The theoretical and policy implications of incorporating labour standards to international trade agreements (LSITA) are studied. The paradigms of the "new international labour studies" and of the international division of labour serve as the main references for the construction of a multidisciplinary theoretical approach for the study of LSITA, devised on four premises: (a) an international horizon of the labour process, patterns of employment and labour relations; (b) the role of trade unions and international labour solidarity; (c) the inadequacy of neoclassical economics and free trade theory; and (d) link of LSITA to a broader development perspective. Arguments from organisations and individuals involved in the debate are investigated and categorised. The global experience of LSITA is reviewed at four levels. (A) unilateral: child and prison labour. (B) Bilateral: the EEC proposal in the Lome II negotiations and the EU and US GSP programmes. (C) Multilateral: attempts in the GATT/WTO and (D) Regional: the Social Charter of the EU and the labour side agreement of NAFTA, under which the case studies of General Electric, Honeywell, Sony and u.S. Sprint are evaluated. For each level an assessment is carried out regarding: (1) the effects on the industrial relations processes in the countries involved; (2) the 2 3 general case for LSITA; and (3) the case for strengthening existing provisions and extending social clauses to a multilateral level. A core of labour standards, based on ILO Conventions is put forward as a minimum IIpackage." It is suggested that mul tilateral approaches, provided they meet certain transparency and accountability criteria, should take precedence over bilateral and unilateral. A list of essential pre-requirements on transparency and accountabili ty is put forward. The principle of the "mostfavoured nation" in terms of labour standards is recommended for introduction at at a multilateral level.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:286716 |
| Date | January 1998 |
| Creators | Tsogas, Georgios |
| Publisher | Birkbeck (University of London) |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
Page generated in 0.0023 seconds