Trade Unions and the Social Clause: a north-south divide?

By Gerard Griffin, Chris Nyland and Anne O’Rourke

The right to engage in international trade should be linked to respect for core labour standards. So goes the argument of some

There has been dispute over the level of agreement to this proposition from unions in developing countries. This paper draws on surveys of industry-level affiliates of the main union confederations and the national-level affiliates of the main international union confederation to assess the validity of the claims. Unions from developing countries are strong supports of the linking of international trade with recognition and enforcement of core labour standards.

NKCIR Working paper no 81

Monash University. National Key Centre in Industrial Relations