Conference Agenda

Building on the power resources approach as an analytical framework, this article examines labour organising in Vietnam. Since the socio-economic reforms of 1986, Vietnam has emerged as a global manufacturing hub. However, during this period, state-controlled trade unions have struggled to effectively represent workers at the grassroots level. This systemic inadequacy has led to wildcat strikes becoming the predominant form of labour resistance. Despite successive legal reforms, state-sponsored dispute resolution mechanisms—such as labour mediation, arbitration, and adjudication—remain marginalised in addressing workers’ collective actions.

Drawing on a case study of workers organising a wildcat strike and live-streaming the event to mobilise participation and garner public attention, this research explores how workers exercise power and navigate dispute resolution. While workers’ structural power remains limited, the case study highlights how digital tools have accelerated information exchange and facilitated collective action, thereby strengthening associational and societal power. However, these tools also enable tighter employer surveillance and state repression against so-called ‘riot’ workers. This article highlights that the effectiveness of digital tools in empowering workers is not only shaped by employer responses but is also contingent on the role of the state apparatus.

This paper examines the power resources of dockworkers and seafarers within the maritime industry, emphasizing the spatial dynamics that shape their collective bargaining strength. Dockworkers operate in geographically contained environments, allowing them to exercise influence at national or local levels. Their unions, often nationally organized, can mobilize large-scale strikes, leveraging ports as strategic chokepoints. In contrast, seafarers are dispersed globally, limiting their collective action despite unionization under the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF). The fragmented nature of their workplaces—aboard vessels with small crews—diminishes their bargaining power compared to dockworkers.

Field research spanning harbors and shipping lines in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Western Europe reveals that traditional harbors tend to have strong labor organizations, while newer ports favor flexible employment models. This variation affects the logistical, market, and associational power of dockworkers, who benefit from urban proximity and social integration.

Dockworkers often secure local political support due to their integration into urban and political networks, with some union leaders holding positions in local governments. Their institutional power remains nationally bound, but in European harbors, proposed regulatory reforms by the European Commission have sparked resistance, coordinated primarily by the ETF. While dockworkers rely on national labor regulations, seafarers depend on international agreements such as the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), which seeks to establish fair working conditions and mitigate global labor exploitation.

Discursive power varies across contexts. In Colombia, neoliberal policies have marginalized dockworkers' rights, whereas in Belgium, unionized labor is considered essential for operational efficiency. For seafarers, international advocacy shapes perceptions, with the ITF playing a key role in negotiating collective bargaining agreements (CBAs). Notably, port workers aid seafarers by influencing ship handling operations, using their local power to pressure shipping companies into compliance.

Ultimately, the spatial dimension is a critical determinant of labor power in the maritime industry. Dockworkers' ability to concentrate their efforts within port cities contrasts sharply with the global dispersion of seafarers, highlighting the challenges and opportunities of labor organization across different geographical scales.

Empirically this study is based on field research in the context of the project titled “Possibilities and Limitations of Decent Working Conditions in Intercontinental Banana Shipping.” This project is supported by the German Society for International Cooperation (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit - GIZ) and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung - BMZ).

Fishing is a longstanding occupation in the world. Small-scale fishing (SSF) communities of South Asia face many challenges in their lives and livelihoods, particularly due to, capital expansionists, technological innovation, and climate change. This study was conducted in one Jaladas (slave of water) village of southeastern Bangladesh to determine the conditions of fishing labours in big boats and provide some evidence-based recommendations for enhancing their holistic well-being. This study adopted the qualitative research design, specifically the FGD. A random survey of 50 households was conducted to find out socio-economic conditions. This paper finds that the young Jaladas are pushed away from their birth-ascribed occupation and engaged as fishing labours in big boats. Their existing working environment is like an ancient slavery system. Bahaddar (owner of a mechanized boat) or his representative verbally appoints labours on contractual basis. They normally pay Taka 115,000/- (1 US$ = Taka 84.83) to 140,000/- to each labour for nine months. The amount of wage is fixed on the basis of some key factors; like age, physical strength, fishing skill, experience, trust, and supply & demand of labour. Usually, each labour has to stay nine months continuously at mid-sea for fishing. Scope of leave is rare. Fishing labours are not able to communicate with their family and relatives due to lack of network frequency of cell phone. They only return to shore during high signal of cyclone and embargo period on fishing. Fishing labours are bound to work under such adversative conditions for survival. SSF communities become poorest of the poor due to lake of sufficient concentration from the government, NGOs, private sector, international development agencies and other actors. Moreover, relevant articles of the UDHR and FAO initiated SSF Guidelines are not implemented properly in support of fishing labours working in large boats. Highest profit-earning mentality of commercial entrepreneurs, apathy, absence of rules of law; lack of collective voices & effective labours association, and non-recognition the rights of labours under small-scale fisheries sector in Labour Law of Bangladesh are major reasons for plights of fishing labours. Still research works are very inadequate in this area. Therefore, global human rights organizations are in dark from real scenario. This paper urged that the Government of Bangladesh should include prioritized needs of fishing labour as provisions during the amendment of Labour Law. Proper execution of Labour Law and establishing the rules of law are concerning issues for ensuring the well-being of fishing labours.

As the world of work evolves, creative institutions exemplify the complexities of non-standard employment systems. This study explores organizational (OC) and professional commitment (PC) within the interorganizational theatre employment system in West Bengal, India, where the labour market is segmented into the “permanent” uni-contractees, the self-employed freelancers and the transparent moonlighters who are allowed interorganizational mobility. As theatre organizations allocate numerous resources (training, compensation and networks) to actors, this study draws on social exchange theory and proposes a theoretical model that investigates how perceptions of HR bundles (commitment- and performance-based) and flexible contracts, such as transparent moonlighting, influence actors’ affective, continuance and normative commitments, and subjective career success (SCS).

Using the context of theatre organizations, this study examines the tensions between both commitments through the interplay of artistic values, organizational goals, multi-agency and volition. It makes significant contribution in the HR bundles domain, where even in low-paying non-formalized socially-constructed institutional fields such as theatre, actor experiences indicate how innovative HR bundles organically evolve from hiring, training and compensation practices to sustain decent work and commitment. It also probes into how transparent moonlighting emerges as a transformative employment model that crafts institutional adaptation by providing adequate remunerative work opportunities in creative industries. This study contributes to theory by highlighting that commitment towards an organization does not necessarily require being contractually bound to it, rather being involved in reciprocal and negotiated arrangements with multiple organizations raises organizational commitment as it ensures decent work. It also looks into the mediating roles that both commitments play in the HR bundles-SCS relationship.

Data was obtained by surveying 347 professional theatre actors: uni-contractees (N=77) and transparent moonlighters (N=270), from various theatre organizations in West Bengal. As our model has interrelated constructs, we used ANOVA and linear regression analysis to verify the hypotheses.

The findings reveal that commitment-based HR bundles enhance OC, while performance-based HR bundles strengthen PC, excluding normative commitment. Contract flexibility moderates these relationships, paradoxically showing that working across organizations elevates actors’ commitment to their primary organization as it increases decent work opportunities. Continuance organizational commitment weakly mediates the commitment-based HR bundle and SCS relationship. By positioning theatre organizations as experimental spaces for revitalizing labour market institutions, this research proposes adaptable HR models that promote decent work, support lifelong skill development, and respond to the challenges of informal employment, addressing broader global issues, including precarious work and institutional adaptation in the face of environmental shifts.

Indian artisans constitute an indispensable yet vulnerable section of the society. Despite their significant contribution to the nation’s economic growth, they often find themselves excluded from mainstream financial and technological advancement. The Global Findex Database 2021 of the World Bank estimates that 44% of adults in India do not have an account at a financial institution. However, India has made significant strides in this area in recent years. The use of digital technology has allowed India to achieve financial inclusion for 85% of its population. Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana launched by the Government of India, is the world’s largest COVID-related cash transfer scheme benefitting the marginalised section. This study explores the transformative potential of financial inclusion in enhancing the sustainable livelihood of artisans. The research is based on Mithila art also known as Madhubani art (GI tag in 2007) that evolved from being a folk art to a sustainable livelihood for many artisans in India. The study investigates the current state of financial access and inclusion among Mithila artisans and attempts to discuss the challenges faced by the community, their financial access and market integration. Focussing on multi-sited ethnographic in Bihar and Delhi, in-depth interviews with artisans, Self-Help Groups (SHG) and focused group discussion at Jitwarpur (Craft Village of Bihar, India) was conducted. Archival reports were referred to analyse how financial constraints impact their economic well-being. Recent studies culminate that financial inclusion can have a positive impact on marginalised communities and lack of access to financial services can lead to poverty traps and inequality (Banerjee and Newman, 1993; Aportela, 1999; Beck Demirg -Kunt and Levine, 2007; Dupas and Robinson, 2009). This study grounded in the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (Majale,2002) and Financial Inclusion Framework (World Bank Group, 2013), argues that improved access to appropriate financial services can strengthen artisan’s asset base, enhance their capabilities, and expand their market opportunities. A key focus of this research is exploring the interplay between access to financial services and existing social capital within artisan communities, examining how this dynamic influences economic outcomes. The research aims to provide context-specific, evidence-based recommendations for stakeholders to empower Mithila artisans through strategic financial inclusion initiatives, ultimately contributing to their economic empowerment and sustainable development.