Papers by Melisa R. Serrano
Philippine Journal of Labor and Industrial Relations, 2005
Using the Philippines as a country study, this paper adds up to the emerging growth literature ch... more Using the Philippines as a country study, this paper adds up to the emerging growth literature challenging the causal link between trade liberalization and economic growth. In fact, the Philippines’ dismal economic performance in the period 1980-2000, the heyday of external liberalization, only brought stagnation, unemployment and declining real wages. For the first time, the Philippines experienced negative growth during the period. Challenging the dominant economic paradigm that drives today’s process of globalization and the neoliberal theoretical assumptions linking trade liberalization to growth is thus the area of theoretical debate where this research seeks to engage in. Coherent and legitimate industrial policies and strategies should focus not only on price stability but on sources of real stability such as on employment, wages, poverty reduction and elimination, and equity. An enlargement of public policy space for developing countries both in the national and internationa...
The essays here, by trade unionists and academics from around the world, explore the state of lab... more The essays here, by trade unionists and academics from around the world, explore the state of labour in Brazil, China, Nepal, South Africa, Turkey, North America and Europe. The authors offer a rich range of short-term strategies and actions, medium- and long-term policies, and alternative visions that challenge the current development paradigm. This book makes a stimulating contribution to the continuing debate on labour’s role as an economic, political and social force in building a more democratic and just society. 'In a context of sustained economic crisis ... there are no clear roadmaps for the alternative, a sustainable society that can only be forged through innovative mobilization. We are fortunate, therefore, for the rich offerings in this book that examine the crisis and craft inspiring elements of a vision for a more economically and environmentally viable society. Based on well-informed research, this fine collection of writings also points toward the innovative stra...
Asia-pacific Social Science Review, 2018
As elsewhere, the incidence of non-standard employment is increasing in the Philippines amidst de... more As elsewhere, the incidence of non-standard employment is increasing in the Philippines amidst declining union density rates for the last 15 years. This twin phenomenon has posed challenges to trade unions’ structures and their understanding of representation. Based on the author’s survey of union strategies on non-standard employment adopted by 93 Metro Manila-based enterprise unions and 13 national federations in four industries—manufacturing, banking and finance, hotels and restaurants, and private education—the article identifies and examines the variety of ways trade unions, both at the enterprise and at the national level, attempt to represent non-standard workers and regulate employers’ use of non-standard forms of employment, and the factors that influence both union actions. The analysis demonstrates the unions’ preference of regulation over representation, and that this can be explained by the higher difficulties and constraints that unions face in pursuing the latter. Nev...
On 28 March 2012, the Philippine Government, through the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivi... more On 28 March 2012, the Philippine Government, through the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board of Region IV-A, issued Wage Order IVA-15. Its purpose was to further strengthen the policy framework to encourage improvements in productivity, including by enhancing the link between wages and productivity at the enterprise level. This wage order has piloted the implementation of a two-tier wage system in Region IV-A (CALABARZON), which is home to many export-processing and industrial zones. On 1 May 2014, another wage order was issued – Wage Order IVA-16 – clarifying some confusing provisions of the earlier order. This paper explores how the wage order is being implemented two years (2013 to 2014) after its issuance in Region IV-A by examining the various schemes and processes involved in devising various productivity-based pay schemes through case studies of selected companies in the region. It also examines the extent of coverage of the productivity-based pay tier in terms o...
Using data gathered through a survey, this paper identifies critical factors and variables that m... more Using data gathered through a survey, this paper identifies critical factors and variables that may positively affect or influence collective representation of workers employed in micro and small enterprises (MSEs). These factors include: legislations on enforcement of formal employment contract, protection of job security, protection of the right to organize, and social security coverage; inclusion of skills training and upgrading among union services; using safety at work, grievances or problems at work, and income security or stability (e.g. minimum wage campaigns) as organizing themes; and establishment and/or strengthening of other forms or structures of organization to represent MSE workers. These factors will require creative and innovative union strategies, increased union visibility in the MSE sector, and a stronger role of unions in addressing issues and concerns of MSE workers.
The International Labour Office welcomes such applications. Libraries, institutions and other use... more The International Labour Office welcomes such applications. Libraries, institutions and other users registered with reproduction rights organizations may make copies in accordance with the licences issued to them for this purpose. Visit www.ifrro.org to find the reproduction rights organization in your country.
The aim of this study was to ways of strengthening trade union organization amongst workers in mi... more The aim of this study was to ways of strengthening trade union organization amongst workers in micro and small enterprises (MSEs) through conducting a mapping exercise (horizontal and vertical mapping) in nine countries. Drawing on the work of Regalia, we identified two dimensions to union responses to non- standard workers. The first dimension is determined by the degree of awareness of the specific nature of the interests of non-standard workers. The second is the willingness of trade unions to innovate with representation models. In two of the nine country cases – that is, call centre workers in Brazil and moto- couriers in Turkey – trade unions showed little awareness of non-standard workers specific interests or willingness to innovate representation models. In three of the cases – retail workers in the Ukraine, restaurant workers in South Korea and garment workers in South Africa – there was a similar lack of awareness of the their interests but some willingness to innovate re...
The International Labour Office welcomes such applications. Libraries, institutions and other use... more The International Labour Office welcomes such applications. Libraries, institutions and other users registered with reproduction rights organizations may make copies in accordance with the licences issued to them for this purpose. Visit www.ifrro.org to find the reproduction rights organization in your country.
Die gedruckte Ausg. ist im Rainer Hampp Verlag, Munchen, Mering (www.Hampp-Verlag.de) erschienen.
In September 2002 the Singapore Office of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung organized a workshop entitled ... more In September 2002 the Singapore Office of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung organized a workshop entitled 'China's Membership in the WTO-Consequences for Labour Markets in ASEAN Economies'. National, regional and global trade union leaders supported by academics, think-tanks and government representatives from the ASEAN region discussed possibilities to avoid a 'race to the bottom' as a result of the intense competition between China and countries in Southeast Asia for foreign direct investment. In this context the need of a social agenda as a counterweight to the economic, financial, and security architecture of ASEAN was raised. The concept of an ASEAN Social Charter was than developed at the FES-Workshop 'Against a social 'Race to the bottom'-The Demand for an AFTA-Social Charter', in Singapore in May/June 2003 and further discussed at a follow-up workshop 'An AFTA Social Charter-Shaping the Draft and Exploring its Chances' in December 2003 in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. To explore the chances of an ASEAN Social Charter within the context of the ASEAN Community the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung requested the School of Labour and Industrial Relations of the University of the Philippines (UP-SOLAIR) to prepare a study entitled 'Is a Social Charter Possible in the ASEAN?-Exploring the Chances of an ASEAN Social Charter in six ASEAN Member States'. From November 2003 to April 2004 the researchers of UP-SOLAIR visited six major ASEAN countries with the objective to gather insights and recommendations from all stakeholders of a proposed ASEAN Social Charter and to come up with suggestion on the content of such a Charter as well as with strategies to mobilize its acceptance. The first draft of this study as well as written comments and suggestions to a first draft of the ASEAN Social Charter formed the basis for a fourth workshop in Singapore in April 2004, which had the task to agree on a final version of the ASEAN Social Charter. The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung would like to thank the two researchers of UP-SOLAIR, Ms. Melisa R. Serrano and Ms. Mary C. Marasigan as well as the Dean of UP-SOLAIR, Mr. Juan Amor F. Palafox for undertaking this study and for providing a wealth of very valuable data, which will be most useful for present and future activities of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Southeast Asia.
A new collection of case studies about gender and trade unions in eight countries, ranging from T... more A new collection of case studies about gender and trade unions in eight countries, ranging from Turkey to India, Brazil to Africa, the Philippines and New Zealand. Researched and written by insider/ outsider union activists and officers, the book is the culmination of five years of collaborative research by the Global Labour University Gender and Trade Unions Research Group.
Page 1. GLOBAL LABOUR UNIVERSITY Strategies for Closing the Representation Gap in Micro and Small... more Page 1. GLOBAL LABOUR UNIVERSITY Strategies for Closing the Representation Gap in Micro and SmallEnterprises Melisa Serrano and Edlira Xhafa Edward Webster and Christine Bischoff Working Paper NO 10 July 2010 Page 2. ...
Employee Relations Law Journal, 2019
The article examines the differential impacts of statutory and non- statutory regulations and arr... more The article examines the differential impacts of statutory and non- statutory regulations and arrangements on working time in the Philippines, and highlights the existence of a “working-time divide” between and across industries, between the formal and informal sec- tors, between and across categories of workers, and between union- ized and non-unionized enterprises. Some policy measures are proposed that aim at addressing the working-time divide.
Labor History, 2012
Globalization manufactures both insecurity and resistance. In Grounding Globalization, Webster, L... more Globalization manufactures both insecurity and resistance. In Grounding Globalization, Webster, Lambert and Bezuidenhout offer an in-depth critique of the existing processes of globalization by highlighting how, through three case studies, the self-regulating market ...
This article distinguishes between two logics of union renewal: accommodation and transformation.... more This article distinguishes between two logics of union renewal: accommodation and transformation. It examines the functioning and potential of these logics in two industrial unions in Germany and Canada, exploring factors that influence decisions to give priority to one renewal logic. The findings suggest that the two logics can coexist, and that unions are able to alternate between them. Of particular relevance in comparative perspective are some similarities and differences in the renewal processes and strategies pursued by the two unions.
As elsewhere, the incidence of non-standard employment is increasing in the Philippines amidst de... more As elsewhere, the incidence of non-standard employment is increasing in the Philippines amidst declining union density rates for the last 15 years. This twin phenomenon has posed challenges to trade unions’ structures and their understanding of representation. Based on the author’s survey of union strategies on non-standard employment adopted by 93 Metro Manila-based enterprise unions and 13 national federations in four industries—manufacturing, banking and nance, hotels and restaurants, and private education—the article identi es and examines the variety of ways trade unions, both at the enterprise and at the national level, attempt to represent non-standard workers and regulate employers’ use of non-standard forms of employment, and the factors that in uence both union actions. The analysis demonstrates the unions’ preference of regulation over representation, and that this can be explained by the higher difficulties and constraints that unions face in pursuing the latter. Nevertheless, this article has established the emergence of a “bricolage of organizational forms” and a plurality of innovative union initiatives aimed at protecting non-standard workers and arresting the spread of precarious non-standard employment.
The paper aims at contributing to the discussions on the challenge of
transitioning from precario... more The paper aims at contributing to the discussions on the challenge of
transitioning from precarious informal employment to more protected
employment. This paper looks into a rather under-researched area—the role of trade unions in facilitating this process of ‘transitioning’ as well as in containing the spread of this type of employment. We refer to this process, along with its outcomes, as the 'positive transitioning effect' of trade unions. Through 10 case studies from nine countries (Brazil, India, Israel, Nepal, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Korea, the UK, and Zambia), the paper analyses several factors, such as the legal framework (i.e., labour laws and regulations), economic and social protection measures beyond the labour law, union's organisation structures and processes, and union strategies and measures, that influence the success of
various ‘transitioning’ initiatives undertaken either solely by trade unions or in collaboration with other organisations. In facilitating the transition to more protected employment, trade unions have used these factors to draw on and develop various power resources: institutional, associational, structural and social power. The paper shows that, among the various dimensions of these power resources, institutional vitality plays a critical role in reinforcing the unions’ ability to make strategic choices not only to resist the informalisation of work but also to
initiate and push for positive changes in the world of work.
The paper explores how the wage order is being implemented two years (2013 to 2014) after its iss... more The paper explores how the wage order is being implemented two years (2013 to 2014) after its issuance in Region IV-A by examining the various schemes and processes involved in devising various productivity-based pay schemes through case studies of selected companies in the region. It also examines the extent of coverage of the productivity-based pay tier in terms of the number of participating establishments as of 2014. The issues and concerns about the productivity-based pay tier raised by both
employers and trade unions are identified. Through the case studies, the paper attempts to establish how companies try to link wages and productivity and how the wage order on the two-tier system has
influenced such initiatives, if it has done so at all. Finally, the paper analyses what impact enterprise-based collective bargaining might have on establishing and strengthening the link between wages and
productivity in organized establishments.
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Papers by Melisa R. Serrano
transitioning from precarious informal employment to more protected
employment. This paper looks into a rather under-researched area—the role of trade unions in facilitating this process of ‘transitioning’ as well as in containing the spread of this type of employment. We refer to this process, along with its outcomes, as the 'positive transitioning effect' of trade unions. Through 10 case studies from nine countries (Brazil, India, Israel, Nepal, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Korea, the UK, and Zambia), the paper analyses several factors, such as the legal framework (i.e., labour laws and regulations), economic and social protection measures beyond the labour law, union's organisation structures and processes, and union strategies and measures, that influence the success of
various ‘transitioning’ initiatives undertaken either solely by trade unions or in collaboration with other organisations. In facilitating the transition to more protected employment, trade unions have used these factors to draw on and develop various power resources: institutional, associational, structural and social power. The paper shows that, among the various dimensions of these power resources, institutional vitality plays a critical role in reinforcing the unions’ ability to make strategic choices not only to resist the informalisation of work but also to
initiate and push for positive changes in the world of work.
employers and trade unions are identified. Through the case studies, the paper attempts to establish how companies try to link wages and productivity and how the wage order on the two-tier system has
influenced such initiatives, if it has done so at all. Finally, the paper analyses what impact enterprise-based collective bargaining might have on establishing and strengthening the link between wages and
productivity in organized establishments.
transitioning from precarious informal employment to more protected
employment. This paper looks into a rather under-researched area—the role of trade unions in facilitating this process of ‘transitioning’ as well as in containing the spread of this type of employment. We refer to this process, along with its outcomes, as the 'positive transitioning effect' of trade unions. Through 10 case studies from nine countries (Brazil, India, Israel, Nepal, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Korea, the UK, and Zambia), the paper analyses several factors, such as the legal framework (i.e., labour laws and regulations), economic and social protection measures beyond the labour law, union's organisation structures and processes, and union strategies and measures, that influence the success of
various ‘transitioning’ initiatives undertaken either solely by trade unions or in collaboration with other organisations. In facilitating the transition to more protected employment, trade unions have used these factors to draw on and develop various power resources: institutional, associational, structural and social power. The paper shows that, among the various dimensions of these power resources, institutional vitality plays a critical role in reinforcing the unions’ ability to make strategic choices not only to resist the informalisation of work but also to
initiate and push for positive changes in the world of work.
employers and trade unions are identified. Through the case studies, the paper attempts to establish how companies try to link wages and productivity and how the wage order on the two-tier system has
influenced such initiatives, if it has done so at all. Finally, the paper analyses what impact enterprise-based collective bargaining might have on establishing and strengthening the link between wages and
productivity in organized establishments.
The book tracks and examines these developments and the new and continuing challenges that unions in Cambodia face. It underscores that despite the existence of an institutional framework that promotes a labour rights regime, which has been facilitated by the US-Cambodia textile trade agreement, the EU's Everything But Arms scheme, and the Better Factories Cambodia, paradoxically, industrial relations remain conflict-ridden. But, as the growth and dynamics of the labour movement are linked with Cambodia's economic growth and political landscape, trade unions' struggle towards independence and relevance will continue to intensify in the coming years. The book reflects on how trade unions may be able to meet this goal.
These stories of emancipatory moments demonstrate that something radically different in terms of socio-economic relations and mental conceptions of the world may arise out of and beyond capitalism. The book presents a fresh and new perspective on how the ‘process of becoming’ alternatives might take place based on peoples’ lived experiences. The chapters in the book, by labour activists and academics, explore how various forms of peoples’ economic and political initiatives and struggles in six countries – Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Nigeria, the Philippines, and South Korea – might become ‘actually existing’ spaces and moments for the development of critical consciousness and transformative capacities which are both central in challenging the dominant social, economic and political relations. The stories in the book bring to light today’s language of peoples’
struggles; what inspires people to create their own emancipatory moments and spaces for transformative self-change. While this book does not aim to propose an alternative to capitalism per se, it
makes a stimulating contribution to the continuing debate on what alternatives to capitalist relations and arrangements might look like by grounding these alternatives in the everyday lives and struggles of workers, women, aboriginal peoples, the unemployed, and the poor.
reflected or internalised in union structures and processes, particularly in collective bargaining. Finally, the chapter identifies several critical factors that may increase the
likelihood of specific gender and women’s issues being integrated into company policies, in the collective agreement, and in union policies and structures, programmes and processes. (pp. 55-94)