Promote Labour Standards Research Articles

Shared Responsibility and Labor Rights in Global Supply Chains.

The article presents a novel normative model of shared responsibility for remedying unjust labor conditions and protecting workers’ rights in global supply chains. While existing literature on labor governance in the globalized economy tends to focus on empirical and conceptual investigations, the article contributes to the emerging scholarship by proposing moral justifications for labor governance schemes that go beyond voluntary private regulations and include public enforcement mechanisms. Drawing on normative theories of justice and on empirical-legal research, our Labor Model of Shared Responsibility introduces three main claims: First, that responsibility for protecting and promoting labor standards in global supply chains should be shared by all private and institutional actors involved (whether directly or indirectly) in the production and distribution processes. Second, we offer a normative model for allocating responsibility among the various actors, based on five principles: connectedness, contribution, benefit, capacity, and power. Last, we demonstrate how the normative model could be implemented through various national and international institutional mechanisms.

Promoting Labour Standards through the European Neighbourhood Policy

Promoting Labour Standards through the European Neighbourhood Policy

South Korea's Automotive Labour Regime, Hyundai Motors’ Global Production Network and Trade‐Based Integration with the European Union

AbstractThis article explores the interrelationship between global production networks (GPNs) and free trade agreements (FTAs) in the South Korean auto industry and its employment relations. It focuses on the production network of the Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) — the third biggest automobile manufacturer in the world — and the FTA between the EU and South Korea. This was the first of the EU's ‘new generation’ FTAs, which among other things contained provisions designed to protect and promote labour standards. The article's argument is twofold. First, that HMG's production network and Korea's political economy (of which HMG is a crucial part) limited the possibilities for the FTA's labour provisions to take effect. Second, that the commercial provisions in this same FTA simultaneously eroded HMG's domestic market and corporate profitability, leading to adverse consequences for auto workers in the more insecure and low‐paid jobs. In making this argument, the article advances a multi‐scalar conceptualization of the labour regime as an analytical intermediary between GPNs and FTAs. It also provides one of the first empirical studies of the EU–South Korea FTA in terms of employment relations, drawing on 105 interviews with trade unions, employer associations, automobile companies and state officials across both parties.

Labour Standards and Trade: In Search of Impact and Alternative Instruments

Labour standards have become an almost routine feature of trade agreements. However, we have little knowledge about whether this linkage is effective; both in absolute terms but also in comparison to other instruments that promote labour standards on a global level. Such alternative instruments include public-private agreements, value chain management and procurement policies. The articles in this thematic issue will provide insights that further the debate on the effectiveness of the connection between labour rights and international trade, looking at both ‘traditional’ trade agreements and ‘alternative’ instruments.

Labour Rights Promotion in the Absence of Conditionality? How the EU and the US Engage China and India

Labour standards are one of the most contested issues in economic relations between developed countries and emerging markets. As attempts to codify such standards in the WTO have failed, the EU and the US have intensified their efforts to promote them in bilateral and regional Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs). Whereas this practice has been quite consistent across the globe, the lack of corresponding PTAs with China and India restricts US and EU potentials. This article turns the question on its head and explores to what extent the EU and the US promote labour standards in China and India in the absence of conditional clauses, by focusing on more horizontal strategies of cooperation instead. Drawing on the analytical framework of institutional and substantive labour standards promotion in the absence of conditionality and on the supply and demand model of regulatory influence, the study reveals that while conditional approaches in the field of labour standards are highly contested by China and India, the US and the EU are able to engage them via technical cooperation, political dialogues, Memoranda of Understandings (MoUs), and other formal agreements. It furthermore shows that core labour standards are less consistently addressed in their bilateral cooperation than technical and governance labour standards.

Renewables, Investments, and State Aids: Exploring the Legal Side of Polycentricity

The requirement to adopt minimum labour standards is now standard practice in free trade agreements negotiated by major trading powers such as the EU and US. However, such practice has historically been contested by developing countries, who contend that the requirement to increase labour and social protection standards is designed to remove one of the few competitive advantages that developing countries have over developed countries in attracting foreign investment. More recently, the EU and the US have also sought to use so-called ‘mega-regionals’ to promote labour standards. This was a significant development in that their proponents were keen to stress that these agreements would set the benchmark for labour protection provisions in FTAs, readily admitting that one of the central aims pursued by such agreements was to redefine the rules of the global trading system. The paper aims to assess the labour standards provisions included in EU and US FTAs, determine the rationale behind the inclusion of such provisions, and examine the extent to which mega-regionals such as the TTIP and the TPP marked a significant departure from past practice.

Coordinated governance in global value chains: supranational dynamics and the role of the International Labour Organization

ABSTRACTThis article focuses on the role of international organisations (IOs), at the supranational level, in advancing ‘coordinated governance’ – the interaction and complementary efforts of different public, private and social stakeholders – in promoting labour standards compliance in global value chains (GVCs). While scholars have questioned the ability of IOs to address economic and social challenges posed by globalisation, recent experience of the International Labour Organization (ILO) illustrates how supranational governance can mediate between national and international governance of labour standards in cross-border production systems such as GVCs. Briefly examining three cases reveals concrete dimensions in which the ILO is applying its structure and normative framework to create new configurations of coordinated governance and leveraging its convening power to promote social upgrading in national and GVCs: (1) The Protocol on Forced Labour (2014), which strengthens and updates existing ILO core conventions and promotes cross-border cooperation between states; (2) the ILO’s response in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza tragedy in April 2013, convening public and private stakeholders at the national and international levels and (3) the Better Work Programme, a partnership between the ILO and the International Finance Corporation, that involves tripartite participation at the national and global levels.

Response to Dietlind Stolle’s review of The Promise and Limits of Private Power: Promoting Labor Standards in a Global Economy

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Globalization and its Positive Impact on Indian Economy

After the amendments of liberalization, privatisation, and globalization in 1991, India gained a new paradigm. It opened up as a hub of efficient labourers and also as an efficient market. Globalization acted as an initiative for the improvement of technology and skills. Technology triggered the productivity level, and it also initiated a proper platform for the service sectors (like IT hub) and manufacturing sectors. The improvement of technological skill increased due to the opening up of Research -Development and also due to the improvement in education system. The governance and structure of the government changed i.e. the hierarchy of the central authority was segregated into centre and periphery (state-district level management-local governments-Zillah parishad-gram panchayat), this system provided an overview for proper implementation of active schemes. Impact of Globalization gained importance when the country became an investment hub of foreign companies and multinationals. As the globalization attracted foreign investors to invest in the financial market (like stock market, share market), the commodity market also expanded. India was experiencing a population explosion at that time which acted as the major engine behind the growing commodity market. The positive impacts of globalization were excessively felt from 1994 onwards when the government catered higher amount of foreign direct investments (FDI) and foreign institutional investment (FII). Therefore, this provided a stage to establish MNC’S (multinational corporations). . Multinational corporations (MNCs) are most simply defined as a corporation or enterprise that conducts and controls productive activities in more than one country. They are important drivers of global economic activity, but have an ambiguous relationship with different forms of regulation that promote labour standards. Considering their global nature connecting different societies, Multinational corporations are generally related with high adoption of private manner of governance falling under the path of corporate social responsibility (CSR). These huge firms, mostly from North America, Britain, Europe, and Japan but also increasingly from newly industrialized countries like South Korea, Taiwan and Brazil, present an unique opportunity but may also pose serious problems for many developing countries in which they operate. Two central characteristics of multinational corporations are their large size and the fact that their worldwide operations and activities tend to be centrally controlled by their parent companies. They act as the major force in the rapid globalization of world trade. Thus this led to a reduction in poverty by drafting a drastic change in the economic policies. This level of foreign investment restructured the economy from its core. India’s economic performance in the post-reform period created a growth rate of 6.7% within a 5 year span of globalization; this helped India to gain confidence in the world market and made it one of the fastest growing economies. Thus this paper provides a guideline to cover all the positive aspects of globalization on Indian economy.

Representing Worker Interests: Past, Present, and Future

Although productivity and employment are rising in the United States, many US workers continue to suffer from stagnant wages and poor benefits. This essay reviews three books about the state of labor organization, both through formal unions and informal workers’ groups, in the United States and globally: What Unions No Longer Do, by Jake Rosenfeld; New Labor in New York: Precarious Workers and the Future of the Labor Movement, edited by Ruth Milkman and Ed Ott; and The Promise and Limits of Private Power: Promoting Labor Standards in a Global Economy, by Richard M. Locke. It concludes with some suggestions of ways to increase employee voice and raise labor standards.

Labor Rights and Labor Standards in the Global Economy: The Promise and Limits of Private Power: Promoting Labor Standards in a Global Economy and Human Rights and Labor Solidarity: Trade Unions in the Global Economy

Labor Rights and Labor Standards in the Global Economy: <i>The Promise and Limits of Private Power: Promoting Labor Standards in a Global Economy</i> and <i>Human Rights and Labor Solidarity: Trade Unions in the Global Economy</i>

The hard impact of soft co-ordination: emulation, learning, and the convergence of collective labour standards in the EU

ABSTRACTThe article examines whether European countries' collective labour standards are converging and if so why. It presents new data on labour protection in 45 European countries and shows that the EU is a labour standards convergence club. It reviews the soft and hard instruments which the EU adopted in order to promote labour standards. The article models the competition, emulation and learning convergence mechanisms using a spatial econometric approach, and shows that EU countries learn from each other's successes and emulate one another. The article thus presents new evidence of the mixture of domestic and cross-national factors which shape labour standards in Europe. It adds to the growing evidence of countries' spatial dependencies in various policy areas. Most importantly, it provides evidence showing that soft co-ordination is an effective instrument which has had a positive impact on labour standards, and has led to horizontal convergence in the EU.

The promise and limits of private power: promoting labor standards in a global economy

This book examines and evaluates various private initiatives to enforce fair labor standards within global supply chains. Using unique data (internal audit reports and access to more than 120 supply chain factories and 700 interviews in 14 countries) from several major global brands, including NIKE, HP and the International Labor Organization's Factory Improvement Programme in Vietnam, this book examines both the promise and the limitations of different approaches to actually improve working conditions, wages and working hours for the millions of workers employed in today's global supply chains. Through a careful, empirically grounded analysis of these programs, this book illustrates the mix of private and public regulation needed to address these complex issues in a global economy.

Book Review: The Promise and Limits of Private Power: Promoting Labor Standards in a Global Economy, Outsourcing Economics: Global Value Chains in Capitalist Development

Book Review: The Promise and Limits of Private Power: Promoting Labor Standards in a Global Economy, Outsourcing Economics: Global Value Chains in Capitalist Development

Core labour standards under the Administration of George W. Bush

Abstract.Outside of the International Labour Organization, the United States uses two main channels to promote labour standards internationally: bilateral or regional trade agreements and “labour diplomacy”. Examining developments in these areas between 2001 and 2008, the author argues that the Bush Administration weakened the United States' capacity to uphold internationally recognized core labour standards. Although it concluded an unprecedented number of free trade agreements, their labour clauses are largely devoid of meaningful enforcement mechanisms – suggesting a closer connection with general foreign policy objectives than with concern for workers' rights. Furthermore, the work of the Federal Advisory Committee on Labor Diplomacy was eventually suspended.

The ILO: An Agency for Globalization?

ABSTRACTThe International Labour Organization, set up in 1919 to develop and promote labour standards, is at a crucial point. It has preached that labour is not a commodity and in 1969 received the Nobel Peace Prize. Since then it has run into trouble. This article considers how the ILO has failed to come to terms with the Global Transformation, seeing it as trying to play three roles — a standard‐setter, a technical assistance agency and a knowledge generator — without developing the professional capacity to do so. The big question is whether the ILO could become an effective development agency given the changing character of work and labour in globalizing labour markets and its antiquated governance structure.

The Impact of International Labor Standards: A Survey of Economic Theory

The main question guiding this study is whether international labor standards will benefit the poor, in particular, developing countries and the poor in those countries. We survey the theoretical literature on international labor standards, and give an overview of the analytical framework and main arguments provided in this literature. Among the situations in which a case for labor standards may arise are imperfections in labor markets, market power effects in international trade, and concerns that consumers, or individuals in general, may have about the working conditions or rights that other individuals enjoy. We emphasize the importance of making clear the value judgments being used, and discuss the different institutional issues that may arise in considering the implementation of labor standards. In general, while there are contexts in which promoting labor standards through some form of collective action is beneficial, we argue that such policies ought to be incorporated into a broader perspective on well-being, and a package of policies that can promote the well-being of the poor.

The Cocoa Industry and Child Labour

Reports of forced child labour on the cocoa farms of Cote d’Ivoire surfaced in 2000 and quickly became an important business issue for a number of prominent companies. Media coverage and the threat of regulatory action mobilised the international cocoa industry to collaborate with other stakeholders to eliminate the worst forms of child labour from cocoa production. The international cocoa industry moved from a refusal to acknowledge serious labour problems in the global cocoa supply chain, to acknowledgement, and a public commitment to act to address the problems. The experience of the cocoa industry provides a number of lessons for executives, advocates and policy-makers seeking to promote labour standards. Industry participants sought the participation of multiple stakeholders, defined standards by referencing international law, and sought reliable information from the field. This case also demonstrates that pressure on consumer brands, strategic government intervention and geographic concentration facilitates collaborative action. ! Cocoa

Labour standards, democracy and wages: some cross-country evidence

The international community is divided over labour standards. Opponents claim that standards are protectionist. Proponents say they benefit developing economies by improving governance and income distribution. This paper presents evidence supporting the case for labour standards. Using cross-country data from the second half of the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s, it shows that labour standards are associated with improved governance and reduced corruption. Labour standards also improve income distribution and raise wages. The results qualify Rodrik's (1999) findings about democracy and wages. Labour standards rather than democracy cause higher wages, but democracy may still matter indirectly by promoting labour standards. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.