Comparative analysis of industrial relations systems between the DRC and the United States of America: towards a pluralist model of labor regulation in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Abstract

This article offers a comparative analysis of industrial relations systems in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the United States, using a deductive-documentary approach that draws on doctrines, legislation, and institutional research. The study highlights two opposing normative models: a pluralist-contractual and decentralized model in the United States, where social norms emerge from collective bargaining, and a legal-centric model in the DRC, in which the state remains the primary producer of rules. The results show that these architectural differences influence union density, conflict resolution, normative robustness, and the social effectiveness of labor law. The study confirms that the DRC, through its Constitution and territorial decentralization, possesses institutional foundations that allow for a gradual transition toward regulatory pluralism. She concludes that a hybrid model is needed, based on the territorialization of social dialogue, the recognition of existing regulations and the co-production of standards, in order to improve the effectiveness of labor rules in an environment characterized by informality and socio-institutional fragmentation.

JEL Classification : J50 ; J52 ; J53 ; K31 ; O17 ; O55.

Paper type : Theoretical Reseach.