Labour Codes Research Articles

Mapping the ascendance of the ‘living wage’ standard in non-state global labour codes

The living wage standard has emerged as a norm in global initiatives targeting supply chain labor practices. This is unexpected, because the living wage, if actually paid, could impose substantial new supply chain costs. There is also considerable disagreement on how to calculate a living wage in practice. Therefore, the story of how the living wage ascended to become a standard term found in global labor supply chain initiatives provides an interesting case study on how norms and standards emerge through the complex interplay of transnational business governance (TBG) interactions. The subject of TBG interactions is an emerging field of study. These interactions are complex, involving multiple public and private actors crossing vast geopolitical spaces, with sometimes shared, but often conflicting interests. This complexity makes TBG interactions both an exciting new field of inquiry for scholars, but also an extremely challenging one. In these early days of theory development, it is useful to engage in a mapping exercise that will help scholars identify and test the relationships between the many inputs and outputs of TBG interactions. This paper contributes to this exercise by proposing and developing a basic open systems framework for analyzing TBG interactions. This new systems framework is demonstrated by reference to the complex story of the ‘living wage’ standard in private governance schemes targeting labour practices in global supply chains.

Trap of the Past: Why Economically Dependent Work is Not Regulated in the Member States of Eastern Europe

The regulation of economically dependent work is a relatively new phenomenon and is present only in some ‘old’ Member States. At the same time, the ‘new’ Member States of Eastern Europe still lag behind the old Member States in this respect, both in terms of employment regulation and labour law literature. The main reason behind the lack of developments as regards the definitional system in the Labour Codes of the ‘new’ Member States is the wilful adherence to the traditional binary system, consisting of employment contracts and civil law contracts. The binary system of employment and civil law relationships has a long history, thus, the legal profession still thinks strongly in terms of this binary system, not even considering the possibility of regulating the third type of work relationship. Thus, detailed regulation of economically dependent work and the expansion of the scope of labour law still awaits.

Transnational private regulation and the transformation of labour rights organizations in emerging markets: new markets for labour support work in China

This article explores the emergence of transnational regimes of regulation governing labour standards and how these impact and articulate in China. Specifically, the article addresses how domestic non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in China communicate emergent regulatory norms and extend these into domestic domains, redefining how labour codes are developed and instantiated in local policy contexts and throughout the globalized value chains. It does so by adopting a qualitative case study approach to analyse how engagement with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) norms transforms labour-support organizations and their roles in labour negotiations, regulation and oversight. Using a case study approached focused in the Guangdong Province of China, the findings suggest that a transnational private regulation supports the development of local NGO activity and in turn transmits norms, modes of conduct and regulation that has a fundamental impact on how labour NGOs ensconce themselves and help transmit and construct regulatory practices that govern labour practices.

Between market, state and society: Labour codes of conduct in the southern African garment industry

This paper compares the way garment factory workers in South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho experience the interaction between mechanisms for inspecting labour codes of conduct and government functions and trade unions. In South Africa and Swaziland there was little awareness of the potential impact of such instruments on working conditions. In Lesotho, where there is a high profile campaign, workers are more aware of the codes, but confusion over who visitors to factories are, and corporate whitewash, limit the impact of instruments. In all three countries workers perceived the impact of codes of conduct on labour rights as negligible. This differed between firms, with workers in firms supplying to the higher end of the South African market being more positive. Given the absence of coherent global governance of trade in the garment industry, codes of conduct will remain an inadequate response to the abuse of workers' rights, worldwide and in southern Africa.

Race you to the Bottom … and Back Again? The Uneven Development of Labour Codes of Conduct

This article emphasises how labour codes of conduct mediate a series of complex and evolving power relations that span the politics of consumption through to the politics of production. It argues that codes of conduct not only reflect an uneven division of labour – in which firms are stratified in size, productivity and labour conditions – but actively shape it. Using examples drawn from light-manufacturing industries in China, it illustrates how labour codes of conduct feed into these processes of uneven development. In their reaction to the implementation of codes of conduct across global supply chains, some Chinese suppliers at the higher tiers of industrial structure have sought to substitute capital for labour as a way to increase productivity beyond abusive labour conditions. Simultaneously, many smaller firms at lower tiers that are reliant on cut-throat forms of discounting have evolved elaborate schema of falsifying code of conduct processes and reports. Finally, mid-tier firms tend to display a strategically partial degree of compliance. Code provisions that empower workers to self-organise are commonly undermined because such trends threaten the very political basis upon which the restructuring the global division of labour over the past four decades has been predicated.

101 Trade Unionists Murdered in 2009

REPORT□ ITUCANNUAL SURVEY 101 Trade Unionists Murdered in 2009 The Rights inthe ITUC's number has documented Annual oftrade Survey unionists a dramatic of Trade murdered increase Union Rights has documented a dramatic increase inthenumber oftradeunionists murdered in2009,with101killings - an increase of30 percentovertheprevious year.TheSurvey, released today,also revealsgrowing pressureon fundamental workers' rights aroundtheworldas the impact oftheglobaleconomiccrisis on employment deepened. Of 101murdered, 48 werekilledin Colombia, 16inGuatemala, 12 inHonduras, sixinMexico, six in Bangladesh, fourin Brazil,threein the DominicanRepublic,threein the Philippines, one in India,one in Iraq and one in Nigeria. Twenty-two of the Colombiantradeunionists whowerekilledwereseniortradeunionleaders andfive werewomen,as theonslaught ofprevious yearscontinued.The rise in violence in Guatemala and Hondurasalso followeda trend developing inrecent years. "Colombiawas yetagain the country where standing up forfundamental rights ofworkers is morelikely thananywhere else to meana death sentence,despitethe Colombiangovernment's publicrelations campaignto the contrary. The worsening situation inGuatemala, Honduras and severalother countries is also cause forextreme concern",said ITUC General SecretaryGuy Ryder. Afurther tenattempted murders and35serious death threats were recorded,again mostlyin Colombiaand Guatemala.Furthermore, many tradeunionistsremainedin prisonand were joinedbyaroundhundred newlyimprisoned in 2009. Many others were arrested in Iran, Honduras,Pakistan,SouthKorea, Turkeyand Zimbabwe inparticular. The generaltradeunion rights' situation has continued to deteriorate ina number ofothercountries, including Egypt, the Russian Federation, SouthKoreaandTurkey. Anti-democratic forces continuedto target unionactivity, awarethat unionsareoften inthe front lineinthedefenceofdemocracy. Thiswas evidentin Hondurasduringthepost-coupviolenceandinGuineaduring a protest demonstrationagainst theruling juntawhichturned intoa terrible massacre on 28 September. Numerous cases ofstrike-breaking and repression of striking workerswere documentedin each region. Thousandsofworkers demonstrating to claimwages, denounce harshworking conditions or the harmful effects of the global financial and economicalcrisisfaced beatings, arrestand detention,including in Algeria, Argentina, Belarus, Burma,Côted'Ivoire, Egypt, Honduras,India, Iran,Kenya,Nepal, Pakistan and Turkey. Dismissals ofworkers due to their tradeunion activities were reportedin many countries. InBangladesh, sixgarment workers on strike fora pay increaseand settlement of outstanding wagesdiedafter a policeintervention. Unionbustingand pressurecontinuedto be widelyused by employers. In severalcountries, companiesthreatened workerswithclosureor transfer of production sitesiftheyorganised or joined a tradeunion. Oftenemployers simply refused tonegotiate withlegitimate workers' representatives while the authorities did nothing. Some labour codes were amended to permit more 'flexibility' and to unravelsocial welfare systems, whichoften impacted theexisting industrialrelations systemsand thuscurtailed trade unionrights. The undermining ofinternationally-recognised labourstandards saw moreand moreworkers facinginsecurity and vulnerability in employment , withsome 50 percent oftheglobalworkforce nowinprecarious jobs.Thisaffected workers in exportprocessingzones, especiallyin SouthEast Asia and Central America, domestic workers,particularly in the Middle East and SouthEast Asia, and migrants and agricultural workers. Manyoftheworst affected sectors have high concentrations of women workers. Furthermore, thegrowth ofinformal employment and thedevelopment ofnew 'atypical' forms of employment wereseen acrossbothregionsand industrial sectors. The difficulties facedbythese workers toorganise orexercisetheir tradeunion rights aredirectly related to their highly vulnerable position inthelabourmarket. The Survey also highlights manycases where, whiletrade unionrights areofficially protected in legislation, restrictions on legal coverage and weak or non-existent enforcement added to the vulnerability ofworkers already struggling inthe depthsofthecrisis. Severerestrictions oroutright prohibition ofstrikes also existina largenumber of countries. Furthermore, complexprocedural requirements, imposition of compulsory arbitrationand theuse ofexcessively broaddefinitions of 'essentialservices'provisions oftenmakethe exerciseoftradeunionrights impossible inpractice ,depriving workers oftheir legitimate rights to union representation and participation in industrial action. "Thisyear'sITUCsurvey showsthat themajorityoftheworld 'sworkers stilllackeffective protectionof theirrights to organisetradeunions and bargain collectively. Thisis a majorfactor in the long-term increasein economicinequality within and between countries. Inadequate incomes for much of the world's workforce helpedcause theglobaleconomiccrisis, and is making itmuchharder to puttheeconomyon a pathofsustainable growth", said Ryder. Colombia was yetagain the countrywhere standingup for fundamental rightsofworkers is more likelythan anywhereelse to mean a death sentence The ITUC's Department for Human and Trade Union Rights each year prepares the Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights. The report isavailable online atwww.ituc-csi.org Page 21Volume 17Issue 2201 0 INTERNATIONAL union rights ...

International Financial Institutions and Post-communist Labour Reform: A Case of Utopian Liberalism?

Since 1999 the international financial institutions (IFI) such as the World Bank and IMF have reformed their approach to loan and grant conditionality. As part of the reforms recipient states are encouraged to consult widely with civil society organisations on the internal policy programmes promoted by the IFIs. Individual recipient countries are then assumed to take ownership of policy change without recourse to IFI sanctions. However, many of the policy changes encouraged by the IFIs remain locked in the neo-liberal prescriptive framework of labour market de-regulation, privatisation and public sector reform. As such the collective interests of labour remain threatened. The post Communist states of CEE and former Yugoslavia have been active in recent years in seeking funds from the IFIs. At the same time the legacy of strong labour codes is directly challenged by neo-liberal policy, thus creating a potential arena of contention. This paper examines the reality of the new IFI approach as it relates to la...

Global Production, Company Codes of Conduct, and Labor Conditions in China: A Case Study of Two Factories

An attempt is made to understand the corporate ethical codes movement in China by drawing on case studies of two factories that had to respond to the corporate social responsibility programs. The process of implementation of corporate codes is examined at the company level along with the implication of code practices for labour rights.

Changements technologiques et rapports collectifs du travail

This paper focusses on the relationship between technological change and the labour relations system circumscribed by the Québec Labour Code. While a teleological interpretation of bargaining rights of certified associations by labour jurisdictions seems to have dealt adequately with the impact of such changes on certification, the doctrine of residual management rights, in the context of fixed-term agreements entrenched in the Québec Labour Code, appears to be, in the opinion of the author, unduly rigid and restrictive. The Freedman Report on Railway run-through and the subsequent discussions surrounding the Woods Commission Report in the 1960's, resulted in the inclusion in the Canada Labour Code of provisions pertaining to the possible adjustment, through collective bargaining, of collective agreements in the context of such technological changes. Various provisions to the same effect have subsequently been inserted in the Labour Codes of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and British-Columbia. The Report of the Beaudry Commission recently proposed that the Québec Labour Code be similary modified by the inclusion of analoguous provisions. The author suggests that a reform along the lines thus suggested is, in principle, desirable to ensure a more equitable adaptability of our legal categories to the imperatives of technological change.

Employment relations in Central and Eastern Europe in 2002: towards EU accession

The difficult process of bringing CEE institutions and practices into line with those in the existing EU was accelerated at Copenhagen in December 2002 as accession negotiations were concluded. Elsewhere in the CEE, organised labour remained weak under high levels of unemployment and fewer workers entering the labour force as individual employers took advantage of favourable bargaining conditions and the absence of significant multi‐employer bargaining. Unions did, however, retain their political influence as seen in the revisions to Labour Codes in several countries in 2002. They also had expectations of greater post‐accession influence through their incorporation into the EU's social partnership framework.

The Effectiveness of Self-regulation:: Corporate Codes of Conduct and Child Labour

The effectiveness of self-regulation to promote corporate social responsibility, with codes of conduct as most common means, continues to be the subject of widespread interest. This article explores the effectiveness of corporate codes of conduct, focusing on the issue of child labour. This issue is all the more pronounced, because a strict approach, involving firing child workers or terminating relationships with suppliers that employ them, does not change underlying causes. Effectiveness is explored by a close examination of the nature of child labour codes of six pioneering international garment companies, and by a survey among a focus group of opinion leaders in companies and stakeholders, who were asked for their views on the different dilemmas surrounding codes and child labour. Overall, our research shows that corporate codes are considered to be important, though not the only instruments for addressing child labour. Possible negative side effects and limitations of codes are not seen as crucial factors that harm their effectiveness. Codes must be specific, strictly implemented and monitored, and combined with alternative arrangements for under-age child workers. The importance of a supply-chain approach and attention for the host-country context is recognized. But this also raises many difficult dilemmas concerning the boundaries of corporate social responsibility, which the article examines in more detail.

Labour Code Reform in Tunisia

While most scholarship on the politics of economic reform focuses on issues such as privatization, trade liberalization and subsidy reduction, some of the most important and interesting reforms concern labour codes. Because these reforms involve actors outside of 'the state', they shed light on political dynamics that other reform issues do not. They also raise powerful questions about the kind of political economy that state, labour and capital elites envision for their societies. This paper examines how Tunisia has grappled with these issues. Based on archival research and interviews with government officials and representatives from the labour and patronal organizations, the paper argues that Tunisia's new labour code does not fundamentally alter the balance of power between organized labour and capital. Rather, it clarifies ambiguities that have long fuelled conflicts between them. Additionally, the new code clarifies these ambiguities on the basis of a new, unwritten contract between labour and capital - a contract that serves the core interests of both constituencies in an increasingly competitive Mediterranean economy.

Peevish Propensities and Perverse Proclivities: Unions, Courts, and Constitutional Labour Codes

Peevish Propensities and Perverse Proclivities: Unions, Courts, and Constitutional Labour Codes

The Sullivan principles: Striking a lost chord

The Sullivan Principles have been presented as a realistic means to the promotion of peaceful change towards social justice under democratic capitalism, and as a form of corporate camouflage for complaisant stock‐holders which means little or nothing to the Black workers. Drawing on an audit carried out for the Ford Motor Company, the inhibitions on the effective implementation of the labour codes are analysed in terms of relationships and opportunities within an industrial organisation, problems flowing from unequal educational and training facilities outside the companies, the consequences of a de facto ‘minimum wage’ to meet the letter if not the spirit of the codes, the inescapable relationships between the companies and the system of White hegemony, and the rising expectations created by the codes. It is concluded that while the codes will not, of themselves, lead to the fulfilment of Sullivan's dream they represent a new resource available for exploitation both locally and internationally by all par...