INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS IN PAKISTAN

'Prof Christoph Scherrer from International Center for Development and Decent Work (ICDD) said ICDD was a global multidisciplinary network of eight partner universities, with its head office at the University of Kassel (Germany). It contributes to the global fight against hunger and poverty through research and education to promote economic growth, employment and decent work.'
Read full article: https://academiamag.com/punjab-minister-hussain-jahanian-gerdezi/

NEW BOOK: OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH CHALLENGES IN SOUTHERN AGRICULTURE

NEW PUBLICATION: Christoph Scherrer, Katja Radon (Eds.): Occupational Safety and Health Challenges in Southern Agriculture

Labor and Globalization, edited by Christoph Scherrer, Volume 15, ISBN 978-3-95710-247-8, Rainer Hampp Verlag, Augsburg, München 2019, 195 S., € 24.80

Occupational safety and health (OSH) is a core element of International Labour Organization​’s #DecentWork Agenda. Despite hazardous working conditions in agriculture, unfortunately, OSH issues in agriculture are frequently ignored. This volume’s contributions from Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ghana, India, Nicaragua, and Pakistan as well as from various disciplines.

Highlights:

– the prevalent patriarchal norms and practices which expose women to more health risks;
– the lack of training and education which leave smallholders and farm workers frequently unaware of the health hazards involved in handling machinery and pesticides;
– the lack of protective gear and access to health services among smallholders;
– the undermining of OSH standards by the competitive pressures of global supply chains on their participants;
– the restriction of certifications’ impact mostly to higher hygiene standards.

Key words:
#Occupationalsafety and health , #agriculture, #smallholders, farm workers, #GlobalSouth

PDF  https://bit.ly/2woXcTH

Interview on US - China trade war, tariffs on steel and agriculture

Die US-Stahlindustrie habe ihre Kapazitätsauslastung deutlich erhöhen können, erläuterte Christoph Scherrer, Leiter des Fachgebiets Globalisierung und Politik an der Universität Kassel. [...] Nicht nur die Industriearbeiter haben wenig von den Versprechen profitiert. Schlimmer noch, bislang hätten die Handelssanktionen, die Beijing als Reaktion auf US-Strafzölle erhoben hat, erhebliche Auswirkungen auf den Mittleren Westen der USA: »Die Landwirtschaft hat stark gelitten, und obgleich die Trump-Regierung massive Ausgleichszahlungen vorgenommen hat, hat sich das Höfesterben beschleunigt«, sagte Scherrer.
https://www.jungewelt.de/artikel/354206.chauvinismus-gegen-china.html

New Publication: Public Banks in the Age of Financialization - A Comparative Perspective

This book asks the important question of whether public banks are a better alternative to profit-seeking private banks. Do public banks provide finance for development? Do they serve as stability anchors in financial markets? What kind of governance keeps public banks accountable to the public? Theoretically the book draws on the works of Minsky for the question on stability and on interpretative policy analysis for the issue of governance. It compares empirically three countries with significant public banks: Brazil, Germany, and India.

http://www.e-elgar.com/shop/public-banks-in-the-age-of-financialization

Edited by Christoph Scherrer | Publisher: Edward Elgar.

NEW PUBLICATION: ENFORCEMENT INSTRUMENT FOR SOCIAL HUMAN RIGHTS ALONG SUPPLY CHAINS

New publication:
SCHERRER, Christoph (ed.) 2017: Enforcement Instrument for Social Human Rights along Supply Chains, Mering, Rainer Hampp Verlag.
http://www.uni-kassel.de/go/Scherrer_Enforcement_of_Social_Human_Rights.pdf

German Video Lecture: "Finanzialisierung, Krise und hegemoniales Krisenmanagement"

“Finanzialisierung, Krise und hegemoniales Krisenmanagement” – Lecture of Prof. Dr. Christoph Scherrer at the University of Hamburg

https://lecture2go.uni-hamburg.de/veranstaltungen/-/v/18811

Forschung in Zeiten von TTIP und CETA - Privatisierung der Hochschulen durch Handelsabkommen?

Auch wenn Forschung und Bildung derzeit nicht Gegenstand der TTIP-Verhand- lungen sind, lassen sich an dem schon vorliegenden Verhandlungstext mit Kanada (CETA) Folgen für diese Bereiche ablesen. Es gilt, wachsam zu bleiben.

http://www.wissenschaftsmanagement-online.de/system/files/downloads-wimoarticle/1510_WIMO_Forschung%20in%20Zeiten%20von%20TTIP%20und%20CETA_WALTHER_SCHERRER.pdf

ICDD launches new research on Global Agricultural Production Networks (GAPS)

The ICDD network launches a new research cluster on Global Agricultural Production Networks (GAPS). Read more: http://www.uni-kassel.de/einrichtungen/international-center-for-development-and-decent-work-icdd/events/kick-off-workshop-gaps.html 

New Publication: Is US financial capital further hegemonic through more regulation?

"Auspolierte Kratzer. Das US-Finanzkapital: Durch mehr Regulierung weiter hegemonial?", In: PROKLA 197, Illusion und Macht des Geldes (Juni 2015)

http://www.prokla.de/2015/06/19/editorial-prokla-179/

Panel Discussion: The Ukraine conflict. A European challenge

Date: Monday, June 15, 2015, 6 pm
Location: University of Kassel, Diagonale 9, room 0422

Read more: http://www.uni-kassel.de/einrichtungen/icdd/news.html

Public lecture on "Decent Work along the Agricultural Value Chain"

by Prof. Dr. Christoph Scherrer (University of Kassel) and Prof. Dr. Praveen Jha, (Jawaharlal Nehru University)

When: 27 May, 6 pm
Where: ICDD, Seminar room, Kleine Rosenstraße 1-3, 34117 Kassel

Small-holders and plantation workers receive only a tiny part of the value added in a value chain; e.g. cocoa farmers in Ghana capture only about 4% of the final value of a chocolate bar. They also lack social protection, are exposed to toxic chemicals and face powerful buyers. Economic upgrading is not enough; it has to be accompanied by social upgrading.
What are the obstacles, what are promising strategies to overcome the decent work deficit along agricultural value chains?

http://www.uni-kassel.de/uni/studium/campus-leben/veranstaltungen-termine/termin.html?tx_cal_controller%5Bview%5D=event&tx_cal_controller%5Btype%5D=tx_cal_phpicalendar&tx_cal_controller%5Buid%5D=5872&tx_cal_controller%5Blastview%5D=view-month%7Cpage_id-39468&tx_cal_controller%5Byear%5D=2015&tx_cal_controller%5Bmonth%5D=05&tx_cal_controller%5Bday%5D=27&cHash=49bcb948ca25ad2c87fdc09c279c69a5

"The future of world trade"

"Christoph Scherrer fundamentally criticizes the world trade order. From the perspective of developing countries, a total opening has never proven to be the best way: China, which has only opened selectively is the best example. For the “weak”, he considers a democratization of the political process as essential. "

Read the whole article in German here: https://ftdwirtschaftswunder.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/zeitgesprc3a4ch.pdf

Die Zukunft des Welthandels

Holger Görg, Martin Klein, Michael Pflüger, Oliver Krebs, Christoph Scherrer

95. Jahrgang, 2015, Heft 5, S. 303-318

DOI: 10.1007/s10273-015-1825-8

Global Labour University launches free Massive Open Online Course on Workers’ Rights in a Global Economy

We are happy to announce the launch of a free Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Workers’ Rights in a Global Economy.

Starting on 1 June 2015, the six weeks online course will discuss what Global Workers’ Rights are and which instruments and strategies can be used to implement them. Based on a careful mix of video lectures, readings, online resources and interviews with activists and labour scholars from around the world, participants will gain both knowledge and practical skills for furthering workers’ rights worldwide. You can watch a short trailer here to get an overview of the course:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u8dpMVfFh0

The course has been jointly developed by an international team from the partner universities of the Global Labour University, the Bureau for Workers’ Activities of the International Labour Organisation and national and global trade unions. It brings together labour expertise from around the world.

Participation in the online course is free in the Audit Track: it gives you full access to all course material, to the course community and entitles you to a Statement of Participation after successfully completing the course. Those seeking a formal recognition as a certified training can choose the Certificate Track: for 49 Euros it allows you to earn a verified certificate and a certificate supplement after passing an online-proctored exam on the course content. Among those completing the certificate track, we will cast a lot to select three students who will be invited to participate in the 10th Global Labour University Conference “Sharing the Gains – Containing Corporate Power”, 30 September to 2 October 2015, Washington, D.C. You will find more information on the conference on: www.global-labour-university.org/fileadmin/download/CfP_GLU_Conference_2015.pdf

Please go to https://iversity.org/en/courses/workers-rights-in-a-global-economy for more information and enrolment.

TTIP: Explosive mixture for transatlantic relations

"Politicians like to tie the free trade agreement TTIP to" big politics" and to the strengthening of the transatlantic axis against China. But that could go wrong: The TTIP negotiating agenda dictated by large companies brings conflicts in the Western camp, says Christoph Scherrer, Director of the International Center for Development and Decent Work."

http://www.euractiv.de/sections/eu-aussenpolitik/ttip-explosive-mischung-fuer-die-transatlantischen-beziehungen-312525

Der Freitag: "TTIP und CETA: Risiken statt positive Effekte"

"Ein kritisches Fazit des bisherigen Verhandlungsstandes zieht auch Christoph Scherrer, Professor für "Globalisierung und Politik" an der Universität Kassel. In einer von der Hans-Böckler-Stiftung geförderten Studie schreiben Scherrer und sein Forscherkollege Dr. Stefan Beck: "Das gegenwärtig verhandelte transatlantische Freihandelsabkommen zwischen der Europäischen Union und den USA birgt in mehrfacher Hinsicht Risiken. Zum einen sind die von den Befürwortern propagierten Wohlfahrtseffekte selbst im Falle ihres Eintretens nicht signifikant und dürften zudem ungleich verteilt sein. Zum anderen sind spürbar negative Effekte für Beschäftigte verschiedener Branchen und für die Demokratie als solcher mindestens ebenso wahrscheinlich."

Mehr dazu: http://www.boeckler.de/pdf/p_arbp_303.pdf - Studie: "Das transatlantische Handels- und Investitionsabkommen (TTIP) zwischen der EU und den USA" von Stefan Beck und Christoph Scherrer"

Quelle: https://www.freitag.de/autoren/hans-springstein/ttip-und-ceta-risiken-statt-positive-effekte

"TTIP: Wer sind die Verlierer des Freihandelsabkommens?"

German radio interview with Christoph Scherrer on the losers of TTIP

http://detektor.fm/wirtschaft/ttip-wer-sind-die-verlierer-des-freihandelsabkommens

GLU: A new laboratory of learning for international labor solidarity?

Fichter, Michael, Mark Anner, Frank Hoffer and SCHERRER, 2014: The Global Labour University: A new laboratory of learning for international labor solidarity?, in: Working USA, 17(4) 567-579.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/wusa.12139/abstract

„Die Mittelschicht gerät unter Druck“

"Christoph Scherrer erklärt, welche Auswirkungen soziale Ungleichheit hat. Den Prekarisierten fehle eine wirksame politische Vertretung."http://www.taz.de/!153148/

Worldwide research for Decent Work: The ICDD Network gets funded for another five years

http://www.uni-kassel.de/uni/nc/universitaet/nachrichten/article/weltweit-forschen-fuer-menschenwuerdige-arbeit-netzwerk-icdd-um-fuenf-jahre-verlaengert.html

Selling Free Trade with Pseudo-Exact Science: The ifo-Studies

New Publication: "Selling Free Trade with Pseudo-Exact Science: The ifo-Studies" by Stefan Beck and Christoph Scherrer, Global Labour Column Nr. 181, http://www.global-labour-university.org/fileadmin/GLU_Column/papers/no_181_Beck_Scherrer.pdf