Labor and Employment Law Commons^™

Regulating Health And Safety In Capitalist Workplaces: History, Practices And Prospects, Eric Tucker

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The chapter provides a broad overview of occupational health and safety (OHS) regulation in advanced capitalist countries with a focus on the English-speaking world. It views OHS regulation through a political economy lens in which protective legislation is enacted and implemented against the imperative of a profit-driven system of production. The chapter provide examines the historical development of OHS regulation beginning with the rise of industrial capitalism leading up to modern OHS regimes that increasing embrace mandated partial self regulation. It then considers contemporary debates over the efficacy of these regimes, focusing on the scope of self regulation, the practice …