International Labor Relations

What is the International Labor Organization (ILO)

• UN Agency

• Tripartite structure (3 equal groups): governments, employers, workers (union)

• Conventions

• US has not signed onto all ILO conventions due to employer resistance

What are ILO conventions?

• (formal agreements) on issues like child labor and freedom of association

  • not legally binding, lack enforcement power

What are other activities ILO’s do

assistance to govs, unions, employers, NGOs to improve training & LR systems, laws, & administrative agencies

What are qualities of NGOs

Variation in focus (not all are same)

What are examples of what NGOs focus on

workers rights, immigration rights, women’s rights

consumer goods focus: apparel, toys

• lose leverage with intermediate goods (steel, autoparts) bc consumers can’t see/recognize brand

What are example movements NGOs partake in

Sweatshop movement (apparel)

• NGO-led campaigns targeting Nike, Gap, Adidas → aimed at improving labor rights & conditions in the apparel sector

• Key actors: FLA (Fair Labor Association) & WRC (Worker Rights Consortium)

Fair Trade movement (coffee): products allegedly produced with better working conditions

What are some methods to improve International Labor Rights

1. Consumer pressure

2. International or regional governmental or free trade agreement regulation

3. National governmental regulation of labor conditions and standards:

4. International or cross-national unionism

5. Local unions within less developed countries

6. Corporate Codes of Conduct

7. Multi-stakeholder initiatives

Method to improve Int. Labor Rights: Describe Consumer Pressure

• NGOs mobilize consumers to boycott abusive firms & buy “ethical” products (fair trade)

• Boycotts: campaigns to try to convince consumers not to purchase goods that are produced w low wage labor

• Consumer Lobbing: try to convince producers to move upscale → better health & safety/wage conditions

Method to improve Int. Labor Rights: Describe Limits of Consumer Pressure

• Do workers actually benefit if you pay more for “fairly produced goods”

• Big producers may not care if their sales decline

• Can and do consumers actually change their purchases

• Intermediate goods lose leverage bc consumers don’t know the brand to boycott

Method to improve Int. Labor Rights: Describe International or regional governmental or free trade agreement regulation

Labor standards written into trade agreements/regional institutions

Method to improve Int. Labor Rights: Describe Limits of International or regional governmental or free trade agreement regulation

• Not many global/regional gov. bodies exist

  • Those that do exist don’t have strong enforcement powers

• Conflicting interests btwn developed and less developed countries

• Who makes the difficult wage-employment trade off decision

Method to improve Int. Labor Rights: Describe National governmental regulation of labor conditions and standards

Countries pass labor laws: min wages, safety standards, limited hours to work

Method to improve Int. Labor Rights: Describe LIMITS of National governmental regulation of labor conditions and standards

• weak enforcement

• govs captured by business interest & not interested in raising labor standards

• if gov chooses low labor standards, there is no higher authority to override it

Method to improve Int. Labor Rights: Describe International or cross-national unionism

Unions coordinate across borders, try international CB

Method to improve Int. Labor Rights: Describe LIMITS of International or cross-national unionism

• few examples of international CB

• diff laws, diff interests, language & culture barriers

Method to improve Int. Labor Rights: Describe Local unions within less developed countries STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES

Strengths:

• local control over wage-employment decision

• likelihood to follow thru

• local responsiveness

Weakness:

• facing fierce gov

• employer opposition

Method to improve Int. Labor Rights: Describe Corporate Codes of Conduct

Firms voluntarily adopt labor standards

Method to improve Int. Labor Rights: Describe Corporate Codes of Conduct LIMITS

• Mixed motives: public relations vs. social concerns

• Corporate staff v. plant/operations have diversity of interests

• Monitoring difficulties in global supply expansion

Method to improve Int. Labor Rights: Describe Multi-stakeholder initiatives:

Focus on safety in garment factories (ex: Better Factories Cambodia Program)

Key to success: multi-stakholder involvement with substantial remedial resources that help fund real improvements in factories and work conditions.

• penalties for non-compliance are lacking