Forcing change from the outside? The role of trade-labour linkages in transforming Vietnam's labour regime

Trần, Angie Ngọc; Bair, Jennifer; Werner, Marion

doi:10.1177/1024529417729326

Cited by 31 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…EU trade policy is central to this process, leading to the creation of expanded markets and investment opportunities for lead firms, including in countries neighboring the European Union. At the same time, EU trade policy is seeking to regulate the potential worsening of working conditions through the adoption of International Labor Organization (ILO) core labor standards in social clauses-an approach also taken in varied forms by the United States and Canada in their FTAs Tran, Bair, and Werner 2017). This represents a new form of global labor governance that the European Union for its part has been rolling out in all its post-2011 trade agreements: the so-called trade and sustainable development (TSD) framework that as of July 2017 was contained in finalized agreements with nineteen countries.…”

Section: Economic Geographymentioning

confidence: 99%

Labor Regimes, Global Production Networks, and European Union Trade Policy: Labor Standards and Export Production in the Moldovan Clothing Industry

et al. 2018

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Section: Economic Geographymentioning

confidence: 99%

Labor Regimes, Global Production Networks, and European Union Trade Policy: Labor Standards and Export Production in the Moldovan Clothing Industry

et al. 2018

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“…Had I traced change by analysing documents (i.e. trade deals, labour chapters, and subsequent domestic policy reforms), I might have framed trade-labour conditionalities as 'external pressures', 'forcing change from the outside' (Tran et al, 2017;Hafner-Burton, 2013). Listening to Vietnamese actors, it seems that FTAs can legitimise domestic discussions on hitherto silenced, stigmatised subjects (such as Freedom of Association); enable supporters to speak openly, explore these ideas without fear of sanction; realise their views are widely shared; overcome pluralistic ignorance; and build reform coalitions.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The politics of pro-worker reforms

Evans

2018

Socio-Economic Review

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This paper explores the drivers of pro-worker reforms in Vietnam. It shows how commerce, trade deals, aid, and geopolitics strengthened support for higher wages, social dialogue, and freedom of association. Strikes have triggered Government concerns about regime legitimacy. Manufactures are also keen to resolve strikes and propitiate reputation-conscious buyers. Reform was further incentivised by TPP's stipulation of Freedom of Association, together with economic and geopolitical incentives to join TPP. Donor-supported pilots have not motivated reform, but are nonetheless important: enabling reformists to explore new ideas; iteratively adapt; garner evidence of what furthers their priorities; with which they can persuade anxious colleagues. None of these forces are deterministic. They merely stimulate debate, authorise experimentation and are used by coalitions to push for reform. By tracing the politics of pro-worker reforms, this study draws attention to drivers often overlooked by donors: strikes, commerce, and trade deals. 1 Reform (doimoi) commenced in December 1986. GDP growth has since averaged 7%. Between 1993 and 2012, the proportion of people living in ext reme poverty ($1 a day) fell from 59% to 15% (World Bank, 2012). Vietnam's garment industry employs 2.5 million people, in 6'000 enterprises: 59% are private domestic, 36% foreign and 3% state-owned (Do, 2017). 2 The Vietnamese trade union system comprises four levels: (1) VGCL at national level (whose leaders are chosen by the Part y); (2) provincial trade unions, and national sectoral trade unions (such as the Vietnam Garment and Textile Union); (3) upper level unions, local sectoral unions, industrial zone unions; and (4) enterprise-level unions. progressively higher minimum wage, social dialogue between management and workers, and collective bargaining. Why is this? To enhance our understanding of the politics of inclusive development, this paper explores why the Government of Vietnam has undertaken a series of pro-worker reforms. The paper is divided into four sections. Section 1 discusses key literatures. Section 2 outlines my qualitative research methodology. Drawing on these interviews, Section 3 traces the major drivers of industrial relations reform in Vietnam. Many in Government became anxious about regime stability due to widespread strikes. Manufactures are also keen to prevent strikes and appease reputation-conscious buyers. Reform was further incentivised by the Trans-Pacific Partnership's stipulation of Freedom of Association, together with economic and geopolitical incentives to join TPP. Donor-supported pilots have not motivated reform, but are nonetheless important: enabling reformists to explore new ideas, iteratively adapt, and garner evidence of what furthers their priorities, with which they can persuade anxious colleagues. These processes authorise experimentation and are used by coalitions to push for reform. At a higher level of abstraction, this paper connects the macro-and micro-drivers of political change by exploring how ...

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“…Regarding the quality of the workforce, the Vietnamese government has promoted a number of directives to strengthen the education and training system to align domestic teaching, applied research and workforce training with international standards (Tran et al., 2017). The keystone of the government agenda has been Resolution no.…”

Section: Business Environment and Transition Reforms In Vietnammentioning

confidence: 99%

Institutional and economic transition in Vietnam: Analysing the heterogeneity in firms’ perceptions of business environment constraints

Angelino

Tassinari

Barbieri

et al. 2020

Competition & Change

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Vietnam has experienced a gradual process of institutional transition combined with rapid economic growth since the Doi Moi reform in 1986. In recent years, the government has recognized the need to implement reforms to foster the development of favourable business environment conditions. In this scenario, however, the government seems to assume a uniform demand for business environment reforms, ignoring possible divergences in the constraints faced by different actors of the system. The aim of this paper is to analyse the heterogeneity in firms’ perceptions of business environment constraints. Adopting discrete choice models on firm-level data and subjective assessments on business environment obstacles, we differentiate the nature and severity of firms’ obstacles according to different characteristics of the enterprises, including the firm size, territorial localization and levels of performance and competitiveness. The study is useful as an informative base for defining public interventions calibrated on the different categories and needs of Vietnamese enterprises.

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Forcing change from the outside? The role of trade-labour linkages in transforming Vietnam's labour regime

Cited by 31 publications

References 16 publications

Labor Regimes, Global Production Networks, and European Union Trade Policy: Labor Standards and Export Production in the Moldovan Clothing Industry

Labor Regimes, Global Production Networks, and European Union Trade Policy: Labor Standards and Export Production in the Moldovan Clothing Industry

The politics of pro-worker reforms

Institutional and economic transition in Vietnam: Analysing the heterogeneity in firms’ perceptions of business environment constraints

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