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labour | workers’ rights

Unions seek stronger labour laws in US-EU free trade talks
26-Feb-2013 Left Foot Forward
Just days after it was announced that the USA and the European Union were to open discussions on a free trade agreement worth trillions of dollars, trade unions on both sides of the Atlantic said that employment rights had to be a key issue on the agenda.
Labor unions reject Colombia-South Korea FTA
21-Feb-2013 Prensa Latina
The signing tomorrow of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Colombia and South Korea raised in Bogotá the rejection of the unions, which see it as an attack on the industry and the productive and agriculture sector.
Think-tank says trade deal between Canada, Europe could kill Manitoba jobs
7-Feb-2013
A left-leaning think-tank has issued another warning that a free trade deal between Canada and Europe could kill jobs rather than create them.
Ex-GM workers in Colombia sew lips shut in protest
9-Aug-2012 WSJ
The former GM workers chose the grounds next to the US Embassy to stage their hunger strike because of the labor action plan agreed to between Colombia and the US last year under the countries’ free trade agreement — which both governments, and General Motors, have igored.
Assault on Colombian trade unions continues
5-Aug-2012 IPS
Two months after a free trade agreement between the US and Colombia went into effect, workers continue to face attacks.
CUPE Nova Scotia issues warning to Dexter, first ministers about proposed Canada-EU trade deal
21-Jul-2012
The president of CUPE Nova Scotia has a warning for the premiers and others attending the first Ministers meeting in Halifax later this month.
How City lobby supported controversial Indian trade deal
11-Jul-2012 Bureau of Investigative Journalism
A secret deal that saw Brussels blamed for ‘forcing’ Britain to take in 12,000 Indian workers – despite high unemployment – was supported by a lobbying push from British financial services companies.
“Free trade agreements are, to some extent, an expression of neo-colonialism”
3-Jul-2012 Eurotribune
Interview with Lourdes Castro, chief officer of Grupo SUR and representative of Alop, Aprodev, Cifca and Oidhaco.
Labor action and inaction in Colombia free trade deal
25-Apr-2012 In These Times
As the media swarmed over the scandal surrounding the Secret Service’s alleged carousing with prostitutes in Colombia, another questionable financial transaction slipped quietly through the backdoor of hemispheric diplomacy.
DR-CAFTA: A dismal delivery of workers’ hopes
24-Apr-2012 TWN
Late last month, the umbrella coalition of US unions, the AFL-CIO, linked up with major workers groups from Honduras to file a petition with the Department of Labor in Washington, DC. The petition censured the government of the Central American country over its failure to enforce provisions of the labour chapter of the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) with the United States.
Japan to accept nurse candidates from Vietnam
20-Apr-2012
Japan has agreed to accept nurses and caregivers from Vietnam under a bilateral economic partnership agreement on condition that they pass a Japanese language test, officials said.
Obama approves Colombia FTA —despite continued anti-labor violence
20-Apr-2012 World War 4 Report
At the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, US President Barack Obama announced approval of Colombia’s supposed progress in protecting labor rights, allowing the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement to take effect next month. US trade representative Ron Kirk said at a Cartagena press conference that the agreement provides "an opportunity to help stand up for the rights of workers... This is a significant milestone."
AFL-CIO declaration issued to re-examine Colombia FTA on worker rights
16-Apr-2012 USW
The United Steelworkers, the AFL-CIO and the Colombia labor movement firmly believes the US pronouncement that Colombia has complied with the Labor Action Plan — a move which will allow for implementation of the Free Trade Agreement starting next month — is premature as unionists continue to be killed in Colombia at a rate of 30 slain in 2011, and six already this year.
AFL-CIO Joins Honduran Unions in Petitioning US Labor Department
1-Apr-2012
This week the AFL-CIO joined the main Honduran trade unions to file a petition with the United States Department of Labor’s Public Office of Trade & Labor Affairs (OTLA) concerning the failure of the government of Honduras to effectively enforce its labor laws and comply with its commitments under the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA).
Unbalanced free trade deals costing us jobs
1-Apr-2012
Rebuilding a strong, vibrant and innovative manufacturing sector in Canada by signing more free trade agreements is like saying our society can be healthier if only we ate more chocolate. It’s backwards logic.
’Meet the new boss’: The rise of Colombia’s labor co-ops
2-Mar-2012 Global Post
According to labor-rights activists as well as a recent US State department report, many Colombian co-ops function as glorified temp agencies providing companies with cheap and docile non-union workers.
MTUC concerns over FTAs deepen
17-Feb-2012 FTA Malaysia
The president of the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) Khalid Atan has expressed his belief that the time has come for the 800,000-strong workers’ movement to mobilise against the free trade agreements that the government is negotiating.
US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement: Labor issues
23-Jan-2012 CRS
This Congressional Research Service (CRS) report examines three labor issues and arguments related to the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, signed on October 21, 2011: violence against trade unionists; impunity (accountability for or punishment of the perpetrators); and worker rights protections for Colombians.
Union says immigrants forced to accept pay below minimum wage
15-Jan-2012
Chinese chefs working here are being asked to accept pay cuts or face losing their jobs, because of hundreds of Chinese chefs entering the country under the free trade agreement with China.
India eyes overseas job market, plans to ink pacts with EU, Oz
9-Jan-2012 Times of India
The Indian government is negotiating human resource mobility partnership agreements with the Netherlands, France, Australia and the European Union in a move aimed at greater inroads for Indian professionals into such markets.