Global Justice, Labor Standards and Responsibility

Theoretical Inquiries in Law, Vol. 12, No. 117, pp. 118-142, 2011

26 Pages Posted: 1 Aug 2011

See all articles by Hanna Lerner

Hanna Lerner

School of Political Science, Government and International Affairs, Tel Aviv University

Faina Milman-Sivan

University of Haifa - Faculty of Law

Yossi Dahan

Ramat Gan Law School - “College of Law and Business

Date Written: June 30, 2011

Abstract

In this Article we propose an analytical framework for allocating responsibility for the protection of worker’s rights in the global labor market. Since production and services have expanded globally, and the state’s ability to protect worker’s rights on the national level has been undermined, the main challenge today is to find the appropriate institutional arrangements that allocate responsibility in a manner that realizes basic labor standards. The Article argues that in the context of a global labor market, responsibility should be perceived in terms of "shared responsibility," whereby responsibility is shared by a complex network of agents and institutions that take part in global production and services. Within these global social networks and connections, labor relations generate a unique type of social connection which implies a special type of commitment and obligation towards workers. We propose four principles to guide the allocation of responsibility for remedying the unjust conditions of workers in the world, based on measures of connectedness (between people in joint activity), capacity (to relieve workers’ hardship), benefit (from the unjust conditions), and contribution (to bringing the hardship about).

Keywords: justice, global justice, labor, labor standards, responsibility, globalization

Suggested Citation

Lerner, Hanna and Milman-Sivan, Faina and Dahan, Yossi, Global Justice, Labor Standards and Responsibility (June 30, 2011). Theoretical Inquiries in Law, Vol. 12, No. 117, pp. 118-142, 2011, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1875974

Hanna Lerner (Contact Author)

School of Political Science, Government and International Affairs, Tel Aviv University ( email )

Tel Aviv
Israel

Faina Milman-Sivan

University of Haifa - Faculty of Law ( email )

Mount Carmel
Haifa, 31905
Israel

Yossi Dahan

Ramat Gan Law School - “College of Law and Business ( email )

26 Ben-Gurion St.
Ramat Gan, 52275
Israel

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