The international framework agreement concluded between the Spanish fashion retailer Inditex SA and the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation (ITGLWF) was lauded as the first IFA to apply to an outsourced apparel supply chain. Central to the implementation approach of both parties is an understanding that for progress to be made in the advancement of core labour standards in producing countries, compliance efforts need to be rooted in the promotion of freedom of association, dialogue and collective bargaining. This approach has informed the interventions of the ITGLWF and the multinational Inditex SA to resolve trade union recognition disputes in a number of developing countries. This article presents and critically examines an early test case of this approach at a knitwear factory in Cambodia. Drawing on empirical research, we find that the intervention resulted in the resolution of a recognition dispute, which led to significant membership gains for a local union and the removal of fixed duration contracts. However, the article raises questions about the effectiveness and sustainability of such an approach for advancing freedom of association and collective bargaining throughout a multinational apparel supply chain, particularly in the current global economic climate.
This chapter turns attention to civil society protest as a specific delegitimation practice vis-à-vis global governance institutions. The authors argue that, while existing research has commonly portrayed protest as a challenge to the legitimacy of global governance institutions, when and how this delegitimation happens is not well theorized. To advance such understanding, the chapter proposes a distinction between protests that target an institution as a whole (diffuse protest) and protest targeting particular processes and policies of the institution (specific protest). The chapter also distinguishes between protest by actors that the global governance institution recognizes to be a significant audience and protests by actors which lack this status.
Abstract:This article provides a conceptual and empirical assessment of UN brokered partnerships that seek to deepen or create inclusive and sustainable agricultural supply chains in sub-Saharan Africa. More specifically it appraises the decision-making mechanisms, processes of partnership brokerage and project implementation within the UNDP Growing Sustainable Business Initiative (GSB) in Kenya. The paper argues that the lack of bottom-up participation in decision-making mechanisms and the predominantly economic imperatives driving the partnership projects have failed to reach out to the partnerships' intended beneficiaries -Kenyan small producers of nuts and mangoes. In conclusion it is suggested that opening up the GSB platform might hold the promise of reconciling sustainable business models with (some) poverty reduction.
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