International labour standards
Encyclopedia
International labor standards refer to conventions agreed upon by international actors, resulting from a series of value judgments, set forth to protect basic worker rights, enhance workers’ job security, and improve their terms of employment on a global scale. The intent of such standards, then, is to establish a worldwide minimum level of protection from inhumane labor practices through the adoption and implementation of said measures. From a theoretical standpoint, it has been maintained, on ethical grounds, that there are certain basic human rights
that are universal to mankind. Thus, it is the aim of international labor standards to ensure the provision of such rights in the workplace.
While the existence of international labor standards does not necessarily imply implementation or enforcement mechanisms, most real world cases have utilized formal treaties and agreements stemming from international institutions. The primary international agency charged with developing working standards is the International Labour Organization
(ILO). Established in 1919, the ILO advocates international standards as essential for the eradication of labour conditions involving "injustice, hardship and privation". According to the ILO, international labour standards contribute to the possibility of lasting peace
, help to mitigate potentially adverse effects of international market competition and help the progress of international development
.
Implementation, however, is not limited to the ILO nor is it constrained to the legislative model that the ILO represents. Other alternatives include direct trade sanctions, multilateral enforcement, and voluntary standards. In addition to controversies that arise over each of these models, greater issues have also been raised concerning the debate over the need for international labor standards themselves. However, while critics have arisen, the international community has largely come to a consensus in favor of basic protection of the world’s labor force from inhumane practices.
in the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1802, the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed what is now known as the English Factory Act
. The act sought to regulate the workday of apprentices by restricting work hours to 12 per day. In doing so, the English Factory Act served as a precursor to the models of international labor standards seen today. Minimal regulations similar to those found in English legislation subsequently became increasingly commonplace among 19th century industrializing nations. Early attempts at the provision of labor standards were limited in scope, though. Such conventions focused primarily on improving working conditions in relation to hours of work, women's and children's labor
, and the use of hazardous materials. While it was evident that support for workers’ rights was inconsistent across international boundaries, activists originally only employed the use of moral suasion to deal with differences in labor standards. It was not until the latter parts of the 19th century that efforts were made to implement uniform standards on an international scale.
, the agenda on international labor standards reached a new level of prominence as a result of the founding of the International Labour Organization
. As mandated by Part XIII of the Treaty of Versailles
, the ILO was created as a branch of the League of Nations
in order to address all conceivable aspects of labor rights. Preliminary efforts focused primarily on the eradication of slavery and all forms of forced labor. The agenda quickly expanded, however, to include the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining, nondiscrimination in employment, and the elimination of child labor. The ILO’s creation marked the first instance of multiple major international actors coming together in an attempt to reach a consensus on universal workers’ rights. Despite a lack of any formal means of coercion, the ILO then urged its 44 original member countries to adopt and ratify conventions limiting oppressive labor market practices.
in which governments take part in the iterative loosening of labor protections in attempts to aid the international competitiveness of export-oriented industries. Fears of this nature consequently produced the notable increases in the discourse on international labor ethics that characterize the contemporary international human rights arena.
via low labor standards, and dialogue between labor and management. This model has been adopted by the European Community, part of the European Union
, and is also the model taken by the International Labour Organization
(ILO). Organizations, such as these, are given the authority, through a series of procedures, to then issue directives in any of these areas of labor policy. Member states must comply with these directives; however, what compliance actually means and entails is left to the discretion of each member state.
For those members within the EC who favor the implementation of labor standards, there has been a push to ease the decision-making barriers to social legislation. On February 7, 1992, the signing of the Maastricht Treaty
made it easier to pass legislation on less controversial issues, such as health and safety, nondiscrimination, and consultation with workers.
While the EC provides a structure for enacting legislation that applies across counties, the extent to which it can actually create international labor standards, even within its own confines, is limited. While these directives allow for labor concerns to be brought above the national level, the presence of philosophical differences among member states as well as constraints on state autonomy demonstrate barriers to this model. However, despite these difficulties and a complex decision-making structure designed to include consultation with the governments of all member states, the various EC policy-making institutions and the related parties have succeeded in creating cross-national legislation for labor standards under its social policy umbrella. Consequently, this model, as demonstrated by the EC, is a viable one for establishing labor standards on a cross-national basis. The difficulty lies in the duplication of this model elsewhere, due to the EC’s unique, integrated community that is the only such general multinational standard system in the world today.
(ILO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations
, consisting of 183 member countries, that deals with labor issues. The ILO, by its existence, is the recognized international vehicle for raising international labor standards issues in a worldwide forum. No other model in existence is capable of performing this role. This organization establishes labor standards by means of both conventions and recommendations and has a tripartite governing structure – representing government, employers and workers. While ILO recommendations take more of the role of providing mere guidance to member states, the stronger form, ILO conventions, have the status of a treaty
, which, in principle, is binding on the member countries that voluntarily ratify them. These represent benchmarks of strong labor standards towards which countries can strive by promulgating and enforcing national laws that comply with the conventions. It is through these means that the organization works to enforce international labor standards.
In 1998, the ILO International Labour Conference adopted the “Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work” defining certain rights as “fundamental.” The Declaration commits member states to respect and promote these main principles, referred to as the core conventions, which are grouped into the following four categories (total of eight ILO conventions): freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining
, the elimination of forced or compulsory labor, the abolition of child labor
, and the elimination of discrimination
in respect of employment and occupation. The Declaration claims these rights to be universal, applying to all people in all States – regardless of level of economic development. These have witnessed broad-based ratification. For example, one hundred and forty-six countries have ratified one or both of the forced labor conventions and one-hundred and thirty-eight countries have ratified one or both of the two freedom-of-association conventions. However, regardless of ratification, the International Labour Conference regards these principles as so important that all member counties are obligated to comply with them.
Issues with the ILO’s approach to implementing international labor standards come down to a question of universality amongst the conventions and member countries, with some arguing that flexibility is necessary to meet the needs of developing countries. These concerns gather around the idea that the race to expand exports or attract foreign investment can cause competition on the basis of labor costs, leading to a decline in international labor standards as governments either dismantle national laws that protect workers or weaken the enforcement of these laws. The underlying issue here is the connection between national incomes and the standards a country can feasibly support while remaining competitive. Other issues involve enforcement of these standards following ratification. The ILO provides a vehicle for investigating cases of noncompliance through representations, filed by employer or worker organizations, or complaints, lodged by another member that also ratified the convention. These are then sent to a committee that launches an investigation and report. This is followed by either acceptance of recommendations on steps the government may take to address the complaint or the request to submit the case to the International Court of Justice
. Failure to comply may result in an incurred sanction from the organization.
Overall, the ILO structure essentially created a system of voluntary compliance
with labor standards based on ratification of the established conventions. In general the enforcement system of representation and complaints has been successful – success being measured by the fact that only one representation or complaint has reached the most severe sanction. On the other hand, due to the absence of strong sanctions, the ILO lacks a strong enough deterrent factor for countries inclined to violate the standards the ILO upholds. Further, the “flexibility” of standards allows too much leeway for adaptation based on independent circumstances, diminishing the force of the conventions.
, particularly for specific commodities. The earliest and broadest-based example of linking international labor standards with trade is found in U.S. legislation under the Trade Act of 1974
, creating the Generalized System of Preferences
(GSP). Under the GSP, the United States was allowed to grant nonreciprocal tariff
preference to less developed countries, based on certain country and product eligibility criteria, in order to promote their economic growth and development. Among the country eligibility criteria is affording workers in a country certain internationally recognized rights, similar to the four core conventions established by the ILO. If a complaint or petition was filed against a GSP beneficiary, these are processed through the Office of the United States Trade Representative
. Since 1988, eight countries have been suspended or terminated from the GSP program: Burma, Liberia, Maldives, Mauritania, Nicaragua, Pakistan (several products), Sudan and Syria. Four countries have been suspended but subsequently reinstated: Central African Republic, Chile, Paraguay, and Romania. Additionally, Section 2202 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 requires that the Secretary of State
submit to Congress an annual report on the economic policy and trade practices of each country with which the United States has an economic or trade relationship.
The trade sanctions model in the United States, also working as an incentives approach of sorts, appears to have been successful in forcing U.S. officials to encourage countries that are the subject of complaints to address severe violations of labor standards, as defined in the legislation. This model, however, is not designed to be a broad-based guarantee of labor standards among trading partners because it is based on external complaints not the results of monitoring. While it is effective in providing procedural rights, a lower percentage of trading partners provide substantive standards, so this measure has had mixed success. Some hope that implementation in competitor developing countries along with support by complementary domestic policies would allow this model to overall, raise the global social floor
.
(NAALC), is different from other compulsory methods in that it opposes any imposition of common standards schemes. Instead, the multilateral enforcement model requires that signatories to agreements like the NAALC make firm commitments to existing labor standard structures within their respective domestic spheres. The unique aspect of the NAALC, however, is that it does not in any way dictate policy. This includes a strong aversion to uniformly adopted standards on the international level. Rather than encouraging the inclusion of a baseline set of workers’ rights, the multilateral enforcement model merely requires that its members strive to create unbiased administrative bodies that judge whether or not appropriate measures are being taken to ensure the continued support of domestic labor standards. In this manner, the multilateral model is not international in its adoption of a common set of principles, but rather in its level of required commitment to an unspecified group of standards. In enforcing such commitments, agreements like the NAALC primarily utilize recommendations and publicity to make decision makers accountable for their actions. Multilateral enforcement models like the NAALC have experienced mixed results in terms of effectiveness due to their limited powers of influence.
. Corporate codes of conduct are adopted when various organizations join together in agreement to operate under a set of socially responsible labor rules. Therefore, this model generally involves voluntary behavior and self-regulation. An example of voluntary corporate adoption of labor standards is given by the Sullivan Principles
in South Africa
that were taken on by a group of U.S. companies. Additionally, U.S. apparel retailers, such as Nike
, the Gap, and Liz Claiborne, have recently attempted to put in place a system of regulations to prevent their products from being produced under sweatshop
conditions.
For this model to be successful, there must be incentive for compliance. The problem, however, is that in the case of labor standards, there are usually high economic incentives to disregard these standards, which are viewed as rises in production costs. For this reason, the monitoring system plays a crucial role in the success and effectiveness of such conditions. In some cases, like the aforementioned Sullivan Principles
in South Africa, monitoring has demonstrated the codes’ success. In this case, investors rewarded adherence to the code, as a sign of corporate citizenship
. On the other hand, consumers can also punish firms they see as socially irresponsible by means of boycotts
or the individual decision to avoid purchase of certain products. The main point of these examples being: where there is strong pressure from investors and consumers to support certain standards, companies may benefit by being seen as upholding accepted morals.
Now, while this is true, it is also true that where costs of complying with stringent standards are high and the sources of consumer pressure diffused, codes are likely to be ineffective. It takes the active involvement and interest of the company, in response to whatever actions have been taken, for this model to be successful. When they choose to respond to outside pressures, companies use means such as public announcements, local religious leaders, human rights activists, university professors, and labor representatives, among others, to implement compliance and a system of monitoring. Another difficulty has been that, while pressure has been effectively pressed on individual firms, it has been difficult to find agreement at an industry level, in terms of corporate codes.
Finally, a variation of the voluntary standards models is one of certification, which began in October 1997 with the issuance of SA (Social Accountability) 8000
by the Council on Economic Priorities Accrediting Agency (CEPAA). SA8000
is an example of a corporate certification process for social responsibility and labor standards. This certification process has the purpose of identifying corporations that comply with certain criteria based on social accountability requirements, including criteria for child labor
and worker health and safety. The resulting certification then serves the purpose of assuring customers that goods and services provided by certified firms have been produced by workers who are offered labor standards that meet at least a minimally acceptable level.
and to reap mutual gains through exchange. For countries with large amounts of unskilled labor, their international competitiveness lies in the ability to provide low-cost labor-intensive workers. It follows that international standards would undermine any comparative advantage by increasing the cost of labor. Hence, developing nations are left with a diminished export economy according to conservative trains of thought.
Supporters of international labor standards often respond by arguing that this critique only attacks a particular aspect of enforcement rather than the standards themselves. Furthermore, left-of-center economists suggest that higher labor standards do not necessarily undermine competitiveness. Empirical evidence provided by Berik and Rodgers (2006) suggests that any costs of raising labor standards can easily be offset by incentives encouraging foreign direct investment
(FDI) and exports. Following this line of argumentation, not only do higher labor standards improve social and political stability, thus encouraging more foreign investment, but they also provide valuable investments in human capital that can lead to efficiency gains.
An example of this critique can be seen by looking at the issue of child labor practices. The case against harmonized international labor rights makes the point that the amount of child labor in a country is directly dependent on its level of economic development. Following this line of reasoning, poorer countries have a better chance at abolishing child labor through economic development rather than minimum age requirements. In fact, one study found that children 14 years and younger are not completely withdrawn from the labor force until GDP approaches $5000 per capita. Additionally, it is also argued that international consensuses that disparage child labor practices can actually reduce the likelihood of eradicating child labor altogether by weakening incentives for adult workers to support a ban.
International Labour Organization conventions
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
that are universal to mankind. Thus, it is the aim of international labor standards to ensure the provision of such rights in the workplace.
While the existence of international labor standards does not necessarily imply implementation or enforcement mechanisms, most real world cases have utilized formal treaties and agreements stemming from international institutions. The primary international agency charged with developing working standards is the International Labour Organization
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...
(ILO). Established in 1919, the ILO advocates international standards as essential for the eradication of labour conditions involving "injustice, hardship and privation". According to the ILO, international labour standards contribute to the possibility of lasting peace
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
, help to mitigate potentially adverse effects of international market competition and help the progress of international development
International development
International development or global development is a concept that lacks a universally accepted definition, but it is most used in a holistic and multi-disciplinary context of human development — the development of greater quality of life for humans...
.
Implementation, however, is not limited to the ILO nor is it constrained to the legislative model that the ILO represents. Other alternatives include direct trade sanctions, multilateral enforcement, and voluntary standards. In addition to controversies that arise over each of these models, greater issues have also been raised concerning the debate over the need for international labor standards themselves. However, while critics have arisen, the international community has largely come to a consensus in favor of basic protection of the world’s labor force from inhumane practices.
Early history
The concept of protecting workers from the perils of labor environments dates all the way back to 14th century Europe. The first example of the modern labor rights movement, though, came in response to the brutal working conditions that accompanied the onset of the Industrial RevolutionIndustrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
in the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1802, the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed what is now known as the English Factory Act
Factory Acts
The Factory Acts were a series of Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to limit the number of hours worked by women and children first in the textile industry, then later in all industries....
. The act sought to regulate the workday of apprentices by restricting work hours to 12 per day. In doing so, the English Factory Act served as a precursor to the models of international labor standards seen today. Minimal regulations similar to those found in English legislation subsequently became increasingly commonplace among 19th century industrializing nations. Early attempts at the provision of labor standards were limited in scope, though. Such conventions focused primarily on improving working conditions in relation to hours of work, women's and children's labor
Child labor
Child labour refers to the employment of children at regular and sustained labour. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organizations and is illegal in many countries...
, and the use of hazardous materials. While it was evident that support for workers’ rights was inconsistent across international boundaries, activists originally only employed the use of moral suasion to deal with differences in labor standards. It was not until the latter parts of the 19th century that efforts were made to implement uniform standards on an international scale.
Creation of ILO
In 1919, following the end of the First World WarWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the agenda on international labor standards reached a new level of prominence as a result of the founding of the International Labour Organization
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...
. As mandated by Part XIII of the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
, the ILO was created as a branch of the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
in order to address all conceivable aspects of labor rights. Preliminary efforts focused primarily on the eradication of slavery and all forms of forced labor. The agenda quickly expanded, however, to include the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining, nondiscrimination in employment, and the elimination of child labor. The ILO’s creation marked the first instance of multiple major international actors coming together in an attempt to reach a consensus on universal workers’ rights. Despite a lack of any formal means of coercion, the ILO then urged its 44 original member countries to adopt and ratify conventions limiting oppressive labor market practices.
Globalization and changing divisions of labor
In the first half of the 20th century, global divisions of labor were shaped largely by the practices of colonialism with poorer countries exporting natural resources to richer countries that then specialized in the manufacturing and production of specialized goods. As many colonized nations achieved independence, though, developing nations in the global south took on increasingly protectionist policies in attempts to build up the manufacturing sectors of their economies, thus marking a shift in the global division of labor. However, toward the latter part of the 20th century, a number of factors saw protectionist measures fall. Such factors included rising labor costs in the north, advances in transportation and communication technologies, the liberalization of trade, and the deregulation of markets. In the midst of a changing international labor landscape, developing nations in the south took on a previously unseen domination of the labor-intensive manufacturing industry. Furthermore, with the deregulation of major markets and significant increases in the volume of international trade, attempts to make manufacturing sectors more attractive to retailers saw extreme downward pressure placed on the quality of working conditions in lower income regions of the world. This gave rise to growing concerns about a global Race to the bottomRace to the bottom
A race to the bottom is a socio-economic concept that is argued to occur between countries as an outcome of regulatory competition, progressive taxation policies and social welfare spending...
in which governments take part in the iterative loosening of labor protections in attempts to aid the international competitiveness of export-oriented industries. Fears of this nature consequently produced the notable increases in the discourse on international labor ethics that characterize the contemporary international human rights arena.
Models of international labor standards
The traditional model of labor standards regulation has been, for most of history, within-country or within-jurisdiction legislation and enforcement. However, this model may not be appropriate when competitors in a product market are located in different countries or jurisdictions with dissimilar labor standards. This concern opens up the discussion for the establishment of international labor standards, which, in turn, require international regulation, particularly in the context of global trade. However, determining an effective method of implementation of international labor standards has been an area of difficulty and an area that is highly contested. The following sections outline several existing models for the regulation of international labor standards. The organization of these models is based largely off of the divisions made by Richard N. Block, Karen Roberts, Cynthia Ozeki, and Myron J. Roomkin for use in their paper titled, “Models of International Labor Standards.”The legislative model
The legislative model for implementing a set of international labor standards is the best known. This model involves the enactment and enforcement of labor standards by a legislative body across a union of countries. Social policies regarding employment and labor typically fall into three areas: free movement of labor, prevention of social dumpingSocial dumping
"Social dumping" is a term that is used to describe a temporary or transitory movement of labour, whereby employers use workers from one country or area in another country or area where the cost of labour is usually more expensive, thus saving money and potentially increasing profit.It was also...
via low labor standards, and dialogue between labor and management. This model has been adopted by the European Community, part of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, and is also the model taken by the International Labour Organization
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...
(ILO). Organizations, such as these, are given the authority, through a series of procedures, to then issue directives in any of these areas of labor policy. Member states must comply with these directives; however, what compliance actually means and entails is left to the discretion of each member state.
The European Community (EC)
The European Community (EC) is a multigovernmental legislative structure that, through the Treaty of European Union (Maastricht) in 1992, the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997, and various other agreements has promoted full economic integration of its member states. While it has issued a number of directives in nonlabor areas, the same cannot be said for matters concerning social policy and labor. However, some restrictions regarding health and safety have been adopted by the EC in an attempt to mitigate any inhumane practices, involving low health and safety standards, used for the sake of a competitive advantage.For those members within the EC who favor the implementation of labor standards, there has been a push to ease the decision-making barriers to social legislation. On February 7, 1992, the signing of the Maastricht Treaty
Maastricht Treaty
The Maastricht Treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands. On 9–10 December 1991, the same city hosted the European Council which drafted the treaty...
made it easier to pass legislation on less controversial issues, such as health and safety, nondiscrimination, and consultation with workers.
While the EC provides a structure for enacting legislation that applies across counties, the extent to which it can actually create international labor standards, even within its own confines, is limited. While these directives allow for labor concerns to be brought above the national level, the presence of philosophical differences among member states as well as constraints on state autonomy demonstrate barriers to this model. However, despite these difficulties and a complex decision-making structure designed to include consultation with the governments of all member states, the various EC policy-making institutions and the related parties have succeeded in creating cross-national legislation for labor standards under its social policy umbrella. Consequently, this model, as demonstrated by the EC, is a viable one for establishing labor standards on a cross-national basis. The difficulty lies in the duplication of this model elsewhere, due to the EC’s unique, integrated community that is the only such general multinational standard system in the world today.
The ILO
The International Labour OrganizationInternational Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...
(ILO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, consisting of 183 member countries, that deals with labor issues. The ILO, by its existence, is the recognized international vehicle for raising international labor standards issues in a worldwide forum. No other model in existence is capable of performing this role. This organization establishes labor standards by means of both conventions and recommendations and has a tripartite governing structure – representing government, employers and workers. While ILO recommendations take more of the role of providing mere guidance to member states, the stronger form, ILO conventions, have the status of a treaty
Treaty
A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or exchange of letters, among other terms...
, which, in principle, is binding on the member countries that voluntarily ratify them. These represent benchmarks of strong labor standards towards which countries can strive by promulgating and enforcing national laws that comply with the conventions. It is through these means that the organization works to enforce international labor standards.
In 1998, the ILO International Labour Conference adopted the “Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work” defining certain rights as “fundamental.” The Declaration commits member states to respect and promote these main principles, referred to as the core conventions, which are grouped into the following four categories (total of eight ILO conventions): freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining
Collective bargaining
Collective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and the representatives of a unit of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate working conditions...
, the elimination of forced or compulsory labor, the abolition of child labor
Child labor
Child labour refers to the employment of children at regular and sustained labour. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organizations and is illegal in many countries...
, and the elimination of discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
in respect of employment and occupation. The Declaration claims these rights to be universal, applying to all people in all States – regardless of level of economic development. These have witnessed broad-based ratification. For example, one hundred and forty-six countries have ratified one or both of the forced labor conventions and one-hundred and thirty-eight countries have ratified one or both of the two freedom-of-association conventions. However, regardless of ratification, the International Labour Conference regards these principles as so important that all member counties are obligated to comply with them.
Issues with the ILO’s approach to implementing international labor standards come down to a question of universality amongst the conventions and member countries, with some arguing that flexibility is necessary to meet the needs of developing countries. These concerns gather around the idea that the race to expand exports or attract foreign investment can cause competition on the basis of labor costs, leading to a decline in international labor standards as governments either dismantle national laws that protect workers or weaken the enforcement of these laws. The underlying issue here is the connection between national incomes and the standards a country can feasibly support while remaining competitive. Other issues involve enforcement of these standards following ratification. The ILO provides a vehicle for investigating cases of noncompliance through representations, filed by employer or worker organizations, or complaints, lodged by another member that also ratified the convention. These are then sent to a committee that launches an investigation and report. This is followed by either acceptance of recommendations on steps the government may take to address the complaint or the request to submit the case to the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
. Failure to comply may result in an incurred sanction from the organization.
Overall, the ILO structure essentially created a system of voluntary compliance
Voluntary compliance
Voluntary compliance is one of possible ways of practicing corporate social responsibility.Voluntary compliance is seen as an alternative to the state-imposed regulations on company's behavior...
with labor standards based on ratification of the established conventions. In general the enforcement system of representation and complaints has been successful – success being measured by the fact that only one representation or complaint has reached the most severe sanction. On the other hand, due to the absence of strong sanctions, the ILO lacks a strong enough deterrent factor for countries inclined to violate the standards the ILO upholds. Further, the “flexibility” of standards allows too much leeway for adaptation based on independent circumstances, diminishing the force of the conventions.
The direct trade sanctions model
For over 25 years, there have been links between labor standards and international tradeInternational trade
International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories. In most countries, such trade represents a significant share of gross domestic product...
, particularly for specific commodities. The earliest and broadest-based example of linking international labor standards with trade is found in U.S. legislation under the Trade Act of 1974
Trade Act of 1974
The Trade Act of 1974 was passed to help industry in the United States become more competitive or phase workers into other industries or occupations.-Fast track authority:...
, creating the Generalized System of Preferences
Generalized System of Preferences
The Generalized System of Preferences, or GSP, is a formal system of exemption from the more general rules of the World Trade Organization ,...
(GSP). Under the GSP, the United States was allowed to grant nonreciprocal tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
preference to less developed countries, based on certain country and product eligibility criteria, in order to promote their economic growth and development. Among the country eligibility criteria is affording workers in a country certain internationally recognized rights, similar to the four core conventions established by the ILO. If a complaint or petition was filed against a GSP beneficiary, these are processed through the Office of the United States Trade Representative
Office of the United States Trade Representative
The Office of the United States Trade Representative is the United States government agency responsible for developing and recommending United States trade policy to the president of the United States, conducting trade negotiations at bilateral and multilateral levels, and coordinating trade...
. Since 1988, eight countries have been suspended or terminated from the GSP program: Burma, Liberia, Maldives, Mauritania, Nicaragua, Pakistan (several products), Sudan and Syria. Four countries have been suspended but subsequently reinstated: Central African Republic, Chile, Paraguay, and Romania. Additionally, Section 2202 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 requires that the Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
submit to Congress an annual report on the economic policy and trade practices of each country with which the United States has an economic or trade relationship.
The trade sanctions model in the United States, also working as an incentives approach of sorts, appears to have been successful in forcing U.S. officials to encourage countries that are the subject of complaints to address severe violations of labor standards, as defined in the legislation. This model, however, is not designed to be a broad-based guarantee of labor standards among trading partners because it is based on external complaints not the results of monitoring. While it is effective in providing procedural rights, a lower percentage of trading partners provide substantive standards, so this measure has had mixed success. Some hope that implementation in competitor developing countries along with support by complementary domestic policies would allow this model to overall, raise the global social floor
Social floor
A is a basic set of social rights, services and facilities that every person should enjoy. The United Nations suggests that a SPF could consist of two main elements that help to realize human rights:...
.
The multilateral enforcement model
Another example of the various methods of implementation of international labor standards is the multilateral enforcement model. The model, embodied in the North American Agreement on Labor CooperationNorth American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
(NAALC), is different from other compulsory methods in that it opposes any imposition of common standards schemes. Instead, the multilateral enforcement model requires that signatories to agreements like the NAALC make firm commitments to existing labor standard structures within their respective domestic spheres. The unique aspect of the NAALC, however, is that it does not in any way dictate policy. This includes a strong aversion to uniformly adopted standards on the international level. Rather than encouraging the inclusion of a baseline set of workers’ rights, the multilateral enforcement model merely requires that its members strive to create unbiased administrative bodies that judge whether or not appropriate measures are being taken to ensure the continued support of domestic labor standards. In this manner, the multilateral model is not international in its adoption of a common set of principles, but rather in its level of required commitment to an unspecified group of standards. In enforcing such commitments, agreements like the NAALC primarily utilize recommendations and publicity to make decision makers accountable for their actions. Multilateral enforcement models like the NAALC have experienced mixed results in terms of effectiveness due to their limited powers of influence.
The voluntary standards model
The voluntary standards model makes reference to a system of implementation for labor standards based on a corporate code of conductCode of Conduct
A code of conduct is a set of rules outlining the responsibilities of or proper practices for an individual, party or organization. Related concepts include ethical codes and honor codes....
. Corporate codes of conduct are adopted when various organizations join together in agreement to operate under a set of socially responsible labor rules. Therefore, this model generally involves voluntary behavior and self-regulation. An example of voluntary corporate adoption of labor standards is given by the Sullivan Principles
Sullivan Principles
The Sullivan principles are the names of two corporate codes of conduct, developed by the African-American preacher Rev. Leon Sullivan, promoting corporate social responsibility:...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
that were taken on by a group of U.S. companies. Additionally, U.S. apparel retailers, such as Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
, the Gap, and Liz Claiborne, have recently attempted to put in place a system of regulations to prevent their products from being produced under sweatshop
Sweatshop
Sweatshop is a negatively connoted term for any working environment considered to be unacceptably difficult or dangerous. Sweatshop workers often work long hours for very low pay, regardless of laws mandating overtime pay or a minimum wage. Child labour laws may be violated. Sweatshops may have...
conditions.
For this model to be successful, there must be incentive for compliance. The problem, however, is that in the case of labor standards, there are usually high economic incentives to disregard these standards, which are viewed as rises in production costs. For this reason, the monitoring system plays a crucial role in the success and effectiveness of such conditions. In some cases, like the aforementioned Sullivan Principles
Sullivan Principles
The Sullivan principles are the names of two corporate codes of conduct, developed by the African-American preacher Rev. Leon Sullivan, promoting corporate social responsibility:...
in South Africa, monitoring has demonstrated the codes’ success. In this case, investors rewarded adherence to the code, as a sign of corporate citizenship
Corporate citizenship
Corporate citizenship is a term used to describe a company's role in, or responsibilities towards society. For this reason it is sometimes used interchangeably with corporate social responsibility, and in fact many companies including Microsoft, IBM and Novartis have used it in this way to describe...
. On the other hand, consumers can also punish firms they see as socially irresponsible by means of boycotts
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
or the individual decision to avoid purchase of certain products. The main point of these examples being: where there is strong pressure from investors and consumers to support certain standards, companies may benefit by being seen as upholding accepted morals.
Now, while this is true, it is also true that where costs of complying with stringent standards are high and the sources of consumer pressure diffused, codes are likely to be ineffective. It takes the active involvement and interest of the company, in response to whatever actions have been taken, for this model to be successful. When they choose to respond to outside pressures, companies use means such as public announcements, local religious leaders, human rights activists, university professors, and labor representatives, among others, to implement compliance and a system of monitoring. Another difficulty has been that, while pressure has been effectively pressed on individual firms, it has been difficult to find agreement at an industry level, in terms of corporate codes.
Finally, a variation of the voluntary standards models is one of certification, which began in October 1997 with the issuance of SA (Social Accountability) 8000
SA8000
SA8000 is a global social accountability standard for decent working conditions, developed and overseen by Social Accountability International . Detailed guidance for implementing or auditing to SA8000 are available from its . SAI offers training in SA8000 and other workplace standards to managers,...
by the Council on Economic Priorities Accrediting Agency (CEPAA). SA8000
SA8000
SA8000 is a global social accountability standard for decent working conditions, developed and overseen by Social Accountability International . Detailed guidance for implementing or auditing to SA8000 are available from its . SAI offers training in SA8000 and other workplace standards to managers,...
is an example of a corporate certification process for social responsibility and labor standards. This certification process has the purpose of identifying corporations that comply with certain criteria based on social accountability requirements, including criteria for child labor
Child labor
Child labour refers to the employment of children at regular and sustained labour. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organizations and is illegal in many countries...
and worker health and safety. The resulting certification then serves the purpose of assuring customers that goods and services provided by certified firms have been produced by workers who are offered labor standards that meet at least a minimally acceptable level.
Criticisms
In addition to disagreements about the appropriate method of implementation for international labor standards, there are also dissenting opinions concerning the validity of their existence at all. The two most common arguments raised against international labor standards are that they undermine international competitiveness and erode domestic policy.Undermines international competiveness
A critique of international labor standards historically brought up by right-of-center economists is that they distort market forces, thus inhibiting employment and income. According to right-wing economists, global free trade allows countries to specialize in those activities in which they have a comparative advantageComparative advantage
In economics, the law of comparative advantage says that two countries will both gain from trade if, in the absence of trade, they have different relative costs for producing the same goods...
and to reap mutual gains through exchange. For countries with large amounts of unskilled labor, their international competitiveness lies in the ability to provide low-cost labor-intensive workers. It follows that international standards would undermine any comparative advantage by increasing the cost of labor. Hence, developing nations are left with a diminished export economy according to conservative trains of thought.
Supporters of international labor standards often respond by arguing that this critique only attacks a particular aspect of enforcement rather than the standards themselves. Furthermore, left-of-center economists suggest that higher labor standards do not necessarily undermine competitiveness. Empirical evidence provided by Berik and Rodgers (2006) suggests that any costs of raising labor standards can easily be offset by incentives encouraging foreign direct investment
Foreign direct investment
Foreign direct investment or foreign investment refers to the net inflows of investment to acquire a lasting management interest in an enterprise operating in an economy other than that of the investor.. It is the sum of equity capital,other long-term capital, and short-term capital as shown in...
(FDI) and exports. Following this line of argumentation, not only do higher labor standards improve social and political stability, thus encouraging more foreign investment, but they also provide valuable investments in human capital that can lead to efficiency gains.
Erodes domestic policy
Another prominent argument against international labor standards is the notion that any attempt to harmonize set benchmarks for acceptable working conditions disregards, to some extent, the current state of an individual country’s unique economic and social climates. It is suggested that rather than adopting an internationally agreed upon group of labor standards, sovereign states are better off leaving labor market regulation to domestic policy. In this way, it is argued, a country can tailor a standard such as a minimum wage to the specific situation in that area of the world rather than trying to implement an ill-fitting uniform wage. In a 1996 study, Drusilla Brown, Alan Deardorff, and Robert Stern use a variety of theoretical labor models to test the effectiveness of the harmonization of international labor standards. The study concludes that in theoretical cases, market failures that allow a breakdown in working environment conditions are most adequately remedied by labor standards. However, market failures are not uniform across countries and so it stands to reason that labor standards should not be constructed in an international way.An example of this critique can be seen by looking at the issue of child labor practices. The case against harmonized international labor rights makes the point that the amount of child labor in a country is directly dependent on its level of economic development. Following this line of reasoning, poorer countries have a better chance at abolishing child labor through economic development rather than minimum age requirements. In fact, one study found that children 14 years and younger are not completely withdrawn from the labor force until GDP approaches $5000 per capita. Additionally, it is also argued that international consensuses that disparage child labor practices can actually reduce the likelihood of eradicating child labor altogether by weakening incentives for adult workers to support a ban.
See also
- Labour lawLabour lawLabour law is the body of laws, administrative rulings, and precedents which address the legal rights of, and restrictions on, working people and their organizations. As such, it mediates many aspects of the relationship between trade unions, employers and employees...
- International Labour OrganizationInternational Labour OrganizationThe International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...
- International lawInternational lawPublic international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
- Capability approachCapability approachThe capability approach was initially conceived in the 1980s as an approach to welfare economics....
- Human rightsHuman rightsHuman rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
- Work IntensityWork IntensityWork Intensity is defined as activity in relation to the capacity for that work. It is a topic that affects developed and developing countries in different ways. There are many aspects to work intensity including multitasking, time poverty, health implications, and policy considerations...
International Labour Organization conventions
- Social inequalitySocial inequalitySocial inequality refers to a situation in which individual groups in a society do not have equal social status. Areas of potential social inequality include voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, the extent of property rights and access to education, health care, quality housing and other...
External links
- International Labour Organization official Web site