The Globalization of Labour Standards

Do core labour standards exist in today s global economy? If so, what are they? And most importantly, how effective are they? In this book two outstanding labour law scholars answer these questions in a definitive manner. In deep and convincing detail they demonstrate that, although insufficiently legally binding instruments governing employment and labour exist beyond the national level, a significant body of international soft law has developed that does in fact carry great weight. Blanpain and Colucci identify four major sources of this soft law - the UN Global Compact of 1999, the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles, the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation, and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises - and show how the principles these instruments enunciate act as a countervailing power to the international economic decision-making of multinational corporations. The book analyses the entire spectrum of fact and implication encompassed in these influential sources, with close attention to such subject areas as the following: context and drafting history of the instruments; the respective roles of enterprises, governments, employers organisations and trade unions; detailed analysis of specific core standards; the impact of economic zones and industrial sectors; committees, arbitral panels and other procedural details; issues involving reporting, complaints and disputes; and, enterprise responsibilities. The authors cite relevant cases and highlight emerging trends in this important area of labour law. Annexes reprint all four of the instruments.