Social Clause Research Articles

International governance and reform of the World Trade Organization.

Excerpts of a Brief prepared for the "Genoa Non-Governmental Initiative" for the International Union for Health Promotion and Education, by Ronald Labonte, Member, IUHPE Working Groups on Advocacy and Social Clauses; and Director, Saskatchewan Population Health and Evaluation Research Unit, and Professor, Universities of Saskatchewan and Regina, Canada.

The Social Clause in Trade Treaties: Implications for International Firms

Various advocacy groups and primarily domestic-focused firms in developed countries have been pushing governments to include a "social clause" in trade treaties with less developed countries. Such a clause is designed to link trading access to markets in developed countries with improvements in working conditions in poor nations. The implications of such a clause for internationally-focused firms and how managers can effectively deal with human rights issues in their foreign operations are examined. Various constituencies in this debate are identified and an integrated response system on the part of firms is presented. It is suggested that the best policy for firms to adopt would be to acknowledge the relevance of the social clause in today's global economy and work closely with the various advocacy groups to ensure continuing public support while avoiding overly restrictive clauses in international trading agreements.

Labour Standards in the Generalized Systems of Preferences of the European Union and the United States

This article introduces an analytical framework for the study of labour standards in trade and compares and contrasts the approaches of the United States and the European Union in introducing a social clause in their Generalized Systems of Preferences. It explores the distinctive characteristics of the two approaches, assesses their industrial relations outcomes and proposes a set of policy guidelines.

Social Clauses in Regional Integration and Trade Preferential Schemes: A complicated relation but one that is making progress

Social Clauses in Regional Integration and Trade Preferential Schemes: A complicated relation but one that is making progress

From Social Movements to Social Clauses: Assessing strategies for improving women's health and labour conditions in the garment sector

Julie Delahanty and Mashuda Khatun Shefali look at how economic globalization is profoundly affecting the international division of labour. They detail how garment industry changes have had a profound impact on workers – most of them women – and their health.

The ILO and the Australian Contribution to the International Labour Standards Debate

This paper examines tbe views of the various protagonists in the Australian debate that surrounds the demand that the World Trade Organisation adopt a social clause linking workers' rights with tbe rigbt to engage in cross-border trade. We argue that the rights-trade question is not solely a Northern/Southern Hemisphere issue but is also a manifestation of the conflict that exists between the rights of capital and the rights of labour. We begin by outlining the background to the international labour rights debate, then proceed to identify the views of the various Australian protagonists by examining the report of the Tripartite Working Party on labour standards (the Duffy Report) released in March 1996. We conclude that while the federal government has made some compromises in this debate, it needs to build on these initiatives if it is to convince the international community that it is truly supportive of the basic rights of labour.

Export‐Oriented Employment, Poverty and Gender: Contested Accounts

Recent discussions on the ‘social clause’ have opened up a pandora's box. This article probes some of the salient issues raised in that debate by looking more specifically at how women's incorporation into the export‐oriented manufacturing sector has been interpreted by neo‐classical, institutionalist and feminist writers. The neo‐classical position, represented by the World Bank, remains strongly prescriptive but relatively weak in its analysis of the dynamics of female employment (i.e. its causes and implications) and the gendered nature of labour markets. There has been a much more constructive dialogue between institutionalist and feminist writers. The latter have emphasized the gendered nature of the labour contract, the significance of looking beyond the boss/worker dyad (i.e. at the conjugal/familial sphere) and the importance of listening to women workers' subjective assessments of their work and its meanings. At the more practical level, while improving the conditions of work remains an important agenda item, for the labour‐surplus developing countries the question of numbers (of jobs) may arguably take priority. It is thus important to avoid strategies which may impose a quantity–quality trade‐off. As such it may be useful to explore broad‐based social policies and redistributive measures that can ensure a higher standard of living for the workers without jeopardizing their jobs.

The world trading system: the Uruguay round and beyond

Preface - List of Abbreviations - Introduction - Trade Theory - Trade Policy - The Role of the GATT and the Nature of GATT Negotiations - Institutions - Developing Countries - Regional Arrangements - TARIFF MATTERS - Tariffs - Tariff Related Issues - NON-TARIFF MATTERS - Anti-dumping - Subsidies - Safeguards - Technical Barriers to Trade - Government Procurement - SECTORS - Textiles - Civil Aircraft - Steel - Information Technology - Intellectual Property - Trade Related Investment Measures - Agriculture - Services - The Future of the WTO - Trade and Environment - Foreign Direct Investment - Social Clause or Labour Standards - Competition and Trade - Notes - Index

Child labor, family income, and the Uruguay Round

We are no longer limited to qualitative discussions of the merits of a social clause in the GATT against child labor. Future debates should be in quantitative terms. Child labor can contribute up to 25 percent of family income-contributions that the ILO regards as critical to their survival. Child laborers have few alternatives if they lose their jobs as a result of a social clause on labor standards.

International Trade and the GATT/WTO Social Clause: Broadening the Debate

This article examines recent multilateral considerations of the social clause proposal and suggest that it warrants continuing discussion. It is argued that its scope should be broadened to include customary and treaty-based human rights, and environmental standards, and that these could be brought within Art20 of the GATT. The article first examines the terms which are proposed for the social clause, and related proposals. It then examines its lack of progress in multilateral fora. It then reviews selected GATT and WTO articles and processes relating to trade and environment, followed by an examination of some of the practical and philosophical arguments for and against a broadened social clause. It concludes by suggesting that a broadened social clause could promote sustainable and peaceful development, and more humane governance.

Protecting labor in the global economy: A social clause in trade agreements?*

The globalization of markets is calling national employment and social legislation increasingly into question, so that not only the international trade union organizations but also the Clinton Administration are calling for workers’ rights to be embodied in trade agreements. This paper deals with both the fundamental question of whether international labor standards serve a useful purpose and the more specific question of whether trade agreements are a suitable way of enforcing minimum standards. It will argue that international standards can plausibly be justified in terms of development theory. Core labor rights, furthermore, enjoy universal acceptance. A social clause can help in enforcing these rights. The procedures for negotiating social clauses and for implementing them as proposed by the international trade union movement do not lend themselves to protectionism.

The view from the opposition benches

The Labour government's White Paper is welcome as it builds firmly on the policies of the previous Conservative administration. In particular, the four aims of aid policy laid out in the Fundamental Expenditure Review—support for sound political and economic policies, promotion of stronger health and education services, encouragement of sustainable development, and a commitment to work with our international partners to alleviate poverty and to provide disaster relief—are all confirmed in the White Paper. The White Paper's support for this agenda represents some U-turns, for example with respect to the relationship to the IMF, a possible social clause in the WTO and the position on the quantity and quality of British aid. However, there are also areas of confusion created by some of Labour's statements on aid policy that the White Paper does little to resolve—such as the relationship between DFID and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (including the respective roles of the Know-How Fund and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy), the role of NGOs, and the future of mixed credits. While the White Paper is welcome, the real test lies in Labour's future performance, which will have to be carefully scrutinized. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Healthy Public Policy and the World Trade Organization: A Proposal for an International Health Presence in Future World Trade/Investment Talks

Poverty, other forms of social inequality and human impacts on the environment are increasingly recognized as important, perhaps fundamental, health determinants. These determinants, in turn, are largely conditioned and constrained by economic practices, and by government legislation that regulates such practices or seeks to mitigate inequalities that arise from them. Over the past two decades the ability of national governments to intervene in economic practices has been reduced by two interrelated phenomena: the dominance of a neoliberal economic orthodoxy, which emphasizes free (unregulated) markets and a ‘minimal’ welfare state, and the growth in regional and global free trade and investment agreements. There is mounting evidence that policies based on neoliberal economic theory, including free trade/investment agreements, may seriously undermine public health by increasing social inequalities, depleting natural resources and increasing environmental pollution. This evidence has sparked a call among many public interest non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and policy ‘think tanks’ for appending strong ‘social clauses’ to global trade and investment agreements to ensure that such agreements are socially just and environmentally sustainable. This paper proposes creation of a strong public health lobby, both nationally and internationally, to join with other public interest NGOs in the social clause campaign. It begins by defining and critiquing some of the basic tenets of neoliberal economic orthodoxy which underpin the push towards global free trade and investment agreements. It then describes the current status of these agreements, and provides examples of how such agreements might imperil public health. The paper then discusses the social clause initiative, and concludes by advancing a proposal for a public health lobby presence at those fora where trade and investment agreements are negotiated and monitored.

Child rights and social clauses: Child labour elimination as a social cause?

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Trade and International Labour Standards: Issues and Debates Over a Social Clause

The first ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation, held in Singapore during December 1996, brought into sharp relief the international tensions surrounding proposals for a social dimension to multilateral trade. The Singapore meeting finished in the same manner as it had started, predominantly divided and largely inconclusive on the issue of trade and labour standards. In a number of respects such an outcome came as no surprise. The debate over whether or not to attach a social clause to multilateral trade agreements draws on a long history of accusation and counter-accusation of labour exploitation and protectionist intentions, which has often resulted in little or no progress on the issue. This paper examines the arguments that have informed much of the contemporary debate with particular reference to a domi nant neo-liberalist orthodoxy and its implications for the regulation of labour stand ards. And in an attempt to broaden discussion, the paper also offers some thoughts on possible directions in which the debate could go by reference to regional trade blocs, the World Trade Organisation and the future of the International Labour Organisation.

The WTO and the Social Clause: Post-Singapore

Trade Organization (WTO) was held in Singapore. The Conference attracted considerable attention, particularly the negotiations concerning the controversial issue of the 'social clause' - the linking of labour standards with trade liberalization. A compromise on the issue resulted in a paragraph on labour standards in the final Declaration of the Conference, the first time that a reference to such standards was included in a WTO official document At first blush, the paragraph appears to close the door to further consideration of the link of trade with labour standards within the WTO, but this is unlikely to be the case. The efforts to examine the link between labour standards and trade within the WTO will continue after Singapore. The WTO was established at Marrakesh in 1994 at the conclusion of the Uruguay Round to provide an institution to administer the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and other Uruguay Round agreements as well as to provide a more effective dispute resolution mechanism than existed under GATT. The subject of a social clause was discussed at Marrakesh, but no decision was taken on the subject While a Committee on Trade and Environment was set up as a result of pressure from developed countries, no WTO committee or working group was created on labour standards and trade. The only mention of the subject at Marrakesh was a brief reference in the Chairman's lengthy list of issues that could eventually be considered in the WTO work programme. The Ministerial Conference meets every two years and is the highest WTO authority. At the first Conference in Singapore a number of important issues, in addition to the social clause, were on the agenda. A virtually complete agreement on Information Technology was adopted at the Conference, working groups were established to examine the relationship between trade and the areas of investment, competition policy and government procurement, the Committee on Trade and Environment was established as a permanent WTO body, and the WTO signed a cooperative agreement with the IMF, similar to an agreement earlier signed with the World Bank. Several months after Singapore a much-heralded agreement on telecommunications was adopted. Once again, the ministers refused at Singapore to set up a committee or working party on trade and labour standards.

BRIEFING:The social clause case Trade works better with minimum labour standards

BRIEFING:The social clause case Trade works better with minimum labour standards

Social Clauses in International Trade—The Debate in the European Union

Social Clauses in International Trade—The Debate in the European Union

Social clauses and workers in Pakistan

(1996). Social clauses and workers in Pakistan. New Political Economy: Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 269-273.

Social clauses and women workers in Latin America

Social clauses and women workers in Latin America