Transnational private regulation and the transformation of labour rights organizations in emerging markets: new markets for labour support work in China

Abstract

This article explores the emergence of transnational regimes of regulation governing labour standards and how these impact and articulate in China. Specifically, the article addresses how domestic non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in China communicate emergent regulatory norms and extend these into domestic domains, redefining how labour codes are developed and instantiated in local policy contexts and throughout the globalized value chains. It does so by adopting a qualitative case study approach to analyse how engagement with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) norms transforms labour-support organizations and their roles in labour negotiations, regulation and oversight. Using a case study approached focused in the Guangdong Province of China, the findings suggest that a transnational private regulation supports the development of local NGO activity and in turn transmits norms, modes of conduct and regulation that has a fundamental impact on how labour NGOs ensconce themselves and help transmit and construct regulatory practices that govern labour practices.

Channels for Workers' Voice in the Transnational Governance of Labour Rights?

“…If this does not lead to a positive outcome, a representative of the local organization visits the factory and mediates between workers and management. Depending on the circumstances, the negotiation can also include the buying company (Zajak, ). According to both interviewees, the hotline is used hundreds of times a year, with most complaints focusing on issues of wages and payment (Interview with labour support organizations Shenzhen, Beijing 2009).…”

The social order of transnational migration markets

“…Various approaches to global labour relations have cast light on the problem of regulation, including work on the role of social movements (Piper and Grugel 2015;Zajek 2013), the enforcement of due diligence in private enterprises (Bartley 2018), and other forms of 'soft law' and voluntary standards (Hale and Held 2011). An overall weakness of the global labour governance research, however, lies in its focus on what happens in host labour markets (for example, Arnholtz and Lillie 2020;Schierup et al 2015;Waite et al 2015).…”