Bringing Workers' Rights Back In? Propositions towards a Labour-Trade Linkage for the Global South

• Published in: Development and change Vol. 46; no. 1; pp. 121 - 147
• Main Author: Pahle, Simon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.01.2015
• Subjects: Africa; Brazil; Competition; International Labour Organization; International Trade; Labor force; Labor Standards; Labor unions; Political Economy; Reform; South-South Relations; Studies; Trade; Unions; Work standards; Workers' rights; World Trade Organization; WTO; Brazil; South Africa
• ISSN: 0012-155X; 1467-7660
• DOI: 10.1111/dech.12145

ABSTRACT The idea of forging a linkage between global trade and labour standards has a long history and has been the subject of fierce debate. In a global political economy that incites ‘competition for jobs’, the idea cannot escape controversy. Crucially, it has failed to win significant support from trade unionists in the global South. Drawing on viewpoints voiced by workers’ rights activists in South Africa and Brazil, this article presents four propositions on the features and functions that a labour–trade linkage would have to possess if it is to serve workers’ interests, and explores whether and how these may be accommodated by the ILO and WTO regimes. It is argued that a linkage requiring a new single WTO undertaking is out of the question; a linkage would only make sense if it superimposes ILO rule onto the WTO, not the opposite; a linkage should be premised on positive trade measures; and, finally, it should serve the interests of presently unprotected and unorganized workers. Overall, the main challenge of such a linkage would be to achieve the necessary reform within the ILO.