bilaterals.org logo
bilaterals.org logo

labour | workers’ rights

Two more banana workers murdered in Colombia as free trade agreement is debated in DC
8-Aug-2011 Talking Union
The assassination of two more banana workers’ union members underscored the weakness of the “Labor Action Plan” by which the government of Colombia has promised, as a side agreement to the US FTA, to end the decades-long violent assault on the labor movement.
India tells EU Nations to commit visa numbers for Indian professionals
2-Aug-2011 Economic Times
India has sought a commitment from each of the 27 member-nations of the European Union on the number of Indian professionals they would allow to migrate each year in order to help India move faster in concluding the bilateral free trade agreement with the EU, a senior government official has told ET.
Corporations, unions exert pressure over Korea free trade pact
31-Jul-2011
As Congress draws nearer to considering three new free trade agreements, union members are putting pressure on their congressional representatives to oppose them, arguing that they’d cost the state more manufacturing jobs, even as corporate supporters see new hope for quick passage.
Caregiver training
26-Jul-2011
The third batch of Filipino caregivers who completed a pre-training course in Japanese left for Tokyo Monday to complete their training prior to becoming fully accredited caregivers in Japan.
Colombia FTA: violence, potential job losses hang over deal
21-Jul-2011 Huffington Post
How will the US-Colombia free trade agreement affect Colombians? Opinions from a sugar cane worker, shop steward and a Colombian labor expert.
Korean fishing company pledges cooperation
16-Jul-2011
A Christchurch-based company which charters Korean fishing boats for New Zealand waters says it will cooperate with a ministerial inquiry into conditions aboard foreign fishing boats.
Embattled Colombian unionists rally against ‘free trade’
15-Jul-2011 In These Times
Gathering with fellow unionists in Washington, D.C., Jose Hugo Yanini speaks firmly about labor rights in Colombia. But a few weeks ago, the industrial janitor and shop steward feared that he soon might never utter another word.
Labour issue blocking TICFA deal: Faruk
12-Jul-2011 BD News 24
Disagreement on the issue of workers’ union in EPZs is standing in the way of Bangladesh signing the Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (TICFA) with the US, according to the commerce minister.
Business, labor spar over Colombia free-trade deal
11-Jul-2011
While the loudest shouting is about unionists and the union movement in Colombia, it appears at times to mask an altogether different debate: whether trade pacts are good or bad for jobs in the US.
Free-trade deals would be costly to US
9-Jul-2011
For over a decade, the labor movement and development advocates have called for fair-trade policy that is part of a more coordinated and coherent national economic strategy. Unfortunately, the Korean, Colombian and Panamanian free-trade deals before Congress do not address the fundamental policy failures of the North American Free Trade Agreement and China’s inclusion into "favored nation status," which has led to catastrophic job loss in the U.S. and the explosion of our import/export deficit, now reaching $500 billion annually.
Free trade at what cost?
6-Jul-2011
Inking free trade deals with South Korea, Panama and Colombia is among the highest priorities for the U.S. business community.
ETUC wants FTA with Ottawa to strengthen workers’ rights
6-Jul-2011
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has called on Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht to ensure that the free trade agreement currently negotiated with Canada strengthens workers’ rights. In a letter dated 4 July and sent to De Gucht, Bernadette Ségol, ETUC’s general secretary, asked the EU to adjust its negotiating position in order to include in the final agreement a “strong” dispute settlement mechanism, with the possibility of fines being imposed for breaches of international obligations on labour standards.
A deal still on the drawing board
5-Jul-2011
The India-EU free trade agreement is yet to see daylight. Labour and environmental issues may derail it, writes Biswajit Dhar
Colombia FTA press conference
5-Jul-2011 CWA Union
Press conference against the US-Colombia FTA, Washington DC, 16 June 2011
Bahrain hires US lawyers to fight complaints over sacked workers
26-Jun-2011
Bahrain has hired a US law firm to tackle a complaint filed by the US’s largest trade union, threatening the kingdom’s bilateral trade agreement with the world’s largest economy.
Colombia violating FTA labor agreements through union reprisals: US Union
21-Jun-2011 Colombia Reports
Vale Coal Colombia has been violating the Labor Action Plan between the United States and Colombia, a requisite of the pending free trade agreement, through threats and reprisals against unionists in the northern department of Cesar, according to U.S. trade union United Steelworkers (USW).
Critics call trade pact lose-lose deal for Colombian labour
10-Jun-2011 IPS
Two days ago, on Jun. 7, Ana Fabricia Cordoba was killed in the Santa Cruz neighbourhood of Medellin, Colombia. Her assassination coincides with renewed efforts by free-trade advocates in Washington to pressure the US Congress to pass the long-debated US-Colombia FTA.
Machinists union launches fair trade campaign on Facebook
9-Jun-2011
Countering GOP demands for the passage of three seriously-flawed trade deals with South Korea, Colombia and Panama, the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM) today launched a targeted, informational ad campaign on Facebook.
South Korea ‘free trade’ deal: Another funnel for exploitation
6-Jun-2011 In These Times
While President Obama and most Congressional Democrats are allowing the Republicans to define America’s most urgent crisis as the budget deficit, the nation’s job deficit grows more dire day by day with no clear, forceful direction coming from the White House.
Lawmakers seek entry of more nurses in Japan
23-May-2011
The House committee on economic affairs endorsed yesterday a resolution seeking the renegotiation of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) to allow the entry of more Filipino nurses in Japan.