Fuelling global production networks with slave labour?: Migrant sugar cane workers in the Brazilian ethanol GPN

Abstract

Citation for published item:wqrthD ioh¡ n @PHIQA 9puelling glol prodution networks with slve lourc X wigrnt sugr ne workers in the frzilin ethnol qxF9D qeoforumFD RR F ppF QPERQF Further information on publisher's website: Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. ABSTRACTThis article presents an analysis of slave labour (as it is known in Brazil) among sugar cane workers within a globalising production network. It employs the Global Production Network (GPN) framework to argue that the dynamics of production networks are fundamental to the reproduction of unfree and degrading labour in this case. First, the power exercised by buyers is a key aspect of processes resulting in slave labour. Conversely, efforts to combat slave labour have been strengthened by acknowledging and working through this power.Second, the state exercises governance within the production network rather than only providing its institutional context. Beyond these dynamics, however, wider processes are involved in making labour available on particular terms and conditions. Third, then, processes of racialisation facilitate the imposition of restrictions on workers' mobility, degrading conditions and intensification of work. Labour is, in other words, devalued. This implies that the ways in which competing judgments over value are resolved merit as much attention in GPN analysis as is currently given to the creation, enhancement and capture of value.

Modern slavery challenges to supply chain management

“…In the Brazilian ethanol industry, state labour inspectors identified slave labour through observation and independently-conducted interviews. Evidence for slave labour came from the presence of numerous indicators such as degrading working conditions, the absence of health and safety considerations, and non-transparent pay systems but could also be seen through indirect measures such as the workforce demographics (where white workers were strongly underrepresented) (McGrath, 2013). The approach in this case relied on a functioning state labour inspection capacity.…”

The “Bad Labor” Footprint: Quantifying the Social Impacts of Globalization

“…It is becoming increasingly harder to trace the origins of consumed products. Attention is often drawn to bad labor conditions when high-profile incidents events occur, as in the case of the death of over one thousand workers caused by the Bangladeshi Rana Plaza garment factory collapse in April 2013, in hundreds of deaths and human rights violations during construction works related to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar [1][2][3], or in recent slavery conditions uncovered at sugarcane plantations in Brazil [4]. Consumers and retailers alike have expressed the desire for humane working conditions in the supply chains of products [5][6][7][8].…”

Trabalho e ação sindical em Redes Globais de Produção

“…Quanto às modalidades "indecentes", começa a ocupar lugar relevante nas análi-ses de rgps mais recentes (Phillips e Sakamoto, 2012;McGrath, 2013) o tema das condições e relações de trabalho degradantes e restritivas à liberdade que constituem o trabalho escravo contemporâneo.…”