Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T13:57:03.090Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Wages: An Overlooked Dimension of Business and Human Rights in Global Supply Chains

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 January 2021

Genevieve LEBARON Open the ORCID record for Genevieve LEBARON [Opens in a new window]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Wages – the monetary payments that workers receive from employers in exchange for their labour – are widely overlooked in academic and policy debates about human rights and business in global supply chains. They shouldn’t be. Just as living wages can insulate workers from human rights abuse and labour exploitation, wages that hover around or below the poverty line, compounded by illegal practices like wage theft and delayed payment, leave workers vulnerable to severe labour exploitation and human rights abuse. This article draws on data from a study of global tea and cocoa supply chains to explore the impact of wages on one of the most severe human rights abuses experienced in global supply chains, forced labour. Demonstrating that low-wage workers experience high vulnerability to forced labour in global supply chains, it argues that the role of wages in shaping or protecting workers from exploitation needs to be taken far more seriously by scholars and policymakers. When wages are ignored, so too is a crucial tool to protect human rights and heighten business accountability in global supply chains.

Keywords

Forced labourGlobal supply chainsLabour standardsLiving wageWages
Type
Scholarly Article
Information
Business and Human Rights Journal , Volume 6 , Issue 1 , February 2021 , pp. 1 - 20
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Conflicts of interest: The author declares none.

*

Genevieve LeBaron is Professor of Politics at the University of Sheffield, UK. Her research focuses on the business and governance of forced labour in global supply chains. She was elected to the College of the Royal Society of Canada in 2020.

‡

This article draws on data collected under my UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) grant, The Global Business of Forced Labour (ES/N001192/1); I am grateful to the ESRC for research funding. Field research for that project was supported by a research team including E. Gore, D. Ottie-Boakye, O. Afrane Obed, P. Ekka, H. Babu, A. Kumar, R. Goswami, M. Rahman, H. Sarkar, N. Howard, P. Roberts, V. Ampiah and J. Nyarko. Additional assistance with this article was given by Remi Edwards. I am grateful to these colleagues for their work.

References

1 Search conducted 16 October 2020 on Business and Human Rights Journal website, https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/business-and-human-rights-journal

2 Forced Labour Convention, International Labour Organisation No. 29 (adopted on 28 June 1930, entered into force 1 May 1932), art 2.

3 For an overview of forced labour in contemporary global supply chains, see LeBaron, Genevieve et al., Confronting Root Causes: Forced Labour in Global Supply Chains (Sheffield and London: Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute and openDemcoracy, 2018), http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/126167/1/Confronting_Root_Causes_Forced_Labour_In_Global_Supply_Chains.pdf (accessed 30 October 2020)Google Scholar.

4 This article draws on and extends analysis from within a preliminary working paper version of the project findings: LeBaron, Genevieve, The Global Business of Forced Labour: Report of Findings (Sheffield: SPERI & University of Sheffield, 2018).Google Scholar

5 See for instance: UK Government, ‘UK Government Modern Slavery Statement’ (18 March 2020), https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/875800/UK_Government_Modern_Slavery_Statement.pdf (accessed 2 December 2020); Bowe, John, Nobodies: Modern American Slave Labor and the Dark Side of the New Global Economy (New York: Random House, 2007)Google Scholar; Bales, Kevin and Soodalter, Ron, The Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking and Slavery in America Today (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009).CrossRefGoogle Scholar

6 LeBaron, note 4; LeBaron, Genevieve, Combatting Modern Slavery: Why Labour Governance is Failing and What We Can Do About It (Cambridge: Polity, 2020).Google Scholar

7 UK Government, note 5, 1.

8 See also LeBaron, Genevieve and Crane, Andrew, ‘Methodological Challenges in the Business of Forced Labour’ in LeBaron, Genevieve (ed.), Researching Forced Labour in the Global Economy: Methodological Challenges and Advances (Oxford: Oxford University of Press, 2018) 25 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Crane, Andrew, ‘Modern Slavery as a Management Practice: Exploring the Conditions and Capabilities for Human Exploitation’ (2013) 38:1 Academy of Management Review 49 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

9 See for instance Bales, Kevin, Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004)Google Scholar; Kara, Siddharth, Modern Slavery: A Global Perspective (New York: Columbia University Press, 2017)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Bowe, note 5; Bales and Soodalter, note 5.

10 Bales, note 9, 5.

11 LeBaron, note 6; Lerche, Jens, ‘A Global Alliance Against Forced Labour? Unfree Labour, Neo-Liberal Globalization and the International Labour Organization’ (2007) 7:4 Journal of Agrarian Change 425 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Barrientos, Stephanie, Kothari, Uma and Phillips, Nicola, ‘Dynamics of Unfree Labour in the Contemporary Global Economy’ (2013) 49:8 The Journal of Development Studies 1037 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Phillips, Nicola, ‘Unfree Labour and Adverse Incorporation in the Global Economy: Comparative Perspectives on Brazil and India’ (2013) 42:2 Economy and Society 171 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

12 See for instance LeBaron, Genevieve, ‘Unfree Labour Beyond Binaries: Insecurity, Social Hierarchy and Labour Market Restructuring’ (2015) 17:1 International Feminist Journal of Politics 1 Google Scholar; Brace, Laura and Davidson, Julia O’Connell (eds.), Revisiting Slavery and Anti-Slavery: Towards a Critical Analysis (London: Palgrave, 2018)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

13 Barrientos, Stephanie, Kothari, Uma and Phillips, Nicola, ‘Dynamics of Unfree Labour in the Contemporary Global Economy’ (2013) 49:8 The Journal of Development Studies 1038.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

14 Allain, Jean, Crane, Andrew and Behbahani, Laya, Forced Labour’s Business Models and Supply Chains (York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2013).Google Scholar

15 See also Phillips, Nicola, ‘Unfree Labour and Adverse Incorporation in the Global Economy: Comparative Perspectives on Brazil and India’ (2013) 42:2 Economy and Society 171 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Waite, Louise, Craig, Gary, Lewis, Hannah and Skrivankova, Klara (eds), Vulnerability, Exploitation and Migrants: Insecure Work in a Globalised Economy (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2015)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Mezzadri, Alessandra, The Sweatshop Regime: Labouring Bodies, Exploitation and Garments Made in India (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017)Google Scholar.

16 Behal, Rana P, One Hundred years of Servitude: Political Economy of Tea Plantations in Colonial Assam (New York: Columbia University Press, 2014)Google Scholar; Mishra, Deepak K., Upadhyay, Vandana and Sarma, Atul, Unfolding Crisis in Assam’s Tea Plantations: Employment and Occupational Mobility (New Delhi: Routledge, 2012)Google Scholar; Bhomik, Sharit K., ‘Ethnicity and Isolation: Marginalization of Tea Plantation Workers’ (2011) 4:2 Race/Ethnicity: Multidisciplinary Global Contexts 235 Google Scholar.

17 K Ravi Raman, ‘Bondage in Freedom: Colonial Plantations in Southern India c. 1797-1947’, Centre for Development Studies Thiruvananthapuram, Working Paper No. 327 (2002). https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/19918628.pdf (accessed 2 December 2020).

18 See, for instance, End Slavery Now, ‘The “Chocolate Slaves” of the Ivory Coast’, https://www.endslaverynow.org/blog/articles/the-chocolate-slaves-of-the-ivory-coast (accessed 2 December 2020).

19 Akurang-Parry, Kwabena O, ‘“The Loads Are Heavier than Usual”: Forced Labor by Women and Children in the Central Province, Gold Coast (Colonial Ghana), CA 1900–1940’ (2002) 30 African Economic History 31 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Berlan, Amanda, ‘Social Sustainability in Agriculture: An Anthropological Perspective on Child Labour’ (2016) 49:8 The Journal of Development Studies 1088 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Off, Carol, Bitter Chocolate: Anatomy of an Industry (Toronto: Random House, 2006)Google Scholar.

20 For information on this project, see http://globalbusinessofforcedlabour.ac.uk/.

21 LeBaron, note 4.

22 Bowe, note 5; Bales and Soodalter, note 5.

23 See also LeBaron and Crane, note 8, 25; Crane, note 8; Crane, Andrew et al., ‘Governance Gaps in Eradicating Forced Labour: From Global to Domestic Supply Chains’ (2019) 13:1 Regulation and Governance 86 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

24 Tea workers 1 and 30.

25 Tea worker 1.

26 Tea worker 4.

27 Tea worker 45.

28 Manager 3.

29 Tea worker 5.

30 Tea worker 55

31 Tea worker 42.

32 Cocoa worker 42

33 Cocoa workers 7 and 50.

34 Cocoa worker 2.

35 Cocoa worker 36.

36 Cocoa worker 61.

37 Cocoa worker 47.

38 Tea worker 28.

39 LeBaron, note 4.

40 Estate owner 1.

41 LeBaron, note 39.

42 See Tea Board of India, ‘Month Wise Prices of All Tea at Indian Auctions’, http://www.teaboard.gov.in/pdf/Monthly_Price_2020_2020_21_website_pdf5877.pdf (accessed 2 December 2020).

43 Cocoa seller 2.

44 Trading Economics, ‘Cocoa’, https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/cocoa (accessed 2 December 2020).

45 LeBaron, Genevieve and Gore, Ellie, ‘Gender and Forced Labour: Understanding the Links in Global Cocoa Supply Chains’ (2020) 56:6 The Journal of Development Studies CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

46 International Labour Organization, ‘Purchasing Practices and Working Conditions in Global Supply Chains: Global Survey Results’, INWORK Issue Brief No 10, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---travail/documents/publication/wcms_556336.pdf (accessed 2 December 2020).

47 Bonacich, Edna and Appelbaum, Richard P, Behind the Label: Inequality in the Los Angeles Apparel Industry (Berkeley: University of California Press), 13 Google Scholar.

48 Arnold, Denis G, ‘Corporations and Human Rights Obligations. Business and Human Rights Journal’ (2016) 1:2 Business and Human Rights Journal 255 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

49 Sjåfjell, Beate, ‘How Company Law Has Failed Human Rights – and What to Do About It’ (2020) 1:2 Business and Human Rights Journal 255 Google Scholar.

50 Götzmann, Nora, ‘Human Rights Impact Assessment of Business Activities: Key Criteria for Establishing a Meaningful Practice’ (2017) 2:1 Business and Human Rights Journals 87 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Natour, Faris, ‘Respecting Human Rights in the On-Demand Economy: Closing the New Governance Gap’ (2016) 1:2 Business and Human Rights Journal 315 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Brenkert, George G, ‘Business Ethics and Human Rights: An Overview’ (2016) 1:2 Business and Human Rights Journal 277 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Van Dijk, Maria Anne, De Haas, Marijn and Zandvliet, Ruben, ‘Banks and Human Trafficking: Rethinking Human Rights Due Diligence’ (2018) 3:1 Business and Human Rights Journal 105 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Smit, Lise et al, ‘Business Views on Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence Regulation: A Comparative Analysis of Two Recent Studies’ (2020) 5:2 Business and Human Rights Journal 261 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Maher, Rajiv, ‘Decontextualised Corporate Human Rights Benchmarks: Whose Perspective Counts? See Disclaimer’ (2020) 5:1 Business and Human Rights Journal 156 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

51 Nicola Phillips, Genevieve LeBaron and Sara Wallin, ‘Mapping and Measuring the Effectiveness of Labour-Related Disclosure Requirements for Global Supply Chains’, International Labour Office Research Department, Working Paper No. 32 (June 2018), https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---inst/documents/publication/wcms_632120.pdf (accessed 30 October 2020); LeBaron, Genevieve and Rühmkorf, Andreas, ‘Steering CSR Through Home State Regulation: A Comparison of the Impact of the UK Bribery Act and Modern Slavery Act on Global Supply Chain Governance’ (2017) 8:3 Global Policy 15 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

52 International Labour Organisation, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, International Organisation for Migration and United Nations Children’s Fund, ‘Ending Child Labour, Forced Labour and Human Trafficking in Global Supply Chains’ (Geneva: International Labour Organization, 2019).

53 Goethals, Samentha et al, ‘Business Human Rights Responsibility for Refugees and Migrant Workers: Turning Policies into Practice in the Middle East’ (2017) 2:2 Business and Human Rights Journal 1 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

54 Aizawa, Motoko and Tripathi, Salil, ‘Beyond Rana Plaza: Next Steps for the Global Garment Industry and Bangladeshi Manufacturers’ (2016) 1:1 Business and Human Rights Journal 145 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Natour, note 28; Martin-Ortega, Olga, ‘Public Procurements as a Tool for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights: A Study of Collaboration, Due Diligence and Leverage in the Electronics Industry’ (2018) 3:1 Business and Human Rights Journal 75 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

55 See, e.g., Goethals, Samentha, ‘Exploring Migrant Employees’ ‘Rights-Talk’ in the British Hospitality Sector’ (2019) 4:2 Business and Human Rights Journal 287 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

56 For an overview of living wage benchmarks, see Edwards, Remi, Hunt, Tom and LeBaron, Genevieve, Corporate Commitments to Living Wages in the Garment Industry (Sheffield: University of Sheffield, 2019)Google Scholar; http://speri.dept.shef.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Corporate-Commitments-to-Living-Wages-in-the-Garment-Industry-SPERI-report.pdf (accessed 2 December 2020).

57 For instance, see Martin, Philip, Merchants of Labor: Recruiters and International Labor Migration (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

58 See also LeBaron, Genevieve, ‘Reconceptualizing Debt Bondage: Debt as a Class-Based Form of Labor Discipline’ (2014) 40:5 Critical Sociology 763 CrossRefGoogle Scholar.