In this article, justifications by producers (economic protectionism), consumers and social advocates (humanitarian motives) for including labour standards in international trade agreements are discussed. To date, little work has been undertaken to determine empirically whether low labour...

Purpose of the paper: The construction industry is one of the largest employment providers in the developing world. It is also one of the least safe industries, with a high frequency of accidents resulting in financial losses, injuries, disabilities and deaths. Decent working conditions and...

This paper offers a legal and an economic analysis of collective dismissals procedures. First, it explains the economic rationale for having collective dismissal procedures in place, in light of the fact that labour markets are not perfect. Second, it overviews the international labour standards...

This paper documents the emergence and growth of digital labour markets in Eastern Europe. It shows that the development of two types of digital work - online work through online labour platforms and offline work mediated by mobile apps - have a different history, root causes and dynamics. While...

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered renewed interest in the use of different fiscal spending and transfer programmes to address the worsening conditions and deepening inequalities within the labour markets. This paper reviews the role of specific fiscal spending and transfer programmes in shaping...

Die Entwicklung von Arbeits- und Beschäftigungsbedingungen in der Automobilzulieferbranche wird in erheblichem Maße vom Standortwettbewerb zwischen Hochlohn- und Niedriglohnstand-orten geprägt. Die deutschen Standorte stehen dabei insbesondere im Wettbewerbe mit Werken in Mittelosteuropa. Auf...

The issue of global labour standards has been at the forefront of both regional and multilateral trade negotiations over the past two decades, and will likely remain high on the agenda of future trade talks as North-South trade flows continue to increase. Labour interests in high-standards...

Using a longitudinal case study approach this study examines the approaches to international industrial relations (IIR) in eleven Chinese multinational corporations MNCs. It reveals that the Chinese MNCs adopted an integrative approach to IIR, combining both the home and host country industrial...

In fragile states, social protection programmes are often a kaleidoscope of projects financed and implemented by a variety of donors, government agencies and NGOs. Such an environment does not foster a strong sense of ownership by beneficiaries, which weakens the likelihood of sustainability in...

This chapter deals with the question of whether labour standards are less relevant or more relevant for the new world of work which is vastly different from the old world of work when most labour standards were first established. The various rationales for labour standards are first outlined....