The United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) has recently incorporated driver pay into its guidelines on the promotion of safe and decent work in road transport. ILO guideline 73 states that ‘the remuneration of … CMV [commercial motor vehicle] drivers should be sustainable and take into consideration the attractiveness and sustainability of the industry’. In the spirit of this, we explore the relationship between truck drivers’ relative income and intrastate motor carrier safety performance. We utilise the United States (US) Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage data for heavy and tractor-trailer truck driver median annual incomes and the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey estimates of median household incomes to construct county level relative income ratios for truck drivers. This information is merged with public safety data to analyse the relationship between truck drivers’ relative pay and motor carrier safety performance. We find that, all else constant, carriers located in counties where driver earnings are relatively high tend to experience fewer crashes. This provides evidence that safety performance is better when driver pay is more attractive in the truck driver labour market and, consequently, validates the ILO’s assertion under guideline 73.

Work-related stress is a major occupational health and safety (OHS) issue that has industrial relations origins. Aside from the moral and human rights imperatives to improve the corporate climate for worker psychological health (as per psychosocial safety climate, PSC), there are strong economic costs for not doing so. PSC refers to worker perceptions of the corporate safety system to protect and promote workers’ psychological health and wellbeing. It is a leading indicator of working conditions, which in turn affect workers’ health and work engagement. In this study, we estimate the attributable economic cost of low PSC due to sickness absence and turnover. Data were collected from a multinational company using survey at Time 1 (T1) and objective company data (i.e., sickness absence and turnover) after one year (T2). Using regression analysis and a matched sample of 617 responses, PSC was negatively related to future sickness absence. A binomial logistic regression with 1268 respondents (i.e., all responses at T1) showed that PSC was negatively related to future voluntary turnover. An economic analysis suggests that improving OHS via PSC could save an organisation with 5000 employees USD 0.6–2.7 million per year. Building PSC to protect and promote workers’ psychological health is a likely economic saving on organisational productivity.

Digital technology has enormous potential in rural revitalisation, thus providing impetus for improving the well-being of rural residents in underdeveloped areas. This study takes the policies of e-commerce in rural areas as an intervention in the development of e-commerce. It uses the panel data from 321 counties in the old revolutionary areas of China from 2003 to 2020 to empirically explore the impact of e-commerce development on the income of rural residents. Results show that e-commerce significantly improves the income and well-being of rural residents in old revolutionary areas. Propensity score matching and entropy balance matching are used to overcome group differences in covariate features, and the estimation results are consistently robust. In terms of mechanisms, e-commerce development increases per capita income in old revolutionary areas by promoting three aspects significantly: agricultural revitalisation, non-agricultural employment, and government support efforts. On the other hand, the heterogeneity analysis shows that e-commerce plays a diminishing role in increasing income in the eastern, central, and western regions.

This article studies the association between the characteristics of individuals’ social networks and expectations of career advancement, including pay raises and job promotions. The literature has extensively documented the role of social capital as a determinant of labour market outcomes. However, the formation of expectations constitutes another critical path by which social ties may affect work through their influence on individual motivation and behaviour. This study attempts to explain the relationship between social capital and career-related expectations and empirically assesses these associations by employing data from a survey administered to a representative sample of the Spanish population. Our findings suggest that the ability to mobilise network resources is positively linked with both measures of career advancement. However, access to the upper class is only positively associated with expecting a pay rise. Additionally, for non-employed individuals, higher mobilisation is positively associated with the expectation of an increase in income.

The Korean ‘Safe Trucking Freight Rates System’ (‘Safe Rates System’) was an important effort to address road safety risks by regulating road transport supply chains. In effect between 2020 and 2022, the system set minimum standards for truck driver pay and placed obligations on road transport supply chain parties to comply with these standards. In this article, we explain how the system developed in response to the deregulation and restructuring of the road freight market in the late 1980s and 1990s. We also trace the influence on the system of regulatory development in Australia and debates at the International Labour Organization (ILO). In 2019, workers, employers, and government representatives at the ILO reached an agreement on the main principles of the Safe Rates regulatory model through the adoption of the Guidelines on the promotion of decent work and road safety in the transport sector. We use these principles to explain and evaluate the Korean system. We also summarise assessments of the system’s impact, arguing that the results of the few studies that exist, justify the continuation of the system. By locating Korean Safe Rates as part of a broader global trend, we respond to opponents’ claims that the system is without international precedent and make the system eligible for a global audience. In so doing, we seek to contribute to the ongoing debate about the reintroduction of Safe Rates in Korea and draw lessons from the Korean experience that may be used in other countries.

This paper explores the (de-)routinisation of employment structure in developing countries, through the case of Morocco. We investigate employment (de-)routinisation from an often-overlooked perspective, aiming to elucidate the interplay between the dynamics of occupational employment composition by the level of routine tasks intensity and two structural aspects: premature deindustrialisation and the prevalence of informal labour.

Our findings, based on tertile analysis and regressions, do not fully support the hypothesis of employment structure de-routinisation. At the same time, we could not identify a clear process of routinisation similar to that observed in developing countries undergoing the first stage of the traditional structural transformation process. Rather, we identified an inverted U-shaped pattern in the dynamics of occupational employment, indicative of a rise in intermediate routine-intensive occupations.

We emphasise two key factors, with opposite effects that have contributed to this atypical pattern: The first aspect is premature deindustrialisation, which according to our shift-share decomposition, has adversely affected highly routine-intensive jobs, contrasting with the routinisation trend observed in countries that have experienced a more traditional process of structural transformation. The influence of premature deindustrialisation in terms of de-routinisation is somewhat mitigated by the increasing prevalence of occupations demanding intermediate routine tasks, particularly within the services and construction sector. Regarding the second structural aspect – the prevalence of informal labour – our three-way interaction model indicates a lower susceptibility of informal jobs to de-routinisation compared to their formal counterparts within the same industry. Consequently, the prevalence of informal employment has slowed down the process of de-routinisation of employment structure.

Residential independence and incorporation into the labour market are two fundamental aspects of the transition of young people to adulthood, and gender differences have been observed in both. This study aims to determine the reasons behind the gender gap seen in young adults leaving their parental home and in finding paid employment. We analyse both the decisions of residential independence and employment jointly, for the sample of men and that of women. We separate the influence of observed factors from the influence of unobserved factors or preferences on the gender gap using decomposition techniques. The analysis is carried out for two points in time; this temporal comparison can help demonstrate whether the recent social changes experienced have modified the behaviour patterns of young people. Our findings indicate that, in accordance with the trend observed in recent decades in Europe, there is a convergence between men and women in the residential independence of young adults in Spain. However, in the labour market, there is still much to be done to reduce the gender gap. One recommendation arising from our study would be to promote policies which further improve the conciliation of family and work life, since this could reduce female labour abandonment associated with starting a family or motherhood.

This study investigates the relationship between occupational skills and wages in Thailand using the Labour Force Survey from 1985 to 2020. We quantify the contribution of changes in the skill requirement and highlight the increase in the return on the ‘brain’ and the decrease in the penalty on ‘brawn’, which helps explain the wage distribution changes across periods. We further explore the polarisation in the labour market and analyse the changes in the wage distribution by applying the decomposition method proposed by Firpo et al (2009). Our results suggest that wage dispersion increases in the top end over the first two time periods but decreases in the third time period, while it continues to decrease in the lower end of the distribution.

Companies and business lobby groups bemoan a lack of qualified workers, even for entry-level or low-skill jobs. At issue is a stated inability to find workers with the right ‘fit’ for the role or business. But what does fit really mean? We draw on human capital theory and labour segmentation theory to examine how perceptions of fit are shaped. We conducted ninety-three interviews with food service workers, managers, and other industry stakeholders and found that employment decisions are shaped by stereotypes, with a particular focus on ‘pretty privilege’ or aesthetic labour, as well as Indigeneity, citizenship, race, and gender. We present implications for research and practice in the food services industry.

In the context of big data, the rise of digital inclusive finance is driving the digital transformation of various industries, which in turn, has a profound impact on labour employment. Based on the panel data of 258 prefecture-level cities in China from 2011 to 2021, this article evaluates the impact of digital financial inclusion on the employment structure of the labour force and investigates its spatial spillover effects by constructing a spatial Durbin model and a mediation model. The study finds that: (1) Digital financial inclusion increases the employment demand for high-skilled and low-skilled labour and decreases the employment demand for middle-skilled labour, that is, the employment structure of the labour force shows a polarisation trend. (2) There is a positive spatial spillover effect of the impact of the development of digital financial inclusion on the demand for high- and low-skilled labour. (3) Financial digitisation plays an intermediary role in the process of digital financial inclusion affecting the employment structure of the labour force. Taking advantage of the dividends brought about by the development of digital inclusive finance and formulating policies according to the actual situation of each region indicate an undeniable choice for achieving full employment.

Working Nation is not the radical break with the existing policy framework implied by Albanese’s pre-election rhetoric. However, restoring a meaningful definition of full employment as an objective of government policy is a step in the right direction.

The Accidental Republic is a concern for all industrialised countries, and China is no exception. To solve this problem, Workers’ Compensation Insurance (WCI) is a perfect option. The redemption of The Accidental Republic can be understood through the development of WCI. However, little attention has been paid to the development of Chinese WCI. Starting from labour insurance regulations promulgated in 1951, this research explores over 70 years of reform and development of Chinese WCI, explicitly dividing reforms into three phases – establishment and implementation, exploration and practice, and adaptation and formation – that aligned with stages of China’s economic development. Further, the insurance fund performance in the last decade is evaluated by Data envelopment analysis and Malmquist (DEA-Malmquist), through the static and dynamic results, yielding generally average results. Subsequently, five major problems of WCI are identified and discussed and five suggestions offered drawing on international comparison and the national situation. Lastly, the accidental and inevitable aspects of China’s WCI system during the redemption of The Accidental Republic are summarised.

Indigenous-owned businesses in Australia are strong employers of Indigenous people, maintaining rates of Indigenous employment that are not seen across the breadth of the Australian economy. Despite an increasing focus from governments and private organisations to improve rates of Indigenous employment, there is limited evidence to suggest that substantial improvements are being made. Despite acknowledgement from government of the crucial role played by Indigenous employers in creating Indigenous employment, there has been little focus on what may be learned from the Indigenous business sector in informing public and private Indigenous workplace and recruitment policies. Given the significantly strong levels of Indigenous employment in Indigenous-owned businesses, it is important to interrogate the extent to which this employment differs from that in non-Indigenous businesses and the potential explanations for such divergence. Using data from Supply Nation (2,291 Indigenous-owned businesses) and a survey of 680 non-Indigenous businesses, this paper finds that Indigenous businesses employ Indigenous people at a rate 12 times higher than non-Indigenous businesses. Regression analyses and Oaxaca–Blinder decompositions reveal that these divergent employment outcomes cannot be explained by the broad characteristics of the two sectors (such as industry, location, or profit status). These findings help confirm that the unique workplace practices of Indigenous businesses may explain their strong Indigenous employment and, therefore, provide the template for all Australian businesses to be better employers of Indigenous people.

Deaths in workplace incidents – of both workers and members of the public – normally spark a number of official responses, including coronial inquests. In many instances, however, these investigations have examined the incident in isolation from the wider context of hazards in that industry and are rarely informed by the extensive research literature on health and safety, and death and disaster, at work. In this examination of a tragic theme park disaster in 2016, we demonstrate that applying a wider lens and drawing on the ‘ten pathways model’ not only provides a more compelling explanation of how and why safety measures failed but may also inform more fatality and injury prevention measures. Drawing on James Reasonʼs concept of latent failures, the ten pathways model identifies latent failures that are repeatedly associated with death and disaster in workplaces across different industries. Using the Dreamworld coronial inquest findings and other related source material, this paper finds that at least nine and possibly all ten pattern failures were present in the Thunder River Rapids ride disaster at the Dreamworld theme park and contributed to the deaths of four visitors. In particular, it highlights the corroding effects of poor maintenance, inadequate management systems, and regulatory failure. The paper also raises questions about why theme parks as high-hazard workplaces marked by injuries, deaths, and ‘near misses’ were not subject to more rigorous oversight prior to the event and how regulatory failures might best be addressed.

India is being projected internationally as a country of good growth and good governance, which in turn, it is asserted, should lead to prosperity for its people, especially in terms of proper employment, income, and overall standard of living. Drawing on certain dimensions of decent work proposed by International Labour Organization to measure the quality of employment in India, this article explores how far the notions of good/high growth and good governance discourse are corroborated by the evidence of good quality employment in India. The study is based on the nationally representative unit/individual-level data published by the Government of India during the three periods 2009–10, 2018–19, and 2022–23. The main findings of analysis are: (a) the overall quality of employment in India is poor and stagnant or deteriorating, and (b) the macro-level (sub-national state-level) aspects, such as the overall volume of economic activities, the extent of quality governance, the flexibility of business regulatory environment and better labour law-related compliance, have had a significant negative influence on the quality of employment. Thus, this paper suggests that the very policy environment and the pattern of economic growth have put a drag on the quality of employment in India. Given this, we suggest a variety of countervailing policy options and emphasise the role of civil society and politics.

The Australian debate over Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) sharpened in 2023 because Australian mining billionaire Clive Palmer, having previously registered his mining company in Singapore, has claimed to be a Singaporean investor. He is using ISDS provisions in the 2012 ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement and the amended 2017 Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement to sue the Australian government for a total of A$410 billion in three separate claims. This article uses Cox’s critical theory framework developed by Schneiderman to explain the historical development and power dynamics of ISDS, the contest between its business supporters and social movement critics, and the impact of this contest on governments. It then analyses the Palmer claims and explores the global debate about ISDS, including its increased use by fossil fuel companies against government regulation of carbon emissions, which has led to increased resistance from social movements and governments. ISDS is also being reviewed by the United Nations and World Bank institutions which provide arbitrators for its tribunals and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The conclusion assesses the debate over whether ISDS can be reformed and its future viability.

This study aims to examine the impact of the Hukou system, a labour mobility-restricting institution, on the decision to engage in non-agricultural self-employment in China, reflecting the dynamic process of labour transition from contractual work to self-employment within the country’s evolving labour market. By using the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) dataset, the results show that urban migrants, who own rural Hukou but migrate to large cities, are more likely to turn to self-employment than local citizens conditional on individual characteristics. Taking advantage of the 2014 Hukou reform, we provide supporting evidence that Hukou discrimination is a key factor in explaining the higher self-employment rate among representative urban migrants. Further heterogeneous analysis suggests that low-income migrants experience greater constraints imposed by the Hukou system, while high-income level migrants are more likely to turn to self-employment voluntarily.