Codes of Conduct and the Promise of a Change of Climate in Worker Organization

Do codes of conduct adopted by multinational companies help to advance the position of workers in emerging economies? We focus on three workplaces in the Turkish clothing industry in order to assess their ability to promote Freedom of Association, in the context of a restrictive legal framework, extensive subcontracting relations and different degrees of formality of manufacturing sites. We conclude that under specific conditions codes can make a positive contribution to worker organization; but given the imbalance of power between workers and employers, often sustained by national regulation, they make little contribution to Freedom of Association.