Les relations de travail dans la Ligue nationale de hockey : un modèle de négociation collective transnationale ?

Le régime de relations de travail institué au sein de la Ligue nationale de hockey présente un modèle original de représentation syndicale et de négociation collective transnationales. De source privée et de nature strictement contractuelle, ce régime est fondé primordialement sur un volontarisme mutuel. Il s’inscrit assurément dans une logique d’« autonomie collective » et constitue un exemple éloquent de « pluralisme juridique ».La négociation des conditions de travail est centralisée, puisqu’elle a lieu entre les dirigeants de la Ligue, les propriétaires des équipes et tous les joueurs de hockey employés par l’une ou l’autre de ces équipes. La Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) conclue en 2005 est le résultat net de ce processus de négociation collective multipatronale : régissant les conditions de travail de tous les joueurs de la Ligue, la CBA s’impose contractuellement à une pluralité d’employeurs — les 30 équipes de la Ligue — à l’oeuvre dans une industrie particulière — une ligue de sport professionnel — qui exerce ses activités à l’échelle nord-américaine. En outre, la CBA comporte un mécanisme inédit de détermination de la rémunération pouvant être versée aux joueurs par leur équipe respective : un « plafond salarial ». La force obligatoire et exécutoire de la CBA est également assurée par un mécanisme d’arbitrage liant les parties. Enfin, si la CBA encadre de manière significative la négociation du contrat individuel de travail entre le joueur et son équipe, celle-ci demeure une négociation décentralisée, se déroulant essentiellement entre l’équipe et le joueur.Le texte qui suit présente, à grands traits, les caractéristiques principales de ce régime qui offre des perspectives de réflexion intéressantes pour la théorie du droit du travail, en cette ère de mondialisation et d’internationalisation des échanges.The labour relations framework implemented in the National Hockey League sets forth an original model for transnational union representation and collective bargaining. The agreement basically rests upon mutual consent. It is most assuredly a manifestation of “collective autonomy” and provides an eloquent example of “legal pluralism.”The negotiation of working conditions is centralized, since this takes place between the owners of the teams and league directors as well as all hockey players employed by any one of the teams. The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) entered into in 2005 is the net result of this multi-owner collective bargaining process governing working conditions for all League players. As such the CBA is contractually binding on several employers — the 30 team league — working in a specific industry — a professional sports league — that carries out its activities on a North American scale. Moreover, the CBA includes a totally new mechanism for determining remuneration to be paid to each and every player by each one of their respective teams : a “salary cap”. The binding and legally operative force of the CBA is also secured by mandatory arbitration. In addition, while the CBA imposes significant constraints on the negotiation of individual labour contracts between players and their team, it still leaves place for such decentralized negotiation which is carried out essentially between the team and individual players.The following text presents an overview of the main features of the National Hockey League framework, which raises some interesting questions as regards labour law theory in these times of globalization and growing international trade

Le droit de congédier un employé physiquement ou psychologiquement inapte : revu et corrigé par le droit à l’égalité et le droit au travail

Jusqu’à la fin des années 90, il était acquis qu’un employeur pouvait congédier un employé pour un motif d’absentéisme lié à l’inaptitude physique ou psychologique, dans la mesure où les deux conditions suivantes étaient réunies : d’une part, l’existence d’un taux d’absentéisme anormalement élevé et, d’autre part, l’impossibilité pour l’employé de fournir sa prestation normale de travail dans un avenir rapproché. L’évolution jurisprudentielle du droit à l’égalité et de son corollaire, l’obligation d’accommodement raisonnable, a radicalement changé les règles applicables en cette matière. Les auteurs analysent ici cet effet de « constitutionnalisation » sur le droit de l’employeur de congédier un employé incapable de fournir la prestation de travail pour laquelle il a été engagé.Until the very end of the 1990s, it was accepted that an employer could dismiss an employee owing to absenteeism issuing from physical or psychological unfitness but only insofar as the following two conditions came together : On one hand, an abnormally high level of absenteeism and on the other, the employee’s total incapacity to perform ordinary working tasks in the foreseeable future. Since then, the evolution in court rulings on equality and its corollary, the duty to make reasonable accommodations, has radically changed the rules applicable to this issue. In this paper, the authors analyze this « constitutionalization » effect on the employer’s right to dismiss an employee who is unable to perform the work for which he or she was hired

Autonomie collective et droit du travail : mélanges en l'honneur du professeur Pierre Verge

L’apport du professeur Pierre Verge au droit du travail est remarquable! Ses travaux ont profondément marqué cette discipline et en ont accompagné le développement pendant plus de cinquante ans. Engagé, il occupa dès le début de sa carrière diverses fonctions administratives, dont celle de doyen (Normand). Visionnaire, il se tourna rapidement vers la recherche subventionnée et vers l’interdisciplinarité. Pluraliste, son approche se focalisa sur la multiplicité des sources – juridiques ou non - qui jalonnent sa discipline, élargissant ses horizons de recherche, vers la sociologie, notamment. Joueur d’équipe, il sut transmettre à d’autres, ici même et ailleurs dans le monde, son savoir et son expérience, ce qui se traduit par d’innombrables copublications et collaborations, et autant d’amitiés nouées. Rigueur intellectuelle, érudition et ardeur au travail sont des traits de personnalité connus du professeur Verge. Mais à cela s’ajoutent de belles qualités humaines : générosité, affabilité et modestie caractérisent en effet cet homme, authentique, qui, durant son illustre carrière, influença tant de collègues et d’étudiants. Plusieurs d’entre eux ont donc voulu lui rendre un vibrant hommage et exprimer leur attachement et leur reconnaissance sous la forme de Mélanges

How the freshwater biodiversity information system (FBIS) is supporting national freshwater fish conservation decisions in South Africa

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : The datasets presented in this study can be found in online repositories. The names of the repository/repositories and accession number(s) can be found in the article/Supplementary Material. Alternatively, the dataset can be accessed via the Freshwater Biodiversity Information System (freshwaterbiodiversity.org).In South Africa, anthropogenic pressures such as water over-abstraction, invasive species impacts, land-use change, pollution, and climate change have caused widespread deterioration of the health of river ecosystems. This comes at great cost to both people and biodiversity, with freshwater fishes ranked as the country’s most threatened species group. Effective conservation and management of South Africa’s freshwater ecosystems requires access to reliable and comprehensive biodiversity data. Despite the existence of a wealth of freshwater biodiversity data, access to these data has been limited. The Freshwater Biodiversity Information System (FBIS) was built to address this knowledge gap by developing an intuitive, accessible and reliable platform for freshwater biodiversity data in South Africa. The FBIS hosts high quality, high accuracy biodiversity data that are freely available to a wide range of stakeholders, including researchers, conservation practitioners and policymakers. We describe how the system is being used to provide freshwater fish data to a national conservation decision-support tool—The Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE) National Environmental Screening Tool (NEST). The NEST uses empirical and modelled biodiversity data to guide Environmental Impact Assessment Practitioners in conducting environmental assessments of proposed developments. Occurrence records for 34 threatened freshwater fishes occurring in South Africa were extracted from the FBIS and verified by taxon specialists, resulting in 6 660 records being used to generate modelled and empirical national distribution (or sensitivity) layers. This represents the first inclusion of freshwater biodiversity data in the NEST, and future iterations of the tool will incorporate additional freshwater taxa. This case study demonstrates how the FBIS fills a pivotal role in the data-to-decision pipeline through supporting data-driven conservation and management decisions at a national level.Funding for the development of the Freshwater Biodiversity Information System (FBIS) was provided by the JRS Biodiversity Foundation Funding for the development of the Freshwater Biodiversity Information System (FBIS) was provided by the JRS Biodiversity Foundation. This work is based on the research supported in part by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa and the NRF-SAIAB DSI/ NRF Research Chair in Inland Fisheries and Freshwater Ecology.http://www.frontiersin.org/Environmental_Scienceam2024Zoology and EntomologySDG-14:Life below wate

Role for a Novel Usher Protein Complex in Hair Cell Synaptic Maturation

The molecular mechanisms underlying hair cell synaptic maturation are not well understood. Cadherin-23 (CDH23), protocadherin-15 (PCDH15) and the very large G-protein coupled receptor 1 (VLGR1) have been implicated in the development of cochlear hair cell stereocilia, while clarin-1 has been suggested to also play a role in synaptogenesis. Mutations in CDH23, PCDH15, VLGR1 and clarin-1 cause Usher syndrome, characterized by congenital deafness, vestibular dysfunction and retinitis pigmentosa. Here we show developmental expression of these Usher proteins in afferent spiral ganglion neurons and hair cell synapses. We identify a novel synaptic Usher complex comprised of clarin-1 and specific isoforms of CDH23, PCDH15 and VLGR1. To establish the in vivo relevance of this complex, we performed morphological and quantitative analysis of the neuronal fibers and their synapses in the Clrn1−/− mouse, which was generated by incomplete deletion of the gene. These mice showed a delay in neuronal/synaptic maturation by both immunostaining and electron microscopy. Analysis of the ribbon synapses in Ames waltzerav3J mice also suggests a delay in hair cell synaptogenesis. Collectively, these results show that, in addition to the well documented role for Usher proteins in stereocilia development, Usher protein complexes comprised of specific protein isoforms likely function in synaptic maturation as well

Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles (MISEV2023): From basic to advanced approaches

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), through their complex cargo, can reflect the state of their cell of origin and change the functions and phenotypes of other cells. These features indicate strong biomarker and therapeutic potential and have generated broad interest, as evidenced by the steady year-on-year increase in the numbers of scientific publications about EVs. Important advances have been made in EV metrology and in understanding and applying EV biology. However, hurdles remain to realising the potential of EVs in domains ranging from basic biology to clinical applications due to challenges in EV nomenclature, separation from non-vesicular extracellular particles, characterisation and functional studies. To address the challenges and opportunities in this rapidly evolving field, the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) updates its 'Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles', which was first published in 2014 and then in 2018 as MISEV2014 and MISEV2018, respectively. The goal of the current document, MISEV2023, is to provide researchers with an updated snapshot of available approaches and their advantages and limitations for production, separation and characterisation of EVs from multiple sources, including cell culture, body fluids and solid tissues. In addition to presenting the latest state of the art in basic principles of EV research, this document also covers advanced techniques and approaches that are currently expanding the boundaries of the field. MISEV2023 also includes new sections on EV release and uptake and a brief discussion of in vivo approaches to study EVs. Compiling feedback from ISEV expert task forces and more than 1000 researchers, this document conveys the current state of EV research to facilitate robust scientific discoveries and move the field forward even more rapidly

Evidence of positive selection associated with placental loss in tiger sharks

Background: All vertebrates initially feed their offspring using yolk reserves. In some live-bearing species these yolk reserves may be supplemented with extra nutrition via a placenta. Sharks belonging to the Carcharhinidae family are all live-bearing, and with the exception of the tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier), develop placental connections after exhausting yolk reserves. Phylogenetic relationships suggest the lack of placenta in tiger sharks is due to secondary loss. This represents a dramatic shift in reproductive strategy, and is likely to have left a molecular footprint of positive selection within the genome. Results: We sequenced the transcriptome of the tiger shark and eight other live-bearing shark species. From this data we constructed a time-calibrated phylogenetic tree estimating the tiger shark lineage diverged from the placental carcharhinids approximately 94 million years ago. Along the tiger shark lineage, we identified five genes exhibiting a signature of positive selection. Four of these genes have functions likely associated with brain development (YWHAE and ARL6IP5) and sexual reproduction (VAMP4 and TCTEX1D2). Conclusions: Our results indicate the loss of placenta in tiger sharks may be associated with subsequent adaptive changes in brain development and sperm production

The bii4africa dataset of faunal and floral population intactness estimates across Africa’s major land uses

Sub-Saharan Africa is under-represented in global biodiversity datasets, particularly regarding the impact of land use on species’ population abundances. Drawing on recent advances in expert elicitation to ensure data consistency, 200 experts were convened using a modified-Delphi process to estimate ‘intactness scores’: the remaining proportion of an ‘intact’ reference population of a species group in a particular land use, on a scale from 0 (no remaining individuals) to 1 (same abundance as the reference) and, in rare cases, to 2 (populations that thrive in human-modified landscapes). The resulting bii4africa dataset contains intactness scores representing terrestrial vertebrates (tetrapods: ±5,400 amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) and vascular plants (±45,000 forbs, graminoids, trees, shrubs) in sub-Saharan Africa across the region’s major land uses (urban, cropland, rangeland, plantation, protected, etc.) and intensities (e.g., large-scale vs smallholder cropland). This dataset was co-produced as part of the Biodiversity Intactness Index for Africa Project. Additional uses include assessing ecosystem condition; rectifying geographic/ taxonomic biases in global biodiversity indicators and maps; and informing the Red List of Ecosystems

The bii4africa dataset of faunal and floral population intactness estimates across Africa’s major land uses

Sub-Saharan Africa is under-represented in global biodiversity datasets, particularly regarding the impact of land use on species’ population abundances. Drawing on recent advances in expert elicitation to ensure data consistency, 200 experts were convened using a modified-Delphi process to estimate ‘intactness scores’: the remaining proportion of an ‘intact’ reference population of a species group in a particular land use, on a scale from 0 (no remaining individuals) to 1 (same abundance as the reference) and, in rare cases, to 2 (populations that thrive in human-modified landscapes). The resulting bii4africa dataset contains intactness scores representing terrestrial vertebrates (tetrapods: ±5,400 amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) and vascular plants (±45,000 forbs, graminoids, trees, shrubs) in sub-Saharan Africa across the region’s major land uses (urban, cropland, rangeland, plantation, protected, etc.) and intensities (e.g., large-scale vs smallholder cropland). This dataset was co-produced as part of the Biodiversity Intactness Index for Africa Project. Additional uses include assessing ecosystem condition; rectifying geographic/taxonomic biases in global biodiversity indicators and maps; and informing the Red List of Ecosystems