THE UNIVERSITY OF DODOMA

SCHOOL OF LAW
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC LAW
COURSE NAME: LABOUR LAW
COURSE CODE: LW 313
COURSE INSTRUCTOR: DR. TEMBA
NATURE OF THE WORK: INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT
SUBMITION DATE: January 19, 2021.
STUDENT PARTICULARS
NAME REGSTRATION NUMBER
JOSHUA MATIKO T/UDOM/2018/12572

QUESTION;
Based on the changing nature of employment relationship, critically discuss how
globalization has affected traditional employment relationship henceforth making most
workers fall in precarious employment.

1
 THE CONCEPT OF PRECARIOUS EMPLOYMENT

The term employment refers to the relationship between employer and employee. That is the
user of labour and supplier of labour, it gives out the rights, duties and obligations of both master
and servant1. Previously, during the reign of industrial revolution, employer had a power to hire
and terminate an employee from work at any time and this led to the need to protect workers’
rights especially after the First World War. This was due to the excess unfair treatment by the
employers for instance, unfair termination, poor working conditions, low wages, long working
time with no government interference 2. As a time go, workers started to resist in a massive way,
the government started to intervene employment relationship, and workers attained protection
against the harsh treatment of employers. However the protection seems not to last longer since
the traditional employment which protects workers is distorted following the change of nature of
the employment relationship which led to the emergence of precarious employment.

The term precarious refers to something which depends on the will or pleasure of another
person. This means the obtaining or accomplishment of something of one person is relies on the
mercy shown by another person3. Precarious employment refers to the type of employment
relationship where worker is not protected. The employment contract does not secure and cover
the interests of the employee 4. It involves insecure employment, unsupportive entitlement on
employment and vulnerable employees. Precarious employment is largely influenced by
flexibility in work which is largely focuses on the benefits of the employers 5 and affects
negatively the employees in their socio-economic cultural lives. It affects the health, family
matters, education matters and almost all spheres of life.

1
Garner B and Henry B, “Black’s Law Dictionary” (8th Ed.) St. Paul, MN: Thomson/West, 2004,
pg. 1593.
2
Britannica “Labour Law” https://www.britannica.com/topic/labour-law accessed on January
10, 2021.
3
Op Cit. Garner B, “Black’s Law Dictionary” pg. 3727.
4
Asia pacific forum on women, law and development (APWLD) “5 things you need to know
about precarious work (and how you might already be doing it)” https://apwld.org/5-things-you-
need-to-know-about-precarious-work-and-how-you-might-already-be-one-2/ accessed on 10
January 2021.
5
Eurofound “Precarious work”
https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/
precarious-work accessed on January 10 2021.
2
 THE CONCEPT OF TRADITIONAL EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP

Employment relationship refers to the terms that employer and employee agreed in their
working contract of employment. It provides for duties and rights of each group within the scope
of employment. It displays the working hours, salary to be paid and other needs that may be non-
statutory and statutory requirements. For instance the requirement of written contract of
employment in Tanzania6. It displays implied terms if any, for example trust, confidence, custom
and practice, statutory terms, express terms, together with those parts of any collective agreement
whose terms are capable of being incorporated into the individual’s employment contract7.

The traditional employment relations is also referred “psychological contract” in which

employees made long-term commitments to organizations for the exchange for long-term job
security, training and development, and internal opportunities for promotion. Beginning mainly
with the recession in the early 1970’s, this paradigm began to unravel. Organizations began using
extensive downsizing and outsourcing to decrease the number of permanent employees in the
workforce8. This was possibly because of the flexibility in the work place as it enables the
employer to change the workforce of the company or organization 9. Among employees this
situation has resulted in a decided shift in desire: instead of working their way up in an
organization, many now prefer to work their way out.

THE CONCEPT OF GLOBLIZATION

Globalization refers to the way in which the world is seen as a village; it involves the
modernization of ways in which human interacts around the globe. This means the interactions
among the people in the world became high in both socio-economic and political phenomena 10. It

6
Provided under section 14(2) of Employment and Labour Relations Act.
7
ScienceDirect “Employment Relationship” https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-
sciences/employment-relationship accessed on January 14 2021.
8
The Economist: GMAT Tutor “The traditional model of employer-employee relationship in
United States” https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-traditional-model-of-employer-employee-
relations-in-the-united-sta-200328.html accessed on January 16 2021.
9

United Nations: Department of Economic and Social Affairs Youth “Globalization WPAY:
10

World Youth Report 2005” https://www.un.org/development/desa/youth/globalization-

wpay.html#:~:text=Globalization%2C%20roughly%20defined%20as%20the,aspects%20of
%20young%20peoples'%20lives.&text=Globalization%20can%20be%20a%20powerful,as%20a
%20consequence%20of%20globalization. Accessed on January 11 2021.
3
affects economies and societies in relation to ways of lives of people in societies 11. Following the
interactions, there are circumstances that affects a certain group of persons all over the world, for
instance, the 2008 financial crisis which affects the whole global market influences for the need
of increasing efficiency and production in industries. This was been done by reforming the
existed labour relation and costs attained during production of goods which affected workers
negatively.

However globalization is classified into three main types which are economic globalization,
cultural globalization and political globalization. Where by the economic globalization is the one
that refer the employment relationship which also advocates for the world to be of the united
economy reflecting the USA economic crisis off 2008 which affects also the developing
countries. This contributed to the rise of the notion of economic giant nation12.

The effect of Globalization in the divergence of employment relations is greatly reflected from
the major aspects of globalization. However some of the effect of globalization are directly from
the conducts of it. Moreover, Globalization contributes to the change of employment relations as
follows;

Trade liberalization

Trade liberalization this influences the flexibility of in industrial owners to invest on foreign
countries which forces the majority to move to the cities of host countries for them to be
employed in industries. The industries owners are moving to the host countries for maximization
of profits as they decrease the production costs. Aiming on low production costs, industries or
company owners focusing of employment on irregular basis, which accompanied with low
wages. However the situation tends to affect more youths and it is typically referred to transfer of
labour opportunities to youths. Investors also focuses in short time employments so as to escape
from the retirement benefits, compensation benefits and other social security benefits.

Migration

Migration being one of the aspects of globalization, migration contributes a lot on the change of
traditional way of employment to the precarious employment. This is due to the migration of
11
World Bank, Globalization, Growth and Poverty: Building an Inclusive World Economy
(Washington, D.C., and New York, World Bank and Oxford University Press, 2002).
12
When the economic giant falls the small states also falls.
4
people is involving the movement of workforce for labour purposes especially from the
developing countries to the developed countries, the migrants given low wages and unprotected
works because most of the employers are escaping from giving the employees the benefits and
protections such as the retirement benefits and compensations. The migrants could have been
given education, skills and training with knowledge and confidence in their own countries and
contributed to the employment sector in their home country13. This affects their country of origin
since youths are the one who migrates at a large number. For instance, in 2002, there were 175
million international migrants. On the basis of available immigration data, it is estimated that
some 15 per cent, or 26 million, are youth14. However the high number of migrants in the country
imposes the increase of low wage competitors job seekers which makes the employers not to
engage in a permanent employment.

The change of job market

The invention and scientific and development of technology. The sharing of ideas about science
and technology is another feature of globalization. The advancement of science and technology
mainly based on exploration and simplification of manual labour since works the have
previously been done by individual can simply be performed by a single machine. This affects
largely the low skilled jobs in services like the cleaning jobs, security and others 15. The great
contribution of the machines into human working affairs deviate the employers from permanent
hiring to short time hiring as such of expectation of more mechanical energy too be used than the
manpower. This put high competition to job seekers than the employer hence no consideration of
the wellbeing of workers by the employers16.

Flexibility in employment

Form the major aspect of globalization of interference, many companies focuses on competition
and efficiency. The competition among the companies affects greatly the workers of the said
companies. This is due to the focus of high interests by the CEOs of those companies. Flexibility
13
Loc. Cit. United Nations: Department of Economic and Social Affairs Youth “Globalization
WPAY: World Youth Report 2005”.
14
Estimate based on the average age composition of the 10 largest immigration countries; based
on data provided by the United Nations Statistics Division.
15
Ibid.
16
Op. cit. Loc. Cit. United Nations: Department of Economic and Social Affairs Youth
“Globalization WPAY: World Youth Report 2005”.
5
enables the change of company’s workforce nature which mainly is from permanent hiring to
short term or part times jobs. It is based on modifications to their labor pool based on certain
factors such as employee hiring and firing, compensation and benefits, and working hours and
conditions of the employment. Is also contributed due to the high number of workforce, people
who wants to be hired is increasing day to day which forces the employer to have an assurance of
getting another r employee at any time he wishes. This waived the employee’s consideration on
their interests in a workplace.

Employment agency

Refers to a person contracted to find the employees for another. A person referred may be either
a natural person or a company and it also can be other legal entity like a state. The positions
offered are often temporary, contact-based, and part-time or temp-to-hire, and the agency will
typically keep a file for each employee noting their skills and work history 17. The contract
entered between an employee and an agency they are normally standard form contract for
example the role played by TaESA18 in recruiting and enrolling the new workers is based on
standard form contract.

Destruction of Trade Union.

Trade Unions are actively in the collective bargaining of employees’ rights and obligations
which reflects the wellbeing and treatment of workers. Following the development of
globalization has become the key challenge to the development and of the collective bargaining
since most of the employers are basing short-term employment which is incompatible with the
collective bargaining by the trade unions. Trade unions lack members and hence they lack their
powers in employment and collective bargaining19.  The central problematic of globalization is
the growing disparity between the mobility of capital and labour. The ability of capital to operate
on a trans-national basis is widely perceived to have precipitated a process of cost cutting as

17
MIGHT RECRUITER “employment agency” https://www.mightyrecruiter.com/recruiter-
guide/hiring-glossary-a-to-z/employment-agency/ accessed on January 17 2021.
18
 Tanzania Employment Services Agency established under the Executive Agency’s Act, Cap
245 R.E .2002.
19
Taylor & Francis Online “Globalization and trade union strategy: industrial restructuring and
human resource management in the international civil aviation industry”
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09585190122137?journalCode=rijh20 accessed
on January 15 2021.
6
international companies seek to cut workers' remuneration and other conditions of employment.
However, systematic empirical evidence on the impact of globalization on human resource
management is hard to find, as is any assessment of the differential impact of globalization on
different occupational groups or the response of trade unions to any deterioration in their
members' terms and conditions of employment20. 

CONCLUSION

The change of employment relations in relation to globalization is greatly associated with the
development of capitalism in the world as globalization being one among the features of
capitalism in the world. Although globalization have negative impact to the employment relation
to the employers and it gives them more efficiency and profits on the basis of precarious
employment.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

20
Supra see note 19.
7
LIST OF STATUTES

The Employment and Labour Relations Act.

The Executive Agency’s Act, Cap 245 R.E .2002.

ONLINE SOURCES
https://apwld.org/5-things-you-need-to-know-about-precarious-work-and-how-you-might-
already-be-one-2/ accessed on 10 January 2021.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/labour-law accessed on January 10, 2021.
https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/observatories/eurwork/industrial-relations-dictionary/
precarious-work accessed on January 10 2021.
https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-traditional-model-of-employer-employee-relations-in-the-
united-sta-200328.html accessed on January 16 2021.
https://www.mightyrecruiter.com/recruiter-guide/hiring-glossary-a-to-z/employment-agency/
accessed on January 17 2021.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/employment-relationship accessed on
January 14 2021.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09585190122137?journalCode=rijh20 accessed
on January 15 2021.
https://www.un.org/development/desa/youth/globalization-wpay.html#:~:text=Globalization
%2C%20roughly%20defined%20as%20the,aspects%20of%20young
%20peoples'%20lives.&text=Globalization%20can%20be%20a%20powerful,as%20a
%20consequence%20of%20globalization. Accessed on January 11 2021.

OTHER SOURCES

Garner B and Henry B, “Black’s Law Dictionary” (8th Ed.) St. Paul, MN: Thomson/West, 2004.

United Nations: Department of Economic and Social Affairs Youth “Globalization WPAY:
World Youth Report 2005”.

World Bank, Globalization, Growth and Poverty: Building an Inclusive World Economy
(Washington, D.C., and New York, World Bank and Oxford University Press, 2002).