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Legislative regulation of global value chains to protect workers: A preliminary assessment

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  • Michael Rawling

Abstract

This article argues for domestic legislative regulation of global value chains to protect offshore workers. First, it outlines the policy reasons necessitating such legislation. Empirical evidence confirms that global value chains are a dominant feature of the global economy. It is contended that lead firms wield influence in global value chains in a manner which leads to poor outcomes for offshore workers. Second, the article sets out the minimum steps necessary for a domestic state to attribute the responsibility for transparency of global value chains to lead firms. Then, it proceeds to explore the possibilities and limits of the proposed scheme of regulation. Despite some complexities with implementing the scheme, it is argued that if domestic legislative regulation of global value chains strengthens even to a small extent the monitoring of global labour issues, it is worth pursuing.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Rawling, 2015. "Legislative regulation of global value chains to protect workers: A preliminary assessment," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 26(4), pages 660-677, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecolab:v:26:y:2015:i:4:p:660-677
    DOI: 10.1177/1035304615615513
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. John Pickles & Shengjun Zhu, 2013. "The California Transparency in Supply Chains Act," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series ctg-2013-15, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    2. Gary Gereffi, 2014. "Global value chains in a post-Washington Consensus world," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(1), pages 9-37, February.
    3. Koen De Backer & Norihiko Yamano, 2012. "International Comparative Evidence on Global Value Chains," OECD Science, Technology and Industry Working Papers 2012/3, OECD Publishing.
    4. Jeffrey Neilson & Bill Pritchard & Henry Wai-chung Yeung, 2014. "Global value chains and global production networks in the changing international political economy: An introduction," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(1), pages 1-8, February.
    5. Amanda Wise, 2013. "Pyramid subcontracting and moral detachment: Down-sourcing risk and responsibility in the management of transnational labour in Asia," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 24(3), pages 433-455, September.
    6. De Backer, Koen & Miroudot, Sébastien, 2014. "Mapping global value chains," Libros de la CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 37176.
    7. Unknown, 2005. "Forward," 2005 Conference: Slovenia in the EU - Challenges for Agriculture, Food Science and Rural Affairs, November 10-11, 2005, Moravske Toplice, Slovenia 183804, Slovenian Association of Agricultural Economists (DAES).
    8. Gereffi, Gary & Luo, Xubei, 2014. "Risks and opportunities of participation in global value chains," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6847, The World Bank.
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    Cited by:

    1. María J Paz & Mario Rísquez & María E Ruiz-Gálvez, 2022. "Inter-firm power relations and working conditions under new production models," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 33(1), pages 138-157, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Globalisation; industrial/employment relations policy; labour rights; non-standard employment; occupational health; occupational safety; precarious work; supply chain; vulnerable workers;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
    • L5 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy

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