State Labor Research Articles

Labour geography and the state: Exploring labour's role in working against, with and through the state to improve labour standards

State labour inspection has been relatively underresearched in economic and labour geography, despite its prospective role in tackling worker exploitation as part of national state regulatory strategies. This paper seeks to address this gap by critically examining state labour inspection as a government function capable of upholding labour standards within and across economic space. A key contribution of the paper is to make stronger connections between workers’ spatial strategies and their ability to shape how labour inspection and standards enforcement is carried out. Focusing upon the UK and Ireland, we examine different ways in which some labour-friendly groups have sought to contest but also to support state labour inspection efforts with a view to protecting workers.

The role of immigrants in the United States labor market and Chinese import competition

Research has shown a limited labor mobility response to trade shocks. However, existing studies of aggregate mobility may miss important heterogeneity. This paper proposes a mechanism through which local labor markets adjust to trade shocks, namely immigrant mobility. I find a relative decline in the immigrant population in areas more exposed to import growth from China. An interquartile increase in Chinese import exposure decreases the immigrant population by 5.4% but has little effect on the native population. Additionally, immigrant mobility mitigates the effects of trade shocks on native labor outcomes. The present study shows that natives in areas with more immigrants experience smaller declines in employment relative to areas with fewer immigrants.

Compensation for moral damage caused as a result of illegal dismissal to an employee

The employee is always the weaker party in labor relations, because it is the owner who determines the nature, regime and conditions of work, wages, the procedure for calculating fees and penalties. Taking into account the above, the Basic Law of Ukraine guarantees protection against illegal dismissal to all workers. In the case of abuse on the part of the owner, the employee, among other things, has the right to demand compensation for moral damage in the case when illegal dismissal led to his (her) suffering. The purpose of our article is to determine the specifics of compensation for moral damage, caused under the specified circumstances. In the course of the research, the conditions, under which moral damage at dismissal is deemed to have been caused by, were clarified. The grounds for the establishment of labor relations, which are an employment agreement, a contract as a specific form of an employment agreement, and a civil law contract, were defined. It is proved, that the fact of being in an employment relationship can be established extra judicially (by conducting negotiations with the employer or sending appeals simultaneously to the territorial bodies of the State Labor Service of Ukraine and the State Tax Service of Ukraine) or in court (on the basis of Article 315 of the Code of Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine). It is established, that moral suffering of the person, who was illegally dismissed, can be manifested in the victim's negative mental states (stress, depression, anxiety), which are reflected in his (her) consciousness. It is substantiated, that Ukrainian legislation does not directly list actions causing employee’s suffering; however, the Labor Code of Ukraine does not contain any restrictions or exclusions for compensation for moral damage in case of violation of the latter's labor rights. It is stated, that a three-month time limit applies to claims for moral damages in cases, provided for by labor legislation. However, in the case of exceeding it for valid reasons, the district, district in the city, city or city and district court may reinstate it

Monetary Value of Disability-Adjusted Life Years and Potential Productivity Losses Associated With Neglected Tropical Diseases in the East African Community.

In 2019, the East African Community (EAC) lost 12,048,918 disability-adjusted life-years (DALY) across all ages from neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). The specific objectives of the study reported in the paper were to estimate for EAC the monetary value of DALYs sustained by all ages from NTDs, and the potential productivity losses within the working age bracket of 15 years and above. The EAC total monetary value of DALYs lost from all 20 NTDs is the sum of each partner state's monetary value of DALYs lost from all 20 NTDs. The ith partner state's monetary value of DALY from jth disease equals ith state's GDP per capita net of current health expenditure multiplied by DALYs lost from jth disease in 2019. The EAC total productivity losses attributable to DALYs lost from all 20 NTDs is the sum of lost productivity across the seven partner states. The ith partner state's productivity loss associated with jth disease equals ith state's GDP per capita net of current health expenditure multiplied by DALYs lost from jth disease and the ith state's labour force participation rate adjusted for underutilization (unemployment and time-related underemployment) in 2019. The total 12,048,918 DALYs lost in EAC from NTDs had a of International Dollars (Int$) 21,824,211,076 and an average of Int$ 1811 per DALY. The 2,614,464 DALYs lost from NTD among 15-year-olds and above caused an estimated of Int$ 2,588,601,097 (0.392% of the EAC gross domestic product in 2019), and an average of Int$ 990.1 per DALY. The study succeeded in estimating the monetary value of DALYs sustained by all ages from 20 NTDs, and the potential productivity losses within the working age bracket of 15 years and above in the seven EAC partner states. The DALYs lost from NTD among 15-year-olds and above caused a sizeable loss in the economic productivity of EAC.

Sources for the reconstruction of the "parade" and "non-parade" portraits of students of the state labor reserves (1904–1950s)

The socio-cultural appearance of students in the system of state labor reserves has not been the subject of special study by specialists. At the same time, the creation in 1940 of the system of state labor reserves of the USSR was accompanied by the formation of a specific social group, the study of the socio-cultural characteristics of which will complement the already existing ideas about the working youth of the Soviet period. The subject of the study are documents as historical sources. The object is students of the system of state labor reserves as a separate social group. The purpose of the article is to present a corpus of official documents and documents of personal origin, which are historical sources for the reconstruction of stable, integral images of students, forming the basis of "ceremonial" and "non–parade" portraits as a set of characteristics (markers) aimed at highlighting socio-demographic features, cultural values and mental characteristics, behavioral practices and appearance of representatives of this social group. The methodological basis of the research is the methods of source analysis and synthesis, which allow to reveal the content component of documents for the study of the declared topic. The results of the study are: 1) the allocation of six types of historical sources from the official records of the central and regional labor reserves management bodies to fiction, allowing to reconstruct the "parade" and "non-parade" portraits of students of the state labor reserves system as a separate social group; 2) disclosure of the information potential of these six types of historical sources, taking into account their source-study features for the reconstruction of the socio-cultural appearance of students.

113 Impact of State Labor and Industry Benefits on Quality-Adjusted Life-Years Among Working Burn-Injured Adults

Abstract Introduction State labor and industry benefits (L&I) include workers’ compensation, wage replacement, vocational rehabilitation (VcR), workplace accommodations, job retraining, and labor protections. These vital services are not available to working adults injured outside their workplaces. We aimed to examine the impact of L&I on quality-adjusted life-years (QALY) lost among working adults with burn injury. Methods Burn Model System National Database was queried for adult participants who self-identified as worker, volunteer, or caretaker and who answered the Veterans RAND 12-Item Health Survey (VR-12) at discharge (pre-injury recall) and 6-, 12- and 24-month post-injury. Participants were stratified into those with and without L&I and compared using independent samples t-test and Chi-squared test. Primary outcome, QALYs lost, was calculated by transforming VR-12 responses to SF-6D (SF-12) utility values. Mixed effects linear regression modeling was used to assess the impact of L&I on utility values over a 2-year period post-injury. Models were adjusted for age, sex, race, substance use, chronic medical conditions, burn size, hand injury, inhalation injury, and number of surgeries. Results 495 participants were analyzed (90 with L&I, 405 without L&I). Males accounted for 87% of L&I beneficiaries and 72% of those without L&I (p=0.001). No significant difference was seen in the other covariates. Mean utility values were 0.73 for L&I beneficiaries and 0.73 for those without L&I (p=0.99) pre-injury and were significantly lower for both groups at each timepoint post-injury (Figure 1). Greater utility value loss was seen in those with L&I compared to those without L&I at 6-month (p< =0.07), 12-month (p=0.02), and 24-month (p=0.03). During the 2 years post-injury, L&I beneficiaries lost 0.26 QALY and those without L&I lost 0.18 QALY (p=0.03). Conclusions All working adults experienced a drop in utility values post-injury. Those who received L&I benefits lost more QALYs than their non-L&I peers. These findings are consistent with investigations among working adults with non-burn upper extremity and back injuries, suggesting there is opportunity to improve the delivery of L&I benefits and VcR for all injured workers. Applicability of Research to Practice Current L&I benefits and VcR services for working adults with burn injury may not meet their needs. To actualize the benefits of VcR service delivery, the intensity of interventions should be more tailored to person-specific needs, risks of complicated return-to-work and recovery journeys.

Polish women labour inspectors between the world wars: scrutinizing the workplace and mobilizing public opinion

ABSTRACT This article explores the history of women’s activism within the state apparatus, focusing on women labour inspectors in interwar Poland. Part of the State Labour Inspectorate since its creation in 1919, women inspectors often combined their professional duties with a distinctly activist stance. Like their male colleagues, they ensured compliance with labour legislation by performing factory visits and collecting information on the conditions of workers’ lives and labour. But they also led campaigns in the press, published books and brochures intended to mobilize public opinion around issues related to the labour of women and minors, and sought to build activist networks aimed at the improvement of women workers’ conditions. They exposed particularly exploitative labour arrangements, such as the labour of underage apprentices, and conceptualized them as urgent social problems. These multiple engagements meant that women labour inspectors moved between different scales of action including direct intervention on the shop floor, research and publications aimed at a national audience, and transnational contacts with the International Labour Organization, which had been committed to improving women workers’ conditions since its inception.

Differences in Determinants: Racialized Obstetric Care and Increases in U.S. State Labor Induction Rates.

Induction of labor (IOL) rates in the United States have nearly tripled since 1990. We examine official U.S. birth records to document increases in states' IOL rates among pregnancies to Black, Latina, and White women. We test if the increases are associated with changes in demographic characteristics and risk factors among states' racial-ethnic childbearing populations. Among pregnancies to White women, increases in state IOL rates are strongly associated with changes in risk factors among White childbearing populations. However, the rising IOL rates among pregnancies to Black and Latina women are not due to changing factors in their own populations but are instead driven by changing factors among states' White childbearing populations. The results suggest systemic racism may be shaping U.S. obstetric care whereby care is not "centered at the margins" but is instead responsive to characteristics in states' White populations.

Награждение сотрудников правоохранительных органов в предвоенный период (1933–1941)

The paper analyses the practice of awarding law enforcement bodies after the establishment of the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs as a result of the merger between the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Soviet Republics in 1933 until the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. It is stated here that the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD) border and internal troops, which were part of the Soviet Armed Forces, took an active part in the armed conflicts with Japan and Finland. The study is based on historical method, objectivity and systematic approach. To process quantitative data on those awarded during the pre-war armed conflicts, the author used statistical analysis for calculating the results obtained by means of continuous sampling. Based on the archive materials, published data and personal sources, it is argued that at the time of the merger, the award systems of the OGPU and the Ministry of Internal Affairs were quite similar; for instance, they had similar departmental decorations. Further, it is pointed out that practically during the entire period under study, up to the establishment of a single departmental award “Honoured Worker of the NKVD” in 1940, similar earlier awards of the Cheka–OGPU and Workers’ and Peasants’ Militia were used. There were no awards to distinguish law enforcement activities; therefore, state labour decorations were often used instead. The award practice during the pre-war conflicts shows that employees of NKVD internal and border troops were distinguished similarly to Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army officers, the number of the former being approximately 3 % of the total number of the awarded. During military operations, NKVD units and formations were put under the army command, making the rewarding of Chekists difficult since law enforcement bodies were linked to different people’s commissariats. The author concludes that state awards were rarely used to distinguish law enforcement activities. Primarily, NKVD employees and groups of employees were presented with departmental awards of material (valuable gifts, such as award weapon and money) and moral (certificates of merit and acknowledgement) nature.

OPTIMIZATION OF SUPERVISORY ACTIVITY REGARDING ANALYSIS AND ACCIDENT RECORD ON ENTERPRISES BY MEANS OF DATABASE CREATING

Problem statement. Supervisory activities on analysis and accounting of accidents in the enterprise are conducted by the bodies of the State Labor Service and working bodies of the Fund in accordance with their competence by controlling the timeliness and objectivity of accident investigation, preparation of investigation materials, record keeping, taking measures to eliminate the causes of accidents. The processing of relevant statistical information involves a large volume of data and documentation. One of the methods to minimize errors in the work of the occupational safety engineer is the use of enterprise databases, where all the necessary information will be stored and processed. The purpose of the article is to create an optimized database with functionality for registering accidents and analyzing occupational injuries in order to optimize the supervisory activities of the relevant authorities and individual productions. Conclusions. In the course of supervisory activities to analyze and account accidents in an enterprise, representatives of the above bodies study and check a large number of documents. The main drawback of using such a database is that it does not implement an automatic document flow when maintaining documentation on accident investigation. But this approach simplifies the work on the abundance of information on the registration of accidents and occupational diseases, allows the analysis of occupational injuries, preserves the integrity of data, minimizes the human factor and, consequently, reduces the number of errors. This approach is one of the possible ways to solve the problem of the lack of appropriate specialized software.

The experience of creating a database "The photographic images of students of educational institutions of the State labor reserves of the Sverdlovsk region (1940s-50s)"

The purpose of the database is to reconstruct the "ceremonial" and "non-official" portraits of students of state labor reserves (using the example of visual images of students of educational institutions of the Sverdlovsk region in the 1940s and 50s). The analysis of the information contained in the database will in the future allow answering a number of research questions and identify important characteristics of the visual image and social portrait of students: types of activities, including various aspects of work and educational activities, "bodily activity" of students; acts of human interaction and non-verbal communication (gestures, facial expressions, body poses, etc.); objects of material culture used; everyday stereotypes of behavior reconstructed through a series of photographs; "atypical experience", description of deviant groups of students, irregular clothes, atypical behavior. When creating the database, the concepts of visual images in L.N. Mazur's historical research, D. Zeitlin's digitalization of visual anthropology, G. Kreidlin's nonverbal semiotics, and K. Girtz's "dense description" were taken into account. The results of the study are: 1) development and description of the database structure that allows taking into account the features of visual sources aimed at reconstructing the "ceremonial" and "non-official" portraits of students of educational institutions of the Sverdlovsk region in the 1940s and 50s through a detailed description of the poses, gestures, visual behavior, spatial interaction, clothes and shoes of the persons depicted in the photo; 2) primary analysis of 145 photographs from the official albums of 4 educational institutions devoted to the description of the results of their participation in the All-Union Socialist Competition in 1943-1945; 3) more accurate identification and systematization of external behavioral practices of students based on the database; 4) demonstration of the possibilities of detailed description of images by means of the database to identify individual sides of the "non-official portrait" of students. The results of the study can be used in the study of everyday life and socio-cultural portrait of students in the Soviet period.

Breaking the deadlock: How union and employer tactics affect first contract achievement

AbstractThe United States labour movement faces a potentially transformative moment, as workers have won breakthrough union organizing victories at various high‐profile, private‐sector employers. While winning an election is essential to establishing collective bargaining, unions then need to secure a first contract with employers to make tangible improvements in working conditions. Drawing on a sample of 126 responses about postcertification collective bargaining, we find that both employer and union tactics have significant impacts on first contract achievement. Employers continue to impede first contract achievement by committing unfair labour practices, but unions can improve their chances of establishing an agreement by utilizing tactics that engage the public.

All Roads Lead to Beijing? Shifts in Chinese Labour and Capital During the COVID-19 Pandemic

AbstractThe unprecedented global pandemic has shaken the world's foundations – upending legal institutions, toppling established principles of transnational governance, and limiting mobility between nations. In the People's Republic of China (the PRC or China), one of the most significant legal developments is the major reconfiguration of the state's labour and capital policies oriented towards its economic partners with emerging economies and economies in transition. These policies have changed dramatically, especially given the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on lower-income states. China's domestic situation and its need to meet evolving transnational demands also contribute to the reformation of these economic ties, and perhaps precede further changes to be implemented in the future. To provide much-needed insight into this ongoing transformation, this Article investigates how China's labour and capital policies towards its key international partners have developed in response to the pandemic. Drawing on three case studies, we use a socio-legal approach to analyse the status of migrants from African countries in China, labour immigration to China from its southwestern border regions, and the emigration of Chinese nationals to Serbia and the Balkans for the purposes of labour and investment. Through these representative developments, this Article unveils new trends in China's post-pandemic labour and capital policies, including enhanced responsiveness; a security-centric approach to border management; and an improving regulatory approach to ordinary migration channels.

Reaching into the Community to Interpret Labor History

Reaching into the Community to Interpret Labor History

Fatal industrial injuries in the Republic of Bashkortostan

Introduction. Every year, about 350 thousand people die in the workplace for reasons related to production all over the world. The significance of this problem dictates the need to analyze fatal occupational injuries in order to further develop a set of measures aimed at preventing it. The study aims to analyze fatal occupational injuries at enterprises of the Republic of Bashkortostan on the basis of personalized data as an information basis for the development and justification of priority areas for the prevention of accidents in the workplace. Materials and methods. For analyzing the indicators of general occupational injuries and fatal injuries, we used the results of the all-Russian monitoring of labor conditions and safety of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, Russian Federation, analytical materials of labor conditions and safety of the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Bashkortostan for the period 2017-2020. To assess the completeness of the accounting of occupational injuries in Russia and the Republic of Bashkortostan, the researchers used the ILO methodology "On assessing the reliability of statistics of accidents at work in countries with imperfect accounting". Based on the materials of 177 Acts on the investigation of fatal accidents (Form 4) provided by the State Labor Inspectorate in the Republic of Bashkortostan for the period 2017-2020, we have studied the circumstances and causes of the death of workers at work, their professional status and age-length characteristics. Results. The analysis of the dynamics of occupational injuries for 2017-2020 in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Bashkortostan showed a decrease in both total occupational injuries and fatal injuries, with a decrease in the frequency of worker deaths occurring at a faster pace. This provided an increase in the ratio of the total number of injuries to the number of fatal injuries, indicating an increase in the level of safety at enterprises and the quality of accounting for minor injuries. However, in 2020 the level of fatal industrial injuries in the Republic exceeded the same indicator in Russia by 25%. An in-depth analysis of fatal injuries based on accident investigation materials in the Republic of Bashkortostan for 2017-2020 showed that most often workers died in construction (0.77 per 1000 workers) and mining enterprises (0.75%) as a result of such types of accidents as traffic accidents, falling from a height, exposure to moving objects, flying rotating objects, parts, machines, etc. Specialists also observed a high level of fatal injuries in agriculture (0.58%), transport and storage enterprises (0.41%), water supply, sewerage (0.38%), etc. The main causes of fatal injuries were unsatisfactory organization of work (34.7%) and violation of traffic rules (29.2%). At the victim’s workplaces the researchers have identified a significant number of violations of labor protection requirements: the absence of special assessment of working conditions (SAWC), briefings and training on labor protection, violations of the work and rest regime, labor and industrial discipline, non-issuance of personal protective equipment (PPE) and the absence of mandatory preliminary and periodic medical examinations. Male workers were most often died (97.6%); in the profession of "driver"; at the age of 30-39 years. There is a very high proportion of victims with work experience of up to one year (44.6%). Almost 75% of the victims had less than 5 years of work experience. This indicates unsatisfactory training in occupational safety of newly hired workers, regardless of their age and previous experience at other enterprises. Conclusion. The in-depth analysis of fatal injuries at enterprises of the Republic of Bashkortostan showed the need to develop a set of targeted occupational safety measures aimed at reducing the level of occupational injuries, taking into account the most traumatic types of economic activity, the most frequent types of accidents and causes of accidents. In addition, special attention should be paid to the training of safe methods and techniques for performing the work of low-skilled workers, as well as the organization of checking the knowledge of traffic rules among drivers of vehicles.

State Labor Laws and Government Responsiveness to Public Opinion

We investigate the effects of states’ labor laws, which can enhance or diminish the political power of public and private sector labor unions, on government responsiveness to public opinion. Drawing on newly developed measures of public opinion and policy liberalism in the US states over time, we leverage differences in the timing of law enactments across the states and find that labor laws impact government responsiveness in distinct ways. States that adopt right-to-work laws that lessen private sector union influence enact economic policies that are more conservative than public opinion, whereas states that adopt mandatory collective bargaining laws for public sector employees enact economic policies that are more liberal than opinion. These findings are consistent across a variety of different model specifications, timeframes, and measurement techniques and have substantively important implications for understanding the impact of government policies on the power of organized interests and the dynamics of political representation in American democracy.

ТЕОРЕТИЧЕСКИЕ ОСНОВЫ РЕАЛИЗАЦИИ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОГО КОНТРОЛЯ (НАДЗОРА) ПО ТРУДУ

Purpose of the article: consideration of the theoretical foundations of the implementation of state control (supervision) in labor matters. Objectives: to analyze the role, principles, functions, stakeholders and processes of state control (supervision) on labor. The author confirmed the hypothesis about the need to balance the requirements of stakeholders for the development of standards in the field of labor relations, as the basis for control activities in labor. The research was based on general scientific and special methods of cognition. Results: the theoretical foundations for the implementation of state control (supervision) in labor are considered, including the formation of a conceptual process model of state control (supervision) in labor, which allows improving the activities of state labor inspectorates.

The USA medical insurance as a stimulating factor to increase labour efficiency

Medical insurance is critical for state labour efficiency. In many countries (including in the United States of America), it is tightly connected to labour, which makes workers have valid insurance policies for free and constant access to medical aid. That strongly secures workers’ health and their high performance. In state-supporting insurance cases, citizens have a common access to medical services (regardless of their employment type). Here, people can be provided with medical aid without worrying about any prices, which keeps their strong health and high productivity skills. Within employment-related medical insurance, it is employers who are fully responsible for their employees’ insurance. As a tangible financial business burden, it may keep workers close to their employment place itself: if resigned, they can lose good medical insurance at all. The medical insurance system is a key and decisive factor to raise labour efficiency. To achieve and secure it, governments should permanently develop affordable and reliable insurance systems. In our research, we chose the following indexes: coverage of state and private insurances, labour efficiency levels, national employment levels, life expectancy, healthcare costs (% of gross domestic product), healthcare costs by volume. We conducted the given study via data normalisation and regression modelling (backward data selection). We applied Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS) as a regression-based method to describe non-linear variable relations. Among our engaged methods, there were also bibliography analysis, data processing, systematisation, comparison and logical generalisation. The current research results are relevant for politics and business. Politicians may use them in developing social-economic principles to improve medical insurance and labour efficiency. Enterprises can involve such information to define medical insurance payments for the health and labour efficiency increase among all types of employees in any countries.

State Labour Reserves of the USSR in the 1940s and 1950s: living conditions and training practices of the working youth

State Labour Reserves of the USSR in the 1940s and 1950s: living conditions and training practices of the working youth

APPEARANCE AS AN ATTRIBUTE OF THE SOCIO-CULTURAL PORTRAIT OF STUDENTS OF THE STATE LABOR RESERVES (1940S)

The article presents the appearance of students of the state labor reserves system as a marker of their socio-cultural portrait and characteristic of this particular social group. On the basis of the documents, the uniforms approved by the state are shown, the insignia on it for students of handicraft, railway schools, factory training schools, as well as the problems of providing working youth with uniforms, including for practical training, especially during the Great Patriotic War. Following and observing the accepted requirements for the appearance of students formed such personal qualities as: discipline, patience, responsibility, neatness, which formed the basis of their socio-cultural appearance and were set by the ideological attitudes of the Soviet state.