Cross-border ASEAN trade union cooperation to grow

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Labour Unions ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Labour Standards ◽  
Labour Disputes ◽  
Labour Regulation

Subject ASEAN integration and labour unions. Significance Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam said in early June they would lobby for a standard minimum wage throughout ASEAN, as protection against workers' exploitation by foreign manufacturers. Controversial and probably unworkable, a wage-fixing system would undermine the competitiveness of industries in some economies and disrupt flows of capital and parts. Impacts Cross-border labour disputes and bargaining will increase. Growing workforce mobility will require fresh labour regulation reforms. However, national interests will scuttle efforts to implement regional labour standards.

Old Burkina regime interests face risky backlash

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Investor Confidence ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Democratic Elections

Significance The coup launched by the Presidential Security Regiment (RSP) on September 16 was reversed by September 23, following a concerted regional and domestic backlash. However, the short-lived takeover delayed progress towards democratic elections and exposed the challenges of stripping down the structures of the 27-year regime of President Blaise Compaore. Impacts Removing the Compaore security apparatus could leave the country less able to deal with regional threats, such as spillover from Mali. Isolated instances of cross-border kidnapping in foreign-owned mines along the Mali border are denting investor confidence. The economic effects of the trade union strike will compound unrest arising from reduced gold revenue.

Two US cases could upend work and politics environment

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Labour Unions ◽  
The Supreme Court

Subject Employment and trade union law. Significance The Supreme Court will shortly rule on two cases which, if decided in the respective plaintiffs’ favour, will greatly weaken labour unions’ influence and employee contract rights. Impacts If the unions lose the Janus case, the loss of funds could reduce their ability to campaign and influence elections. Weaker unions would have a disproportionate effect between the various US gender and ethnic groupings; minorities could suffer. The Democratic Party is traditionally closer to unions and would feel the effects of weaker unions more than Republicans.

Reform of Japan's working practices grows more urgent

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Law Reform ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reform Legislation ◽  
Fixed Wage ◽  
Working Practices ◽  
The Government ◽  
Labour Regulation

Subject Labour regulation and workers' rights in Japan. Significance Prime Minister Shinzo Abe withdrew a key labour law reform at the end of February that would have expanded a system of 'discretionary labour' in which employees are paid a fixed wage regardless of how long they actually work. The stated reason was that flaws had been found in the survey data that the government used to support the legislation. However, the proposed law had generated opposition since first introduced in 2015. Critics argued that it simply expanded unpaid overtime worked by already stressed employees. Impacts A 2013 reform that comes into force on April 1 will inform the prospects of new legislation. The government will need trade union backing to buttress support within the ruling and opposition parties. An unrelated political scandal facing the prime minister could derail labour reform legislation.

South African national minimum wage will prove elusive

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Medium Term ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Macroeconomic Conditions ◽  
Current Minimum ◽  
Wage Floor ◽  
Labour Regulation

Significance Due to take effect on May 1, it would introduce a single wage floor set at 20.0 rand (1.5 dollars) per hour. The NMW is a significant departure from current minimum wage frameworks, both in terms of its level and its coverage, and is going to have a substantial impact on companies and low-wage employees in the short-to-medium term. Current labour market and macroeconomic conditions, however, increase the risk that the employment effects of the policy will be largely negative. Impacts The proposed minimum wage level, and the large proportion of workers currently earning below this, suggest likely job losses. From a labour regulation perspective, introducing a single NMW will simplify the extremely complicated minimum wage system. Inspection and enforcement infrastructure will require significant investment, but this is unlikely in the short term.

Labour resistance and worker attitudes towards trade union reform in China

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 724-740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kan Wang
Keyword(s):  
Trade Union ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Labour Movement ◽  
Labour Relations ◽  
Worker Attitudes ◽  
Textile And Apparel ◽  
Interview Methods ◽  
Labour Disputes ◽  
Research Period ◽  
Party State

Purpose – Drawing its arguments and conclusion from a ten-year survey on workers’ experiences of labour disputes, along with anticipation of trade union reform, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the interaction between labour resistance and its potential for institutional change in the field of labour relations in China. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses a longitudinal cohort study carried out between 2006 and 2015. The survey was conducted every two years, specifically in 2006, 2008, 2011, 2013 and 2015, in Guangdong Province, China. Questionnaire and interview methods were used; 2,166 valid sample questionnaires were collected, and 215 interviews were carried out over the research period. Findings – An increase in collectivized disputes in China has given rise to an escalation of labour action, characterized by wildcat strikes. Joint action has strengthened the bonds among work colleagues, and it has become more important for workers to pay attention to their rights and interests. In terms of organization, two viewpoints towards union reform were revealed: the pragmatist and the idealist perspectives. Workers with greater experience of resistance were more modest in terms of demands for union reform, while workers with some experience called for their union’s independence from the party-state. Research limitations/implications – The data contained industry bias, as too many respondents were from electronics-manufacturing and textile and apparel plants. Originality/value – This paper is original, and increases awareness of the development of the labour movement in China.

Inter‐ethnic and labour‐community coalitions in class struggle in Taiwan since the advent of temporary immigration

2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 482-496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Tierney
Keyword(s):  
Support Groups ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Class Struggle ◽  
Community Coalitions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Labour Unions ◽  
Illegal Migrants ◽  
Temporary Migrant ◽  
Temporary Migrants

PurposeThis paper aims to analyse the class dimensions of racism in Taiwan against temporary migrant workers and migrants' efforts to build inter‐ethnic and labour‐community coalitions in struggle against racism.Design/methodology/approachAn important source of data for this study were the unstructured interview. Between September 2000 and December 2005, more than 50 temporary migrants and their support groups in Taiwan were interviewed, specifically about migrants' experiences of racism and their resistance strategies. These interviews were conducted face‐to‐face, sometimes with the assistance of translators. Between 2001 and 2007, some 70 people were interviewed by telephone, between Australia and Taiwan.FindingsIn Taiwan, temporary migrants suffer the racism of exploitation in that capital and the state “racially” categorize them as suitable only for the lowest paid and least appealing jobs. Migrants also suffer neglect by and exclusion from the labour unions. However, migrants have succeeded, on occasions, in class mobilization by building powerful inter‐ethnic ties as well as coalitions with some labor unions, local organizations and human rights lobbies.Research limitations/implicationsThe research raises implications for understanding the economic, social and political conditions which influence the emergence of inter‐ethnic bonds and labour‐community coalitions in class struggle.Practical implicationsThe research will contribute to a greater appreciation among Taiwan's labour activists of the real subordination of temporary migrant labour to capital and of the benefits of supporting migrants' mobilization efforts. These benefits can flow not only to migrants but also to the labour unions.Originality/valueA significant body of academic literature has recently emerged on temporary and illegal migrants' efforts to engage the union movements of industrialized host countries. There is a dearth, however, of academic research on the capacity of temporary migrants to invigorate union activism in Asia, including Taiwan.

Was it worth it? The impact of the German minimum wage on union membership of employees

2021 ◽  
pp. 0143831X2110358
Author(s):  
Simon Ress ◽  
Florian Spohr
Keyword(s):  
Propensity Score ◽  
Social Security ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Propensity Score Matching ◽  
Minimum Wage ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
German Trade ◽  
The Impact

This contribution scrutinises how introducing a statutory minimum wage of EUR 8.50 per hour, in January 2015, impacted German employees’ decision with regard to union membership. Based on representative data from the Labour Market and Social Security panel, the study applies a logistic difference-in-differences propensity score matching approach on entries into and withdrawals from unions in the German Trade Union Confederation (Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, DGB). The results show no separate effect on withdrawals from or entries into unions after the minimum wage introduction for those employees who benefited financially from it, but a significant increase of entries overall. Thus, unions’ campaign for a minimum wage strengthened their position in total but did not reverse the segmentation of union membership patterns.

Post-acquisition control strategy and cross-border acquisition performance of Chinese MNEs: a fsQCA approach

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Yue ◽  
Ping Deng ◽  
Yanyan Cao ◽  
Xing Hua
Keyword(s):  
Fuzzy Set ◽  
Control Strategy ◽  
Multinational Enterprises ◽  
Cultural Distance ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Acquisition Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Chinese Mnes

PurposePost-acquisition control is a crucial factor affecting acquisition performance. We investigate how post-acquisition control strategy affects cross-border acquisition performance of Chinese multinational enterprises (MNEs) through a configurational perspective.Design/methodology/approachBased on 70 cross-border acquisition cases by Chinese MNEs, we adopt fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to study the combined effects of strategic control, operational control, institutional distance, cultural distance, relative capacity and business relatedness on the cross-border acquisition performance.FindingsOn the basis of fuzzy set analysis of multiple interdependent factors, we identify six configurations that are conductive to achieving high cross-border acquisition performance and two configurations that relate to the absence of high performance, thus shedding light on the casually complex nature of performance drivers of acquisitions.Originality/valueThis study provides a holistic, configurational approach to investigating cross-border acquisition performance by emerging market firms. Our results provide some compelling evidence that accounts for the causal complexity of post-acquisition control strategies and acquisition outcomes in the context of emerging economies.

The impact of organizational position level and cultural flow direction on the relationship between cultural intelligence and expatriate cross-border adaptation

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Zhang ◽  
Yuran Li ◽  
Mark Frost ◽  
Shiyu Rong ◽  
Rong Jiang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Intelligence ◽  
Flow Direction ◽  
Power Distance ◽  
Cultural Adjustment ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Organizational Position ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the critical role played by cultural flow in fostering successful expatriate cross-border transitions.Design/methodology/approachThe authors develop and test a model on the interplay among cultural intelligence, organizational position level, cultural flow direction and expatriate adaptation, using a data set of 387 expatriate on cross-border transitions along the Belt & Road area.FindingsThe authors find that both organizational position level and cultural flow moderate the relationship between cultural intelligence and expatriate adaptation, whereby the relationship is contingent on the interaction of organizational position status and assignment directions between high power distance and low power distance host environments.Originality/valuePrevious research has shown that higher levels of cultural intelligence are positively related to better expatriate adaptation. However, there is a lack of research on the effect of position difference and cultural flow on such relationship. Our study is among the first to examine how the interaction between cultural flow and organizational position level influences the cultural intelligence (CI) and cultural adjustment relationship in cross-cultural transitions.

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