MODULE 7: SOCIOLOGY OF WORK, INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND LAW
SECTION 4: GLOBALISATION AND ITS IMPACT ON HEALTH AND SAFETY:
Introduction
 

OBJECTIVES
By the end of this Section you should:
  1. understand the concept of "globalisation";
  2. know the positive and negative impacts of globalisation;
  3. know the effects of globalisation on occupational health internationally and in Southern Africa specifically;
  4. know the responses of international agencies such as the WHO and the ILO to globalisation and occupational health;
  5. know the responses of trade unions to globalisation.

INTRODUCTION:

Globalisation is a term that has been used to describe the growing liberalisation of transnational trade and the increasing economic interdependence of states on each other internationally. This phenomenon has been facilitated by continued changes on the international political arena, such as the end of the "Cold War", the increasing dominance of the United States, the role of international agencies such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organisation and the World Bank. The impact of globalisation has been both positive and negative, particularly in the developing world. By impacting on economic activity throughout the world, the effects of globalisation have been felt in fairly dramatically in the workplace, and thus in the field of occupational health and safety.

This section intends to provide an overview of globalisation, and to study in some depth, its impact on occupational health, the responses from organisations such as the World Health Organisation and the International Labour Organisation, and to discuss some issues key to developing countries, such as women at work and agriculture.

REFERENCES:

  1. Understanding the The Impact Of Globalisation On Occupational Health. Myers JE. Occupational Health Southern Africa 2004; March/April 2004:15-18 .
  2. 1.2.22 Globalisation, Occupational Health And The Agricultural Sector. Myers JE. Occupational Health Southern Africa 2004; May/June 2004:6-13..
  3. Globalisation, occupational health and the agricultural sector in Southern Africa. Occupational Health Southern Africa. In Press, 2004 .
  4. African Newsletter - 2001.
  5. ILO Code of practice on safety, health and working conditions in the transfer of technology to developing countries, 1998.
  6. ILO’s Tripartite Declaration on Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy.
  7. WHO "Global Strategy on Occupational Health for All".
  8. Globalisation and the neo-liberal agenda (Shopsteward: Volume 5 No.2 - April/May 1996).
  9. The new internationalism - a response to globalisation (Shopsteward Vol 6 No 2 - April 1997).
  10. COSATU 6th National Congress Resolution (Shopsteward Vol 6 No 5 - October 1997).