Search

Begin New Search Topic Labor Issues Publication Year within 10 Years

151. Qatar Labor Law Change: Archaic ‘Kafala’ system abolished, but is life better for Qatari migrant workers?

Author:
Kushagra Pokhrel
Publication Date:
01-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on Human Rights Education, University of Denver
Abstract:
Facing international criticism, in 2015, Qatar promulgated a new law regulating treatment of migrant workers – replacing the old Kafala (Sponsorship) system which tied the employment, as well as the immigration status, of a migrant worker to his or her employer. The Kafala system, which allowed the sponsor (often the worker’s employer) full control over a worker’s entrance and exit from Qatar, as well as their ability to transfer employment while in the country, was routinely accused of generating conditions of extreme worker abuse, including that of Forced Labor. Having been in effect since December 2016, the new Public Law No. 21 of 2015 does not, however, protect workers from the most serious abuses that came to typify Qatar’s construction industry as well as other low paying labor sectors. While the language has been altered – using the word Recruiter, instead of Sponsor as done previously – and there are modest alterations on job transfer and exit requirements, the new law, nonetheless, keeps the most exploitative features of old system largely intact. Under Article 8, it is still incumbent upon the Recruiter to acquire Residency Permit for its employees, with no consequences for the Recruiter for a failure to do so. Many laborers previously living under risk of deportation due to lack of Residency Permits find their situation unchanged under the new law.
Topic:
Human Rights, Migration, Labor Issues, and Migrant Workers
Political Geography:
Qatar and Persian Gulf

152. U.S. Prison Labor and the Legacy of American Slavery

Author:
Fawn Bolak
Publication Date:
02-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on Human Rights Education, University of Denver
Abstract:
Last September, thousands of incarcerated individuals in the United States launched an organized protest on the 45th anniversary of the Attica Prison Uprising, in an effort to protest racial discrimination, excessive force, and demand an end to the current state of legalized slavery within the U.S. prison system. Across the nation, prisoners in state and federal correctional facilities are exploited for their labor in industries related to agriculture, clothing production, machinery, and technology. While prison officials who strike up deals with large corporations like AT&T and Walmart share in the profits of cheap production, the incarcerated laborers themselves make mere cents per hour for full time work. Additionally, those locked up in federal institutions, who are physically capable of full time work, are mandated to do so as prescribed by Title 29 of the Crime Control Act of 1990. Over 2 million people are currently incarcerated in the United States, making the U.S. the #1 jailer in the world, surpassing Cuba, Russia, and China. Moreover, inmates in the U.S. are disproportionately people of color. According data from the Sentencing Project, black men are incarcerated at a rate 5.1 times the rate of white men, and in 12 states, predominately in the south and east coast, more than 50% of the total state prison population is black. There is a prevailing conservative narrative that asserts that the disproportionate incarceration of black individuals in our criminal justice system is a product of a “culture of violence” centered in “inner cities” and predominately black neighborhoods, rather than a product systemic institutional racism. However, a quick glance at U.S. history indicates that the mass incarceration of black men, current use of exploitative prison labor, and our past economic system built on slavery, is not a mere coincidence.
Topic:
Human Rights, Race, Labor Issues, Prisons/Penal Systems, and Slavery
Political Geography:
United States and North America

153. The Right of the US Domestic Workforce to Dignified Labor

Author:
Joanna Beletic
Publication Date:
02-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on Human Rights Education, University of Denver
Abstract:
US economic strategy has been rooted in the belief that the benefits of liberal policies outweigh the associated growing pains. The new Administration’s stance on dismantling trade deals will have a ripple effects throughout society. Global trade has allowed lower income consumers in the US to purchase cheaper goods. Goods are now produced across the globe; without trade deals the costs of inputs needed for US exports will increase, threatening US competitiveness. As global consumers purchase products elsewhere this may lead to further job loss and economic destabilization. Therefore, liberalized trade is fundamental to the US economy. From the get-go liberal economic strategy should have been coupled with efforts to redistribute the benefits to counter the impact on the ‘losers’. This is where the US has failed. There is not only an economic need but a rights obligation to tackle these challenges. Across the aisle ideas have included: the implementation of apprenticeship programs, fortifying workers’ unions, and worker relocation assistance. Hilary Clinton’s plan was rooted in the creation of a clean energy economy in locations that were previously manufacturing heavy, including infrastructure expansion and job training. None of these options have managed to pick up steam because none of them are easy and none of them act as a ‘cure-all’. What is needed is a thorough discussion on how to utilize a combination of such strategies. The Trump Administration introduced an easy solution: bring back exported jobs. Sadly, it is unrealistic for several reasons. First, many manufacturing jobs are not exported, rather disappear due to increases in automatization. Further, as companies consolidate, jobs are often relocated within the US rather than abroad.
Topic:
Human Rights, Labor Issues, Employment, and Labor Rights
Political Geography:
United States and North America

154. Colorado Agriculture Labor Force: Trafficked? Exploited?

Author:
Claudia Castillo
Publication Date:
02-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on Human Rights Education, University of Denver
Abstract:
Colorado’s need for a flexible labor force capable of surging during certain seasons without creating a significance increase in the immigrant population is the crux of the problem for the state. The realization that there may be trafficked laborers into forced labor on Colorado farms is not a novel idea but the difficulty of obtaining evidence that proves to what extent these human rights violations occur has proven to be extremely challenging. With such a huge population of undocumented agricultural laborers and the lack of oversight throughout Colorado, one can only surmise that violations of the Colorado immigration, human trafficking and forced labor laws implemented in 2006 exist. The lack of research and data of Colorado’s agricultural labor force coupled with the scarce numbers of prosecuted human trafficking and forced labor cases in the agricultural sector is not indicative that the problem does not exist; it just makes the argument for developing a research initiative to determine the extent of the problem. It is not enough to extrapolate human trafficking and forced labor data from national reports or adjacent states to try and identify Colorado’s level of trafficking and forced labor activity in the agriculture sector.
Topic:
Agriculture, Human Rights, Labor Issues, and Labor Rights
Political Geography:
United States, North America, and Colorado

155. U.S. Prison Labor: Constitutional & Profitable

Author:
Kate Morgan
Publication Date:
04-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on Human Rights Education, University of Denver
Abstract:
In the United States modern prison industrial complex (PIC), there are about 2 million inmates, marking the U.S. as the largest prison population in the world and the second highest incarceration rate per capita. The U.S. has 25% of the world’s prison population, but only 5% of the world’s population. With historical roots involved in using inmates as labor for agriculture, textiles, and other manufactured goods, this practice still continues by means of privatizing labor. Under the 13th amendment, forced labor is legally allowed when a person is imprisoned. Prisoners will never have “family emergencies”, ask for a pay raise, or refuse work without the threat of solitary confinement. This makes them the ideal economically conservative employee. Private companies and organizations will lease work out to prisons, and the prisons will then use their inmates to perform the needed work, whether it be mining, agricultural work, making military weapons, or making garments and clothing for Victoria’s Secret. The pay grade for an inmate doing this work can range from nothing to $3 per hour varying per state, with Texas and Georgia legally not having to pay anything to their inmates/employees.
Topic:
Human Rights, Privatization, Labor Issues, Prisons/Penal Systems, and Manufacturing
Political Geography:
United States and North America

156. Value and Protection for Domestic Work

Author:
Jo Beletic
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on Human Rights Education, University of Denver
Abstract:
The cover story of The Atlantic’s June 2017 issue, “My Family’s Slave”, has flurried around social media over the last couple of weeks. The heart wrenching story sheds light on the enslavement of Eudocia “Lola” Tomas Pulido. If you haven’t already done so, do yourself a favor and click through on the link above to read it. Most stories of this sort do not have such a warm ending. Most stories of this sort are never written. What is most disheartening of Lola’s situation is the fact that her story is more common than many Americans realize. Lolas are hidden in urban centers and tucked away within organized suburbia across the US. Domestic workers—people engaged in an employment relationship for work performed within a household—are vulnerable in their invisibility. In the US, over 2 million individuals are engaged in domestic work. Nannies, housekeepers, and healthcare workers are cooking, cleaning, ironing, caring for children, the sick, and the elderly behind closed doors. Many of these workers, generally women and girls, are immigrant women and women of color. As advocates for improved rights of these workers attest: domestic work makes all other work possible.
Topic:
Human Rights, Labor Issues, Health Care Policy, and Labor Rights
Political Geography:
United States and North America

157. The Hidden Face of a Professional Group: Night Concierges or the Importance of a Sociology that Can See in the Dark | La face cachée d’un groupe professionnel La conciergerie de nuit ou l’intérêt d’une sociologie nyctalope

Author:
Thibaut Menoux
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Cultures & Conflits
Institution:
Cultures & Conflits
Abstract:
Based on the case of luxury hotel concierges, this paper addresses the question of how to make night work an object for the sociology of professional groups without producing an essentialist or relativist categorization of what “night time” is. To make this argument, I assemble different temporalities observed at different scales of analysis. Firstly, the micro-sociological scale of day-to-day tasks is analyzed with the tools of the sociology of work. Secondly, the scale of career paths is seen from the perspective of the sociology of employment. Finally, the broader scale of the professional group is looked at from the viewpoint of the sociology of collective mobilizations. These three scales of observation all show that the marginality of night concierges actually outlines the hidden face of the entire group. Their inclusion in the analysis, which obliges the sociologist to widen his scope of inquiry and to acquire somewhat of a night vision, is therefore vital.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Sociology, and Marginalization
Political Geography:
Europe and France

158. Women’s Economic Empowerment: A Review of Evidence on Enablers and Barriers

Author:
H. Elizabeth Peters, Nan Marie Astone, Ammar A. Malik, Fenohasina Rakotondrazaka Maret, and Caroline Heller
Publication Date:
10-2016
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Urban Institute
Abstract:
Besides human rights protection and social welfare improvement, fostering female participation in the economy can stimulate growth with human capital accumulation and enhance the competitiveness of businesses. But women face many barriers to participating in the labor market, particularly in high productivity sectors, due to limited investments in education, time burdens from care responsibilities, legal prohibitions to land ownership, and sexual harassment and violence. We find evidence that improving access to infrastructure and public services, reforms in inheritance laws, family friendly workplace policies, and reduction in levels of violence can significantly improve women’s economic empowerment.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Labor Issues, Women, International Development, Economic growth, and Cities
Political Geography:
Global Focus

159. Women in Pakistan's Urban Informal Economy

Author:
Ammar A. Malik, Hadia Majid, Husnain Fateh, and Iromi Perera
Publication Date:
01-2016
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Urban Institute
Abstract:
In rapidly urbanizing developing countries, the prevalence large-scale informality within urban economies increases social vulnerabilities, stifles worker productivity and dampens regional economic growth. With the prospect of better jobs attracting millions into cities each year, rising urban poverty levels are encouraging international nonprofits to allocate greater resources toward urban programs. Our fieldwork in Pakistan reveals that above all else, urban informal workers require improvements in public service delivery, skillset development and collective bargaining capacity. We propose implementing future urban programs through an iterative learning, adaptation and implementation approach allowing nonprofits to leverage greater impact from finite resources.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Labor Issues, Women, Income Inequality, International Development, Economic growth, Family, and Cities
Political Geography:
Pakistan and South Asia

160. The rise of the dual labour market: fighting precarious employment in the new member states through industrial relations (PRECARIR) Country report: Croatia

Author:
Hrvoje Butković and Višnja Samardžija
Publication Date:
05-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO)
Abstract:
The team of IRMO researchers has published a study about the nonstandard work in Croatia in the period since outbreak of the economic crisis, based on the desk research and the interviews. The study is focused on the activities of the trade unions and employers related to increase of the nonstandard work in the sectors of construction, metal industry, retail trade, public healthcare and agency work. The research was published within the project ‛PRECARIR – The rise of the dual labour market: fighting precarious employment in the new member states through industrial relations’ which IRMO implements as a partner from Croatia while it is coordinated by the Dublin City University (DCU). Together with nine other national studies it was published as a CELSI Research Report at the webpage of the CELSI institute from Bratislava. The study was reviewed by three scientific reviewers, and it will be presented at an international conference concerning the nonstandard work in Ljubljana on the 31st May 2016 and at the final conference of the PRECARIR project in Dublin 20th June 2016.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Health Care Policy, Unions, and Trade
Political Geography:
Europe, Eastern Europe, Croatia, and Southern Europe