Competitive Pressures and Labour Rights

While the link between trade liberalisation and labour rights has been mostly studied at a national level, this book analyses this relation at a sectoral level. It draws on case studies of oil palm plantations and the automobile sector in Indonesia. Two main research questions guide the book: 1. How do labour- and capital-intensive sectors in Indonesia respond to competitive pressures brought about by trade liberalisation? 2. What are the implications of such responses on labour rights in the two sectors? Employing the Global Production Network approach, the book analyses power relations between the state, firms, and labour. It shows how competitive pressures brought about by trade liberalisation have different impacts on labour rights in the automobile and the oil palm plantation sectors. While sectoral characteristics (e.g., capital- or labour-intensity, capital mobility, skill requirements) shape the diverse impacts, they are actually products of power interplays between the state, firms, and labour.