Labour regulation of international aviation: A crawl-walk-run approach in international law

Abstract

In the evolving civil aviation market, diverse business models and employment relations have led to a hybrid and complex labour landscape. This complexity results in insufficient labour protection due to factors such as forum shopping, atypical employment, and weakened union protection. Technically, legal gaps in aviation personnel regulation exacerbate this problem by skewing bargaining power in favour of employers, affecting crew management and working conditions. This study explores how international law can enhance labour standards in aviation, focussing on whether international law can address these issues.

The research identifies several inadequacies in labour protection within the airline industry, highlighting deficiencies from both social and technical perspectives. It finds that current international labour standards and international air law fall short of effectively addressing these gaps. Although the Comprehensive Air Transport Agreements (CATAs) with labour provisions present a potential solution, their impact is limited by ambiguities and a lack of enforceability. The study proposes a crawl-walk-run approach to gradually improve labour regulations, starting with enhancing CATAs and moving towards more comprehensive standards and frameworks. This multi-level strategy aims to create a balanced and effective regulatory environment for aviation labour, promoting both decent work and market liberalisation.