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57 Cornell Int'l L.J. 163 (2024)
Reimagining Labor Governance in Global Value Chains: Lessons from the Mathadi Model for Adapting Wage Boards to Transnational Labor Governance

handle is hein.journals/cintl57 and id is 163 raw text is: Reimagining Labor Governance in Global Value Chains: Lessons from the Mathadi Model for Adapting Wage Boards to Transnational Labor Governance Hila Shamir & Shelley Marshall' There is growing evidence that private corporate and multi-stakeholder initiatives- often termed 'Supply Chain Solutions'-are failing to address the social and envi- ronmental challenges arising from the governance of Global Value Chains (GVCs). GVCs themselves challenge traditional labor laws and employment regulations due to their multi-tiered supply structures, the dynamics of private power, and the cross-border reach of contracting firms. These factors render traditional labor law tools largely inaccessible or irrelevant to workers in the lower tiers of GVCs. Efforts to regulate labor in GVCs, such as corporate Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) legislation, have fallen short. These top-down approaches, typically originating in the Global North, lack input from affected communities in the Global South, ex- clude meaningful worker participation, and often lack enforcement mechanisms. This raises a critical question: can labor law address the harsh working conditions created by GVC dynamics under supply chain capitalism? This Article explores whether localized tripartite models of labor regulation- specifically wage boards that institutionalize bargaining between unions, employer associations, and state representatives to set working conditions, social security, and wages-could be scaled up to address the low labor standards in GVCs. One particularly promising model is the Mathadi Boards in Maharashtra, India, which have successfully improved the working conditions of informal workers who carry loads on their heads in markets, construction sites, industrial sites, and ports. T Hila Shamir, Tel Aviv University and PI ChainGE Lab (ERC); Shelley Marshall, RMIT University and the Business and Human Rights Centre. This work is supported by ChainGE Lab research project, funded by the European Union Horizon ERC grant ERC-2022- COG (New Labour Law, Project Number 101088188). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Research Council Executive Agency (ERCEA) (the 'granting authority'). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. It is also supported by the Australian Research Council, DE200101396. The authors would like to thank Anjali Sharma and Chinmayi Naik for their dedicated research in Pune, conducting interviews with workers, Chandan Kumar for his support of the project and assistance throughout, Babu Remesh for his insights, and Renee Burns and Debbie Siton for their thorough desktop research and their assistance in bringing the text to print. 57 CORNELL INT'L L.J. 101 (2024)

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