Global unions: chasing the dream or building the reality?

This article takes as its theme the global restructuring of capital and its impact on worker organization. It argues for a reassertion of class in any analysis of global solidarity, and assesses the opportunities and barriers to effective global unionization. Rooted in the UK experience, the article analyzes the impact of the European social dimension on trade unions, before taking the discussion into a global dimension. It concludes by suggesting that there are reasons for cautious optimism in terms of solidarity building, despite difficult historical legacies and the common replacement of action with rhetoric

Speciesistic Veganism: An Anthropocentric Argument

The paper proposes an anthropocentric argument for veganism based on a speciesistic premise that most carnists likely affirm: human flourishing should be promoted. I highlight four areas of human suffering promoted by a carnistic diet: (1) health dangers to workers (both physical and psychological), (2) economic dangers to workers, (3) physical dangers to communities around slaughterhouses, and (4) environmental dangers to communities-at-large. Consequently, one could ignore the well-being of non-human animals and nevertheless recognize significant moral failings in the current standard system of meat production

International Labor Standards, Soft Regulation, and National Government Roles

[Excerpt] In this article, we briefly describe the different approaches to the regulation of international labor standards, and then argue for a new role for national governments based on soft rather than hard regulation approaches. We argue that this new role shows potential for significantly enhancing progress in international labor standards, since it enables governments to articulate a position without having to deal with the enforcement issues that hard regulation mandates. We justify this new role for governments based on the increasing use of soft regulation in the international arena. Of course, this approach is not without its own problems, but given that existing approaches have all provided imperfect solutions to the problem of improving labor standards globally, re-visiting the role of national governments is in our view, highly important

British industrial relations pluralism in the era of neoliberalism

This article provides a broad overview of the pluralist tradition in UK industrial relations scholarship, identifying its defining characteristics and mapping its evolution in recent decades. It deals in turn with the following: the appreciation of the relative interests of workers and employers that lies at the heart of the pluralist frame of reference, the research agenda that flows from this understanding, pluralist conceptions of context and agency within industrial relations, the standards that pluralists habitually use when assessing the employment relationship, the targets and modes of critique that pluralists direct against intellectual opponents, and the prescriptions that pluralists offer for industrial relations reform. Throughout the article there is a focus on change within the pluralist tradition and the manner in which it has adapted to the hegemony of neoliberalism in the realms of both ideas and policy

A race from the bottom? Lessons from a workers’ struggle at a Bangalore warehouse

This paper analyses the emergence of the ‘full package’ firm in India and its implications for workers’ strategies. A ‘full package’ firm expands outward, from low-value assembly-only products to high-value specialized garment production; consolidating under one roof. Historically, geographic and political barriers separated centres of value-creation (producers) and value-capture (brands and retailers) in the global garment sector. However, enhanced value-capture at the point of production has led to considerable consolidation organizationally, giving an increasingly symbiotic character to relationships within ‘buyer driven’ supply chains. Though this change aggregates the bargaining power of workers, it also introduces new obstacles to workers’ organization. The concomitant rise of supplier-end value capture allows garment trade unions to nonetheless demand greater shares. Thus, previously unviable modes and methods have become available to workers engaged in struggles with their employers in the globalized garment sector. This paper examines a protracted workers’ struggle in light of this process. In doing so, the paper demonstrates that codes of conduct and auditing alone cannot significantly impact labour standards because the needs of capital accumulation are greater than the threat posed by any auditing program or code. Ultimately, the paper demonstrates that labour rights within the garment GVC will not arrive through a rights-based approach -- though strong codes of conduct and independent auditing can assist -- but rather through a combination of an increased power of suppliers vis-à-vis buyers, greater workers' bargaining power with their direct employers, and -- critically -- workers' self organization

Las playas de Menorca: naturaleza y distribución

La costa de Menorca acoge 114 sistemas de playa que representan el 9,9% de la línea de costa de Menorca. Ubicadas en un ambiente micromareal y expuestas a oleajes que raras veces superan los 3m de altura significante, la mayoría de las playas menorquinas se caracterizan por presentar arenas biogénicas de medias a gruesas, estando su distribución y naturaleza condicionadas, principalmente, por el contexto morfoestructural de la isla. Tanto en lo tocante a la configuración fisiográfica de las playas y su espacio de acomodación como a la naturaleza y tipología del sedimento. En general, la tasa de evolución media de las playas de Menorca no presenta grandes problemas y se caracteriza por la estabilidad, una estabilidad reforzada por el carácter protegido o semi-protegido de las ensenadas que acogen a las playas o porque las playas más expuestas coinciden las acumulaciones de cantos y bloques al pie de acantiladosThe Menorcan coast contains 114 beach systems, which occupy 9,9% of the coastline. Menorcan beaches are characterized by a microtidal and a moderate wave energy environment where, at annual scale, in few occasions significant wave heights attend values larger than 3m. Biogenic medium to coarse sands beaches are the dominant feature, although the island morphostructure controls both: the type of beach and the sediment nature and/or texture. In average, the shoreline change rate for the island beaches shows a stability scenario reinforced by the large number of embayed and pocket beaches along the Menorcan coast. The beaches exposed to the most energetic waves tend show cobble-boulder beaches at the cliff-toeVersión del edito

Las playas de Menorca: naturaleza y distribución

La costa de Menorca acoge 114 sistemas de playa que representan el 9,9% de la línea de costa de Menorca. Ubicadas en un ambiente micromareal y expuestas a oleajes que raras veces superan los 3m de altura significante, la mayoría de las playas menorquinas se caracterizan por presentar arenas biogénicas de medias a gruesas, estando su distribución y naturaleza condicionadas, principalmente, por el contexto morfoestructural de la isla. Tanto en lo tocante a la configuración fisiográfica de las playas y su espacio de acomodación como a la naturaleza y tipología del sedimento. En general, la tasa de evolución media de las playas de Menorca no presenta grandes problemas y se caracteriza por la estabilidad, una estabilidad reforzada por el carácter protegido o semi-protegido de las ensenadas que acogen a las playas o porque las playas más expuestas coinciden las acumulaciones de cantos y bloques al pie de acantiladosThe Menorcan coast contains 114 beach systems, which occupy 9,9% of the coastline. Menorcan beaches are characterized by a microtidal and a moderate wave energy environment where, at annual scale, in few occasions significant wave heights attend values larger than 3m. Biogenic medium to coarse sands beaches are the dominant feature, although the island morphostructure controls both: the type of beach and the sediment nature and/or texture. In average, the shoreline change rate for the island beaches shows a stability scenario reinforced by the large number of embayed and pocket beaches along the Menorcan coast. The beaches exposed to the most energetic waves tend show cobble-boulder beaches at the cliff-toeVersión del edito

Are litter, plastic and microplastic quantities increasing in the ocean?

Whilst both plastic production and inputs at sea have increased since the 1950s, several modelling studies predict a further increase in the coming years in these respective quantities. We compiled scientific literature on trends in marine litter, consisting largely of plastic and microplastics in the ocean, understanding that monitoring programs or assessments for these aspects are varied, frequently focusing on limited components of the marine environment in different locations, and covering a wide spectrum of marine litter types, with limited standardization. Here we discuss how trends in the amounts of litter in the marine environment can be compared with the information provided by models. Increasing amounts of plastic are found in some regions, especially in remote areas, but many repeated surveys and monitoring efforts have failed to demonstrate any consistent real temporal trend. An observed steady state situation of plastic quantities in many marine compartments and the fate and transport of plastic in the marine environment remain areas for much needed further research.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

When workplace unionism in global value chains does not function well : exploring the impediments

Improving working conditions at the bottom of global value chains has become a central issue in our global economy. In this battle, trade unionism has been presented as a way for workers to make their voices heard. Therefore, it is strongly promoted by most social standards. However, establishing a well-functioning trade union is not as obvious as it may seem. Using a comparative case study approach, we examine impediments to farm-level unionism in the cut flower industry in Ethiopia. For this purpose, we propose an integrated framework combining two lenses, namely a vertical one (governance and structure of global value chains) and a horizontal one (socio-economic context). We identify 10 impediments that point to three major dimensions contributing to unionisation. These three dimensions include awareness of and interest from workers, legitimacy of trade unions, and capacity of trade unions to act. Furthermore, our results suggest that private social standards may, in certain cases, be counterproductive for the efficient functioning of trade unions. Although we argue that there is no ‘quick fix’ solution to weak workplace unionism at the bottom of global value chains, we stress the importance of considering the dynamics of, and interactions between, the impediments when designing potential support measures that mitigate negative impacts

The Law and Economics of Intermediaries of Personal Information

This paper explores a class of firms: the intermediaries of personal information. In the economics of personal information, scarcity is no longer the only, and foremost, determinant of value. The most important determinant of value becomes connection. Adapting what Gervais claims to be the first law of an information-flooded cloud-modelled economy, value is not derived from scarcity but rather from the fact that those who value it most will find it. Personal information is the raw material to create connections. Intermediaries collect personal information in exchange for goods or services, regardless of whether they actually need that information to perform their main activity, and use this information to connect other goods and services with the users who value them most, e.g. via personalisation or targeted advertising. Many firms in many different sectors are, or could become, intermediaries of personal information, from Google to supermarkets, from telecom operators to insurance companies. The descriptive analysis of this industry has consequences in terms of business model and regulatory approach. As for the former, it is worth exploring the conditions for which a firm could profitably become an intermediary of personal information and thereby exploit untapped resources for revenue generation. As for the latter, an imperfect understanding of the economics of personal information creates the risk for misaligned norms, and therefore for an uneven competition