Book review: Unity in Adversity – EU citizenship, social justice and the cautionary tale of the UK
| DOI | 10.1177/1388262718821516 |
| Published date | 01 December 2018 |
| Author | Stamatia Devetzi |
| Date | 01 December 2018 |
| Subject Matter | Book reviews |
conditions through the principle of wage parity. Likewise, the WTO’s normative concern with
trade liberalisation and free movement contrasts with the ILO’s rights-based agenda based on
equality and decent work. The authors outline the emergence of an undoubtedly complex regula-
tory regime, but one that is fundamentally committed to economic integration in the absence of
political integration. It endeavours to promote the free circulation of goods, capital and services,
without recognising, let alone promoting, the essential human labour component that is intrinsic to
them. Whilst international law has tended to focus on the principle of equal treatment to address the
problems arising from migrant workers’ precarious status in the labour market, this collection
raises fresh concerns about the realisation of this principle in practice.
What could be considered as a shortcoming of the book, is its fragmentation, where each author
focuses on a different perspective from a national or international point of view, therefore often
limiting the option of detailed comparison. On the other hand, this does allow for an interdisci-
plinary and multi-faceted approach, which was, in this reviewer’s opinion, the original idea. The
book is written in a comprehensible manner and represents a significant enrichment of the dis-
cussion on temporary labour migration, a phenomenon that is ever more important, as there is now
scarcely a nation state that is not touched by migration, either as a country of origin, a transit
country or a destination country for migrant workers. It is therefore recommended to a wide range
of readers, especially those wishing to gain insight and advance their knowledge in this field, while
being especially relevant for researchers, social partners and policymakers.
Author biography
Primoˇ
z Rataj is a Teaching Assistant in Labour and Social Security Law at the Faculty of Law,
University of Ljubljana. His interests include employment relationships and social security law,
especially the areas of social security coordination, healthcare and unemployment.
Charlotte O’Brien, Unity in Adversity – EU citizenship, social justice and the cautionary tale of the UK,
Oxford and Portland: Hart Publishing, 2017, ISBN 978-1-84956-719-3.
Reviewed by: Stamatia Devetzi, Fulda University of Applied Sciences, Germany
DOI: 10.1177/1388262718821516
‘Where do we go from here?’ This is the first sentence of this remarkable book, and it refers to the
identity crisis and the future of Europe in the aftermath of the referendum on UK membership of
the European Union. Prior to this, efforts to keep the British people inside the EU included, inter
alia, efforts of European institutions such as the European Council and the Court of Justice to ‘roll
back’ the previously achieved progress on social Europe. In addition to that, the UK government
introduced welfare reforms, which formed a programme of declaratory discrimination against EU
nationals. This did not work out, however – the UK voted to leave anyway, as Charlotte O’Brien
points out in her introduction. She argues that it is necessary for Europe to learn from this
experience. The referendum result should be treated as a cautionary tale, both for the EU, to
390 European Journal of Social Security 20(4)
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