Book Review: The Cambridge Handbook of Labour in Competition Law by Sanjukta Paul, Shae McCrystal and Ewan McGaughey (eds.)
| Published date | 01 September 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/13882627231201481 |
| Author | Marco Biasi |
| Date | 01 September 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
academic contributions. Hiilamo’s interdisciplinary approach, comprehensive analysis, and
forward-looking perspectives make this work a significant contribution to the field. Researchers
and academics interested in these subjects will find this book beneficial in shaping new perspectives
not only on basic income but also on more radical social protection reforms.
ORCID iD
Alger Kurti https://orcid.org/0009-0007-9069-6935
Sanjukta Paul, Shae McCrystal and Ewan McGaughey (eds.) The Cambridge Handbook of Labour in Competition
Law, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2022, 322 pages, ISBN 9781108830317.
Reviewed by: Marco Biasi ,University of Milan, Italy
DOI: 10.1177/13882627231201481
This interesting and stimulating book edited by Paul, McCrystal and McGaughey insightfully
addresses the relationship between labour law and competition law, with a special focus on the
right of non-employee workers to bargain collectively. The theme selection is timely, as it reflects
a current trend stemming from the growth of work beyond the boundaries of traditional employ-
ment on a global scale. The volume, which comprises 21 chapters (introduction and conclusion
included), combines a comparative survey of the regulation of non-employee workers in domestic
labour and competition law (chapters 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20) with a set of
contributions that approach the matter from a human rights perspective (chapters 2, 3 and 19) and
from a law and economics standpoint (chapters 5 and 6). The target audience of the book is mainly
labour lawyers, but the volume could also be beneficial to competition law scholars and authorities.
As illustrated in the detailed country chapters, in almost every jurisdiction the collective agree-
ments covering the employment relationship enjoy an antitrust exemption, or they simply fall
outside of the scope of competition law. Still, the process of emancipation of employment law
from antitrust was particularly difficult in common law countries and it might not be a coincidence
that the three editors of the book are based in the US, the UK and Australia, where the formalistic
construction of the antitrust policies by the Courts hampered the development of the labour move-
ment in its early days. Today, the core issue revolves around the extension of the antitrust exemp-
tion to self-employed workers. In fact, there are countries like the US where the non-employees do
not enjoy the statutory right to bargain collectively, which is the precondition to being immune from
antitrust liability. In the EU scenario, self-employed workers potentially qualify as undertakings for
the purposes of competition law, and as a result they can be subject to the ban on price fixing agree-
ments (unless, according to the European Court of Justice in FNV Kunsten (C-413/13), they are
‘false self-employed workers). Either way, the difficulties experienced by self-employed workers
in trying to collectively negotiate their (fair) fees seems unjust and undesirable, especially for
those such as gig workers, who, despite not being classified as employees, find themselves in a
weak and vulnerable position vis-à-vis their clients. Yet, there are countries (e.g. Italy, Germany,
France and Japan) where the constitutional protection of any worker’s right to union association
310 European Journal of Social Security 25(3)
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