Trade and Decent Work in Mexico's Automobile Industry: the Road Travelled and the Unchartered Territory
Juan Carlos Moreno Brid1, Rosa Gómez Tovar1, Joaquín Sánchez Gómez2, Lizzeth Gómez Rodríguez1
1Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México; 2City University of New York, USA
Given the globalized market system, the creation of decent jobs depends on the vitality of international trade, in particular, the extent to which productive activities participate in global value chains (GVC) with robust forward and backward linkages, and generate competitive advantages grounded in innovation rather than low wages. The present case study focusess on Mexico, a country highly integrated into international trade and global value chains. The objective of the study is to analyse the links between the country’s export success and its employment performance, specifically in the automotive industry. To carry out the analysis, this study differentiates exports associated with GVCs and more traditional exports not associated with GVCs, with a specific emphasis on gender and skills.
The analysis sheds light on the quantitative as well as qualitative aspects of employment, such as wages and security, that are used to measure the evolution of decent work as highlighted in ILO (2013, 2021a, 2021b). It is the continuation of a previous study on Mexico’s textile and automotive industries (see Moreno-Brid et al. 2021).
Work and Employment in the Lithium-Ion Battery Industry for Electric Vehicles: a Preliminary Overview
Tommaso Pardi
CNRS - ENS Paris-Saclay, France
The electrification of the automobile industry has been lingering for several years in the aftermath of the 2007 financial crisis. But it has gained momentum only recently. While the tempo of electrification will still vary between regions, it is now clear that electrification is happening at a much faster pace than anybody could anticipate in the 2010s.
Amongst the several disruptive consequences that this accelerated electrification will have on the automotive sector, the first and most evident one concerns the phasing out of the conventional powertrain industry and its accelerated replacement by a complete new industry that will produce batteries and electric powertrains.
In this article I would like to focus on the implications of such a dramatic change for the future of work and employment in the automotive sector. The article develops a general overview of the main economic, political and institutional factors that are shaping the structuring of this emerging industry and their implications for the quality of jobs that are created. It discusses these developments from the viewpoints of two distinct literatures: the global value chain literature and the productive models literature.
In the first section, GVC concepts of upgrading/downgrading are used to discuss the transformations of automotive value chains brought by the rapid structuring of new battery industries driven by a combination of new industrial policies, venture capital investments and new environmental and trade regulations.
In the second section, the productive model approach is used to characterise the current employment relationships of battery makers. The article highlights in particular the co-existence of three different productive models with different employment relationships:
1) The current “dominant” productive model of global suppliers of the electronic consumers industry embodied by the leading East-Asian battery makers such as CATL, BYD, LG, Samsung and SKI;
2) The “challenger” productive model of innovative start-ups such as Tesla, Northvolt, BritishVolt, QuantumScape, Fryer and Verkor;
3) And the “traditional” productive model of automotive companies represented by the growing number of joint ventures and direct investments in battery manufacturing by OEMs.
The article discusses whether these transformations as well as the competition between these different groups of firms and their related productive models are leading to upgrading, reproduction or downgrading of existing automotive employment relationships, in particular concerning the new jobs created in battery manufacturing, both in core and emerging countries.
Labour Practices and Working Conditions in Indian Informal Gold Jewellery Manufacturing Sector: Perspective of Decent Work in the Context of New Labour Reforms
Biju Varkkey1, Jatinder Kumar Jha2, Ansari Novel1
1Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, India; 2XLRI Jamshedpur, India
Informal sector has been significantly contributing to the employment generation across industries and countries, however, existing evidence regarding quality of employment in this sector is not encouraging. Frequently cited reasons for poor quality of employment conditions in informal sector has been lack of employment opportunity in formal sector, skill gap, lack of formal education and others. Like other manufacturing sector Indian gold jewellery manufacturing sector too relies heavily on informal workforce (no formal employment contract) for various purposes not necessarily for labour cost optimization. Research in Indian gold manufacturing studying labour practices and working conditions in informal sector is not adequate however, anecdotal evidence suggest absence of quality employment in this sector. This qualitative study is first of its kind that attempts to understand the labour dynamics, labour practices, working conditions and challenges faced by the artisans in Indian gold jewellery manufacturing informal sector.
We have captured experiences of 123-artisans (Karigars) working in informal workshop across country using in-depth interviews and observation about working conditions and labour practices prevailing in informal gold jewellery manufacturing sector. Data has been analysed using inductive approach of qualitative method and results are framed using ‘Decent work (ILO, 1999)’ framework that proposes characteristics of productive and quality employment.
Result shows absence of basic hygiene elements at the informal workplaces, longer working hours, absence of social security (owing to informal employment), discontinuity in work because of seasonality and demand – supply uncertainties, and work insecurity. In addition, we found this sector suffers from lack of skilled artisans to match demand, and young generation are no more interested joining this sector as Karighar’s. Based on our results we have developed a framework for Gold Karigar talent management process (GKTMP) in the informal sector, wherein we have highlighted the processes of karigars acquisition (social network, employee referrals), development of karigars (on job learning), productivity linked compensation plans, and various routes to enter into formal manufacturing unit and finally different career paths taken by Karigars during and after the active years of their working life. Findings of this study has relevance for policy makers and manufacturing firms, both in formal and informal sector for the creation of skilled karigar pool and managing the karigars in gold jewellery manufacturing sector.
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