Labour Conditions In Asian Value Chains

This book studies labour conditions in GVCs in a variety of sectors and across several Asian countries.

Globalization of production has created opportunities and challenges for developing country producers and workers. This volume provides solutions-oriented approaches for promoting improved working conditions and labour rights in the apparel industry.

This book argues that larger flaws in the global supply chain must first be addressed to change the way business is conducted to prevent factory owners from taking deadly risks to meet clients’ demands in the garment industry in Bangladesh. Using the 2013 Rana Plaza disaster as a departure point, and to prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future, this book presents an interdisciplinary analysis to address the disaster which resulted in a radical change in the functioning of the garment industry. The chapters present innovative ways of thinking about solutions that go beyond third-party monitoring. They open up possibilities for a renewed engagement of international brands and buyers within the garment sector, a focus on direct worker empowerment using technology, the role of community-based movements, developing a model of change through enforceable contracts combined with workers movements, and a more productive and influential role for both factory owners and the government. This book makes key interventions and rethinks the approaches that have been taken until now and proposes suggestions for the way forward. It engages with international brands, the private sector, and civil society to strategize about the future of the industry and for those who depend on it for their livelihood. A much-needed review and evaluation of the many initiatives that have been set up in Bangladesh in the wake of Rana Plaza, this book is a valuable addition to academics in the fields of development studies, gender and women’s studies, human rights, poverty and practice, political science, economics, sociology, anthropology, and South Asian studies.

Economic, technological, and political shifts as well as changing business strategies have driven firms to unbundle production processes and disperse them across countries. Thanks to these changes, developing countries can now increase their participation in global value chains (GVCs) and thus become more competitive in agriculture, manufacturing and services. This is a paradigm shift from the 20th century when countries had to build the entire supply chain domestically to become competitive internationally. For policymakers, the focus is on boosting domestic value added and improving access to resources and technology while advancing development goals. However, participating in global value chains does not automatically improve living standards and social conditions in a country. This requires not only improving the quality and quantity of production factors and redressing market failures, but also engineering equitable distributions of opportunities and outcomes - including employment, wages, work conditions, economic rights, gender equality, economic security, and protecting the environment. The internationalization of production processes helps with very few of these development challenges. Following this perspective, Making Global Value Chains Work for Development offers a strategic framework, analytical tools, and policy options to address this challenge. The book conceptualizes GVCs and makes it easier for policymakers and practitioners to discuss them and their implications for development. It shows why GVCs require fresh thinking; it serves as a repository of analytical tools; and it proposes a strategic framework to guide policymakers in identifying the key objectives of GVC participation and in selecting suitable economic strategies to achieve them.

The authors examine developments in labor standards in global supply chains over the past thirty years, analyzing factors that create challenges and opportunities for improving working conditions. They illustrate the complex dynamics within and among key groups, including brands, suppliers, governments, workers and consumers.

This book focuses on the changing gender patterns of work in a global retail environment associated with the rise of contemporary retail and global sourcing. This has affected the working lives of hundreds of millions of workers in high-, middle- and low-income countries. The growth of contemporary retail has been driven by the commercialised production of many goods previously produced unpaid by women within the home. Sourcing is now largely undertaken through global value chains in low- or middle-income economies, using a 'cheap' feminised labour force to produce low-price goods. As women have been drawn into the labour force, households are increasingly dependent on the purchase of food and consumer goods, blurring the boundaries between paid and unpaid work. This book examines how gendered patterns of work have changed and explores the extent to which global retail opens up new channels to leverage more gender-equitable gains in sourcing countries.

This book investigates how global value chain governance, public institutions and strategies in the area of industrial policy and industrial relations by stakeholders such as national or global trade unions, governments, companies or international NGOs shape upgrading in the Global South. A special feature is its interdisciplinarity, combining sociological, economic, legal and political dimensions. Case studies systematically compare different industry trajectories. Furthermore, it encompasses far-reaching insights into the role of global value chains for development, economic catching-up of countries and socio-political aspects such as working conditions and interest representation.

Global value chains (GVCs) are fraught with the phenomenon of fragmentation and dispersion of production across the world. India presents a unique example with its high potential in manufacturing capability but low integration in GVCs. This book examines the reasons why India has failed to integrate within GVCs so far and looks at key examples to understand the impediments in this process. The chapters bring together case studies from across the manufacturing industry – labour-intensive (garment, paper and diamond), capital-intensive (automobile and petrochemical), and knowledge-intensive (semi-conductor microchip, chemical and pharmaceutical) sectors. Together, they present stories of successful integration of some firms in GVCs as well as the difficulties faced by them. The volume also highlights the importance of GVCs in the context of developing countries in terms of benefits such as income and value generation, knowledge and technology collaborations, and advances in systems and processes. This book will interest scholars and researchers in economics, international trade studies, development economics and business management as well as to practitioners, policymakers, government officials, and those in the corporate sector.