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2018 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

3. Globalization, Labour Market Flexibility and Labour Standards

Authors : Pankaj Kumar, Jaivir Singh

Published in: Issues in Law and Public Policy on Contract Labour in India

Publisher: Springer Singapore

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Abstract

Over this chapter, we go over the interplay between globalization, labour flexibility and labour standards. We highlight the discourse of flexibility of labour put out by bodies such as the World Bank and contrast it with the labour standards espoused by UN and ILO, particularly in relation to contract labour. It is also noted that international political interactions encourage many international organizations to selectively advocate decent labour standards and state regulations, while on other platforms the same organizations or their counterparts propagate deregulation and labour market flexibility. We conclude by emphasizing that both these—labour flexibility and labour standards—need to be balanced together to govern labour relations.

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previous chapter Contract Labour in India: In Law and Public Policy
next chapter The Concept of Collective Bargaining: ILO—India and China
Footnotes
1
A study on flexibility in workplace conducted among fixed-term workers in countries like USA, UK, Canada, Netherlands, Finland and Spain, having more than two-decades experience with workplace flexibility, showcases that while flexibility has been a bridge for many to a more regular employment, however, but for the unskilled and deprived, it has been more of an endless trap. The study maps common concerns like work-place stress, health hazards due to insecure work. For details see Zeytinoglu (2005).
 
2
Washington consensus is a term coined by John Willaimson in 1989 for ten broadly shared policy doctrines of the US-based international funding agencies like the World Bank and the IMF. The Washington consensus largely advocates trade liberalization and deregulation for the Third World countries. For details see Serra and Stiglitz (2008).
 
4
John Harris and Micheal Todara developed an economic model in 1970 which maps rural–urban migration and the development of informal sector in the urban economy. See Harris and Todaro (1970).
 
5
A World Bank study estimates that more than 75% of urban employment in Sub-Saharan Africa is informal, in the Indian sub-continent the situation is even worse. See World Bank (1990), pp. 63–64.
 
6
Critics blame the World Bank and IMF programmes and policies for decimating social safety network and worsening labour standards in developing countries (especially in Africa). For details see http://​www.​globalissues.​org/​article/​3/​structural-adjustment-a-major-cause-of-poverty (accessed on 14.04.2015).
 
7
The Doha negotiations saw WTO-ILO cooperation on labour matters with the issue of their first joint publication, Trade and Employment: Challenges for Policy Research. The publication acknowledged that ‘trade policies and labour and social policies do interact and that greater policy coherence in the two domains can have significantly positive impacts on the growth effects of trade reforms and thus ultimately on their potential to improve the quality of jobs around the world’ (WTO & ILO 2007, p. 90).
 
8
NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement): Canada, Mexico and the USA.
 
9
CAFTA (Central America Free Trade Agreement): USA, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
 
10
MERCOSUR Countries include Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.
 
11
However, unlike USA which follows a punitive approach on CLS, the EU favours a supportive approach by funding and building capacities in those countries who wish to adopt these labour standards (see Bakvis and McCoy 2008).
 
12
Some of the matter especially focused on ‘contract labour’ has been referred from the presentation by Anandan. P. Menon, Programme Officer, ILO, at the conference on ‘Contract labour in India: Issues in law and public policy’ held at JNU, New Delhi (21 April 2014).
 
14
Both India and China remain to ratify this convention.
 
15
These declaration grouped into four fundamental principles, i.e. freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining, the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour, the effective abolition of child labour and the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation, has been issued in the form of directives to the member states and are thus obligatory on the part of governments who have ratified these conventions to follow them. For full details see ILO website, http://​www.​ilo.​org/​dyn/​normlex.
 
16
As on January 2018, India remains to ratify 58 conventions and China 64 conventions, including the conventions related to collective bargaining. For details on ratifications see ibid (accessed on 21.02.18).
 
17
The term institutionalists and distortinists were used by Jha and Golder (2008) and others for categorizing those who oppose and support labour market flexibility.
 
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Metadata
Title
Globalization, Labour Market Flexibility and Labour Standards
Authors
Pankaj Kumar
Jaivir Singh
Copyright Year
2018
Publisher
Springer Singapore
Book
Issues in Law and Public Policy on Contract Labour in India

Print ISBN: 978-981-10-8443-0

Electronic ISBN: 978-981-10-8444-7

Copyright Year: 2018

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8444-7_3