Paper short abstract:

This paper explores i) why participating in globalized fields of production does not necessarily lead to a reduction in poverty; ii) the challenges to regulating recruitment in supply chains; and, iii) advantages and disadvantages of a joint liability approach to regulating recruitment.

Paper long abstract:

Today globalized fields of production are characterized by supply chains operating across borders. Supply chains are a system of organizations, people, activities, information, and resources involved in moving a product or service from the supplier to the customer. Global supply chains have been linked to the processes of employment degradation and forced labour (James, Walters, Sampson, Wadsworth, 2015; Locke, Amengual, Mangla, 2009; Andrees and Vuong, 2011). This is because larger firms use their superior market power to negotiate financially beneficial supply arrangements (Wright and Lund, 2013; James and Lloyd, 2008; Cunningham et al., 2013). Today, production is organised through multiple (global) supply chains and networks whereby firms tend to subcontract their production to firms that in turn rely on workers supplied by labour market intermediaries (LMIs) to produce / provide the requested products / services. This continuous elongation of supply chains renders the regulation of recruitment difficult whereby forced labour can more easily flourish. Simultaneously, taking up employment in globalized fields of production supposedly is a remedy to poverty (Phillips, 2011; Hickey, 2007; Du Toit, 2004; Hickey, 2013). This paper investigates in a first part why participating in globalized fields of production does not necessarily lead to a reduction in poverty but may indeed exacerbate these economic differences by focusing on employment conditions by LMIs. The second part addresses the challenges to regulating recruitment in global supply chains. The third part presents the argument for and disadvantages of a joint liability approach to regulating recruitment in supply chains.