ADJUSTMENT TO GLOBALISATION: A STUDY OF THE FOOTWEAR INDUSTRY IN EUROPE

US. More surprisingly the data do suggest a decline in the real wage of skilled footwear
workers in Portugal and a very minor increase for such workers in Italy.

Table 3: Wages and Salaries in Footwear, 1980-1994 (in domestic currency)

Percentage Changes in wages and salaries in footwear 1980-1994 (nominal)

¹ Hourly wages denominated in domestic currency

² Monthly salaries denominated in domestic currency

³ 1989-1994, ⁴ 1980-1993

Source: EUROSTAT (Earnings), Bureau of Labour Statistics and IMF International Financial Statistics

It is also important to compare the wage performance of footwear workers relative to
that of other workers employed in manufacturing. The table below shows changes in
wages and salaries in manufacturing as a whole. These data demonstrate that in the US,
Germany, and the UK footwear workers have done less well in terms of wage increases
than other workers in manufacturing. So although unskilled footwear workers in Europe
have not suffered the real wage reduction experienced by footwear workers in the US
their wage relative to that of other unskilled workers in Europe has fallen.

Table 4: Wages of Unskilled and Skilled Workers in Manufacturing (in domestic
currency)

Source: EUROSTAT (Earnings), Bureau of Labour Statistics and IMF

For footwear it is clear that the group of production or unskilled workers is far from
homogeneous, as is often assumed in discussions of the impact of globalisation. The
process of making footwear can be broken down into distinct stages of production.
Accordingly, this division of production stages has brought about a division of labour,
which requires a variety of skills from within the unskilled labour force. For example,
the cutting of the leather, in which the varying texture of the material must be taken into

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