Christoph Scherrer Libri

Occupational safety and health (OSH) is a core element of the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda. Despite hazardous working conditions in agriculture, unfortunately, OSH issues in agriculture are frequently ignored. This volume’s contributions from Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ghana, India, Nicaragua, and Pakistan as well as from various disciplines highlight the prevalent patriarchal norms and practices which expose women to more health risks; the lack of training and education which leave smallholders and farm workers frequently unaware of the health hazards involved in handling machinery and pesticides; the lack of protective gear and access to health services among smallholders; the undermining of OSH standards by the competitive pressures of global supply chains on their participants; the restriction of certifications’ impact mostly to higher hygiene standards.

Up to 60 percent of the Global South’s work force toils in agriculture. Most smallholders and waged agricultural workers labor under poor health, safety and environmental conditions. This volume explores - the extent of the decent work deficit with a focus on women in agriculture, - the drivers of the poor remuneration and working conditions - some strategies for mitigating the decent work deficits. Its contributors argue that the severity of the decent work deficits in agriculture calls for action. Given the divers contexts of agricultural work and the many factors reproducing the deficits, action is needed in a comprehensive as well as context-specific form. The contributors are academics from Brazil, Columbia, Germany, Ghana, India, Mexico and Pakistan.

Dire working conditions are prevalent in the labor-intensive segments of global supply chains. Pronouncements by governments and corporations that claim to address the plight of workers are plentiful, but the enforcement of social and human rights is lacking. This volume explores the possibilities for better enforcement by: - providing a general overview of the currently considered enforcement instruments; - identifying governmental instruments that are yet to be employed; - assessing the effectiveness of social chapters in international trade agreements; - discussing the concept of corporate due diligence proposed by the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. In sum, the volume shows that many instruments are available to the hands of governments but as long as the political will to make effective use of them is lacking, the enforcement of human rights along the supply chain remains unacceptably deficient. The contributors are Stefan Beck (Kassel), Madelaine Moore (Kassel), Christian Scheper (Duisburg) and Alison Schultz (Kassel).

The United States of America and the European Union are currently negotiating a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). It is one of the most ambitious free trade and investment initiatives, going much further than eliminating tariffs. TTIP mainly aims at reducing “non-tariff barriers”. While tariffs on goods have been imposed with an eye to foreign competition, most of the non-tariff barriers are the laws and regulations that are the result of social struggles for the protection of consumers and workers. It is therefore certain that TTIP will impact workers. This volume provides a preliminary assessment of the likely consequences for labor by: providing an overall introduction to the TTIP negotiations; assessing the reliability of the studies claiming employment gains; highlighting specific problematic proposals such as the investor-to-state dispute settlement mechanism; presenting the position of organized labor from both sides of the Atlantic. Among the contributors are Stefan Beck (Kassel), Lance Compa (Ithaca, New York), Pia Eberhardt (Brussels) and Werner Raza (Vienna).

Food prices have gone up to prohibitive levels for many of the world’s poor. The vast majority of those who are hungry in the world today are working in agriculture, either as small landholders or as waged agricultural workers. The majority of the food producers have not benefited from rising prices. Apparently, the bargaining power of many producers, just as that of the end consumers, has been weakened vis-à-vis the buyers and retailers of agricultural produce. This powerlessness is also in the face of governments that fail to provide an appropriate infrastructure for smallholders and social protection. The first part of the book provides an introduction to the immediate and structural causes of the food crisis. The second part contains contributions that not only highlight the plight of rural labour but also develop tools for measuring the decent work deficit. The last part emphasizes income security as a major precondition for food security. It looks at the experiences of Brazil and India with the extension of social protection for the poor.

The 2010 Honda workers’ strike garnered global attention as a pivotal moment in China's labor disputes, marking a significant call for workers' rights in collective bargaining. This volume centers on the critical issue of representation, with contributors emphasizing the Chinese party-state's serious approach to social inequality protests. Although the state has enacted laws to manage dissent, their implementation is lacking, particularly regarding the absence of freedom of association. This gap perpetuates super-exploitation and leads to volatile labor relations. The first section offers an overview of the economic landscape of Chinese labor relations, including class transformations, labor law evolution, and government wage policies. The second part, grounded in extensive field research, examines the development of labor relations within specific industries. The third section addresses the Corporate Social Responsibility agenda in China, while the final part explores the link between land reform and social inequality. Contributors include Hansjörg Herr, Boy Lüthje, and Ngai-Ling Sum, many of whom are affiliated with the Global Labour University (GLU).

Die Studie untersucht die mangelhaften Arbeitsbedingungen im internationalen Transportwesen, insbesondere in der Bananenlieferkette zwischen der Karibik und Westeuropa. Trotz internationaler Verpflichtungen und des deutschen Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetzes bleiben die Arbeitsnormen oft unzureichend eingehalten. Die Autoren fordern eine Verbesserung der Bedingungen für Seeleute und Hafenarbeiter.