Question 1(50%)

To what extent has the effectiveness of labour standards enforcement at national level been affected by globalisation and the competitive strategies of transnational enterprises (TNEs)?How has the international regulation of labour standards changed to meet these challenges and to ensure protection and high labour standards for workers?What impact have the changes had in relation to labour standards in developing countries?

Question 2 (50%)

Workers in an electronics manufacturing factory in Malaysia are involved in a dispute with the Malaysian company which owns the factory. The company makes various products which it supplies to two large electronics retailers, one in Germany and one in Australia. The products are sold under the “home brands” of the German and Australian retailers.

The dispute arose out of negotiations between the company and the union representing most of the workers at the factory. About half the workers at the factory are employed by the company and the other half of the workers are migrant workers from Indonesia who are provided by a temporary employment agency.

The negotiations broke down when agreement could not be reached on the union's claims for: the same wage rates to be applied to all workers (both the directly employed local workers and the migrant workers); the improvement of the fire safety equipment in the factory; and the recognition by the company of the union as representing all the workers in the negotiations. The union has also complained about the company’s new policy which bans workers in its sales and front office activities from wearing any form of religious head covering, as the company says this will undermine its reputation as a modern high tech manufacturer.

The dispute has already led to several stoppages by workers at the factory which have severely disrupted production. Mediation has failed to resolve the dispute and the company is threatening to prosecute the union for the strike activity in the Malaysian courts. The company says the strikes are illegal as it operates in an industry which has been declared to be “essential to the economy of Malaysia” under the Industrial Relations Act 1967 (see section 2 and Schedule One).

The company has refused to negotiate any further with the union and has removed from the factory the two workers who were the union leaders and negotiators. The worker employed by the company has been transferred to another of the company’s factories. The other worker, who was engaged by the temporary employment agency, has been sent back to Indonesia. The company is also threatening to dismiss or remove other workers if there are any further stoppages.

The union has already received legal advice as to the prospects of any proceedings in the Malaysian courts brought by or against the company.

The union has now decided to seek your advice (as an expert in transnational labour law) on any actions it might take at the international level to put pressure on the company to negotiate and resolve the matters in dispute and to bring back its leaders. How would you advise the union?