JEP » Issues » New International Social and Environmental Rules: Putting People Over Profit? » Transnationalising Trade Union Strategic Capacity: Using Supply Chain Due Diligence Legislation to Build Workers’ Power in the Palm Oil Global Production Network

Transnationalising Trade Union Strategic Capacity: Using Supply Chain Due Diligence Legislation to Build Workers’ Power in the Palm Oil Global Production Network

Autor*innen: Oliver Pye
https://doi.org/10.20446/JEP-2414-3197-40-3-66
Volume XXXX • Issue 3 • 2024
Pages 66-88
Keywords: EU Due Diligence Directive, Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtgesetz, labour movement, social-ecological transformation, palm oil, Transnational Union Network

Abstract

The adoption of the “Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)” by the European Parliament in 2024 opens up new possibilities to address human and labour rights abuses along supply chains. This article looks at the implications for the palm oil supply chain, an industry that is notorious for exploitation, land conflicts and environmental destruction. Can supply chain legislation be used to strengthen an emerging Transnational Union Network (TUN) in this sector? The article argues that in order to avoid managerial unionism that speaks on behalf of workers in the Global South, transnational information exchange is necessary to develop strategic interventions that support rather than replace grassroots struggles. Trade unions need to unlearn an NGO-type practice that focuses on a few ‘bad apples’ and instead tackle industry-wide structures of exploitation. By politicising issues such as poverty wages, gender discrimination and water pollution, the labour movement can create a new solidarity narrative of social-ecological transformation and transnationalise its strategic capacity.

Literature

Bauer, Jona/Holl, Anna (2022): Workers’ Power through Transnational Industrial Relations Agreements? A Global Framework Agreement and the ACT Initiative in the Garment Sector. In: Journal für Entwicklungspolitik 38 (2/3), 62–83. https://doi.org/10.20446/JEP-2414-3197-38-2-62

Behruzi, Daniel/Brinkmann, Ulrich (2024): Eine unwahrscheinliche Macht. Der Arbeitskampf osteuropäischer Lkw-Fahrer und der Machtressourcenansatz. In Sozialismus (2), 47–52.

Bieler, Andreas/Lindberg, Ingemar (2011): Global restructuring, labour, and the challenges for transnational solidarity. Milton Park/Abingdon/Oxon/New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203842454

Brookes, Marissa/McCallum, Jamie K. (2017): The new global labour studies: a critical review. In: Global Labour Journal 8 (3), 201-218. https://doi.org/10.15173/glj.v8i3.3000

Carstensen, Lisa/Vestena, Carolina (2024): Auf die kollektive Mobilisierung kommt es an. In: DGB Bildungswerk/Nord-Süd-Netz: Unternehmensverantwortung weltweit. Potenzial des Lieferkettengesetzes für die Gewerkschaftsarbeit. Düsseldorf: DGB Bildungswerk BUND, 16-21.

Castermans, Bernard/Yuwono, Hari/Hardison, Rob/Paramita; Vidia (2015): Handbook POME-to-Biogas Project Development in Indonesia. Jakarta: Winrock International.

Doutch, Michaela (2022): Women workers in the garment factories of Cambodia. A feminist labour geography of global (re)production networks. Berlin: regiospectra.

Elkington, John (1997): Cannibals with forks. The triple bottom line of 21st century business. Oxford: Capstone. https://doi.org/10.1002/tqem.3310080106

EU (2024): Directive (EU) 2024/1760 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 on corporate sustainability due diligence and amending Directive (EU) 2019/1937 and Regulation (EU) 2023/2859. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:L_202401760, 29.10.24.

Evans, Peter (2014): National Labor Movements and Transnational Connections: Global Labor’s Evolving Architecture Under Neoliberalism. In: GLJ 5 (3), 252-282. https://doi.org/10.15173/glj.v5i3.2283

Evans, Peter (2010): Is it labor’s turn to globalize? Twenty-first century opportunities and strategic responses. In: Global Labour Journal 1 (3), 352–379. https://doi.org/10.15173/glj.v1i3.1082

Falder, Roland/Frank-Fahle, Constantin/Poleacov, Peter (2022): Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz. Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-36837-1

Fichter, Michael (2015): Organising In and Along Value Chains. What Does It Mean for Trade Unions? Berlin: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.

Fischer, Karin/Staritz, Cornelia/Moe, Signe (2022): Scaling Up? On the Possibilities and Limits of Transnational Labour Organising in Globalised Production. In: Journal für Entwicklungspolitik 38 (2/3), 8–37. https://doi.org/10.20446/JEP-2414-3197-38-2-8

Flavell, Karinda/Gunawardana, Samanthi J. (2022): “Nothing about us without us” or “The most effective way to get it implemented”? Global South Workers’ Power in Australian Civil Society Initiatives in the Garment Sector. In: Journal für Entwicklungspolitik 38 (2/3), 151–170. https://doi.org/10.20446/JEP-2414-3197-38-2-151

Ginting, Wiranta/Saxby, Ashley (2024): Mit dem Lieferkettengesetz zu globaler Gerechtigkeit? Wie Gesetze im Globalen Norden die Arbeiter*innen im Globalen Süden stärken können. www.rosalux.de/news/id/52556/mit-dem-lieferkettengesetz-zu-globaler-gerechtigkeit. 29.10.24.

Gottwald, Eric (2018): Certifying Exploitation: Why “Sustainable” Palm Oil Production Is Failing Workers. In: New Labor Forum 27 (2), 74–82. https://doi.org/10.1177/1095796018765767

Graz, Jean-Christophe/Rocha Lemos, Patrícia/Galvão, Andréia (2023): Do Labour Standards Improve Employment Relationships in Global Production Networks? A Cross-sector Study in Brazil. In: GLJ 14(2), 123-147. https://doi.org/10.15173/glj.v14i2.5088

Helfen, Markus/Fichter, Michael (2013): Building Transnational Union Networks across Global Production Networks: Conceptualising a New Arena of LabourManagement Relations. In: British Journal of Industrial Relations 51 (3), 553-576. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjir.12016

Herrmann, Lena (2023): Das Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz. Rechtliche Herausforderungen und die Umsetzung in die Unternehmenspraxis. BadenBaden: Tectum Wissenschaftsverlag. https://doi.org/10.5771/9783828850491

Hütz-Adams, Friedel/Knoke, Irene/Dachs, Isabel (2022): Handlungsleitfaden zur Durchführung der Risikoanalysen für Palmöl produzierende Länder. www.suedwind-institut.de/fileadmin/Suedwind/Publikationen/2022/2022-17_Handlungsleitfaden_Palm%C3%B6l.pdf, 29.10.2024.

Hyman, Richard (2011) Trade unions, global competition and options for solidarity. In: Bieler, Andreas/Lindberg, Ingemar (eds.): Global Restructuring, Labour and the Challenges for Transnational Solidarity. Abingdon: Routledge, 16-30.

Hyman, Richard (1973): Marxism and the Sociology of Trade Unionism. London: Pluto Press.

Kaiser, Julia (2020): #Wir fahren zusammen. Die Allianz von Fridays for Future und ver.di im Bereich Nahverkehr als Exempel ökologischer Klassenpolitik. In: Dörre, Klaus/Holzschuh, Madeleine/Köster, Jacob/Sittel, Johanna (eds.): Abschied von Kohle und Auto? Sozial-ökologische Transformationskonflikte um Energie und Mobilität. Frankfurt/New York: Campus Verlag, 267-284.

Klengel, Ernesto (2024): Ein Gesetz mit Potenzial. In: DGB Bildungswerk/NordSüd-Netz: Unternehmensverantwortung weltweit. Potenzial des Lieferkettengesetzes für die Gewerkschaftsarbeit. Düsseldorf: DGB Bildungswerk BUND, 22-27.

López, Tatiana/ Fütterer, Michael (2019). Gewerkschaft als internationale soziale Bewegung – Das TIE-Orangensaftnetzwerk. In: Ludwig, Carmen/Simon, Hendrick/Wagner, Alexander (ed.): Entgrenzte Arbeit – (un-)begrenzte Solidarität? Münster: Westfälisches Dampfboot, 174-190.

Maksuk/Malaka, Tan /Suheryanto/ Umayah, Abu (2016): Environmental Health Risk Analysis of Paraquat Exposure in Palm Oil Plantations. In: International Journal of Public Health Science (IJPHS) 5(4), 465-469. https://doi.org/10.11591/ijphs.v5i4.4852

Marx, Karl (1880): A Workers’ Inquiry. La Revue socialiste, April 20, 1880. www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1880/04/20.htm, 29.10.24.

Merk, Jeroen (2009): Jumping Scale and Bridging Space in the Era of Corporate Social Responsibility: Cross-Border Labour Struggles in the Global Garment Industry. In: Third World Quarterly 30 (3), 599-615. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436590902742354

Munck, Ronaldo (2010): Globalization and the Labour Movement: Challenges and Responses, Global Labour Journal 1 (2), 218-232. https://doi.org/10.15173/glj.v1i2.1073

Myzabella, Nuruly/Fritschi, Lin/Merdith, Nick/El-Zaemey, Sonia/Chih, HuiJun/Reid, Alison (2019): Occupational Health and Safety in the Palm Oil Industry: A Systematic Review. In: The international journal of occupational and environmental medicine 10 (4), 159–173. https://doi.org/10.15171/ijoem.2019.1576

Nastovski, Katherine (2021): Transnational Labour Solidarity as Transformative Practice: Reframing the Role of Labour Transnationalism. In: GLJ 12 (2), 113-130. https://doi.org/10.15173/glj.v12i2.4042

Nestlé (2023): Supply Chain Disclosure Palm Oil. www.nestle.com/sites/default/files/2019-08/supply-chain-disclosure-palm-oil.pdf, 29.10.24.

Nowak, Jörg (2021): Transnational solidarity networks between workers and global production networks. In: Komlosy, Andrea/Music, Goran (eds.): Global Commodity Chains and Labor Relations. Leiden/Boston: Brill, 299-315. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004448049_013

O’Laughlin, Bridget (2008): Governing Capital? Corporate Social Responsibility and the Limits of Regulation. In: Development and Change 39 (6), 945–957. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7660.2008.00522.x

Paret, Marcel (2019): Building Labor Solidarity in Precarious Times: The Danger of Union Paternalism. In Labor Studies Journal 44 (4), 314–332. https://doi.org/10.1177/0160449X18814310

Puder, Janina (2019): Excluding migrant labor from the Malaysian bioeconomy: Working and living conditions of migrant workers in the palm oil sector in Sabah. In: Austrian Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 12 (1), 31–48.

Pye, Oliver (2017): Für einen labour turn in der Umweltbewegung. In: PROKLA 47(189), 517-534. https://doi.org/10.32387/prokla.v47i189.54

Pye, Oliver (2019): Commodifying sustainability: Development, nature and politics in the palm oil industry. In: World Development 121, 218-228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.02.014

RSPO (2019): RSPO Guidance. Implementing a Decent Living Wage. https://rspo.org/wp-content/uploads/rspo-gui-t08-004_v1_eng_guide_on_living_wage.pdf, 29.10.2024.

Ruwanpura, Kanchana N. (2014): Scripted Performances? Local Readings of “Global” Health and Safety Standards (The Apparel Sector in Sri Lanka). In: GLJ 4 (2), 88-108. https://doi.org/10.15173/glj.v4i2.1133

Sinaga, Hariati (2021): Buruh Siluman: The Making and Maintaining of Cheap and Disciplined Labour on Oil Palm Plantations in Indonesia. In: Backhouse, Maria/Lehman, Rosa/Lorenzen, Kristina/Lühmann, Malte/Puder, Janina/Rodríguez, Fabricio/Tittor, Anne(eds.): Bioeconomy and Global Inequalities. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 175-194. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68944-5_9

Solidar (2019): Palm oil report: Exploited and illegalized: The lives of palm oil migrant workers in Sabah. https://solidar.ch/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/palmoel_report_2019_e_web.pdf, 11.06.2021

Teo, Yu Xuan/Chan, Yon Sin/Gouwanda, Darwin/Gopalai, Alpha Agape/Nurzaman, Surya Girinatha/Thannirmalai, Subbiah (2021): Quantification of muscles activations and joints range of motions during oil palm fresh fruit bunch harvesting and loose fruit collection. In: Scientific reports 11 (1), 15020. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-94268-4

TPOLS (2023): Sambas Declaration on Just Transition in the Palm Oil Industry. https://palmoillabour.network/sambas-declaration-for-just-transition-in-thepalm-oil-industry/. 29.10.24

Utting, Peter (2008): The Struggle for Corporate Accountability. In: Development and Change 39 (6), 959–975. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7660.2008.00523.x

Wahab, Andika/Dollah, Ramli (2023): Measuring Child Labor in Oil Palm Production in Sabah, Malaysia. In: Sage Open 13 (4), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231201264

Waterman, Peter/Wills, Jane (2002) Space, Place and the New Labour Internationalisms: Beyond the Fragments? In: Antipode 33 (3), 305–311.

Waterman, Peter (1993): Social-Movement Unionism: A New Union Model for a New World Order? In: Review (Fernand Braudel Center) 16 (3), 245-278. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8330.00186

Wells, Don (2009): Local Worker Struggles in the Global South: reconsidering Northern impacts on international labour standards. In: Third World Quarterly 30 (3), 567–579. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436590902742339

Zimmer, Reingard (2024): Möglichkeiten der Beteiligung von Betriebsrat und Wirtschaftsausschusses an der Umsetzung des Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtgesetzes. In: AuR2024 (1), 7-14.