Social Issues, Globalisation and International Institutions

Concern over the relationship between human rights, social justice and international trade competitiveness has led to the inclusion of the issue of the rights of workers in the agenda of leading international organizations. International labour issues once seen as a monopoly preoccupation of the ILO (International Labour Organization) have now become important issues in other international organizations, as well as within regional trading blocs. This original study examines the extent to which international labour issues have become issue of concern within the European Union, the ILO, the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development), and the WTO (World Trade Organization). The internationally known authors of this book have been long-time observers of the work of international organizations on labour rights and globalisation and have been leaders in the effort to bring issue of social justice onto the international agenda. Social Issues, Globalisation and International Institutions: Labour Rights and the EU, ILO, OECD and WTO is the culmination of a project of the Program for the Study of International Organization(s) (PSIO) at the Graduate Institute of Institute of International Studies, Geneva, Switzerland (HEI), supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation. With contributions by Philip Alston, Steve Charnovitz, Andrew Clapham, Robert Howse, Brian A. Langille and James Salzman.