Labor Law and Environmental Sustainability

The article deconstructs the narrative of nature as labor law’s “other2, by explaining how and why the notion of decent work can be enlarged from the quality, safety, and justice dimensions to the paradigm of environmental sustainability. The hypothesis behind this research is that there is no contradiction between environmental sustainability and the fundamental principles of labor law, although some normative adjustments are needed to put labor regulation at work for sustainability and the environment. The article discusses how and why statutory legislation, jurisprudence and collective bargaining can contribute to rethinking the value of labor and its regulation in the light of other social values and rights linked to environmental protection.