Beyond the brands: COVID‐19, supply chain governance, and the state–labor nexus

Abstract

This article analyses the role played by brands, producer‐country governments, and unions in mitigating the impact of disruptions caused to garment supply chains by COVID‐19 in Cambodia, Indonesia, and Myanmar. Its findings challenge brand‐centric accounts, highlighting the need for more serious consideration of the dynamic, relational nature of labor governance—and, in particular, of the role of the state–labor nexus in determining producer‐country unions' ability to exercise strategic agency within global supply chains.

Understanding global union repertoires of action

“…The identification of impact and coherence does not, however, means that GUFs are unaware of the limits of their influence even where a spectrum of action repertoires is deployed. Although the agency of Southern unions should not be underestimated (Ford et al, 2022), many such unions do not have the cohesion and strength to transform the dominance of the employer‐state nexus, even with international support. In BWI's sports campaign, the transient nature of construction work on sporting venues means that substantive gains can be made for workers at a point in time without necessarily making durable advances in terms of union strength or worker rights.…”