scholarly journals Private Governance, State Regulation and Employment Standards: How Political Factors Shape their Nexus in Australian Horticulture

2017 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elsa Underhill ◽  
Malcolm Rimmer
Keyword(s):  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
State Regulation ◽  
Employment Protection ◽  
Private Governance ◽  
Temporary Work ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Employment Conditions ◽  
Employment Standards ◽  
Temporary Migrants

The global weakness of collective bargaining and state regulation has spawned growing interest in employment protection though private governance. However, scepticism about the efficacy of unsupervised codes of conduct has triggered debate about external discipline through state regulation. This article seeks to contribute to debates about the processes that shape the nexus between private governance and state regulation. It is based on an empirical study of Australian harvest workers who formally benefit from state regulation of pay and occupational health and safety (OHS). However, industry changes have undercut standards. Product market pressures from supermarkets squeeze growers’ capacity to pay. Also, the labour market is increasingly supplied by vulnerable Asian temporary migrants (including undocumented workers), often supplied to growers by unscrupulous temporary work agencies. While pay and OHS practices vary, many harvest workers are exploited. Nor is private governance (which extends to horticulture through the codes of conduct of supermarkets and peak temporary work agency bodies) effective. All codes draw their standards from minimum legal employment conditions, and all possess loopholes allowing breaches to escape attention and rectification. In 2015, media and political attention fell on the working conditions of temporary migrants in horticulture. Government inquiries found evidence of exploitation, but were divided over solutions. Progressive politicians (influenced by unions) favoured stronger state enforcement powers and temporary work agency licensing. Conservative politicians (influenced by business lobbies) claimed these steps would fail, and favoured the status quo. Political reform therefore stalled. This study illustrates the importance of political processes in shaping the nexus between state regulation and private governance. In this case, a political stalemate leaves both regulation and governance deficient. Lacking protection from either source, harvest workers remain exposed to exploitative employment conditions.

scholarly journals Employment Protection and Temporary Work Agencies

Labour ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 308-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Baumann ◽  
Mario Mechtel ◽  
Nikolai Stähler
Keyword(s):  
Employment Protection ◽  
Temporary Work ◽  
Temporary Work Agencies

scholarly journals Features of Non-Tariff Regulation of Construction Products Market in Ukraine

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4S) ◽  
pp. 15-19
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
State Regulation ◽  
Market Regulation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
National System ◽  
Construction Products ◽  
Quality Of Products

The article deals with the issue of state regulation over the construction products industry. Analysis resulted in the identification of two main forms of regulation: tariff and non-tariff regulation. Global practices show the effectiveness of non-tariff regulation in the construction industry. Being a WTO member, Ukraine has to implement the legal framework of non-tariff regulation, in regards to those aspects contributing to compliance with the rating and standards of the European Union to ensure the quality of products. The main objective of non-tariff market regulation is to ensure the quality of finished products, environmental protection, health and safety of life. The national system of regulation, including technical rate-setting of the construction products manufacturing must comply with the international documents ratified by Ukraine. The article analyzes the domestic legal framework and proposes an algorithm for designing a national system of non-tariff regulation in accordance with international rules and standards.

scholarly journals Business Against Markets: Employer Resistance to Collective Bargaining Liberalization During the Eurozone Crisis

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 809-846 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabio Bulfone ◽  
Alexandre Afonso
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Transaction Costs ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Wage Bargaining ◽  
State Regulation ◽  
The State ◽  
Euro Crisis ◽  
Eurozone Crisis ◽  
Employment Conditions

Employer organizations have been presented as strong promoters of the liberalization of industrial relations in Europe. This article, in contrast, argues that the preferences of employers vis-à-vis liberalization are heterogeneous and documents how employer organizations in Spain, Italy, and Portugal have resisted state-led reforms to liberalize collective bargaining during the Euro crisis. It shows that the dominance of small firms in the economies of these countries make employer organizations supportive of selective aspects of sectoral bargaining and state regulation. Encompassing sectoral bargaining is important for small firms for three reasons: it limits industrial conflict, reduces transaction costs related to wage-bargaining, and ensures that member firms are not undercut by rivals offering lower wages and employment conditions. Furthermore, the maintenance of sectoral bargaining and its extension to whole sectors by the state is a matter of survival for employer organizations. The article presents rationales for employer opposition to liberalization that differ from the varieties of capitalism approach.

scholarly journals Regulation and Economic Globalization: Prospects and Limits of Private Governance

2010 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick Mayer ◽  
Gary Gereffi
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Economic Globalization ◽  
Brand Identity ◽  
Global Value Chain ◽  
Private Governance ◽  
Public Governance ◽  
Corporate Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Governmental Institutions ◽  
Multi Stakeholder

Corporate codes of conduct, product certifications, process standards, and other voluntary, non-governmental forms of private governance have proliferated in the last two decades. These innovations are a response to social pressures unleashed by globalization and the inadequacy of governmental institutions for addressing its social and environmental impacts. Private governance has had some notable successes, but there are clear limits to what it alone can be expected to accomplish. We hypothesize that the effectiveness of private governance depends on four main factors: 1) the structure of the particular global value chain in which production takes place; 2) the extent to which demand for a firm's products relies on its brand identity; 3) the possibilities for collective action by consumers, workers, or other activists to exert pressure on producers; and 4) the extent to which commercial interests of lead firms align with social and environmental concerns. Taken together, these hypotheses suggest that private governance will flourish in only a limited set of circumstances. With the trend towards consolidation of production in the largest developing countries, however, we also see a strengthening of some forms of public governance. Private governance will not disappear, but it will be linked to emerging forms of multi-stakeholder institutions.

Falling through the cracks? An analysis of health and safety resources for migrant workers in Australia

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-108
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Kosny ◽  
Amy R Allen
Keyword(s):  
Migrant Workers ◽  
National Level ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Recent Immigrants ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Employment Standards

Purpose – Many migrants coming to Australia end up in poor quality jobs that can lead to injury or illness. The purpose of this paper is to examine work-related resources available to migrants in Australia to determine whether these contain information on employment standards (ES), occupational health and safety (OHS) and workers’ compensation (WC). Design/methodology/approach – National and state-based websites of government, unions, WC boards and community organizations were searched for relevant materials. Resources were analysed and categorized according to location, content, resource type, audience and language. Findings – We found 175 work-related resources that targeted migrants, or those working with them. The greatest numbers of resources were found in New South Wales, Victoria, and at a national level. There was a lack of comprehensive resources, with most resources containing only general work-related information. Those that had information on ES, OHS and WC generally covered only one topic in depth. Few resources were directed at temporary foreign workers. Although there are many resources to help newcomers find employment, these often do not include comprehensive information about rights at work, injury prevention and WC. Practical implications – Improving the comprehensiveness and accessibility of work-related resources could assist migrant workers in understanding ES, OHS and WC in Australia. Originality/value – This study, a first of its kind in Australia, examines work-related resources aimed at recent immigrants and whether these contain information related to health and safety, employment rights and responsibilities or what to do in the event of an injury. The analysis suggests that there is a paucity of comprehensive resources that address these topics. This is significant because recent immigrants, compared to native-born workers are more likely to work in jobs that expose them to hazards and increase their risk of injury. Resources preparing newcomers for work in Australia should include work and health-related information.

scholarly journals International Law

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
MJ Peterson
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Legal System ◽  
International System ◽  
State Regulation ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Law And Politics ◽  
Indigenous Groups ◽  
Independent States ◽  
Standards Of Conduct ◽  
Political Economic

International law can be defined as the substantive norms and rules and related procedural codes that govern relations among states, and the conduct of transactions and relationships across national borders. It is one of the fundamental institutions of the international system, simultaneously reaffirming the organization of the world into autonomous states and providing their governments and other international actors with a set of publicly expressed common standards of conduct and procedures, organizing the provision of governance for an increasingly interconnected world. Initially addressing only relations among sovereign (independent) states, its reach expanded during the period 1860–2000 to include interactions of states with intergovernmental organizations and humans (as peoples, ethnic, racial, religious, or indigenous groups, or as individuals) and state regulation of human conduct within the natural environment. Two broad debates in legal philosophy—one focused on whether the term “law” should be defined as a body or rules or as the set of interactions through which rules are made, amended, and applied; and the other on whether “law” denotes commands backed by centralized force or social norms treated as obligatory for all members of a society—continue to influence how scholars approach international law, as will be elaborated in later sections. Given the continuing decentralization of global-level governance, it appears more useful to use the term “international law” to denote a body of rules, procedures, and related doctrines for interpreting them, and the term “international legal system” to denote two sets of related activity, the highly political processes of making, amending, and occasionally discarding rules, and the more rule-bound processes of applying the existing rules to behavior and using them to resolve particular disputes. Though the political and the legal sometimes intertwine, distinguishing between the two helps make sense of the expansion of the rules to cover more issue areas and the expansion of rule-making to include not only the non-Western states returning to independence after European colonial domination but also the activities of nonstate actors. Distinguishing between law and politics also highlights the effects of legal rules as they encourage some possible courses of action while discouraging others. Thus the study of international law today involves three distinct activities: (1) understanding international law as a distinct legal system; (2) understanding the potentials and limits of using it as a technique for organizing and conducting governance; and (3) drawing on it as an intellectual resource for advancing political, economic, social, and moral goals.

scholarly journals Organization of Volunteer Camps at Historical and Сultural Heritage Sites in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: International Experience

2021 ◽  
pp. 68-75
Author(s):  
Н.И. Горлова
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Method ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Heritage Sites ◽  
Employment Conditions ◽  
Volunteer Organizations ◽  
Volunteer Labor ◽  
Rules And Principles ◽  
International Volunteer

Цель исследования – выявление принципов и правил организации международных волонтерских кампусов в области сохранения историко-культурного наследия в условиях пандемии COVID-19 на примере деятельности некоммерческих организаций HistoriCorps (США) и Ассоциации REMPART (Франция), специализирующихся в этой сфере. Использованы документы данных организаций, программные материалы по волонтерской работе. Изучены нормы, касающиеся вопросов проживания участников международных проектов, их численности, питания, проезда, организации культурно-досуговой программы и длительности проведения лагеря в период пандемии. Установлено, что во время карантина появились принципиально новые стандарты реализации международных проектов волонтерскими организациями. Сформулированы общие требования к организации волонтерских кампусов: от обеспечения волонтеров средствами индивидуальной защиты до их размещения принимающей стороной, создание системы мониторинга самочувствия волонтеров и сотрудников проекта. The aim of the study was to identify the principles and rules for organizing international volunteer camps in the field of preserving historical and cultural heritage in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic using the example of the activities of non-profit organizations HistoriCorps (USA) and the REMPART Association (France), specializing in this field. The study used reports, guidelines and instructions for working with participants on volunteer camps of these organizations during quarantine and in the subsequent post-pandemic period. The author applies a structural-functional approach using the methods of interpretation of legal norms and a comparative method. The practice of conducting volunteer camps was studied on the example of the activities of the American organization HistoriCorps. The data on the number of volunteers, the number of man-hours, employment conditions, peculiarities of the organization of activities, requirements for the personality, competencies and duties of the head of the volunteer brigade were revealed. The changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related to the rules and principles of preparing HistoriCorps volunteer camps, new requirements for organizing a volunteer camp and creating conditions for safe volunteer activities were investigated in detail. The HistoriCorps protocols regulating the procedure for actions in case of suspected signs of coronavirus infection in project participants were analyzed. The changes in the methodology of conducting volunteer camps, developed by the French volunteer association REMPART and related to the response of this organization to the spread of COVID-19, were studied. Specific actions, helping to ensure the sanitary safety of the participants, were identified in relation to the organization of volunteer labor. It was determined that the condition for participation in the volunteer camp should be the provision of a medical document (the PCR test result), indicating that the candidate does not have COVID-19, the passage of special training on health and safety by employees, and the provision of personal protective equipment to volunteers in accordance with the requirements of local authorities. The study resulted in a generalization of the experience accumulated by international volunteer organizations on taking additional measures related to the safe conduct of camps during the COVID-19 pandemic and the development of a number of universal recommendations that can become a practical guide for organizers and participants of volunteer camps, regardless of the location of the projects.

Working in healthcare

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daisy Fancourt
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Occupational Health ◽  
Infection Control ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Risk Assessments ◽  
Patient Confidentiality ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Arts In Health

Working with the arts in health care can present a range of challenges and areas of sensitivity. This chapter considers some of the most important protocols when working in health. This includes crucial issues around patient safeguarding, such as codes of conduct for working with patients and the public, patient confidentiality, ways of flagging causes for concern, and considerations when undertaking photography or filming. It also looks at important aspects of health and safety, including standard infection control precautions, risk assessments, and occupational health. Finally, the chapter explores how to engage patients, public, and staff in interventions to provide a safe and friendly environment.

Legal Pluralism in European Contract Law

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Mak
Keyword(s):  
Self Regulation ◽  
New Economy ◽  
State Regulation ◽  
Private Governance ◽  
European Contract ◽  
Consumer Markets ◽  
Contractual Relationships ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Platform Economy ◽  
European Contract Law

The relevance of contracting and self-regulation in consumer markets has increased rapidly in recent years, in particular in the platform economy. Online platforms provide opportunities for businesses and consumers to connect with strangers, often across borders, trading products, and services. In this new economy, platform operators create, apply, and enforce their own rules in their contractual relationships with users. This book examines the substance of these rules and the space for private governance beyond the reach of state regulation. It explores recent developments in lawmaking ‘beyond the state’ with case studies focusing on companies such as Airbnb and Amazon. The book asks how common values and objectives of EU law, such as consumer protection and contractual fairness, can be safeguarded when lawmaking shifts to a space outside the reach of state law.

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