This short introduction to the symposium sets the context for the collection of articles, locating them in debates about labour conditions in the global economy. It outlines the two central questions which animate the symposium. First, what forms do unfree labour take in the contemporary global...

Deals with the impact of economic globalization on female employment and considers new areas of paid employment opened up for women.

B<sc>arrientos</sc> S. Gendered global production networks: analysis of cocoa-chocolate sourcing, <italic>Regional Studies</italic>. Gendered global production network analysis builds on global value chain and feminist political economy. It explores the interaction between commercial value chains and societal norms in...

type="main" xml:lang="en" <title type="main">ABSTRACT</title> <p>Codes of labour practice implemented by corporate buyers in their global production networks are one dimension of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Research indicates the benefits of codes for workers are limited and they fail to reach the most vulnerable...</p>

South African fruit growers simultaneously face rising standards imposed within supermarket global value chains, falling market prices internationally, and increasing government legislation. These pressures are leading to falling permanent employment and increasing use of contract labour on...

Ethical trade has arisen in the context of globalization. Globalization has been associated with economic liberalization and deregulation of labour markets. This contributed to a competitive 'downward spiral' in labour conditions in export sectors. Ethical trade is a paradox of globalization,...

Third party labour contractors are increasingly prevalent in Global Production Networks (GPNs), and are a potential channel for ‘new forms of slavery’. Our review of case study evidence from South African and UK horticulture suggests unfree labour often emerges off-site through labour...

Abstract A key challenge to promoting decent work in global production networks is how to improve the position of both firms and workers integrated into value chains in which lead firms play a dominant role. Analysis of global production networks and value chains has focused mainly on firms,...

Fair trade and ethical trade have traditionally had quite different aims, scope and modalities, the former principally focused on terms of trade with small scale producers and the latter on working conditions in mainstream production. Global value chain analysis suggests that this coincided with...