Trade and labour standards - Thesis Example

Trade and labour standards Background: As the national economies became more integrated with the advent of globalisation, a debate with respect to the incorporation of labour standards within the WTO disciplines have initiated. The main argument in favor of the consideration relates to the confidence of people. The member governments of Europe and North America believe that certain rights which could be considered as a part of the WTO agreement are “the freedom to bargain collectively, freedom of association, elimination of discrimination in the workplace and the elimination workplace abuse (including forced labour and certain types of child labour)”(WTO).

Bringing about this issue within the framework of WTO would indicate the enhancement of working conditions around the world. The proposed working group would be responsible for studying the trade and core labour standards. Many developing as well as some developed countries however argue against this proposition because such core labour standards should technically not be a part of the WTO. Developing countries’ representatives argue that such policies might subjugate the comparative advantage of the lower wage in developing nations.

In fact the improved working conditions according to the essential labour standards require high scale improvements in the infrastructure of the workplace which is often not conducive to a developing nation. In a developing nation with relatively lower economic growth such enforcements of standards would bring about poverty and some lapse of time in improving working standards. The compulsion to stick to the labour standards and the need towards labour market flexibility work together to bring out protests and non-cooperative approach of the workers especially in nations where political structures favored some voice to the workers.

The interaction of these opposing forces puts constraints on the mobilization of labourers especially in the restricted authoritarian political backdrop of the Middle East. Protests were found in the Gafsa region of Tunisia where the restrictions on labour organisations prevailed. Many Middle East nations are marked with no formal labour right organisation (Cammett and Posusney). The above debatable issue related to incorporation of labour standards into the trade regulations was brought up in the symposium of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade held in Marrakesh in April 1994 where the chairperson concluded that no agreeable decision was reached owing to the differences between member nations regarding this concern.

Instead it was agreed upon that the International Labour Organisation (ILO) shall function in close connection with the WTO (WTO). Furthermore, the justification for the interference of developed nation in the labour intensive developing nations’ labour standards might not be valid with respect o the workers’ economic benefit (Stern 2003). The low wage developing nations were not to be placed under scrutiny with respect to promoting these standards. Therefore the study aims at understanding if the incorporation of labour standards in the WTO establishes faith in the public or does it have further hidden purpose which might turn the international relations bitter.

Research question & hypothesized: “Does the incorporation of labour rights in WTO negatively affect the employment status of workers in countries of the Middle East?” It may be hypothesized that though the enforcement of labour standards in WTO might generate faith in the international organisation, it might lead to loss of labour mobilization, especially in a country governed by authoritative political power. Methodology The research will address the raised question with the help of a comprehensive literature survey of scholarly articles and books apart from WTO publications and current events available online.

The research undertakes a qualitative approach based on case studies related to the Middle East countries. It follows a case study based approach and the countries chosen are Qatar, Tunisia, Bahrain and Egypt. After a detailed discussion of both sides of the arguments an evaluation will be done on the basis of the secondary sources in order to evaluate the impact of incorporating labour standards as a part of WTO rules. The idea here is to logically evaluate the proposition with respect to the theoretical framework of labour economics and the dynamics operating behind international trade.

This theoretical framework and the views of critics can provide a detailed analysis of the situation in the context of international relations and trade benefits. References Bhagwati, Jagadish and Robert Hudec, Fair Trade and Harmonization, MIT press, 1996 Bhagwati, Jagadish and Robert Hudex, Free trade, Fairness and the New Protectionism, London: Institute of Economic Affairs, 1995. Slazar-Xirinachs, Jose M. “The Trade-Labour Nexus: Developing Countries’ Perspectives”, Journal of International Economic Law (2000) 3.

2, 377-385 Cammett, Melani and Marsha Pripstein Posusney, Labour standards and labour market flexibility in the Middle East, St Comp Int Dev, (2010), 45, 250-279, 2nd June, 2011, from http://brown.academia.edu/MelaniCammett/Papers/253819/Labour_Standards_and_Labour_Market_Flexibility_In_the_Middle_East_Free_Trade_and_Freer_Unions Stern, Robert M. Labour Standards and Trade Agreements, RESEARCH SEMINAR IN INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS, The University of Michigan, available at: http://www.fordschool.umich.

edu/rsie/workingpapers/Papers476-500/r496.pdf (accessed on June 5, 2011) WTO (n.d.) TRADE AND LABOUR STANDARDS, available at: http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/min99_e/english/about_e/18lab_e.htm (accessed on June 5, 2011)