bilaterals.org logo
bilaterals.org logo

labour | workers’ rights

TTIP: A charter for deregulation, an attack on jobs, an end to democracy.
5-Mar-2014 Rosa Luxemburg Foundation
This new booklet, written by John Hilary, Executive Director of War on Want, explains in short what TTIP is and how it will affect the lives of all of us if it comes into force.
EU-US FTA: "Free trade agreement must immediately stop"
5-Mar-2014 Frankfurter Rundschau
IG Metall leader Detlef Wetzel fears disadvantages for workers and consumers if the EU and the US create a free trade zone. "The negotiations must be stopped," he states categorically.
The biggest free trade area on the planet
15-Feb-2014 Rebelión
The fundamental purpose of TTIP is to maintain the hegemonic position of Atlantic powers, on the basis of a new neoliberal twist.
European Trade Union: voters will sanction secret trade giveaways
13-Feb-2014 ETUC
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) today warned European decision makers that voters in the forthcoming European elections would be scrutinising EU trade arrangements, in particular the current negotiations with the United States, and "would not overlook" any deals that did not put European jobs and standards first.
NAFTA does not fulfil Mexican expectations
3-Jan-2014 Associated Press
Although NAFTA fundamentally changed the country in some ways, it did not meet expectations of putting Mexican wages on the same level as US wages, boosting employment, reducing poverty or protecting the environment.
The Efta court clashes with Norway’s Supreme Court
10-Nov-2013
Norway’s Supreme Court was wrong to rule that companies posting workers to the Norwegian shipbuilding industry must pay their travel, board and lodging expenses, argues the Efta Court’s President in a general attack on the Supreme Court. He accuses it of being disloyal to the EEA agreement and indicates the last word may still not been had.
Inclusion of labour norms on the rise in FTAs: ILO study
8-Nov-2013
As the world moves into a regime where free trade agreements (FTAs) govern 5.5 per cent of global trade compared with 0.6 per cent in 1995, a new ILO report finds a marked rise in inclusion of labour provisions in bilateral and regional pacts.
CTU reinforces stance against TPP
3-Nov-2013
NZ Council of Trade Unions boss Helen Kelly has upped the ante ahead of a crucial Labour Party debate tomorrow on the controversial trans-Pacific Partnership deal by reiterating union opposition.
EU should allow easier entry for Indian professionals to support free trade pact: Icrier
18-Oct-2013 Economic Times
The European Union should allow easier entry and movement of Indian professionals in order to generate support for the free trade pact between the two that’s been under negotiation for the last six years, Indian think tank Icrier said in a study commissioned by the 27-country grouping.
Colombian workers’ rights still among the worst, two years after US trade pact
1-Oct-2013 Global Post
he Labor Action Plan was supposed to protect workers, but many leaders see "blatant disregard" for labor protections in Colombia.
Honduras: US-Korean maquila accused of CAFTA labor violations
23-Aug-2013 WNU
Some 30 inspectors from the Honduran Labor Ministry visited the Kyungshin-Lear Honduras Electrical Distribution Systems auto parts assembly plant iafter local media reported that some employees had to wear diapers at work because of restrictions on their bathroom breaks.
India says no to labour, environment in FTA with New Zealand
22-Aug-2013
The negotiations for free trade agreement between India and New Zealand has hit a major roadblock during the latest round as New Delhi has declined to include other side’s demand pertaining to labour, environment and government procurement in the pact.
How the Obama Administration is hurting American workers
14-Aug-2013 Pacific Standard
Leading US companies, the ones that shape government policy, are now able to make healthy profits without spending on domestic investment, leading to policies like FTAs that do not improve living and working conditions in the US
US auto workers send petition demanding No Free Trade Agreement with Japan on same day Japan formally joins 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership talks
23-Jul-2013
U.S. auto workers have started delivering to Washington petitions demanding trade concessions from Japan on the same day Japan formally announced it had joined in U.S.-led effort to create the multi-lateral Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the largest free-trade agreement in history that would cover 40 percent of the global economy.
US cut of trade privilege angers Bangladesh
28-Jun-2013 AJE
Bangladesh has criticised the decision by the United States to cut trade privileges in the wake of a deadly garment factory collapse, insisting it had taken concrete action to improve safety.
US suspends trade benefits for Bangladesh over safety
28-Jun-2013 Reuters
President Barack Obama cut off long-time US trade benefits for Bangladesh on Thursday in a mostly symbolic response to conditions in the country’s garment industry that have cost more than 1,200 lives in the past year.
TICFA at long last
19-Jun-2013 Financial Express
With the Cabinet’s nod to give it a go ahead, the proposed Trade and Investment Cooperation Framework Agreement (TICFA) between Bangladesh and the USA is almost through, awaiting to be signed at a convenient time by the two governments.
In whose interest is EU-India FTA being negotiated?
16-May-2013
NGOS, academics, patient groups, humanitarian organisations, trade unions, farmers groups and mass movements, representing hundreds of organisations and networks across the country, asked Mr. Anand Sharma, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, to explain to the nation which sectors and who exactly are benefiting from the FTA that is currently being negotiated with the European Union.
Bahrain hits back at claims over FTA
14-May-2013 Trade Arabia
Bahrain has hit back at accusations it could have breached its Free Trade Agreement with the US as regards workers’ rights.
Programs to train foreign nurses still falling short
30-Mar-2013
With its rapidly aging population, Japan will need to increasingly rely on help provided by foreign health care workers.