The Employment Challenge of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing: Scenario and Strategies for Pakistan

Abstract In January 2005, the quota system for imports of textiles and clothing was phased out and gave way to more liberalized global trade in textiles and clothing. The T&C industry is Pakistan’s main export engine. It is also a major industrial employer, and one of the few sectors that provide paid employment to female workers. The policy paper highlights the potentially negative impact of the phase out of the textile quota regime on employment-intensive garment production in Pakistan. This sub-sector also provides most employment for women workers. It demands mitigation of the expected social costs, for example, through skill upgrading, consistent implementation of existing labor laws and their extension to informal sector workers, as well as proactive policies that link Pakistani garments’ market access abroad with special regard for working conditions at home

Study on Apparel Quotas: Global Phase and Consciousness

The right to organize is the worker's most effective weapon against exploitative conditions. Yet the global “race to the bottom” has turned the weapon of unionizing – and the anti-sweatshop struggle overall – into a double-edged sword. If workers organize they are likely to lose their jobs, as corporations pursue factories where unions are forbidden and cheap labor is therefore guaranteed. But if workers do not organize, their rights will continue to be violated. These conditions pose a significant challenge for the anti-sweatshop movement – a challenge that will increase with the end of apparel quotas. This paper begins by reviewing the impact of the Multi Fiber Arrangement (MFA) and the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) – two regulatory frameworks that have governed global trade in these commodities for 30 years. This regulatory framework came to an end on January 1, 2005 with the WTO-mandated end of textile and apparel import quotas. A large body of research on the probable result of the end of the quota system concludes that a small number of countries (and primarily China) are likely to be the chief beneficiaries of the end of quotas, while a large number of countries are likely to suffer significant declines in their apparel and textile export industries. Keywords: ATC, Multi Fiber Arrangement, MFA, Agreement on Textiles and Clothing and Quota

The Transformation of International Trade Unionism in the Era of Globalization

Following the Second World Congress of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) held from June 21 to 25, 2010 in Vancouver, this article examines the changes undergone by international trade unionism in recent years. The increasing power of multinational corporations, as a result of globalization, has led to a transformation in international trade unionism which has produced a reorganization of its structures and the emergence of new forms of action to ensure the protection of workers’ rights worldwide. The key argument of this article is that the evolution of the structures and practices of international trade union organizations over the last two decades has been characterized by the implementation of strategies aimed, on the one hand, at reinforcing trade union unity and, on the other hand, at targeting multinational corporations. Lastly, although the transformation of international trade unionism has given rise to important structural changes, international trade union organizations continue to face formidable challenges in their efforts to effectively contribute to the regulation of the global economy

Global Game for Cuffs and Collars: The phase-out of the WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing aggravates social divisions

CCC_globalgameforcuffsandcollars.pdf: 219 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

private governance in the global sportswear industry

What motivates companies to invest in corporate social responsibility (CSR)? Analysing CSR in the global sportswear industry, this paper advances the hypothesis that the campaigning activities of human rights activists pushed industry leaders Nike and adidas to incorporate labour norms in their business (sourcing) practices. Drawing on the spiral model of human rights norm internalization, the paper’s findings suggest that the efforts of leading sportswear companies to address poor labour standards in their supply chains can no longer be explained by mere strategic behaviour induced by external pressure, but are increasingly the result of norm guided behaviour. In the case of adidas and to a lesser extent with regard to Nike evidence points to a “prescriptive status” in which the dominant mode of action shifts from the logic of consequences to the logic of appropriateness

The Structural Crisis of Labor Flexibility

Paper evaluating the CCC’s aims, strategies, and activities. It includes an analysis of the persistence of poor working conditions in the garment industry; an overview of CCC strategies and the debate over codes of conduct, monitoring, and verification; and the description of three broad strategies for future action aimed at increasing the impact of voluntary, private instruments on working conditions

Play Fair at the Olympics

CCC_playfairovertimeolympicreporteng.pdf: 253 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

The New Labor Contract Law in 2008: China's Legal Absorption of Labor Unrest

Since labor protests in China are not directed at the post-socialist party-state but only directed at individual enterprise on a case-by-case basis, the Chinese party-state has articulated a response what can be called "legal absorption of labor conflict" by setting up new labor legislations more congruence with the interests of labor. The aim is to improve the wage and other compensation for individual workers without at the same time leading to the rise of working class at a collective level to form a class-wise organization or to engage in a collective social movement. However, previous labor laws set up before 2008 have failed to stop the abuses of business on the Chinese workers. In this respect, many researchers have labeled the 2008 Labor Contract Law as the most significant piece of Chinese labor legislation passed in recent years. The aim of this paper is to examine the distinctive features, the historical process of the making, and the impact of the Labor Contract Law at the turn of the 21st century. In the conclusion, this paper will discuss the implications of the Labor Contract Law for meeting the challenge of labor unrest in China