Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-cjp7w Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-01T01:06:04.190Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Labor Rights in East Asia: Progress or Regress?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 March 2016

Teri L. Caraway
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

This article examines the impact of recent economic and political change on collective and individual labor rights in East Asia. Deploying a new index for measuring de jure and de facto labor rights, the article presents new comparative data on labor rights in the region. Democratization has produced stronger collective labor rights in much of the region, but labor laws in most countries still fall far short of international labor standards. East Asia's labor laws offer similar levels of protection for individual labor rights to the rest of the world when firing costs are taken into account, and low regional averages are primarily an effect of Singapore's extremely weak individual labor rights. Few countries have revised their labor laws in the direction of greater labor market flexibility. However, the distance between law and practice is wide, so improvements in laws are not necessarily reflected on the ground. Flexibility enters through the back door of ineffective labor law enforcement, which in turn has affected the organizing efforts of unions.

Keywords

labor rightstrade unionsEast AsiaSoutheast Asialabor market flexibilitylabor lawfreedom of associationcollective bargainingright to strike
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of East Asian Studies , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , August 2009 , pp. 153 - 186
Copyright
Copyright © East Asia Institute 

References

Ahmad, Suhanah Sharifah Syed. 2002. “Law and Labor Market Regulation in Malaysia: Beyond the New Economic Policy.” In Law and Labor Market Regulation in East Asia, ed. Cooney, Sean, Lindsey, Tim, Mitchell, Richard, and Zhu, Ying, 55–90. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Aliansi Serikat Buruh and Forum Pendamping Buruh Nasional. 2004. Buruh dan Bayang-Bayang Regim Fleksibilitas.Google Scholar
Anner, Mark. 2008. “Meeting the Challenge of Industrial Restructuring: Labor Reform and Enforcement in Latin America.” Latin American Politics and Society 50, 2: 33–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Añonuevo, Carlos Antonio Q. 2001. “One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: A Comparative Analysis of Public Sector Collective Bargaining in Korea, the Philippines and Thailand.” Paper presented at the Fourth Asian Regional Congress of the International Industrial Relations Association, Manila, University of the Philippines School of Labor and Industrial Relations, and the Philippine Industrial Relations Society.Google Scholar
Ayadurai, Dunston. 1993. “Malaysia.” In Labor Law and Industrial Relations in Asia: Eight Country Studies, ed. Deery, Stephen and Mitchell, Richard, 61–95. Melbourne: Longman Cheshire.Google Scholar
Bacungan, Froilan, and Ofreneo, Rene E. 2002. “The Development of Labour Law and Labour Market Policy in the Philippines.” In Law and Labor Market Regulation in East Asia, ed. Cooney, Sean, Lindsey, Tim, Mitchell, Richard, and Zhu, Ying, 91–121. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Botero, Juan C., Djankov, Simeon, La Porta, Rafael, Lopez-De-Silanes, Florencio, and Shleifer, Andrei. 2004. “The Regulation of Labor.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 119, 4: 1339–1382.Google Scholar
Bronstein, Arturo. 2005. “The Role of the International Labour Office in the Framing of National Labor Law.” Comparative Labor Law and Policy Journal 26, 3: 339–369.Google Scholar
Caraway, Teri L. 2004. “Protective Repression, International Pressure, and Institutional Design: Explaining Labor Reform in Indonesia.” Studies in Comparative International Development 39, 3: 28–49.Google Scholar
Caraway, Teri L. 2006a. “Gendered Paths of Industrialization: A Cross-Regional Comparative Analysis.” Studies in Comparative International Development 41, 1: 26–52.Google Scholar
Caraway, Teri L. 2006b. “Freedom of Association: Battering Ram or Trojan Horse?” Review of International Political Economy 13, 2: 210–232.Google Scholar
Caraway, Teri L. 2008. “Explaining the Dominance of Legacy Unions in New Democracies: Comparative Insights from Indonesia.” Comparative Political Studies 41, 10: 1371–1397.Google Scholar
Chu, Yin-Wah. 1996. “Democracy and Organized Labor in Taiwan: The 1986 Transition.” Asian Survey 36, 5: 49–510.Google Scholar
Clarke, Simon, Lee, Chang-hee, and Chi, Do Quynh. 2007. “From Rights to Interests: The Challenge of Industrial Relations in Vietnam.” Journal of Industrial Relations 49, 4: 545–568.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clarke, Simon, Lee, Chang-hee, and Li, Qi. 2004. “Collective Consultation and Industrial Relations in China.” British Journal of Industrial Relations 42, 2: 235–254.Google Scholar
Cumings, Bruce. 1984. “The Origins and Development of the Northeast Asian Political Economy: Industrial Sectors, Product Cycles, and Political Consequences.” International Organization 38, 1: 1–40.Google Scholar
Deyo, Frederic C., ed. 1987. The Political Economy of the New Asian Industrialism. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Deyo, Frederic C., ed. 1989. Beneath the Miracle: Labor Subordination in the New Asian Industrialism. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Doucette, Jamie. 2005. “Against Flexibilization: South Korean Unions Battle Against the Expansion of Irregular Work.” Znet, May 14. Available at www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/6276 (accessed January 29, 2009).Google Scholar
Ford, Michele. 2000. “Continuity and Change in Indonesian Labor Relations in the Habibie Interregnum.” Southeast Asian Journal of Social Science 28, 2: 59–88.Google Scholar
Forum Pendamping Buruh Nasional. 2004. Sistem Kerja Kontrak, Sistem Kerja yang Tidak Manusiawi: Paparan Kebijakan Labor Market Flexibility yang Mengancam Nasib Tenaga Kerja di Jawa Timur (The Inhumane Labor Contract System: An Explanation of Labor Market Flexibility Policies That Threaten the Fate of Workers in East Java).Google Scholar
Frost, Stephen, and Chiu, Catherine C. H. 2003. “Labour Relations and Regulation in Singapore: Theory and Practice.” Hong Kong: City University of Hong Kong Southeast Asia Research Center.Google Scholar
Hadiz, Vedi R. 1997. Workers and the State in New Order Indonesia. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Haggard, Stephan. 1990. Pathways from the Periphery: The Politics of Growth in the Newly Industrializing Countries. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Hughes, Caroline. 2007. “Transnational Networks, International Organizations and Political Participation in Cambodia: Human Rights, Labour Rights, and Common Rights.” Democratization 14, 5: 834–852.Google Scholar
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. 2005. “Alarming Increase of Violations of Trade Union and Human Rights in the Philippines. Letter to President Arroyo, 11 July,” www.icftu.org (accessed January 29, 2009).Google Scholar
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. 2006a. Cambodia: Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights, www.icftu.org (accessed January 29, 2009).Google Scholar
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. 2006b. China (Taiwan): Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights, www.icftu.org (accessed January 29, 2009).Google Scholar
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. 2006c. China, People's Republic of: Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights, www.icftu.org (accessed January 29, 2009).Google Scholar
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. 2006d. Indonesia: Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights, www.icftu.org (accessed January 29, 2009).Google Scholar
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. 2006e. Korea, South: Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights, www.icftu.org (accessed January 29, 2009).Google Scholar
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. 2006f. Philippines: Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights, www.icftu.org (accessed January 29, 2009).Google Scholar
International Labour Organization. 1997. World Labour Report: Industrial Relations, Democracy and Social Stability. Geneva: International Labour Organization.Google Scholar
Jomo, K. S., and Todd, Patricia. 1994. Trade Unions and the State in Peninsular Malaysia. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Kim, Dong-One, and Kim, Seongsu. 2003. “Globalization, Financial Crisis, and Industrial Relations: The Case of South Korea.” Industrial Relations 42, 3: 341–367.Google Scholar
Kim, Yong Cheol, and Moon, Chung-In. 2000. “Globalization and Workers in South Korea.” In Korea's Globalization, ed. Kim, Samuel S., 54–75. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Koo, Hagen. 2000. “The Dilemmas of Empowered Labor in Korea: Korean Workers in the Face of Global Capitalism.” Asian Survey 40, 2: 227–250.Google Scholar
Kucera, David. 2004. “Measuring Trade Union Rights: A Country-Level Indicator Constructed from Coding Violations Recorded in Textual Sources.” Geneva: International Labour Organization.Google Scholar
Lawrence, S., and Ishikawa, J. 2005. “Trade Union Membership and Collective Bargaining Coverage: Statistical Concepts, Methods, and Findings.” Working Paper No. 59. Geneva: International Labour Office.Google Scholar
Lee, Cheol-Soo. 2002. “Law and Labor-Management Relations in South Korea: Advancing Industrial Democratization.” In Law and Labor Market Regulation in East Asia, ed. Cooney, Sean, Lindsey, Tim, Mitchell, Richard and Zhu, Ying, 215–245. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Leggett, Chris. 1993. “Singapore.” In Labor Law and Industrial Relations in Asia: Eight Country Studies, ed. Deery, Stephen and Mitchell, Richard. Melbourne: Longman Cheshire.Google Scholar
Manyin, Mark, Lum, Thomas, McHugh, Lois, et al. 2002. Vietnam's Labor Rights Regime: An Assessment. Washingon, DC: Congressional Research Service and Library of Congress.Google Scholar
Mosley, Layna, and Uno, Saika. 2007. “Racing to the Bottom or Climbing to the Top? Economic Globalization and Collective Labor Rights.” Comparative Political Studies 40, 8: 923–948.Google Scholar
Murillo, Maria Victoria. 2005. “Partisanship Amidst Convergence: Labor Market Reform in Latin America.” Comparative Politics 37, 4: 441–458.Google Scholar
Murillo, Maria Victoria, and Schrank, Andrew. 2005. “With a Little Help from My Friends: Partisan Politics, Transnational Alliances, and Labor Rights in Latin America.” Comparative Political Studies 38, 8: 971–999.Google Scholar
Ockey, James. 2008. “Thailand in 2007: The Struggle to Control Democracy.” Asian Survey 48, 1: 20–28.Google Scholar
Rasiah, Rajah, and Hofmann, Norbert von, eds. 1998. Workers on the Brink: Unions, Exclusion and Crisis in Southeast Asia. Singapore: Friedrich Ebert-Stiftung.Google Scholar
Taylor, Bill, and Li, Qi. 2007. “Is the ACFTU a Union and Does It Matter?” Journal of Industrial Relations 49, 5: 701–715.Google Scholar
US Department of State. 2005a. China (Taiwan): Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2004, www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/42641.htm (accessed January 29, 2009).Google Scholar
US Department of State. 2005b. China: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2004, www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41640.htm.Google Scholar
US Department of State. 2006a. Cambodia: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2005, www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005.Google Scholar
US Department of State. 2006b. China: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2005, www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005.Google Scholar
US Department of State. 2006c. The Philippines: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2005, www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrrpt/2005.Google Scholar
US Department of State. 2006d. Thailand: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2005, www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005.Google Scholar
Wang, Huei-Ling, and Cooney, Sean. 2002. “Taiwan's Labor Law: The End of State Corporatism.” In Law and Labor Market Regulation in East Asia, ed. Cooney, Sean, Lindsey, Tim, Mitchell, Richard, and Zhu, Ying, 185–214. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
World Bank. 2007. “Doing Business: Measuring Business Regulation.” Online time series data. Washington, DC: World Bank and International Finance Corporation. Available at www.doingbusiness.org/CustomQuery/.Google Scholar