The Global Labour Standards Controversy: Critical Issues for Developing Countries

This policy study seeks to move the debate on labour standards beyond the present stalemate onto a more constructive plane. While closely examining the economic arguments in this controversy, it is also concerned with the broader political and moral dimensions. The authors suggest that developing countries are committed to improving core and other labour standards; the reason why, in general, they are unable to implement many of these forthwith and much more widely is not because of the wickedness or perversity of their governments but essentially their economic circumstances and the structure of their economies. It is emphasized that developing countries should continue to adhere fully to these commitments both for intrinsic developmental reasons and also, importantly, so as not to lose the moral argument. The study deals with a wider range of issues than those strictly germane to labour issues in relation to trade.