Labour as a Transnational Actor: Alliances, Activism and the Protection of Labour Rights in the Philippines and Pakistan

Abstract

This article highlights how and why the dynamics of transnational labour activism are not fully captured in theories of transnational advocacy networks (TANs). The article develops a new theoretical framework for analysing labour transnationalism that takes into account the unique capacity of workers to physically disrupt production by withdrawing their labour (structural power) and the unique capacity of organized labour to invoke employment relations institutions at the national and international levels (institutional power). It demonstrates the utility of this theoretical framework through an analysis of transnational labour campaigns spearheaded by factory workers in the Philippines and Pakistan. The case studies reveal that while transnational labour alliances (TLAs) do share some characteristics in common with TANs, the mechanisms through which TLAs sustain and escalate transnational campaigns can only be understood with reference to the unique structural and institutional capacities of labour.

Planting Seeds for Social Dialogue: An Institutional Work Perspective

“…Each period had a distinct turning point — breaking walls, creating frames of understanding, building repertoires of actions and mobilising — which each contributed to different intermediate outcomes: institutional power change, cognitive change, relational change and potential associational power change, respectively. We distinguish institutional from associational power change; institutional power change refers to the formalisation of the status of unions as dialogue partners, providing them with formal and agreed rules, which they could invoke to request the dialogue to take place (Brookes 2017); rather, associational power is related to what Wright (2000) defined as ‘the various forms of power that result from the formation of collective organisations of workers’ (p. 962). It is further operationalised as ‘the number of union members and efficient organisational structures’ (Zajak 2017: 1014).…”

“…By bringing the unions and management together and engaging in a combination of institutional works, the embryonic phase led to a framework agreement outlining the commitment of Dole to respect social dialogue. This document created a change in terms of institutional union power (Brookes 2017). The framework agreement served to structure the actors’ interactions by establishing a basis for a more coordinated, institutionalised approach to industrial relations.…”

Hybrid Production Regimes and Labor Agency in Transnational Private Governance

“…Most studies focus on the role of business (Büthe and Mattli 2011;Cutler et al 1999;Graz and Nölke 2008;Scherer et al 2016) and non-governmental organizations (Börzel and Risse 2010;Keck and Sikkink 1998;Risse 2002). Until recently the role of workers and unions in transnational private governance has remained largely neglected (Zajak et al 2017;Brookes 2017;Egels-Zandén and Hyllman 2007). However, labor rights in multinational companies and their supply chains have become significant cross-border issues involving state and non-state actors.…”

Sustaining transnational activism between Indonesia and Hong Kong

“…(2017) also cite the need to to consolidate and strengthen linkages between these and other organizations. Existing studies show how forming and sustaining NOLAs help effect policy changes in both migrant-sending and migrant-receiving countries (Hsia, 2009; Yazid, 2013; Wui and Delias, 2015; Hauf, 2017; Brookes, 2017; Scheper, 2017; Piper, Rosewarne and Withers, 2017; and Piper and Rother, 2019). This article contributes to this knowledge by showing that rifts between organizations frustrate efforts to sustain those networks.…”

“…But the organizations’ shared agenda and cross-border solidarity can be undermined by differences in their strategies, affiliation with other organizations and the ideologies that inform their activism. Studies that use the concept of NOLA mostly focus on efforts to improve the protection of local workers in informal sector employment (see for example Brookes, 2017; Hauf, 2017; Scheper, 2017). This article acknowledges that TANs are necessary to achieve shared objectives.…”