Options for enforcing labour standards: Lessons from Bangladesh And Cambodia

Abstract

This study examines labour standards enforcement and compliance in two Asian economies (Bangladesh and Cambodia) that have amongst the lowest labour costs in the world but are experiencing strong pressures to improve the price competitiveness of their textile and garment exports. Analysis of survey, focus group and inspection data indicate differing trajectories in compliance with basic labour standards. While extremely low wages and poor working conditions have persisted in Bangladesh, compliance has begun to improve in Cambodia following a trade agreement with the United States that linked positive trade incentives with labour standards enforcement. These contrasting experiences suggest that in less developed countries, governments consider trade-linked schemes to achieve improvements in working conditions without hindering export growth or job growth. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Good for some, bad for others: US investors and non-trade issues in preferential trade agreements

“…For instance, did US firms in the battery sector move to Mexico, inter alia, to benefit from lower environmental regulations (Frey 2003). Or, investments by multinationals in the garment sector were often driven by lower wages and longer working hours in Bangladesh and Cambodia than at home (Berik and van der Rodgers 2010). Even if compliance with standards is not examined across the board, monitoring apparatus scrutinize especially those industries with the reputation of high pollution levels and cheap workforce (Shah and Rivera 2007).…”

Is Ohs Negligence and Evasion an “Error of Judgement” or “White-Collar Crime”? An Interpretation of Apparel Manufacturers in Bangladesh

“…It is therefore assumed that, to avoid penance, people will make betterinformed operational and strategic decisions with regard to the administration of the OHS provisions. Nevertheless, overwhelmingly persuasive evidence can be drawn from the past studies to show that the factory owners in Bangladesh are in no position to claim that they are ignorant of the effectiveness of the OHS provisions or labour laws (Islam et al 2013;French & Martin 2013;Ahamed 2012;Berik & Rodgers 2008) and, additionally, there is their sense of ethical and moral obligations which every sane human being is supposed to possess. In fact, in many cases, the factory owners' Is OHS Negligence and Evasion an "Error of Judgement" or "White-collar Crime"?…”

Women workers in the apparel sector

“…Civil society priorities stem from calls for protecting universal human rights and the rights of workers which contrast with corporate priorities that tend to focus on technical or outcome standards and commercial imperatives (Hughes et al, 2007;McIntyre, 2008). Against this backdrop, and Razavi (1999) interpret the corporate pursuit of labour standards as too narrow a focus and call for more broad based social policies rather than the crafting of a complementary set of policies that aim to improve labour standards (Berik and Rogers, 2010). Berik and Rogers (2010) suggest that trade incentives are potentially very effective when coupled with tough, independent monitoring which for them should be pursued in addition to domestic policies promoting productivity and fairness (see also McIntyre, 2008).…”

“…Against this backdrop, and Razavi (1999) interpret the corporate pursuit of labour standards as too narrow a focus and call for more broad based social policies rather than the crafting of a complementary set of policies that aim to improve labour standards (Berik and Rogers, 2010). Berik and Rogers (2010) suggest that trade incentives are potentially very effective when coupled with tough, independent monitoring which for them should be pursued in addition to domestic policies promoting productivity and fairness (see also McIntyre, 2008). This inclusion and converging of employment standards, social conditions, attention to enforcement and economic factors on all scales ensure that an 'effective strategy for raising the global fl oor in working conditions' results (Berik and Rogers, 2010: 81).…”