Transnational Labour Regulation Research Articles

The governance architecture of transnational labor regulation

ABSTRACT Working conditions in a global context reveal a dramatic reality for workers in the Global South. In conjunction with the prevailing process of capital accumulation and economic growth and the new forms of poverty that accompany it, some contributions generate the image of an unregulated world of labor relations and a powerless workforce. Either the weaknesses and gaps in cross-border labor regulation are used to outline an almost insoluble problem, or a return to the salvation of the nation state is called for. The reaction to this view often leads to an exchange of blows and results in a dichotomous debate. Instead, this article sheds light on the historical complexities of national to transnational labor regulation, from the establishment of the first international trade union secretariats to modern multi-stakeholder agreements. Based on a historical analysis, this article argues that a gradual institutionalization can be observed over 130 years, while revealing a complex transnational regime-like governance architecture. Drawing on the Ecology approach, a framework is developed to capture this complex structure. It is shown that, despite the expansion of governance structures, there is a lack of legitimized control, sanction and enforcement mechanisms to comprehensively counteract labor rights violations.

The missing link: The significance of institutional interdependencies and dynamics of action for transnational labour regulation in multinational companies

AbstractIn recent decades, both academic research and industrial relations practice have been increasingly concerned with whether, and to what extent, transnational forms of labour regulation might constitute a countervailing power to globally operating companies. And although numerous studies have analysed the various instruments and institutions of transnational labour regulation – such as Global Framework Agreements, trade union networks and European or World Works Councils – as yet there has been little in the way of exploration of their dynamics or interconnections. Against this backdrop and based on a comparison of three case studies of multinational companies, we focus on what we consider to be the ‘missing link’ between the dynamics of social action and the interdependencies of institutions in order to explain how transnational institution building can contribute to the development of transnational labour regulation. Specifically, we investigate how different pathways to transnational labour regulation have been the outcomes of actions taken by actors in a multinational corporation and how, in turn, these developments shaped the dynamics of subsequent action. The study underlines that those pathways can only be properly understood when seen in terms of social actors, their power resources and their willingness and capacities to deploy them.

Getting China into the game: Bilateral labor agreements in the system of global labor rights

Abstract Bilateral trade agreements are the preferred mode of transnational regulation for the People’s Republic of China. China has made promises on labor rights in draft bilateral agreements that it has not previously made in any other venue. The future of transnational labor regulation requires Chinese participation. Bilateral agreements should therefore become a normal part of transnational labor law. Model labor rights provisions for bilateral agreements should be promulgated. Consultative and informal enforcement will be necessary.

The rise, demise and replacement of the Bangladesh experiment in transnational labour regulation

AbstractFive years after the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in 2013 – a disaster that killed 1,133 garment workers – the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, a multi‐stakeholder programme designed to set labour standards for the garment industry, was terminated by Bangladesh's highest court. Widely hailed as a promising example of transnational regulation, the Accord was never successfully institutionalized locally. On the basis of archival and ethnographic work in Bangladesh, the author suggests that, although the Accord successfully upgraded factory safety standards, its failure to build widespread support among local employers, workers and the Government led to its termination and replacement.

Transnational labor regulation—Where to next?

Transnational labor regulation—Where to next?

Sewing transnational textures of labour regulation: towards an integrative perspective

Labour regulation is often approached either by methodological nationalism or methodological globalism. Main arguments are that labour and its regulation are increasingly dis-embedded and commodified. As an alternative framing we propose a (neo-)institutionalist multi-level and multi-actors approach. Based on literature review and own studies we argue that there is empirical evidence of transnational labour regulation combining different logics of action and institutional contexts. Taking the example of the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety, we demonstrate the multi-level, multi-dimensional institutional settings and sketch out basic elements of an integrative perspective on sewing transnational textures of labour regulation.Key termsLabour regulation, globalization, transnationalization, Bangladesh Accord, neo-institutionalism, multi-level multi-actor approach.

Transnational labor regulation, reification, and commodification: A critical review

Why does scholarship on transnational labor regulation (TLR) consistently fail to search for improvements in working conditions, and instead devotes itself to relentless efforts for identifying administrative processes, semantics, and amalgamations of stakeholders? This article critiques TLR from a pro-worker perspective, through the philosophical work of Georg Lukács, and the concepts of reification and commodification. A set of theoretically grounded criteria is developed and these are applied against selected contemporary cases of TLR. In the totality that is capitalism, reification of social relations of production conceals completely the experiences of workers. In TLR, managerialist and process-oriented scholarship is dominant, verifiable outcomes and positive improvements in conditions of employment are not sought, and worse, meaningless procedures are celebrated as positive achievements.

To the Yukon and Beyond: Local Laborers in a Global Labor Market

This article explores the possibilities for effective protection of labor rights in the emerging global labor market. It explores existing forms of transnational labor regulation, including both hard regulation, i.e., regulation by state-centered institutions, and soft regulation, i.e., regulation through private actors responding to market forces. The author finds that existing regulatory approaches are inadequate to ensure that the global marketplace will offer adequate labor standards to its global workforce. She proposes new approaches to global labor regulation, approaches that blend hard and soft law by reshaping market forces and embedding them in a regulatory framework that is protective of core labor rights.

The Role of International Framework Agreements in Transnational Labour Regulation

The regulation of labour in the workplace is never an easy task but it is even more complex and challenging if it has to take place across national borders in a globalised world. Globalisation and a transnational labour environment impact on the ability of the employer to regulate or manage a labour force that is based in different countries. The migration of workers across national borders, the existence of multinational companies and the demands of transnational labour relations present management with many challenges. This article is premised on the conviction that corporate social responsibility codes and other codes of conduct, due to their voluntary nature, are not enough to effectively manage and regulate labour in a transnational environment. The authors suggest that international framework agreements are a far more effective management tool for transnational labour regulation.

The Role of International Framework Agreements in Transnational Labour Regulation

The regulation of labour in the workplace is never an easy task but it is even more complex and challenging if it has to take place across national borders in a globalised world. Globalisation and a transnational labour environment impact on the ability of the employer to regulate or manage a labour force that is based in different countries. The migration of workers across national borders, the existence of multinational companies and the demands of transnational labour relations present management with many challenges. This article is premised on the conviction that corporate social responsibility codes and other codes of conduct, due to their voluntary nature, are not enough to effectively manage and regulate labour in a transnational environment. The authors suggest that international framework agreements are a far more effective management tool for transnational labour regulation.

International Framework Agreements: A thread in the web of transnational labour regulation

Are International Framework Agreements potential mechanisms of cross-border labour regulation? For some scholars they are no more than ‘window-dressing’, for others they are effective instruments of transnational regulation. We argue that their effectiveness depends on their interconnection with other mechanisms of labour regulation. Drawing on a broad review of research and our own empirical data, we conclude that different institutional frameworks, different dominant actor groups and configurations, and also different modes of regulation and bargaining, lead to varying and sometimes contrasting outcomes.

Work and Employment Relations in a Globalized World: The Emerging Texture of Transnational Labour Regulation

While globalization has led to what can – with reference to Karl Polanyi – be referred to as a disembedding of the labour market from its nationally segmented settings, recent decades bring about a development identifiable as a 'countermovement. As the text shows, drawing on the example of European Works Councils and International Framework Agreements, this process of 're-embedding' takes place through a network of different measures of labour regulation. It is for this reason that establishing a relational perspective on cross-border phenomena in the field of labour relations can count as a central future aim in this strand of research.

Transnational Labor Regulation and the Limits of Governance

Governance theories of regulation can be useful in describing and conceptualizing new forms of transnational labor regulation (TLR) that have emerged in a context of weak state regulatory capacity. This Article argues, however, that the prominent governance models that have been applied to TLR, namely systems theory, responsive regulation, and new governance are not suited to the exigencies of labor regulation in developing states. Accordingly, this Article proposes an alternative integrative approach to transnational labor regulation that draws upon the insights of governance theory, but that is committed to developing state capacity where the state has a comparative advantage over non-state regulation in realizing the goals of TLR.

Temporary Work in Transnational Labor Regulation: SER-Centrism and the Risk of Exacerbating Gendered Precariousness

This article explores the transnational regulation of temporary work. Analyzing the terms of the EU Directive on Fixed-Term Work (1999), the ILO Convention on Private Employment Agencies (1997), the ILO Recommendation on the Employment Relationship (2006), and a draft EU Directive on Temporary Agency Work under negotiation, it demonstrates that these regulations hinge on the gendered norm of the standard employment relationship (SER) or the full-time permanent job complete with a social wage. They pursue labor protections designed to stretch the employment norm. To the extent that this “SER-centric” approach alleviates precariousness, it is most likely to help workers in forms of employment closely resembling the SER (i.e., fixed-term workers) and least likely to improve the situations of those that are most precarious (i.e., temporary agency workers).

Precarious Part-Time Work in Australia and in Transnational Labour Regulation: The Gendered Limits of SER-Centrism

ABSTRACT This article examines approaches guiding transnational regulations on part-time work in relation to the Australian case, where such work is especially common. Analysing the terms of an ILO convention and an EU directive on part-time work, it explores the ‘SER-centric’ approach guiding these regulations. This approach pivots on the norm of the standard employment relationship (SER) or the full-time permanent job complete with a social wage. It pursues labour protections designed to stretch the employment norm. Yet to the extent that it offers potential to alleviate precariousness, this approach is most likely to help permanent part-time workers and least likely to improve the situations of casual part-time workers. The Australian case highlights the limits of this approach. In this context, rates of part-time work are not only amongst the highest in the OECD, a sizeable segment of part-time work is also casual, and many women work in this category. SER-centric approaches epitomised in transnational labour regulations, and evident in some strategies for re-regulation at the national level, threaten to heighten gendered labour-market insecurities.

Transnational Labor Regulation in the NAFTA - a Problem of Institutional Design? The Case of the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation between the USA, Mexico and Canada

Transnational Labor Regulation in the NAFTA - a Problem of Institutional Design? The Case of the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation between the USA, Mexico and Canada