International Labor Standards Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

International labor standards have risen in prominence alongside the dramatic increase in trade in the post–World War II era. While there is no universally agreed-on definition of international labor standards, most widely cited are the core labor standards defined by the International Labor Organization (ILO) in its 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. These standards are (1) freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining, (2) elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labor, (3) effective abolition of child labor, and (4) elimination of discrimination with respect to employment and occupation. These standards emanate from a number of ILO conventions. While these core labor standards have evolved over time, they are essentially a floor of labor rights that states and firms are encouraged to rise above but should not go below.

The ILO is the intergovernmental organization charged with promoting international labor standards and promoting the well-being of workers. The ILO works in a tripartite fashion by convening meetings with representatives of governments, firms, and workers. The ILO develops conventions and recommendations that, once ratified by member states, are considered to be binding for signatories. However, the ILO does not have the power to enforce agreements or sanction states that violate agreements.

The increased prominence of international labor standards is directly connected to debates about globalization and trade. As trade agreements and the general liberalization of trade under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, later the World Trade Organization (WTO), have reduced trade friction, it has become much easier for firms to locate production in low-wage and low–labor standard countries. While this may be efficient for firms in reducing unit costs, it also could discourage a country from enforcing international labor standards as doing so may lead to a loss of advantage in the highly competitive market for production, particularly for low-wage production.

Arguments in support of international labor standards cluster around two distinct logics: a normative argument based on moral claims and an economic argument based on charges of unfair competition. The normative argument for international labor standards claims that the rights of workers to collectively bargain, to be free from discrimination in the workplace, and so on are akin to human rights. Thus, international labor standards should be enforced in all places and at all times because workers have these rights by virtue of their standing as workers and cannot give these up by entering into a labor contract any more than a human being can give up other basic human rights.

An economic argument is made when it is claimed that a lack of enforcement of international labor standards leads to unfair competition wherein workers who are protected by such standards will likely be more expensive in terms of labor costs relative to those who do not enjoy such protection. Less developed countries frequently argue that such demands for international labor standards are actually a kind of Trojan horse for protectionism. That is, industries in developed countries are not competitive with production costs in less-developed countries, so they use the language of international labor standards to protect themselves from competition.

Proponents of international labor standards must always confront the difficulty of sanctioning states that do not enforce them and gain a competitive advantage by doing so. As discussed above, the ILO does not have any mechanism to sanction states that violate international labor standards, even if those states are signatories to conventions. Some firms, under pressure from labor advocacy organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and consumer groups, have committed themselves to corporate codes of conduct that preclude utilizing suppliers that violate labor standards. George DeMartino (2000) has suggested a carefully targeted “social tariff ” that would discourage states from gaining an advantage through “social dumping” (denying collective bargaining rights, the use of prison/child labor, etc.). Labor activists and unions have suggested that the WTO would be a logical organization to enforce sanctions against states that violate labor standards. Trade economists have generally argued that the WTO should continue the challenging work of promoting the liberalization of trade and leave international labor standards to the ILO lest the WTO become a site of protectionist schemes masquerading as normative commitments to labor standards. Given the continuing debates around policy responses to globalization, it is likely that international labor standards will remain a vexing issue for some time to come.

Bibliography:

Basu, Kaushik, Henrik Horn, Lisa Roman, and Judith Shapiro, eds. International Labor Standards: History,Theory, and Policy Options. Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 2003.
Bhagwati, Jagdish. In Defense of Globalization. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2004.
DeMartino, George. Global Economy, Global Justice: Theoretical Objections and Policy Alternatives to Neoliberalism. New York: Routledge, 2000.
Hartman, Laura P., Denis G. Arnold, and Richard E.Wokutch, eds. Rising above Sweatshops: Innovative Approaches to Global Labor Challenges. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2003.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. International Trade and Core Labour Standards. Paris: OECD, 2000.

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