Stephen Roach, Managing Director and Chief Economist of Morgan Stanley, wrote the following on January 12, 2007 :
"By a vote of 315 to 116, the US House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved a two-year 41% increase in America’s minimum wage — the first change in the pay floor in 10 years. The bill is likely to pass the Senate and be signed into law by President Bush. This is only the beginning of what could well be a major pro-labor swing in the US political pendulum. But there is an important twist to labor’s comeback : Lacking in bargaining power in the face of an increasingly powerful global labor arbitrage, American workers are in no position to take action on their own. Instead, they have put pressure on their elected proxies to do the bidding for them. This pattern is global in scope. It is likely to be a significant feature of the coming swing in the pendulum of economic power from capital to labor."
We invite you to react to this analysis and prospective view that announces a shift from capital to labour politics in the US and abroad.
– Is this analysis right about the shift in politics ? What are the impacts of such a shift on labour laws and on the Labour global governance trajectories ?
– Comments should not exceed 600 words and should be posted before February 19th, 2007.
You can read the article posted by Stephen S. Roach, Managing Director and Chief Economist of Morgan Stanley, on the Morgan Stanley Global Economic Forum on January 12, 2007. Entire article
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