International Employment Standards in a Globalising World - Essay Example

THE POSSIBILITY OF ESTABLISHING INTERNATIONAL EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS IN A GLOBALISING WORLD Globalization impacts on employment standards are the primary of issue of debate across many nations all over the world. For instance, international labour organizations such as the WTO tried to come up with some international labour standards that could facilitate smooth flow of labour globally. However, the issue of concern that also began to cause worries among the other organizations concerning the international labour standards such as the ILO. In considering the enlisted issues above, the report, in this case, will seek to evaluate the background of the identified issues through presenting a general analysis of the labour market and the effects of globalisation. In addition, the report presents the possible options that the ILO may adopt to enhance the international labour standards so that it could promote both social and economic development globally. At its conclusion, the report will give the authors self-analysis of the occurrence of trends of events based on the issues identified in the sections of the report. Table of Contents Contents Page Abbreviations...................................................................................................................................4 1.0 Introduction...................................................................................................... ........................ 5 2.0 Globalization and the Implications on Employment Standard.........................................6 3.0 International Funding and the Welfare State...................................................................7 4.0 The Welfare State Implications..............................................................................................8 5.0 Global Slowdowns and the Concerted Policy Responses..................................................8 6.0 Development of International Employment Standards.......................................................9 7.0 Multinational Companies and Corporate Social Responsibility.........................................9 8.0 The Role of International Donor Institutions .....................................................................13 9.0 Role of Regional Organizations.............................................................................................13 10.0 Limitations of Regional Arrangements.....................................................................11 11.0 The Role of International Employers........................................................................12 12.0 Conclusion............................................................................................................................12 13.0 Bibliographies.......................................................................................................................13 Abbreviations FDI: Foreign Direct Investments GATT: General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade ILO: International Labour Organisation ILO: International Labour Organisation IMF: International Monetary Fund IMF: International Metalworkers Federation ITS: International Trade Secretariats NAFTA: North American Free Trade Agreement NGO: Non-governmental organisations SAARC: South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation SADCC: Southern African Development Cooperation Committee (SADC) 1.0 Introduction Globalisation and the employment standards today forms the primary means of enhancing the international economic integration across many nations since it influences the working relationships of many individuals (Corporatewatch.org, 2015). The fact is that the prosperity of economic growth in a locality enhances the improvement of the living standards of the individuals. However, the international racial discriminations bar the full attainment of the objective of the international or the globalized employment creations. Some critiques are also for the idea of the globalized employment being responsible for the enhancement of social and economic development globally (Corporatewatch.org, 2015). One of the principal players of the globalized employment generators is the diversity of the effects that accrue from the labour market. Different nations have to engage each other in transactions for the commodities that each of them lacks. For instance, oil and machinery manufacturing nations have to engage with the agricultural productive nations for the exchange of the commodities they variedly produce in this scenario. During such instances, there are the resulting opportunities for employment for the parties involved in the importation and the exportation of the commodities between these nations (Hollinshead, 2010). The trend in globalized employment standards for sure is on the increase for the last few decades. However, the HIV/Aids pandemic is the limiting factor to this trend especially in the African countries. Due to this killer disease, many of the affected nations do loose the young, energetic labour place that, in this case, could also play a role towards the growth of the globalized employment creation opportunities (Hollinshead, 2010). Globalization is a principal player in the employment creation at the international scene currently. As result, the report will review the principal concepts and assumptions from the casual mechanisms related to the discussions on globalisation, employment and labour standards (Hollinshead, 2010). 2.0 Globalisation and the Implications on Employment Standards Globalization affects the employment and the labour standards primarily on the below areas; Trade liberalisation that is responsible for promoting the exportation and the importation of the commodities. As result, it contributes to the stiff competition witnessed in the international market scene that in turn leads to high prices on the products being traded for at these places (Corporatewatch.org, 2015). Through globalization impact on employment standards, there is the emergence of the high technologies such as the ICT. The invention of the ICT sector plays a role in the revolution, cost reduction of both communication and transportation and also energizing the competition within the liberalized market structures (Globalexchange.org, 2015). Bargaining power of the businesses and the MNCs that engages in the production of the tradable commodities attains their strength in the capital mobility. There is also the emergence of the FDI that may lead to the reinforcement of the regime competition that exists between the regions. In addition, there are also the nations in relation to the provisions that are in place for promoting good environment for trading activities. The instance also gets the support from the emergence of the fully globalized market systems (Globalexchange.org, 2015). Apart from the universal markets, there is also the universal shift from a low inflation growth trend that leads to the containment of the scopes for the usage of the macroeconomic instruments in aid of the employment growth (Globalexchange.org, 2015). European initiated projects also act as forms of promoting the regional integrations with other sections of the world and as a result leading to the emergence of many market systems all over the world for employment creation purposes (Anderson& Norheim, 2005). 3.0 International Funding and the Welfare State FDI flows and MNC operations on labour standards have their impacts on the liberalisation of trading activities taking place in most of the nations. For instance, the impacts are primarily on the macroeconomic policies, growth and employment opportunities and their trends of occurrences globally (Anderson& Norheim, 2005). However, there is a vivid reason to state that the implications of trade and FDI flows for the labour standards have the overall impact on the world’s economic growth. The instance of this theory is that the effects of the liberalised trade flows determine the effects of the changing macroeconomic policies especially on the growth and the profit margin projections from the potential investors (Corporatewatch.org, 2015). Developed nations, such as Japan and Italy have solid economic growth trends. From the last World War era, these two nations experienced most of their rapid economic developments due to the influence of the exportation and the effects of the labour disclosures. As a result, the trends of the occurrence of the phenomenon lead to the high demand in other sectors of the economy in these two nations coupled with the stiff competitions from the international scene. The resultant occurrence of the phenomenon in this instance could be the zero game plan executed to reach their economic prosperity (Anderson& Norheim, 2005). However, to ensure that there is the balance of power in the labour markets, there have to be some aspects of it. Part of these aspects is the external trade competition in periods of sluggish growth and high unemployment that contribute to the downward pressures on wages and working conditions (Martinez-Lucio, 2014). 4.0 The Welfare State Implications Capital liberalisation is the key to the rise of the stiff completion between countries primarily due to the taxations on the capital. Competitions due taxations may lead to the development of the labour markets in many ways (Corporatewatch.org, 2015). For instance, it limits the; scope of the macroeconomic stabilisation policies, development of public policies, employment and social security (the welfare state) and rent-seeking by public actors. In addition, competitions due to taxation affect the tax burden on capital to labour and curbing real wages and effective demand. All these influences are the general influence of competition due to taxation on capital on the potential influence on the welfare state and the labour demand. Others are the government capacity to fight unemployment and the bargaining power of labour (Martinez-Lucio, 2014). 5.0 Global Slowdowns and the Concerted Policy Responses Global financial markets, according to many observers could be the cause of the currently witnessed effects on the labour markets compared to the international production and trading activities. For instance, the positive developments towards the accessibility to the capital markets form the basis of economic growth of many upcoming nations (Martinez-Lucio, 2014). There is also the case of the instability of the effects due to the large sings from the financial flows coupled with the sketchy incentive structures from the functionalities of the global finance. The instances are responsible for the cause of the severe constraints on the national economic policies and the labour markets. However, as an international issue, the policies in place may not be the complete solution the underlying problems of the global finance markets and the global trade in relation to the creation of the employment opportunities (Mainwaring, 1974). 6.0 Development of International Employment Standards Trade and employment standards relationship became a principal topic of discussion in the Versailles Treaty that, in this case, lead to the formation of the ILO in 1919 and International Trade Organisation (ITO) in 1949. Due to the emergence of the globalisation and the trade liberalisation trends in the early 1990s, the problem of the globalized labour became a principal agenda for discussion from these labour supporting organizations. For instance, most of these organizations called for more tough measures on the international standards of recruiting labour in the market system (Mainwaring, 1974). There was also the need for stressing those nations that violated the rights of the labourer. As a result, the World Trade Organization emerged and came in as a replacement for GATT in the year1999. However, the initiative met a lot of resistance from most of the southern nations that today makes it difficult for the creation of the direct linkage between global trade liberalisation in WTO and labour standards. However, there is a continuous debate on the same issue that leads to the development of new ways and tactics of elevating the standards of labour all over the world (Martinez-Lucio, 2014). 7.0 Multinational Companies and Corporate Social Responsibility A concern today is growing today on the need to recognize the various groups that contribute to the increased freedom that the business sectors enjoy in the globalisation effects and impacts (Mainwaring, 1974). For instance, the ILO Conventions covered on the specific issues that its member states need to have in place towards promoting the liberalised trading activities. For instance, the union agitated to compel the multinational companies to work within the accepted code of standards of enhancing quality and efficiency in the labour standards globally (Martinez-Lucio, 2014). For the purposes of ensuring friendly environment standards internationally, ICFTU and the International Metalworker Federation (IMF) conducted a wide research that came up with the possible solutions for the same. For instance, these organizations came up with an action plan that lead to the establishment of the first ever world company council that had the representation of labour. Despite the obstacles and the challenges that were present by then, WCC, however, tried to solve some part of the labour problems as at that time (Martinez-Lucio, 2014). 8.0 The Role of International Donor Institutions Most countries from the south prefer to work with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) compared to the WTO. However, the developing nations rely on the three institutions for financial aid and, as a result, do lead to the emergence of wide implications that affect the development of the labour in these countries. In addition, principal donors in the future may provide the needed aid to the poor nations with condition that they subject themselves in contractual agreements with the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWI of the WB and IMF. For this reason, many players in these developing nations will find themselves associating with the globalization much further based on the policies of these institutions compared to the world trade and investment regimes (Anderson& Norheim, 2005). 9.0 Role of Regional Organizations Development of the labour standards globally, also works in conjunction with rules brought by the regional markets in the scene as a way of enhancing the dynamism of the economic internalisation. For instance, Trade, FDI-flows and the operations of MNC for a long time dwelt in some regions. However, in the present, the phenomenon receives the backing by the spread and the lengthening of the most of the projects that contributes towards the regional integration in all parts of the world (Corporatewatch.org, 2015). Superior examples to support these cases are the SADC of South Africa region, MERCURSOR and the ANDEAN of South America. In addition, there is also the evolution of certain arrangements that contributes towards the evolving and linkage of the liberalised trade areas. An example, in this case, is the Free Trade Area of Americas (FTAA) and the plans to establish African economic union. In relation to this idea, the initiatives if implemented may contribute towards the realization efficient global institutions. On top of that, it may also lead to the enhancement of a healthy environment for the operation of globalized employment standards (Globalexchange.org, 2015). 10. Limitations of Regional Arrangements As much as it may be a good idea to ascertain globalization in the standards of employments, there is, however, some challenges that bar the attainment of the objective. For instance, each of the nations has their systems of governance with different rules and regulations in place governing the trading activities (Mainwaring, 1974). Some of the rules may be for the enhancement of the free flow of the trading activities internationally while others could be such restrictive such that they limit free movement of people in the countries. As a result, regional arrangements, in this case, may fail to materialise leading to the hampering of the prosperity of the possible employment opportunities that may result from the trading activities globally (Hollinshead, 2010). 11.0 The Role of International Employers The effectiveness of the international labour standards of labour and their implementations depends on the perception and the reaction of the management of the international employment bodies (Mainwaring, 1974). International labour laws should receive a positive reception from the top management, so that be effective. In addition, the management also should develop certain related policies that can also support those from the labour organizations (Mainwaring, 1974). In this instance, it will enhance the efficiency in the execution of duties from the employees despite their differences in countries of origin. By taking all these suggestions into considerations, there is hope that globalized employment standards will a fruit of realization towards the empowerment of the globe economically and socially (Martinez-Lucio, 2014). Conclusion As a way enhancing and promoting the globalized employment standards, the concerned governments should come up with strategies that can encourage the need for social interactions among the citizens. For instance, presence of favourable immigration rules and regulations need to be in place that does not put tough measures on the movement of people across the nations especially during trading activities. Such policies for sure will act as an encouragement for the citizens to explore the foreign untapped opportunities for future developments and the creation of employment. Reference List Anderson, K., & Norheim, H. 2005. From Imperial to Regional Trade Preferences. Corporatewatch.org,. 2015. Home Page | Corporate Watch. Retrieved 19 March 2015, from http://www.corporatewatch.org/ Globalexchange.org,. 2015. Global Exchange Top Ten Corporate Criminals List | Global Exchange. Retrieved 19 March 2015, from http://www.globalexchange.org/corporateHRviolators Hollinshead, G. 2010. International and Comparative Human Resource Management. London: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Mainwaring, J. 1974. A Review of International Labour Conventions. [Ottawa]: International Labour Affairs Branch, Canada Department of Labour. Martinez-Lucio, M. 2014. International Human Resource Management. An Employment Relations Perspective, Sage Publications (pbk). Read More