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labour | workers’ rights

Exploitation of RP nurses in New Zealand justifies Jpepa rejection
13-Mar-2008 OFW News
The reported exploitation of Filipino nurses in New Zealand gives a reason for the Senate to reject the Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement, according to the Philippine Nurses Association.
Change to Win urges Congress to reject Colombia free trade agreement
12-Mar-2008 Sun Herald
Change to Win released a print ad today demanding the United States Congress reject the Colombia Free Trade Agreement deal that the Bush administration is threatening to send to Congress in the coming weeks despite strong opposition.
USTR Schwab: "Time is now" on Colombia trade pact
6-Mar-2008
U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab told Congress on Thursday "the time is now" to approve a free trade agreement with Colombia, signaling a fight with lawmakers seeking stronger rights for workers.
Govt pledges wage safety on trade deal
6-Mar-2008
The Government has pledged that its free-trade deal with China will not threaten the wages and conditions of New Zealand workers.
US-Colombia pact mired in row over labour abuses
4-Mar-2008 IPS
"Even if Colombia had a sterling record on human rights, if there were no assassinations of trade unionists, the Colombia free trade agreement would still be a bad idea," said Economic Policy Institute global policy director Tony Avirgan.
Obama hits Clinton on NAFTA support
24-Feb-2008
Barack Obama accused Democratic presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton on Sunday of trying to walk away from a long record of support for NAFTA, the free trade agreement that he said has cost 50,000 jobs in Ohio, site of next week’s primary.
US labor leaders to Bush: No trade deal with murderers
16-Feb-2008 PWW
Top labor leaders ended a trip to Colombia Feb. 13 by telling that country’s president, Alvaro Uribe, that American unions will not support the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement until the killing of union members by right-wing death squads there is put to a stop.
Stephen Harper’s bizarre logic of free trade with Colombia
14-Jan-2008 NUPGE
How can Canada denounce human rights abuses in China while turning a blind eye to the mass political murder of trade unionists in Colombia?
Workers’ rights to be tied to free trade
10-Jan-2008 The Province
Free-trade agreements between Canada and countries in Central and South America must be tied to workers’ rights, Labour Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn said. "We have now an agreement [on labour rights] reached with [Peru and Colombia], but it won’t be made public until there will be a free-trade agreement formally signed by the two countries because there is no labour-rights agreement if there is no free-trade agreement," he said.
Uganda: Workers get nod for Epas talks
27-Dec-2007 AllAfrica.com
The government is to involve labour unions in all future Economic Partnership Agreement (EPAs) negotiations with the European Union.
US puts UAE free trade deal on ice
24-Dec-2007 Business 24/7
Negotiations for a free trade agreement between the US and the UAE will not be resumed under the current US administration, according to the US Trade Representative office
FTA poses challenges for Bahraini working women
16-Dec-2007 Khaleej Times
Working women in Bahrain are facing many challenges and female activists predict more hardship to come in their way after the full implementation of the Free Trade Agreement between Bahrain and the United States.
Bush and Harper ignore Colombia’s labor rights reality
11-Dec-2007 Colombia Journal
There is no moral justification for the United States and Canada negotiating a free trade agreement with Colombia when the foundation of these pacts is the slaughter of Colombian unionists. The perpetrators of these crimes should not be rewarded with an agreement that most Colombians do not want.
CLC-KCTU joint statement on Korea-Canada free trade agreements
10-Dec-2007 KCTU
On the eve of the 12th round of negotiations between Canada and Korea for a trade deal, the Canadian Labour Congress and Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, representing over four million workers in both countries, call on our respective governments to immediately halt these trade talks.
Mary Robinson concerned about EU approach to EPAs
9-Dec-2007 IPS
A recent study by Realizing Rights, an ‘‘ethical globalisation’’ body set up by the former UN commissioner for human rights and former Irish president Mary Robinson, forecasts that an EPA could harm Ghana’s development prospects by narrowing its scope to create more and better-paid jobs.
CALABARZON workers and the imminent danger posed by JPEPA
29-Nov-2007
On September 10, 2006, the governments of Japan and the Philippines signed the Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) in the Asia-Europe Meeting in Helsinki, Finland. JPEPA, the Philippines’ first full-fledged bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), was signed despite protests from the Filipino people even at its proposal stage in 2002.
Letter from Colombian unions to US Congress
28-Nov-2007 Mingas
In the framework of the debate in the respective congresses around the ratification of the Free Trade Agreement between Colombia and the United States, the Administration of Alvaro Uribe Vélez has spread the idea in governmental circles in the United States that the Colombian union movement is divided and that "a majority" sector supports the TLC. In this document, we will demonstrate that this idea does not reflect the reality of the Colombian union movement.
Why a Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement is a Big Mistake
22-Nov-2007 Canadian Labour Congress
Ten reasons why Canada should immediately stop negotiations of a free trade agreement with Colombia; the worst human rights violator in the Americas
What a vote for free trade means for the U.S.
22-Nov-2007
In the 2006 elections, aspiring Democrats attacked the Bush administration’s free trade policies, and more than 20 new members of Congress were elected, giving the Democratic Party its new majority in the House of Representatives. Yet, nearly two weeks ago, Democratic Party leaders urged those same members of Congress to vote for a new free trade agreement with Peru.
What jobs?
16-Nov-2007
No Deal! Movement Against Unequal Economic Agreements on the questionable employment benefits of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA)