Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-b95js Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-26T21:19:56.733Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Meeting the Challenges of Industrial Restructuring: Labor Reform and Enforcement in Latin America

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Mark Anner
Mark Anner*
Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University, Cornell University. msa10@psu.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Despite a strengthening of collective labor rights in Latin America over the last 15 years, most labor movements in the region have lost power because neither the content nor the enforcement mechanisms associated with the labor reforms fully took into consideration the challenges presented by economic restructuring. Reforms facilitating union formation did not strengthen unions but instead increased union fragmentation. Collective bargaining structures did not respond to the exigencies of international outsourcing; and the initial round of reforms in the 1990s did not contemplate the need to strengthen labor law enforcement mechanisms at a time when heightened international competition created a need for greater state vigilance of labor standards. Recent reforms or proposed reforms hold more promise for labor, but truly union-friendly labor relations regimes require deeper changes. A review of several Latin American cases is followed by a closer examination of Brazil and El Salvador.

Type
Research
Information
Latin American Politics and Society , Volume 50 , Issue 2 , Summer 2008 , pp. 33 - 65
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 2008

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.)

References

Anner, Mark 2003. Industrial Structure, the State, and Ideology: Shaping Labor Transnationalism in the Brazilian Auto Industry. Social Science History 27, 4: 603–34.Google Scholar
Anner, Mark 2004. Between Solidarity and Fragmentation: Labor Responses to Globalization in the Americas. Ph.D. diss., Cornell University.Google Scholar
Arcos, Marcelo 2004. Adviser, Fenacle/Ceosl. Author interview. Quito, July 15.Google Scholar
Arévalo, Rolando, and Arriola, Joaquín 1996. El caso de El Salvador. In La situación sociolaboral en las zonas francas y empresas maquiladoras del istmo centroamericano y República Dominicana, ed. Organización Internacional de Trabajo. San José: Oficina de Actividades para los Trabajadores. 109–58.Google Scholar
Banco Central de Reserva de El Salvador (BCR) 2007. Boletin. <http://www.bcr.gob.sv/boletin.htm> Accessed October 3, 2007.+Accessed+October+3,+2007.>Google Scholar
Bizberg, Ilán. 1996. Las relaciones industriales en México: cambio y permanencia. In Transformación económica y trabajo en América Latina: proyecto comparativo internacional, AVANCES de investigación, ed. Dombois, Rainer and Pries, Ludger Bremen: Universität Bremen. 6–57.Google Scholar
Bronstein, Arturo S. 1995. Societal Change and Industrial Relations in Latin America: Trends and Prospects. International Labour Review 134, 2: 163–86.Google Scholar
Bronstein, Arturo S. 1997. Labour Law Reform in Latin America: between State Protection and Flexibility. International Labour Review 136, 1: 6–26.Google Scholar
Buchanan, Paul G., and Nicholls, Kate 2003. Labour Politics in Small Open Democracies: Australia, Chile, Ireland, New Zealand, and Uruguay. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caraway, Teri 2006. Freedom of Association: Battering Ram or Trojan Horse? Review of International Political Economy 13, 2: 210–32.Google Scholar
Cardoso, Adalberto 2001. Problemas de representação do sindicalismo brasileiro: o que aconteceu com a filiação sindical? In Los sindicatos frente a los procesos de transición política, ed. De La Garza, E. Buenos Aires: CLACSO.Google Scholar
Cardoso, Adalberto Moreira 2002. Neoliberalism, Unions, and Socio-Economic Insecurity in Brazil. Labour, Capital and Society 35, 2: 282–316.Google Scholar
Cardoso, Adalberto, and Lage, Telma 2005. A inspeção do trabalho no Brasil. DADOS: Revista de Ciências Sociais 48, 3: 451–90.Google Scholar
Cingranelli, David 2003. Democracy, Globalization and Workers' Rights: a Comparative Analysis. Paper presented at the 99th annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Philadelphia, August 28–31.Google Scholar
Collier, Ruth Berins, and Collier, David 1991. Shaping the Political Arena: Critical Junctures, the Labor Movement, and Regime Dynamics in Latin America. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Comin, Alexandre 1998. De voltapara o futuro: política e reestruturação industrial do complexo automobilístico nos anos 90. São Paulo: CEBRAP/Annablume/FAPESP.Google Scholar
Cook, María Lorena 1998. Toward Flexible Industrial Relations? Neo-liberalism, Democracy, and Labor Reform in Latin America. Industrial Relations 37, 3: 311.Google Scholar
Cook, María Lorena 2007. The Politics of Labor Reform in Latin America: Between Flexibility and Rights. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press.Google Scholar
Córdova, Efrén 1996. The Challenge of Flexibility in Latin America. Comparative Labor Law Journal 17, 2: 314–37.Google Scholar
Davis, Benjamin N. 1995. The Effects of Worker Rights Protections in United States Trade Laws: a Case Study of El Salvador. American University Journal of International Law and Policy 10, 3: 1167–1214.Google Scholar
Dominican Republic. Secretaria del Estado de Trabajo (SET) 2001. Boletín estadístico. Santo Domingo: SET. <http://www.set.gov.do> Accessed June 12, 2007.+Accessed+June+12,+2007.>Google Scholar
Drake, Paul W. 1996. Labor Movements and Dictatorships: The Southern Cone in Comparative Perspective. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Dunlop, John Thomas 1993 [1958]. Industrial Relations Systems. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.Google Scholar
Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) 2006. Social Panorama of Latin America, 2005. Santiago de Chile: ECLAC.Google Scholar
El Salvador. Ministerio de Trabajo y Previsión Social 2001. Estadísticas del trabajo. San Salvador: Government of El Salvador.Google Scholar
El Salvador. Ministerio de Trabajo y Previsión Social 2004. Estadísticas del trabajo. San Salvador: Government of El Salvador.Google Scholar
Eróstegui, Rodolfo. 2004. Vice Minister of Labor, Bolivia. Author interview. La Paz, July 13.Google Scholar
Etchemendy, Sebastián, and Collier, Ruth B. 2007. Down But Not Out: The Recovery of a Downsized Labor Movement in Argentina (2002–2006). Working Paper. Berkeley: Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, University of California.Google Scholar
Evans, Peter B. 1997. The Eclipse of the State? Reflections on Stateness in an Era of Globalization. World Politics 50, 1: 62–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frigant, Vincent, and Lung, Yannick 2002. Geographical Proximity and Supplying Relationships in Modular Production. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 26, 4: 742–55.Google Scholar
Frundt, Henry J. 1998. Trade Conditions and Labor Rights: U.S. Initiatives, Dominican and Central American Responses. Gainesville: University Press of Florida.Google Scholar
Garrett, Geoffrey, and Lange, Peter 1996. Internationalization, Institutions, and Political Change. In Internationalization and Domestic Politics, ed. Keohane, Robert O. and Milner, H. V. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 48–79.Google Scholar
Guatemala. Ministry of Public Finance 2005. Presupuesto 2005. <http://www.minfin.gob.gt/main.php?id_area=3> Accessed August 5, 2007.+Accessed+August+5,+2007.>Google Scholar
Henrique da Silva, Artur. 2005. General Secretary, Cut. Author interview. São Paulo, August 10.Google Scholar
Hyman, Richard 1995. Industrial Relations in Europe: Theory and Practice. European Journal of Industrial Relations 1, 1: 17–46.Google Scholar
Inforpress, 2007. Cafta and Labor Justice: a Long Struggle Ahead. Central American Report 34, 26 (June 8): 4–5.Google Scholar
Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE) 2002. Sindicatos: indi-cadores sociais 2001 (primeiros resultados). Rio de Janeiro: IBGE.Google Scholar
Instituto Universitario de Opinión Pública (IUDOP). 2005. Los salvadoreños evalúan el primer año de gobierno de Antonio Saca. San Salvador: IUDOP, Universidad Centroamericana “José Simeón Cañas.”.Google Scholar
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). 2003. Good Jobs Wanted: Labor Markets in Latin America. Washington, DC : IDB.Google Scholar
International Confederation of Trade Unions (ICFTU). 2001. Report for the WTO General Council: Review of the Trade Policy of Costa Rica, 2001. <http://www.icftu.org> Accessed July 3, 2007.+Accessed+July+3,+2007.>Google Scholar
International Labor Organization (ILO). 1997. World Labour Report: Industrial Relations, Democracy and Social Stability, 1997–1998. Geneva: ILO.Google Scholar
International Labor Organization (ILO). 2005. Panorama Laboral 2005. América Latina y el Caribe. Lima: Oficina Regional para América Latina y el Caribe.Google Scholar
International Labor Organization (ILO). 2006. Labour Inspection: Report to the the International Labour Conference 95th Session. Geneva: ILO.Google Scholar
International Labor Organization (ILO). 2007. Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations: International Labour Conference, 96th Session. Geneva: ILO.Google Scholar
International Labor Organization. Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR). 2005. Report. <http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/ilc> Accessed November 30, 2005.+Accessed+November+30,+2005.>Google Scholar
Jatobá, Vera. 2002. Labour Inspection Within a Modernized Labour Administration. Lima: International Labour Office, Regional Office for the Americas (IACML-ILO Project).Google Scholar
Jessup, David, and Gordon, Michael E. 2000. Organizing in Export Processing Zones: The Bibong Experience in the Dominican Republic. In Transnational Cooperation Among Labor Unions, ed. Gordon, M. E. and Turner, L. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. 179–201.Google Scholar
Katz, Harry C., and Kochan, Thomas A. 1992. An Introduction to Collective Bargaining and Industrial Relations. New York: McGraw Hill.Google Scholar
Kerr, Clark, Dunlop, John T., Harbison, Frederick, and Myers, Charles A. 1960. Industrialism and Industrial Man: The Problems of Labor and Management in Economic Growth. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Kuruvilla, Sarosh 1996. Linkages between Industrialization Strategies and Industrial Relations/Human Resource Policies: Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and India. Industrial and Labor Relations Review 49, 4: 635–57.Google Scholar
Lee, Cheol-Sung 2005. International Migration, Deindustrialization and Union Decline in 16 Affluent Oecd Countries, 1962–1997. Social Forces 84, 1: 71–88.Google Scholar
Lora, Eduardo 2001. Structural Reforms in Latin America: What Has Been Reformed and How to Measure It. Washington, DC : Inter-American Development Bank.Google Scholar
Mercedes Benz Production Workers. 2002. Author interview. Virrey del Pino, Argentina, November 11.Google Scholar
Murillo, María 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: 971–99.Google Scholar
Ohmae, Kenichi 1995. The End of the Nation State: The Rise of Regional Economies. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Pilz, Dania 2005. Pérdida de protagonismo del movimiento sindical y deterioro de las condiciones laborales marcan el final de una década. Asunción: Centro de Documentación y Estudios.Google Scholar
Piore, Michael J., and Schrank, Andrew 2006. Trading up: an Embryonic Model for Easing the Human Costs of Free Markets. Boston Review 31: 1–22.Google Scholar
Portes, Alejandro, and Hoffman, Kelly 2003. Latin American Class Structures: Their Composition and Change during the Neoliberal Era. Latin American Research Review 38, 1: 41–82.Google Scholar
Rodrik, Dani 1997. Has Globalization Gone Too Far? Washington, DC : Institute of International Economics.Google Scholar
Sabel, Charles F. 1982. Work and Politics: The Division of Labor in Industry. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Salerno, Mario Sergio 2001. A indústria automobilística no Brasil. Paper prepared for the International Metalworkers' Federation and International Labour Organization project.Google Scholar
Salerno, Mario Sergio, and Valeria, Anna Dias, Carneiro 2002. Product Design Modularity, Modular Production, Modular Organization: the Evolution of Modular Concepts. Actes du GERPISA 33: 61–73.Google Scholar
Schrank, Andrew 2006. Labor Inspectors in the Cafta Region: Cosmetic, Costly, or Constructive? Paper presented at the workshop “Multinational Production and Labor Rights,” University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, September 22–23.Google Scholar
Singa Boyenge, Jean-Pierre. 2007. ILO Database on Export Processing Zones. Geneva: ILO.Google Scholar
Tilly, Charles 1995. Globalization Threatens Labour Rights. International Labor and Working-Class History 47: 1–23.Google Scholar
U.S. Department of State. 2003. Brazil: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 2002. Washington, DC : Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.Google Scholar
U.S. Department of State. 2007a. El Salvador: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 2006. Washington, DC : Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.Google Scholar
U.S. Department of State. 2007b. Paraguay: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 2006. Washington, DC : Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.Google Scholar
Vega Ruíz, María Luz. 2005. La reforma laboral en América Latina: 15 años después. Lima: Oficina International del Trabajo, Oficina Regional para América Latina y el Caribe.Google Scholar
Viceministros de Comercio y de Trabajo 2005. La dimensión laboral en Centroamérica y la República Dominicana: construyendo sobre el progreso, reforzando el cumplimiento y potenciando las capacidades. Report. Washington, DC : Inter-American Development Bank. <http://www.iadb.org/trade/2_spanish/pub/trabajo-CARD.pdf> Accessed March 19, 2008.+Accessed+March+19,+2008.>Google Scholar
Villalba, Roberto 1996. Derechos humanos en Paraguay: movimiento sindical. Asunción: Serpaj.Google Scholar
Villavicencio, Alfredo 2004. Vice Minister of Labor, Peru. Author interview. Lima, July 21.Google Scholar
Von Richthofen, Wolfgang. 2002. Labour Inspection: A Guide to the Profession. Geneva: ILO.Google Scholar
Weil, David 1999. Are Mandated Health and Safety Committees Substitutes for or Supplements to Labor Unions? Industrial and Labor Relations Review 52, 3: 339–60.Google Scholar
Western, Bruce 1997. Between Class and Market: Postwar Unionization in the Capitalist Democracies. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Wood, Adrian 1994. North-South Trade, Employment, and Inequality: Changing Fortunes in a Skill-Driven World. New York: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar