Tripartite Consultation in China: A First Step Towards Collective Bargaining?

Tripartite consultation has become widely established in China and is often referred to as "collective bargaining" by the Government and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions. This article reviews its development and structure, and examines its role in dispute settlement, labour regulation and collective bargaining. China's tripartite consultation system is found to differ from that advocated by the ILO due to its lack of neutrality and independent workers' representation, poor legal enfor...

The State of Worker Protections in the United States: Unregulated Work in New York City

Using original data gathered in 2003-06, the authors examine the prevalence and types of non-compliance with labour law in New York City. Workplace violations - or "unregulated work" - are widespread across a range of low-wage industries and have been driven by a mix of economic factors as well as public policy. The solution, the authors argue, is to strengthen law enforcement and provide for the new types of employment relationship that have resulted from changes in the organization of work ...

Job Search, Labour Market Intermediaries and Employment Promotion: The Evidence From China

Based on a survey of three cities in China -- Beijing, Shanghai and Shijiazhuang -- this article presents and briefly discusses the differences between job-search channels and how jobseekers' socio-economic characteristics affect their choice of job-search channels in different areas and labor markets. "Social network" is the most effective channel for the employed, with "Web site" coming second. Employment agencies are the most important job-search channel for the unemployed, though "social ...

Offshore Employment Practices: An Empirical Analysis of Routines, Wages and Labour Turnover

Theories of efficiency wage and human capital formation suggest that both should have a significant influence on employee turnover in offshore manufacturing sites. This influence is explored and examined empirically with a stratified, random sample of northern Mexican maquilas - the historical choice for offshoring in that country and one of the world's earliest and most enduring offshore manufacturing sites. Statistical tests reveal the strong influence on production-level turnover of direct...

Monitoring Quality in Work: European Employment Strategy Indicators and Beyond

Within the framework of the European Employment Strategy, the European Union has defined a set of indicators to monitor employment quality - the so-called Laeken indicators. This article discusses and implements these indicators. From a theoretical perspective, it shows that the concept of work quality encompasses several dimensions, which are likely to be related to national institutions, particularly industrial relations and welfare systems. It then proceeds with a comparative analysis of q...

Improving the Quality of Low-Wage Work: The Current American Experience

Despite the recent strength of the United States job market, about one fifth of the private-sector workforce is in poor-quality employment, earning poverty-level wages or less, with scant prospects for improvement. Against this background, the article focuses on demand-side policies, aimed at influencing firms' decision-making in the direction of better quality employment. Describing and evaluating a variety of programmes pursued to that end, the author argues for more policy coherence and a ...

Promoting Sustainable Compliance: Styles of Labour Inspection and Compliance Outcomes in Brazil

Can workers' rights and social protections be reconciled with firms' competitiveness and productivity? In contrast to current development policy advice, which emphasizes the "flexibilization" of labour laws, this article contributes to an ongoing debate about styles of inspection by exploring the causal links between different regulatory practices and economic development and compliance outcomes. Findings from subnational comparisons in Brazil challenge established theories about the behaviou...

Book Reviews

Gender Equality and Welfare Politics in Scandinavia: The Limits of Political Ambition?

Gender equality and welfare politics in Scandinavia: The limits of political ambition?, edited by Kari Melby, Anna-Birte Ravn and Christina Carlsson, is reviewed.

Informality: Exit and Exclusion

Informality: Exit and exclusion, by Guillermo Perry, William F. Maloney, Omar Arias, Pablo Fajnzylber, Andrew D. Mason and Jaime Saavedra-Chanduvi, is reviewed.