If “all [consumers] care about is the cup of coffee” why increase labor rights quality? A case-study of the Panamanian specialty coffee sector and the factors affecting social upgrading opportunities

This paper looks at the possibility of increasing labor rights quality in Panama specialty coffee. Improvements in labor rights conditions are pushed by the main actor governing the network, business associations, considering State ambiguity. The paper uses a global production network and labor geography approach to first locate power within the specialty coffee sector, and then to analyse the active role of Ngäbe workers in the processes of social upgrading. Additionally, it attempts to understand the relationship between labor rights quality and product quality, as well as the role of the State as a guarantor of labor rights. Based on qualitative interview data and secondary sources, this study revealed a mixed outcome in labor rights conditions fuelled by internal heterogeneity in the specialty coffee business association. While many producers choose to improve better conditions for workers, based on personal narratives or a drive towards better products, not all producers have the same motivations and desires to improve labor rights conditions. Moreover, this study looked at workers as active agents, and how they have managed to socially upgrade and acquire skills within the sector. The paper concludes that conditions might improve in certain scenarios, due to personal motivations of producers but change does not happen at a wider-scale or how it should be happening. Moreover, based on this, three possible scenarios of change given, as well as avenues of future research.