To date, observers have noted that globalization affects state regulation and national labour policies by favouring the increased action of supranational bodies and creating pressures to reduce national labour standards. This paper explores how globalization also influences the process of policy-making in the field of labour. To that end, the authors examine recent amendments made to a Quebec law, the Act respecting Collective Agreement Decrees and the process that led to their adoption. In reviewing the changes that were made to the decree system, the authors argue that the argument of the international economic competitiveness of the enterprises became a legitimate criterion for evaluating labour policies and that it affected the negotiation process between state and non-state actors concerning the state regulation of labour.
International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations