[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/bwp/bwppap/15311.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

‘Labour chains’: analysing the role of labour contractors in global production networks

Author

Listed:
  • Stephanie Barrientos
Abstract
Third party labour contractors are increasingly prevalent in Global Production Networks (GPNs), and are a potential channel for ‘new forms of slavery’. Our review of case study evidence from South African and UK horticulture suggests unfree labour often emerges off-site through labour intermediaries. We examine analytical approaches to labour in GPNs and value chains. We argue that labour contracting is a logical extension of global outsourcing, helping to offset risk and enhance flexibility. A ‘cascade system’ allows unscrupulous intermediaries to exploit and coerce vulnerable workers. We examine strategies of civil society alliances, and regulatory reform, and argue for extending liability across global boundaries.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephanie Barrientos, 2011. "‘Labour chains’: analysing the role of labour contractors in global production networks," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 15311, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    • Handle: RePEc:bwp:bwppap:15311
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hummedia.manchester.ac.uk/institutes/gdi/publications/workingpapers/bwpi/bwpi-wp-15311.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thomas Reardon & C. Peter Timmer & Christopher B. Barrett & Julio Berdegué, 2003. "The Rise of Supermarkets in Africa, Asia, and Latin America," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 85(5), pages 1140-1146.
    2. Stephanie Barrientos & Andrienetta Kritzinger, 2004. "Squaring the circle: global production and the informalization of work in South African fruit exports," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(1), pages 81-92.
    3. Barrientos, Stephanie & Dolan, Catherine & Tallontire, Anne, 2003. "A Gendered Value Chain Approach to Codes of Conduct in African Horticulture," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(9), pages 1511-1526, September.
    4. Andy Cumbers & Corinne Nativel & Paul Routledge, 2008. "Labour agency and union positionalities in global production networks," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 8(3), pages 369-387, May.
    5. Koettl, Johannes, 2009. "Human trafficking, modern day slavery, and economic exploitation," Social Protection Discussion Papers and Notes 49802, The World Bank.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Stephanie BARRIENTOS & Gary GEREFFI & Arianna ROSSI, 2011. "Economic and social upgrading in global production networks: A new paradigm for a changing world," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 150(3-4), pages 319-340, December.
    2. Saniye Dedeoglu, 2022. "Cultivating Precarisation: Intersecting Vulnerabilities of Syrian Refugees in the Turkish Agricultural Sector," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 36(2), pages 345-361, April.
    3. Jong-Woon Lee, 2014. "Labour Contracting and Changing Employment Relationships in South Korea," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 32(4), pages 449-473, July.
    4. Keshab Das, 2016. "Situating Labour in the Global Production Network Debate: As if the ‘South’ Mattered," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 59(3), pages 343-362, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Stephanie BARRIENTOS & Gary GEREFFI & Arianna ROSSI, 2011. "Economic and social upgrading in global production networks: A new paradigm for a changing world," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 150(3-4), pages 319-340, December.
    2. Stephanie Barrientos & Gary Gereffi & Arianna Rossi, 2012. "Economic and Social Upgrading in Global Production Networks: Developing a Framework for Analysis," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series ctg-2010-03, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    3. Céline Louche & Lotte Staelens & Marijke D’Haese, 2020. "When Workplace Unionism in Global Value Chains Does Not Function Well: Exploring the Impediments," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 162(2), pages 379-398, March.
    4. Altenburg, Tilman & Kulke, Elmar & Reeg, Caroline & Peterskovsky, Lisa & Hampel-Milagrosa, Aimée, 2016. "Making retail modernisation in developing countries inclusive: a development policy perspective," IDOS Discussion Papers 2/2016, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    5. repec:lic:licosd:23109 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Stephanie BARRIENTOS & Frederick MAYER & John PICKLES & Anne POSTHUMA, 2011. "Decent work in global production networks: Framing the policy debate," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 150(3-4), pages 297-317, December.
    7. Maertens, Miet & Verhofstadt, Ellen, 2013. "Horticultural exports, female wage employment and primary school enrolment: Theory and evidence from Senegal," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 118-131.
    8. Maertens, Miet & Swinnen, Johan, 2015. "Agricultural trade and development: A value chain perspective," WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2015-04, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
    9. MILE 02, Anirudh Shingal, 2015. "Labour market effects of integration into GVCs: Review of literature," Papers 1109, World Trade Institute.
    10. John C. Beghin & Miet Maertens & Johan Swinnen, 2017. "Nontariff Measures and Standards in Trade and Global Value Chains," World Scientific Book Chapters,in: Nontariff Measures and International Trade, chapter 2, pages 13-38 World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    11. John C. Beghin & Miet Maertens & Johan Swinnen, 2017. "Nontariff Measures and Standards in Trade and Global Value Chains," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: John Christopher Beghin (ed.), Nontariff Measures and International Trade, chapter 2, pages 13-38, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    12. Elena Baglioni, 2018. "Labour control and the labour question in global production networks: exploitation and disciplining in Senegalese export horticulture," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 18(1), pages 111-137.
    13. Annelien Gansemans & Marijke D’Haese, 2020. "Staying under the radar: constraints on labour agency of pineapple plantation workers in Costa Rica?," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(2), pages 397-414, June.
    14. Stephanie Barrientos, 2008. "Forum 2008," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 39(6), pages 977-990, November.
    15. Christina Niforou, 2015. "Labour Leverage in Global Value Chains: The Role of Interdependencies and Multi-level Dynamics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 130(2), pages 301-311, August.
    16. Marslev, Kristoffer & Staritz, Cornelia & Raj‐Reichert, Gale, 2022. "Rethinking Social Upgrading in Global Value Chains: Worker Power, State‒Labour Relations and Intersectionality," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 53(4), pages 827-859.
    17. repec:ilo:ilowps:431257 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Stephanie Barrientos, 2013. "Gender production networks: Sustaining cocoa-chocolate sourcing in Ghana and India," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 18613, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    19. Kate Meagher, 2019. "Working in Chains: African Informal Workers and Global Value Chains," Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, Centre for Agrarian Research and Education for South, vol. 8(1-2), pages 64-92, April.
    20. Best, Sarah. & Mamic, Ivanka., 2008. "Voluntary social initiatives in fresh fruit and vegetable value chains," ILO Working Papers 994312573402676, International Labour Organization.
    21. Kristoffer Marslev & Cornelia Staritz & Gale Raj‐Reichert, 2022. "Rethinking Social Upgrading in Global Value Chains: Worker Power, State‒Labour Relations and Intersectionality," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 53(4), pages 827-859, July.
    22. Johan Swinnen, 2014. "Global Agricultural Value Chains, Standards, and Development," RSCAS Working Papers 2014/30, European University Institute.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bwp:bwppap:15311. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Rowena Harding (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/wpmanuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.