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dc.rights.licenseCC-BY-NC-ND
dc.contributor.advisorvan Westen, A.C.M.
dc.contributor.authorVoorsluys, A.C.
dc.date.accessioned2019-07-23T17:01:08Z
dc.date.available2019-07-23T17:01:08Z
dc.date.issued2019
dc.identifier.urihttps://studenttheses.uu.nl/handle/20.500.12932/32969
dc.description.abstractThe international demand for low-cost production has led to a rise of low-wage labor in food processing industries. In response, there is an increasing attention for living wages in global value chains. However, there is a theoretical challenge of conceptualizing ‘living wage’ and a practical challenge in its implementation. The adoption of living wage in agricultural chains in developing countries is especially coupled with corporate responsibility and allocate a significant role to trade unions in local embedding of living wage methodology and justification for wage gaps. Living wage lobby is peripheral to traditional trade union activities and further conceptualization of trade unions as local living wage agents is lacking. A case study has been conducted to further explore role of trade unions in living wage strategies. Lévesque and Murray (2010) have developed a framework for Trade Union Capacity Renewal, answering to the changing employment patterns in the face of globalizing value chains. This framework was supplemented with concepts from living wage literature. The case study zooms in on the cashew value chain of Benin where agricultural production occupies 80% of the population. Raw cashew nut (RCN) production and processing faces structural reforms, aimed at increasing domestic value adding and participation in the international cashew market. The research addresses the question What is the potential role of trade unions in fostering living wage strategies in the Beninese cashew value chain? First, positions of cashew sector stakeholders, producer groups and worker groups were mapped regarding trade union involvement within the cashew sector. Four conditions for stakeholder mobilization were identified including the contribution of trade unions to employee commitment in RCN processing, formalization within the sector, and an increased trade union transparency and accountability. Secondly, trade union capacities were analyzed through in-depth interviews with trade union leadership. It was found that capacity-building of proactive articulation, network embeddedness, infrastructural resources and learning is needed for optimal trade union renewal. Expert elicitation was conducted to increase credibility of the qualitative data. The combination of conditions for stakeholder mobilization and trade union capacity-building suggests three reciprocal trade union strategies for living wage fostering in Beninese cashew processing. The strategies include labor organization in cashew processing, multi-stakeholder collaboration and customized exchange with cashew stakeholders, and collective cashew sector lobby strategies. These strategies prove feasibility of living wage embedding in value chains and require an external push to support collective bargaining institutes for sustainable living wage fostering.
dc.description.sponsorshipUtrecht University
dc.format.extent3392226
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.titleThe role of trade unions in living wage fostering: a case study on trade union capacities for living wage strategies in the cashew value chain of Benin
dc.type.contentMaster Thesis
dc.rights.accessrightsOpen Access
dc.subject.keywordsLiving wage fostering, informal labor, corporate responsibility, trade union capacity renewal, cashew value chains
dc.subject.courseuuSustainable Development


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