177 research outputs found
Buyer Engagement and Labour Conditions in Global Supply Chains:The Bangladesh Accord and Beyond
The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh (âthe Accordâ) has received both praise and criticism concerning its implications for corporate responsibility and power. This article contributes to the debate by situating the Accord within a broader set of activities that buyers are engaged in to promote better labour conditions in their supply chains. The authors identify three approaches of buyer engagement: auditing, capacity building and advocacy. Drawing on interviews conducted with European brands and retailers, the article shows how buyers perceive the merits and challenges of these approaches, and whether and how they discharge responsibility and power through these activities. The study shows that the Accord is seen primarily as part of the auditing approach with a key feature being its use of collective leverage as a means of enforcement. While greater buyer power has not necessarily been accompanied by greater responsibility, the article highlights heterogeneity among buyers in how they take up different approaches, painting a more nuanced picture of buyer responsibility and power
Local supplier firms in Madagascarâs apparel export industry : Upgrading paths, transnational social relations and regional production networks
Abstract: Please refer to full text to view abstract
South Korea's automotive labour regime, Hyundai Motorsâ global production network and tradeâbased integration with the European Union
This article explores the interrelationship between global production networks(GPNs) and free trade agreements (FTAs) in the South Korean auto industry and its employment relations. It focuses on the production network of the Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) â the third biggest automobile manufacturer in the world â and the FTA between the EU and South Korea. This was the first of the EUâs ânew generationâ FTAs, which among other things contained provisions designed to protect and promote labour standards. The articleâs argument is twofold. First, that HMGâs production network and Koreaâs political economy (of which HMG is a crucial part) limited the possibilities for the FTAâs labour provisions to take effect. Second, that the commercial provisions in this same FTA simultaneously eroded HMGâs domestic market and corporate profitability, leading to adverse consequences for auto workers in the more
insecure and low-paid jobs. In making this argument, the article advances a multiscalar conceptualization of the labour regime as an analytical intermediary between GPNs and FTAs. It also provides one of the first empirical studies of the EUâSouth Korea FTA in terms of employment relations, drawing on 105 interviews with trade unions, employer associations, automobile companies and state officials across both parties
International Framework Agreements: global industrial relations between rights and bargaining
Labour in Global Production: Reflections on Coxian Insights in a World of Global Value Chains
This essay reflects on Robert W. Coxâs work on global production, labour and labour governance, and considers how his insights might illuminate the present conjuncture for labour in production. I work with an understanding of that conjuncture as involving the rise to pre-eminence of global production networks (GPNs) and global value chains (GVCs) as the contemporary expression of the ongoing globalization of production. The primary tasks of the essay are two-fold: first, to explore the dynamics of labour and power in the GVC-based global economy, with a particular emphasis on labour exploitation; and second, to link these questions to those of the governance of the global economy, focusing on the shift towards transnational private governance as the dominant mode of contemporary governance, and on the evolving strategies of organized labour and the International Labour Organization in that context
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Protecting labor rights in preferential trade agreements: the role of trade unions, left governments, and skilled labor
This paper investigates variation in the design of labor provisions in preferential trade agreements (PTAs) by focusing on the power of trade unions, the role of government partisanship, and the relative strength of skilled labor. We expect strong trade unions and left-leaning governments to be associated with more, and more far-reaching labor provisions in PTAs. We also expect the strength of skilled workers relative to the strength of unskilled workers to negatively correlate with the depth of labor provisions in PTAs. In addition, the effect of trade unions should be conditional on both the presence of left government and democracy. We test these hypotheses relying on an original dataset of labor provisions included in 483 PTAs signed between 1990 and 2016. This dataset covers 140 different labor provisions that relate to six overarching dimensions. The quantitative analysis finds support for the expectations concerning the influence of trade unions and the role of a countryâs skill profile
Enantioselective Synthesis of (+)-Estrone Exploiting a Hydrogen Bond-Promoted DielsâAlder Reaction
Towards comprehensive and transparent reporting: context-specific additions to the ICF taxonomy for medical evaluations of work capacity involving claimants with chronic widespread pain and low back pain
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 âquick fixâ 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
Die Internationale Klassifikation der FunktionsfÀhigkeit, Behinderung und Gesundheit (ICF) in der Begutachtung
In diesem Kapitel wird die Anwendung der Internationalen Klassifikation der FunktionsfĂ€higkeit, Behinderung und Gesundheit (ICF) in der Begutachtung thematisiert. Die ICF steht seit der Publikation im Jahre 2001 auf der Agenda von Praktikern und Wissenschaftlern. In dieser Zeit wurde sehr viel ĂŒber die ICF publiziert, die Umsetzung in die Praxis jedoch wenig erprobt. Im Bereich der Begutachtung ist die ICF bisher von sekundĂ€rer Bedeutung, obwohl sie in der gĂ€ngigen Literatur (u.a. LeitfĂ€den) zu Begutachtung zunehmend erwĂ€hnt wird
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