Global labour governance: an idea whose time has

Transcript:Global labour governance: an idea whose time has:
Global labour governance: an idea whose time has come? Shirley Lerner Lecture 2017 Jimmy Donaghey University of Warwick Overview Context of global labour governance The paradox of private labour governance Approaches to transnational labour governance Case study: the response to the Rana Plaza disaster Unresolved questions of global labour governance Conclusions Context of global labour governance Series of (low impact) public government initiatives to regulate MNC employment activities OECD Guidelines on MNCs UN Global Compact ILO Guidelines on MNCs All non-binding and advisory in nature Emergence of (private) global labour governance Three approaches in literature GVCs/GPNs Main focus on interfirm linkages Industrial relations approach Comparison of IFAs and Codes of Conduct Corporate Social Responsibility Power relations in private labour governance Why is global labour governance necessary? Global labour governance generally viewed as the regulation of MNCs and their supply chains across borders Workers Low labour standards Western Brands Downward competitive pressures Substantial risks Spreading financial risk can increase reputational risk Challenges in developing Global Labour Governance Low levels of unionisation and worker representation in many developing economies Lack of independent unions in others No coherent and meaningful sanctions available at intergovernmental level Western Buyer Brands engaged in downwards spiral in standards Interbrand competition Inter-supplier competition State incentives not to raise standards Low standard model as development Who enforces governance initiatives? The paradox of global labour governance MNCs seeking regimes with low labour cost and low labour standards with lack of meaningful government oversight develop private governance regimes Two contrasting approaches Industrial relations versus Corporate Social Responsibility CSR approach sees brands as relatively benign actor that acts as enforcer Focus will be on the development of an experiment in the IR approach which has some strong elements of CSR The response to the Rana Plaza disaster Bangladesh Ready Made Garment sector bedevilled by a series of deadly accidents 23rd April 2013- Collapse of Rana Plaza, more than 1100 workers killed Factories producing sub-contracted goods for western brands Emergence of two initiatives Bangladesh Accord for Building and Fire Safety “Collective agreement” approach Alliance for Worker Safety in Bangladesh CSR approach Both programmes to run until 2018 A complex governance challenge Low structural power of workers Fragmented supply chain at each end; international competition Low associational power 97% factories completely non-union + union fragmentation lack of solidarity along the chain low/Workers covered by different GUFs IFAs with buyers (eg H&M, Inditex) could not