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labour | workers’ rights

Dole Fresh Flowers’ cuts hit small Ecuadorean town hard
19-Oct-2006 Miami Herald
In many ways, the flower industry in Ecuador put this small town on the map. Now, just as quickly, it may be erasing it.
Group accuses Jordan of failing to enforce labor rights
16-Oct-2006 LA Times
Critics of US trade policy say the recent incidents in Jordan illustrate the dangers of forging trade agreements that don’t adequately protect workers from abuse.
Revisiting NAFTA: Still not working for North America’s workers
11-Oct-2006 EPI
NAFTA should be seen not as a stand-alone treaty, but as part of a long-term campaign by the conservative business interests in all three countries to rip up their respective domestic social contract.
Minimum wage free trade deal will meet resistance
9-Oct-2006
Maritime Union of New Zealand General Secretary Trevor Hanson says the Union will resist any attempt to undermine wages and conditions through short term casual workers imported under free trade deals.
Greens wary of deal on Chinese labour
4-Oct-2006
The Greens say temporary work visas as part of a free trade deal with China could erode New Zealand working conditions but business welcomes the idea.
Playing our own game
4-Oct-2006
Sripai Noonsee was in despair after her latest attempt to find a job at an electronics factory at Bang Kadee Industrial Estate ended in failure like so many others. She has been jobless for many months.
China asks NZ to let workers in as part of free trade agreement
3-Oct-2006
China wants New Zealand to admit skilled workers on temporary permits as part of a planned free trade deal.
Protecting workers from the effects of FTAs
3-Oct-2006
The benefits of trade liberalisation to consumers and society as a whole have been widely acknowledged, but the hidden costs of liberalisation must also be brought to light if the free-trade regime is to move forward.
Working class hurt by free-trade deal
29-Sep-2006
Free trade in North America has resulted in sharp gains for the rich at the expense of the average Canadian worker, says a report from the US Economic Policy Institute released yesterday.
US union, business group slam Jordan sweatshops
28-Sep-2006
A leading US labour coalition and an industry group have filed a complaint with the US Trade Representative asking that it formally sanction the government of Jordan for "gross workers’ rights violations" under a controversial free trade agreement with the United States and Israel.
Free trade at the fore of races
25-Sep-2006
Jack Davis remembers the night he left the Republican Party over free trade: Nov. 17, 2003, after he paid $2,000 to meet Dick Cheney at the upscale Park Lane Restaurant in Buffalo, N.Y.
USA: Labor & textile groups demand punitive measures against Jordan
25-Sep-2006 Fibre2Fashion
The US Trade Representative has been urged by the largest US labor organization and textile group to file a complaint against Jordan for its failure to check companies from exploiting their laborers and subsequently cheating them on wages. Since the US-Jordan FTA was signed between the two nations in December 2001, this is the first time any US business group has come together with labor demanding action under the treaty.
AFL-CIO and National Textile Association file first-ever worker rights case under US-Jordan FTA
24-Sep-2006 AFL-CIO
This is the first time that a business association has formally joined in filing a worker rights case under a trade agreement. The groups called on the Bush Administration to initiate dispute settlement proceedings under the FTA that would halt gross workers’ rights violations occurring in Jordan.
Uruguayan workers strike for pay hikes, against U.S. trade deal
21-Sep-2006
Uruguay Labor groups demanding higher wages and an end to Uruguayan efforts for a trade deal with Washington walked off the job for four hours on Thursday, though public transport ran normally and shops and offices stayed open.
S. Korean trade deal will cost jobs: CAW
21-Sep-2006
A free-trade deal Ottawa is negotiating with South Korea could cost Canada up to 33,000 jobs — including 4,000 in the auto industry — this country’s largest private sector union warned yesterday.
Labor group calls strike for Nov. 15
20-Sep-2006 Korea Herald
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions may stage an indefinite strike beginning Nov. 15 in protest over new labor reform bills and free trade agreement talks with the United States.
Employment implications of trade liberalization with East Asia
20-Sep-2006 CAW
This study examines the employment impacts of Canada’s existing bilateral trade relationships with East Asia, and the likely employment effects of the proposed Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement (CKFTA).
Free trade with South Korea would costs thousands of jobs, Hargrove warns
20-Sep-2006 Canadian Press
A free trade agreement with South Korea would cost thousands of jobs in Canada, union leader Buzz Hargrove warned Tuesday.
Nepal keen to sign labor agreements with host countries
18-Sep-2006 People’s Daily
Nepal is initiating the process of signing bilateral labor agreements with various countries that have been importing Nepali workers, state run Radio Nepal reported Friday.
Labor leader explains anti-FTA stance
14-Sep-2006 Donga
Interview with the president of AFL-CIO, John Sweeney, on the US-Korea FTA.