The strategic use of the labour rights discourse – revisting the “social clause” debate in trade agreements

Authors

  • Ulf Thoene Universidad de La Sabana.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15665/rj.v10i2.328

Keywords:

global capitalism, ILO, labour rights, social clause, trade agreements, WTO

Abstract

This reflection article takes a fresh look at the neglected policy device of the so-called “social clause” in trade accords that
seeks to tame the capitalist forces dominating contemporary globalization. In many countries deregulatory policies, and the
incapacity, or in some cases unwillingness, of governments to enforce regulation to protect workers and their representatives,
have undermined labour rights. Instead, recent decades have witnessed a proliferation of free trade agreements (FTAs)
that tend to favour the interests of global corporations over the concerns of workers. This paper reinvigorates the debate on
the “social clause” in trade agreements by tracking its historical development and analysing recent, albeit feeble, attempts
that may contribute to levelling the playing field between capital and labour.

References

Alston, Philip. “Facing up to the Complexities of the ILO’s Core Labour Standards Agenda”, European Journal of International

Law, Vol. 16, No. 3, mayo de 2005: 467-480.

Alston, Philip. “Core Labour Standards” and the Transformation of the International Labour Rights Regime”, European

Journal of International Law, Vol. 15, No. 3, mayo de 2004: 457-521.

Barton, John, y Judith Goldstein, y Timothy Josling, y Richard Steinberg. The Evolution of the Trade Regime: Politics, Law,

and Economics of the GATT and the WTO. Woodstock: Princeton University Press, 2008.

Bhagwati, Jagdish. Termites in the Trading System. How Preferential Agreements undermine Free Trade. Oxford: Oxford

University Press, 2008.

Bhagwati, Jagdish. “US trade policy – the infatuation with FTAs”. Columbia University Discussion Paper Series, No. 726,

: 1-20.

Blackett, Adelle, y Laurence Helfer, y Brian Langille, y Virginia Leary. “Panel Discussion: The Future of International

Labor Law”, American Society of International Law Proceedings of the 101st Meeting, 2008, 389-402.

Blackett, Adelle. “Whither Social Clause? Human Rights, Trade Theory and Treaty Interpretation”, Columbia Human

Rights Law Review, Vol. 31, No. 1, enero de 1999: 1-80.

Brown, Dana. “Self – Regulation in a World of States’. En Making Global Self – Regulation Effective in Developing Countries,

editado por Dana Brown, y Ngaire Woods, 227-258. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.

Brown, Larry. TTIP: “Aushöhlung demokratischer Rechte” Was lehren uns NAFTA und CETA? Ein Gespräch mit Larry Brown.

24 de junio de 2014, http://www.ipg-journal.de/kurzinterview/artikel/ttip-aushoehlung-demokratischer-rechte-

/.

Burchell, Brendan, y Kirsten Sehnbruch, y Agnieszka Piasna, y Nurjk Agloni. “The Quality of Employment and Decent

Work – Definitions, Methodologies, and Ongoing Debates”, Cambridge Journal of Economics, Vol. 38, No. 2, marzo

de 2014: 459-477.

Celedón, Johanna. El Convenio con la OIT y EE.UU Busca Garantizar los Derechos Laborales del TLC. Agosto de 2012. 06 de

agosto de 2012, http://www.larepublica.co/node/17441.

Charnovitz, Steve. Trade Law and Global Governance. London: Cameron May, 2002.

Charnovitz, Steve. “The Influence of International Labour Standards on the World Trading Regime. A Historical Overview”,

International Labour Review, Vol. 126, No. 5, noviembre de 1987: 565-584.

Chhibber, Ajay. Bangladesh Exposes Flaws in World Bank’s Doing Business Index. Mayo de 2013. 02 de junio de 2013, http://

blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2013/05/16/guest-post-bangladesh-shows-its-time-to-revamp-world-banks-doing-business-

index-hold/.

Cleveland, Sarah. “Why International Labor Standards?”. En International Labor Standards – Globalization, Trade, and Public

Policy, editado por Robert Flanagan, y William Gould, 129-178. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2003.

Drezner, Daniel. All Politics is Global – Explaining International Regulatory Regimes. Woodstock/Oxon: Princeton University

Press, 2007.

El Espectador. OIT Destaca “Significativa Reducción” de Violencia contra Sindicalistas en Colombia. Agosto de 2012. 03 de

agosto de 2012, http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/politica/articulo-364720-oit-destaca-significativa-reduccion-

de-violencia-contra-sindical.

Estlund, Cynthia. “Citizens of the Corporation? Workplace Democracy in a Post-Union Era”. New York University School

of Law – Public Law & Legal Theory Research Paper Series Working Paper, No. 13-84, diciembre de 2013: 1-20.

Fengler, Wolfgang. The Global Demographic Dividend and How to Make the Most of It. Septiembre de 2013. 02 de junio de

, http://blogs.worldbank.org/futuredevelopment/global-demographic-dividend-and-how-make-most-it.

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Articles XVIII-XXXVIII, Article XX, General Exceptions. 1947. 02 de

diciembre de 2013, http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/gatt47_02_e.htm.

Ghai, Dharam. “Decent Work – Concept and Indicators”, International Labour Review, Vol. 142, No. 2, abril de 2003: 113-

Held, David, y Anthony McGrew, y David Goldblatt, y Jonathan Perraton. Global Transformations – Politics, Economics

and Culture. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1999.

Helfer, Laurence. “Understanding Change in International Organizations: Globalization and Innovation in the ILO”,

Vanderbilt Law Review, Vol. 59, No. 3, abril de 2006: 649-726.

Hepple, Bob. Labour Laws and Global Trade. Oxford: Hart, 2005.

Howse, Richard, y Michael Trebilcock. “The Free Trade – Fair Trade Debate: Trade, Labor, and the Environment”. En

Economic Dimensions in International Law – Comparative and Empirical Perspectives, editado por Jagdeep Bhandari, y

Alan Sykes, 186-234. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.

International Labour Organisation (ILO). Global Employment Trends – Executive Summary. 2014. 12 de junio de 2014,

http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_234107.

pdf.

International Labour Organisation (ILO). ILOLEX, Database of International Labour Standards. 2008. 13 de octubre de 2013,

http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/convdisp1.htm.

International Labour Organisation (ILO). Technical Assistance and Training. 2008. 01 de octubre de 2013, http://www.ilo.

org/global/What_we_do/InternationalLabourStandards/ApplyingandpromotingInternationalLabourStandards/

Technicalassistance/lang--en/index.htm.

International Labour Organisation (ILO). “Reducing the Decent Work Deficit – A Global Challenge”, Report of the Director

General to the International Labour Conference, 89th Session, Geneva, International Labour Office. Junio de 2001. 02 de

diciembre 2013, http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/ilc/ilc89/rep-i-a.htm#7.

International Labour Organisation (ILO). Text of the Constitution, Declaration of Philadelphia. 1944. 04 de septiembre de

, http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/constq.htm.

International Labour Organisation (ILO). Text of the Constitution, Preamble. 1919. 15 de diciembre de 2013, http://www.

ilo.org/ilolex/english/constq.htm.

International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). New ITUC Global Rights Index – The World’s Worst Countries for Workers.

Mayo de 2014. 04 de junio de 2014, http://www.ituc-csi.org/new-ituc-global-rights-index-the.

International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). News – Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights. Junio de 2012.

de junio de 2012, http://www.ituc-csi.org/annual-survey-of-violations-of,11418.html.

Jomo, Kwame Sundaram “Towards Full Employment and Decent Work – An Introduction”. En Towards Full and Decent

Employment, 1-21, editado por José Antonio Ocampo, y Kwame Sundaram Jomo. London: Zed Books, 2007.

Kaufmann, Christine. Globalisation and Labour Rights. The Conflict between Core Labour Rights and International Economic

Law. Oxford: Hart 2007.

Langille, Brian. “Core Labour Rights – The True Story (Reply to Alston)”, European Journal of International Law, Vol. 16,

No. 3, mayo de 2005: 409-437.

Leary, Virginia. “Workers’ Rights and International Trade – The Social Clause (GATT, ILO, NAFTA, U.S. Laws)”. En

Fair Trade and Harmonization: Prerequisites for Free Trade? Vol. 2 Legal Analysis, editado por Jagdish Bhagwati, y Robert

Hudec, 177-230. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, 1996.

Maupain, Francis. “Revitalization Not Retreat: The Real Potential of the 1998 ILO Declaration for the Universal Protection

of Workers’ Rights”, European Journal of International Law, Vol. 16, No. 3, junio de 2005: 439-465.

Muchlinski, Peter. Multinational Enterprises and the Law. Oxford: Blackwell, 1999.

Nichols, Philip. “Comments on Chapter 5”. En Economic Dimensions in International Law – Comparative and Empirical

Perspectives, editado por Jagdeep Bhandari, y Alan Sykes, 235-247. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.

Oatley, Thomas. International Political Economy: Interests and Institutions in the Global Economy. London: Pearson Longman,

O’Brien, Robert. “The World Trade Organization and Labour”. En Contesting Global Governance – Multilateral Economic

Institutions and Global Social Movements, editado por Robert O’Brien, y Anne Marie Goetz, y Jan Aart Scholte, y Marc

Williams, 67-108. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Panagopoulos, Yannis, y Kostas Tsikrikas. Austerity Destroys the European Social Model. Junio de 2013. 23 de junio de 2014,

http://www.social-europe.eu/2013/06/austerity-destroys-the-european-social-model/.

Perlman, Janet. Favela: Four Decades of Living on the Edge in Rio de Janeiro. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Perraton, Jonathan. “Changes in Developed Countries’ Economic Systems since the 1980s – Implication for Developing

Countries”, Economy and Society, Vol. 38, No. 1: 177-201.

Pianta, Mario. “Slowing Trade – Global Activism against Trade Liberalization”, Global Policy, Vol. 5, No. 2: 214-221.

Pissarides, Christopher. Social Europe in a Climate of Austerity. Junio de 2014. 23 de junio de 2014, http://www.socialeurope.

eu/2014/06/social-europe-austerity/.

Presidencia de la República. Palabras del Presidente Santos durante la Firma del Convenio entre la OIT, el Departamento del

Trabajo de Estados Unidos y el Gobierno de Colombia. Agosto de 2012. 06 de agosto de 2012, http://wsp.presidencia.gov.

co/Banco/2012/Documents/Agosto/voz1960.swf.

Renner, Moritz. “Death by Complexity – The Financial Crisis and the Crisis of Law in World Society”. En The Financial

Crisis in Constitutional Perspective – The Dark Side of Functional Differentiation, editado por Poul Kjaer, y Gunther

Teubner, y Alberto Febbrajo, 93-111. Oxford: Hart, 2011.

Rettberg, Angelika, y Philippe De Lombaerde, y Diana Lizarazo Rodríguez, y Juan Felipe Ortiz-Riomalo. “Trading

Rights? Analyzing the Role of a Rights Discourse in Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) in Colombia”, Iberoamericana,

Vol. 14, No. 53, enero de 2014: 167-172.

Rodrik, Dani. One Economics, Many Recipes: Globalization, Institutions, and Economic Growth. Woodstock: Princeton University

Press, 2007.

Salzman, James. “Labor Rights, Globalization and Institutions: The Role and Influence of the Organization for Economic

Cooperation and Development”, Michigan Journal of International Law, Vol. 21, febrero de 2000: 769-848.

Saussy, Haun. In the Workshop of Equivalences – Seventeenth-Century Globalism and the Comparative Pursuit. Noviembre de

23 de junio 2014, http://web.stanford.edu/dept/HPS/WritingScience/etexts/Saussy/Workshop.html.

Scheuerman, William. “Reflexive Law and the Challenges of Globalization”, Journal of Political Philosophy, Vol. 9, No. 1,

enero de 2001: 81-102.

Segol, Bernadette. High Noon for Social Europe. Junio de 2013. 23 de junio de 2014, http://www.social-europe.eu/2013/06/

high-noon-for-social-europe/.

Sen, Amartya. Development as Freedom. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Sen, Amartya. Employment, Technology and Development. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1975.

Servais, Jean-Michel. “The Social Clause in Trade Agreements: Wishful Thinking or an Instrument of Social Progress?”,

International Labour Review, Vol. 128, No. 4, septiembre de 1989: 423-432.

Standing, Guy. “The ILO – An Agency for Globalization”, Development and Change, Vol. 39, No. 4, septiembre de 2008:

-384.

Trebilcock, Michael. “Trade Policy and Labour Standards: Objectives, Instruments, and Institutions”. En Hard Choices,

Soft Law – Voluntary Standards in Global Trade, Environment and Social Governance, editado por John Kirton, y Michael

Trebilcock, 170-185. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2004.

United Nations (UN). Havana Charter for an International Trade Organisation (ITO), Article 7. 1948. 02 de diciembre de

, http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/havana_e.pdf.

United States Trade Representative (USTR). Colombian Action Plan Related to Labor Rights. 2012. 06 de agosto de 2012,

http://www.ustr.gov/webfm_send/2787.

van Liemt, Gijsbert. “Minimum Labour Standards and International Trade: Would a Social Clause work?”, International

Labour Review, Vol. 128, No. 4, septiembre de 1989: 433-448.

Winters, L. Alan. “Commentary 4.1. Trade and Labor Standards – To Link or Not to Link?”. En International Labor Standards,

editado por Kaushik Basu, y Henrik Horn, y Lisa Román, y Judith Shapiro, 309-313. Oxford: Blackwell, 2003.

World Trade Organisation (WTO). Singapore Ministerial Declaration. 1996. 02 de diciembre de 2013, http://www.wto.org/

english/theWTO_e/minist_e/min96_e/wtodec_e.htm.

Issue

Section

Artículos