The debased condition under which people work is pervasive in contemporary societies and is especially ubiquitous in the so-called developing world. Yet, internationally recognized standards for the regulation of working conditions abound and are often applauded, without the passion for their application. Otherwise, why should a country like Ghana, which has one of the highest numbers of ratified labour standards conventions, continue to be fraught with poor working conditions? This undoubtedly simple but fundamental question is what this study sought to answer. Earlier attempts to answer this question have suffered from the lack of rich empirical data and compelling theoretical convictions. In view of this, 'Labour Standards Application in Ghana: Influences, Patterns and Solutions' may be considered a valuable contribution to the treatise of the labour standards phenomenon. Theoretically, the study collates salient aspects of both the market-oriented neo-classical and the non-market institutional and political-economy perspectives into an integrated model for the conceptualization of the labour standards phenomenon in Ghana. A combination of the quantitative and qualitative research strategies is then adopted for primary data collection in view of their respective epistemological and ontological implications. Specifically, a survey, which requires a large sample size to aid the generalisation of the existing patterns in the application of labour standards is used and complimented with interviews and observations to facilitate in-depth and contextual analyses of the issues under study.This thesis is therefore a presentation of a thoroughly researched and argued study of the influences on, patterns of, and solutions to, the labour standards problem. With regard to the macro level influences, the study has shown that continuous external influences in the form of the World Bank and the IMF policies, with their emphasis on economic growth, erodes the very fabric of the society and Ghana's capacity to turn workers away from victims of economic growth to dignified citizens. Meanwhile, what is needed to create wealth - which may be fairly distributed, is a dignified working class. Particularly as it relates to the patterns of labour standards application, the study provides a compelling reason for the conclusion that working conditions in Ghana are poor and that it is misleading to put all multinational corporations and local firms together and make blanket statements as to whether or not they apply labour standards. This is because a number of factors, such as the country of origin, determine whether they apply labour standards or not. Regarding solutions, the revelation is that, the solutions to the labour standards problem proposed in the literature and in use in many developed countries are simply not workable in Ghana. Deliberative recommendations are therefore presented, in a context specific fashion, to ensure that labour standards application in Ghana is not just rhetoric but a reality. This way, the labour standards problem will be minimised and the working people of Ghana will be treated as worthy of the decency and dignity due all humans.

Multinational corporations (MNCs) in the West have introduced voluntary codes of conduct (CoC) in global supply chains to promote the application of international labour standards and labour rights in their suppliers’ factories. Previous studies on CoC implementation have addressed various problems of its effectiveness but they are limited to a rather narrow context of business relationships between MNCs and factory-based suppliers. My research examines CoC implementation in a wider global supply chain and domestic institutional context. It aims to: firstly, assess how CoC is implemented throughout the multi-layered clothing supply chain and, secondly, identify structural and institutional constraints which hinder the effectiveness of CoC. The thesis employs qualitative analyses of 398 web-based documents from the 75 largest clothing brands and retailers in US and UK markets. It also provides data from 62 in-depth and semi-structured interviews of garment factories managers, workers, vendors, labour auditors and local officials in Vietnam, as well as representatives from UK retailers and campaign groups. The thesis analyses various sets of relationship among these actors and in two dimensions of the environments in which CoC operates: global supply network structure and domestic employment relations system. My thesis makes three original contributions. Firstly it challenges the presumed logic of CoC aimed at supporting workers, because it shows evidence from the workers’ perspective that CoC not only fails to support workers’ needs but also faces resistance from them in non-complying factories in Vietnam. Secondly, I argue that the oversimplified assumption of principal-agent control model between MNCs and suppliers’ factories, which underpins the CoC arrangement, fails to recognise the complex structure of supply network with interdependent operations and multi-level flow of commands. Finally, my thesis exposes the weakness of market initiatives like CoC: when their pledges to improve working conditions and promote workers’ rights clash with economic and socio-political priorities of the local government, the latter prevails. Taking the business and institutional dimensions together I have developed a framework for a more comprehensive assessment of CoC and similar voluntary initiatives that can be applied by other researchers in similar contexts.

No / The paper examines the existing quasi-legal means by which international labour standards may be protected. The paper considers the nature of the challenge that global capital creates for labour, the development of the ILO’s labour standards and the consequences of its shift towards promotional principles, the growth of corporate voluntary initiatives by multinational corporations and finally the associated debates around the inclusion of social clauses in trade agreements. The analysis suggests that the ILO’s shift to ‘promotional principles’ and the formal acceptance of voluntary self-regulation from the late-1990s has not significantly improved the situation for workers, but was a pragmatic response driven in part by US policy and the increasing marginalization of the ILO within the global system of economic governance. It is argued that even if the many political obstacles could be overcome, the result of including social clauses in WTO trade agreements may not be straightforward. In conclusion it is argued that in some respects the existing system has ‘privatised’ labour rights.

This Dissertation evaluates the potential opportunities, challenges and outcomes attendant on Vietnam’s modernisation effort through the incorporation of International Labour Organisation (ILO) Core International Labour Standards (CILS) on freedom of association and collective bargaining into Vietnam law. The Dissertation shows that although Vietnam is likely to benefit from incorporating the CILS on freedom of association and collective bargaining into its legal system, its constitutional value system is not currently consistent with those of particular ILO CILS. It offers recommendations on pre- substantive and procedural measures necessary to ensure the successful reception of ILO CILS on freedom of association and collective bargaining into Vietnam legal practice.

The working hours, as a very important life part of most of the economically active people, are a significant indicator of the job market's flexibility. The first part of this thesis deals with the economic analysis of an individual person's time, forming of the labour supply and demand, and State's interference with job market. Afterwards follows the outline of the historical development of working hours, with the origins and progression of a regulation of this area. The third part is focusing on the legal form of working hours in the Czech Republic, including regulation of breaks, working hours' set out, privilege leave and special arrangements for a certain groups of employees. The next part analyses unusual working modes that are helping to create a more flexible job market and more job opportunities, such as part-time work or labour time account. The thesis includes a part where is being compared regulation of the working hours with the world, from the point of view of certain international institutions such as the World Bank. A special emphasis is placed on the confrontation with countries of the European Union. The last part deals with the analysis of the contemporary adjustment of working hours in the European Union, which greatly influences the competitiveness of the job market in the EU.

I denna studie har arbetsförhållanden och attityder för kvinnor i en mansdominerad industri undersökts. Årtalen 1979–1984 och 2016–2021 är dem som har undersökts för att kolla om det skett någon förändring. Studien utgick från en kvalitativ metod där semistrukturerade intervjuer användes som huvudkällan. Resultaten visade att attitydsproblematik fortfarande finns kvar för kvinnorna i den mansdominerade industrin men att arbetsförhållandena blivit bättre sedan den första kvinnan började jobba underjord. / The aim of this study was to investigate labour standards and attitudes towards women in a male-dominated industry as LKAB. The years that been investigated was 1979-1984 and 2016-2021, to get a look if any change have happened for women. The purpose of the study was examined by a quantitative method where semi-structured interviews was the main source. The results showed that some attitude problems towards women still happened, but the labour standards had been improved since the first women got access to underground work.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:34:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Daniela Bertotti.pdf: 582370 bytes, checksum: fb343d89c831de1fcaf24011f3af56bf (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-08-18 / Fundo Mackenzie de Pesquisa / The general proposal of this academic work is focused on the studies to adopt a minimum labour standard, called Social Standard by the World Trade Organization. The themes shown through the research are inside the recent social rights crisis problems approached by a perspective that examines the impact of adopting an ideology of the free market related to the Labour Law. Therefore, the problems worked in this search are studied by the view of the effectuation of the Labour Law in an International plan, it means, it is possible to analyse, as well, the recent understanding by the International Labour Organization about the theme. To reach theses proposals, it will be analysed the structure of the World Trade Organization, elaborating, a study of its functions and attribution. In the same way, it will be discussed, detailed, the concept of this tool called Social Standard, tracing lines of direction about its structure and working. At last, it will be described issues about Social Dumping, free market and protectionism. The comprehension of this phenomenon will be highly important in the researched wanted in the globalization scenery. / A proposta geral do presente trabalho centra-se no estudo da adoção de padrões mínimos trabalhistas, as chamadas cláusulas sociais, pela Organização Mundial do Comércio. Os temas trazidos pela pesquisa estão inseridos na problemática da atual crise dos direitos sociais abordados sob uma perspectiva que examina os impactos da adoção da ideologia do livre-comércio em sua relação com o Direito do Trabalho. Dessa forma, os problemas tratados nessa investigação são vislumbrados sob a ótica da efetivação dos Direitos do Trabalho no plano internacional, ou seja, faz-se, também, a análise do atual entendimento da Organização Internacional do Trabalho sobre o tema. Para alcançar tais propósitos, analisaremos a estrutura da Organização Mundial do Comércio, elaborando um estudo de suas funções e atribuições. Da mesma forma, abordaremos, detalhadamente, o conceito desse instrumento denominado cláusulas sociais, traçando diretrizes acerca de sua estrutura e funcionamento. Discorre-se, por fim, sobre as questões do dumping social, do livre-mercado e do protecionismo. A compreensão desses fenômenos será imprescindível na pretendida abordagem em um cenário de globalização.

The present study examines federal government programs to admit women to Canada as foreign domestic workers, their exclusion from labour standards legislation, the conditions of work and wage-rates which result from this exclusion, and attempts to organize foreign domestic workers. (The thesis maintains that foreign domestic workers represent a modern form of unfree wage labour since they are required to remain in domestic work as a condition of entry to Canada. In this sense, foreign domestic labour is unfree because of the legal restrictions on the right of workers to change employer, occupation and/or industry. The study also examines the intersection of gender, class and ethnicity in the foreign domestic labour process. The need for domestic workers is increasingly being met by women from the less economically developed areas of the world and the recruitment of these women on temporary employment visas places much of the burden of day care and domestic labour in Canada on disadvantaged women and nations. It is argued that the employment of foreign domestic workers in the homes of privileged families gives rise to differential experiences of oppression by women of different classes and ethnic origins. Data for the study are taken from the following sources: employment records to admit foreign domestic workers between January, 1980 and December 31, 1987 supplied by the Research Division of Planning and Research Directorate of the Employment and Immigration Commission, interviews with foreign domestic workers, labour lawyers, community activists, employment agencies, immigration officials and previous studies of foreign domestic workers in Canada and in other advanced industrial nations. / Graduate

Until recently, the legal position of domestic workers in South Africa could be described as a relic of the nineteenth century, when the contract of employment and the common law defined the employer-employee relationship. The legal rules which regulate the relationship between the domestic worker and her employer are examined. International labour standards and the legal position of domestic workers in other countries are considered. Cognisance is taken of the social phenomenon which finds domestic workers at the convergence of three lines along which inequality is generated, namely gender, race and class. Furthermore, the unique economic forces at play in this sector are examined. The law will be stretched to its limits when attempting to resolve what is, essentially, a socio-economic problem. However, the working lives of a million people are at stake. The legislature has a constitutional, political and moral responsibility to attend to reform in this sector as a matter of urgency. / Private Law / LL.M.

Au cours des dernières années, le Québec fut durement touché par des vagues massives de licenciements collectifs. Après l’industrie du textile et du vêtement, c’est maintenant au tour de l’industrie forestière de subir, de plein fouet, les contrecoups d’une économie en pleine mutation. Les résultats des entrevues réalisées au printemps 2008, auprès des travailleurs de la Louisiana-Pacific de Saint-Michel-des-Saints, attestent de l’incapacité des dispositions sur le licenciement collectif à prendre adéquatement en charge les travailleurs victimes de ces fermetures d’usines. Pour évaluer le degré d’efficacité des dispositions sur le licenciement collectif, nous partons d’une étude empirique visant le processus de restructuration d’une grande entreprise papetière, qui conduit à la fermeture de son usine de traitement du bois à St-Michel-des-Saints. Des entretiens conduits auprès des travailleurs, des acteurs locaux comme des dirigeants du syndicat et de la communauté locale, et d’autres acteurs syndicaux et gouvernementaux permettent de reconstruire les étapes conduisant aux licenciements collectifs et à leur suite. Seule la mobilisation syndicale (blocus de l’usine) a permis de bonifier les faibles mesures palliatives prévues initialement par la loi. Cette mobilisation n’a toutefois pas empêché de constater des effets négatifs marqués (appauvrissement, sentiment d’exclusion, tensions familiales, etc.) chez les travailleurs victimes de ce licenciement massif. / In recent years, Québec has severely been hit by massive waves of group terminations. After the textile and clothing industry, the forest industry is now facing the after-effects of a changing economy. The interviews obtained in spring 2008 with the Louisiana–Pacific workers in Saint-Michel-des–Saints, show that the provisions on group termination do not take appropriate measures for workers who are victims of such closing down industries. To evaluate the efficiency of group termination provisions, we have undertaken an empirical study on the operational improvement and downsizing process of a large paper company that have lead to the permanent closure of the treated lumber plant in Saint-Michel-des-Saints. Discussions with workers and local actors such as the union leaders and members of the community, other union and government leaders have helped us rebuild the steps leading to these group terminations and to the follow–up. It is only through mobilization called by the union (with a plant blockade) that gains were made in the small dismissal measures initially provided by the regulation. This mobilization, however, did not prevent other important negative effects such as impoverishment, feelings of exclusion and family tensions on workers who have had to live through this group termination of employment.