Regulatory pluralism and the resolution of collective labour disputes in Southeast Asia

Abstract

This paper proposes a new framework for the analysis of collective labour dispute resolution. It begins by explaining why dominant conceptual frameworks in IR and labour law scholarship are insufficient on their own to capture the plurality of regulatory sources that bear upon collective labour dispute resolution. The authors then draw on theoretical insights from regulatory studies on the presence and interaction of multiple regulatory orders, and socio-legal scholarship on dispute resolution, to propose a framework that enables the investigation of both the formal and informal aspects of labour dispute resolution and their interplay. This framework disaggregates data collection and analysis into five components: (i) actors; (ii) nature of dispute; (iii) arenas and processes; (iv) interactions; and (v) outcomes. The framework is particularly tailored to, and based on evidence from, Southeast Asia, but may also have wider application beyond this region.