criminal proceedings by the prosecutor, when civil lawsuit prevents criminal proceedings,...... the court may impose a civil lawsuit separation and

sending her to civil court if its judgment difficult or criminal deterrent, and based on the constitutional principle that the trial court has an obligation to be performed within a reasonable time,...... anyone in the case of the charges against him, has the

right to a trial within a reasonable time......, Article 42 of the Albanian Constitution. The court's decision is appealable. Accepted judicial practice and called as a civil plaintiff in the criminal proceedings, only the owner of the property because the owner of the property that is acquired, although issued by the hand property has not lost ownership of it.

In addition to the above, the question arises what we mean by “Civil rights and

obligations” and “Criminal charge”? With the obligatory right shall we mean the part of civil law (property), while

the “criminal charges” means “as official notification given to an individual by the

competent authority of an allegation that he has committed an offense”.


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4. The Deadline for legitimizing civil plaintiff

As a general rule, civil plaintiff standing by the prosecutor to make a civil

claim in the criminal proceedings until the court carries out preliminary and has not begun examination of the criminal case, legitimizing civil plaintiff may be made by the proceeding until you get started judicial review of Article 62 paragraph 1 of the CPC and, in a second moment, it is the court that makes a decision to review the civil lawsuit along with criminal acts.

In other words, the legitimization of civil plaintiff in the criminal process in the first stage is the prosecutor and in a second phase during preparatory actions available to decision accepting the civil plaintiff in the criminal process. After this period the provision implies that the civil lawsuit can not be brought on during the trial and therefore can not be civil plaintiff in a standing position and compensation level of the process.

This situation comes as a conclusion of law provided for in paragraph 2 of Article 68 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which states that the deadline provided by paragraph may not be extended. In this case we are before a final deadline, which can not be extended, but can always be omitted or can be extended in cases set out by law.

However, the general rule has its exceptions, which in this case provided by other provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure. We said that the deadline aforementioned was a long cut and as such cannot be extended unless the law otherwise provide, which in Article 145, paragraph 1 of the CPC provided that deadlines cannot be extended are those provided by law in certain cases. These deadlines may be extended only when the law otherwise available.

This prediction corresponds to the legal disposition that makes the Criminal Procedure Code Article 354, paragraph 1 of which states, that requests dealing

with...... legitimization of civil plaintiffs and civil defendants, can not be filed later,

if they are not raised immediately after the identification of the parties, but when

the opportunity arises to set up only during the trial, this data enables objective legal claimant to file civil claims in criminal proceedings before the court makes a final decision.11

The variety of legal situations set out above, the case when the process is restored to the term, the effects of which affect the process at every stage of it, where the law disposes of Article 417 paragraph 1 of the CPC, which provides that......private parties

and defense restored in due time when they prove that they had the opportunity to

observe the deadline due to a fortuitous event or force majeure.

11 Unifying decision of the Supreme Court no. 284, dated 09/15/2000: “...... Civil lawsuit cannot be filed in a proceeding that did not stage Code of Civil Procedure provides.

This procedure cannot start in the court of second instance, as it did the Court of Appeal, as we would be facing a violation of the principle of respect stairs civil proceedings provided for in Article 135 of the Constitution and as described in detail in the procedural law”.


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5. The intervention of civil defendant in the criminal process

(main interference) Criminal Procedure Code, Article 65 and 66 provided for the intervention of

civil defendant in the criminal process. This institute is closely linked to civil procedural norms that provide the intervention of a third party as long as they do not hinder or prolong the criminal proceedings.

Discipline criminal procedure explicitly provides for the intervention of the civil respondent, related to the derivative liability for the damage inflicted by other persons, namely the defendant's civil intervention in terms of intervention treated litispendence. This intervention is considered, interference him referring trial

facility...... it should be or could be called by the plaintiff in the same process with

the defendant, which is not nothing but passive litigants, which is created after the intervention of a third person.12

The intervention of private parties and their affiliation subjective penal process can bring the presence of a third person, i.e. civil defendant in the legal relationship subject to secondary screening criminal civil process. From the foregoing, we conclude that the defendant is presumed to have committed an unlawful fact which derives from criminal and civil consequences materials not always have the capacity and the responsibility for the damage caused, anyone can intervene in a

process that takes place between different persons,...... of the conclusion of the

trial, Article 189 of the Code of Civil Procedure. In these circumstances the procedural entities civilly liable for damage caused

by others, given that to them it filed a civil suit that has precondition logical a criminal proceeding, may intervene in the proceedings as a result of the request made by the civil plaintiff

13 as well as with his will.14

Conclusions The trial in the civil lawsuit criminal proceedings mercy quite necessity of

implementing the substantive and procedural provisions, takes in many aspects of creative character. In a sense it is a complex trial which must be solved at the same time in two different issues. In this trial it is clear the necessity of implementing the standards and requirements set forth by Article 42 of the Constitution of the Republic of Albania and the requirements of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which is now part of our legislation, which guarantees every

12 Brati, A. (2008). “Civil Procedure”, DUDAJ Publishing, p. 136 (adapted). 13 Article 65 of the Criminal Procedure Code. 14 Article 66 of the Criminal Procedure Code.


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individual the right to a fair trial and open in the determination of civil rights and obligations of individuals or of any criminal charge against him.

Court practice has moved the cases accepted civil lawsuit in the criminal process, because the legislator has provided a special protection law in terms of assets (property, classics this review of civil claim in criminal proceedings), the violation of which entails responsibility criminal, four conditions must exist:

– Action / actions have caused harm to the another person property – Action to be illegal – Action to be performed with fault – To exist the causal link – the damage came to be due to the direct action of

the person.

Bibliography: Abdiu, F. (2003). “Civil lawsuit in the Criminal Process of Albainia”, Publications Pex. Brati, A. (2008). “Civil Procedure”, DUDAJ Publishing. Civil Code of Republic of Albania. Code of Civil Procedure of Republic of Albania. Code of the Penal Procedure of Republic of Albania. Law No. 10 018, dated 13.11.2008 “On the State Attorney"”. Penal Code of Republic of Albania. Unifying decision of the Supreme Court no. 284, dated 09/15/2000. “Extract” Unifying Decision no. 284, dated 06. 10. 2000.


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THE LEGAL NATURE OF THE CONTRACT CONCLUDED BY SOLDIERS AND GRADUATED PROFESSIONALS

Lavinia SAVU* Abstract: soldiers and graduated professionals are employed on a contractual basis in

positions provided for this purpose in the organizational states of the military units, for a determined period, according to the level of training, health and skills for fulfilling the military duties. As legal nature, the contract concluded by the soldiers and graduated professionals is an individual contract of employment of particular type, a series of specific features due to the military virtue of the ones rendering the work. The rules governing the work reports of soldiers and graduated professionals are not subject to labor law, even though there are certain incontestable similarities with legal labor reports considered by the Labor Code.

Keywords: work report; employment contract; individual contract of employment of a particular type; military duties; soldiers and graduated professionals

Soldiers and graduated professionals are employed, provides art. 1 paragraph 2

of Law no. 348/20061, updated by Law No. 23/20122 on the status of soldiers and graduated professionals, on a contractual basis in positions provided for this purpose in the organizational states of the military units, for a determined period, according to the level of training, health and skills for fulfilling the military3 duties.

From these provisions, it appears certain that such contracts may be concluded only for a determined period, but cannot be confused4 with the individual employment contracts on a determined period governed by labor law.

In legal literature it was appreciated that “the status of these people is like the one of employees, but differs, in particular, in the power of the hierarchy and disciplinary5 exigency.”

In the doctrine6 was appreciated that "the provisions of the law are not clear enough. On one hand, is used the formulation of employees and employing military units that induce the idea of employees, on the other hand are used specific formulations for the military public official. At first glance, strictly legally, it would be a hybrid legal report, unable to determine with certainty its legal nature, work contract or administrative contract in the sense of the public function legislation."

* Drd. Institutul de Cercetări Juridice,,Acad. Andrei Rădulescu” al Academiei Române 1 Published in the Official Monitor of Romania, Part I, no. 868 of 24 october 2006 2 Published in the Official Monitor of Romania, no. 49 of 20 january 2012 3 Dan Ţop, Tratat de dreptul muncii,editura Bibliotheca, Târgovişte, 2015, p. 26 4 Dan Ţop, Natura juridicǎ a contractului încheiat de soldaţii şi gradaţii voluntari, în Revista românǎ de

dreptul muncii, nr. 2/2007, p. 46-50. 5 Valer Dorneanu, Dreptul muncii, Parte generală, editura Universul Juridic, Bucureşti, 2012, p. 103 6 Ion Traian Ştefănescu, Tratat teoretic şi practic de drept al muncii, editura Universul Juridic, Bucureşti,

2014, p. 35


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It was regarded7 as a named contract, complex, with specific clauses for condition acts as well as for subjective acts, synallagmatic for pecuniary interest, with successive performance, concluded intuitu personae, giving rise to a specific8 employment relationship, with certain features determined by the incidence of public law rules under Law no. 384/2006 updated. It was also said9 that "unlike career soldiers, the soldiers and graduated professionals carry their activity under an employment contract, which is nothing but an individual contract of employment of a particular10 type, or an individual employment contract of determined11 duration with a series of particularities due to the military virtue of those rendering the work, in their case the legal work relations arising directly from this contract".

Even if art. 1 of the Law states that soldiers and graduated professionals constitute a distinct body of military personnel, recruited on a voluntary basis and situated at the bottom of the military hierarchy, between the contract concluded by them and the volunteering contract there are important differences.

In this sense we mention: – if the volunteering contract is a free of charge convention, concluded

between a natural person, referred to as volunteer, and a juridical person, called the beneficiary of volunteering, based on which the first person commits to the second person to perform a public interest activity without obtaining a material compensation, the contract with military units is with pecuniary interest;

– the object of the volunteering contract is a public12 interest activity, while the object of the contract concluded by soldiers and graduated professionals is made up of different performances with military specific;

– The liability for failure or improper performance of the volunteering contract is subject to the rules of the Civil Code, while liability for the contract concluded by the soldiers and professionals is governed neither by the Civil Code, nor by the Labor Code, they respond, according to art. 7 paragraph 1 of the Law “to the same terms provided by law for military personnel in activity”.

Moreover, art. 24 of Law No.78/201413 on the regulation of volunteering in Romania, states that “the provisions of the law do not apply.... to persons to whom are applied the legal provisions relating to the performance of the military service on a voluntary basis.”

Law 384/2006, even in updated form contains no definition of the contract concluded based on its provisions, but from the economy of the texts governing the 7 Dan Ţop, Tratat de dreptul muncii, editura Wolters Kluwer, România, Bucureşti, 2008, p. 41 8 Dan Ţop, Noi aspecte privind raportul de muncă al soldaţilor şi gradaţilor voluntari, Revista română de

dreptul muncii, nr. 1/2009. 9 Alexandru Ţiclea, Tratat de drept al muncii, editura Universul Juridic, Bucureşti, 2014, p. 27 10 Şerban Beligrădeanu, Consideraţii critice asupra diversităţii nejustificate a reglementărilor legale

privind competenţa materială a instanţelor judecătoreşti în domeniul soluţionării conflictelor de muncă, în Revista română de drept privat, nr. 3/2009, p. 29

11 Ion Traian Ştefănescu, Tratat…op.cit, p. 35 12 See in this sense Dan Ţop, Contractul de voluntariat având ca obiect îngrijirea la domiciliu a

persoanelor vârstnice, în Revista română de dreptul muncii, nr. 4/2005, p. 58-62. 13 Published in the Official Monitor of Romania, Part I, no. 469 of 26 june 2014


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status of soldiers and professionals, this contract may be defined, considering art. 1 paragraph 2 of the Law, as an agreement by which soldiers and professionals working within a military unit, in positions provided for this purpose in the organizational states thereof, for a determined period, according to the level of training, health and their skills for fulfilling the military duties.

From this definition and considerations regarding the legal nature of this contract, result the following distinguishing features14:

a) is a bilateral legal act governed by freedom of will principle; b) it is a named contract, regulated as such by the provisions of Law no.

384/2006 with subsequent amendments and additions; c) it can only have two parties, the soldier or graduated professional and the military

unit, the plurality of subjects both active and passive, as for civil contracts is excluded; d) the obligation of the soldier or graduated professional is to do and must be

carried out in nature, excluding the possibility of transformation in damages, and thus the provisions of the Civil Code do not apply;

e) the individual employment contract has synallagmatic character, the obligation of one party being the legal ground for the obligation of the other party;

f) has a pecuniary interest, each party seeking to procure an advantage, the soldier or professional to collect remuneration and the military unit to benefit from his services;

g) it is a commutative contract, both main performances, activity and salary, are known by the parties at the time of conclusion of the first contract or their successors;

h) has intuitu personae character, regarding each party, so that the soldier or graduated professional cannot perform the obligations under the contract through or with other persons, on the other hand the contract cannot be transmitted by inheritance.

At the same time, the error on the person is vice of consent leading to the cancellation of the contract15.

i) is a successive performance contract, as a rule, the activity is spread in time. Therefore, in case of failure or improper fulfillment by one of the parties, of the obligation assigned, there is not a rescission which produces retroactive16 effects.

j) it is affected by an extinctive17 term, as for the individual employment contract concluded for a determined period, but it cannot be affected18 by a suspensive condition or a condition to terminate;

k) is a consensual contract, because it ends by the mere agreement of the parties, this manifestation of will is not accompanied by any form;

l) the assumed obligation is, in principle, of means and not of result, as in the case of the employment contract, the legal19 literature showing that the employee undertakes to perform the work and not to give a final product.

14 Dan Ţop, Tratat de dreptul muncii,editura Bibliotheca, op.cit., p. 29 15 J. Goicovici, Intiutu personae element al cauzei şi obiectului contractului, în Dreptul nr. 8/2006, p. 68-91 16 C. Stătescu, C. Bârsan, Drept civil. Teoria generală a obligaţiilor, ediţia a III-a, Editura All Beck,

Bucureşti, 2000, p. 86. 17 Alexandru Ţiclea, Tratat…2007, op.cit., p. 335. 18 I.T.Ştefǎnescu, Tratat…2007, op.cit., p. 195. 19 N.Voiculescu, Dreptul muncii editura Wolters Kluwer, Bucureşti, 2007., p.13


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m) it is a multiple contract, initially, according to art. 2, “soldiers and graduated professionals are selected for the conclusion of the first contract in this capacity”, for a period of four years followed by fixed-term contracts of 2 or 3 years.

The fact that the special law referred to such fixed-term contracts may not lead to the idea of a similarity with the individual labor contract concluded for a determined period.

As shown in the doctrine, the contracts concluded by soldiers and graduated professionals cannot be confused with individual employment contracts of limited duration governed by labor law, between these two there are important differences20;

– First, the parties to the contract are Romanian citizens, men and women, residing in the country, provides art. 2 of Law no. 384/2006, instead Labor Code states, in art. 2, that its provisions apply also to foreign nationals who have entered into individual contracts of employment in Romania, and as employer only the military units or their commanders and chiefs, to whom the defense ministry has delegated such competence (article 36).

– According to art. 2 paragraph 2 of the Statute of soldiers and graduated professionals, for the fulfillment of the military service as soldiers and graduated professionals, can be recruited and employed citizens aged between 18 and 50 years, as opposed to labor law where the minimum age at which one can conclude individual employment contracts is 16, and the upper limit is 65 years.

– The individual employment contract is usually concluded for an indefinite period and only in certain cases expressly provided by law, is concluded for a determined period, while for soldiers and graduated professionals the rule is given by the employment contracts on determined period of time, art. 35 paragraph 1, showing that at the expiration of the first contract of 4 years, the soldiers and graduated professionals may conclude, successively, new contracts, lasting 2 to 3 years each.

– Art. 40 of the Law states that soldiers and graduated professionals can be moved for work or on request, from a military unit to another, which may be regarded as similar to transfer as a way to change the individual employment contract existing in the labor legislation until the appearance of the 2003 Labor Code.

– In accordance with art. 7 paragraph 1 of the law, the soldiers and graduated professionals have criminal, administrative, disciplinary and material liability, under the same conditions provided by law for military personnel in activity, so they are subject to special laws and not the Labor Code provisions.

– The sanctions imposed for disciplinary deviations are different from those provided for in the Labor Code. According to art. 28, for deviations from military discipline, failure to fulfill duties, breach of military conduct, rules of social coexistence, to soldiers or graduated professionals may be applied only one of the following sanctions: warning; written reprimand; reducing monthly pay with 5% to 20%, for a period of one month to three months; postponement of promotion in rank, for a period of one to two years; disciplinary termination of the contract.

20 Dan Ţop, Tratat… op. cit., p.41


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– The termination of the contract occurs in accordance with art. 45 paragraph 1 of the law, by passing in reserve the soldiers and graduated professionals, or by removal from the military evidences, methods that are not encountered in labor law.

Between the contract concluded by the soldiers and graduated professionals and the individual employment contract there is a number of similarities, as follows:

– the soldier or graduated professional, as the employee perform a particular professional activity in favor of a beneficiary;

– both contracts have intuitu personae character and thus, the obligations of the contract cannot be achieved through representation;

– as the employees, in order to be insured and to receive benefits for performances in the public pension service and other social security benefits, in the unemployment insurance system, from the soldiers and graduated professionals are retained and are transferred social contributions in the amounts and under the same conditions (Article 6);

– soldiers and graduated professionals have the right (art. 12) to annual leave and other leaves (study, additional etc.), like those in employment;

– the soldiers and professionals can be relocated (art. 39), on a maximum of six months with the possibility of extension for the same period;

– the decision on the application of disciplinary sanctions is done in the same conditions as those in labor law, and the disciplinary investigation is mandatory, under penalty of absolute nullity (article 30 paragraph 1), with the exception of warning, exactly like in the employment law.

– the termination of the contract for soldiers and graduated professionals can take place by resignation, under conditions similar to the Labor Code.

– Gradation professional soldiers and termination can take place by resignation under similar conditions Labor Code.

We believe that paragraph. 2 of art. 295 of the Labor Code, according to which its provisions shall be applied with common law title to other legal work reports unfounded on an individual contract of employment, to the extent that special regulations are not complete and their application is not incompatible with the specific of the work report of the soldiers and professionals, may find application in this area, to the extent that is not otherwise disposed.

The rules governing the work reports of soldiers and graduated volunteers are not21 subject to labor law, even though there are certain incontestable similarities with legal work reports considered by the Labor Code.

In conclusion, the contract concluded by soldiers and graduated professionals is an individual contract of employment of a particular type with a number of specific features due to the military virtue of those rendering the work.

21 Dan Ţop, Tratat de dreptul muncii,editura Bibliotheca, op.cit., p. 29


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ALGUNOS ASPECTOS DE LA ORDENCIÓN DEL TIEMPO DE TRABAJO EN EL DERECHO DE LA UNIÓN EUROPEA*

Tatsiana USHAKOVA** Abstract: The study aims to address some aspects of the organization of working time

as regulated in the European Union Law. In particular, the provisions of Directive 2003/88/EC have been studied, and proposals for its reform and particularities of its application in the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union have been analyzed. These aspects are focused through the consequences for the worker and the implications for the companies and for society in general.

Keywords: working time, weekly working time, Directive 2003/88/EC, European Union Law

I. El marco regulador del tiempo de trabajo en la UE La necesidad de regular el tiempo de trabajo obedece a múltiples razones. En

primer lugar, la fijación de los límites se vincula con la salud, la seguridad y la dignidad del trabajador, así como con la conciliación entre la vida laboral y la vida familiar y privada. Este objetivo, que se centra en la figura del trabajador y sus derechos, suele invocarse con frecuencia.

En segundo lugar, la ordenación del tiempo de trabajo no es menos relevante para el buen funcionamiento de la empresa. Su importancia se remonta a las conocidas innovaciones de optimización del tiempo de trabajo, que introdujeron el fordismo y el taylorismo en la era industrial, y que todavía aplican algunas empresas. Sin embargo, más recientemente se vuelve con más frecuencia sobre la importancia capital del enfoque renovado para la productividad y la competitividad empresarial. En este sentido, la distribución del tiempo de trabajo repercute de manera significativa en la capacidad de las empresas para responder a unas circunstancias externas en constante evolución y cambio. Al respecto, la flexibilización de los horarios se plantea como una herramienta efectiva para conseguir ventajas competitivas en materia de costes.

* El presente estudio se ha elaborado en el marco del Proyecto de investigación “Análisis jurídico del

teletrabajo en el Derecho español y comparado. El e-work como modelo de flexibilidad, conciliación y productividad” (DER2013-43615-R), financiado por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad del Reino de España, y dirigido por la Profª. Drª. Lourdes Mella Méndez, y se presentó como ponencia en el Congreso inaugural de la Comunidad CIELO, Oporto (Portugal), los días 30 de septiembre y 1 de octubre de 2016.

** Doctora, Abogada, Profesora Asociada del Área de Derecho del Trabajo y de la Seguridad Social (Universidad de Alcalá)


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En tercer lugar, el tiempo de trabajo trasciende más allá de los intereses de las partes integrantes de la relación laboral tradicional “trabajador-empresario”, y repercute en el interés general de la sociedad. Esto ocurre no solo debido al argumento obvio de que los trabajadores y los empresarios forman parte de la misma, sino también debido a los desafíos de carácter social, demográfico y económico en la sociedad del siglo XXI. Cabe señalar los factores muchas veces mencionados, tales como la incorporación masiva de las mujeres al mercado de trabajo, el envejecimiento de la población, en especial en los países desarrollados, o la reciente crisis económica, que ha obligado a considerar el trabajo como un bien precioso y escaso.

La normativa de la Unión Europea (UE) en vigor intenta dar respuesta a todos los desafíos señalados. El art. 3.1 del Tratado de la Unión Europea (TUE)1 proclama, como finalidad de la Unión, la promoción de sus valores y el bienestar de sus pueblos. En los apartados subsiguientes, se fijan los fundamentos de la política social de la UE: el desarrollo sostenible basado en una economía social de mercado altamente competitiva, tendente al pleno empleo y al progreso social; la lucha contra la discriminación y la exclusión social y el fomento de la justicia y protección sociales; la igualdad entre mujeres y hombres y la solidaridad entre las generaciones; la cohesión económica y social y la solidaridad entre los Estados miembros.

La política social se regula en el Título X del Tratado de Funcionamiento de la Unión Europea (TFUE)2. En virtud del art. 151, se mencionan, como fuentes de inspiración, la Carta Social Europea (CSE), de 1961, y la Carta comunitaria de los derechos sociales fundamentales de los trabajadores (CDSFT), de 1989. De conformidad con estos instrumentos, se establecen los objetivos del fomento del empleo y la mejora de las condiciones de vida y de trabajo, entre otros. Es preciso añadir, como fuentes de relevancia, la Carta de los Derechos Fundamentales de la UE (CDF), de 20003, y el Convenio Europeo para la Protección de los Derechos Humanos y de las Libertades Fundamentales (CDH), de 19504. Las referencias a dichos instrumentos en los Tratados constitutivos ponen de manifiesto los vínculos estrechos, pero no exentos de contradicciones, entre los sistemas normativos de la UE y del Consejo de Europa. Así las cosas, el art. 31 de la CDF de la UE sobre

1 Vid. las versiones consolidados del Tratado de la Unión Europea y del Tratado de Funcionamiento de

la Unión Europea en DOUE C 202/01, de 7 de junio de 2016. 2 Arts. 151-161 del TFUE. 3 La Unión reconoce los derechos, libertades y principios enunciados en la Carta de los Derechos

Fundamentales de la Unión Europea de 7 de diciembre de 2000, tal como fue adoptada el 12 de diciembre de 2007 en Estrasburgo, la cual tiene el mismo valor jurídico que los Tratados (art. 6.1 del TUE). Véase el texto de la Carta en el DOUE C 202/02, de 7 de junio de 2016.

4 La Unión se adherirá al Convenio Europeo para la Protección de los Derechos Humanos y de las Libertades Fundamentales. Esta adhesión no modificará las competencias de la Unión que se definen en los Tratados.

Los derechos fundamentales que garantiza el Convenio Europeo para la Protección de los Derechos Humanos y de las Libertades Fundamentales y los que son fruto de las tradiciones constitucionales comunes a los Estados miembros forman parte del Derecho de la Unión como principios generales (arts. 6.3 y 6.4 del TUE).


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condiciones de trabajo justas y equitativas, relevante en el contexto de este estudio, se basa en el Derecho de la Unión, así como en el art. 3 de la CSE y el art. 26 de la CSE (revisada)5. El art. 31.2 de la CDF garantiza a todo trabajador el “derecho a la limitación de la duración máxima del trabajo y a períodos de descanso diarios y semanales, así como a un período de vacaciones anuales retribuidas”.

De manera más concreta, para la consecución de los objetivos de la política social, el art. 153 del TFUE prevé que la Unión complete la acción de los Estados miembros en los ámbitos de la mejora del entorno de trabajo, para proteger la salud y la seguridad de los trabajadores [153.1(a)] y las condiciones de trabajo [153.1(b)], y que adopte, mediante directivas, las disposiciones mínimas que tendrían que aplicarse progresivamente, teniendo en cuenta las condiciones y reglamentaciones técnicas existentes en cada uno de los Estados [153.2 (b)]6.

Precisamente, en base al apartado 2 del art. 153 (entonces, el art. 137 del Tratado constitutivo de la Comunidad Europea), se adoptó el acto específico en la materia: la Directiva 2003/88/CE, relativa a determinados aspectos de la ordenación del tiempo de trabajo7. La citada Directiva viene a sustituir a la Directiva 93/104/CE homónima8, que establecía las disposiciones mínimas de seguridad y salud en materia de ordenación del tiempo de trabajo en lo que se refiere a los períodos de descanso diario, de pausas, de descanso semanal, a la duración máxima de trabajo semanal, a las vacaciones anuales y a aspectos del trabajo nocturno, del trabajo por turnos y del ritmo de trabajo. La Directiva de 1993 se modificó de forma significativa por la Directiva 2000/34/CE9, y se acordó que, con el fin de clarificar las disposiciones en cuestión, habría que codificarlas en un instrumento nuevo10.

Parece evidente que la mejora de la seguridad, la higiene y la salud de los trabajadores constituye es propósito central de la Directiva 2003/88, puesto que, como anuncian sus disposiciones preliminares, estos valores no pueden subordinarse al interés meramente económico11. Sin embargo, se admiten las posibles repercusiones de la ordenación del tiempo de trabajo en las empresas. En

5 Los Tratados constitutivos no mencionan la CSE (revisada), de 1996, dado que no todos los Estados

miembros la han ratificado. Por ejemplo, España ha ratificado la CSE, de 1961, y ha firmado, pero no ha ratificado la CSE (revisada).

6 Cabe señalar que la política social no pertenece al ámbito de competencias exclusivas de la Unión. Por lo tanto, de acuerdo con el art. 5.3 del TUE, en los ámbitos que no sean de su competencia exclusiva, la UE interviene solo en caso de que, y en la medida en que, los objetivos de la acción pretendida no puedan ser alcanzados de manera suficiente por los Estados miembros, ni a nivel central ni a nivel regional y local, sino que puedan alcanzarse mejor, debido a la dimensión o a los efectos de la acción pretendida, a escala de la Unión. De este modo, se aplica el principio de subsidiaridad.

7 Directiva 2003/88/CE del Parlamento Europeo y del Consejo, de 4 de noviembre de 2003, DOCE L 299/9, de 18 de noviembre de 2003.

8DOCE L 307, de 13 de diciembre de 1993. 9DOCE L 195, de 1 de agosto de 2000.En concreto, se modificó el contenido del art. 1.3, con el fin de

ampliar el ámbito subjetivo de su aplicación a los trabajadores móviles (transportes de pasajeros o mercancías por carretera, vía aérea o navegación interior), “off-shore” (plataformas o buques), así como los médicos en períodos de formación, trabajadores ferroviarios, de telecomunicaciones, servicios de abastecimiento, puertos y aeropuertos.

10 Considerando 1 de la Directiva 2003/88/CE. 11 Considerando 4.


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consecuencia, y a título de excepción, se reconoce la conveniencia de una cierta flexibilidad en la aplicación de determinadas disposiciones, siempre que se garantice la seguridad y la salud de los trabajadores12. Del mismo modo, en unos casos concretos, los Estados pueden establecer excepciones a algunas normas, asegurando los periodos equivalentes de descanso compensatorio13.

Al igual que en la Directiva anterior, se trata de disposiciones mínimas, que abarcan: los periodos mínimos de descanso diario y semanal, las vacaciones anuales, las pausas y la duración máxima de trabajo semanal y los aspectos del trabajo nocturno y por turnos14. Entre las obligaciones que tienen que asumir los Estados de la UE en relación con los trabajadores, destacan las siguientes:

A) un periodo mínimo de descanso diario de once horas consecutivas en el curso de cada período de veinticuatro horas;

B) una pausa de descanso cuando el trabajo diario sea superior a seis horas; C) por cada periodo de siete días, un periodo de descanso ininterrumpido de

veinticuatro horas, al que se añadirán las once horas de descanso diario; D) un periodo de al menos cuatro semanas de vacaciones anuales retribuidas; F) una duración media del trabajo semanal de como máximo cuarenta y ocho

horas, incluidas las horas extraordinarias, por cada periodo de siete días. G) El trabajo nocturno normal no debe exceder las ocho horas como media por

cada período de veinticuatro horas. El art. 2 (1) de la Directiva inicia la lista de definiciones con el término

“tiempo de trabajo”, que comprende “Todo periodo durante el cual el trabajador permanezca en el trabajo, a disposición del empresario y en ejercicio de su actividad o de sus funciones, de conformidad con las legislaciones y/o prácticas nacionales”. Cabe matizar que el art. 14 admite la no aplicación de los conceptos establecidos a los supuestos específicos contemplados en otros actos de la UE en materia de ordenación del tiempo de trabajo en determinados sectores o actividades

12 Considerando 15. 13 Considerando 16. Como se explica en el resumen sobre la Directiva, las autoridades estatales

pueden utilizar periodos de referencia, que oscilan entre catorce días y cuatro meses, para calcular los periodos de descanso semanal y la duración máxima del tiempo de trabajo semanal. Asimismo, cabe establecer excepciones a la legislación para los ejecutivos dirigentes y otras personas con poder de decisión, los trabajadores en régimen familiar y los responsables religiosos. Además, pueden preverse exenciones para las actividades de guardia y vigilancia que exijan una presencia continua con el fin de garantizar la protección de bienes y personas; la continuidad del servicio o de la producción, en ámbitos como hospitales, puertos, aeropuertos, los medios de comunicación y la agricultura; un aumento previsible de la actividad (en particular, la agricultura, el turismo, los servicios postales, el transporte ferroviario, en caso de accidente), y las excepciones acordadas en convenios colectivos entre empresarios y trabajadores. La Directiva no se aplica a los trabajadores móviles (toda persona que realice el transporte pasajeros o mercancías por carretera, vía aérea o navegación interior) ni a la gente del mar. Citado por: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/ES/TXT/?uri=URISERV%3Ac10418 (consultado el 20 de julio de 2016).

14 Véase el resumen sobre la Directiva en: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/ES/TXT/?uri=URISERV%3Ac10418 (consultado el 20 de julio de 2016).


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profesionales. A la vez, tratándose de normas mínimas, los Estados pueden establecer y aplicar las disposiciones más favorables (art. 15).

En todo caso, el art. 2 (1) comprende tres elementos de la definición del tiempo de trabajo o, si se quiere, los periodos de permanencia del trabajador:

A) en el trabajo; B) a disposición del empresario, y C) en ejercicio de su actividad o de sus funciones. Sin embargo, la Directiva no deja claro si los requisitos mencionados tendrían

que darse simultáneamente o, por el contrario, bastaría con la existencia de uno de ellos para que el periodo de tiempo en cuestión se considere como tiempo de trabajo15.En su jurisprudencia sobre la Directiva 93/104, la predecesora de la norma actual, con un concepto de tiempo de trabajo idéntico, el Tribunal de Justicia (TJ o TJUE) ofreció aclaraciones sobre este particular y otros aspectos relacionados con el concepto. De hecho, los pronunciamientos del Tribunal sobre el tiempo de trabajo y el tiempo de descanso han sido y siguen siendo abundantes, con repercusiones importantes para los legisladores y jueces de los Estados miembros.

Volviendo a los requisitos del concepto, resulta relevante la Sentencia del TJ, de 3 de octubre de 2000, que resuelve las cuestiones prejudiciales sobre la interpretación de la Directiva 93/104, entre otras, relativas a la definición del tiempo de trabajo, planteadas por el Tribunal Superior de Justicia de la Comunidad Valenciana16. El TJ decide que debe considerarse como tiempo de trabajo en su totalidad el tiempo dedicado a atención continuada de los médicos de Equipos de Atención Primaria en régimen de presencia física en el centro sanitario; mientras que la prestación de servicios en régimen de localización solo puede definirse en el mismo sentido si se trata de la prestación efectiva de atención17. Para distinguir entre las dos situaciones, el Tribunal hace referencia a las Conclusiones del Abogado General Saggioen y acepta que, si bien en ambos casos se da el requisito de estar a disposición del empresario, puesto que los médicos deben estar localizables, en el segundo, los trabajadores pueden disponer de su tiempo con

15 Véase, al respecto, el análisis de Mena Álvarez, A., “Estudio jurídico del concepto de ‘tiempo de

trabajo’ en el marco legal español y marco legal de la Unión Europea”, noviembre 2015, pp. 9 y ss. disponible en: www.forelab.es (consultado el 15 de julio de 2016).

16 STJ, de 3 de octubre de 2000, en el asunto SIMAP (C-303/98). Esta sentencia ha tenido repercusión en muchos casos posteriores, entre otros: STJ, de 5 de octubre de 2004, en los asuntos Pfeiffer (C-397/01), Roith (C-398/01), Süβ (C-399/01), Winter (C-400/01), Nestvogel (C-401/01), Zeller (C-402/01) y Döbele (C-403/01); STJ, de 9 de septiembre de 2003, en el asunto Jaeger (C-151/02); STJ, de 12 de octubre de 2004, en el asunto Wippel (C-313/02); STJ, de 1 de diciembre de 2005, en el asunto Dellas y otros (C-14/04); STJ, de 15 de abril de 2008, en el asunto Impact (C-268/06); STJ, de 21 de octubre de 2010, en el asunto Accardo y otros (C-227/09); STJ, de 14 de octubre de 2010, en el asunto Union syndicale… (C-428/09); STJ, de 25 de noviembre de 2010, en el asunto Fuβ (C-429/09); STJ, de 3 de mayo de 2012, en el asunto Neidel (C-337/10); STJ, de 26 de marzo de 2015, en el asunto Fenoll (C-316/13); STJ, de 10 de septiembre de 2015, en el asunto Federación de Servicios Privados… (C-266/14), así como recursos presentados por la Comisión contra Alemania (C-5/00), España (C-132/04), Reino Unido (C-484/04) e Irlanda (C-87/14).

17 Párr. 52 de la STJ en el asunto SIMAP.


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menos limitaciones y atender a sus asuntos personales18. En todo caso, el TJ alude a los elementos característicos del concepto de tiempo de trabajo (en plural) cuando califica como tal el régimen de presencia física de los médicos en el centro19. Dicha fórmula hace pensar que, al menos en el supuesto analizado, no es suficiente el requisito de la permanencia a disposición del empresario20. No obstante, en el contexto de la transformación de las relaciones laborales, no sería prudente pronunciarse de manera definitiva sobre la necesidad de concurrencia de todos o tan solo de dos elementos. Más bien, sería conveniente dejar dicho aspecto a la apreciación del juez en cada caso concreto.

Junto con los tres requisitos mencionados, otro aspecto importante para la definición del tiempo de trabajo es su contraposición con la de periodo de descanso o “todo período que no sea tiempo de trabajo” [art. 2(2)]. Las disposiciones preliminares aclaran que el “concepto de descanso debe expresarse en unidades de tiempo, es decir, días, horas o fracciones de los mismos. Los trabajadores… deben poder disfrutar de períodos mínimos de descanso diario, semanal y anual, y de períodos de pausa adecuados. En este contexto, es conveniente establecer… un límite máximo de duración de la semana de trabajo”21. La jurisprudencia del TJ insiste en este particular, resaltando la importancia de un límite de cuarenta y ocho horas como duración máxima del tiempo de trabajo semanal e incluyendo en dicho límite las horas extraordinarias22.

Finalmente, aunque el concepto de tiempo de trabajo de la UE remite a la legislación y la práctica nacionales, el TJ consideró que los conceptos de tiempo de trabajo y de período de descanso reflejados en la Directiva no deben entenderse en función de las disposiciones de las diferentes normativas nacionales, sino que constituyen conceptos del Derecho de la UE, y tienen que interpretarse según características objetivas, en armonía con el sistema y la finalidad de la Directiva23. En su Sentencia, de 9 de septiembre de 2003, que versaba sobre las cuestiones prejudiciales de un órgano judicial alemán, similares a las del asunto SIMAP, el Tribunal remitió a sus interpretaciones previas del concepto de tiempo de trabajo, e insistió en la importancia de su aplicación uniforme en todos los Estados miembros. Dejó claro que la referencia señalada a la legislación y práctica nacionales no significa que los Estados puedan determinar unilateralmente el alcance de dicho concepto. Tampoco pueden someter a condición alguna el derecho de los trabajadores a que se tomen debidamente en cuenta los periodos de

18 Párr. 50 de la STJ en el asunto SIMAP. 19 “[L]os elementos característicos del concepto de tiempo de trabajo se dan en los períodos de

atención continuada de los médicos de Equipos de Atención Primaria en régimen de presencia física en el centro sanitario”. Párr. 48.

20 Mena Álvarez, Loc. cit., p. 11. 21 Considerando 5 de la Directiva 2003/88. 22 Párrs. 37 y 38 de la STJ en el asunto BECTU (C-173/99); párr. 46 de la STJ en el asunto Jaeger (C-

151/02); párr. 40 de la STJ en el asunto Grigore (C-258/10) y párr. 23 de la STJ en el asunto Federación de Servicios Privados… (C-266/14).

23 Párr. 58 de la STJ, de 9 de septiembre de 2003, en el asunto Jaeger (C-151/02).


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trabajo y, correlativamente, los de descanso. Cualquier otra interpretación pondría en peligro el objetivo pretendido de armonizar la protección de la seguridad y la salud de los trabajadores mediante las disposiciones mínimas24.

La jurisprudencia del TJ ha contribuido a la aplicación uniforme de la Directiva, pero, a la vez, ha provocado objeciones por parte de los Estados implicados. En este sentido, se han formulado propuestas para su modificación25.

II. Dinámica de una revisión Como se ha adelantado, tradicionalmente, la regulación del tiempo de trabajo

se centraba en el objetivo de compensar los efectos negativos del exceso de trabajo y, de este modo, proteger la salud y la seguridad de los trabajadores. Este enfoque se aplica en la regulación de la Directiva 93/104 y su sucesora, la Directiva 2003/88. Sin embargo, más recientemente, se ha producido el desplazamiento desde el enfoque en la seguridad y la salud de los trabajadores hacia la necesidad de potenciar la productividad y la competitividad de las empresas, junto con otros aspectos, tales como la conciliación entre la vida laboral y familiar y privada y la creciente variedad de modelos de trabajo26.

Desde el año siguiente de la adopción de la Directiva 2003/88, la Comisión propuso su modificación en tres puntos concretos:

A) clarificar el concepto del tiempo de guardia, con arreglo de la interpretación del TJ en los asuntos SIMAP, Jaeger y Dellas;

B) permitir al legislador nacional que amplíe el periodo de referencia para calcular la media del tiempo de trabajo semanal hasta un máximo de doce meses, y

24 Párrs. 45 y 75 de la STJ, de 12 de noviembre de 1996, en el asunto Reino Unido c. Consejo (C-

84/94) y párr. 59 de la STJ en el asunto Jaeger. En el mismo sentido, los párrs. 44 y 45 de la STJ en el asunto Dellas y otros (C-14/04); párr. 26 del Auto en el asunto Vorel (C-437/05); párr. 44 del Auto en el asunto Grigore (C258/10), y párr. 28 de la STJ en el asunto Federación de Servicios Privados… (C-266/14).

25 Véase la Comunicación de la Comisión al Parlamento Europeo, al Consejo, al Comité Económico y Social Europeo y al Comité de las Regiones: Revisión de la Directiva sobre el tiempo de trabajo (primera fase de la consulta de los interlocutores sociales a nivel de la Unión Europea con arreglo al artículo 154 del TFUE), COM(2010) 106 final, de 24 de marzo de 2010; Comunicación de la Comisión al Parlamento Europeo, al Consejo, al Comité Económico y Social Europeo y al Comité de las Regiones: Revisión de la Directiva sobre el tiempo de trabajo (segunda fase de la consulta de los interlocutores sociales a escala europea con arreglo al artículo 154 del TFUE), COM (2010) 801 final, de 21 de diciembre de 2010, e Informe de la Comisión al Parlamento Europeo, al Consejo, al Comité Económico y Social Europeo y al Comité de las Regiones relativo a la aplicación por los Estados miembros de la Directiva 2003/88/CE («la Directiva sobre el tiempo de trabajo»), COM(2010) 802 final, de 21 de diciembre de 2010. En cuanto a las propuestas de reforma anteriores, véase el estudio de Ferradans Caramés, C., “La controvertida reforma de la Directiva sobre la ordenación del tiempo de trabajo”, Temas Laborales, nº 86, 2006, pp. 97-132. La información más actualizada puede sobre las propuestas de reforma puede consultarse en: http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=706&langId=en&intPageId=205

26 Véase COM (2010) 106 final, de 24 de marzo de 2010, p. 6.


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C) reexaminar la posibilidad de autoexclusión del límite de cuarenta y ocho horas de la media de tiempo de trabajo semanal, de conformidad con lo previsto en el art. 22 de la Directiva27.

Posteriormente, durante el debate en los años 2004-2009, el Parlamento y el Consejo añadieron otros puntos: la conciliación de la vida laboral y familiar y el tratamiento de situaciones especiales (los trabajadores autónomos y los trabajadores que tienen más de un empleo a la vez28.

A su vez, varios interlocutores sociales han destacado características distintivas de sus sectores que deben tenerse en cuenta en la regulación del tiempo de trabajo: la estacionalidad, los ritmos de trabajo particulares, la oferta de alojamiento residencial en el lugar de trabajo, el trabajo basado en conocimientos, el trabajo en zonas alejadas, la oferta de servicios las veinticuatro horas del día, las funciones esenciales para la seguridad, la rápida fluctuación de la demanda, el aumento del empleo a tiempo parcial, los costes, las presiones competenciales y las carencias de capacidades29.

Los empresarios (Business Europe, la UEAPME y el CEEP) han expresado su conformidad con los argumentos de la Comisión sobre una propuesta más amplia30. No obstante, Business Europe y la UEAPME insistieron en la importancia especial de la cuestión sobre del tiempo de guardia, tanto para el sector privado como público. Asimismo, varias organizaciones patronales han apoyado la flexibilidad como un modelo beneficioso para los trabajadores y los empresarios. Además, todas las organizaciones patronales interestatales coinciden en que las normas actuales son demasiado rígidas y complejas.

Al contrario, la CES y otros sindicatos se han mostrado críticos con el análisis de la Comisión31. A su juicio, no se ha tenido debidamente en cuenta la relevancia de las normas sobre el tiempo de trabajo ni el objetivo plasmado en los Tratados constitutivos de mantener y mejorar la protección la salud y la seguridad de los trabajadores. Con todo, la Directiva no se aplica correctamente en los Estados miembros, también porque la Comisión no ha cumplido con sus obligaciones de defender el Derecho de la UE. Además, varios sindicatos manifestaron sus dudas acerca de la imposibilidad alegada por los Estados interesados de ejecutar las sentencias SIMAP y Jaeger. Valga recordar, al respecto, que los arts. 154 y 155 del TFUE atribuyen a esta Institución un papel crucial en la formulación de las propuestas y la promoción del diálogo entre los interlocutores sociales, así como y el art. 156 la faculta para impulsar la colaboración entre los Estados.

Dadas las opiniones de los interlocutores sociales, la Comisión ha llegado a decidir sobre varios puntos clave en las opciones para la revisión de la Directiva32.

27 COM (2004) 607; COM (2005) 246 y COM (2010) 106 final. 28COM (2010) 106 final, de 24 de marzo de 2010, p. 6. 29 COM (2010) 801 final, de 21 de diciembre de 2010, p. 4. 30Ibid. 31Ibid. 32 COM (2010) 801 final, de 21 de diciembre de 2010, p. 10.


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Ante todo, ha descartado la posibilidad de suprimir los requisitos mínimos comunes a nivel de la UE y dejar que el tiempo de trabajo se regule a nivel local o nacional. En esta postura, se apoyó en lo establecido por el TJ en varias sentencias33 y confirmado por la gran mayoría de interlocutores sociales. Y, a partir de esta premisa inicial, ha marcado dos grandes opciones: hacer una revisión limitada a determinados aspectos o una revisión más ambiciosa34.

La primera opción consiste en proponer nuevas soluciones, centradas en las cuestiones del tiempo de guardia y el descanso compensatorio, y abordar las dificultades de la aplicación de la jurisprudencia SIMAP-Jaeger. Estas dos cuestiones se consideran especialmente importantes en los servicios públicos que deben garantizar la continuidad del servicio las veinticuatro horas del día (por ejemplo, en la atención sanitaria pública, los cuidados en residencias y los servicios de bomberos y de emergencia), dan origen a un número considerable de casos de incumplimiento y provocan inseguridad jurídica. Atendiendo al criterio de la Comisión, sería conveniente que los propios interlocutores sociales interesados adaptasen una solución, por ejemplo, en forma de un acuerdo marco, en virtud de los arts. 154 y 155 del TFUE.

La segunda opción, al igual que la primera, contempla abordar las dos cuestiones mencionadas, pero también supone proporcionar un conjunto más completo de cambios. Con esta opción, la revisión busca tener más en cuenta los cambios de los ritmos de trabajo y las tendencias descritas anteriormente, pero también pretende analizar de manera más holística los problemas de salud y seguridad que acarrea el exceso de horas de trabajo. Entre los aspectos para un análisis más completo, se señalan: una mayor flexibilidad para los nuevos ritmos de trabajo; el equilibrio entre el trabajo y la vida privada ante las nuevas realidades demográficas; los trabajadores con poder de decisión autónomo; los contratos múltiples; el ámbito de aplicación de la Directiva y los problemas sectoriales específicos; las opciones de no aplicación, las vacaciones anuales retribuidas.

Dicha opción incluye algunas mejoras en lo que respecta a los requisitos formales de la Directiva. En particular, constituye la codificación de la jurisprudencia más importante del TJ para precisar las disposiciones que plantean incertidumbre. La Comisión admite que la estructura del Instrumento es confusa, su texto es difícil de entender y contiene normas obsoletas. Se solapan algunas excepciones y disposiciones, por ejemplo, las normas sobre los periodos de referencia.

En cuanto al cumplimiento, la Comisión expresa su disposición a apoyar la cooperación y el intercambio de buenas prácticas entre las autoridades nacionales y

33 El TJ ha señalado en varias ocasiones que las disposiciones de la Directiva sobre la duración

máxima el trabajo, las vacaciones anuales retribuidas y el tiempo mínimo de descanso “constituyen […] normas del Derecho social comunitario de especial importancia, de las que debe disfrutar todo trabajador”. STJ en los asuntos Dellas (C-14/04), FNV (C-124/05) e Isère (C-428/09).

34 COM (2010) 801 final, pp. 10 y ss. En las líneas siguientes, se resume el planteamiento de las dos opciones descritas con más detalle en la Comunicación citada.


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los interlocutores sociales. En este propósito, sirven de inspiración los intercambios sobre el uso del teletrabajo y los convenios marco sobre formas de trabajo innovadoras para ofrecer continuidad en los cuidados en los servicios públicos con garantía de la calidad de las condiciones de trabajo. En concreto, se sugiere el establecimiento de un comité de expertos sobre el tiempo de trabajo en la UE.

El resultado más importante de la segunda fase de la consulta de los interlocutores sociales, iniciada en diciembre de 2010, fue la oportunidad de recabar la opinión de todas las partes interesadas sobre el tiempo de trabajo. En noviembre de 2011, se decidió iniciar las negociaciones. Sin embargo, no ha sido posible alcanzar un acuerdo. A falta del entendimiento entre los representantes de los trabajadores y de los empresarios, la Comisión debe tomar una decisión sobre la revisión de la Directiva. Actualmente, está llevando a cabo un estudio detallado de todos los factores para tener debidamente en cuenta las repercusiones sociales y económicas de la nueva propuesta35.

III. Repercusiones para el trabajador

Antes se ha insistido en el hecho de que el punto central de la Directiva

2003/88 es la protección de la salud, la higiene y la seguridad de los trabajadores, que no puede subordinarse a consideraciones de carácter económico. De hecho, debemos recordar que el fundamento jurídico para la adopción de la Directiva anterior a la vigente fue el art. 118A del TCE, que pretendía promover la mejora del medio de trabajo para proteger estos aspectos, con la armonización como objetivo del progreso36. En su momento, esto provocó un recurso de anulación presentado por el Reino Unido que, entre otros motivos, cuestionaba la base jurídica, en general, y la adecuación del art. 118A, en particular37. Es interesante destacar que, según el Reino Unido, el tenor literal del artículo permitía adoptar directivas cuyo objeto tuviese una relación objetiva y auténtica con la seguridad y la salud de los trabajadores, y que no presentaban tal característica las medidas

35 Citado por Working Time Directive, en:

http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=706&langId=en&intPageId=205 (consultado el 20 de julio de 2016).

36 El art. 118 A del TCE rezaba: “1. Los Estados miembros procurarán promover la mejora, en particular, del medio de trabajo, para proteger la segundad y la salud de los trabajadores, y se fijarán como objetivo la armonización, dentro del progreso, de las condiciones existentes en ese ámbito. 2. Para contribuir a la consecución del objetivo previsto en el apartado 1, el Consejo, con arreglo al procedimiento previsto en el artículo 189 C, previa consulta al Comité Económico y Social, adoptará, mediante directivas, las disposiciones mínimas que habrán de aplicarse progresivamente teniendo en cuenta las condiciones y regulaciones técnicas existentes en cada uno de los Estados miembros. Tales directivas evitarán establecer trabas de carácter administrativo, financiero y jurídico que obstaculicen la creación y el desarrollo de pequeñas y medianas empresas. 3. Las disposiciones establecidas en virtud del presente artículo no serán obstáculo para el mantenimiento y la adopción, por parte de cada Estado miembro, de medidas de mayor protección de las condiciones de trabajo, compatibles con el presente Tratado”.

37 STJ de 12 de noviembre de 1996, en el asunto Reino Unido c. Consejo (C-84/94).


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referentes a la duración semanal del tiempo de trabajo, las vacaciones anuales retribuidas y los periodos de descanso, pues la relación entre estos dos grupos de valores parecía demasiado sutil38. En cambio, el TJ dio una interpretación amplia del art. 118A y desestimó el recurso, salvo en la parte relativa al descanso dominical.

Hoy en día, queda confirmado el vínculo entre la seguridad y la salud en el trabajo, por un lado, y la duración máxima del trabajo y los periodos de descanso diario y semanal y de las vacaciones retribuidas, por otro. El art. 31 de la CDF de la UE acoge ambos grupos de derechos de los trabajadores bajo el título “condiciones de trabajo justas y equitativas”. Junto con el precepto del artículo citado, hay que tener en cuenta el art. 33 “vida familiar y vida profesional” que garantiza la protección de la familia en los planos jurídico, económico y social, y vela, aunque de manera algo más limitada de los que dictan las tendencias modernas, por la conciliación de la vida familiar y la vida laboral y privada.

A falta de medidas de flexibilidad propuestas en el marco de la modificación de la Directiva 2003/88, siguen siendo de aplicación las disposiciones originarias y ampliamente interpretadas pos el TJ. Al respecto, cabe resaltar que las disposiciones de los arts. 1 a 8 de la Directiva en vigor están redactadas en términos esencialmente idénticos a los de los arts. 1 a 8 de la Directiva 93/104, en su versión modificada por la Directiva 2000/34. Por lo tanto, siguen siendo válidas las indicaciones del Tribunal en relación con ambos instrumentos39.

En su jurisprudencia más reciente, el TJ ha vuelto a reiterar que la Directiva tiene por objeto establecer disposiciones mínimas, entre ellas, la duración del tiempo de trabajo, destinadas a mejorar las condiciones de vida y de trabajo de los trabajadores40. Se les debe permitir que disfruten de periodos mínimos de descanso, en particular, de descanso diario y semanal y de periodos de pausa adecuados, estableciendo un límite de 48 horas como duración máxima del tiempo de trabajo semanal. Es importante recordar que, en dicho límite máximo, se incluyen las horas extraordinarias. En especial, según lo establecido en los asuntos SIMAP, Jaeger y Dellas, el TJ subrayó que cada hora de los periodos de guardia debe contabilizarse como tiempo de trabajo, aspecto que tiene especial relevancia en el sector sanitario. Estas precisiones tienen que ver con la permanencia del trabajador en el lugar del trabajo.

No obstante, debido a la evolución de la relación laboral, se ha considerado necesario precisar los aspectos temporales más controvertidos que plantean los trabajadores que gozan de un mayor grado de autonomía, por ejemplo, aquellos que carecen de centro de trabajo fijo o habitual o que utilizan las nuevas tecnologías.

Así, en el asunto Federación de Servicios Privados, se contabilizó como tiempo de trabajo el tiempo de desplazamiento que los trabajadores dedican a

38 Párr. 15. 39 Párr. 22 de la STJ en el asunto en el asunto Federación de Servicios Privados… (C-266/14). 40 Párr. 23 de la STJ en el asunto en el asunto Federación de Servicios Privados… (C-266/14).


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diario para recorrer los trayectos entre su domicilio y los centros del primer y del último cliente asignados por su empresario41. De esta manera, el Tribunal no solo no toma en consideración el criterio de definición del tiempo de trabajo vinculado a la permanencia en el lugar de trabajo, sino que, además, parece prescindir del requisito del ejercicio de la actividad o las funciones por el trabajador. Si lo primero es evidente, ya que los trabajadores carecen de lugar de trabajo, lo segundo puede resultar contradictorio, puesto que los desplazamientos en sí no constituyen la esencia de trabajo con los clientes, aun cumpliendo con el itinerario trazado por el empresario. Con todo, el TJ continúa con su línea interpretativa para asegurar la protección de los trabajadores, en el sentido de que el tiempo de trabajo y el tiempo de descanso se excluyen mutuamente, y no se contempla una categoría intermedia entre dichos períodos42.

Del mismo modo, el factor tecnológico dificulta la aplicación rigurosa de los criterios característicos del tiempo de trabajo establecidos por la Directiva. Se ve afectado no solo el requisito del lugar de trabajo, sino también de la permanencia a disposición del empresario. Esto último tiene repercusiones importantes en dos contextos distintos.

En primer lugar, debe valorarse la posibilidad real que tiene el empresario de cumplir con la normativa de prevención de los riesgos laborales, incluidos los psicosociales, y de asegurar que el trabajador disfrute de manera efectiva de su tiempo de descaso43. Al respecto, cabe recordar la jurisprudencia del TJ. En cuanto a la prevención de los riesgos, es significativo el asunto Comisión c. Italia, en que el Tribunal establece la obligación de la empresa de evaluar los riesgos de todo tipo, y no solo físicos y biológicos44. Al hilo de este pronunciamiento, la normativa italiana tuvo que ampliar el concepto e incluir los riesgos de naturaleza psicosocial.

Por lo que respecta a la obligación de asegurar el descanso, como da a entender el TJ en el asunto Comisión c. el Reino Unido

45, el empresario tiene el deber de garantizar que el trabajador, incluso aquel que dispone de cierta autonomía y poder para autoorganizarse, observe de manera efectiva su derecho al descanso. Con ese objetivo, puede ser necesario realizar una vigilancia específica del mismo y de su salud y, en su caso, adoptar las medidas que resulten necesarias y adecuadas en cada supuesto. Al respecto, en su Propuesta de revisión parcial de la Directiva, la Comisión señala el problema de los contratos múltiples46. El cumplimiento de los periodos de trabajo máximos y los tiempos de descanso

41 Párr. 51 de la STJ en el asunto en el asunto Federación de Servicios Privados… (C-266/14). 42 Párrs. 25 y 26 de la STJ en el asunto en el asunto Federación de Servicios Privados… (C-266/14).

Sobre este particular, véase el apartado “Sobre las consecuencia jurídicas del incumplimiento de los tiempos de descanso”, en Mella Méndez, L., “Nuevas tecnologías y nuevos retos para la conciliación y la salud de los trabajadores”, Trabajo y Derecho. Nueva Revista de actualidad y Relaciones laborales, nº 16, abril 2016, pp. 30-52.

43 Mella Méndez, Loc. cit. 44 STJ, de 15 de noviembre de 2001, en el asunto Comisión c. Italia (C-49/00). 45 STJ, de 7 de septiembre de 2006, en el asunto Comisión c. Reino Unido (C-484/04). 46 COM (2010) 801 final, p. 14.


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mínimos puede resultar imposible si el empresario desconoce la existencia de otro empleo (o empleos).

En segundo lugar, y suponiendo que el empresario tuviese las herramientas adecuadas para controlar los aspectos mencionados anteriormente, cabe plantear el problema de la protección de la privacidad del trabajador. Al respecto, y a título de ejemplo, conviene plantear una serie de interrogantes en relación con el tratamiento de datos personales. La jurisprudencia del TJ es cada vez más explícita en cuanto a la salvaguardia de los derechos humanos contemplados en la CDF. Las cuestiones prejudiciales planteadas por las instancias judiciales nacionales impulsan la reflexión del Tribunal sobre este particular. Por ejemplo, en la petición de decisión prejudicial en el asunto Puškár y otras, el tribunal eslovaco solicita la interpretación de varios artículos de la Carta47. Aunque no se trata de un caso del ámbito laboral, puede resultar pertinente en el contexto que nos interesa. Así, se requiere la precisión del art. 47 sobre la tutela judicial efectiva a la luz del derecho a la intimidad, en lo que respecta al tratamiento de los datos personales del art. 1.1 y siguientes de la Directiva 95/46/CE48, y de los arts. 7 (el derecho al respeto de la vida familiar y personal, al domicilia y las comunicaciones) y 8 (el derecho a la protección de los datos de carácter personal), conjuntamente con la obligación de los Estados de garantizar el derecho a la intimidad, o bien para permitir el tratamiento de datos personales cuando sea necesario para la salvaguardia del interés público, o el interés legítimo perseguido por el responsable del tratamiento. En este sentido, podría estar en juego el valor de la salud y la seguridad del trabajador.

En el mismo asunto, se pide aclarar el modo de proceder de un juez nacional, de conformidad al derecho a la tutela judicial efectiva y a un juez imparcial, consagrado en el art. 47 de la CDF49, en el supuesto de que exista jurisprudencia del Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos (TEDH) sobre un tema similar. La coherencia de los pronunciamientos del TEDH y del TJUE es relevante, teniendo en cuenta la Sentencia del primero en el caso Bǎrbulescu, discutida ampliamente, sobre la protección de los datos personales de un trabajador50. Recordamos que el Tribunal de Estrasburgo ha decidido que un empresario puede controlar el correo electrónico profesional de sus empleados, sin que ello suponga una vulneración del

47 Petición de decisión prejudicial, de 10 de febrero de 2016, en el asunto Puškár y otras (C-73/16). 48 DO L 281, de 23 de noviembre de 1995. 49 Art. 47 reza: “Toda persona cuyos derechos y libertades garantizados por el Derecho de la Unión

hayan sido violados tiene derecho a la tutela judicial efectiva respetando las condiciones establecidas en el presente artículo. Toda persona tiene derecho a que su causa sea oída equitativa y públicamente y dentro de un plazo razonable por un juez independiente e imparcial, establecido previamente por la ley. Toda persona podrá hacerse aconsejar, defender y representar. Se prestará asistencia jurídica gratuita a quienes no dispongan de recursos suficientes siempre y cuando dicha asistencia sea necesaria para garantizar la efectividad del acceso a la justicia”.

50 STEDH, de 12 de enero de 2016, en el asunto Bǎrbulescu (61496/08). Sobre la Sentencia, véase entre otros, Morales Valléz, C.E., “El control de los medios tecnológicos por el empresario a la luz de la Sentencia del TEDH de 12 de enero de 2016”, CEF, Laboral Social, febrero 2016.


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art 8 del CEDH sobre el derecho a la intimidad, y, en consecuencia, despedir al trabajador que incumple el código de conducta interno51.

De conformidad con la argumentación del TEDH, si no se considera abusiva la verificación por parte del empresario de que los trabajadores cumplan con sus obligaciones durante el horario del trabajo, podría resultar legítima la intervención del empresario por los mismos medios para asegurar el descanso efectivo. En todo caso, en su voto particular, el magistrado portugués Pinto de Albuquerque lamentaba que el TEDH no aprovechase esa oportunidad para profundizar en el tema de la privacidad de las comunicaciones a través de internet de los trabajadores. En cambio, la UE aprobó recientemente un nuevo Reglamento en la materia para reforzar la protección de los datos personales, y regular algunas cuestiones emergentes52.

IV. Consecuencias para la empresa

Frente a la necesidad de proteger la seguridad y la salud de los trabajadores

mediante la introducción de las horas máximas de trabajo y las horas mínimas de descanso, surge la demanda de flexibilizar los límites indicados para aumentar la productividad y competitividad de las empresas. En especial, se reclama flexibilidad en los sectores que están sometidos a fluctuaciones es sus ciclos de actividad53. Del mismo modo, al respecto hay que tener en cuenta factores como el modelo de relaciones laborales o el tamaño de la empresa.

En parte, la regulación en vigor toma nota de estos aspectos. Debe recordarse que la Directiva 2003/88 introduce algunas disposiciones para evitar la excesiva rigidez en la ordenación del tiempo de trabajo. Por ejemplo, en el cálculo del límite de 48 horas del tiempo de trabajo semanal, se parte de una media de las horas semanales con arreglo a un “período de referencia”. Normalmente, este periodo no puede superar los cuatro meses. Excepcionalmente, se amplía hasta un máximo de seis meses en algunas actividades, o bien, mediante convenio colectivo, de hasta

51 Cabe señalar que la Corte de Apelación de Bucarest ha afirmado que el empresario tiene el derecho

y la obligación de garantizar el funcionamiento de la empresa y comprobar la forma en que sus empleados realizan sus tareas profesionales. A tal efecto, el empresario puede monitorizar y transcribir las comunicaciones, máxime cuando el trabajador había sido advertido contra el uso de recursos de empresa para fines personales. De este modo, el Alto Tribunal desestimó el recurso de apelación y conformó la Sentencia de la instancia inferior, con amparo en la Directiva 95/46/CE, relativa a la protección de las personas físicas en lo que respecta al tratamiento de los datos personales y a la libre circulación de estos datos. Ha reconocido que la conducta del empresario había sido razonable y que la vigilancia de las comunicaciones había sido el único método para establecer si se había producido la infracción disciplinaria. Véase, Morales Valléz, Loc. cit., p. 2

52 Reglamento (UE) 2016/679 del Parlamento Europeo y del Consejo, de 27 de abril de 2016, relativo a la protección de las personas físicas en lo que respecta al tratamiento de datos personales y a la libre circulación de estos datos y por el que se deroga la Directiva 95/46/CE (Reglamento general de protección de datos), DOUE L 119/1, de 4 de mayo de 2016. La derogación de la Directiva 95/46/CE producirá efecto a partir del 25 de mayo de 2018.

53 COM (2010) 106 final, p. 9, y COM (2010) 801, p. 9.


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doce meses en cualquier actividad. Adicionalmente, los Estados miembros pueden establecer excepciones a lo dispuesto, en particular, cuando se trata de ejecutivos dirigentes u otras personas con poder de decisión autónomo, trabajadores en régimen familiar, o trabajadores de las organizaciones religiosas (art. 17.1).

En este sentido, las PYME y otras empresas, que trabajan en sectores o en países con escasa tradición de negociación colectiva, se han manifestado a favor de ampliar el período de referencia básico de cuatro meses, alegando la situación de desventaja. La propuesta empresarial al respecto versaba sobre la posibilidad de permitir que el legislador nacional establezca un periodo de referencia de hasta doce meses54. Respectivamente, las empresas abogaron por una mayor flexibilización de los descansos diarios y semanales55.

Debe recordarse que las iniciativas mencionadas se formularon en el apogeo de la crisis económica, y con la licencia de las reformas para aumentar el poder empresarial llevadas a cabo en muchos países europeos. En gran medida, las propuestas reproducían los intentos anteriores, en particular, la Propuesta de Directiva de la Comisión, de 2004, cuyo propósito se sentaba en adaptarse mejor a las preferencias de los empresarios y trabajadores y a los nuevos modelos de ordenación del tiempo de trabajo56.

Con todo, cabe preguntarse si la flexibilidad, entendida en el sentido del aumento de periodo de referencia hasta los doce meses no solo mediante la negociación colectiva sino también mediante la legislación nacional, no supondría un mayor grado de rigidez. Parecería más lógico que la flexibilidad se caracterizase por un mayor poder de negociación de los interlocutores sociales, a saber los representantes de los trabajadores y de los empresarios. En cambio, el aumento del periodo de referencia hasta doce meses por el legislador reduciría la margen de maniobra de los interlocutores y, en consecuencia, llevaría a una mayor rigidez en la regulación del tiempo de trabajo. Del mismo modo, como contrapartida, el aumento del periodo de referencia supondría prescindir del mecanismo opt-out, y, por lo tanto, aumentar la rigidez de la opción empresarial también por esta vía.

En realidad, la seguridad que obtendrían las empresas para aumentar el periodo de referencia podría tornarse ilusoria, dado que, en cualquier caso, no se suprimiría el control judicial vinculado al bien protegido de la salud y la seguridad en el trabajo. Aun con el periodo de referencia de hasta un año legalmente establecido, podrían darse casos paradójicos de condena de la empresa. Valga 54 Ibid. 55 COM (2010) 106 final, p. 10. 56 “En la Propuesta de Directiva presentada por la Comisión en septiembre de 2004, en la letra b) del

artículo 16, se prescribe que el período de referencia normal se mantiene en cuatro meses. Sin embargo, los Estados miembros, y no sólo la negociación colectiva, podrán ampliar este período a un año. Correlativamente, se suprime la posibilidad dispuesta en los apartados 1 y 3 del artículo 17, así como la prevista en los párrafos primero y tercero del artículo 19 y en el apartado 2 del artículo 20 de la Directiva, de introducir ciertas excepciones al período de referencia de cuatro meses, puesto que se entiende que si la legislación nacional puede llegar a fijar un período de referencia de un año, ya no es necesario prever una excepción que permita ampliar dicho período a seis meses”. Citado por Ferradans Caramés, Loc. cit., p. 105.


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recordar que, en la etapa muy temprana del trabajo a distancia (telecommuting), ideado por Jack Nilles para reducir los costes de transporte (esto es, con el objetivo nuevamente alegado de aumentar la productividad y la competitividad), se consiguió el ahorro de los desplazamientos de los trabajadores hacia su lugar del trabajo57. Ahora bien, en el caso del TJ ya citado, sucedió lo contrario: se obligó a la empresa a correr con los gastos de desplazamiento de los trabajadores, al considerar como tiempo de trabajo los desplazamientos diarios entre su domicilio y los centros del primer y del último cliente asignados por el empresario58.

V. Trascendencia para la sociedad Sin duda, el debate sobre la revisión del concepto europeo del tiempo de

trabajo supera la oposición entre la protección de los trabajadores y el rendimiento de las empresas, y tiene que considerarse en el contexto del interés general.

De nuevo, debemos recordar que la Directiva tiende a establecer cierto equilibrio entre la garantía de la seguridad y la salud en el trabajo y la flexibilidad en la aplicación de determinadas disposiciones59. La prioridad que se le otorga a la seguridad y la salud de los trabajadores no tiene que entenderse exclusivamente como medida para favorecer a este colectivo, sino junto con el beneficio que proporciona a la empresa y a la sociedad.

Como se ha afirmado antes, la CDF acogió en un artículo único dos valores relevantes: la protección de la seguridad, la salud y la dignidad del trabajador (31.1) y la necesidad de garantizar los periodos máximos del tiempo de trabajo (31.2). En este sentido, puede establecerse un vínculo entre los bienes protegidos mencionados y la conciliación de la vida familiar y la vida laboral (art. 33). En esta línea de ideas, la conciliación no opera únicamente en beneficio del trabajador. Su debido reconocimiento y protección aporta ventajas para la sociedad en su conjunto. En la Comunicación sobre la revisión de la Directiva, la Comisión aboga por tener en cuenta este aspecto para abordar grandes cambios en el mundo del trabajo que afectan a todos sin excepción: la incorporación masiva de las mujeres al mercado laboral, el envejecimiento de la población activa y la individualización de los modos de vida de los trabajadores de todas las edades60.

Así las cosas, conviene diseñar una regulación integral que tenga en cuenta todos los factores señalados. En el modelo de la revisión limitada, la Comisión

57 Véase, entre los primeros estudios de Nilles, editados en 1976 y reeditados posteriormente: Nilles, J.

M. et al., The Telecommunications-Transportation Tradeoff: Options for Tomorrow, Booksurge Publishing, United States, 2007, y Nilles, J. M., Making Telecommuting Happen: A Guide for Telemanagers and Telecommuters, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1994, y, en relación con el concepto de teletrabajo, Ushakova, T., “El teletrabajo en el Derecho de la OIT”, Revista de información laboral, nº 9, 2015, pp. 55-75.

58 Párr. 51 de la STJ en el asunto en el asunto Federación de Servicios Privados… (C-266/14). 59 Considerando 15. 60 COM (2010) 801 final, p. 13.


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propone paliar la laguna existente al introducir en la Directiva la obligación de los empresarios de informar sobre los cambios en los horarios colectivos, o sobre la solicitud de los cambios en los horarios individuales61. Se trata de una herramienta útil en la lógica de la flexiseguridad.

Otro aspecto relevante para la sociedad en general es el desafío de asegurar unos servicios de calidad, propios de un Estado social, por un lado, y el coste económico considerable del personal implicado en estos servicios. La Directiva tiene en cuenta este particular cuando establece la prevalencia de las normas específicas para el tiempo de trabajo de algunas categorías de trabajadores62, o admite excepciones63. Es bien conocida la polémica suscitada por la ordenación del tiempo de trabajo en el sector sanitario a la luz de la jurisprudencia del TJ algo gravosa para el presupuesto del sector. En este sentido, y en el supuesto que nos ocupa, es preciso garantizar la seguridad del paciente impidiendo que preste servicios de salud y emergencia el personal cuyas aptitudes y capacidades se vean afectadas por el agotamiento y el estrés de largas jornadas de trabajo. El argumento señalado puede aportar una razón de peso para mantener la línea jurisprudencial marcada.

Con todo, queda en evidencia una insuficiente oferta de personal cualificado en los sectores de interés público, y una creciente necesidad de mejorar las condiciones de trabajo y proporcionar un equilibrio entre la vida laboral y la vida familiar y privada.

VI. ¿Hacia más inseguridad para todos? La propuesta de flexibilizar los períodos máximos de duración del tiempo de

trabajo se fundamenta y se justifica como una panacea para la consecución de los objetivos económicos, políticos y sociales en un panorama del mercado de trabajo en constante evolución. No obstante, cabe reflexionar sobre un posible efecto negativo o, al menos inesperado, de las medidas propuestas.

No queda más remedio que insistir sobre la necesidad de preservar los periodos máximos que garantizan la salud y la seguridad en el trabajo. Volvemos a subrayar que esa regulación, con una serie de excepciones ya previstas, no solo proporciona condiciones de trabajo justas a los trabajadores, sino también asegura el modus operandi para los empresarios. Con todo, el valor de la seguridad jurídica, que aporta la ordenación del tiempo de trabajo, juega a favor de todos.

Sin duda, una mayor flexibilidad contribuye a cultivar ventajas inmediatas para la empresa. Sin embargo, el efecto positivo sobre la productividad y el ahorro de costes podría resultar mucho más efímero de lo esperado. En los estudios más recientes, hechos públicos por la OIT, se ha advertido sobre las consecuencias

61 Ibid. 62 Considerando 14. 63 Art. 17.


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nefastas de las nuevas tendencias en el trabajo como overtime, trabajo atípico e inestable, o novísimas tecnologías64. Los así llamados modern times (demasiado prolongados, demasiado cortos o demasiado inseguros, con el factor tecnológico añadido) conllevan estrés, bajada del rendimiento e imposibilidad de conciliar la vida laboral y privada. El aumento detectado de los riesgos psicosociales pone en duda que la flexibilidad permita aumentar la productividad a medio y a largo plazo. Más bien, crecerían los costes de la empresa y el gasto público correspondientes para afrontar las situaciones sobrevenidas. De paso, merece la pena estudiar la sostenibilidad del Estado social con un creciente número de contribuyentes precarios y de grupos de población beneficiarios de las ayudas y asistencia sociales.

En cuanto al argumento jurídico de peso, reiteramos lo anteriormente dicho. Una mayor incertidumbre legal sobre el tiempo de trabajo dejaría a la discreción del empresario su fijación, aspecto que ya habían potenciado medidas anticrisis, permitiendo abusos, consentidos o no; y, en el supuesto de conflicto, fomentaría la discrecionalidad del juez a la hora de valorar si las horas trabajadas permiten salvaguardar la seguridad y la salud del trabajador (criterio que servirá siempre de referencia en la jurisprudencia de la UE).

El continente europeo sigue en cabeza por el número de países que mantienen las 48 horas como periodo máximo del tiempo de trabajo semanal. La mayoría de países establece las 40 horas semanales, como límite universal para todos los trabajadores65. No debe olvidarse que las 8 horas diarias y las 48 horas semanales han constituido las exigencias fundamentales de los trabajadores incluso antes de la creación de la Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT) en 1919. Por esta razón, el Convenio núm. 1 de la OIT fijó los estándares laborales relativos al tiempo de trabajo.

Compartimos la opinión de que la solución de los problemas que plantean las nuevas formas de trabajo y las nuevas tecnologías no debe consistir exclusivamente en la flexibilización de los periodos máximos del tiempo de trabajo (o la flexibilización de las técnicas de su cálculo y de la introducción de las nuevas excepciones), sino en la organización más adecuada del proceso productivo y en la gestión inteligente y responsable de los recursos humanos.

64 Ghosheh, N., Remembering rest periods in law: Another tool to limit excessive working hours, ILO,

Geneva, 2016, pp. 4-6. 65 Según la definición de Clerc, que utiliza la OIT en su estudio, debe distinguirse entre el período

habitual (o normal) del trabajo semanal y el periodo máximo, establecidos en la legislación laboral. Las horas normales fijan el límite de horas que no puede superarse durante la jornada diaria o a lo largo de la semana, sin tener en cuenta las horas extraordinarias. Ghosheh, op. cit., p. 2.


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ISSUES REGARDING THE UNCONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE PROVISIONS OF ART. 52 PARAGRAPH (1)

SUBPARAGRAPH B) OF THE LABOUR CODE

Anca LĂCRARU* Abstract: The suspension of the individual employment contract, as the cause of

temporary cessation of the employee's activity has an important impact on the employee in terms of remuneration and the other rights deriving from the employment contract. This fact draws even more attention to the legal provisions in the field, aiming, at legislative level, to obtain some special legal provisions compatible with the regulatory documents of a superior force in relation to them, and at practical level, to avoid committing abuses by the employers and to secure the employees' rights. Within this article, we presented the evolution of the compatibility of the provisions of the Labour Code with the provisions of the Constitution in terms of the suspension of the individual employment contract by the employer in case of a criminal complaint for committing by the employee of a criminal offence incompatible with his function, the way in which the law courts apply these decisions in judicial practice and the consequences produced by the decisions of the guarantor of compliance with fundamental law.

Keywords: Suspension of the individual employment contract, criminal complaint, proportionality, unconstitutionality

1. Introduction By regulating the provisions of Art. 52 paragraph (1) subparagraph b) of the

Labour Code to suspend the individual employment contract, in case of a criminal complaint against the employee or if it is prosecuted for acts which are incompatible with his function, it was intended to respect the dignity of the employee in carrying out his function, in the sense that allowing the employee to continue working after committing acts incompatible with his function means facilitating the employee to continue committing further such acts, so that the suspension of the contract in such a case should be an obligation, as required by Law no. 1/1970 repealed, and not only a power1. In his relations with the public, the employer is directly responsible, which is why he must offer sufficient guarantees on the quality and legality of the activity performed by his employees. In this way, the institution of the suspension of the individual employment contract is a protection measure of the employer.

*Avocat, doctorand la Institutul de Cercetări Juridice al Academiei Române 1 Al. Ţiclea, Treaty on Labour Law – 2nd Edition, Universul Juridic Publishing House, Bucharest, 2007, p.

516.


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We shall also look at this legal text from a criminal perspective, where filing a criminal complaint without the need for at least the initiation of criminal proceedings in personam (against the employee and not generally the act), criminal proceedings certifying the existence of clear evidence about a crime, does not justify in our view, the possibility of taking that measure by the employer. The offence is not established by the mere fact of filing a criminal complaint, but after a full criminal trial ended with a conviction solution. So, inclusively until this thesis I of Art. 52 paragraph (1) subparagraph b) is declared to be unconstitutional, it raises some questions about the fairness of taking such a measure by the employer in the absence of clear evidence of committing an act which is incompatible with the function held by the employee.

2. Paper content The provisions of Art. 52 paragraph (1) subparagraph c) of the Labour Code

according to which "the individual employment contract may be suspended by the

employer if the employer has filed a criminal complaint against the employee or he

was prosecuted for criminal offences which are incompatible with his function,

until the judgment becomes final", have been the object of some exceptions of unconstitutionality even since 2003.

The Constitutional Court, in its case law, delivered several decisions by which it initially rejected the exception of unconstitutionality of the provisions of Art. 52 paragraph (1) subparagraph b) of the Labour Code, based on the provisions of Art. 16 paragraph (1) of the Constitution on the equality of citizens before the law and public authorities, Art. 23 paragraph (11) on the presumption of innocence, Art. 24 on the right to defence, Art. 41 paragraph (1) on the right to work, and Art. 53 on the restriction of some rights or freedoms.

Thus, in a first Decision no. 24 as at 22 January 20032 the Court held that the criticism regarding infringement of the presumption of innocence is unfounded as "taking the measure of suspending the individual employment contract, the

employer does not take a decision on the employee being guilty or not, nor on his

criminal liability, all these being matters whose settlement falls within the purview

of judicial bodies. The employer can only file a criminal complaint against the

employee if there are sufficient data and indices concerning the fact that the

employee has committed a criminal offence which is incompatible with his

function, requesting the competent authorities to solve the case. In this situation or

when he is informed about the prosecution of the employee for committing an

offence of the same nature, he can take the measure of suspension. The measure of

suspension lasts until the judgment becomes final, having a provisional character." On the same occasion, the Court pointed out that even if the act for which it was

2 Published in the Official Journal of Romania, Part I, no. 72 as at 5 February 2003.


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filed a criminal complaint or it was sent to trial does not attract criminal liability, it may constitute misbehaviour that can provide the basis for the dissolution of the employment contract3.

The Court concluded that the presumption of innocence, within the meaning of the Constitution, is a measure of constitutional protection of individual liberty, applicable therefore in criminal law and procedural criminal law. By the provisions of the said fundamental law text it was stated that until the judgment of conviction becomes final, the person accused to have committed a criminal offence shall be presumed innocent. In relation to these, the power to take the measure of suspension, given to the employer, by the legal provision criticized, does not violate the presumption of innocence enshrined in the Constitution4.

In another Decision no. 520 as at 11 October 20055, the Constitutional Court concluded that the provisions of Art. 52 paragraph (1) subparagraph b) of the Labour Code are constitutional and do not violate the provisions of Art. 16 paragraph (1) on the equality of citizens before the law and public authorities, Art. 24 on the right to defence, Art. 41 paragraph (1) on the right to work, and Art. 53 of the Constitution on the restriction of certain rights or freedoms, as "the criticized

legal provisions shall equally apply to all employees who are in identical

situations, without any privilege or discrimination. The provisions of Art. 52

paragraph (2) of the Labour Code, in addition to the remedies granted to the

employee whose employment contract was suspended, represent also guarantees in

order to prevent the abusive behaviour of the employer. Whereas the legal

provisions examined do not restrict the exercise of any fundamental right, the

provisions of Art. 53 of the Constitution are not related to this case."

At the same time, by Decision no. 926 as at 18 October 20076, the guarantor of the supremacy of the Constitution stated that the provisions of the Labour Code do not infringe Art. 24 paragraph (1) of the fundamental law on the right to defence, Article 41 paragraph (1) on the right to work, or Art. 6 paragraph 2 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms on the presumption of innocence as "the employee who does not agree with the measure

of suspension of the individual employment contract arranged by the employer

pursuant to Art. 52 paragraph (1) subparagraph c) of the Labour Code may apply

to the court under Art. 284 of the Labour Code, where he can exercise the right of

defence throughout the entire trial, inclusively the right to have a lawyer. Also, the

employee's right to work is not infringed because paragraph (2) of Art. 52 provides

that, if the concerned person is found to be innocent, the employee shall

3 Paragraph 14 of DECISION no. 279 as at 23 April 2015 on the exception of unconstitutionality of the

provisions of Art. 52 paragraph (1) subparagraph b) of Law no. 53/2003 – the Labour Code, published in the Official Journal No. 431/17.06.2015.

4 Al. Ţiclea, Treaty on Labour Law – 10th Edition, updated, Universul Juridic Publishing House, Bucharest, 2016, p. 726.

5 Published in the Official Journal of Romania, Part I, no. 985 as at 7 November 2005. 6 Published in the Official Journal of Romania, Part I, no. 773 as at 14 November 2007.


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recommence his previous activity, being paid a compensation equal to the salary

and the other rights he was deprived of during the suspension of the employment

contract. As for appealing, in support of the exception, to the provisions of Art. 6,

paragraph 2 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and

Fundamental Freedoms on the presumption of innocence, the Court finds that these

regulations are not related to the case, given that this principle applies only to

criminal liability. The criminal complaint shall be based on data and clues related

to the employee committing an offence which is incompatible with his function, and

the existence or absence of guilt shall be determined only by final judgment." Subsequently, by Decision no. 86 as at 27 January 20117, in relation to the

identical criticism of unconstitutionality based on the breach of the provisions of Art. 23, paragraph (11) on the presumption of innocence, Art. 24 on the right to defence, Art. 41 paragraph (1) on the right to work, and Art. 53 on the restriction of certain rights or freedoms, the Constitutional Court rejected the exception of unconstitutionality on the grounds that since no new elements intervened, such as to justify changing the case law of the Constitutional Court, those stated in the decisions delivered on these issues to date shall also remain valid in this case.

By all these decisions the Constitutional Court established the constitutionality of the legal provisions criticized in relation to the provisions of the fundamental law on the presumption of innocence, the right to work and equal rights.

The Court finds that, by the decisions mentioned above, it answered the criticism concerning the measure of suspending the individual employment contract provided for by Art. 52 paragraph (1) subparagraph b) of Law no. 53/2003, without making any distinction between the two sentences of this legal text, namely the first sentence, on the suspension of the contract due to the filing of the previous complaint by the employer against the employee, and the second sentence, on the individual employment contract suspension if the employee is prosecuted for criminal acts which are incompatible with his function8.

After the numerous unconstitutional attempts, the Constitutional Court gives effectiveness to the exception of unconstitutionality and declares as unconstitutional the provisions of Art. 52 paragraph (1) subparagraph b) the first sentence of the Labour Code.

The exception of unconstitutionality was upheld by Decision no. 279 as at 23 April 20159, being concluded that "after the test of proportionality of the measure

of suspending the individual employment contract in the case provided by Art. 52

paragraph (1) subparagraph b) the first sentence of the Labour Code (namely

achieving a fair balance between the right to work and the employer's right to take

the measures necessary for the proper functioning of the economic activity), aiming

7 Published in the Official Journal of Romania, Part I, no. 165 as at 8 March 2011. 8 Paragraph 18 of DECISION no. 279 as at 23 April 2015 on the exception of unconstitutionality of the

provisions of Art. 52 paragraph (1) subparagraph b) of Law no. 53/2003 – the Labour Code, published in the Official Journal No. 431/17.06.2015.

9 Published in the Official Journal of Romania, Part I, no. 431 as at 17 June 2015.


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at the measure of the restriction of the right to work, the suspension of the

individual employment contract as a result of filing a criminal complaint by the

employer against the employee does not meet the condition of proportionality, the

measure being excessive in relation to the objective to be achieved, so that the

provisions of Art. 52 paragraph (1) subparagraph b) the first sentence of Law no.

53/2003 are unconstitutional". The arguments which led the Court to declare unconstitutional those

provisions of the Labour Code are based on the definition of the principle of proportionality previously developed by the Court by Decision no. 266 as at 21 May 2013 and Decision no. 462 as at 17 September 2014, paragraph 30, according to which "any measure taken must be appropriate – objectively able to lead to the

accomplishment of that purpose, necessary – indispensable in order to achieve the

aim and proportionate – the fair balance between the concrete interests in order to

be appropriate to the aim pursued."

As regards the proportionality of the measure regulated by Art. 52 paragraph (1) subparagraph b) the first sentence of Law no. 53/2003, respectively the achievement of a fair balance between the multiple rights, namely the right to work and the employer's right to take the measures necessary to the good running of the economic activity, the Court concludes that the suspension of the individual employment contract, at the employer's initiative, when there are grounds to consider that the employee's illegal activity would jeopardize the employer's interests, must be subject to some conditions in order to ensure that this measure is not arbitrary. In other words, the Court considers that, since the law provides the employer the possibility to suspend the individual employment contract in order to protect its economic interests, as an expression of Art. 45 of the Constitution, such a measure, with far-reaching consequences on the employee's rights, must be accompanied by the guarantee of an objective and duly substantiated decision of the employer. In this regard, the Court concludes that the suspension measure determines the temporary cessation of the obligations of the parties that arise from the individual employment contract and, in the case of the legal text analyzed, the cause for suspension does not operate by law nor is an expression of the employee's will, but the employer's will. Moreover, the Court concludes that, unlike in other socio-professional categories, when the suspension operates as a result of the initiation of the criminal action and/or prosecution, acts which are ordered by magistrates, having an objective nature, extrinsic to the relations between the person who carries out the professional activity and the institution, the authority or the professional body he is a part of, the suspension of the employment contract according to Art. 52 paragraph (1) subparagraph b) the first sentence of Law no. 53/2003 may be ordered by the employer as a result of the criminal complaint filed by himself against the employee, on his will also depending, the cause for the suspension of the employment contract and the setting up of that measure. In those circumstances, the Court considers that meeting the guarantees of objectivity and rationality of the decision of suspension issued by the employer


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can be easily questioned, since Art. 52 paragraph (1) subparagraph b) the first sentence of Law no. 53/2003 leaves the assessment of the suspension reason, in its entirety, to the employer whose decisions are likely to be regarded as subjective and sometimes even abusive, particularly in the context of employment contractual relations which, by their nature, involve a significant human interaction. Thus, we should not overlook that these relations imply a subordination of the employee to the employer, characterized by the performance of a work under the authority of the employer, who has the duty to give orders and directives, to control the work performed and to sanction the violations committed by employee.

As regards the applicability of this decision of unconstitutionality in pending cases, the solutions found in judicial practice are different.

Thus, we encounter cases, even less, when the courts have not applied the Constitutional Court Decision no. 279/23.04.2015 in pending cases in which it can be appealed a decision of suspension based on the provisions of Art. 52 paragraph (1) subparagraph b) the first sentence of the Labour Code, adopted before the delivery and publication of the Decision of the Constitutional Court, but also cases, in the vast majority of cases, in which the courts have upheld the employees' appeal pursuant to the Constitutional Court Decision no. 279/23.04.2015.

In the first case, of non-application of Decision No. 279/23.04.2015 in pending cases, we give as example Civil Decision no. 8506/19.09.2016 delivered by the Bucharest Tribunal, Chamber VIII of labour disputes and social insurance10, by which the court ruled that: ”In relation to the existence of Decision no. 279/23.04.2015 the court concluded that as regards the effects of the decisions of the Constitutional Court, the source of the matter is represented by the provisions of Art. 147 paragraph (4) of the Constitution under which decisions shall be generally binding and effective only for the future. Art. 147 paragraph (1) of the Constitution provides, in regard to the laws and ordinances in force, declared unconstitutional, that they cease their legal effects within 45 days as from the

publication of the decision of the Constitutional Court if, during this time the

Parliament or the Government, as appropriate, do not harmonize the

unconstitutional provisions with the provisions of the Constitution. During this

period, the provisions declared to be unconstitutional shall be suspended by law. Or, on the date of issuing the suspension, the provisions of Art. 52 paragraph

(1) subparagraph b) of the Labour Code was constitutional, so that the decision taken was based on a law that benefited of the presumption of constitutionality.

Thus, we can speak of a possible cease of the effects of that decision, an application with which the court is not vested, the lawsuit being governed by the principle of availability, the court being obliged to consider the application for the reasons of fact and law invoked by the holder of the application within the limits of vesting.

10 Civil Decision no. 8506/18.09.2015 delivered by the Bucharest Tribunal, Chamber VIII of labour

disputes and social insurance in case no. 41395/3/2014, not published.


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The conditions that the suspension of the individual employment contract becomes incident, as provided above, are that the employer files a criminal complaint against the employee for criminal offences which are incompatible with his function.

The court concludes that on the date of delivery of the decision to suspend, 27.10.2014, the appellee had already filed a criminal complaint as at 14.10.2014, being created case file no. 14330/P/2014, the acts being incompatible with the function held by the appellant.

Accordingly, for the foregoing, the court shall reject the application as unfounded.”

A contrary solution, in majority but in practice, by which it was applied the Constitutional Court decision in pending cases, can be found in Decision no. 673/2016 delivered by the Court of Appeal of Bucharest on 09.02.2016, a decision which also points out the consequences of implementing the decision of the Constitutional Court.

According to that judgment, the court of appeal decided that ”the trial court rightly held that being in the presence of a pending cause at the time of publication of Decision no. 279/2015, this decision has legal consequences in the case.

First the Court points out that there is no question of the employer's fault or his failure to comply with the legal provisions at the time of delivery of the decision for suspending the employee's individual employment contract. Simply we are in the situation in which the Constitutional Court reconsiders its practice and the need to apply the decision of finding the unconstitutionality of the legal provisions that form the basis for the delivery of the decision to suspend the employment contract, all causes which are related to the provisions of Art. 52 paragraph (1) subparagraph b) of Law no. 53/2003.

The appellant's allegations to the effect that in the light of Decision no. 279/17.06.2015, the suspension of the individual employment contract of the appellee represents an exhausted legal relation, cannot be accepted. Thus, it is true that the decision to suspend the individual employment contract was delivered by the employer in 2014, but its effects were produced from delivery continuously (in the sense that labour relations between the parties remained suspended) until when the trial court has found the nullity of that decision, by the decision appealed. Consequently, we are not in the presence of a legal relation exhausted, but in the presence of a decision of the employer that had effects at the time when it was submitted to be analysed by the trial court.

We are not even in the situation of an infringement of the principle of non-retroactivity of civil law provided for by Art. 15 of the Romanian Constitution.

Under Art. 147 paragraph 4 of the Romanian Constitution: The decisions of the

Constitutional Court are published in the Official Journal of Romania. Since

publication, the decisions are binding and effective only for the future. The only interpretation for these constitutional provisions is that the decisions

of the Constitutional Court delivered in the settlement of some unconstitutionality exceptions do not apply to situations exhausted and have not been disputed nor for


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the cases already solved, meaning that there are no grounds for reversal of judgment the delivery of the decision of admission of the unconstitutionality exception if the exception was not raised in those cases.

The provision of opposability erga omnes for the future of the Constitutional Court decisions for the safety of the legal circuit aims to ensure the safety of the legal circuit, in the meaning that the delivery of a decision to uphold an unconstitutionality exception cannot determine the reopening of judgment in cases definitively settled, where the unconstitutionality exception was not invoked.

But this does not mean that the decisions of the Constitutional Court do not apply to pending causes, for the pending cases, such as this one. Erga omnes opposability of the decisions of the Constitutional Court at the time of their publication in the Official Journal makes it impossible to ignore the unconstitutionality of the legal text declared to be unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court, by the trial courts vested with hearing of the causes to which the unconstitutional text is related.

Moreover, the measure of suspending the individual employment contract takes effect successively and subsequently to the delivery by the Constitutional Court of Decision no. 279/2015 on the exception of unconstitutionality of the provisions of Art. 52 paragraph (1) subparagraph b) of Law no. 53/2003, the effects of the suspension of the individual employment contract fall within the incidence of the effects of declaring the unconstitutionality of Art. 52 paragraph (1) subparagraph b) the first sentence of Law no. 53/2003 – the Labour Code.

As for the date from which there can be granted salary rights, the Court finds that the trial court rightly ordered the appellant company to pay the appellee-appellant the salary rights related to the function from which the applicant was suspended during the period when the employment contract was suspended.

A first indication is that putting the parties again in the previous situation and implicitly obliging the appellant-appellee to pay the salary rights for the period of suspension of the employment contract is not made under the provisions of Art. 52 paragraph (2) of the Labour Code, because that legal text is applicable only if the suspension of the employment contract had been legally ordered, under a constitutional legal provision and, subsequently to the suspension, the employee had been found innocent in relation to the act for which the employer had filed a criminal complaint.

The Court finds that in this situation putting the parties again in the previous situation is a result of the annulment of the decision to suspend the individual employment contract, a result provided by the provisions of the Civil Code if annulling/finding invalid a civil legal act.

Given that the provisions of the Labour Code do not expressly provide which are the consequences of annulling a decision to suspend the individual employment contract, the only applicable legal provisions in question are those of the Civil Code, provisions which supplement the provisions of labour law according to Art. 278 paragraph (1) of the Labour Code.


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Therefore, bearing in mind that the main effect of the declaration/finding of the invalidity of a civil legal act is putting the parties again in the previous situation, it is considered that the annulled act – in this case the decision to suspend the individual employment contract – was never concluded legitimately and, consequently, it was never legally ordered the suspension of the employment relationship. It operates a fiction of law in the sense that it is considered that the employment relationship took place between the parties throughout the entire period in which it operated the suspension subsequently annulled by the court. Consequently, it is considered that the employee would have performed work for the employer, in default of this invalid act of suspension, and the employer is obliged to pay him any salary rights for all this time.

In the light of the principles of law analysed above, the Court states that there is no legal basis for ordering as invokes the appellant employer, respectively the fractionation of the time interval for granting salary rights, depending on the periods in which the Constitutional Court decisions have produced effects, namely: the period before 17.06.2015, when there took effect Decision no. 86/2011 and Decision no. 81/2015, Art. 52 paragraph (1) subparagraph b) of the Labour Code benefiting in this period of constitutionality, and the period subsequent to 17.06.2015, when it took effect Decision no. 279/17.06.2015.”

3. Conclusions The stake for which it was tried over time to declare the unconstitutionality of

the provisions of Art. 52 paragraph (1) subparagraph b) the first sentence of the Labour Code is given by the importance of the effects produced by the suspension of the employee. The effects of suspending the individual labour contract for acts attributable to the employee are that the employee is temporarily forbidden to carry out his function and he shall not have any right arising from his status as an employee.

Or, if by the provisions of Art. 6 governing the principle of the employees protection, the Labour Code has attempted to introduce a regulation as strict as possible that creates a security of protecting the rights of the employee against the employer, by this legal text declared to be unconstitutional, the legislator left the employee with no defence against the employer, who could at his discretion decide whether to suspend or not the individual employment contract in case of filing a criminal complaint, the latter action being also left at the employer's discretion. Moreover, these legal provisions gave the employer the opportunity to have a reason for deciding to suspend the individual employment contract, and consequently all the employee's rights under the contract.

Even after declaring the unconstitutionality of the first sentence of Art. 52 paragraph (1) subparagraph b) of the Labour Code, the employer although he could not order the suspension of the individual employment contract in the event of


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filing the criminal complaint against the employee, he did not lose his legal instruments, having at hand the disciplinary prerogative, allowing him to suspend the contract after the initiation of the prior disciplinary research according to Art. 52 paragraph (1) subparagraph a) of the Labour Code. But now, following the declaration of unconstitutionality and these provisions referred to in subparagraph a) by Decision no. 261 as at 5 May 2016, the employer has no longer that option, being able to order the suspension only in duly justified cases. governed by Art. 52 paragraph (1) subparagraphs b)-e) of the Labour Code.

References Ţiclea, Alexandru, Treaty on Labour Law – 2

nd Edition, Universul Juridic Publishing House,

Bucharest, 2007. Ţiclea, Alexandru, Treaty on Labour Law – 10

th Edition, updated, Universul Juridic

Publishing House, Bucharest, 2016. Constitutional Court Decision no. 24 as at 22 January 2003, published in the Official Journal

of Romania, Part I, no. 72 as at 5 February 2003. Constitutional Court Decision no. 520 as at 11 October 2005, published in the Official

Journal of Romania, Part I, no. 985 as at 7 November 2005. Constitutional Court Decision no. 926 as at 18 October 2007, published in the Official

Journal of Romania, Part I, no. 773 as at 14 November 2007. Constitutional Court Decision no. 86 as at 27 January 2011, published in the Official Journal

of Romania, Part I, no. 165 as at 8 March 2011. Constitutional Court Decision no. 279 as at 23 April 2015, published in the Official Journal of

Romania, Part I, no. 431 as at 17 June 2015.


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ETUDE EMPIRIQUE DE L’APPLICATION DE LA METHODE DES EQUATIONS STRUCTURELLES SUR LE MODELE

BALANCED SCORECARD

Abdelmadjid EZZINE* Yassine ALI-BELHADJ**

Abstract: The Balanced Scorecard is a model of performance, it present itself as set of

dimensions, financial and nonfinancial, directly related to the strategy which is déveloped by the company.It offers the user the opportunity to control all the determinants of performance. The structural equation methods are employed in quantitative research in order to test models of complex causality, incorporating several variables latent.Partial Least Squares approach (PLS) is a method of estimating structural models based on variance, applied in this study empirical, which consists to know the signification degree between the variables of Balanced Scorecard.

Keywords: Balanced Screcard; Performance Dimensions; structural equation methods;(PLS) approach; Types of constructions.

Introduction Les recherches empiriques fondées sur la collecte et le traitement statistique

des données par des méthodes quantitatives demeurent majoritaires au niveau international dans le domaine des sciences de gestion. La collecte des données, dans ces études, s’effectuant par le biais de questionnaires, comprennent des items susceptibles d’être agrégés et exploités par des méthodes statistiques.1 L’agrégation de plusieurs indicateurs permet de construire des outils de mesure permettant d’évaluer des variables latentes. Les méthodes d’équations structurelles permettent la construction des modèles incorporant un grand nombre de variables. Ces méthodes permettent de tester de manière simultanée l’existence de relations causales entre plusieurs variables latentes endogènes et exogènes, et de tester la validité et la fiabilité de construits latents, élaborés à partir de la combinaison de plusieurs items. L’application de la méthode d’équation structurelle, approche (partial least square, PLS) à l’estimation du modèle de performance Balanced

Scorecard sera illustrée suite à l’étude empirique menée sur le degré de signification entre les variables de ce modèle de performance.

* Abdelmadjid EZZINE: Maitre de conférences, Faculté des Sciences Economiques et Sciences de

gestion, Université de Sidi Bel Abbes, Algérie. Tel: (213) 5 41 72 48 95. E-mail: [email protected]. ** Yassine ALI-BELHADJ: Maitre de conférences. Faculté des Sciences Economiques et Sciences de

gestion. Université de Tlemcen, Algérie. Tel: (213) 6 62 10 12 7. E-mail: [email protected] 1 Les échelles d’intervalle de type Likert sont largement employées dans ce contexte.


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I. Notion du balanced scorecard

Le Balanced Scorecard est un système de mesure de la performance

stratégique. Il est utilisé pour piloter l’entreprise et permet d’évaluer la performance de l’entreprise en traduisant la stratégie des dirigeants en objectifs concrets pour les exécutants (Langlois et al, 2010). Il représente de manière intégrée des mesures financières qui reflètent les résultats d’actions du passé, et des mesures opérationnelles d’activités qui vont éventuellement mener vers la performance financière future de l’entreprise. Le Balanced Scorecard n’est pas un simple assemblage d’indicateurs mais un ensemble structuré qui traite de la dimension globale de la performance en intégrant tous les déterminants de la performance (Kaplan et Norton, 2001). Il mesure la performance de l’organisation à travers plusieurs axes:

L’axe financier constitue l’objectif final de l’entreprise afin de créer de la

valeur pour les apporteurs de capitaux. L’analyse de la valeur prévoit des cash-flows futurs. L’entreprise prévoit d’améliorer sa valeur ajoutée économique, nécessitant la maitrise de trois leviers:

L’augmentation du chiffre d’affaires; La réduction des couts et l’amélioration de la rentabilité; L’optimisation de l’utilisation des actifs et des choix d’investissement. L’axe clientèle cible les segments de marché qui génèrent un chiffre d’affaires

qui répond aux objectifs fixés dans la perspective financière. Les indicateurs identifiés à ce niveau vont mesurer la performance de l’entreprise auprès de ses clients. La mesure de la capacité de l’entreprise à satisfaire sa clientèle est étroitement liée à sa capacité à créer de la valeur. L’axe clients identifie le positionnement de l’entreprise au niveau des segments de marché qu’elle souhaite occuper. Une bonne performance clients se traduit par une grande fidélité des clients existants et par l’acquisition de nouveaux clients.

L’axe de processus interne relie les objectifs de l’entreprise avec les

déterminants de sa performance. Il s’agit, d’abord, d’identifier les processus clés de création de valeur qui ont le plus d’impact sur la satisfaction du client, pour atteindre les objectifs financiers. Il faut chercher, en outre, des inducteurs de performance qui permettent d’augmenter la performance de l’entreprise. L’axe processus interne concerne le degré de maîtrise des processus de production, les évolutions potentielles de ces processus, et la qualité du service après vente.

L’axe innovation et apprentissage s’intéresse aux déterminants actuels et futurs de la performance qui permettent de piloter l’entreprise. Il s’agit de s’assurer que l’entreprise maintient sa capacité à innover et s’adapter aux nouvelles conditions de marché. Cet axe traite le degré des capacités que possède l’entreprise


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(humaines, technologiques) et les systèmes d’information adéquats pour assurer le maintien d’une performance à long terme (Capital informationnel). Il permet à l’entreprise d’obtenir et de conserver un avantage concurrentiel durable en améliorant continuellement les processus de production en termes de délais, de qualité et de flexibilité. En effet, ce n’est que dans la mesure où l’entreprise est capable de porter sur le marché des produits innovants, de créer une valeur supplémentaire pour ses clients, qu’elle peut pénétrer de nouveaux marchés et augmenter ses revenus et ses marges.2 La figure suivante illustre les différents liens entre les axes du modèle Balanced Scorecard:

Fig 1. Liens entre les dimensions du Balanced Scorcard

L’originalité de l’approche du Balanced Scorecard réside dans la recherche

explicite de liens de cause à effet entre les déterminants de la performance. Ces liens représentent la carte stratégique. En effet le Balanced Scorecard n’est pas qu’une collection d’indicateurs financiers et non financiers, mais des liens basés sur la stratégie mise en place. Une bonne maîtrise des principes du processus interne associés à un réel investissement dans la recherche de l’innovation et apprentissage organisationnel, vont améliorer la satisfaction et la fidélisation des clients, la conquête de nouveaux clients, et l’augmentation des parts de marché. Le Balanced Scorecard possède l’avantage d’élaborer un modèle, le tester, en éprouver la solidité et, si nécessaire, le faire évoluer

II. Metode d’analyse des donnees: Méthode d’équation structurelle

II.1. Presentation

La méthode d’équation structurelle est utilisée afin de valider le cadre conceptuel. Cette méthode a pour but de traiter statistiquement des relations de causalité hypothétiques multiples. Les méthodes d’équations structurelles ont été

2 Le suivi des activités de (RD) et l’identification de mesures de performance adéquates se révèlent

souvent complexes, alors que le développement de l’immatériel constitue la principale source de la création de valeur.


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développées par Joreskog qui a commencé l’étude des analyses factorielles au milieu des années 1960. Puis, il crée l’approche LISREL en 1970 (LInear Structural RELations) dans le but de traiter statistiquement des variables non observables.3 Les modèles d’équations structurelles sont élaborés pour tester les effets linéaires entre un ensemble de variables non directement observables (les variables latentes).4 Ces dernières sont estimées grâce à des variables observables (les variables manifestes).

Selon Kaplan (2004), les modèles d’équations structurelles peuvent être définis comme une classe de méthodologies ayant pour objectif de représenter certaines hypothèses au sujet des moyennes, des variances et des covariances de données observées en termes d’un plus petit nombre de paramètres structuraux définis par un modèle théorique sous-jacent. Un modèle d’équations structurelles se compose traditionnellement de deux parties: le modèle de mesure (externe) et le modèle structurel (interne) comme illustré sur la figurer suivante:

Fig 2. Modèle d’équation structurelle

Le modèle de mesure comprend l’ensemble des relations entre les variables

latentes et manifestes. Le modèle structurel comprend l’ensemble des relations entre construits latents. Les méthodes d’équations structurelles ont été développées pour permettre d’examiner les relations causales multiples, puis leur usage s’est progressivement étendu aux analyses de validité des construits latents (analyse factorielle confirmatoire), puis aux analyses multi groupes (El Akremi, 2005) et aux études longitudinales (Campoy et Dumas, 2005). Dans le cadre de l’estimation de modèles relationnels, l’apport de ces méthodes est de permettre une estimation simultanée de plusieurs relations de dépendances. Joreskog et

3 LISREL appelé aussi la méthode par analyse de la structure de covariance. 4 Un construit latent n’est pas directement observable, mais appréhendé qu’à travers une série de

variables manifestes, supposés représenter le construit. Il est recommandé de mesurer chaque construit avec au moins trois variables observées.


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Sorborm (1996) résument les règles de présentation et de notation des variables et relations comme suit:

Fig 3. Notations des variables et des relations d’un modèle d’équations structurelles

Source: Joreskog (1996),

ζ (Xi): Variables latentes explicatives; η (Eta): Variables latentes à expliquer; x et y: Variables mesurées qui sont respectivement des indicateurs des

variables latentes explicatives et des variables latentes à expliquer, leurs résidus sont notés respectivement δ et ε;

λ: le poids, s’interprète comme le coefficient de régression entre une variable latente et un indicateur;

γ (Gamma): Relations entre variables latentes explicatives et variables latentes à expliquer;

φ (Phi): Dénomination des relations symétriques entre variables latentes explicatives.

II.2. Approches relatives aux methodes d’equations structurelles

L’estimation des modèles, autrement dit, l’établissement des liens entre les indicateurs et les construits latents associés (modèle de mesure), ainsi que le calcul des coefficients structurels entre les construits (modèle structurel) peut se réaliser en recourant à plusieurs types d’algorithmes. Deux procédures sont utilisées dans le domaine des sciences de gestion (Chinn, 1995).

II.2.1. Methode LISREL

La méthode d’équation structurelle de type LISREL est la plus répandue, elle est basée sur l’analyse des covariances et la technique du maximum de vraisemblance (maximum likehood). Cette méthode est dénommée ainsi en référence au principal logiciel développé sur cette base (Jöreskog et Sörbom, 1996).


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II.2.2. Methode PLS

La méthode PLS est basée sur l’analyse de la variance et l’optimisation du pouvoir explicatif des indicateurs. On désigne sous le nom de méthode PLS, l’application des techniques et algorithmes de régression en moindres carrés partiels (Partial Least Squares) à l’estimation de modèles d’équations structurelles. La technique générale de la régression PLS, dite modélisation douce, a été mise au point par Wold (1985), dans le but de décrire les relations entre des groupes de variables indépendantes et dépendantes, dans des systèmes de type entrée sortie comprenant de nombreuses variables.5 Une fois la spécification du modèle théorique achevée, l’estimation est réalisée de manière itérative. Dans le modèle de mesure, les variables latentes sont estimées par des combinaisons linéaires de leurs indicateurs pondérés. Dans le modèle structurel, les liens entre variables latentes (coefficients de régression linéaires) sont estimés par des régressions multiples entre les variables sélectionnées. L’objectif est la maximisation de la variance expliquée des variables dépendantes par les variables indépendantes, c’est-à-dire la maximisation de la covariance entre variable explicative et variable expliquée (Sosik et al, 2009). La régression PLS est couramment appliquée dans les sciences humaines et sociales, tout particulièrement dans le domaine de l’économétrie. Elle est de plus en plus utilisée en sciences de gestion. En effet, en envisageant précisément cette discipline, plusieurs études incorporant des modèles estimées par analyse PLS sont utilisés en marketing (ex: Bruhn et al, 2008), management stratégique (ex: Helm, 2005), systèmes d’information (ex: Yi et Davies, 2003).

II.2.3. Elements de comparaison entre les deux approches L’approche LISREL permet une modélisation de la matrice des covariances

entre les variables observées. Dans le cadre de l’approche PLS, on modélise directement les données à l’aide d’une succession de régressions simples ou multiples (Tenenhaus, 1999). Ces bases statistiques si différentes entre les deux techniques amènent Jöreskog et Wold (1982) à caractériser LISREL de modélisation dure et PLS de modélisation douce. En outre, LISREL est beaucoup moins adapté que PLS pour estimer des modèles formatifs (Annexe).6 Ensuite, les hypothèses concernant la taille de l’échantillon et le nombre d’indicateurs par construit sont très fortes pour LISREL, et beaucoup moins pour PLS.7 Haenlein et Kaplan (2004) permettent de synthétiser les différentes caractéristiques et usages des approches LISREL et PLS.

5 Elle est disponible dans les logiciels: LVPLS (Löhmoller 1984) PLSGraph (Chinn, 1993) Smart PLS

(Ringle et al, 2006 6 Annexe: Construits formatifs et construits reflexifs. 7 Une règle empirique simple consiste à exiger que le nombre d’observations soit supérieur ou égal à

dix fois le nombre d’indicateurs de la variable formative la plus complexe, et/ou dix fois le nombre de relations structurelles émanant du construit central du modèle structurel (Sosik et al, 2009).


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Tab 1. Eléments de comparaison entre PLS et LISREL

Critères PLS LISREL Modélisation des construits

Construits formatifs et réflexifs.

Construits réflexifs.

Variables latentes Déterminées. Indéterminées à un terme

d’erreur près.

Test de modèles

récursifs

Non. Oui.

Modèle statistique Approche selon les moindres carrés partiels – Succession de régressions simples ou multiples.

Approche du maximum de vraisemblance – Analyse des structures de covariance.

Distribution des

données

Peu importe. Normalité des données.

Taille de

l’échantillon

Peut être faible. Recommandations minimales: de 30 à 100 observations

Elevée. Recommandations minimales: de 200 à 800 observations

Nombre

d’indicateurs par

construit/ Complexité

du modèle

Peut être élevé. Par exemple 100 construits et 1000 indicateurs

Peu élevé. En relation avec la taille de l’échantillon. Complexité modérée à faible (moins de 100 indicateurs).

Approche

conceptuelle/

Finalité

Peut-être utilisé dans un cadre exploratoire et confirmatoire. Plus une méthode prédictive et de construction de la théorie.

Cadre confirmatoire. Obligation de se baser sur un modèle théorique.

Source: Haenlein. M, Kaplan (2004).

La méthode d’équation structurelle de type PLS est d’une grande simplicité.

Cette approche permet de traiter des modèles relationnels complexes avec l’assurance d’obtenir une solution admissible. La méthode PLS peut fonctionner avec des variables nominales, d’intervalle ou continues. Enfin la méthode PLS n’identifie aucun problème de coexistence de construits formatifs et réflexifs (Diamantopoulos et al, 2008). La méthode PLS présente toutefois un certain nombre de limites, notamment, la non prise en compte des erreurs de mesure8, la

8 En utilisant l’analogie avec l’analyse factorielle, la méthode PLS souffre vis-à-vis des méthodes

basées sur l’analyse des covariances de la même limitation que l’Analyse des Composantes Principales (ACP) vis-à-vis de l’analyse factorielle classique en axes principaux. L’ACP constitue une approximation de l’analyse factorielle classique, bâtie sur une prise en considération différente de la variance. Dans les analyses factorielles classiques, la variance est décomposée en trois parties: la variance commune (causée par les facteurs latents), la variance spécifique (assujettie à aucun facteur) et la variance d’erreur. L’analyse factorielle ne porte que sur la part de variance commune, et tente d’en extraire les facteurs sous-jacents. Dans l’ACP, aucune différence n’est faite entre les trois types de variance, et l’analyse porte sur la variance totale. La solution factorielle obtenue peut se révéler plus facile à interpréter, mais elle incorpore une part d’erreur.


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non disposition d’indices d’ajustement des modèles (fit indices)9, l’impossibilité de traiter les modèles non récursifs, seuls les modèles incorporant des relations de causalité univoques sont testables (Jöreskog et Wold, 1982).

L’usage de la méthode d’équation structurelle de type PLS paraît bien adapté aux caractéristiques et à la problématique de cette recherche. En effet, comme le remarquent Sosik et al (2009), la méthode PLS fonctionne mieux en pratique, parce que les données issues du terrain utilisées dans la modélisation ne sont jamais parfaites, et sont souvent fortement corrélées. En sélectionnant la meilleure combinaison linéaire pour prédire les variables dépendantes, elle fournit des coefficients structurels plus significatifs que les méthodes basées sur le maximum de vraisemblance (LISREL). Les méthodes d’équation structurelle de type LISREL donnent leur meilleurs résultats lorsque les données sont obtenues en utilisant un design expérimental, or, ce type de design est rarement possible en pratique, surtout lorsque les données sont obtenues par questionnaire.

Fig 4. Diagramme de décision de la méthode d’équations structurelles

Source: Fernandez (2012)

9 Cependant, il existe plusieurs calculs, comme les contributions factorielles ou le coefficient de

détermination, et certaines procédures (Bootstrap, jacknife) permettant de s’assurer de la significativité des coefficients obtenus.


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III. Modele de recherche

III. 1 Variables du modele

Le modèle de la présente étude est de type réflexif. Le logiciel de traitement statistique utilisé dans le cadre de cette étude est le SMART PLS 2 pour l’analyse des données et la modélisation structurelle suivant l’approche PLS. Il sert à la fois aux analyses factorielles confirmatoires (modèle de mesure) et au test des différentes relations entre la variables à expliquer, explicatives et intermédiaire (modèle structurel). Le modèle de mesure, Balanced Scorecard, possède une dimension financière (variable à expliquer), et des dimensions non financières (variables explicatives). Ces dimensions sont représentées par un ensemble de variables latentes mesurées par des variables manifestes (items ou indicateurs de mesure). Cette recherche avait pour but de cerner les liens de cause à effet perçus entre les indicateurs non financiers et les indicateurs financiers. À cette fin, les répondants ont été invités à exprimer leur degré d’accord sur une liste adaptée des travaux d’Ittner et Larcker (1998). Le tableau suivant montre les dimensions, déterminants et indicateurs relatifs au modèle de performance Balanced Scorecard:

Tab 2. Le nombre d’items des variables de mesure de pilotage de la performance

Dimensions de

performance

Variables latentes

(déterminants)

Variables manifestes

(Indicateurs)

Retour sur investissement Croissance du bénéfice net Croissance des ventes Rentabilité sur les ventes Rentabilité économique Flux de Trésorerie (Cash Flow)

Finances

Productivité Nombre des prospects visités Dynamisme commercial

(2) Nombre de devis émis Nombre de vente Délais de livraison

Satisfaction des clients (3)

Nombre de réclamations Nombre de clients SAV

Clients

Fidélité (2) Nombre de clients perdus Cout d’innovation Nombre de ventes de nouveaux produits

Processus d’innovation (3)

Nombre de brevets Durée de fabrication (réactivité) Cout de production

)=Processus internes

Processus opératoire (processus de gestion de production), (3) Volume de la production


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Nombre de produits défectueux Temps de réponse aux appels de service

Service après-vente (processus de contrôle qualité), (3)

Cout de réponse aux appels de service après vente (SAV)

Attirer les compétences (1)

Nombre de recrutés High Potentiel Nombre de jours de formation annuel Nombre de projets réussis

Développer les compétences (3)

Nombre de projets abandonnés Taux de turn over (taux de satisfaction des salariés) Nombre d’années au sein de l’entreprise Absentéisme

Conserver les compétences (satisfaction et motivation des employés), (4)

Nombre d’accidents Disponibilité de l’information (veille) Capacités de communication Participation aux foires, aux salons

Apprentissage

organisationnel

Systèmes d’information (bases de données, outils et réseau nécessaires pour promouvoir la stratégie), (4)

Nombre d’informations manquantes ou tardives

La figure suivante présente le modèle de recherche de la présente étude:

Fig 5. Modèle conceptuel de mesure de la performance

Ce sont les indicateurs les plus utilisés dans la presse économique et les plus

largement compris par les managers qui ont été considérés (Cauvin et al, 2010).


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III. 2. Examen de l’instrument de mesure

Les aspects relatifs aux critères de fiabilité des instruments de mesure ont été traités afin de vérifier que les données collectées rendent compte le plus précisément possible de la réalité. La fiabilité d’un instrument de mesure représente sa capacité à reproduire des résultats similaires s’il était envoyé plusieurs fois à une même population. Elle correspond à la cohérence entre les items censés mesurer un même concept. La fiabilité de l’instrument de mesure, utilisé dans cette recherche, a été vérifiée à l’aide du test CR. La fiabilité des construits (CR) doit être supérieur à (0,7). Les résultats obtenus pour la fiabilité des construits montre bien que les construits sont fiables (Annexe 2).10

La validité d’une échelle de mesure désigne sa capacité à appréhender un phénomène. Les tests de validité ont pour objectifs de vérifier si les différents items d’un instrument sont une bonne représentation du phénomène étudié. La validité convergente a été vérifiée par la variance moyenne partagée (Average Variance Extracted, AVE) qui doit être supérieure ou égale à (0,5) (Annexe 2). La validité discriminatoire, destinée à s’assurer que les indicateurs de mesure d’un construit sont faiblement corrélées aux indicateurs de mesure d’autres construits, est validée (Annexe 2).11

III.3. Examen du modele structurel

L’accent est mis sur la nature et la magnitude des relations entre construits. On procède de la même manière pour évaluer la validité du modèle de mesure et du modèle structurel.

Fig 6. Modèle de mesure et structurel après l’application de l’algorithme de l’approche PLS

10 Annexe 2: Résultats pour étude de Fiabilité et Validité. 11 On obtient une validité discriminante si la racine carrée de la variance moyenne partagée est

supérieure aux coefficients de corrélation.


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L’ajustement du modèle global est estimé par le calcul de la formule GOF (Goodness Of Fit, qualité d’ajustement) suivante qui doit être significatives sur le plan théorique:

GOF = 2

AVE: Variance Moyenne Partagée R2: Coefficient de détermination

La qualité d’ajustement du modèle structurel est, donc, bonne.

Conclusion La présente étude s’est attachée à souligner la méthodologie de recherche

adoptée afin de tester les liens entre les différentes dimensions du modèle de performance Balanced Scorecard. L’analyse a traité les types de liens existants entre les différentes dimensions du Balanced Scorecard. Avec l’utilisation de la méthode des équations structurelles, approche PLS (Partial Least Squares) sur l’échantillon étudié, il s’est révélé que les liens sont significatifs entre l’apprentissage organisationnel et le processus internes et entre ce dernier et les dimensions clientèles et financières. Ces résultats ont permis d’identifier les indicateurs clés de performance utilisés.

Annexes

Annexe 1: Construits réflexifs et formatifs

Dans l’approche traditionnelle, le construit latent est considéré comme réflexif

(Nunally, 1978). Les indicateurs sont supposés représenter l’influence du construit latent, et la relation de causalité est opérée du construit vers ses indicateurs. Il représente la cause commune partagée par tous les indicateurs. En conséquence, les indicateurs doivent être significativement et positivement corrélés, et toute variation dans le construit doit se manifester par la variation de tous ses items. Plusieurs auteurs ont, toutefois, remarqué que certains construits latents ne correspondaient pas forcément au modèle réflexif (Bollen et Ting, 2000). Il est possible d’envisager certains construits comme une combinaison d’indicateurs, pas forcément corrélés, qui contribuent à former le construit latent. La relation de causalité pour ces construits formatifs est donc inversée, elle procède des indicateurs vers le construit. En ce qui concerne leur formalisation, les construits réflexifs et formatifs donnent lieu à des modèles de mesure différents, et doivent être évalués par des procédures différentes.


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Fig 7. Distinction entre construits réflexifs et formatifs

Source: Diamantopoulos. A, Siguaw J (2008).

ANNEXE 2.

Tab 3. Résultats pour étude de Fiabilité et Validité

Construits Fiabilité

des construits CR

Variance Moyenne Partagée (AVE)

Alpha de Cronback

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

1 Attractivité 1,0000 1,0000 1,0000 1,0000 2 Conservation 0,8468 0,5840 0,7558 0,6996 0,7642 3 DevComp 0,8777 0,7055 0,7912 0,6694 0,7940 0,8399 4 Dynamisme 0,9512 0,9069 0,8984 0,4499 0,4072 0,3707 0,9523 5 Fidélité 0,9152 0,8437 0,8148 0,6341 0,6625 0,6561 0,5468 0,9185 6 Finance 0,8979 0,5621 0,8645 0,3693 0,4065 0,4424 0,5027 0,5211 0,7497 7 Innovation 0,8357 0,6317 0,6997 0,6623 0,5615 0,5781 0,5688 0,6943 0,5522 0,7948 8 Prod-logi 0,8845 0,7190 0,8053 0,4237 0,5132 0,5403 0,3946 0,4193 0,7084 0,6702 0,8479 9 SAV 0,9316 0,8720 0,8542 0,5166 0,5376 0,6667 0,6390 0,7044 0,5578 0,5814 0,4788 0,9338 10 Satisfaction 0,8503 0,6550 0,7351 0,5686 0,5733 0,5632 0,7062 0,7452 0,7959 0,6354 0,6001 0,6223 0,8093 11 Sys Inf 0,8166 0,5353 0,6923 0,5630 0,7286 0,6656 0,4474 0,5653 0,4996 0,6278 0,5710 0,4839 0,4758 0,7316

Les valeurs en gras, présentées sur la diagonale de la matrice de corrélation,

indiquent la racine carrée de l’AVE

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LES DÉFIS DE L'ENSEIGNEMENT D'UNE LANGUE ÉTRANGÈRE DANS LE CONTEXTE PLURILINGUE

AFRICAIN: QUELLES APPROCHES PÉDAGOGIQUES POUR LE PROF DU FLE FACE AU MULTILINGUISME

SCOLAIRE AU GHANA?

Koffi Ganyo AGBEFLE* Abstract: The objective of this paper is to outline the importance of transition between

national languages (NL) and foreign languages (FL) within the framework of interactional perspective in multilingual Africa (J. Poth, 1997), taking the example of Ghana. Ghana is an African country whose official language is English; however several other national and foreign languages share the language landscape. French is one of these and is taught as a foreign language in many Ghanaian schools. Therefore, in this multilingual context, the French teacher at the primary, secondary or even the tertiary level is confronted with managing this triple language situation in the same class: Ghanaian national languages, English (the official language) and French (a foreign language). The teaching of French therefore poses many problems from a pedagogical and didactic point of view. Indeed, the mere diversity of languages spoken by the students is a difficulty for the teaching/learning of French as a Foreign Language (FFL). In addition there are other problems such as the lack of teaching materials and of resources. In such an environment, the teacher has to innovate in order to engage students in learning (P. Bange, 1996). He needs to enable the student to move from what he knows how to do as an individual to what he can do in collaboration with others (Vygotsky, 1997). Consequently, using a communicative approach in context, based on linguistic transition, the French teacher in this multilingual environment uses a variety of teaching strategies including ICT. This paper gives us the opportunity to share our personal experience as well as the results of a cross-sectional research undertaken on 30 teachers of FFL at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels in Ghana. The main research question here is the following: how does multilingualism in schools influence the FFL teacher’s methodologies and what solutions are possible in a diversified sociolinguistic context in Africa in general and Ghana in particular?

Key words: Multilingualism in school; National languages; linguistic Transition; Cross-sectional research; Contextual Communicative approach.

Points de départ du problème La question de la langue et des méthodes d’enseignement dans les écoles

africaines est un vieux débat que l’on a toujours du mal à clore au vu de son importance pour l’éducation d’un peuple. En effet, ce débat que l’on croit parfois clos, refait très souvent surface. Aujourd’hui encore, au vu des échecs massifs qu’on enregistre tous les ans dans ces écoles africaines, on est amené à reposer la * Département de français, University de Legon, Ghana, e-mail: [email protected].


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question des langues d’enseignement. Et, les orientations que peuvent prendre ce débat peuvent variées d’un contexte à un autre. En d’autres termes, la question des méthodes d’enseignement des langues varie selon que le paysage linguistique d’un pays est monolingue ou plurilingue. Au Ghana par exemple, il existe de nos jours une diversité de méthodes qui ont été expérimentées dans les écoles pour l’enseignement du français langue étrangère: méthode directe, méthode par compétence, méthode communicative etc. Mais les résultats obtenus sont toujours en deçà des attentes; ce qui fait penser à un échec pur et simple de ces méthodes d’enseignement expérimentées. C’est dire qu’au Ghana, tout porte à croire que l’enseignement du FLE souffre de l’absence de méthodes efficaces car généralement, les résultats obtenus par les apprenants en français, sont en deçà des attentes. Face à cette situation, nous nous proposons de nous attarder sur les questions suivantes: Comment peut-on expliquer ces échecs réguliers des méthodes d’enseignement dans les écoles en Afrique en général, au Ghana en particulier? Quelles perceptions les enseignants du FLE au Ghana ont-ils des méthodes d’enseignement qui leur sont souvent proposées? Quelles approches pédagogiques pour le prof du FLE en milieu scolaire multilingue ghanéen? Avant de répondre à ces questions qui constituent nos préoccupations, il nous semble d’abord important de revenir sur les caractéristiques du paysage linguistique ghanéen en général, au niveau scolaire en particulier.

L’objectif principal de ce travail est de montrer les limites des différentes approches d’enseignement du FLE en milieu plurilingue ghanéen. Notre analyse sera axée sur la perception que les enseignants ont de ces approches et de l’usage qu’ils en font. Nous voulons par-là montrer que la compétence communicative d’un apprenant passe par la prise en compte de sa langue première ou familière. Or en Afrique en général, les langues premières des apprenants sont, dans la plupart des cas, différentes de la langue d’enseignement et elles font généralement objet de très peu d’attention. Nous proposons ainsi d’attirer l’attention des spécialistes en didactiques des langues sur les réalités du plurilinguisme en milieu scolaire africain en général, ghanéen en particulier; car il nous semble important de faire face à ces réalités en vue de trouver des approches qui leur sont adaptées car on ne peut plus continuer de les nier ou de les fuir. En effet, comme le dit Vigosky (1997), l’enfant qui acquiert une langue possède déjà dans sa langue maternelle un système qu’il transpose dans une autre langue. Ce système est donc à prendre en compte si l’on veut permettre à cet enfant de faire un apprentissage efficace de cette nouvelle langue.

2. Présentation du contexte Avant de revenir à la question des langues en présence au Ghana, il importerait

de clarifier ce que nous entendons par langue (s) nationale(s) et bien évidemment par politique linguistique. En effet, ces clarifications nous paraissent nécessaires puisqu’elles permettraient sans doute de mieux comprendre le statut des différentes


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langues en contexte. Dans notre perspective, nous appelons langues nationales toutes les langues parlées sur un territoire national sans aucune distinction provenant d’une quelconque décision politique. Il faut entendre par-là que toutes les langues parlées dans une nation sont des LN (Afeli 2003; Agbéflé 2012). Et c’est dans cet esprit que nous abordons la question des LN au Ghana.

Quant à la politique linguistique, c’est un concept qui est diversement défini par les chercheurs. Mais nous nous contenterons de la position d’Afeli (2003: 18) qui précise que ce concept désignerait

« L’ensemble des choix nationaux en matière de langue et de culture. Cette politique linguistique se définirait en objectifs généraux à longs termes (niveaux éducatifs, formations, emplois, fonctions et statuts de langue(s), etc...) et se fonderait sur une analyse aussi précise et complète que possible de la situation de départ ». (Afeli, 2003: 18)

2.1. Les langues nationales au Ghana

Le Ghana est un pays d’environ 23 millions d’habitants (selon des données de recensement de 2000). Mais le nombre exact de langues parlées dans ce pays n’est toujours pas exactement connu du fait de la diversité de ces langues et de leurs variantes dialectales. En effet, alors que selon Yiboe (2009:2), on dénombre au Ghana entre 65 et 70 langues, Ayi-Adzimah (2010:107) fait le point sur la situation linguistique en ces termes:

« Le Ghana est un véritable pays multiethnique et multilingue: la population est une combinaison d’au moins soixante-et-quinze tribus différentes qui parlent autant de langues différentes. Tandis que Dzameshie (1988) estime qu’il y a entre 45 et 60 langues au Ghana, Boadi (1994:5) les situe entre 36 et 50 ». (Adzimah, 2010:107)

Même si tous ces chercheurs ne sont pas unanimes sur le nombre exact de langues ghanéennes, tous reconnaissent cependant qu’aucune d’elles n'est numériquement dominante. En effet, même si la langue des Akan se trouve être la plus véhiculaire à travers tout le pays, les Akan asante ne sont pas majoritaires selon Yiboe (2009:2). Le Ghana est caractérisé, comme la plupart des États africains, par une pluralité ethnique et linguistique.

2.2. Les langues étrangères au Ghana: l’anglais et le français.

Plusieurs langues étrangères se partagent ou s’insèrent aujourd’hui dans l’univers linguistique ghanéen. Mais dans ce passage nous nous intéressons au cas de l’anglais et du français.

L’anglais est la langue officielle au Ghana. C’est, à l’image de bien d’autres pays, la langue du colon perpétuée par les gouvernements postcoloniaux. Cette langue est reconnue comme langue officielle par la constitution ghanéenne. Ce statut conféré à l’anglais lui donne une place inégalable dans la sphère linguistique


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ghanéenne mettant au rancart toutes les autres langues du pays notamment les langues nationales quoi qu’il existe une politique de valorisation de ces langues. En dehors de l’anglais, langue internationale, l’État ghanéen reconnait le français comme deuxième langue internationale. Ainsi, le français occuperait également une place non négligeable au Ghana à en croire les textes officiels de ce pays. Ce statut du français a été réitéré très souvent par les dirigeants du pays; ce qui les a conduits à s’engager comme membre associé de la francophonie comme nous l’avons souligné plus haut. Cependant, certains chercheurs (Amuzu, 2000:80 et Ayi-Adzimah, 2010:111) relèvent une rivalité subtile entre ces deux langues européennes (l’anglais et le français). Selon eux en effet, le français est fortement ébranlé par le statut de l’anglais au Ghana.

2.3. Les langues d’enseignement au Ghana

Comme on peut le constater dans tout ce qui précède, le Ghana est un pays à plurilinguisme élevé. De ce fait, l’Etat ghanéen est amené à opérer un choix linguistique. Ainsi, dans le système scolaire, L’Etat a opté pour l’enseignement de 11 langues locales et de l’anglais comme média d’enseignement. Le français, de son côté, est enseigné comme langue étrangère. En effet, selon la politique linguistique éducative du Ghana, les 11 langues locales choisies devaient avoir droit de cité dans les écoles primaires. En d’autres termes, il était question que les premiers enseignements/apprentissages scolaires se fassent en langues familières des apprenants pendant les 4 premières années de l’école primaire avant de faire place à l’anglais (Nuobiere, 2007). Selon le même texte, le français langue étrangère devrait être enseigné à partir de l’école primaire et au niveau secondaire. Il faut, cependant, affirmer que cette politique d’enseignement dans son ensemble n’a jamais été efficacement mise en œuvre à cause du manque de volonté et surtout à cause du laxisme des premiers décideurs de ce pays. Cette situation s’explique par le fait qu’en Afrique en général, les décisions prises dans ces domaines ne sont toujours pas suivies de textes officiels précis ni, encore moins, de mesures concrètes d’application (Maurer, 2005).

3. Démarches méthodologiques Il nous semble également important de présenter brièvement les outils

d’enquête utilisés dans la collecte des données. En effet, nous nous sommes essentiellement servi des outils traditionnels de collecte des données: le questionnaire et l’entretien. Ainsi, nous avons recueilli des données qui seront soumises à des analyses qualitatives et quantitatives. Au total 60 enseignants ont été interrogés. Ils sont répartis comme suit: 20 au niveau primaire, 20 au collège et 20 au lycée. Il était question pour eux de dire l’usage qu’ils font des différentes approches qui leur sont proposées régulièrement dans leurs pratiques pédagogiques


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pour l’enseignement du français langue étrangère dans les classes au Ghana. Par ailleurs, l’enquête consistait aussi à voir si ces enseignants marquent ou non leur adhésion aux différentes méthodes d’enseignement déjà expérimentées ou en cours d’expérimentation dans le système scolaire ghanéen.

4. Analyses et interprétations des données recueillies

Dans ce passage, nous présentons d’abord trois tableaux qui contiennent des

données recueillies par rapport à l’usage des différentes méthodes présentes dans le système scolaire ghanéen pour l’enseignement du FLE. Les enseignants enquêtés au niveau primaire, collège et lycée, nous disent s’ils font usage ou non de telle ou telle autre méthode d’enseignement. Ces données seront par la suite analysées puis commentées.

Tableau 1: Données obtenues au niveau primaire

Méthode traditionnelle/directe

Méthode structuro-globale

Méthode communicative

Aucune des approches

Oui 14 11 12 14 Non 06 09 08 06 Total 20 20 20 20

Tableau 2: Données obtenues au niveau collège

Niveau d’enseignement




Aucune des

approches Oui 12 10 14 15 Non 08 10 06 5 Total 20 20 20 20

Tableau 3: Données obtenues au niveau Lycée




Aucune des approches

Oui 02 06 10 16 Non 18 14 10 04 Total 20 20 20 20 Comme on peut bien le constater à travers les chiffres qui figurent dans les

trois tableaux, la plupart des enseignants du FLE au Ghana sont toujours dans une situation embarrassante en ce qui concerne le choix d’approche pédagogique dans leurs pratiques de classe. En effet, le nombre élevé et l’instabilité des méthodes


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d’enseignement auxquelles on expose souvent ces enseignants qui, malgré tout, continuent d’éprouver de grandes difficultés dans leurs classes, nous font dire que plus qu’un simple problème de méthodes ou d’approches, il y a un problème de contexte d’enseignement. En d’autres termes, le contexte plurilingue dans lequel ces approches sont utilisées ne se prête pas à leur efficacité.

4.1- Problèmes de méthodes et échecs de l’enseignement du FLE au Ghana

La plupart des méthodes utilisées pour l’enseignement des langues (anglais et FLE) au Ghana sortent directement des maisons de publications occidentales et suivent des modèles pédagogiques de ces pays à caractère principalement monolingue (Nutakor & Agbefle 2015: 376). On constate en effet qu’il existe une grande différence fondamentale entre les situations d’enseignement des pays occidentaux et celles des pays d’Afrique d’où l’inadéquation de ces méthodes aux besoins de la situation de l’enseignement/apprentissage des langues en Afrique (Poth, 1988). En effet, ces méthodes importées ignorent dans la plupart des cas, les apports possibles des langues déjà parlées par les élèves. De ce fait, l’enseignant sur sa propre initiative fait référence « clandestinement » à ces langues nationales pour débloquer une difficulté quelconque pendant son enseignement. Il faut aussi préciser que ces méthodes « importées » font fi des cultures et de l’environnement immédiat des apprenants. Par exemple, dans les écoles ghanéennes, il est même souvent inscrit sur les murs des salles de classes l’avertissement suivant: «Défense de parler les langues locales. » Ainsi, toute forme de recours aux langues nationales dans le cadre scolaire, en Afrique en général, se fait dans la « clandestinité » ou en tout cas dans un cadre de perception négative de ces langues, ce qui entraine par ailleurs, son propre lot de problèmes psychopédagogiques et didactiques (Poth, 1988)

En ce qui concerne l’enseignement du FLE au Ghana, on peut dire que la plupart des ghanéens avouent leur intérêt pour l’apprentissage de cette langue mais ils se plaignent des faiblesses de son enseignement dans un pays pourtant entourés de voisins francophones. Les raison de cet échec, vérifiable au niveau des résultats du BECE ou du WASSCE (équivalents du Brevet et du BAC français), sont diverses et comparables au cas des autres matières du système scolaire. Pourtant le cas du français, comme nous l’avons démontré plus haut, semble avoir une particularité liée aux méthodes d’enseignement, aux habitudes des professeurs et aux liens ou plutôt au manque d’articulation avec les autres langues de l’école (Casely-Hayford, Nutakor et al, 2010). Il semble effectivement urgent de se pencher sur le cas de l’utilisation et de l’efficacité de l’approche communicative.

Un enseignant enquêté se confie à nous en ces termes: « les méthodes

d’enseignements qui nous sont proposées me semblent hors contexte… cela ne

relève pas de la réalité sociolinguistique de notre système scolaire… Malgré tous

les efforts que nous faisons, les enfants pensent toujours dans leur langue


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maternelle twi, éwé ou gan d’abord, avant de répondre à nos questions.» John (33 ans, enseignant de FLE depuis 5 ans à l’école primaire).

Les propos de cet enseignant viennent renforcer notre argument du contexte linguistique dans lequel on enseigne et/ou apprend une langue étrangère. En effet, il est courant de constater que le jeune apprenant africain passe toujours par un transfert de ses connaissances en sa langue car ce dernier a, dans la plupart des cas, une certaine large connaissance d’une langue locale avant d’arriver à l’école (Poth, 1997). Or, il se trouve que les méthodes et/ou approches qui sont utilisées ne tiennent généralement pas compte des réalités plurilingues des pays africains. Ces méthodes sont élaborées comme si, dans le contexte africain, l’apprenant était aussi en situation de monolinguisme comme c’est le cas en occident.

Un autre enseignant déclare ce qui suit: « Moi, j’ai pendant plusieurs années

de ma carrière, expérimenté toutes ces approches pédagogiques qui nous sont

importées de l’occident (Pédagogie de la transmission, Behaviorisme, le

cognitivisme, constructivisme)… mais le problème demeure... Je pense qu’elles ne

tiennent pas compte des écarts entre l’école occidentale et l’école africaine… Moi

j’enseigne toujours en me basant sur ce que l’élève sait en langues nationales et ça

marche bien… » (Francis, 53 ans, enseignant depuis 25 ans). Ici donc, le recours à la langue première de l’enfant est mis en exergue. En

effet, tout enseignement/apprentissage qui ne se baserait pas sur ce que l’apprenant, dans un contexte plurilingue, sait en langue maternelle ou familière, est voué à l’échec quelles que soient les approches utilisées. On a beau changer d’approches pédagogiques mais, si l’on ne tient pas compte de la langue la plus connue des apprenants notamment celle de leur environnement immédiat, les difficultés d’enseignement seront toujours lourdes à porter. Un 3e enseignant avec 15 années d’expériences professionnelles pense, pour sa part, qu’en dehors de la question d’approches, il se pose aussi une question de matériels didactiques appropriés à l’enseignement du FLE. Voici en partie ce qu’il dit:

« (…) En dehors de la question d’approches, moi je pense qu’il faut aussi

penser aux matériels d’enseignement. Aujourd’hui on nous répète tous les jours,

approche communicative! Approche communicative! … d’accord mais il nous faut

aussi des matériels didactiques pour mieux agir ». (Yao, 45 ans, Enseignant depuis 15 ans).

Il est important de revenir sur ce que cet enseignant relève comme autres difficultés qui viennent alourdir les problèmes pédagogiques: le manque de matériels didactiques, surtout de manuels adaptés au contexte plurilingue dans lequel se déroule l’enseignement/apprentissage du FLE au Ghana. En effet la plupart des manuels édités pour servir dans l’enseignement du FLE en Afrique en général, au Ghana en particulier, pèchent par leur caractère monolingue. C’est-à-dire que ces manuels sont conçus comme si tout l’univers scolaire ghanéen était monolingue. Ces manuels ne tiennent donc pas compte des réalités socioculturelles et linguistiques des apprenants ghanéens (Nutakor M. et Agbéflé K., 2015:378). Ainsi, l’usage de ces manuels par les enseignants et les apprenants vient corser les


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difficultés d’enseignement/apprentissage du FLE au Ghana. C’est également un des chantiers important pour l’Etat ghanéen afin de rendre plus efficace l’enseignement du FLE à tous les niveaux du système scolaire.

Conclusion Il ressort de notre recherche que l’enseignement/apprentissage du FLE au

Ghana souffre du manque et/ou de l’absence de méthodes/approches pédagogiques appropriées ou encore efficaces. Il est vrai que plusieurs raisons expliquent l’inefficacité de ces approches dans l’enseignement du FLE au Ghana. Mais nous pensons que la principale raison est la banalisation de l’environnement sociolinguistique dans lequel se déroule l’enseignement de cette langue étrangère. En effet, l’environnement plurilingue dans lequel se trouve l’apprenant influence, qu’on le veuille ou non, les différentes approches qui sont en vigueur dans ces écoles et dont les enseignants se servent; car généralement, ces approches ne tiennent pas compte de la réalité selon laquelle chaque enfant en Afrique, sinon presque tous, arrivent toujours à l’école avec un bagage linguistique local qui nécessite d’être pris en compte. Ainsi, cette mise à l’écart des langues nationales parlées par les apprenants en arrivant à l’école, constitue un obstacle sérieux à l’enseignement/apprentissage non seulement du FLE, mais aussi de l’anglais au Ghana. Il faut, à notre avis, œuvrer pour la mise en place d’une approche pédagogique ex-endoglossique, qui consistera à tenir compte, dans l’enseignement/apprentissage du FLE, non seulement des réalités exogènes mais aussi endogènes avec en premier lieu les langues locales; car lorsque l’approche n’est pas axée sur la langue première ou une langue familière des apprenants, l’enseignement/apprentissage d’une langue étrangère, notamment celui du FLE au Ghana continuera d’être perçu par ces derniers comme une langue de trop surtout au niveau primaire et secondaire. Cette situation fait que même de nos jours, aucune approche pédagogique ne semble marcher véritablement dans le système scolaire ghanéen. Nous pensons que l’Etat ghanéen doit:

– Repenser la formation des enseignants du FLE en l’adaptant au contexte plurilingue

– Œuvrer pour la mise en place des outils didactiques qui prennent en compte les réalités multilingues du Ghana

– Former des équipes pluri/interdisciplinaire internationales (Linguistes, didacticiens et enseignants) en vue de la production du matériel adapté et nécessaire à l’enseignement du FLE en milieu fortement multilingue

– Intégrer les nouvelles technologies de communications dans la formation des enseignants pour mieux les accompagner et les aider à pouvoir s’en servir dans leurs pratiques pédagogiques.


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BRIEF CONSIDERATIONS ON DIFFERENCES BETWEEWN THE LEASE AND BAILMENT

Loredana Adelina PĂDURE* Abstract: Whether the use of a space destined registered office of a company or use

another immovable or movable property for various purposes in practice oscillator often between the end of a lease or bailment without but to know all legal details that differentiate the two and thus, implicitly, any advantages / disadvantages posed by our choice.

Keywords: lease, bailment, special disability

We consider the most important differences between the lease and bailment

contract to decide when it would be appropriate to conclude one or the other of the two contracts.

By law, the lease is where one party (the lessor) undertakes to provide another party (lessee) the use of property, for a specified period, for a price (rent) while the contract of bailment, part (convenience) undertakes to provide, free of charge, the other party (comodatar) the use of property, the obligation to repay the latter by a certain time.

So comodatul is a loan with no money; whether in exchange for borrowing the asset offered free loan would charge a sum of money, then the contract of bailment would turn into a rental.

Liability for defects (defects) property loan Whether, if the lease, the lessor (who gave the property to use) be liable to

the other for all hidden defects of the property the borrower that prevents or reduces its use (whether they knew it or not at the date of delivery and whether they occurred before or during the contract) lender (who gave the property to gratuitous use) does not respond to hidden defects than they knew when the contract in respect of which did not prevent comodatar. Hidden defects are the fault of the good that can not be found at first sight or in the consideration asset, after a serious checks on the ordinary way. Lack of information, experience or incompetence person who takes over the asset does not make the vices he could not find them alone to be considered hidden defects. When the fault notification is required for certain training, the person who takes over the asset (in this case, the tenant / comodatar) may consider a qualified person, and if he does not, it is their own fault.

* Lect. univ. PhD., Hyperion University in Bucharest, Faculty of Law.


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The assumption of costs for repairs

According to the New Civil Code, if the lease, the lessor (who gave the

property to use) is to carry out all necessary repairs to keep the leased asset in proper condition for use (except for minor repairs, housing – art. 1788 NCC), while in a bailment, comodatar (who took the property for free use) pay you made to use the good (except expenses incurred for necessary works that could not be foreseen at conclusion of the contract – art. 2151 NCC).

The maximum duration of the contract In the case of rental law provides a statutory maximum term that can be

concluded these contracts, respectively, for 49 years (art. 1783 NCC). Regarding the contract of bailment law does not impose such a limitation precise time; However, if the contract does not stipulate a specific deadline for return, comodatar is obliged to return the property: (a) after he used it or (b) if the use of the property is a permanent, comodatar must return the property, at the request lender. When the lease is not expected duration of hire, it will be determined according to custom, if such rules exist, and, in their absence, hiring will be deemed terminated: (a) one (1) year if housing unfurnished apartments and commercial spaces; (B) the appropriate duration of time the unit was calculated rent in movable assets or furnished rooms or apartments and (c) the duration of the rental property, in movable assets made available to the lessee for the use of a building.

Anticipated property restitution Since renting a property is chargeable, the lessor (who rents property) can not

demand restitution of the property before the deadline. Instead, the contract of bailment where use of property is given free, the rules are more flexible, allowing the lender (who gave the property to gratuitous use) to request in advance when he himself was a need for urgent and unforeseen about that good.

Lease or rental contract under which a person called the lessor undertakes to provide another person named tenant use all or part of a work or a service for a period of time in exchange for a corresponding price. Tenancy is consensual, synallagmatic, onerous, commutative and sequential execution time; has temporary character, leasing being made over a period of time and not perpetual. Basically it is an act of administration (parties should have legal capacity conclusion of such acts; minors with limited legal capacity may conclude tenancy agreements under the law). Leased assets are movable, immovable, tangible and intangible. In all cases, the goods must be nefungibile (can not be replaced with each other) and determined individual. The performance of the contract, the lessor shall: a) to hand over the leased asset; b) carry out repair work necessary to maintain rent in running; c) to ensure quiet and usable for use of the leased property, responding for eviction and his vices. Tenant in turn commits to: a) use the work in good faith, as a good owner and the intended's; b) to pay rent; c) to return to the lessor within the leased asset; d) responding to fire; e) work to defend against encroachments. The


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rent must be stipulated in the contract (if missing, the contract is qualified bailment), be determined and determinable must consist of a sum of money (fixed or percentage) or other benefit, be sincere and serious to be established regarding the duration of the contract and be set successively in whole or in part. Loeaţiune contract lapse: a) the agreement of the parties; b) unilateral termination (when not foresee term rental); c) termination for non-performance; d) the deadline; e) the destruction of the leased asset; f) the abolition title lessor; g) on disposal of leased property.

So the lease is a contract that conveys temporary use of property from one party, called the lessor, the other party, called the lessee in return for a fee, called lease (art. 1777 New Civil Code).

Although, according to art. New Civil Code 1777, transmission of the use is "for some time", the following provisions to the conclusion that the duration of the lease can be fixed or indefinite.

If the contract was concluded for a fixed, but "the parties have not shown the lease duration" (no contract has a term or for the determination of elements), according to art. 1785 New Civil Code, the lease ends:

– A period of one year if unfurnished housing or space for pursuit of a professional;

– During "which was calculated the rent" in movable assets or in one of the rooms or furnished apartments;

– During the lease the building, in movable assets made available to the lessee for the use of a building.

But the lease can be terminated perpetual term (eternal), letting hereditary estate, known in ancient times as emphyteusis as the Embat (besman) is implicitly prohibited by law. According to Art. New Civil Code 1783, "can not conclude lease for more than 49 years."

The doctrine, leasing is also known as the "sale of the usage '. But it should not be confused with the contract of sale, which differs in that it transmits only lease the right to use work for a limited time (as straight debt), not ownership.

According to art. 1778 par. 2 New Civil Code, the general provisions of the lease "shall apply correspondingly, lease and rental housing, is compatible with the particular rules applicable to those contracts." Thus, the lease is the common law for the lease (lease rural funds) and lease of residential areas to the Civil Code provides specific rules in art. 1824-1850 New Civil Code

Consequently, rental housing and leasing contracts are not separate (independent), but are only varieties of the tenancy.

As with other civil contracts, the parties may enter into a lease pre-contract, which obliges mutual or unilateral drawing of a future tenancy. Pre-contract of lease is (as the lease) an act of administration, governed by rules of law of obligations, and not the particular contract that precedes it.

Civil Code provisions regarding lease in Book V was, "About obligations", Title IX, entitled "Various special contracts" Chapter V "lease contract" art. 1777-


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1850 (of which art. 1824 to 1835 are dedicated Section 2 "Particular tenancies in housing" and art. 1836-1850 Section 3 "Particular matters lease").

Lease is a contract separate (independent) which is part of the "special contracts" governed by the Civil Code, which is customized by its legal character. The distinction is not absolute because the lease contract is differences but also similarities with other contracts.

Legal characteristics of lease Like any contract, the lease is distinguished by its legal character. a). Lease is a consensual agreement, ending the mere agreement of the parties

(without any other formality). According to art. 1781 New Civil Code, "lease contract is concluded once the parties have agreed on the property and price." So ad validitatem contract ends solo consensus. When the contract was entered and found it was destroyed or lost due to force majeure, its existence can be proven by any means.

b). Lease is a bilateral contract (sinalagmatic) as binding on both parties. The lessor undertakes to provide temporary use of the work and the lessee shall pay the rent.

c). Lease is essentially a contract for consideration, the Contracting Parties pursue a personal interest heritage.

The pecuniary nature of the lease is the essential distinction of the contract in relation to comodatul (comodato) which by definition is (essentially) free of charge.

If the use of a work is sent free of charge, the lease contract is void but may be available as a loan for use, if the thing was taught (comodatul being a real contract) and whether the other conditions of validity.

d). Commutative lease is a contract because the parties know the existence and extent of the obligations since the time the contract (ie the contract is not random).

e). Lease is a contract with successive performance as obligations of the parties running in time through a continuous benefit for the duration of the contract, the lessor is obliged to ensure use of the work, and the tenant to pay rent. So time is of the essence element of the contract.

f). Lease is a contract translative of temporary use of a determined individual work (therefore, does not give ownership), the risk of accidental destruction being borne by the owner (who may be a person other than the lessor).

B. Similarities and differences to other contracts Tenancy (locatiorei) has similarities with the contract for work, the

employment contract of mandate or deposit contract. Letting differs essentially of: – Employment contract, because the employee is paid by the amount and

quality of work, and not in relation to duration of use of the asset that generally sets the amount of the rent;


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– Contract for work, on which works are of great importance, but and services of lesser value ';

– The warrant, which aims at making exclusive legal acts by the trustee on behalf and in behalf of the principal;

– Deposit contract, which covers keeping a good (no use of it). In this case, the delineation of the lease can sometimes be difficult; for example, allowing a car in a garage belonging to another person can mean either lease if the keys garage is the leader vehicle and purpose of hiring is the lack of parking space or warehouse, where the aim of the owner is the supervision, preservation and conservation of the car.

The legal nature of the lessee The right to use the lessee is a real right because when the lease is concluded

for a period of 5 years, it is becoming act of disposal and to be enforceable against third parties, the act is subject to real estate advertising (at least if the contract it is a real estate).

But the lessee the right to use it and a claim for the following reasons: – Rental is available only when the act exceeds five years and is subject to real

estate advertising; in other cases, the right to use the lessee is a right management; – The right to use the right instruments, the tenant does not confer the right asset

tracking out to third parties and the right of preference (only specific real rights); – Are limited real rights set by law (the right to use housing nefigurând among

them). As law obligations, the lessee has the right to use movable character (even if

its object a building) temporarily susceptible to both inter vivos pledge transferable and mortis causa.

In the lease, the lessor may be a "natural or legal person holding a real right which gives it the right to use the asset that is the object of the contract, namely: the owner, the usufructuary, abitatorul lessee main (if sublease)" etc.. Since the lease is basically an act of administration, both lessor and lessee must be able to conclude the acts of administration. For this reason, either spouse can rent a common good, "without the express consent of the other spouse" (art. 345 par. 1 New Civil Code). A minor over 14, who has limited legal capacity, will be part of the tenancy, but with prior approval of his legal representative (art. 41 par. 2 New Civil Code).

Special inability to sell and purchase, including inability to buy rights disputes under sale and lease agreement are applicable (art. 1784 par. 1 and 2 New Civil Code).

When the contract is more than 5 years, and its subject is a building, the lease is the act of disposal, and the parties must have adequate capacity conclusion of such legal acts (art. 1784 par. 3 The new Civil Code).

We share the view that only the lessor must have capacity available at the end of the lease exceeding 5 years, since the tenant renting is always an act of administration (regardless of duration).


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COMPARED ASPECTS ON INJURY AND THE THEORY OF UNPREDICTABILITY IN NEW CIVIL CODE

Adina- Lorena CODEIA* Abstract: This article aims to treat, from a comparative law perspective, the two

institututions, newly introduced in Romanian civil legislation,, injury (applied both to minors and for adults) and unpredictability.

So, based on changes made in the New Civil Code, we concentrated mainly on the injury, which is not a specific institution of the heritage protection of minors, as operated over 150 years under the rule of the Civil Code of 1864, but it becomes of general application. This means one of the major changes brought by the new law in place, which tells us that there is injury when one party taking advantage of the state of need, of ake of experience or lack of knowledge of the other party, stipulates in its favor or another person a benefit considerably greater value, at its conclusion, than the benefit party. In terms of application, this institution brings some exceptions as random contracts, transaction, and other contracts specifically provided by law.

Speaking strictly to the situations where we have injuty- as the vice of consent, the penalties it entails may be: remove or adapt the contract. From this point of view, NCC presents one more institution in which we can talk of adaptation or termination, namely the theory of unpredictability. This is seen as an exception to the principle of binding force of the contract, it is applied when: execution of the contract has become excessively onerous for some; it became manifestly unjust to orderthis to the execution of duty; changing circumstances that determine the first two conditions occurred after the contract; the debtor has not risked changing circumstances and could not reasonably be considered that would have taken this risk. The precondition for submission before the courts of such action being that excessive debtor to be tried within a reasonable time and in good faith, negotiate fair and reasonable adaptation of the contract.

Under these aspects, although apparently the results of applying the two institutions seem to be the same, specific mechanisms are considerably different and preconditions for trial they have as an object.

Keywords: New Civil Code, injury, unpredictability, scope, vice of consent, contracts.

Injury. Definition. We can find injury institution in the fifth Book, Title II,

Cap. I, Section III, paragraph 3, making speech about it in Article 1206 para. (2) and art. 1221-1224 the New Civil Code.

So in the NCC concept, injury is no longer a specific institution for property protection of minors, as it worked more than 150 years under the Civil Code of 1864, but it becomes of general application. In other words, by the definition given, to the institution by the new law in force we understand that any considerable

disparity between the benefits to which the parties have committed may lead

to the application at the request, of the injured party, to annul the contract for

* PhD student.


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damage. The injury is of two types: qualified (which is more than half the value had obligation of the violated for contracting date) or simple (less than half of the value originally assumed). For minors classification of the injury in simple or qualified does not have any interest.

As noted in the literature, onditions for the existence of the injury –vice of consent are that this might exist when the contract is signed, to be a direct consequence of the legal act and disproportion of the value from benefits to be clear1

Aplication domain. One of the most important changes brought by the New Civil Code to the legal regime of vices of consent is the one related to the scope of the injury. In the light of the current regulations it became vice of consent with general application, unlike the old law, which referred only to minors when it taked about injury.

So, now there is injury when one of the parties, taking advantage of a state of need, of inexperience or lack of knowledge of the other party, stipulates in its favor or another person a benefit worth considerably more than the one at its conclusion, than the vaue of the other party. We also talk about the injury and where the minor assumes an excessive obligation in realation with his heritage status, the benefits that he gets from the contract or to all the circumstances, situation described in art. 1221 NCC.

However, some legal acts are exceptions to the general scope of the injury. Legal documents in relation to which we can not be in the presence of this vice of consent are, the transaction and other agreements expressly provided by law2.

Moreover, we can not have injury in the free contracts. What looks on these, one party voluntarily does not receive a benefit- so it is impossible to be able to claim a disproportion of the benefits as a consequence of its operations by the convention.

Sanction for injury. Considering that the only structural element of injury is damage equal with disproportion of value between benefits3, the one who will submit this case to the court such a case will be bound to prove by any evidence admitted. As a result of the existence of injury, the party whose consent was vitiated can get:

– Cancellation of the contract – only if damage exceeds half the value it had at the time of conclusion, the benefit promised or enforced by the injured party. Disproportion must subsist until the application for annulment.

– Adaptation of the contract – by reducing the benefit and reduction of the obligations for injured party. Maintaining the contract if the other party provides fairly, a reduction of their claims or, where appropriate, an increase in their obligations. The contract will be considered validly concluded under the conditions 1.PhD. Loredana Adelina Pădure, Civil Law Course, General Part. Persons, Biblitheca Publishing

House, Târgoviște, 2015, p. 96 2 Art 1224 from the Law 278/2009 on Civil Code 3 PhD. Loredana Adelina Pădure, op.cit., p.104


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offered by the other party and accepted by the party whose consent has been undermined by injury, extinguished the right to have the contract rescinded.

Prescription. The limitation period for bringing proceedings for annulment or the reduction of benefits for injury is one year from the date of conclusion. Anulability of the contract can not be opposed as an objection when the remedy is prescribed 4.

Theory of unpredictability. Definition. Unpredictability institution is regulated in art. 1271 of the New Civil Code, text that enshrines both a rule ( "The parties are bound to perform their obligations even if their execution has become more onerous, whether because of cost increases for execution of their duties or due to decreased value of the consideration") and a exception ( "if performance has become excessively onerous because of an exceptional change of circumstances which would obviously unjust order the debtor to comply with the duty, court intervention is possible in the contract") in the activation of contracts.

So unpredictability is an exception to the principle of binding force of the contract missing contract by the desired effects by the parties or by allowing the court to adapt the contract to distribute equitably between the parties losses and benefits resulting from changing circumstances or to has terminated the contract at the time and under the conditions it sets5.

Aplication domain. It should be noted that being a newly introduced institution in civil law, this provision can only apply to contracts concluded after the entry into force of the New Civil Code, therefore after 01.10.2011.

Conditions for applying the theory of unpredictability and its subjecting to a judicial debate:

– Performance of the contract has become excessively onerous for some; – Has become manifestly unjust obligativity for the execution of duty; – Change of circumstances which determines the first two conditions occurred

after the contract. We believe there are exterior changes, objectives, beyond its control – changing circumstances and the extent of the obligation have not been and could not have been envisaged by the debtor reasonably at the time of conclusion of the contract;

– The debtor has not risked the changing of the circumstances and could not reasonably be considered that he would have taken this risk;

– Excessive debtor tried within a reasonable and good faith, negotiate fair and reasonable adaptation of the contract.

The solutions that the court can pronounce: a) adaptation of the contract to distribute equitably between the parties losses

and benefits resulting from a change in circumstances;

4 http://www.juridice.ro/171721/leziunea-in-noul-cod-civil.html 5 http://www.inm-lex.ro


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By that provision legislature enshrines legislative the possibility for the court to intervene in the agreement of the parties and to modify it.

However, we believe that it is not an adaptation of the contract under the conditions provided by art. NCC 1213, according to which a part to avoid nullity for the error declares that intends to perform the contract as it was understood by that part of the error.

I think it would be appropriate to speak effectively about an amendment to the contract so that they could distribute equitably between the parties the losses and benefits resulting from changing circumstances. The court will have to show concretely how to modify the contract. The court can not compel the parties to adapt the contract – such an obligation would be virtually a denial of justice because previously the debtor has tried negotiating of the fair adaptation and reasonable contract and notification of the court was made precisely because his approach failed ( prerequisite to be met before referral to courts).

b) termination of the contract at the time and under the conditions it sets. In this case, the court must show both the date of termination and termination

conditions in which they operate – the extent to which parties are exempted from obligations, the way the restitution operating benefits, the extent to which the parties are bound by damages caused.

Analyzing such, and from fulfilling the 5 prerequisites for notification of the court in order to apply the theory of unpredictability, one of the issues that will arise in practice will be caused by the vagueness of the terms " unjust character," "circumstances" or "reasonable" and their high degree of interpretability.

Complete freedom that will have instances of amendment and termination of the contracts, according to art. 1271 in the NCC, will lead to lack of predicitibilitate and creating a diverse6 case law and uneven, a situation which could give rise to real controversy in the matter.

In conclusion, we make a comparison between the two institutions of civil law regulations, to show the differences: Damage Unpredictable

Vice of consent Exception to the principle of binding force of contracts

It must exist at the time of signing the contract

It comes after the time of conclusion of the contract

It is a consequence of the will of the party that takes advantage of the special status of the other party

It is determined by external circumstances of the parties

The performance of one party is excessively onerous in relation to the counter party, from the beginning of the contract

The performance of one party is excessively onerous in relation to the counter party, after the signing of the contract

Missing agreement of the effects intended by the parties through: • adaptation of the

Missing agreement effects intended by the parties through the solutions the court can

6 http://www.avocatnet.ro


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contract – maintenance of the contract if the other party provides a fair, a reduction of their claims or, where appropriate, an increase of their own obligations; • cancellation of the contract – if the lesion has a specific gravity; • Reducing the injured party benefit or obligations to the injured party or reducing the amount of damages to which it would be justified. Missing agreement effects intended by the parties through the solutions we can pronounce court: • adaptation of the contract; • termination at the time and under the conditions it sets

pronounce: • adaptation of the contract; • termination at the time and under the conditions it sets

• cancellation of the contract and benefit reduction are ordered by the court to the injured party • adaptation of the contract is the result of the will of the parties – the acceptance by the injured party supply other parts for reducing its own debt or increase their own obligations, with no need for a court decision in this regard conditions such adjustment and termination operates are disposed of instance

Conditions such adjustment and termination operates are disposed of instance

There is still not any precondition that must be met before referral to court the court

Prerequisite: excessive debtor has tried to adapt negotiating fair and reasonable contract

Bibliography: Gabriel Boroi and Carla Alexandra Anghelescu, Civil Law Course. General Part II edition

revised and enlarged under the New Code, Hamangiu Publishing House, 2012 Iosif Robi Urs și Carmen Todica, Civil Law. General Theory, Hamangiu Publishing House,

2015 Liviu Stănciulescu, Civil Law course. Contracts, Hamangiu Publishing House 2012 Loredana Adelina Pădure, Civil Law Course. General Part. Persons. Bibliotheca Publishing

House Târgoviște, 2015 Nicoleta Țăndăreau, The Theory of unpredictability in NCC. Correlation with injury New Civil Code explained for all, Superior Council of Magistracy, Romania 1909 http://studia.law.ubbcluj.ro http://www.avocatnet.ro


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