bilaterals.org logo
bilaterals.org logo

labour | workers’ rights

Statement on the voices of Thai civil society regarding the free trade agreement between Thailand and the European Union
24-Jun-2025 FTA Watch
Thai civil society organizations expressing serious concerns about the ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between Thailand and the European Union (EU), highlight potential negative impacts on agriculture, food security, environment, labor rights, public health, and other social issues.
Dismay as UK prepares to sign ‘values-free’ £1.6bn trade deal with Gulf states
30-May-2025 The Guardian
Trade unions and human rights organisations fear environment and human rights being pushed aside.
United States seeks Mexico’s review of alleged denial of workers’ rights at Aludyne Automotive Mexico City, S.A. de C.V.
4-Apr-2025 Office of the USTR
The US has invoked the Rapid Response Labor Mechanism in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement to review whether workers at Aludyne Automotive Mexico City are being denied the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
ETUC position on EU digital trade agreements with 3rd countries
31-Mar-2025 ETUC
Digital trade agreements should not prevent enforcement of workers’ rights or indeed the improvement of working conditions.
We need a trade deal that works for people and the planet
19-Mar-2025 Sierra Club
A federal review of the USMCA is approaching later this year. This is a critical opportunity to demand a trade deal that prioritizes people, the environment, public health, worker rights, and innovative manufacturing
AfCFTA must deliver for workers and Africa’s future, ITUC-Africa tells AUC, governments
18-Mar-2025 Nigerian Tribune
ITUC-Africa has issued a powerful call to action, urging governments and institutions to ensure that trade-led growth translates into decent jobs, social justice, and sustainable development.
Decolonising EU trade relations with the Global Souths?
28-Feb-2025 Journal of Contemporary European Research
This article thinks reflexively about the decolonial option and the ruptures it triggers as to what EU trade policy is and the colonial logics sustaining ‘normative’ and ‘geopolitical’ narratives on/by the EU as a trade power.
United States requests USMCA rapid response labor mechanism dispute settlement panel at Bader de Mexico facility
19-Dec-2024 USTR
United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced that the United States has, for a fifth time, requested a Rapid Response Labor Mechanism panel under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Make Conventions 87 and 98 core agenda in EU-Thailand free trade talks
4-Dec-2024 IndustiALL Global Union
Thai unionists have called on the EU and the Thai government to include ILO Conventions 87 and 98 in the EU-Thailand Free Trade Agreements to safeguard labour rights.
Statement by the ETUC and the CCSCS regarding the possible conclusion of negotiations on the EU-MERCOSUR Association Agreement
8-Nov-2024 ETUC
The ETUC and the Coordinator of Trade Unions of the Southern Cone reiterate our rejection of the EU-MERCOSUR Association Agreement as it stands today.
Labor, environment pushed at FTA talks with EU
23-Oct-2024 Malaya Business Insight
The Philippines and the EU are negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA). The first round of talks focused on trade in goods, services, investment, and other areas. Both sides aim to conclude the negotiations soon. The Philippines hopes to increase market access for its services in Europe. The EU and the Philippines previously negotiated an FTA but stalled in 2017.
Trade unions call for inclusion in Africa trade agreement
2-Oct-2024 The Standard
The inclusion of women, youth, and informal sector employees is key in the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.
Unions oppose UAE trade deal without enforceable labour rights
19-Sep-2024 ACTU
The ACTU has spoken out against Australia’s new trade deal with the United Arab Emirates as one of the worst countries Australia has ever negotiated a bilateral free trade agreement with.
How NAFTA broke American politics
4-Sep-2024 New York Times
Since its passage in 1993, the trade agreement has played an outsize role in presidential elections — which now often hinge on the three Rust Belt states it helped to hollow out.
bilaterals.org podcast: Special economic zones & the African Continental Free Trade Area
21-Aug-2024 bilaterals.org & Public Services International
This podcast examines the controversial link between Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and the African Continental Free Trade Area, which promotes the use of SEZs to further liberalise the economy, with potentially dramatic consequences for the people of Africa.
Thai confederation demands inclusion of ILO conventions in FTA negotiations
11-Jun-2024 IndustriALL Global Union
On 29 May the leaders of the Confederation of Industrial Labour of Thailand (CILT) met with European Union (EU) representatives in Bangkok to demand the inclusion of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) fundamental conventions in EU-Thailand Free Trade Agreements (FTA).
Unifor lays down priorities for CUSMA review
7-Jun-2024 Unifor
Unifor laid down the union’s priorities for the 2026 review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) in testimony by Unifor National President.
An international law framework for climate-aligned investment governance
3-Jun-2024 CCSI
International Investment and Trade Law should be reformed for climate-aligned investment governance.
Public summary of second set of US text proposals under the US-Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership
19-Apr-2024 USTR
The United States has tabled proposed texts under the US-Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP), covering Agriculture, Good Regulatory Practice and Workers’ Rights and Protection.
An urgent call from European trade unions: Suspend the Association Agreement with Israel
3-Apr-2024 ETUN Palestine
We, the undersigned European trade unions, are calling on the EU and European countries to suspend the Association Agreement with Israel as well as bilateral treaties in light of grave violations of human rights by the Israeli Government.