Technological Change, Institutions and Maritime Labour : International Reforms and Their Reception in Sweden and Finland, c.1850–1939

Abstract

This essay discusses how the technology-driven institutional changes transformed the work and working conditions of maritime labour. As the shipping industry is international per se, the focus is on the international discussion and collaboration on labour legislation. Enforcement of national labour legislation in this type of international business is difficult without international collaboration. Alongside the international context, the essay will look more specifically at developments in Sweden and Finland. The special focus is on the attempts of the International Labour Organization to harmonise maritime labour law in different countries. In some cases, as in the question of child labour, these attempts were successful, though, in most instances, the ILO failed in its mission during the interwar era.