Hazard or Hardship: Crafting Global Norms on the Right to Refuse Unsafe Work, by Jeffrey Hilgert . ILR Press, Ithaca, NY, 2013, 224 pp., ISBN: 978 0 8014 5189 8, £29.95, hardback.

AuthorMichael Quinlan
Date01 June 2014
Published date01 June 2014
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1111/bjir.12065
crucible, the authors pinpoint factors such as identifying grievances against the
employer, fostering a collective identity and cultivating leaders in the bargaining unit
as contributing to the mobilization that is necessary to counter employer resistance
and achieve recognition. However, each of these factors would seem applicable
regardless of whether the case went through the statutory or voluntary route, took
place before or after the enactment of the ERA99 or was located inside or outside of
the UK (as exhibited by the references). Additionally, without any cases that obtained
recognition voluntarily (either before or after the ERA99), their sample lacks the
variation necessary to show that these factors are a result of the statutory procedure,
or that they are even shaped by it, as the authors claim. While the focus on organizing
and the factors that contribute to its success is interesting, the shift in focus from
outcomes to process makes this chapter seem incongruous with the rest of the book.
The final two chapters bring the reader to the current iteration of the ERA by
covering the amendments made to the legislation in 2004 and examining the effect that
current political and economic trends are having on its operation. The ERA2004
moved the UK system even closer to the North American systems by designating
unfair labour practices, and the authors examine the justification, use and weaknesses
of these amendments. The subsequent chapter examines how the procedure operates
in the context of developing trends such as outsourcing, privatization and growing
temporary/agency work. A final concluding chapter provides an overall assessment of
the legislation in light of the evidence provided in the seven previous chapters and
looks towards the future of UK employment relations.
Overall, this book provides a strong assessment of the operation and outcomes of the
ERA99, and it could be very useful as a textbook in a course on UK labour law or
contemporary UK employment relations. The insertion of interesting and informative
textboxes throughout, a strength of the volume that provides another level of depth to
the analysis, even gives the volume the feel of a textbook. Furthermore, cognizant of the
aforementioned convergence hypothesis, it may find interest among comparative
scholars. That being said, despite the occasional international comparisons, the volume
does appear to be written for those within the UK system or for those already familiar
with it as some of the concepts and legislation are not always adequately explained.
Additional reading may be needed for those unfamiliar with UK industrial relations
and legislation. Overall, though, Moore, McKay and Veale deserve to be commended
for the comprehensiveness of their analysis and their ability to document and chart the
shifting nature of contemporary employment relations in the UK.
BRADLEY WEINBERG
Cornell University
Hazard or Hardship: Crafting Global Norms on the Right to Refuse Unsafe Work,by
Jeffrey Hilgert. ILR Press, Ithaca, NY, 2013, 224 pp., ISBN: 978 0 8014 5189 8,
£29.95, hardback.
Occupational health and safety (OHS) was never going to be immune to the rise of
neoliberalism and associated changes to work organization and attacks on collective
worker representation. This book charts an important but hitherto neglected aspect of
social protection in the field of OHS — the right of workers to refuse unsafe work. The
right to refuse unsafe work should be inalienable in societies that respect and value
their citizens, and it should be defined and institutionally facilitated so it can be
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392 British Journal of Industrial Relations
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/London School of Economics.

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