influence of labour on TNC's locational decisions

• KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL

  • Dependent on the breadth and depth of education levels within the area 
  • For example, having a high proportion of the population in tertiary education has a high correlation with per capita income 
  • Developed regions tend to have a higher proportion of highly-skilled labour, attracting the high-end operations of TNCs or high-end manufacturing to these countries 
  • Eg. Foxconn’s research institutes are mainly located in Taiwan because of the presence of highly-skilled labour who are focused on creating technological innovations
• WAGE COSTS

  • International difference between wages can be very wide 
  • In developing regions, low wages draw for TNCs seeking to cut production costs if no other requirements are present 
  • Foxconn, that makes iPhones on behalf of Apple, employs its assembly line from China due to large population of low-skilled labour that is willing to do intensive work
• GENDER

  • In the garment industry, women are perceived to be better at making clothes than men 
  • This is because women embody certain “feminine” characteristics, like manual dexterity, making female workers more suitable for needlework and other processes required in making clothes 
  • Eg. Bangladesh is a highly popular location for global clothing companies, which hire many women to work in their clothing factories, often at low wages
• LABOUR ‘CONTROLLABILITY’ 

  • There can be large differences in the degree of labour ‘militancy’ and the strength of local labour unions based of historical circumstances 
  • TNCs are often way of highly-organised labour regions, which is visible from how they tend to relocate from these regions or make investments in places where labour is regarded as more controllable 
  • The strength of local labour unions can deter TNCs from operating in these places