GCRF Decent Work: Decent Work in Regional Value Chains: Promoting Public-Private Governance in Sub-Saharan Africa

涉及南方主导公司和终端市场的南南贸易的增长对体面工作的治理提出了严峻挑战。然而，关于由南方主导公司协调的国内和区域价值链的商业动态是否损害体面工作，我们的信息有限。或者，它们是否提供了新的渠道，通过以全球南方为基础的多方利益攸关方公私联盟来促进劳工标准？南方市场区域价值链的治理是否能够变得更加合乎道德，从而产生支持可持续发展的劳动成果？本研究旨在通过提出以下问题来解决这一关键差距：全球南方的区域和国内价值链对全球生产中体面工作的公私治理和监管有何影响？这对可能发展南方多利益攸关方公私“道德贸易平台”以支持关于体面工作的可持续发展目标8具有重要的政策影响。这项研究从三个方面解决了这个问题。首先，实证研究南非和肯尼亚的零售商，协调国内和整个撒哈拉以南非洲（SSA）地区的价值链。非洲生产商长期以来通过全球价值链向跨国公司供货。由于民间社会开展运动，要求跨国公司对全球价值链中的体面工作赤字负责，因此跨国公司对社会标准（劳动实践和公平贸易守则）实行私人治理。然而，对供应商施加的降低成本和满足交付标准的商业压力往往损害社会标准。生产可能转移到劳工权利薄弱的供应商，并加剧对不稳定工人的使用。私人社会标准在为不稳定的工人（其中许多是妇女）确保体面工作方面基本无效。现在有人呼吁公共治理（国家劳工条例和贸易协定中的社会条款）发挥更大的作用。撒南非洲供应商也越来越多地向由南非和一些肯尼亚零售商协调的区域风险中心销售产品。这项研究的重点是由南非和肯尼亚的园艺和服装零售商从南非，莱索托和肯尼亚的采购。它评估了获得体面工作的影响，特别是对不稳定的女工的影响。报告审查了区域价值链的扩展是否意味着对劳动力的更大商业挑战，或者是否可以为加强体面工作的公私治理提供一个渠道。第二，从分析角度看，这项研究推动了全球价值链和全球生产网络的治理方法，并结合对不稳定劳动力体面工作的性别分析。它采用了对区域价值链公共和私营治理的多中心分析，以纳入体面工作的“共同和个别”责任。这超出了直接雇主的范围，涉及能够影响工作条件的更广泛的商业行为者，包括不同价值链层次的买方、供应商和劳务承包商。它为审查与全球价值链重叠的区域价值链中体面工作的治理提供了一个分析框架。这对分析如何加强公共和私人治理之间的联系以支持实现可持续发展目标8具有重要意义。第三，在政策方面，该研究结合了一个跨学科团队，与英国道德贸易倡议（ETI）密切合作。ETI通过其公司、非政府组织和工会成员在撒哈拉以南非洲地区建立了牢固的联系，并与南非和肯尼亚的MSI建立了牢固的联系。我们的目标是提供一个研究知情的贡献，研究如何南方的多利益攸关方联盟，涉及政府，商业和民间社会行为者可以量身定制，以南非和肯尼亚的RVC。这项研究将为ETI的2020年愿景提供信息，即在非洲推广新的“道德贸易平台”，作为支持可持续发展的新模式，以实现关于体面工作的SDG8

The growth of South-South trade involving Southern lead firms and end markets presents critical challenges for the governance of decent work. However, we have limited information on whether the commercial dynamics of domestic and regional value chains (RVCs) coordinated by Southern lead firms undermine decent work. Or do they provide new channels for promoting labour standards through multi-stakeholder public-private alliances based in the global South? Can governance of RVCs in Southern markets become more ethical leading to labour outcomes that support sustainable development? This study aims to address this critical gap by asking: What are the implications of regional and domestic value chains in the global South for public-private governance and regulation of decent work in global production? This has key policy implications for the potential development of Southern-based multi-stakeholder public-private 'ethical trade platforms' to support Sustainable Development Goal 8 (SDG8) on decent work. The research addresses this question on three fronts. First, empirically it examines South African and Kenyan retailers that coordinate value chains domestically and across the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region. African producers have long supplied multi-national companies (MNCs) through global value chains (GVCs). MNCs apply private governance of social standards (codes of labour practice and fair trade) as a result of civil society campaigns to hold them to account for decent work deficits in GVCs. However, commercial pressures on suppliers to reduce costs and meet delivery criteria often undermine social standards. Production can shift to suppliers with weak labour rights and intensify use of precarious workers. Private social standards have been largely ineffective in securing decent work for precarious workers, many of whom are women. There are now calls for public governance (national labour regulation and social clauses in trade agreements) to play a greater role. Increasingly SSA suppliers also sell into RVCs coordinated by South African and some Kenyan retailers. This research focuses on sourcing by South African and Kenyan retailers of horticulture and garments from South Africa, Lesotho and Kenya. It assesses the implications for attaining decent work, especially for precarious female workers. It examines whether the spread of RVCs imply greater commercial challenges for labour, or could provide a channel for enhancing public-private governance of decent work. Second, analytically the research advances global value chain and global production network (GPN) approaches to governance combined with gender analysis of decent work for precarious labour. It adapts polycentric analysis of public and private governance of RVCs to incorporate 'joint and several' accountability for decent work. This extends beyond direct employers, involving wider commercial actors that can influence working conditions, including buyers, suppliers and labour contractors across different value chain tiers. It provides an analytical framework for examining governance of decent work in RVCs that overlap with GVCs. This has important implications for analysis of how linkages between public and private governance can be enhanced to support attainment of SDG8. Third, policy wise the research combines an inter-disciplinary team working in close collaboration with the UK Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI). ETI has strong connections in sub-Saharan Africa through its company, NGO and trade union members, and with MSIs in South African and Kenya. We aim to provide a research informed contribution to examining how Southern-based multi-stakeholder alliances involving government, commercial and civil society actors could be tailored to South African and Kenyan RVCs. The research will inform ETI's 2020 vision of promoting new 'ethical trade platforms' in Africa as a new model of sustainable development in support of SDG8 on decent work